Last time I checked into a Bexters blog, I was more or less lamenting at the state of competitive sport under new COVID lockdowns, but I was also at ease with the lack of training structure that the uncertainty provided. A lot has changed since then as the waves of the pandemic have eased or worsened, and we might definitely be in a ‘new normal’, but here I am in race week for only the 2nd full distance Ironman to take place in 2020, and first Ironman race post-global lockdowns. I honestly thought this week would never come, racing seemed...

COVID-19 has disrupted life as we know it, including the sports and athletic lifestyle we love. As a professional triathlete, I’m out of work for the time being. Events have been cancelled and training has become difficult, both practically and emotionally. As it became obvious how serious this pandemic was and continues to be, and events for the foreseeable future were called off, my motivation to train fell flat. Swimming pools were closed, squad environments banned; for some only safe and permitted options are indoor trainer and treadmill sessions. Fortunately in Australia, we can still move around outside pretty freely,...

I’ve given myself 5 weeks rest in between races. 4 weeks ago, I raced 70.3 World Champs in Nice, and in one week, I’ll start the Ironman World Champs in Kona Hawaii. By rest though, I don’t really mean actual rest. What I mean to say is, it’s a period where I train the hardest, I have all year to get ready for the toughest competition of the year. The rest past just means there’s no racing. Let’s label that ‘triathlete speak’… Nice was a great race. I bet there wouldn’t be one athlete there that would say otherwise. My...

The Warm up It’s been a funny season thus far. A good season, yet not a perfect one. 2x podiums in competitive 70.3 races, 2x short course podiums. No wins yet, though the opportunity for those remains. I had planned for more races, but all those plans were beset by little interruptions. I had more of those challenges leading into Ironman Vitoria as well. Aside from a race win, one goal that had been left unsatisfied was a Kona qualification. My first attempt fell just short in April’s Ironman South Africa. I was 7th, and the first athlete to finish...

In this blog our ambassador Levi Maxwell gives the travelling athlete some sound, helpful tips on how to make sure your next destination race is stressfree, leaving you to focus on your performance.... Flying to races.  It’s may sound simple but having to fly to a race, particularly overseas can be overwhelming for the OCD personality of most triathletes who like structure and normality. This obsession to have “all your ducks in a row” can be very difficult when travelling as quite often most, if not all of the trip is out of your control, causing stress which potentially could...

Magnesium is a highly valuable mineral source within our bodies, responsible for maintaining healthy nerve and muscle functions. While we may not always be aware of the benefits resulting from magnesium in our bodies, a deficiency is far more noticeable and can lead to many debilitating health conditions, such as: Fatigue Significant mood changes Muscle spasms Nausea and vomiting Abnormal heart rhythms  Are you at Risk of Hypomagnesemia? More commonly referred to simply as “Low Magnesium”, Hypomagnesemia is an electrolyte imbalance within the body and can often be identified by low levels of magnesium in the blood. The normal adult...

2017 Ironman Cairns was a turning point in my career.  I won the race in a course record time, and became an Ironman Champion in my rookie season at the distance. It marked a successful arrival to the Ironman racing, a transition which doesn’t often come easy to a lot of athletes. Ironman is a very daunting thing. Whether you’re experienced or not, we still all have anxieties surrounding how the day might unfold. Will it be a perfect race? What happens if something goes wrong? What about my competition? Did I do enough training? There’s a lot of questions,...

From Wimbledon to the Australian Open, tennis has captivated audiences from around the world for more than a century – enticing spectators with a line-up of unforgettable, nail-biting matches. In Australia, we love our sports, and tennis is no exception. Making its mark as a social sport, the continued popularity of tennis has also seen a jump in the numbers of competitive players around the country. Drawn in by the high-energy of professionals we spectate so passionately on television, more than 960, 000 Australian’s are now proud to call themselves tennis players. While it’s clear to see our country has...

AFL or ‘Footy’ is regarded as one of the toughest and most gruelling sports involving human endurance and physicality going around. On average, a player will run a total of 14km per game with some midfielders racking up as much as 18-19km per game. With tackling, kicking, sprinting and competing for the ball, footy certainly is tough on the body! Most sports require some level of fitness which is broken down into several components and are essential in order to successfully contend at the sports’ high level of competitiveness. Footy for instance has eleven such components with speed, aerobic power,...

After months and months of training, it can be easy to take for granted that by race day, everything is in hand and will just happen. But the reality is, especially for endurance events, that race day is something you only do a few times a year and is nothing like training. You can become complacent and miss important aspects that will make or break your day. So to avoid that, writing out a race day plan should be just as important as getting through your training load. I start writing mine roughly 3-4 weeks out from race day and then review...

What is Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)? According to Arthritis Australia, RA is an autoimmune disease which can cause pain and swelling in joints. The usual function of our immune system is to fight off infections thereby keeping the body healthy, but in the case of RA, the immune system begins to attack the lining of joints. How RA affects the Joints? When our immune system begins to attack the lining of the joint it essentially is stripping away healthy tissue which acts to safeguard your joints, much like cartilage helps to protect your bones from rubbing against each other. Joints can...

The 2019 season is about to kick off, though I can’t much contemplate this unless I talk about how the 2018 season finished. It finished on the Queen Ka’ahumanu highway at kilometre 18 during the marathon of the Ironman World Championships. I was brought to a stop by an ongoing injury to my ITB, which had seen me withdraw from my previous two races, and now, from the biggest race of the year. It  was a devastating moment, but something that I had more or less prepared for mentally the two months leading in. I raced Ironman Frankfurt in July,...

What is Tennis Elbow? Tennis elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis) is a common affliction that many racquet playing and general sportspeople encounter due to overuse or injury. By some accounts, up to 40% of tennis players alone suffer tennis elbow. Tennis elbow however is not only attributed to the sport of tennis but rather any sport or activity that sees repetitive motions of the wrist and forearm. This could be other racquet sports such as squash or badminton as well as throwing sports like javelin or discus and even daily activities like gardening or playing the violin! Basically, any time you are...

A new year brings new goals and resolutions! Maybe you’re a competitive cyclists or marathoner who’s looking to take the next challenging step in your competitive sporting career. Here are 5 great tips from Michelle Cooper to help make the leap into Triathlon. Start straight away! Before you know it, you’ll be saying goodbye to January and Hello to February so don’t delay your training. The best thing you can do is signup to your first Olympic distance triathlon which will give you something to work towards. Here is a useful tool from Triathlon Australia to find all the upcoming...

What is inflammation Inflammation is a common affliction that many people must face on a daily basis. Understanding why and how inflammation comes about cannot only help combat the condition but also help to prevent it. Simply put, Inflammation is an early defence mechanism that protects the body from infection, disease and tissue damage. Inflammation can occur from sporting injuries to arthritis as well as several inflammatory diseases including Lupus, Coeliac Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Rheumatic Fever. In most cases, inflammation is in the form of; - Redness & heat localised to a certain joint or muscle - Swelling or...

The holiday season is just around the corner which usually means excessive eating and drinking with family and friends which after all is what Christmas is all about! For a lot of us, we rely and thrive on routine to guide us towards our fitness and training goals which unfortunately can become hindered during the holidays which is why we thought it would be appropriate to provide some helpful tips to keep you fit over the Christmas break! Having spent several years training and competing in various triathlon events across the globe, Michelle Cooper knows a thing or two about...

You couldn't say she hasn't deserved it!  Being relatively new to the sport of triathlon, this incredible woman has gone on to compete in various high profile events all over the world as well as represent her country. In the process she also started her own triathlon club - SBR Triathlon - and quickly rose through the ranks of triathlon Queensland and Australia. Of course we're talking about none other than Michelle Cooper! Find out what the future holds for the sport of Triathlon with it's first ever female president at the helm! What does being president of the Australian Triathlon...

Josh Amberger is in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii for his second appearance at this weekend's renowned IRONMAN World Championship. After an encouraging performance last year filled with trials, tribulations and plenty of learnings, we decided to get a firsthand insight into his lead up this year around! “Kona is a different beast. The race is so massive, and there's such an industry behind it that it's very demanding on all fronts. It's a World Championship, so you have to prepare for it as such, and look after yourself and prepare as best you can because you're going to war with the best athletes...

Triathlon is unique in many ways, not the least of which is that there are three spots in one! But more importantly in my view is its fully integrated racing approach where age groupers (otherwise known as amateurs or masters in some sports) race alongside professionals. Wearing the green and gold is a huge achievement for anyone in sport and as a country we are crazy passionate about our heroes who achieve this feat. Fortunately, there are around 500 everyday heroes every year who get to wear the green and gold in triathlon and you can too. Here’s how. Every...

The IRONMAN 70.3 Asia Pacific Championship in Cebu Philippines would have seen Josh Amberger as one of the race favourites but an injury unfortunately saw him pulling out of the event. As with any sport, injuries play a big role in an athlete’s career. Adversity and perseverance are familiar words that sportspeople often deal with which is why we wanted to uncover how Josh Amberger takes injury in his stride. The Injury and Recovery I had a mild case of ITB (Iliotibial Band) syndrome (aka runner's knee), which is when the long thin band of fascia that stretches from your...

Michelle Cooper isn’t your house hold name – yet. From humble beginnings, Michelle has risen through the ranks to become one of Triathlons most revered women as an athlete, coach, club founder, motivational speaker and ambassador. Funny enough, this wasn’t always the case with triathlons being a relatively new addition to Michelle’s everyday life. With a sporting background in ballet and tennis and careers in retail, horticulture, marketing and communications, Michelle isn’t exactly one to lay about doing nothing! As the September issue of AusTri Mag reveals, Michelle’s foray into triathlons came in early 2011 when her husband David, a...

Magnesium is an abundant and essential mineral used by our bodies. In fact, Magnesium is used in over 600 daily enzymatic bodily reactions that include1; Energy Metabolism - Food being converted to energy Protein Formation – Create new protein from amino acids, important for tissue repair Muscle Movement – Assisting with the contraction and relaxation of muscles Nervous System Regulation – Regulate neurotransmitters  Other benefits also include1; Lower Blood Pressure Anti-Inflammatory Benefits Improving Mood Assisting Blood Sugar Levels Help Prevent Migraines  Magnesium is absorbed from an abundance of foods ranging from spinach, nuts and legumes to cacao, avocados and rice...

“Capitalizing On Your Strengths. Continue to Search for Improvements.”  Ironman Frankfurt, 2018 with Josh Amberger I was in a unique position going into the event having already gained enough points for Kona qualification with my 2nd place in Ironman South Africa back in April. I wanted to use this to my advantage in two ways; by being able to race without worrying about the points 'distraction', and also to pick the best field possible to get more experience at the long and certainly not easy to master Ironman distance. That's how I landed in Frankfurt. Being the European Championships, it's...

Let’s set the scene. You’ve just started a new role, slowly fitting in with everyone in the office and settling into work when your boss walks in. Naturally, you’re a bit nervous, your mind starts racing with worry… “did I forget to give him a report? Did I park in his car spot again? Or worse, is this his coffee mug I’m drinking out of?!” You manage a confused smile followed by the usual morning niceties before suddenly being ambushed with the dreaded declaration that you’re needed for teambuilding and that you’re being entered into a corporate Triathlon. Damnit…. you...

Voted the 2nd best IRONMAN race venue, as well as the best IRONMAN run course in the world, it’s no wonder that the IRONMAN African Championship is one of the most revered and daunting events on a triathlete’s calendar. Cue Josh Amberger, who in 2017 took it upon himself to take the step-up from the 70.3 race format and start competing in the full distance IRONMAN’s. As if the leap from 70.3 to IRONMAN wasn’t enough, Josh decided that the African Champs in Port Elizabeth was the race to debut in.  Leading the pack after the swim leg, a fairy-tale...