New Zealand's No1 Altitude Training Centre

ACCIDENTAL AERODYNAMICS 🚴‍♂️💨
Before we had the technology, we had imagination… and occasionally, absolutely no idea what we were doing.

1990s triathlon.

That’s a motorcycle visor on my bike helmet.

It looks pretty aero now, doesn’t it?

The truth?

I wasn’t thinking about aerodynamics at all.

I sweated so much that wearing sunglasses meant I could barely see. So… motorcycle visor!
Problem solved🤣

And this was just the beginning.

My flatmate was busy building his own homemade aero front wheel ( pictured)

No wind tunnel.
No CFD ( Computational Fluid Dynamics)
No carbon engineers.

Just a couple of triathletes, some imagination and the belief that we could probably make it work.

Looking back, we may have accidentally stumbled onto a few good ideas.

Or maybe we were just making it up as we went along.

Either way, the 90s were fun.

Circa 1996 - winning my first 70.3 - National long course triathlon champs.

Finish time 3.48.08

https://mailchi.mp/ab50f0bde6ac/i-charged-up-kilimanjaro-why-does-everyone-keep-buying-this-18000821

⚡ SOMETHING NEW IS ARRIVING FROM FIRST ENDURANCE Rather than simply being another high-caffeine pre-workout, Pre Race combines a number of researched ingredients designed to work together around energy, focus, blood flow and the ability to perform when the intensity goes up.

You know you’ve built something interesting when an Olympic and World Champion like Kristian Blummenfelt & friends pop in for a look at the NZ Altitude Training Studio.

No fanfare . No ego. Just curiosity…. and a few nods of approval along with genuine interest and appreciation for the environment.

That’s the thing. This space was never just for fast guys. It was built for people willing to start. Willing to try. Willing to see what’s possible.

Same air. Same opportunity. Same honest work.

Nice to know it passes the Norwegian test too….we’ll call that a quiet win down here in little old NZ.

Kristian on my right with Redbull helmet is here for the NZ Ironman next week on Saturday 7th March.

Wishing him the best of success and a great time while in NZ.

Right, better get off and build those quads and calfs of mine 🤣






ProcessDriven

I have never achieved anything significant in moderation.

Yet somehow I’m learning to balance expectations and outcomes while chasing success. Is doing your best ever enough- when your always searching for more?

The Tauranga 1/2 Ironman last weekend wasn’t just another race.
It was a return.

Two years away from this distance gives you time - time to forget chaos, the tunnel vision, the beautiful obsession that endurance sport demands. It also gives you time to change. To reassess why you do this in the first place.

I’ve never been good at moderation. If I commit, I commit. Training, racing, life - it’s usually all in or not at all. But standing on that start line in Tauranga, something felt different. The hunger was still there, but it wasn’t frantic. The expectations were present, but they weren’t suffocating.

This race was proving I still could.
It was about seeing who I am now.

There were moments out there - quiet ones- where I checked in with myself. Not my pace, not my position, but my intent. Was I racing with purpose or pressure? Was I chasing performance, or was I honouring the work I had put in?

And that’s the strange paradox of returning after time away: you want more, but you also want peace with whatever the outcome is.
I pushed . I hurt. I stayed honest when it got uncomfortable.
But I also let go of the need for perfection.

Finishing the Tauranga Half Ironman reminded me that doing your best doesn’t always mean emptying yourself completely- it means showing up fully, either clarity, balance, and respect for the process. That in itself is progress.

Will I always want more? Absolutely.
That drive hasn’t gone anywhere.

But maybe success now looks less like domination and more like alignment/ between effort and expectation, ambition and perspective, discipline and enjoyment.

Two years away. One race back.
Not the end of the story- just a calibration.

And maybe, just maybe, doing your best is enough…. as long as you’re honest about why your chasing more.

One of the ingredients in Optygen Hp for athletes and climbers is a molecule that is known to help red blood cells dump oxygen into the muscle cells is phosphate.

Optygen Hp has this ingredient phosphate, which forms part of a compound called 2,3- diphoshoglycerate (2,3-DPG)

As an athlete or climber this is good news.

It makes sense to use a product like Optygen HP.

Link in Bio.

Intermittent Hypoxic Training (IHT), involves breathing reduced-oxygen air while sitting  (simulated altitude training), may help with weight loss in several ways:
 
Hard to believe right? I know Below are several reasons why.
 
1. Increases Metabolic Rate
* Exposure to low oxygen (hypoxia) can stimulate the body to increase energy expenditure.

2. Enhances Fat Oxidation
* Hypoxia has been linked to greater fat oxidation (the process of burning fat for energy).

3. Regulates Appetite Hormones
* Some studies suggest that intermittent hypoxia can lower ghrelin (the hunger hormone), reducing appetite.

4. Mimics the Effects of Exercise
* While sitting and breathing reduced-oxygen air won’t replace exercise, it can mimic some of the physiological benefits of high-intensity exercise.

5. Reduces Inflammation and Improves Insulin Sensitivity
* Hypoxic exposure has been linked to lower inflammation levels, which can support better metabolic health.

How is IHT used for Weight Loss?
* Sessions typically last 5–15 minutes per round, with multiple rounds per session up to 1 hr.
* Done 3–5 times per week, it can complement diet and exercise for weight loss.
* Best combined with exercise (e.g., altitude training, HIIT) for maximum metabolic benefits.
Bottom Line
While IHT alone won’t cause dramatic weight loss, it can be a useful metabolic booster that enhances fat burning, appetite control, and energy expenditure. Pairing it with a healthy diet and exercise may amplify results.

🎓 The Highest Level Coaching Certificate… But Let’s Be Real 🎓

It always feels great to renew my Level 3 Triathlon NZ coaching certificate each year, which is New Zealand’s highest pinnacle of Tri NZs accreditation pathway for coaching.

Getting the highest-level certification is a great, really is. But let’s be honest—paper doesn’t coach athletes, real experience does.

This isn’t just another certificate however; it’s for those who’ve put in the work, lead from the front, and know stuff.

So I say, if you’re already living it, why not make it official. Level up my credentials and match experience with the highest recognition.

Get certified. Stay ahead. Lead like a pro. 🚀

My Mission

To help turn those with limitations into what others now call talented, and those people with limited talents into champions.

The Finger tip pulse oximeter is used with each client at the NZ Altitude Centre when doing altitude training to measure available circulating oxygen ,but how does it work?

The pulse oximeter shines two beams of light through the finger.

One beam is red light (which you can see when a pulse oximeter is used), one is infrared light (which you don’t see).

These two beams of light can let the pulse oximeter detect what colour the arterial blood is and it can then work out the oxygen saturation.

However there are lots of other bits of a finger which will absorb light (such as venous blood, bone, skin, muscle etc.), so to work out the colour of the arterial blood a pulse oximeter looks for the slight change in the overall colour caused by a beat of the heart pushing arterial blood into the finger.

Have a great and safe weekend everyone 🙏

He Did It!

TJ ( Tinsley Janes) goal was to achieve 43 km per hour for the World hour record in the 75-79 age group, but exceeded this.

A simply amazing feat and accomplishment.

Congratulations TJ 🤩💯🤜

One of my goals for 2025 was to have a holiday…….well actually 2 holidays😁

One without sports gear and bike, and the other a training holiday ( my kinda thing😁) because training and sport is in my DNA.

Didn’t think for a moment the first holiday would happen so quickly, but I got the chance to visit Sydney Australia for the long weekend.

So I packed my bags Thursday, jumped on a plane and just completed Day 1, a trip to the Blue Mountains.Wow🤩

Never been here before and even got in a little altitude training in at 3,336 feet ( 1,017 meters) doing some great walks on offer.

Looking forward to spending the day with my brother tomorrow riding a few ferries and a pub lunch on the beach.

Sunday is Australia Day so will enjoy some more beach time along with concert at Sydney Opera🎸 house and Fireworks 🧨

Wishing everyone else their best weekend 🙏💯