This Is How A Coach Coaches Themselves.

The Baseline asks everyone the same five questions. Same order, same wording, no follow-ups written in advance. The point is not the answers on their own. It is what happens when you read them side by side.

01 What does an ordinary week of your own training look like?

Honestly, less than people think. I write programmes all day, so by the time it is my turn I want something I do not have to think about. Three sessions I could do half asleep, one I actually look forward to, and a lot of walking.

02 What advice do you give that you do not take?

Rest. I tell everyone to protect it and I am terrible at it. I will spend an hour explaining why a deload week matters and then quietly skip mine because I feel fine. I always feel fine until I do not.

03 What did you believe five years ago that you have dropped?

That more was always better. I used to think the best coaches found the most work a person could survive. Now I think the best ones find the least work that still gets the result, and then defend it from everyone who wants to add more.

The best coaches find the least work that still gets the result, and then defend it.

04 What does recovery actually look like in your house?

Nothing you could sell. Going to bed at the same time. Eating something that was not in a packet. Not looking at my phone for the first hour. It is boring, and boring is the whole trick.

05 What would you tell the person you were when you started?

Stop trying to be impressive. The athletes who stayed with me were not the ones I impressed. They were the ones I listened to.