The Opponents

The Mindset That Took Me From Rock Bottom To 10 Ironmans In 10 Days - Fergus Crawley

Fergus Crawley is an (extreme!) hybrid athlete who survived the darkest depths of depression 10 years ago and recently completed 10 Ironmans in 10 days to commemorate his journey since. In this interview Fergus speaks very openly about his battle with mental health, the important life lessons he learnt coming out of that experience, some of the huge fitness challenges he has done since, the origin and definitions of hybrid training, and how to properly plan your hybrid training. If you enjoy this episode, I would hugely appreciate if you could follow and leave a rating. Thank you.

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

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