The triathlon coach who brings a new meaning to personal training

Rob Popper, 48, isn’t your average triathlon coach. Firstly, he’s one of only 28 British Triathlon Federation level 3 performance coaches in the UK. Secondly, he’s just as interested in his clients’ love lives as their training schedule. And thirdly, he’s busy shaking up the London triathlon scene with his all-new members’ club.

“I’m used to coaching people who do a little bit here and a little bit there, there and there,” Popper explains. “They spend as much time travelling to training as they do actually training, and each different place they go for their training, they’re getting advice from different people. So I thought: how can I unify that? Without contradicting what someone else is saying, and without confusing people.”

The answer is his brainchild, Triathlon House, developed along with his business partner, interior designer Gabriela Salazar. At the moment, the emphasis is on the coaching, which takes place in an endless pool (a small space where the swimmer works against the current) near London’s Paddington, and then, for the running and cycling part, five minutes away in Hyde Park.

The long-term idea is a big one indeed: Tri House aims to become a home away from home for time-short, cash-rich triathletes who want to eat, sleep and breathe the sport. The ethos will be just as much about refuelling and relaxing as it is about dripping with sweat on a bike or practising stroke technique in the pool. And yes, you guessed it, this kind of thing ain’t cheap – with one-on-one sessions starting at £80 and including luxury shower facilities as well as access to trainers who Popper insists will “all be singing from my hymn sheet” – ie his system, “Total Triathlon Training”.

In the triathlon world, though, that kind of pricing is standard, and certainly won’t surprise the average triathlete, who is used to spending a huge wad of cash on a new set of wheels for their bike or the latest activity-tracking gadget. Arguably, this money will be far better spent, targeting lifestyle over flash kit.

“Sometimes I end up being more like a friend or therapist than a coach to my clients,” Popper admits.

So if you’re a private person who’d rather not discuss your marriage and family life, your darkest fears or how stressful you find certain aspects of your job, perhaps Popper isn’t the coach for you. But if you really want to get the most out of your body and your life, not to mention race faster and reduce the risk of injury, then it might be worth talking.

“I always ask why,” says Popper: “So if someone gets cramp in the pool, for example, I’ll ask: ‘Did you go for a run today? Did you stretch much after that run? Have you spent a lot of time on the bike? When was the last time you ate? What’s in your water bottle? Did you warm up when you got in the pool or did you start just banging lengths out in a senseless kind of way?’ Because whatever mistakes you made that got you to this point, if we go look back a little, we can learn a bit about your day and make some better decisions in the future.”

One of those “better decisions” is often to choose to rest rather than train again, says Popper, though he freely admits this isn’t always an easy thing to drum into clients (usually between 35 and 50 and around 60% male), who, he says, “tend to be the sorts of people who are already overdoing it on a daily basis”. (WARNING: If you’re reading this and thinking how wonderful it would be to have a coach that says you need to rest more, you probably don’t need that kind of coach at all.)

Ultimately, it’s all about finding a balance, Popper explains: “There’s always that moment of when you’ve bonked and hit the wall and run out of steam. I think those moments are to be embraced as much as the moments of putting your feet up on the couch and treating yourself to whatever you treat yourself to after a tough workout.”

Tri House’s new private tri-training space is located downstairs at the Heavenly Spa in Paddington, W2, with more locations opening soon. Contact: [email protected].

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