Book

This is a list of things that we’ve used and bought over the last 12 months or are things that are on our own Wish List. We’re not affiliated to any of these retailers and we’ve bought and paid for all of these products.

Things to Read

A  Magazine Subscription is a perfect present for any swimmer or triathlete addicted to learning everything they can about their sport. Our favourites are Outdoor Swimmer, Triathlon 220 and Cycling Weekly.  From £52 for an annual subscription.

These are our favourite books that we’ve read over last year.

 

The Cycling Podcast: Become a friend of the podcast to receive extra content for only £10. This is essential listening for fans of the Tour de France and is a great way for making long drive’s or commutes more fun. From £10

Swimming

Tempo Trainer:  A tempo trainer is an essential device for any swimmer wanting to improve their efficiency by working with metrics such as tempo and stroke length. The tempo trainer is also handy for learning how to pace properly and is a device I use every time I go to the pool.

Total Immersion Academy Subscription: Access the whole TI library of videos, resources, and webinars. From $49 per month.

Waterproof notebook and pencil: This is the cheapest and most simple training tool there is. Useful for making notes about your stroke, recording spit times and stroke counts. We have waterproof notebooks for £5 so please get in touch if you want one. From £5

Stroke Correction:  For any triathlete or swimmer wanting to get faster and more efficient nothing can beat a full video analysis above and below the water from an experienced coach. We have a simple Video Analysis and Stroke Correction session for only £20 on Thurs January 11th.  More detailed assessment, video analysis and a one-to-one lesson is available for £97.50.

Tow Float: For keen open water swimmers a tow float is a useful safety device making the swimmer more visible, but can also be a way of carrying gels, keys, and other food on long distance swims. This is one of our favourite looking models.

Learn efficient front crawl with one of our 6 week courses or 1 day workshops.

Quick drying towels. Quick drying towels are great for swimmers and triathletes that travel or have multiple training sessions a day. From £10.

Dry Robe: This is our favourite piece of kit and an open water swim cannot happen without one!!  From £70.

Effortless Endurance Self Coaching Course: This is a manual and series of videos broken down into lessons to help teach yourself front crawl. It is a great accompaniment to any lessons and most of our courses and workshops follow the content and progression found in this download. Use the code coachpennywilkin for a 10% discount. From $50

 

 

Coaching and Injury Prevention

Running Assessment and Movement Training: Love running but always injured? Or perhaps you just want to be more efficient and run faster? Then get in touch with the Running School who will do some movement screening, video analysis and teach you to run better than you ever thought you could. From £75.   (Watch this space for lessons in Coventry as we will be training with the Running School in 2018).

Movement screening and injury profiling:  Discover your strength and fitness potential, movement patterns and risk of injury with a Performance Deficit Test at Peak Performance. From £67.50

Yoga Workshop or Course: If you constantly suffer with injury and stiffness but haven’t plucked up the courage to go to a yoga class then why try a taster session, one-to-one lesson or workshop. I love Freedom Yoga With Louise who has worked miracles on my dodgy shoulders in just one lesson a week! Urban Love Warrior also run yoga workshops for runners. From £30.

Training Review: If you or your family member has signed up for a big event next year how about asking a coach to review your current training to find out what you could do to improve. This is a great way to get a taster of triathlon coaching and to discover how a coach could help you without having to sign up to monthly fees. From £60.

Training Peaks Premium Account: An online training diary and data analysis tool is really useful for any serious triathlete especially those who love data. From $90.

General Kit

A month’s swim pass or gym pass. My local swimming pool does monthly passes for only £23.

Elastic laces are a handy little item to help triathletes get through transition quickly and also perfect for anyone who doesn’t like tying shoe laces!!! From £3.99.

Rucksack:  We love these bags with plenty of room and lots of  pockets.  We especially like the wet/dry section to separate wet kit from dry kit, a pocket for your drinks bottle, and some little zip pockets to store valuable things like your locker £1 or open water swim band.

Cycling

Cyclists Phone Wallet:  RidePac is a handy & stylish solution to carry your phone, bank card, money and keys and protect them from the elements. From £32

Waterproof Socks: For winter cycling outdoors it’s always a challenge to keep hands and feet warm. We love all Seal Skins products especially these water proof socks. From £10.

Cycling in Traffic: Have you recently taken up cycling but lack confidence riding on the road or in traffic? Or perhaps you have some cycling experience but want to learn some strategies to keep yourself safe on the road. We believe that even experienced cyclists would benefit from a session to raise their awareness of their current cycling style and how to manage and reduce the risks of busy traffic. Get in touch for more information. From: £30.

Bike Fit: All regular cyclists will enjoy riding their bike. Sometimes this enjoyment can be compromised by niggles such as saddle sores; knee, neck and back pain. A bike fit can really help with this and has also helped me to ride faster and more efficiently. Myself and many YouCanCoaching clients have used Bike Dynamics and The Bike Whisperer both of whom offer great services. From £100.

Learn to Ride:  We specialise in teaching adults how to pedal for the first time. This is a life changing skill that is great fun and open’s up opportunities for fitness, transport, freedom and fun.  Lots of people think they lack the balance to learn and this is simply not true. Anyone can learn to ride a bike at any age with the right teaching and support and we teach a wide range of people who never had the chance to learn to ride as a child. Get in touch for more information. From: £30.

Cadence sensor for the bike: Helps with learning good pedalling technique but is also an essential item for strength training on the bike. An easy add on for a Garmin device is one of these. From £30

Road id If you ride on your own then a Road ID includes all your health details and emergency contact details should you be unlucky enough to have an accident.  From £30

Zwift: Looking for some motivation to get on the indoor bike trainer? Then look no further than Zwift a way to gamify training and race other athletes all around the world in real time. This is my current favourite indoor training device especially watching my better half trying to beat Hans from Austria up the volcano. From £8per month.

Indoor Bike Trainer: The UK is a difficult place for winter cycling due to limited daylight hours. So anyone trying to maintain any kind of fitness will need to be training indoors on a trainer of some sort.  Our dream trainer is a Wahoo Kickr (for when we win the lottery) but we currently make do with a standard turbo connected to Zwift. Another option is to rent a Watt bike for a month.

Keep your drinks cold:  It’s the little things that help….and there’s nothing worse than drinking luke warm water or energy drink! From £15

Garmin: A Garmin is a really useful training device for any swimmer, triathlete or cyclist measuring distance, pace, hear rate, power, strokes and almost any other data you could imagine. The latest devices are Wi-Fi and blue tooth enabled making analysis and download of data extremely easy. We particularly the Garmin Edge 1000 which helps with navigation as well as training. From £300.

Power Meter: Serious cyclists and triathletes love data and the ultimate training tool to help improve performance and track fitness is a power metre. Make sure you check out reviews and advice before buying as there are a wide range of options. From £500.

CO2 Mini pump: A little item for triathletes to carry on race day in case of puncture. This offers the benefit of a pump as well as for use with CO2 gas so covers all possibilities.  From £20

Which of these would make a perfect Christmas present for a friend or family? Let us know what’s missing, and of course get in touch  to buy a present or purchase some gift vouchers.