The high altitude life of Rick Peters: Pilot, swimmer, high performance human

Simon Ward, The High Performance Human Triathlon Podcast

This podcast is called the High Performance Human podcast for a reason. It gives me the opportunity to showcase individuals who excel in their chosen sport, but also in many other areas of their life, while still focussing on basics such as sleep and nutrition. Next time you take a flight, think about what you would like to know about your pilot - skills at their job (obviously) but also that they prioritise health and fitness, turn up each day having slept well and eaten the right foods to help them concentrate throughout the full duration of your flight. Today’s guest, Rick Peters, is an elite swimmer, airline pilot, and high performance human. He was introduced to me by long time client Toby Baxendale when he and Rick met at the Barbados Open Water swim festival, last November. Rick finished 7th overall in the 5k swim (non wetsuit) in a very impressive time of 1hr 13 (an average pace of 1:28/100m), made even more impressive by the fact that Rick is 60 years old. Rick still regularly captains long haul flights for Air Canada, and in today's conversation we talk about his daily fitness routine, his love for swimming, and how he stays so fit and healthy. Then we add in the complications of air travel, the impact of time zone changes, and some of the strategies Rick uses to mitigate these. Needless to say, I would be very confident to have Rick Peters as the Captain on my next flight! Some other topics we discuss include:

• Earthing - to help the body rebalance after crossing time zones
• Drinking hydrogen water to limit the impact of flying at altitude
• Finding time to workout when travelling
• The microbiome and how keeping your gut healthy has a major impact on brain health, sleep and general fitness

Rick doesn't use social media but if you have any questions for him, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me forwarding them on. He did recommend some resources and books. Books “YOUNGER NEXT YEAR” (Live strong, fit, sexy and smart – until you’re 80 and beyond) by Chris Crowley & Henry Lodge. The Psychology of Winning” (Ten qualities of a total winner) by Dr. Denis Waitley. Video Light as Medicine by Dr. Roger Seheult MD of MedCram who gives a very detailed description of how mitochondria produce ATP and what infrared light can do to optimize your health and immunity. Research Papers on Gut MicroBiome How gut bacteria balance enhanced exercise performance “Associations between gut microbiota and sleep: a two-sample, bidirectional Mendelian randomization Study”, by J. Wu et al “Gut microbiome diversity is associated with sleep physiology in humans”, by R. Smith et al., in PLoS One, October 2019, PMID 31589627. “Exercise and the Gut Microbiome: A review of the Evidence, Potential Mechanisms, and Implications for Human Health”

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