BACKGROUND

Perhaps you’ve noticed that modern American society is declining on all fronts: physically, mentally, socially, professionally and spiritually. Our health problems are pervasive, complex, and increasing at an exponential pace. The environment we’ve cultivated has become a direct threat to our physical, emotional and mental well-being. Our bodies are simply the most visible casualty of this trend. The present course is unsustainable and will eventually end badly.

It has also become immensely evident that solutions will not be coming from our leadership. Like all true change, ours must not emanate from above, but from the ground up. From individuals making their own personal choice towards a path divergent from that which they’ve been previously been programmed to follow. We are wasting so much time. But the moment is fast-approaching where we will all be forced to take full inventory and responsibility for our own lives. This applies principally in the physical realm. This is your call to action.

The Texas Hill Country is massively afflicted by these injurious trends. Despite myriad natural resources and vast advantages over our urban neighbors, we rank at or near the bottom in virtually every health marker that is measured. And our decline is accelerating- both in relative as well as absolute terms. At the same time, we are shockingly bereft of the qualified resources necessary to fight this epidemic. The solutions currently being promoted locally are palliative, haphazard and destined for failure. Those best positioned to provide aid are unqualified and massively conflicted. Individuals who need the help most lack the cognition or ability to properly diagnose their situation.

Quite simply, the Texas Hill Country is one of the most unhealthy communities in America, a virtual ‘ground zero’ for the coming health catastrophe. We are on a fast track towards physical self-destruction.

But don’t take my word for it…

• 2012 Kerr County Texas – Community Health Needs Assessment

• 2012 Kerr County Texas – Community Health Summit Presentation

SUMMARY

It is my conviction that if we as a community and as individuals fail to make the necessary behavioral and lifestyle changes voluntarily, such change will be forced upon us. And it will not be pleasant. Delphi is my grass-roots ministry to reverse these trends. My programs justapose and disseminate the crucial components of endurance fitness training through a unique system-based approach in order to extract maximum human potential available from my athletes.

A LITTLE CONTEXT

..When you watch sports on television today, do you view participants as models of health, and worthy of emulation? Most professional athletes I observe resemble genetically-advantaged, chemically-enhanced freaks of nature. They look nothing like me nor anyone I know. They often resemble high-value cattle. And once professional careers end, physical deterioration- like much of the rest of their lives- is often predictable, and not particularly enviable.

While professional sports may keep society’s lust for aggression satiated, these athletes do not manifest true fitness. They are hardly living a life in harmony and balance. Modern professional sports have become entertainment- a close cousin of “professional” wrestling. Certainly not a practical model for us to adopt in our own lives.

..When you observe most professional runners and other long-distance single-sport Olympic athletes, do you think, “Oooh… Yes, that’s what I want to look like?” I suspect not. Physiques are often emaciated or even grotesque, and the type of training endured for a relatively brief moment of time is typically unhealthy and dangerous. While impressive and admirable, their exploits often have very little transferability to the real world. Uh, synchronized swimming anyone?

The truth is that much of what we are are fed as professional athletic achievement is at best a caricature, and at worst a farce. An insult to our sensibilities. And like so much else in modern culture, we’ve become largely desensitized to it without even realizing how detached from reality they’ve become. Like the preponderance of pharmaceutical ads during every commercial break.

THE GYM

..When you walk into a modern athletic facility and observe the various characters that inhabit them, your reaction probably resembles mine- not particularly complimentary. These denizens often appear lonely, misguided and in a state of perpetual health imbalance. The term “leg day” doesn’t elicit universal chuckles for nothing.

Questionable fitness programs abound, usually promoting one or just a few fitness components, but rarely incorporating multiple modalities. Few develop well-roundedfitness, and most have a spotty track record. Remember Jazzercise?.. Zumba?.. Pilates?.. Boot camps and pole dancing are similar gimmicks destined to join them in the dust bin of physical training history.

Only in modern America could a reported two million Shake Weight units sell, for a total of $40 million in revenues. Next year, television will no doubt serve us fresh and equally ridiculous infomercials touting the newest health craze, to a lot of people who should know better but don’t.

$40,000,000???

Through it all, triathlon- introduced 100 years ago, and existing in it’s modern incarnation for the last 40 years- has been there, virtually unchanged and growing almost unabated. It’s merits are obvious and plentiful: Normal people like you and me- generally positive and proactive folks- can participate at a high level for decades, if not our entire lives. We can train alone or together. Local clubs abound for virtually any demographic, with many maintaining a charitable focus. Swimming, biking and running provide an easy excuse to be outside, which promotes mental health. And we can compete alongside our peers, the opposite sex and even the professionals. Opportunities for travel are seemingly limitless, with events occurring year-round and in some of the most beautiful areas on the planet.

Triathlon is endlessly and maddeningly complex, and no one (you know, anyways) is great at everything. Few extracurricular activities come close to producing the same level of psychological impact- no one ever became addicted to league softball or pick-up basketball. In fact, I would suggest that many participants in those sports would fair, ahem, quite poorly in a zombie apocalypse.

Perhaps the most profound aspect of triathlon is that it’s not really a sport at all; it’s a lifestyle. You can’t ‘play’ triathlon like golf or tennis. It’s not something you can easily isolate from the rest of your life. Quite to the contrary, triathlon has the potential to enhance our lives in so many capacities beyond just the physical realm. Its tentacles stretch into our homes, social networks and professional relationships. As a result, a coach or mentor provides immense value to those looking to engage the sport and lifestyle at a healthy and sustainable level.

Triathletes often struggle for many years to become competent and successful at their craft. My goal is to apply the wisdom and experience accumulated over many years to accelerate others up the learning curve of proficiency as quickly and safely as possible. This will allow them to derive maximum value and enjoyment from their investment of time and energy, which only further stimulates their success.

It is for this reason that I have chosen to become a triathlon coach.

MY IDEAL CLIENT

• They are looking to make an overall lifestyle change, not just a physical one.
• They recognize the tangible, inherent value of peak health- beyond completing a single event or race.
• They understand the importance of proper diet, recovery and meditative practices in achieving physical and mental well-being. Not just ‘looking good’ or ‘losing weight.’
• They appreciate at some level the impact that completion of an IRONMAN event can have on the rest of their family and career. Or they have experienced this previously and are looking to improve on that experience.
• They recognize the enormity of the task at hand, but are energized by the possibilities. They are equal-parts terrified and inspired by the journey.
• They recognize that they cannot reach their destination alone, and wouldn’t want to even if they could. They understand the importance of human bonds within the human condition.
• They have an appreciation for data and its role in self-improvement. They understand the difference between a system and a goal.
• They maintain high standards in most, if not all, of the key aspects of their life- including domestic, professional and civic arenas. This is not a ‘bucket list’ experience to be checked off- it’s a chance to manifest their true inner-greatness.
• They have an unflinching thirst for personal achievement.

VALUE PROPOSITION

I realize I cannot be all things to all people. I know I can be exceptional at only a few things for a few people. This is a crucial component of the Delphi paradigm. And while short-course triathlon (Sprint/Olympic distances) is an exceptional platform to achieve fitness excellence, I believe that ‘long-course’ offers the most potential to reveal one’s true greatness.

Today, competing at the IRONMAN distance still captivates the imagination like no other; it represents the pinnacle of physical health in North America. The long-course also happens to be what I enjoy the most and where I seem to provide the most value to others. Please understand that I am not “anti” short-course. I still teach, participate and enjoy short course. It’s the logical end-state for many athletes, including myself. And my own physiology is actually more conducive to shorter distances. Short-course will always represent a key component of any long-course training plan. But the myriad differences between short and long distances are so vast and deep as to represent almost separate sports.

Every important aspect of preparing for and competing at the short course distance compounds exponentially when graduating to longer distances. Techniques offering success at shorter distances often must be diminished or even discarded entirely for the long course. Training components assume greater importance and errors often magnify, with potentially catastrophic (sometimes hilarious) consequences. And this is why a coach can provide so much value in triathlon, and nowhere is this more true than at the IRONMAN 70.3 and 140.6 distances.

There are many exceptional local coaches and resources available if short-course triathlon is one’s final destination. But long-course instruction is the niche I occupy and the gap I am attempting to fill in my community.

The idea of completing any triathlon- much less an IRONMAN- is an overwhelming proposition for anybody. Most athletes training for a long-course event invest months- if not years- developing the physical, mental and psychological “tool kit” to properly complete such an endeavor. Those who choose to go it alone are in the minority and at a disadvantage. This year, over 40% of triathletes participating in an IRONMAN or IRONMAN 70.3 (‘Half-Ironman’) will either hire a coach or purchase a training plan.

Where are you on your endurance training progression? Are you already where you want to be, or on a reliable course to get there? Have you achieved your goals? If your answer to any of these questions is ‘No,’ then I encourage you to contact me- or even better, schedule an initial consultation to determine for yourself if Delphi Human Performance Systems might be right for you, and whether you might make a welcome addition to our team.

Thanks!
– Bart Stevens