What is your typical preparation for peak performance?

3 months lead up of next level commitment and focus.

Set routine of similar sessions repeated week after week up to the taper - 3 weeks out.

I love the routine of knowing if it’s a certain day, I know the key session to get done that day. Simple, repeatable, achievable week after week.

During this time everything else falls into a routine too. The foods I stop eating are replaced by others and become the new norm, naps are counted as a session too, and I just aim to get three beneficial “sessions” done every day, even on Monday when I don’t train at all.

What do you strive for in each session?

I train mostly by feel, or RPE (rate of perceived exertion), and track my heart rate to help objectively get feedback to limit or push myself. 

I set weekly targets, which I prioritise more so than individual sessions. If I haven’t recovered and a session doesn’t feel strong, I still try to get the time done but take it easy. Time is more important than the effort.

A good session is one where I got the most out of myself that I could on that day. So a day I feel flat I go easy and I’m happy to do the time. On a day I feel good I have to work harder in a different way to feel the same sense of accomplishment, I’ll need to push my heart rate more and stay more focused. Obviously the good days are more rewarding than the slow days, but I don’t really put too much value on either one, I stay pretty neutral, just do the best I can and be in the moment with each session, and after the session I’ve already moved on mentally and don’t think about the results either way. 

Dr Phil Maffetone (researcher in food, nutrition, exercise & sports medicine) & Pete Jacobs during training. 

Do you have goals each week / month, or just one for the year ahead? If so, what do they look like and what’s your 2021 goal

At the moment my goals are daily. I’ve got some strength and mobility routines I want to get done each day, I’ll run every second day, bike the other days, and have Monday off. Just a simple daily routine. I’ve got a thought to compete again but until then, I’m just doing what I feel each day with no pressure.

What impact does training have on your mental health/clarity?

As I mentioned above I’m not someone who attaches much emotion or thought to what I have or have not done in terms of exercise each day. Through my fatigue issues I dealt with since I was 15 I learnt to not let ego be part of my training, since there were so many days I could not keep up with people or achieve my own goals for a session. Ego is everything in the past or future, and generally will make you feel less confident, fearful, anxious etc. 

Not having an ego, and being present in the moment, eliminates that internal voice that can make you not feel so great. Sure, I feel better when I have a good session, but I don’t feel unhappy if I didn’t. I’ve learnt to move on, let it go, focus on the now, and look forward to what your instinct is telling you, that inner confidence that keeps us moving forward.

What does it feel like when you find your mode?

It feels like nothing else exists in the world, pure relaxation and sometimes elation, pure joy.

Being in “the zone” is having a quiet mind, where you can let the energy flow unencumbered by thoughts, fears, doubts, pain, or fatigue. Being in a stressful situation like the pain of a race, and then rising above it, blocking it out, and pushing beyond that perceived stress is an incredibly calming and insightful experience. I want it more.

How has Modex assisted your day to day regimen?

It starts by adding to the routine of something I consume, and the taste triggers thoughts of my goal, what I’m working towards, because I associate Modex with peak performance that is my goal, it is one of the routines I do to achieve my goal. So simply the act of drinking it helps me set my mind for the day and the session ahead.

Secondly it is the physical benefits we all know about, the aid in increasing oxygen and reducing free radicals, so the session feels better and causes less stress, and the recovery is quicker for both reasons.

The quick 3….

What’s the one song that gets you going.. always?

Daft Punk - Around the World      

What’s your typical post workout fuel?

Beef

Give us one top training tip?

Focus on technique. Being aware of where your body is and what it is doing helps efficiency, and you stay aware of tension increasing via breath, mind, and muscles.

Pete Jacobs is a world champion ironman & mindset and performance practitioner. He focuses on helping others increase their fitness without the burnout. 

@petejjacobs 

@liveyourownfit