Sustain Performance

Easy 45 clicks - through the 👃🏻

First time back on the bike in 3 weeks or so. Been very slack on getting rides in.

This summer has been busy, and I’ve been able to get back into tennis which has been a blessing.

39 not out

Most back pain programmes skip the most important step.

They go straight to loading. Straight to strengthening. Straight to "just do these exercises."

But if the nervous system is still in protection mode, loading it harder doesn't fix it. It reinforces it.

Back pain that persists isn't always a structural problem. It's often a sensitivity problem — and the two need completely different approaches.

Swipe for the four steps that actually change it.

DM "SUSTAIN" if you want coaching built at this level.

Most people who aren't getting stronger aren't lacking effort. They're lacking structure.

Consistency without the right strategy just accumulates fatigue.
It doesn't build strength.

Progressive overload isn't just adding weight every session — it's manipulating volume, intensity, and tempo in a deliberate sequence that gives your body a reason to adapt.

If your training has plateaued, you don't have a motivation problem.

You have a programming problem.

Swipe to see exactly why — and what to do about it.

DM "SUSTAIN" if you want a programme built around the right strategy, not just more effort.

The training that built results in your 20s isn't the training that keeps you progressing in your 30s, 40s, and 50s.

The volume's too high. The intensity's too aggressive. The recovery's an afterthought. And the focus on hitting numbers ahead of moving well leaves you with niggles, plateaus, and eventually injuries that take months to come back from.

There's a better way to train at this stage of life. One that builds genuine strength, protects your joints, keeps you doing the things you love, and gets stronger as you get older — not the other way around.

It's not soft. It's not light. It's not "just stay active and stretch."

It's intelligent training. Four principles, in this order: move well, get strong, train hard with quality reps, build aerobic capacity underneath it all.

This carousel breaks down what that actually looks like — without the jargon.

DM me if you want help building this for yourself.

Cycling has always been part of how I train. Road miles alongside the gym work — always there, always intentional.

After my second spine surgery in October 2024, it moved to the front.

Not because I stumbled onto it. Because I made a deliberate decision: the SkiErg and rower were off the table, the bike wasn't, and I knew exactly what it could build.

So I used it. Properly. With a structure, a progression, and a clear purpose.

Heart rate zones first — building the base, accumulating time, letting the aerobic system adapt. Then power output and intervals — pushing the engine harder. Then distance, routes getting longer, performance improving in ways I could measure and chase.

The fitness was real. The progress was real. None of it was accidental.

This is the thing I want people to understand about training around limitation: the results don't come from finding a workaround. They come from being intentional about the options you actually have.

Whatever your limitation — there's something available to you. The question is whether you're using it with the same intention you'd bring to the things you can't do right now.

DM me if you want help figuring out what that looks like for you.

18 months post Spine surgery… Surrey Hills Classic 🚲 done ☑️

Nothing momentous or impressive to write home about… but I’ll take being in the top 25 out of over 500 riders on the course!

Looking forward to more to come.