MILLY VOICE

I want to dedicate part of my blog to share the stories of great people, who have either inspired me or are doing amazing things in the outdoors world. To kick this off, Henry Ives, founder of H+ performance agreed to chat with me about all things to do with coaching, fitness and what inspires his own active lifestyle, as well as his passion for supporting others in this journey. Henry and I went to school together, and I am not sure either of us imagined how integral Sport would be in our future lives.

20 years ago Henry, when we were both at the same school, I am not sure either of us would have envisaged our lives quite so dominated by Sport in our futures.

I know! If you’d told a 10-12 year old Henry that this is what I’d be doing then I simply wouldn’t have believed you.

What inspired you to begin your own coaching business?

A lot of does actually go back to my school days - if you weren’t naturally good at team sports, then it was just assumed that was how it would be. There was never really ever coaching or investment in the fitness side of things. I think that, had the two elements of skill based sport and skill acquisition for fitness been separated and taught separately, then I’d have found this a lot earlier than I did. But, maybe I wouldn’t feel the same way about it as I do now!

What motivates you to help others reach their fitness goals?

Basically a lot of what I’ve just said I also see in other people - so many people have written themselves off based on their past experiences, when in reality, they’ve never actually been coached properly, and have a lot of untapped potential that they can’t see. The most satisfying thing I do in my coaching is making someone aware of just how much they can do.

Define "Hybrid Fitness" at H+ Performance

Great question, and there are two ways to answer this. The first one is to just explain the term “Hybrid” - which just means “concurrent”. The concept of Hybrid fitness is to develop two types of fitness concurrently (ones that are often seen as detrimental to the other) - like ultra running as well as powerlifting, for example. Traditionally, people wouldn’t see that you could develop both at the same time, and whilst it is a slower process than focussing on one alone, it allows for really varied training so you don’t regress in a particular area.

The other way to think about it is to refuse to set limitations on yourself. Want to to set a PR squat/deadlift and run an ultra in the same day/week? It can be done, and it’s the sense of adventure, achievement and fulfilment that Hybrid training creates that makes it what it is.

Describe an average day running H+ Performance?

I start every day at my desk with a coffee going through all the training logs that have been updated from clients, and messaging/replying any queries on those that need an immediate reply.

Typically I’ll then have maybe a few zoom calls with my clients throughout the morning - I speak to every client either every week or every other week over zoom for 30 mins depending on what we’re working on - going over their training log together, looking ahead to the next week of training, re-arranging things around their diary if needed etc.

I might do a 3/4 calls back to back mid morning, and a few over lunch, and then I set aside the early afternoon for my own training.

When I get back from that I try to focus more on everything else that needs doing, like creating content/planning things for that - I always find that my best ideas happen during training so I get them done on paper afterwards and go from there.

What personal goals are you working towards at the moment?

Personally I’d like to complete a 100 miler and raise some money in the process for the Charlie Watkins Foundation. I’d planned to set a Powerlifting Total (Squat/Bench Press/Deadlift) for the same week but things are a bit up in the air at the moment as I’ve managed to hurt my shoulders after falling over on a run…!

(Update: Since the interview, Henry has made a great recovery and the race is on!)

How do you deal with setbacks (changes of plan, expectations, injury etc)?

I’ve always maintained that you can work around most injuries, so despite the shoulder issues which are ongoing, I’ve still kept up the same frequency of gym sessions, even if it just becomes a bit of a modified, natural deload using mostly machines for a bit. I took a few days off running but then subbed in the X - Trainer for the same amount of time that I would have done had I run. It’s just about finding a way.

Is coaching just an "athletes game"?

Hell no. Coaching is just about giving someone the tools to do something that is most appropriate for where they are at, in a way that they find most enjoyable and suits their lifestyle. I’m more interested in the psychographic of the people I coach - if they have a will to try to do something that they previously thought was unachievable for them, they’ll have my full backing. I don’t care whether they’re an “athlete” or not.

What would you like to achieve both personally and professionally by the end of the year?

The 100 Miler would be satisfying. Over the last few years I’ve really got into the idea of how cool it is to be able to get from A to B on your just your own two feet. Can’t explain it, but maybe you can relate, Milly?!

(yes, yes I can)

Professionally I’ve got a few interesting projects with clients, one of which we’ve just ticked off - which was for my client Jayme to be able to lift the Dinnie Stones up in Scotland - it’s a basically two stones with a combined weight of 332kg/730lbs which you deadlift. We had a tight turn around to train for this after his first ultramarathon a few weeks ago - but, because we never really stopped strength training throughout his ultra prep, it wasn’t too much of an issue. A good demonstration of how versatile Hybrid training can make your training calendar right there.

A few other clients have various special selection courses in different countries that they are training for, but I can’t really talk about those!

It was great catching up with Henry, and a reminder of the power of coaching, both mentally and physically in support of an active lifestyle and pursuing fitness endeavours. More info on H+ performance can be found here.