3 questions with: Timo Bracht - Ironman champion & training expert
Timo Bracht is a former world class triathlete and 9 times Ironman champion. Among a long list of achievements, he has won major races such the Ironman European Championships in Frankfurt in record time, Challenge Roth, or finished 5th in the legendary Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. He is the most successful German long distance triathlete by the amount of victories. Timo is also an experienced coach and training expert with many athletes under his wings; as well as the co-founder of a sports medicine diagnostics center.
We chat with Timo about his career, his advice for a healthy training routine, as well as his predictions on the future of training.
1. AEANCE: Timo, we have known us for a while, growing up in the beautiful Odenwald - a dream training area. We have watched you building an impressive career as world class Ironman champion. For sure there was talent, hard work and dedication involved. But we are curious to know what was your special approach making you so successful?
Timo Bracht: For me it was a long road to success, in the beginning as a young amateur athlete also with a lot of setbacks. To overcome these challenges gave me the confidence and courage to tackle the big goals like winning an Ironman for example. And for sure I did hard and smart work with thousand and thousand of hours training with a great team and family behind me who always believed in me as a person and an athlete.
2. AEANCE: An Ironman victory time is in the area of 8 hours, much longer even for ambitious amateurs. It takes massive time of preparation. For everyone training with a limited time budget included in daily duties, could you share your advice how training should be generally approached, to be effective and healthy for the body on a long term basis? Which role does sleep and nutrition play?
Timo Bracht: This is a good point. In end you must balance your training and living to improve. This means besides training and smart individual training programs you need to focus on regeneration. In an everyday routine you can check daily your nutrition and sleep pattern. Big effects start mostly with small steps. This means make yourself a plan, or take advice, that fits for you in your current situation, and you need a challenging goal that you can reach throughout the next 6-8 months.
Summarized for an amateur athlete the quality and the frequency of the training workouts is the main thing that will change your performance.
Summarized for an amateur athlete the quality and the frequency of the training workouts is the main thing that will change your performance.
3. AEANCE: Can you look into the crystal ball for us please…what will the future of training and health science bring to the life of an amateur athlete?
Timo Bracht: I think we must consolidate all the knowledge around training, nutrition, and material. There are so many opportunities to measure and analyze data and performance, that often people forget how much fun it is to go out for a bike ride with a bunch of good people. To mix the social and healthful components together with innovations and science-based data will be the key. Also the positive impact we have and how we inspire others, because endurance sports is a wonderful thing, made of wonderful people.
