Ready to Revive.
An 80/20 Training Philosophy Built Around Your Real Life
I am Coach JW, CSEP-CPT certified, and an online endurance coach for ultra trail runners, road runners and triathletes worldwide. You train smarter when your plan respects your job, your family, your recovery and your life.
Why Athletes Train Hard and Stop Progressing
Most athletes I meet are consistent, committed and tired. Four patterns show up again and again.
Too Much Moderate Intensity
Many athletes train most sessions at a moderate effort. It is too hard to recover from and too easy to build top-end fitness, so progress stalls while fatigue builds.
No Strength or Mobility Work
Without regular strength and mobility sessions, the musculoskeletal system absorbs every mile on its own. Small niggles turn into time off.
Fuelling Left to Race Day
Gut tolerance for carbohydrate and fluid is a training adaptation like any other. Practice belongs in training, not on the start line.
A Plan That Ignores Your Life
A hard week at work, a sick kid or poor sleep draws on the same recovery system as a long run. A plan that counts only training load misses half the stress.
The Four Pillars of Every Team Redde Endurance Plan
Every plan I write rests on the same four pillars, whether your goal is a first race or a podium.
80/20 Training
About 80% of your training is low intensity, below your first ventilatory threshold (VT1). In plain terms, that is an easy effort where you can hold a full conversation, and it should rate about 2 to 3 out of 10 on the RPE scale. The other 20% is moderate to high intensity. This follows Dr. Stephen Seiler's research on how endurance athletes train. Power comes first, pace second, and heart rate is a warning signal for heat, dehydration, fatigue, stress or illness.
The Circle of Success
Your training fits around your family, career, friends, hobbies and stress. When life gets heavier, your plan adjusts to your total stress load, not training load alone. I work with or alongside your physiotherapist and other health professionals. My wife Jess is a registered massage therapist with more than 25 years of experience, and she was a trainer for the High River Flyers Jr B hockey team for a number of years. She is the on-call sports massage therapist for my athletes, and together we can potentially isolate issues early and give you options.
The Whole Athlete
Every week includes two strength sessions and two mobility sessions. Fuelling practice starts in week one, in every long session: the long run, a long ride or a brick. Eat the damn banana. After every session you rate your RPE, which builds your body awareness. When something feels tight or off, I collaborate with Jess, and she brings her sports massage experience to the conversation, so small issues are addressed before they become injuries.
Lived Experience
I know how hard it is to fit training into life because I live it. Twenty years in the fire service and emergency management taught me to make calm, structured decisions under pressure. I have raced ultra trail and triathlon, qualified for the FireFit World Championships, and I train around the same kind of schedule you do. I get it.
Meet Coach JWQuick Answers
What does 80/20 training mean?
About 80% of your sessions are easy, below VT1 (Zones 1 and 2), and about 20% are moderate to high intensity. The split keeps most of your training recoverable so your hard sessions are high quality.
Will easy training really make me faster?
Yes. Low-intensity volume (coupled with high-intensity work) drives aerobic adaptations, including mitochondrial and capillary development, while keeping fatigue low enough for quality hard sessions.
Does my plan change when life gets busy?
Yes. You tell me when you are tired or could not fit a session in, and that prompts me to ask questions. Based on your feedback and our communication, I adjust your week so you stay consistent without piling fatigue on top of a hard week.
How do you know my training is working?
I look at how you actually complete each session. Did you stay in the prescribed zones for the right amount of time, are you pushing harder than planned, and are you doing the prescribed work on the prescribed days? The performance chart then shows the training adaptations, which means your fitness is increasing. As your fitness improves, I adjust your zones.
Will I understand why I am doing each session?
Yes. The why is written into the instructions for each session, so you know the purpose before you start. I also explain how each part of your plan builds toward your goal, and you can ask me questions at any time. We review your progress and the next phase of your plan on your monthly performance and strategy call.
Ready to Revive.
Ready to Train in a Way That Fits Your Life?
Every plan I write is built around your job, your family, your recovery and your life. Book a free discovery call and we will talk through your goals, your schedule and how my 80/20 training philosophy could work for you.
Free to book. No obligation.