TTH Local Training Squads

Adult swimmers often overcomplicate swimming. There are too many gurus online offering quick fixes and ideas that ultimately lead to further complications. In this article, Coach Philip explores freestyle breathing and how to correct common mistakes.

Many people have mantras, either for how they live their lives, or relating to how they turn up and train. In this small series, Coach Denise looks at the mantras which have meaning to her personally, and shares how they help her with both life and training.

Mantras – what do they really mean and how can they help?

Many people have mantras, either for how they live their lives, or relating to how they

turn up and train. In this small series, Coach Denise looks at the mantras which have

meaning to her personally, and shares how they help her with both life and training.

Recently, indoor training technology has transformed how endurance athletes approach their cycling training. Meanwhile, traditional outdoor riding offers unique physiological and psychological benefits that no virtual platform can fully replicate.

Triathletes often start coaching with us encountering the same common hurdle: they struggle to run efficiently off the bike. Many athletes approach coaching services with the singular aim of improving their running speed. However, as coaches, we recognise that the nuances of transitioning from cycling to running extend far beyond simply running faster. It’s essential to address the finer details that affect performance in the latter stages of a triathlon. Coach Philip explores how to improve your run off the bike. 

In December 2026, I’ll set off from the Canary Islands with my teammates Martin Mead and Scott Dingle, both fellow airline captains, as part of our team, Coastal Commanders. Together, we’ll row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic in the World’s Toughest Row—a challenge that demands far more than just physical endurance.

This is no ordinary race. It takes three years of solid planning and preparation just to get to the start line. We’ll face sleep deprivation, relentless waves, blistering heat, and total isolation, rowing in shifts, non-stop, with no support and no safety net. Our goal? To complete this challenge in under 40 days.

If you are excited and intrigued by the idea of doing a triathlon, but think it is just for the super fit, think again. In this blog Coach Denise takes a look at the whole sport of triathlon and may just change your mind.

Although racing in the UK has many perks, one downside is that we don’t usually get the excessive heat that some of our European and US friends are accustomed to racing in. In this article, Coach Philip explores some top tips for racing in the cold.

At the start of race season, as thoughts turn to open water swims, one of the key considerations is, just how do you swim comfortably in cold water. In this article Coach Denise uses her extensive experience of swimming in Scotland to look at how best to make the transition from the pool to outside, helping you to have the best swim leg you can.

Every year, nutrition and its strategies take centre stage in our conversations with athletes. It's a subject that sparks genuine curiosity and interest. Yet, the challenge lies in translating this knowledge into effective race strategies. Coach Philip delves into some common pitfalls in nutrition strategy, emphasising the potential for significant performance improvements.  

We all know warm-ups are important, but when it comes to racing, we tend to do things differently than in training. Coach Philip explores why the warm-up is important. 

Athletes often categorise their races. In this article, Coach Philip outlines how athletes can use a category to help adjust their mindsets before the event. 

As we look to the new season, testing is one of the first things many athletes will do. This will be the form of benchmarking to understand initial fitness levels, biomechanics or other areas. Various aspects of training and performance will be measured and improved upon in the coming months. Yet, often, athletes dislike “test week” and miss out on brilliant opportunities to improve. Coach Philip Hatzis explores the topic of improving your testing sessions in this article. 

At some point in their athletic career, every athlete has a point when they’re unsure if they should or should not train. This is often a result of illness or fatigue or something similar. They are feeling a bit “yuck” but do not necessarily understand why, which makes deciding whether they should train a tough challenge. In this article, coach Philip Hatzis explores how athletes can decide whether to train or not.

In this article, Coach Philip explores goal setting and the commonly accepted approach to goal-setting that may actually inhibit performance by forcing a time constraint on athletes where no time may be the best option. 

Love it or loathe it, the topic of planning is central to all sports, none more so than multi discipline endurance sports. Helping to focus time, effort and energy, great plans can produce the best results on race day. In this blog Coach Denise looks at the topic of planning, why it helps within the sport of triathlon and how a coach can help you to help yourself.

Being able to swim in a pool is not quite the same as being able to swim in open water. In this latest article, Coach Rita explores her learning experience when she took an open water swim session with some British athletes and her surprise at the skills gap between their swimming ability and open water experience.

Any sport has a set of rules. As the English cricketers discovered in this year's Ashes, the rules are the rules. The spirit of the rules is something different. As an athlete, our aim is always to compete within the rules. However, most of the time, the rules are in place for safety and fair play. Inevitably, if you want to push the boundary of what is possible, you must move closer to the limit of the rules. This article explored how we can respond to moments where the rules are applied to us!

If you are new to the world of triathlon you probably have preconceived ideas of just what the average triathlete is like. In this blog Coach Denise takes a look at triathletes and the results may surprise you.

Triathlon training takes up a lot of time. In his latest article, Coach Philip looks at different ways of fitting in the all-important long ride in an IRONMAN training programme.

Triathlons are one of the most gruelling mass participation events – one sport just isn’t enough – yet still more people sign up for them year after year. How fit do you actually need to be to do one? Are all triathletes the lean endurance machines we see on social media? In this article, Coach Philip looks at how fit you really need to be to do a triathlon.

Swimming pools come in different shapes, sizes and characteristics, in this blog, Coach Diogo, answers one of the most commonly asked questions; which length of swimming pool is best?

One of the most important parts of swimming outside in a race is swimming straight. Sighting is critical to this; seeing where you are going helps too! Foggy goggles are a persistent problem; Coach Denise looks at how to keep your goggles fog-free.

As coaches, we can focus on tracking metrics to help guide your training and performance as an athlete. It helps to see a quantitative measure of if things are on track or going as expected. One of these metrics is power or wattage, in this article Coach Alan looks at why ‘winning’ or riding with the lowest average power can result in a better performance.

We find ourselves able to swim in open water before going back into the pools due to this pandemic. How much we swim will depend on the water temperatures, of course, but how can we prepare for open water swimming? Coach Tim Ansell discusses.

In this article Coach Alan writes about some of the factors that will help you in making the journey from entering your first IRONMAN to successfully completing the distance.

With so many options out there and the seemingly endless supply of expert triathlon coaches and influencers, it is easy to get confused about finding the right triathlon coach for you. Below, we discuss some key points on what to look for when seeking that match.

2021 is on the horizon and things are looking promising! Vaccines are starting to roll out and within a few months time, the likelihood of an amazing 2021 season is looking more and more likely. Perhaps it has got you thinking: ‘I’m really motivated this year and I want to push myself – I think I might do an Ironman!” but you aren’t sure how much time it will demand of you. Here, Coach Alan helps to answer that question.

Finding a coach: a triathlon coach, an endurance coach, an ultra marathon coach – whatever kind of coach can be quite stressful. It can be hard to know where to look and what is important and what isn’t. Especially in the early part of the new year, coaches are everywhere and social media becomes a shouting match as people compete to shout the loudest. Read on to help cut through the noise and find yourself a coach.

What does it mean to be injured? How do we know if we are injured? What are the signs, and are they always the same? How bad is the injury? How does it make you feel? Does it mean the end of the road for you and your sport? How long will it be before you can train as you did before? Will you ever be able to race again? Will you ever get back to where you were? Can we become better athletes after an injury?

These are all thoughts that swim around in peoples’ heads, sometimes on an endless loop throwing up feelings of fear, anxiety, anger, and frustration because, in many cases, when an injury happens a sort of panic can set in.....how did this happen? Everything was fine yesterday, but now I am in pain - why, what could have caused it? Without a proper understanding of causal factors, it is not uncommon for people to try to ignore it, or to avoid acknowledging it - this will go away, right? Of course, we know that it will not.

So, at what point should we act? What should we do and when? What do we need to know? Here is what Coach Tracy Cook would advise.