Pooja Srinivas is a triathlete who not long ago did not even know how to ride a bike without falling off it with alarming regularity. But with her sheer determination and passion for the sport, she kept working on her skills and strength on and off the bike until earlier this year she made it to the top step of the podium on the BBCH Individual Time Trial Women's podium ahead of much younger and experienced riders.

In this episode she shares her journey in sport and her learnings so far!

This episode covers:

Intro

Starting working out to lose post pregnancy weight

Why don't you do a triathlon?

Weight loss journey learnings

Metabolic rate and calorie requirements for the day

Learning swimming from Nisha Millet's Academy and swim podium

Running with Neera and improving

Sprint Triathlon in Thonnur- Crashing and running onto the podium

Falling off the bike regularly and getting help with bike handling

Successful Turkey 70.3 event despite bike scare!

DNF in Zurich Olympic distance triathlon

Bunny hopping, winning and losing with grace like Naveen John

Indian Nationals experience

Winning the dream race!

Tips for working athletes

Some Links Below:

Working Athlete Community on FB.

Link to Anchor Voice messages

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working full-time/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

A bit about myself:

I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community.

Sujay Shalawadi is a Bengaluru boy currently working in Germany as a doctorate candidate in computing. He is one of the fastest triathletes of Indian origin with a timing of 4hrs:19mins for a 70.3 event. It is the fastest time for that event by an Indian. A humble and down to earth guy, he made his the way to many age group podiums in running and triathlon through his consistent hard work. He is a romantic at heart and a nice poet too.

In this episode he shares his journey in sport and his learnings as a working athlete!

This episode covers:

Intro

What his work as a doctorate candidate involves

Falling into a tank and the beginning of swimming journey

Getting into running through Skyscraper dash and initial events.

Training with pacemakers and improving from 47min 10k to 39min 10k.

Hyderabad Half Marathon

Getting started in Triathlon with Tonnur Tri

First 70.3 Malaysia experience and learnings from it

Getting a Triathlon coach and how it helped him

His best 70.3 event so far!

Turkey 70.3 mishap and how he dealt with it!

Over-reaching vs Over-training; Is More always better?

Race day nutrition and hydration for his 70.3 events

Racing vs Training nutrition and hydration.

Next target, Full distance Ironman.

Tips for working athletes

Some Links Below:

Working Athlete Community on FB.

Link to Anchor Voice messages

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working full-time/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

A bit about myself:

I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community.

Divij Shah represented his school and college in swimming, basketball, tug-of-war and dancing. He represented West Bengal in under 16 Cricket. He did all this with only his left hand. He lives by the principle, "It does not matter what you don't have. What matters is what you have and what you do with what you have".  He represented India in Asian para cycling championships and got home 3 silver medals. His quest for Gold is still on and I'm sure he'll get it soon.

In this episode he shares his journey in sport and his learnings as a para athlete!

This episode covers:

Intro

Early start with Cricket and swimming!

Losing the right hand at 4 and Dad being a driving force!

Adapting to and learning different sports with one hand

First job and picking up a bike for commute.

Getting his first hybrid bike and joining group rides

Doing super randonneur series, 200k,300k,400k, and 600k rides

First race experience at BBCH and thinking of para cycling

Dreams of representing India at para cycling

Aditya Mehta Foundation's work

First time of representing India in cycling at Asian Para Championships!

How the first time at Asian champs change his perspective

Improving further and bringing two more silver medals

Future events in Corona times.

Modifying equipment to fit one handed riding

Managing full time job and training to represent India

Living and training in Indonesia

Tips for working athletes

Some Links Below:

Working Athlete Community on FB.

Link to Anchor Voice messages

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working full-time/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

A bit about myself:

I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community

If there is ever going to be an Mountain biking hall of fame for India, Kiran Kumar Raju is sure to figure prominently in that. He is a multiple time National champion in cross country mountain biking. But, his journey to the top of the sport is anything but a straight line and is amazingly inspirational. With his hard work and success, he has inspired many youngsters to take up mountain biking as a sport and look to do well competitively.

In this episode he shares his journey in MTB landscape in India !

This episode covers:

Intro

Late start in sport through running in College!

Sport positively effecting studies and life!

Starting work and starting to commute by cycle

2011 BBCH Nandi Hills Race

Part of  Specialized KYNKYNY Development team in 2012

Drama before joining SKCT MTB program

Winning MTB Shimla in dramatic fashion

Nandi Race progression to top of podium

2014 -Deciding to give up the job and taking up cycling fulltime

Coaching with Naveen John and winning the first Gold at MTB ITT Nats

Gold and Bronze at Nats and then having doubts.

Finding support of the cycling community and TREK

Getting married in 2017 and becoming a dad in 2018

Staying the course and performing at the Nats - 9 medals in total

Future plans in the sport- Mentoring the youth!

Tour of Nilgiris as a volunteer and as a rider!

Tips for working athletes

Some Links Below:

Working Athlete Community on FB.

Link to Anchor Voice messages

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working full-time/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

A bit about myself:

I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community.

Today's guest, Chenthil Mohan had a great impact on the sport of cycling in India. Years ago, he left a plush corporate job to pursue his passion for photography. Wedding photography, product photography, sports photography, you name it and he has done it. It is through his sports photography that he had most impact on the cycling landscape in India. Over the years we have been fortunate to follow various events like Indian Cycling Nationals through his amazing pictures. Following in his footsteps we see many more taking up sports photography which is great for the sport. Through his pictures he has been inspiring many around the country towards cycling including himself. He now cycles and runs to keep fit for life and for his photography gigs.

In this episode he shares his journey in endurance and as a photographer!

This episode covers:

0:00:00  Intro

0:03:30  Che's Print Sale

0:05:45  Photography roots- how it started!

0:08:02  Moving away from Corporate job and taking up photography profession

0:13:18  Getting into sports photography

0:19:45  Tour of Nilgiris 2011 - first sports event

0:22:20  TFN as a rider

0:33:40  Covering Indian Cycling Nationals

0:51:40  Covering international events-World Championships, Belgium, PBP etc

1:04:28  Building endurance for staying fit for work

1:07:45  Importance of working on Mental health

1:12:35   Tips for working athletes

Chenthil's Instagram handle for following his work and for print sale: @chenthilmohan

Some Links Below:

Working Athlete Community on FB.

Link to Anchor Voice messages

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working full-time/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

Today's guest, Vivek Radhakrishnan is one of the pioneers of Bangalore cycling and the Indian cycling. He was the founder of the first professional cycling teams in India. To this day, it has been impossible to replicate the model and the success of that team. He is one of the strongest masters riders we have in the country.

In this episode he shares his journey in endurance as he donned many hats as son, a husband, a doting dad, a designer, a business owner, a cycling team founder, a plant based evangelist, a kick-ass master's rider and a lecturer over the years. We get into how he has excelled in all of them!

This episode covers:

Intro

Happy Healthy Me Superfoods!

Initial days of cycling - The real falling in love

Touring through India in 1994!

Touring through Europe 1997

As a Bicycle messenger in Holland

Getting big in the US and coming to India

Start of Bangalore bicycling championships

Ambitions of putting India on the world cycling map!

Specialized and the birth of Specialized KYNKYNY Cycling Team(SKCT)

Hard work that laid the foundation for future!

The impact Naveen John had on SKCT and the sport.

2014 Indian Cycling Nationals

International events - Tour of friendship in Thailand etc

SKCT at Tour of Nilgiris

What keeps him going - consistency with nutrition

Plant based nutrition - How it helped him

Tips for working athletes

Some Links Below:

Working Athlete Community on FB.

Link to Anchor Voice messages

Nutrition and strength program Akshay mentioned in the episode Kenzai.

Book recommendation: Endure by Alex Hutchinson

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working full-time/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

Today's guest, Rajendra Bhaskar is a cyclist who represented his state at the Nationals. He is a strong triathlete who has a sub 5hr half ironman to his name. He is an engineer from IIT Bombay and an MBA graduate in Banking and Finance from Bangor Unviersity in the UK. He is an investment banker living in London and the cofounder of the Indian e-Sports Racing Team(ISRT).

In this episode he shares his journey in endurance running and cycling and what keeps him going despite a busy schedule.

This episode covers:

0:00:00  Intro

0:02:15  Indian e-Sports Racing Team(ISRT)

0:07:45  Getting started early in sports

0:10:10  Weight loss journey while in IIT Bombay

0:12:10  Cycling Nationals experience

0:14:10  Sun-Pedal Ride and Tour of Nilgiris experience

0:20:45  Getting into Triathlon and 70.3 experience

0:29:10  Indoor riding vs Outdoor riding and racing!

0:41:05  Staving off boredom while riding indoors!

0:44:20  Favorite places to ride in!

0:49:10  Managing time with Indoor training!

0:52:10  Tips for working athletes

Some Links Below:

Working Athlete Community on FB.

Link to Anchor Voice messages

Nutrition and strength program Akshay mentioned in the episode Kenzai.

Book recommendation: Endure by Alex Hutchinson

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working full-time/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

A bit about myself:

I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community.

Today's guest, Dr. Kaustubh Radkar is a Doctor in sports and exercise physiology, 25 time full Ironman finisher across 6 continents, Ironman Kona finisher, Ultraman, a Boston qualified marathoner, Ultra marathoner, and an Ironman certified triathlon coach. As a relentless athlete and a coach, he is an inspiration and a guiding force to many athletes across the length and breath of the country.

In this episode he shares his endurance journey, his vision with Radstrong coaching and his learnings during his 25 Ironman finishes and more.

This episode covers:

0:00:00  Intro

0:03:20  Radstrong Coaching Philosophy

0:04:45  An early start in swimming

0:08:05  Transitioning into triathlon

0:10:00  Moving to the US for studies and sports

0:15:36  Some of the lessons learnt as sport

0:18:10  RadRx and RadStrong - moving to fulltime coaching!

0:23:30  First Ironman experience!

0:24:25  Ironman Kona experience! Overcoming difficulties!

0:28:30  Mental training - the 5th discipline!

0:33:10  Patience to hold back when things are going great!

0:35:30  DNFs and how to deal with disappointments with empathy!

0:40:00  Race day nutrition for Ironmans!

0:42:30  Tips for working athletes

Some Links Below:

Working Athlete Community on FB.

Link to Anchor Voice messages

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working full-time/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

A bit about myself:

I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community.

Today's guest, Lokesh Jain is a HR professional and one of the regulars in the Bangalore brevet and racing communities today. He regularly rides 100s of kms at a stretch as part of brevets and races. But, not too long ago, he was struggling to even climb a flight of stairs.

In this episode he shares his 20kg weight loss and fitness journey along with his learnings so far as a working athlete.

This episode covers:

0:00:00  Intro

0:03:20  Talk about cycling

0:06:45  Almost a 100kilos

0:09:05  What prompted to look at weight loss?

0:12:20  Initial days in cycling

0:15:36  What helped most in weight loss?

0:18:20  Getting off the plateau!

0:23:30  Calorie deficit and fueling for the workout!

0:28:25  Benefits he saw with vegan diet

0:32:30  What helped to stay on course with weight loss!

0:39:10  Why crash diets don't work

0:41:10  Changes in cycling over the years

0:50:40  Team BROS - Surrounding ourselves with likeminded people!

0:54:30  Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

0:57:35  Tips for working athletes

Some Links Below:

Working Athlete Community on FB.

Link to Anchor Voice messages

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working full-time/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

A bit about myself:

I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community.

Keerthana Swaminathan is a psychology graduate from Women's Christian College in Chennai who specialized in Sports and Exercise psychology from Loughborough University in the UK. She helps a lot of young athletes from various sports with their mental health and mental strength so that they can perform at their best in their sport. She herself is a runner and a cyclist.

In this episode she shares Think.Train.Perform philosophy and how athletes can work with their mental health and mental strength to do well at their sport and life.

This episode covers:

0:00:00  Intro

0:02:45  ThinkTrainPerform

0:04:00  What is mental health?

0:05:35  Awareness and understanding the triggers

0:08:25  Tools for awareness and introspection - Journaling

0:10:00  Qualities that define mental strength

0:13:50  The dreaded FTP test? How can you deal with anxiety?

0:19:20  How to deal with being overwhelmed by hard workouts?

0:30:00  Dealing with big pre-race jitters.

0:35:30  Managing expections and controling the controllables

0:38:45  Dealing with failures/disappointments - Analysing it and giving it time

0:44:45  Self pity vs Self empathy

0:47:30  How the pandemic situation affected people

0:51:45  How to deal with dips in motivation dips

0:57:35  Tips for working athletes

Some Links Below:

Working Athlete Community on FB.

Link to Anchor Voice messages

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working full-time/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

A bit about myself:

I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community.