The Opponents

Top Sports Psychologist Chris Bodman - Injury Recovery & The Optimism Scale

Leading Sports & Performance Psychologist Chris Bodman shares elite athlete mental tools for handling injury recovery, how ‘realistic optimism’ could be your superpower, building purposeful reflection into your routine, and his ‘react or respond’ framework for handling life's setbacks. Chris also tells the story of his time helping my previous guest, former Team GB cyclist Vic Williamson, recover from her near-death accident in 2016. The full interview with Vic is available here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/24IsMUCRzmBXY2uXZF4oz0?si=68XdN03rQoSAYBDaBHZXQw

Harry Lightfoot - The Mantras That Got Us To The CrossFit Games

CrossFit Games athlete Harry Lightfoot recounts nail-biting stories from elite competition on his rise to the top of the sport. We also talk about his coaching team’s performance mantras, figuring out his optimal ‘arousal’ state for competing, and how he’s feeling in the build up to this year's Semi Finals at the French Throwdown. In this video: * Building a coaching relationship around data, brutal honesty…and bromance! * The arousal curve and finding his optimal competition state * Performing under pressure and how being over-stimulated has led Harry to execution errors * Reminiscing on wild moments in competition * Hoping to qualify for the CrossFit Games at this year’s French Throwdown! About Harry Lightfoot:Harry Lightfoot is a 2x CrossFit Games athlete. He recently secured sponsorships with Adidas and Red Bull. He competes at the elite level and works closely with coach Mike Allen and the team at AOD Fitness. About The Opponents Podcast: Iona Roberts interviews elite athletes and high performers who share their extraordinary stories and mindset lessons - from the setbacks, mental toughness, resilience and breakthroughs that shaped who they are. We go deep into athlete mindset, sports psychology and the human stories behind elite sport and high performance. If training seriously is part of who you are, this show is for you.

Ultra Running, Extreme Endurance Challenges & Addiction Recovery - Chris Taylor

Running coach Chris Taylor is an ex-Royal Marine and the man who organises many of the extreme endurance challenges and world record attempts you may have seen including Spencer Matthews' 30 desert marathons in 30 days and Imo Boddy's 3 Peaks challenge. But before any of that, Chris was battling addiction and depression, planning his training around his drug use, and nearly didn't make it out the other side. If you enjoy this interview and would like to support the show, you can do so by leaving your feedback in the comments, and leaving a rating. Thank you!

HYROX Masterclass - Elite 15 Athlete, Zara Piergianni

HYROX Elite 15 Athlete Zara breaks down what really determines HYROX performance - from running, pacing and HYROX race strategy to fitness vs execution, zone 2, threshold and VO2 max training, how to improve movements such as burpee broad jumps and wall balls, athlete mindset, race day nutrition and much more. This is an incredibly detailed HYROX masterclass for anyone wanting to improve their HYROX performance or perhaps transition into HYROX from another sport. We cover: - Common misconceptions about what actually determines performance in HYROX - Where races are won and lost - Time-saving strategies you can implement in your next race - How to structure your HYROX training across Zone 2, threshold, and high-intensity work - HYROX pacing and transitions - The mental side of HYROX - How to train your burpee broad jumps - How to prepare for race day sled issues - A wall balls tip to save your shoulders - Zara’s lifestyle, sleep, and nutrition rules that allows her to perform at the highest level... ..and much much more! If you enjoy this Masterclass and would like to help this show grow, please leave a rating. Thank you. #TheOpponentsPodcast #HYROX #HYROXTraining #HybridTraining #EnduranceTraining #FitnessPodcast #PerformanceMindset

What Really Happened At WIT - Dan Williams

Dan Williams, Co-Founder of WIT Fitness, shares his extraordinary story of spotting the rise of fitness as a sport, growing WIT into a global, eight-figure fitness brand in 3 years, losing control of the company through investor and market challenges, and ultimately buying the brand back. We talk about the early days of WIT, the day Dan and his Co-Founder Sam pitched the idea of fitness as a sport in it's own right to Nike (!), the meteoric rise of WIT, the serious challenges that WIT then faced and what was really going on behind the scenes during those very difficult times. Dan also shares his predictions for the future of the fitness industry and some hugely valuable advice for any entrepreneurs and young brands entering the space. Dan is now working on a very exciting new concept call the Fifth - a high performance members club that leads with fitness, which will hopefully be opening in London in late 2026! To sign up for early access head to: www.thefifth-club.com