Team Nagi Newsletter - Nov/Dec 2018

Hi Guys,

Hope you are all well (and avoiding the dread lurgy) leading into the Christmas period.

It’s a joint Nov – Dec newsletter as we didn’t have any athletes racing last month. We did however have two athletes racing at Ironman Western Australia last Sunday and one at the Valencia Marathon which I will report on later.

If there’s one thing I can guarantee is that December will usually present the most difficult time of year for athletes to train consistently. If any of you are struggling during this period the blogs below will really help you, even if you have read them previously they are timely reminders to help guide you at this time of the year:

The 5 F’s of Christmas

Dealing with Illness

This month I wanted to introduce you to the newest therapy member of Team Nagi, my new swimming /triathlon Yoga guru – Paul Sullivan. I’ve known Paul for many years and I would describe him as one of life’s good souls. He’s Aussie born & bred and has a passion for life that will inspire & motivate all those who get to know him. He has a special energy for what he does and it’s highly infectious.

What I’ve loved to see is how his passion for yoga has grown over the years, it’s safe to say I think he found his calling in life. What makes his yoga unique is the way he can integrate it with his sporting background and knowledge. His understanding of the nature of sport and how this impacts peoples bodies makes him a go to person for anyone that is looking to keep their body strong, stable and more injury resistant.

As many of you will know I’m a huge fan of other forms of training that compliment what you do as triathletes & swimmers. In fact it’s of paramount importance for athletes to be doing some kind of yoga, pilates, stretching and strength & conditioning to support their training. I would say these elements have become almost as important as the swim, bike and run. If you want longevity in sport these things need to be factored in ongoing in one shape or form.

So over to Paul to tell you a bit about himself, I can’t recommend him highly enough:

Who is Paul? Where does Paul come from?

Paul is a passionate yogi/yoga teacher, lover of swimming & food aficionado ?, born in Wagga Wagga then growing up in the thriving inland metropolis of Albury-Wodonga truly blessed to able to compete in a wide and varied array of sports, some might say raised on the mighty Murray river rural country Australia he was always on the move run, swim or cycle and that was before he even thought to venture in triathlons.

What’s his sporting background?

Playing senior Basketball, Triathlons, Touch Rugby and Aussie Rules Football, in between competing in regular Tennis and Golf competitions. Quickly learning from his mentors and coaches at early age what it truly meant to be sports specific fit, so ingrained that Paul was cross training before he even knew what term meant. Paul had taken up swimming one summer season to maintain off-season Aussie Rules Football fitness. Only discovering a true connection and love for swimming always looking to find that special something extra and get his flow or groove on in the water, progressing quickly into competing in sprint series of duathlons and triathlons. Paul had caught the bug he was hooked…

Why Yoga & Sports….? Let’s talk…. Triathlon Swimming with Yogi Paul

Throughout my years of competing, churning out laps and training drills, I naturally developed an understanding of my thresholds to push the body and stretching its limits… punishing at times. Imagine, just imagine incorporating yoga into your training creating an opportunity for you to benefit from greater mobility, strength, body awareness, tension release, recovery, injury prevention & tools to win the mental game. Below, I look at my personal experience in some of these key areasand benefits of yoga as a complimentary training regime.

Improved mobility & flexibility– suffering from a broken collar bone in a cycling accident when younger, swimming definitely provided that strength and conditioning to support my body’s recovery but not until I maintained a regular practice of yoga did I get to experience an opening and lengthening of the body especially in my arms and shoulders, a whole new greater range of motion and lengthen of muscle tissue at the same time stabilising the joints forming greater integrity and strength, to create a whole new feel for the water and ease within my body and stroke, what a pleasure!

Greater strength – core, body awareness & alignment.Yoga is about finding that openness, balance within the alignment of your own body when swimming and then you start to feel the core switch on and find that ideal streamlined position in the water, you can really appreciate where yoga delivers from Asana’s (poses) and Pranayama(breath) to heighten our use of core, body awareness & alignment. It truly is a light bulb moment when it all comes together.

Body awareness & breath are two of my favourite areas to truly focus on when in training or competing in triathlons. These key elements are what really allowed for the extra edge throughout training and competition, through developing your own awareness of the tension, we can then use the breath to release and balance the body, intuitively creating freedom and openness within our movement, what may stat as a niggle and progression can then be dealt on a whole new level physically and mentally. A Yoga practice is a real game changer for supporting body awareness and breath in all aspects of life and especially in multidiscipline sport of triathlon.

Let’s work together?

Let’s create an opportunity to progress your sporting & personal goals, overall health and well being with a yoga practice supported by Paul; small group or one to one bespoke program, tailored to your specific needs. Paul’s class style when working one to one is very intuitive, establishing a solid foundation to build upon and work on your specific personal goals.

Private classes (up to 2 people) £55.00/hr or £45/hr when purchasing a block of six (expires within 2 months). Travel cost may apply, small group and corporate bookings also welcome.
Book a class now or get in touch with Paul today!

Email: yogajustdoit@outlook.com
Mobile: 07773 880 922
Web: https://www.yogaforlifebreath.co.uk

“Swimming and Yoga go together it’s all about alignment, breath, energy, realise and release.
With yoga discover a new take on life through conscious breath control, self-awareness, engage the body, mind and soul.”

Team Race News

Ironman Western Australia

Emily Loughnan (Pro) 9:20:54 (swim 55:39 / bike 5:07:25/ run 3:13:03) 4th place
“Content but not satisfied” was how Loughers described this race. But what this result doesn’t show is the nightmare health issues she had for the 3 month period leading into it. Out of a 14 week block she only managed to complete 5 weeks of decent training just before the race. Severe anaemia raised its ugly head and for a number of reasons it wasn’t picked up early enough. So to be able to do this on such limited training was truly remarkable. Good on you mate, now let the next chapter begin.

Chris O’Neill (50-54) DNF (swim 1:10:03 / bike 5:41:33/ run DNF)
Such a huge disappointment for the big man, leading into this race Chris had completed some of the best training I’ve ever seen him do and was in terrific shape. He then had the swim & bike of his life and was looking good on the run too when he pulled his calf muscle. With a bit of lady luck on his side he’ll settle that score next time.