The Triathlon Mental Performance Podcast
This podcast is for you if you are a Triathlete that is interested in learning about tools and strategies to overcome challenges and to utilize the power of your mind to race faster.
I'm an experienced Triathlon Mental Performance Coach working with both Age Groupers and Pros.
Episodes will cover the following and more.
- How to improve your mental toughness
- Removing the possibility of panic attacks in open water
- Removing the fear of fast descents on your bike -
- Removing mental blocks to improve your race times
- Completely remove performance anxiety (you don't have to just cope with it)
- 4 weeks to race day - Strategies to arrive at your a-race feeling calm and confident, with race day mental strategies
I will also talk about specific tools that you can use to ensure that you race faster.
If you would like to learn more, you are welcome to join my Facebook group with 1100+ fellow Triathletes.
I share daily tips there about the above and more and so please click the following link to join.
www.facebook.com/groups/triathlonmindset
I'm also happy to answer any questions that you have about triathlon mindset and so you are welcome to contact me.
Have a great day.
Neil
The Triathlon Mental Performance Podcast
The Science of Control: How Your Autonomic Nervous System Shapes Performance
Episode Details
I explain how understanding and training your autonomic system transforms how you approach effort, recovery, and race-day control. You’ll learn the physiological mechanisms behind performance control, and practical ways to measure and improve your system’s readiness using research-backed tools.
What You’ll Learn
- How the autonomic nervous system fits within the central nervous system and acts as your internal performance regulator.
- The difference between the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches, and how smooth transitions between them underpin endurance control.
- Why “sympathetic dominance” creates hidden fatigue and how to recognise its early signs.
- The science behind vagal tone and neurovisceral integration, and why it’s a key marker of resilience and recovery.
- Credible methods to assess autonomic readiness using the Polar H10 or Garmin HRM Pro Plus with the Elite HRV app, and why wrist-based sensors are unreliable for HRV.
- How to apply HRV data to training decisions: knowing when to push intensity and when to focus on technique or recovery.
- How to regulate during sessions with 4:6 breathing patterns to stabilise the nervous system.
- Why 45–60 seconds of deliberate exhalation post-training accelerates recovery and improves vagal response.
- How autonomic mastery allows calm aggression in racing, activation without anxiety.
Key Takeaways
- The autonomic nervous system decides how efficiently you can access your fitness, not just how hard you train.
- True performance control comes from transitioning smoothly between activation and recovery, not staying stuck in one state.
- HRV data is valuable only when measured accurately with ECG-grade sensors — not wrist-based estimates.
- Use HRV trends to align effort with readiness instead of emotion.
- Breathing control isn’t relaxation, it’s precision regulation for faster recovery and sharper focus.
- Training smarter means managing your system, not just your schedule.
Work With Me
The off-season is where mental performance is built.
If you’re ready to strengthen the system that drives every part of your performance, your mind and nervous system, this is the time to begin.
My Performance Program integrates neuroscience, psychology, and endurance principles to help you:
- Understand your physiological readiness.
- Build mental structures that hold under fatigue.
- Develop composure, clarity, and pacing control that last all season.
📩 Email: neil@neiledge.com
🌐 Website: www.neiledge.com
Connect
Private Facebook Group (1,700+ triathletes): www.facebook.com/groups/triathlonmindset
Instagram (daily tools): www.instagram.com/triathlon_mental_performance
Buy Me a Coffee (support the podcast): www.buymeacoffee.com/neiledge