All too often I hear triathletes talking about elite triathletes as “genetic wonders”, “naturally talented”, or any number of other classifications that only serve to isolate them from the rest of the pack. While it’s true that there are a few things that separate elite athletes from the middle and back of packers in triathlon, genetics is rarely one of them.

Okay, yes, I’ll admit it, we all have that one friend who can jump into anything athletic and excel without much work. That’s genetics. The debate goes on as to how much genetics plays a role in athletic performance, but one thing is certain: in 99.9% of cases, you don’t need genetics to perform well in triathlon. In fact, you can destroy the field of “naturally talented” athletes with the right kind of work, a proper mindset, and a few healthy habits. As a few high level athletes, including Kevin Durant and Connor Dwyer are credited with saying, “hard work trumps talent when talent fails to work hard.”

I take this to mean that hard work is much more valuable in the grand scheme of things than genetics or talent alone. To add to that, hard work, along with the habits listed below that anyone can practice, can outpace talent and genetics, bridging the gap and taking genetics off the table as an advantage.

This has been my experience in practice. It has also been what I’ve learned from a multitude of triathletes I have come to know in the elite ranks; athletes who never started as “superstars”, and perhaps even lived lives on the exact opposite end of the spectrum (myself included), but put in the work and became exceptional.

Here are some common habits I have seen in the elite ranks of triathlon, traits that I have witnessed in many, many athletes who continue to produce exceptional results despite not having the natural talent.

1. They are consistent – A proper training cycle works for a reason. Within the months and weeks leading up to an important race, there is a period of base building, a peak phase, and a taper. Within those phases, each week has specific training focus – build, deload, endurance, speed, or any combination therein. With frequent schedule changes, missed workouts, or non-scheduled “hero mode” workouts (you know the type, the workouts where an athlete tries to break a record or achieve a crazy distance/time goal, like a double century on a recovery day), the body will not effectively adapt to the training. It will “miss the boat”, so to speak, of the focus of the macro/micro-cycles. In these cases, athletes can arrive at race day overworked or underprepared. Consistently following an effective training plan on the other hand – many times over a period of a few years – builds fitness, endurance, strength, and speed at surprising levels. There’s no magic to it. It all comes down to showing up and doing the right amount of work at the right time.

2. They are purposeful – Every workout should have a purpose. If there isn’t a purpose for a workout, then it’s a waste of time. Sometimes it can be harmful if we do workouts without a purpose because it’s time we should be spending in rest or recovery. There are many different purposes for workouts, including endurance building, recovery, speed, testing nutrition, race simulation, mental training, etc. Elite athletes understand the purpose behind every workout that they do. If they don’t have a reason to do a workout, they will recover, or do something else. No junk miles. They understand that each workout has it’s place in the bigger picture. It is a piece in the puzzle toward a long term goal. For that reason, they know the vital concepts behind each workout, and focus intently on that purpose in practice.

3. They know their bodies – Every person has differences in terms of how they tolerate and adapt to training/diet inputs. There is no single secret formula that works for everyone, but there is an individual secret formula for everyone. It’s just a matter of finding it. This requires learning about and understanding your body. It includes everything from knowing what foods your body thrives on (hint: it’s not Oreos), what type of training works for you, how much recovery you need, as well as your emotional/psychological requirements. Elite athletes know their bodies well, and they leverage this knowledge to apply the training that works for them to their overall success.

4. They have faith in themselves – Not just the faith that they can complete the triathlon, but absolute certainty that they have what it takes to become the best in their class. This is what makes them extraordinary. Even if they have not yet produced the results to back the claim, they sincerely believe they have the ability to achieve them. They are certain that they can produce those results with the right kind of work. They know that they can win the race or become a world champion. On the other hand, many others will set limits in their own minds. I hear it all too often from the age group ranks, “I could never be that fast”, “those people are in another class”, or any number of phrases that serve to build an impenetrable wall between themselves from the elite racers. In reality however, any one of us has the ability to become one of the best in our class. After all, we all share a common bond; we all started with a single step.

5. They have patience – Elite triathletes understand that fitness gains, especially at the tip of the spear, don’t always happen overnight. They take time and patience, sometimes many weeks, months, and even years. BUT when they do happen, their training and racing moves to an entirely new level. Achieving this takes patience. It takes doing the work day in and day out (with consistency). It takes doing the majority of the work at annoyingly easy paces so that the other 10% of the work can be done REALLY hard. The results come sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, but they do come with patience and consistency.

6. They treat nutrition as the “first discipline” – Those in the elite ranks are aware that their physical performance is only as good as the food that they are putting in their bodies. They know that what they eat has a direct effect on their performance. Therefore, they eat only food that can enhance their performance. This is highly individual of course, but the key is learning about and knowing what works and what doesn’t. This takes adapting through trial and error.

7. They make training and racing a priority – Does this mean that they neglect their families, work, and social life and devote all of their time to the religion of triathlon? Absolutely not! On the contrary, many elite triathletes I know are some of the best fathers/mothers, and most productive people I know. How do they find time to be great family people, great at their jobs, AND excel in triathlon? They get creative. Because they prioritize health and fitness, they know that they will have to manage their time effectively in order to make the most out of their training, family, and work life. Sometimes that means waking up before the sunrise, but more importantly it means finding solutions to the time management puzzle. This may include working while on the trainer, using lunch breaks to take a quick run, prepping all your food for the week, incorporating family time into training time, commuting to work on the bike, etc. The fact is that everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. If you truly prioritize your training, you will find creative solutions instead of excuses.

8. They know how to recover – We all know that recovery is important to triathlon training, but more often than not this philosophy is spoken and not practiced. People with “A” type personalities want to push through the pain or exhaustion to get as much training as possible, when instead they should be spending some of that time getting a massage, taking an Epsom salt bath, sitting in recovery boots, or sleeping in. We, as a culture, praise the idea of getting up early, and surviving on little sleep, even though it’s not good for us. Elite triathletes understand that it is not during training that fitness gains occur, it is during recovery.

The great thing about all of these habits is that they can be adopted by anyone. Part of the learning process in this sport should be educating oneself to develop winning habits such as those above, to perform at the very best. These are just a few of the habits practiced by elite triathletes, and they make a tremendous difference in long-term performance.

Happy training!

by Adam Hill

I’ve been sitting on some pretty exciting news for a while, and I’m pleased that I’m able to share it with you now. I have been selected to be a featured athlete in IRONMAN’s upcoming television show, “IRONMAN: Quest for Kona“, airing this Fall on NBC or one of it’s affiliates.

The show follows 10 athletes, one per 30 minute episode, as they train for an attempt to qualify for the holy grail of triathlon: The Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. Ironman’s purpose was to seek out charismatic and energetic individuals with a story to tell. It honors me beyond words that my family and I were selected to share our journey.

After all, this is not just my journey. This journey is one in which my entire family has been involved. They have been vital support, participants, cheerleaders, motivators, teachers, and coaches. Without them, I would have never had the courage to even attempt my first Ironman. This fit and happy Ironman lifestyle is not just mine, it is part of my whole family.

The journey began before I even got sober, about a decade earlier than my sobriety date. During an epic couch-surfing session, I had happened upon the Ironman World Championship broadcast on NBC.

I was totally inspired by the seemingly “regular” people who were accomplishing such an amazing feat, but I immediately resigned myself to my fears and insecurities, and definitively told myself that I could never do something like that. I was not one of “those people”.

Instead, I was an obsessive alcoholic (though I wasn’t ready to admit it), full of anxiety, fear, and resentment. The only marathons in which I would be competing were marathon beer drinking sessions.

(You can read more about my story here.)

About a year into my sobriety, my mental attitude was dramatically transformed. Through sobriety, I recognized that anything is possible. For some reason, I remembered back on the day that I told myself that I couldn’t do an Ironman, and I asked myself a vital question: “Why not?”

I immersed myself with obsessive focus into everything Ironman; watched all the NBC broadcasts, studied all of the greats (Mark Allen, Paula Newby-Fraser, etc.), and began down this path in the only way I knew how – one step at a time.

In 2014, with 2 years sobriety, one year free from smoking, 40 lbs lighter, and a million lbs more joyful, I finished my first Ironman and my family’s quest for Kona was born.

This past week I had one of the thrills of my life. The great Paula Newby-Fraser called me, in person, to tell me that I was a finalist for the “Quest for Kona” program. Over the course of my growth in this sport, I had marveled over her and  the other greats as they won multiple Ironman titles on the magical island and the amazing race where I dreamed of competing. And today she was calling me to tell me that Ironman would be following me and my family’s journey to qualify for Kona.

Yes, it’s true. Anything is possible.

I am so humbled and honored to be a part of this, and the messages of support have been overwhelming. I have set some lofty goals which I have laid out for the world to hear in my submission video below. Not only will I attempt to qualify for Kona, I am shooting for a sub-9 Ironman time (so long as the course remains unaltered due to unforeseen circumstances).

More importantly, whether I succeed or fail in any of this, my primary goal is to send a message of hope to those who may believe all hope is lost. Through Ironman I’ve learned that anything is possible. This saves my life every day. There is freedom from anxiety, from addiction, and depression. If just a little bit of light is let in, the darkness will begin to fade.

Thanks for taking the time to follow my family’s journey!

I occasionally like to share the secrets of the pros, elite amateurs, and world class performers from all walks of life. Simple concepts that can be implemented in your own lives to push you toward unbelievable success. Today the secret that I’d like to share is a simple concept, with a lot of depth to its execution. That secret, quite simply, is consistency.

Everyone is searching for the magic bullet; the one action that will make a dramatic difference in one’s training, personal improvement, or career. I have yet to discover any single thing that is the key to unlocking all of the results in life, but consistency in reinforcing healthy habits is as close as you’re going to get to the golden egg.

Consistency Leads to the Development of Habits

Most people who have success in any field, especially with regard to athletics, or music, or anything that requires practice, have this in common: They consistently do the work, day in and day out. They practice their craft obsessively, and with purpose, in every aspect.

Even if they fail, even if they have setbacks, they still get back up and do the work. I know it sounds cliche, but it’s true, success is bred from repetition. Learning the right lessons from setbacks of failures can put you on the right path to success.

The million dollar question is, “How do we form healthy habits, and remove the unhealthy habits?” The simple solution to developing any habit: Do the action a lot, consistently. The simple answer to breaking any habit is the opposite: Don’t do the action, consistently.

Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately, our minds are working against us.

The Harsh Reality of Building and Breaking Habits. Habits Reinforce Consistency

The problem is this. Breaking bad habits is really hard! Creating new healthy habits is really hard!

But it doesn’t have to be. The only reason that it is hard to break a bad habit is that we associate so much pain with quitting. Take smoking for instance. Most people don’t want to quit smoking because their perception of the pain of withdrawal is so great that that they want to avoid that pain. So the bad habit remains. I know this because I have quit smoking… twice!

The same is true for creating healthy habits.

The primary reason that we fail to develop healthy habits is because we are associating pain with the healthy activity itself.

Famed performance coach, Tony Robbins goes into great detail about pain and pleasure, and how they influence our actions in his book “Awaken the Giant Within”. The same pain and pleasure principle applies as it relates to habit formation and consistency.

Here’s an example, imagine someone who has a New Year’s resolution to begin regularly swimming at the local YMCA. The first few days, he is entirely motivated, and jumps out of bed at the opportunity to get to the pool and begin swimming. This is the “honeymoon period” we’ve all experienced when we resolve to get fit and healthy.

After a short while the honeymoon period begins to end as the excitement of the new experience starts to go wane. Motivation becomes harder and harder to find. Instead, the excitement is replaced with boredom, or annoyance, or discouragement. The pain starts to outweigh the joy of the activity simply because the perception of the activity has changed.

• I don’t want to wake up at 5 am, I need more sleep – pain.

• The pool is too crowded, I don’t want to share a lane – pain.

• I hate smelling like chlorine – pain.

• I don’t have the time to swim – pain.

The list goes on and on, and the excuses only reinforce the pain. We’re incentivized to hit the snooze button because we associate less pain with staying at home in bed. Thus, we’re more inclined to skip the activity, consistency is lost, and the new habit is not reinforced. When we don’t reinforce a habit with consistent action, it’s like trying to chase a motor boat by swimming with your arms tied behind your back!

The Solution to Reinforcing and Imprinting Healthy Habits

Strong neural pathways are developed from consistent, habitual activity. Reinforce healthy habits immediately and consistently by associating them with greater joy and less pain. If you can accomplish this, you will continuously jump at the opportunity to perform the activity, whether it be running, meditation, rock climbing or crochet! You can do this by using the following tools:

• Make the process simple – Overcomplicating a task is one surefire way to create more pain. Consider the complexity of the myriad of popular diet programs out theree. Think about all of the rules surrounding each of these fads, whether it be low-carb, paleo, intermittent fasting, etc. If you spend enough time in a grocery store or restaurant trying to find the foods you should or shouldn’t eat, eventually you give up and just buy a cheeseburger! Complexity kills joy, and it sure as hell makes it difficult to find the motivation to continue with the program. Wouldn’t it be simpler just to create a habit of eating healthier by cutting out sugar and processed foods? This will at least get you 90% of the way to your goal. Then, once you’ve developed the simple habit from consistently eating healthier, you can begin to focus your attention on the additional 10%. If we overcomplicate a process in the beginning stages of habit formation, we hurt our chances of succeeding. Challenges by their very nature are difficult to overcome for a variety of reasons. The more we can simplify and reduce the complexity of the process or the path to achieve the goal and overcome the challenge, the more the joy of the achievement will outweigh the pain of the process. 

• Heightened positive sensation – Our senses are associated very highly with attitude and state of mind. If you can find joy in what you see, hear, feel, smell, or perceive while performing the activity, you will be more likely to do it consistently and form a habit. This means being in tune with all your senses at any given moment during an activity, and shaping your perspective of those senses around gratitude and acceptance (to see how gratitude and acceptance can lead to reduced anxiety, check out this article).

• Frame a positive mindset – We’re not always going to want to perform a workout, or eat healthy, or perform any number of activities which we want to develop into habits. This is why it is necessary to always shift your mindset to one of positive attitude before the activity. We never want to enter into an activity that we’re trying to habitualize with a negative mindset. The result would be to associate pain to the activity! Therefore, shifting the mindset during times of discouragement, unwillingness, or any number of negative thoughts is critical. You can do this through the following methods:

1. Before the activity, spend some time in meditation, specifically to clear your head of any negative or self-defeating thoughts.

2. Use visualization techniques to shift your focus onto your goal and the joys surrounding the achievement. Specifically picture yourself taking every step toward your goal successfully, and experience each joy as it comes.

3. Affirm positive thoughts in your mind, such as “I will achieve my goal”, while thinking about the joys you will experience when you successfully achieve the goal. Think of the lives you will touch, the confidence you will have, the reward, and the adventures to come!

• Set mini goals to guide you on the path of your larger goal – I highly recommend setting up a goal hierarchy. If you’re not familiar with what that is, it’s simply a method by which to make the larger goal (the dream) more accessible through smaller, bite sized goals. For example, if your goal is to qualify for the Ironman World Championships, that is a very big and challenging goal! However, there are steps you can take to get there which make the process less daunting. Breaking that goal into smaller pieces will not only force your focus onto the present, but it will also increase your opportunity for achievement and fulfillment over the course of your journey through successive mini-goals. Achieving these mini goals will keep you engaged in the process as opposed to making you overwhelmed and discouraged by the enormity of the dream. Before you know it, your dream will be your next mini-goal!

• Vary the activity – This is one of the many reasons why triathlon is such a great sport for physical and mental fitness. It’s three separate activities (four, if you count strength training). Variability breaks the monotony of the task and increases the level of excitement. As an additional measure, you can vary the environment in which you perform the activity. Change the path you run or bike. Swim at different pools, or find some open water swims.  

• Reward – When I say reward, this reward has to be reinforcing. Too often, people give themselves a reward that breaks the habit we are trying to reinforce. For example, if a person goes without sugar for a week, they may reward themselves with a piece of cake at the end of the week. While the pleasure of the cake may be felt at the time it is received, it is only creating and reinforcing long term pain with the habit we are trying to create! Here’s a better idea. If you’re trying to create a habit of consistently following every workout prescribed in a workout program, perhaps your reward can be a beach day. Take the opportunity to show off your new found self confidence. Of course it doesn’t have to be a beach day, as long as the reward is reinforcing of the habit you are trying to reinforce.

How Long Does it Take for a Habit to Form?

The beauty is that the more joy we associate with an activity and the greater the pain we associate with not doing the activity, the more quickly the habit is reinforced. At that point, skipping the activity actually becomes more painful than doing the activity! When that tipping point occurs, we will do everything in our power to avoid the pain of skipping the activity.

The time it takes depends on the level of joy we associate with the activity and the level of pain we associate with avoiding the activity. The greater the joy, the faster we form the habit.

Remember: Habits are reinforced by consistency, and our willingness to perform a task consistently depends on the joy or absence of pain we experience in the task. So stay joyful, do everything within your power to maintain a positive attitude, and enjoy the results you see from consistent habitual action.

Happy Training!