Show Notes
Swimming more laps won't make you a faster triathlete. A three-time Olympian who used to swim 80 kilometres a week is here to tell you why. Brian Johns is a three-time Olympian, former short-course 400-metre individual medley world record holder and now Head of Coaching Science at FORM. He's spent the back half of his career figuring out why some swimmers keep improving and others stay stuck in the same lane (sometimes literally), and in this episode he brings that to the time-poor triathlete who swims two or three times a week. In this episode you'll learn: Why more kilometres in the pool almost never equals a faster triathlon swim The exact plan for getting faster off just three sessions a week, no coach required How to tell the difference between working hard and actually improving The recovery trick Brian used between a late session and an early morning swim Why open water fear is really about exposure rather than fitness, and the simple fix that builds confidence fast How to practise sighting in the pool long before race day A one-word cue to keep you calm and swimming smooth when the start line gets choppy
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Welcome to Brian Johns, Olympian, coach and FORM scientist 01:13 From 80km swim weeks to his best ever Olympic final 05:08 The injury that taught him to read his body's red flags 08:37 Why more metres doesn't mean a faster swim 13:03 The fuel check before you add more volume 15:21 How to teach technique without overloading a tired swimmer 19:30 What FORM Score reveals about real swimming efficiency 22:37 The one habit that separates improving swimmers from plateaued ones 27:10 Why open water rattles even confident swimmers 31:47 Learning to sight, the skill most triathletes skip 36:52 Surviving a rough, choppy race day swim 42:00 The three-sessions-a-week plan for the unsupported triathlete 48:18 Brian's go-to drill for every triathlete 50:43 Where to find Brian and FORM Goggles
ABOUT BRIAN JOHNS Brian Johns is a Canadian three-time Olympian and former short-course 400-metre individual medley world record holder. He's the most decorated swimmer in Canadian university history, winning 33 of 34 races at the University of British Columbia and earning Canadian Interuniversity Sport Male Swimmer of the Year three times. After retiring from competition, Brian moved into coaching and now works as Head of Coaching Science at FORM, the smart swim goggles company, helping swimmers and triathletes train and race smarter with real-time data. https://au.formswim.com/ You can train smarter in the pool, but if your fuelling isn't dialled in, you're leaving performance on the table too. That's exactly what we work through inside the Triathlon Nutrition Academy. If you're ticking off the macro boxes every day without ever really being taught how to eat, the Triathlon Nutrition Kickstart course is built for exactly that. Learn how to fuel your training and recovery properly so you're never stuck when the plan changes. Head to dietitianapproved.com/kickstart Download the FREE audio series The 5 Biggest Nutrition Mistakes Costing You Time on Race Day Recovery Accelerator Program SUPPORT THE PODCAST HERE CONNECT WITH TARYN Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube The Triathlon Nutrition Academy® is a podcast by Dietitian Approved®. All rights reserved. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
More from Triathlon Nutrition Academy
Two of the best triathletes on the planet came undone in the Kona heat in back-to-back years, so how do you fuel a hot race without falling apart on the run? After two decades of working with triathletes, I can tell you that most hot races are won or lost before the gun even goes off. As an age-grouper you’re out on course for hours longer than the pros, in the hottest part of the day, often on a race nutrition plan you built and tested through winter. I break down what the heat actually does to your body, why falling apart in a hot race comes down to much more than toughness and what should change in your plan when the forecast says it’s going to be a scorcher. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN Why your body burns through stored carbohydrate faster in the heat, and why your aid stations can only top up so much The 3 ways triathletes fall apart in a hot race that look identical from the side of the road, and why they need opposite fixes Why “it’s hot, drink more” is the advice that puts age-groupers in the medical tent What heat does to your gut, and why backing off your fuel can make it worse The 4 mistakes I see over and over when the forecast is hot How one of my Academy athletes went from walking between poles at Spudman to crossing the line at the 70.3 World Championship in Nice
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Why is your triathlon nutrition strategy still not working when you already know what to do? I asked the triathletes who just finished my Triathlon Fuel Camp what they had spent money on to improve their performance. 70% had paid for a bike fit, 66% had a coach and 50% had bought a power meter and faster wheels. Only 20% had ever invested in a dietitian or nutritionist, and 57% told me they were winging their nutrition. These are smart, driven athletes with more information at their fingertips than any triathlete in history. So why is it still not working? IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: Why more information is not what is missing from your nutrition What a strategy specific to you is actually built on (and why generic advice never holds for long) The 3 ways triathletes try to build a nutrition strategy, and the only one that lasts your whole racing life The 3 questions that keep triathletes on the precipice of dialling in their nutrition for years How Kelly, Steve and Julia from the Triathlon Nutrition Academy finally got off the fence TIMESTAMPS 02:02 Why your triathlon nutrition strategy isn't working 10:15 3 questions holding triathletes back EPISODES MENTIONED Episode 235 with Julia Episode 237 on why DIY nutrition is not working Episode 259 with Kelly and the TNA crew at the 70.3 World Championship in Nice Episode 261 with Steve, Curt and Jade READY FOR A STRATEGY THAT IS SPECIFIC TO YOU? The Triathlon Nutrition Academy is my 9-month program where I teach you how to fuel your own training and racing, step by step, with an Advanced Sports Dietitian checking your work along the way. Find out more about the Triathlon Nutrition Academy here. SUPPORT THE PODCAST HERE CONNECT WITH TARYN Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube The Triathlon Nutrition Academy® is a podcast by Dietitian Approved®. All rights reserved. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
If you have heard about the Triathlon Nutrition Academy and wondered what it actually is, this is your answer in under 10 minutes. You already have a training system. You have a coach or a program, a week of sessions you love to turn green and the discipline to follow it. What most triathletes don't have is a nutrition system that is just as organised, and that is exactly what you walk out of TNA with. I take you through how my 9-month program works, the 4 things that change when your nutrition is dialled in and who it is genuinely for (and who it is not for). WHAT YOU WILL TAKE AWAY How TNA is built so you actually put it into practice, rather than buying something and never using it Why being able to function like an adult after a long ride is one of my KPIs How Stephen went from nearly quitting triathlon over cramps to taking 64 minutes off his 70.3 time, and why magnesium was never the fix How the program fits into 1 to 2 hours a week, whatever your time zone and however full your life is What changes when you become the expert on you, from every gel to every supplement ad in your feed What Kelly Estes, 4 years in, says happens by the end Who TNA is for, from your very first season to your 30th, and who should not join right now TIMESTAMPS 03:00 What changes when your nutrition is dialled in 07:16 Is this triathlon nutrition program right for you ATHLETE STORIES MENTIONED Stephen Duquette and the TNA athletes who raced the 70.3 World Championship in Nice: Episode 259 Jade, Curt and Steve, 9 months after joining TNA: Episode 261 If you want to see everything that is included, head to dietitianapproved.com/academy. When doors are open you can join the next cohort there, and when they are closed you can add your name to the waitlist so you are the first to know when they open again. SUPPORT THE PODCAST HERE CONNECT WITH TARYN Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube The Triathlon Nutrition Academy® is a podcast by Dietitian Approved®. All rights reserved. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What happens when you eat 1,000 more calories a day? For Curt, a 54 year old triathlete from Texas, it meant losing 8kg, ditching the daily nap and finally making it through a training day without bonking. That is not a typo, and it is not a fluke. Nine months ago, three brand new Triathlon Nutrition Academy athletes came on the show a few weeks into the program to share what it is really like on the inside. Now Curt, Jade and Steve have finished all three phases and they are back. Three different athletes, three different decades of life and three very different starting points: a 39 year old mum of three from WA in her second Ironman build, a scientist from Texas who watched from the sidelines for 4 years while his mate got faster and a 71 year old from San Diego with more than 300 races behind him and no formal nutrition education until now. WHAT YOU WILL TAKE AWAY Why Curt lost 8kg while going from around 2,000 to closer to 3,000 calories a day, and why underfuelling was the thing keeping the body fat on The one change that eliminated Curt's post-workout naps and gave him back at least an hour a day How Jade went from years of fasted sessions to fuelling every session, and what changed when she hit 90g of carbs an hour on the bike Why Steve calls nutrition free speed after 30 years of hand waving it, and how a race week plan changed 5 national championship races in 3 days What separating fluid from fuel does to a race day plan The benefits nobody expected outside triathlon, from a happier marriage to more beach days and a kid who packs his mum's long run fuel What all three would say to the version of themselves sitting on the fence 9 months ago Nutrition is not something you fix in a week, and it is not something you fix for life by collecting free nuggets from AI, YouTube or podcasts. It is something you learn, practise and make your own. That is exactly what the Triathlon Nutrition Academy is built for: 9 months learning how to fuel your body for your own training, with me and a group of legends like Curt, Jade and Steve beside you. Doors to the Triathlon Nutrition Academy are open right now. Join the October cohort here before doors close on Saturday 10 October. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction: Curt, Jade and Steve 9 months on 01:45 One word for their nutrition now versus then 03:20 Curt: no more bonking, no more naps, 8kg down while eating more 08:40 Jade: fitting TNA around 3 kids, work and an Ironman build 10:50 Jade: from fasted training to every session fuelled 12:20 Steve: the biggest mistake of a 30 year career and why nutrition is free speed 14:30 Steve: 5 national championship races in 3 days with a plan 16:10 Curt: race day now, and separating fluid from fuel 17:55 Jade: the Busselton build, 90g of carbs an hour and the scribbled paper plan 22:30 A year of listening to the podcast versus a year inside the program 24:30 What changed the most in how they fuel and race 27:05 What changed outside triathlon: smoothie bags, a happier wife and more beach days 30:40 Steve on strength training and getting bigger at 71 31:30 What they learnt about themselves that they did not expect 36:20 What they would tell themselves 9 months ago, and was it worth the investment 41:20 What is next: Busselton, Edmonton and a possible full distance SUPPORT THE PODCAST HERE CONNECT WITH TARYN Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube The Triathlon Nutrition Academy® is a podcast by Dietitian Approved®. All rights reserved. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.