Happy Easter Everyone! What a week across the board, let's get into it! David has just wrapped up his first week back on the marathon program. Welcome back to the grind, David, the hardest week is always the first one, and you've ticked it off! 💪 @Damien Brown is back into the run:walk program and is embracing every phase ahead. Love the attitude, Damo, the process works when you trust it! 🌴 Cairns Cohort 🌴are ticking along beautifully. Jessie just completed her first week of Ironman volume while managing work commitments, and she absolutely nailed it. That kind of week builds more than fitness; it builds belief. @Shelby Rochford is settling into her new job and finding her rhythm again with training volume, and she even took herself to swim squad this week! 🙌 That kind of self-motivation is everything. @Gaby Stevens is on fire 🔥 her premium Infinit mix is delivering some serious results on her long bike days. When nutrition and training align, magic happens! 🌴 70.3 Cairns 🌴 @Kate Hungerford is mastering the juggle between family life and training demands, showing up every single week with everything she's got. We've worked some Synergy magic ✨ on her schedule and she's rolling. @Janelle Harding is well into her 70.3 build and is striking a brilliant balance between trainer rides and outdoor sessions. Looking strong, Nell! Ultraman World 🌎 @Tab Draper is an absolute machine. We've been fitting in some serious sessions — all around Easter and camping trips — and she even had @Janelle Harding out there supporting her. One massive week to go, Tabatha. You've got this. 🙌 @Roscoe Dray and @Nestor Ochoa Rivera are ticking along down south — congratulations to @Roscoe Dray on a huge open water swim set, what an effort! Hopefully the lads can link up with @Gaby Stevens this week and hit some hills together. 🏔️

Another big week across the Synergy community and it is clear the momentum is building across all groups. Training volume is increasing, standards are rising and most importantly, athletes are continuing to show up. Remember: Time Management × Habit Formation = Consistency This is the phase where consistency matters most. Community Welcome 👋 A big welcome back to David, who is now on the home stretch towards the Gold Coast Marathon. His first marathon with Synergy was a sub 3 in Sydney, and we are excited to see what this next build produces. Also a warm welcome to @Brianna Sannwald who has joined the Skool community as she prepares for her first Half Marathon later this year. And welcome back to @Ben Shepherd who shook off the cobwebs at Geelong 70.3 with a killer race. Great to see you back out there. Community matters! Jump in, connect and support each other. Athlete Achievement 🎉 A standout performance this week. @Janelle Harding had an incredible 10 km run at Run Army on Sunday, running at paces that exceeded her current expectations. More importantly, she is enjoying the process, which is where the real progress happens. That is the Synergy Magic ✨ Cairns Collective 🌴 The Cairns group is now well and truly into build phase. • Long rides approaching 5 hours • Swims pushing well over 3 km • Long runs increasing in both duration and demand You are all handling the volume beautifully. Now the focus shifts: ✅ Test your nutrition. Test your recovery. On the bike, nutrition is relatively simple — it’s in a bottle. But on the run? This is where athletes come undone. Start asking yourself: • What will I carry? • Flasks? Gels? • What sits well at pace? • What works when fatigued? Do not leave this until race day! Ultraman World 🌎 This is the grind phase Ultraman training is well and truly ramping. Between @Tab Draper @Nestor Ochoa Rivera @Roscoe Dray and myself, we are now consistently hitting 28–30+ hour weeks.

You’ve put your hand up for an incredible adventure! And I'm here to support you every step of the way. There’s no pressure, no expectation of perfection, and no comparison. Just progress, connection, and curiosity. How we’ll roll — the Synergy Pillars: 💚 Time Management Mastery Learning to make training fit into your life — not the other way around. 💙 Habit Formation Small actions, repeated consistently, build the athlete you want to become. 🥗 Nutrition Literacy Fuelling smart so your training, recovery, and energy feel supported (not stressed). ⚖️ Work–Life Balance Because you’re more than an athlete, and every part of your life matters. What this group is for ✔️ A shared place to connect, ask, learn, and celebrate ✔️ Guidance, gentle accountability, and real conversation ✔️ Understanding how to move through a long Ironman build with confidence and calm ✔️ Remembering you’re not doing this alone Your first action (optional) Introduce yourself with: 1️⃣ Your ‘why’ for choosing Cairns 2️⃣ One habit you’d like to strengthen 3️⃣ Something you’re looking forward to in the journey, big or small. Ironman is simply the milestone we’ll arrive at together. The real growth happens between now and race day one session, one decision, one week at a time. Welcome in. We’re glad you’re here 🌴💚 Coach E. xxx

I shared this on Instagram, but I want the context to live here. This wasn’t about perfection, restriction, or doing more. It was about applying well-established principles consistently and letting time do the work. Here’s the list in full — with the why. 1️⃣ Black coffee Liquid calories add energy without much satiety, and people don’t reliably compensate for them later in the day. Swapping milk-based coffees for black coffee is one of the simplest ways to reduce daily energy intake without touching food or hunger. This isn’t dieting, it’s just removing calories that weren’t pulling their weight. 2️⃣ Reformer or some form of strength work This isn’t about burning calories. Resistance-based training supports: lean mass retention metabolic health long-term body composition changes Adding reformer or strength into the week is about what weight loss is made of, not just what the scale does. 3️⃣ More fibre Higher-fibre diets are consistently associated with: improved satiety better appetite regulation lower overall energy intake over time Not because fibre is magic, but because meals that contain fibre are simply harder to overeat. This is about making eating easier, not stricter. 4️⃣ High protein Protein intakes around 1.8–2.2 g/kg/day are well supported in the literature for: lean mass retention satiety supporting body composition changes during a calorie deficit This stayed consistent the entire time. Fat loss without protecting muscle is not the goal here. 5️⃣ Creatine monohydrate Creatine is one of the most researched supplements we have. It supports: strength and power output lean mass retention training quality This is about performance and muscle, not fat loss directly, but it matters if you care about how your body adapts. 6️⃣ Strategic swaps (example: powdered peanut butter) This isn’t “fat is bad”. Peanut butter is nutritious and very calorie dense. Using powdered peanut butter occasionally keeps the flavour while reducing energy intake when the calories aren’t adding value.

Hi! Just thought I would give you a visual representation of what Time Boxing looks like when you are trying to manage the time your have in your week. HOT TIP 🔥 treat your training sessions like important meetings. Give them a time slot that you can't miss. What tips do you have or what techniques do you use for time management while training? Let's open up a discussion here and share Erica.