Managing Swim Start Panic, Trtiathlete-Specific Strength Training, and Training Around Your Menstrual Cycle | Ep 604

<p>In this week&#39;s podcast:</p><p>Hyperventilating in the first five minutes of the swim (when you&#39;re a confident open water swimmer and it never happens in training): Listener Helen has had it wreck two 70.3 swims and wants Weymouth 2026 to be her comeback race. </p><p>Rob explains what&#39;s actually going on (it&#39;s a CO2 problem, not an oxygen one) and gives her the mental and physical fixes to stop it before it starts.</p><p>Also in this episode:</p><ul><li>Why the adrenaline surge on the start line drives hyperventilation, and how &quot;arousal control&quot; lets you rehearse a calm swim start weeks before race day</li><li>The breathing-every-fourth-stroke and go-out-slower protocol, plus why swimming wide is worth the extra metres</li><li>How to practise close-contact swimming with club mates so bumped shoulders stop triggering panic</li><li>Rob&#39;s approach to strength work: small &quot;s&quot;, big &quot;C&quot; conditioning to stay injury-free, not lifting to get bigger</li><li>Glute and hamstring activation for anyone who sits at a desk all day, and why hamstrings need so little work to stay healthy</li><li>Maintaining muscle mass as an older athlete: compound lifts at 50–70% of one-rep max, stopping well short of failure</li><li>How to periodise strength blocks around your FTP build so the gym work doesn&#39;t wreck your key bike sessions</li><li>Training around the menstrual cycle - why it has to be individual, and how syncing recovery weeks with your cycle takes the pressure off</li><li>Looking ahead at the race calendar so race day doesn&#39;t land at the worst possible time</li><li>A race report from Joe at IRONMAN Lake Placid: a 12:46 finish on a 6,700ft bike course</li><li>Cramping in the first mile of the run, and the electrolyte lesson from the med tent afterwards</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Plus</strong>: Rob is having three and a half years&#39; worth of hair cut off in mid-September and donating it to be made into a wig for a child with cancer. It costs around £700 to make the wig and he&#39;d be so grateful for anybody that can share any amount - big or small - <a href="https://fundraise.littleprincesses.org.uk/fundraising/make-a-wig-for-a-child-with-cancer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">via this donation link</a></p><p><br></p><p>* * * * * * * *</p><p>SPONSORS</p><p>* * * * * * * *</p><p>Thinking about your first Ironman or 70.3 in 2026? At <a href="https://team.oxygenaddict.com/join-us">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠