In this episode, we talk with Vidya Chandran from Bangalore!

Vidya started out with running as she was entering her 40s to stay fit. While participating in Thonnur Triathlon soon after, she discovered that she enjoyed cycling more than running and struck to cycling from then on. A mother to two teenage daughters and a working athlete, she started an exclusive cycling club for women called SpokesWomen. She encourages women from all walks of life feel safe to ride outdoors with her club group rides and events.

In this episode she shares her journey in cycling, how SpokesWomen came into existence, how she manages her corporate career, family and sport while helping other women take up sport.

This episode covers:

0:00:00  Intro

0:03:08  Mid-life crisis? Start of running and triathlons

0:05:15  Two friends who influenced her riding most

0:07:10  Bangalore to Kanyakumari ride

0:11:05  Brevets and Super Randonneur series

0:14:10  K2K-Kutch(Gujarat) to Kamrup(Assam) - A 3200km ride

0:23:20  Tour of Goa experience

0:26:00  Is racing fun?

0:30:45  26 century rides in a month

0:37:20  SpokesWomen - How it started

0:45:30  SpokesWomen - Race Kare?

0:48:20  Are the racing cyclists snobs?

0:53:15  Kids getting into sport

0:56:45  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.

In this episode, we talk with Ankita Gaur, a marathon runner living and working in Bangalore!

Ankita has always been active in sports as a kid but an accident in college while cycling resulted in her being bedridden, depressed and gaining weight. Once she was able to walk again, she got back to swimming and took up running when Delhi winters made swimming impossible. With the help of her then friend and now husband, Ratan, she trained and finished her first half marathon in 2011. She took up running more seriously in 2014 after marriage and never looked back. She continues to inspire a lot of women in sport as she continues to train through her pregnancy.

In this episode she shares her early years in swimming, how she got into running, how she manages her work, family and sport while helping others with running coaching.

This episode covers:

From swimming to running to lose weight

First ADHM in 2011 and it's preparation

Moving to Bangalore and starting Indiranagar run club

Social media and how it can play with our minds

Dealing with injuries - getting out of hamster wheel

Mentoring and coaching runners

Challenges with coaching runners and importance of communicating well

Training during pregnancy and having the right support system

Importance of staying disciplined and consistent

Some tips to 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 fulltime/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.

In this episode, we talk with Nisha Madgavkar from Goa!

Nisha was a national level competitive swimmer in her younger years. After moving away from sport in her early 20s, she got back to sport in her mid 30s. After starting a family and having two kids, she wanted to use sport as her me-time. Soon, she discovered the world of triathlon and dove right into it. From someone who didn't know cycling or running, to taking a win in 70.3 event in Colombo, Srilanka and qualifying for 70.3 world championships in France, she has seen a great progression.

In this episode she shares her early years in swimming, how she got into triathlon, how she manages her business, family and sport while helping others with open water swimming.

This episode covers:

Early swim career and the burn-out

Introduction to Triathlon

Early days with cycling and running

Progressing from Sprint distance to Olympic to 70.3

Behrain 70.3 experience

Winning the Colombo 70.3 and Qualifying for 70.3 World Championships in France

Using event downtime to start MAF method of training

Managing time and priorities

Open water swim camps and swimathons

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 fulltime/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.

In this episode, we talk with Rohan Kini of Bums On The Saddle a.k.a BOTS!

Rohan was your typical Working Athlete who started out cycling to work on a bike to beat the Bangalore traffic. His passion for cycling and happenstance lead him and a friend start a part-time bike shop on the terrace of his friend's home. After doing it part-time for nearly 5 years while working in IT full time, he went full-time as a bike shop owner in 2011. BOTS and Rohan put a lot of people on the bikes over the years and touched the lives of many working athletes. His contribution to the cycling community over the years is apparent in the many stories he shares.

In this episode he shares his start in cycling, how he and his friend started Bums On The Saddle, how cycling has evolved over the years in Bangalore and around the country.

This episode covers:

0:02:21 Start of cycling journey in 2005 - through commute   

0:09:44 Want to start a bike shop? - The Seeds of BOTS!   

0:26:15 Early days in the cycling community   

0:30:12 Impact of BOTS on bikers and bike shops   

0:34:11 The start of BBCH and Brevets in Bangalore!   

0:46:16 How BBCH inspired BAR!   

0:50:13 Bringing Specialized to India!   

0:58:56 BBCH committee and inspiring races across India   

1:05:04 BOTS community events - You don't own community   

1:14:40 How have things changed over the years   

1:20:22 Cycling in the next 10 years in India   

1:22:2 Challenges and silver linings of the Pandemic

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 fulltime/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

In this episode, we talk with Hemendra Upadyay!

Hemendra is your typical Working Athlete. A shy and humble guy working for an IT consultancy. During 2015 he used to weigh 93kgs. Over the years, he not only lost over 30kilos but also became one of the strongest master's athletes in Bangalore! From struggling to finish in top 10 of a field of 11, he is now consistently on the podium giving the best in the category a run for their money.  

He recently started seeing results for his consistent hard work of years. He won the master's category ITT by a huge margin in Jan this year. He finished second in master's category in the BBCH Nandi Epic, a prestigious race for us folks in Bangalore.

In this episode he shares his weight loss journey, how he trained to become one of the strongest masters athletes in the region, his struggles with failures and celebrating successes etc.

This episode covers:

0:00:00  Intro

0:06:10  Weight loss journey and the longest 8km

0:30:37  Diet talk, protein, Dal, steak et al

0:37:06  Goa Tri, Crankmeister, first BBCH and intro to TFN

0:50:01  Tour of Nilgiris 2017

0:56:10  A different person in 2018 - From struggling to finish to winning!

1:16:34  Why Structured Training

1:23:32  Strength work

1:28:18  Rewarding oneself for successes and dealing with failures - The Goa Tri  experience

1:40:02  Training through hectic travel schedule

1:44:17  Nandi Epic experiences and learnings

1:52:18  Some 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 fulltime/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

In this episode, we talk about the mental side of sport and ruminate on what balance could mean. We have a quick round up of some of the things we talked about in the previous four episodes!

Some Links Below:

Link to Anchor Voice messages

Link to the YouTube Channel

Working Athlete Community on FB.

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 fulltime/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.

In this episode, we talk with Jamie Anderson

Jamie is a world class Working Athlete. An Australian living in Belgium, he is a management guru who graduated from London Business School and is an adjunct professor at Antwerp Management School. He's a TEDx Speaker, a stand-up strategist, a husband, a father, a super strong cyclist, a winner of some of the top amateur UCI -granfondo races around the world and an all-round amazing guy.

He recently started a cycling channel on YouTube called This Cycling Life, where he interviews some of the top cyclists from around the world, discussing all things cycling.

In this episode he shares his journey, how he got back to his childhood passion of cycling after years of submerged neck deep in the management world. He provides some tips on how to balance professional and sporting aspirations along with family life as well as share some training tips.

This episode covers:

0:00:00 Intro

0:03:35  This Cycling Life Channel

0:05:58  An inspiring origin Story

0:09:24  Moving away from full-time Management career

0:21:35  What it took to get back to cycling

0:27:17  What it took to compete at UCI grandfondo level

0:35:23  Juggling the three balls of work, family and sport

0:47:14  Tour of Nilgiris connection

0:48:48  Crazy experiences on Indian Roads

0:56:00  Planning and selecting races

1:03:27  Training - Strength training and Polarized training

1:25:06  Reverse periodization and race specificity

1:40:50  Some tips for working athletes

Some Links Below:

Jamie's channel 'This Cycling Life' 

Jamie on LinkedIn

Working Athlete Community on FB. 

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 fulltime/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

In this episode, we talk with Asst.Prof. Ganesh Nayak.

Ganesh is an explorer a heart. An explorer who started out searching for some answers in the depths of his own soul. In the process of discovering himself, he ended up, quite literally, scaling Himalayan heights!.

He completed BE and MTech degrees from MIT, Manipal and started working as an assistant professor there. But the answers he was looking for could not be found in any of the books he read. He ended up writing his own book, "The Uncharted, my journey into the Himalayas" with the learnings from his Himalayan journeys!

He's always looking for newer adventures to undertake and newer answers to uncover. He shares his love for outdoors and adventure with the students and anyone who is interested to find their own answers to their questions.

In this episode he shares his journey, how he kicked his smoking addiction, his adventurer program at MIT-Manipal among other things.

This episode covers:

0:00:00 Intro

0:04:30  The Uncharted - Book

0:06:42  Getting started in cycling

0:09:09  Dealing with Smoking addiction with cycling

0:15:11  Picking up his first proper bike

0:21:10  Tips to kick nicotine addiction

0:27:41  What drew him to the Himalayas and training for it

0:46:27  Some of the memories from the Himalayas

0:57:50  Riding through villages on the way back!

1:05:14  Integrating back into normal life-Taking a new job

1:08:46  The adventurer program at Manipal-Outdoor leadership

1:20:01  Other trips- Iceland, Alaska

1:26:47  What's ahead?

1:29:53  Some tips for working athletes

His book on amazon: https://www.amazon.in/Uncharted-My-Journey-into-Himalayas/dp/9382460942

The Website that helped him deal with smoking addiction: https://whyquit.com/

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 fulltime/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

In this episode, we talk with first Indian to finish the Race Across America, Lt. Col.(Dr) Srinivas Gokulnath.

Srini is a simple humble guy with a string of big achievements and an even bigger heart! He is the first Indian to finish the Race Across America, a 4800km race across america which is considered one of the toughest races there is. He is the first Indian to finish Race Around Austria a 2200km race in some of the most trying conditions. He's by no means a full-time athlete. He is a working athlete, a doctor with Indian Armed forces and is currently serving as part of UN peace mission in South Sudan.

In this episode he shares his journey, his learnings for all the failures and successes as well as his recent stinct in South Sudan on the UN peace mission.

This episode covers:

His early years as a doctor and how he decided to join the Indian Armed forces

His start in cycling and his times in Hyderabad

His move back to Bangalore and the seeds of passion for long distance cycling

His Ride from Northern tip of India to the Southern tip of India

His Deccan Cliffhanger/RAAM qualifier experience

Dealing with failure at RAAM 2016

Coming back from the lows to the highs of RAAM 2017

Incredible resolve to get across the finish of Race Around Austria

His work in South Sudan and the life lessons he takes away from there

Links to Srini's book, "LET GO: The Trials & Triumphs of The First Indian to finish RACE ACROSS AMERICA (RAAM)"

Kindle version of the book here.

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 fulltime/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.

In this episode, we talk with multiple time Indian National champion in cycling, Naveen John.

Today's guest needs no introduction for any cyclist in India. He started out as a 100kg+ obese youngster who picked up sport to lose weight while pursuing an engineering degree in the US. He underwent a metamorphosis to turn himself into a multiple time national champion. He got into sport late in life but seems to be making up for all the lost time. He continues to astound his competitors as he continues to make gains at an age which many consider beyond time to retire.

He has been a huge influence on the cycling ecosystem in India. From coaching some of the best athletes in India to helping even his rivals get better at sport, he has single handedly raised the level of the sport in India. His name is Naveen John. NJ for all of us.

In this episode he shares his journey, his progression, his views on dealing with self doubts among other things.

This episode covers:

0:02:28 Intro

0:04:21  Wattbombs coaching philosophy

0:14:58  His big 'Why'!

0:19:53  How it all started, the initial days in sport

0:27:11  Weight loss journey

0:34:04  Initial racing years

0:40:48  Off the beaten track-Packing the bags and coming to India

0:48:59  Initial years navigating the Indian system

0:59:30  Your biggest competitor-You!

1:06:06  Helping the competition get better. Why?

1:16:06  Biggest change that helped cycling(core work and founder)

1:18:45  Staying motivated and continuing to improve after hitting peak and plateauing - Growth mindset

1:27:58  Indian cycling progression

1:38:52  Young talent of the future

1:45:46  The importance of community racing!

1:54:09  Four levels of training enlightenments!

2:03:21  Thoughts on nutrition. (Feedzone cookbook)

2:10:48  Thoughts on weight training for cycling!

2:16:52  Biggest hurdles faced

2:19:57  Some tips for working athletes, the mental side of things

2:25:55  Closing

Books mentioned on nutrition: https://feedzonecookbook.com/portables/

Foundation exercise mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BOTvaRaDjI

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.

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