The Fitness Factor
There's something about spring that stirs something in all of us. The days are getting longer, the mornings are lighter, and that dull, grey weight of winter starts to lift. If you've been meaning to do something about your fitness, this is your moment. Not January's forced resolve. Not a new year's promise you've already quietly shelved. This is spring: nature's actual fresh start.
I know, because spring played a role in my own journey. A journey that took me from being three stone overweight to standing on the start line of the Ironman World Championships in Kona. If that sounds like a different universe to where you are right now, good. It felt that way to me too. But it all began with a single decision, and a single book.
Rich Roll's “Finding Ultra” inspired me to set an audacious goal: completing an Ironman, despite having never run more than six miles. What I discovered along the way wasn't just fitness. It was a framework for transformation that applies just as powerfully to business as it does to sport. Here's what I learnt.
1. The Science Gives You Every Reason to Start
Let's start with the numbers, because they're compelling. Your VO2 max, essentially a measure of how fit your body is, is one of the strongest predictors of how long you'll live. Those in the top 10% of fitness for their age group live approximately five years longer than those at the bottom. Five years.
VO2 max naturally declines by around 10% per decade, but here's the critical bit: if you start from a higher baseline, you stay fitter for longer. As Peter Attia puts it in “Outlive,” the goal is to “die young as late as possible.” Spring is the ideal time to start building that baseline.
2. Practice Beats Talent — Every Time
One of the most liberating things I've discovered through endurance sport is this: you don't have to be naturally gifted. You just have to show up consistently and train smart.
The 10,000-hour rule, popularised in Matthew Syed's “Bounce”, tells us that mastery comes from deliberate, structured practice, not innate ability. In fitness terms, this means having a proper training plan and following it. Most people train in what’s known as “zone 3”- a moderate intensity that feels hard enough to feel worthwhile, but isn't producing the results they want. The sweet spot? Spend 80% of your time in “zone 2” (conversational pace, you can still talk) and 20% going all out. It’s counterintuitive, but it works.
3. You Were Born to Move
Christopher McDougall's “Born to Run” changed my relationship with exercise entirely. Humans evolved as distance runners. We can regulate heat better than almost any other animal on the planet; it's why our ancestors could hunt prey to exhaustion across open terrain. When I stopped seeing running as something to be endured and started seeing it as a connection to our evolutionary design, everything shifted. Spring is the perfect backdrop for this. Get outside. Feel the ground under your feet. Let the season do half the work.
4. Find Your Tribe
Research by Daniel Lieberman confirms what most of us sense instinctively: humans are built to be both active and social. When I joined swimming and cycling groups, my performance and enjoyment improved dramatically compared to training alone. I swim faster. I cycle harder. And I actually look forward to it. If you’ve been white-knuckling a solo routine through winter, spring is the perfect time to find a running club, a park fitness group, or a friend who’ll hold you accountable. Community doesn’t just make it more fun- it makes you better.
5. Your Brain Will Quit Before Your Body Does
Alex Hutchinson’s “Endure” makes a fascinating argument: it’s your mind, not your muscles, that reaches its limits first. The classic example is ultramarathon runners who can barely walk at mile 60, yet somehow manage personal bests in the final 10k when the finish line is in sight. Your mind is the gatekeeper. The good news? You can train it. And spring, with its energy and optimism, is your greatest ally in rewriting the mental story you've been telling yourself about what you’re capable of.
6. Sleep Is Where the Magic Happens
Elite Kenyan runners have a saying: “Quiet, I’m getting fit”, and they say it during rest. Recovery isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s where your body actually adapts and improves. Athletes who sleep eight or more hours per night suffer 30% fewer injuries. And here’s a virtuous cycle worth starting: exercise improves sleep quality, and better sleep improves performance. With lighter spring evenings and warmer mornings making early exercise infinitely more appealing, there has never been a better time to build this habit.
7. Small Habits. Massive Results.
James Clear says it best in “Atomic Habits”: “You don’t rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems.” The most powerful thing I’ve done for my fitness isn’t training for an Ironman, it’s building a morning routine that makes exercise the default, not the exception. Lay your kit out the night before. Put your trainers by the door. Make the choice easy before your sleepy brain gets a say. Spring mornings are made for this.
8. Set a Goal That Scares You a Little
When I finished my first Ironman, qualifying for Kona felt like pure fantasy. Yet somehow, I achieved exactly that. There’s something about a specific, ambitious goal that focuses the mind and drives precise action. Mark Beaumont set out to cycle around the world in 80 days and finished in 79. Audacious goals work. So, what’s yours? A 5k? A triathlon? Cycling across the country? Pick something that excites and terrifies you in equal measure, and start moving towards it this spring.
9. Hard Things Build Better People
Spartan Race founder Joe De Sena argues that modern life doesn’t naturally build the mental resilience that previous generations developed through necessity. Physical challenge fills that gap. It builds toughness; not just in your legs, but in your character. The person who crosses the Ironman finish line is simply not the same person who stood nervously at the start. Challenge changes you. And it changes you for the better.
Your Spring Starts Now
Fitness isn’t about the finish line. It’s about who you become in the pursuit of it. And the pursuit doesn’t require a perfect plan, expensive kit, or a lifetime of sporting pedigree. It requires one decision, made today.
Being scared? That’s just excitement in disguise.
What single step will you take today to begin?
If you’re looking for some inspiration for endurance sport, and even business, my latest book ‘The Business of Endurance’ is out now:
The Business of Endurance: Life and Business Lessons from the World of Sport
