What working with Brett Sutton taught me

Introduction

With 15 years in the sport, I’ve seen what I now consider mistakes being made over and over again: the overcomplicated methods, the focus on unnecessary mileage, and the constant drive to chase numbers that don’t actually make us better well-rounded athletes. For a while, I followed the crowd, but deep down, I wasn’t satisfied. Which ultimately led me to the foundation of Sense Endurance Coaching. I knew there was a more effective, simpler way—especially as I felt the coaches I had worked with commonly neglected the balance between aerobic development and biomechanics. When I had the chance to complete the Trisutto coaching certification and then work closely (as part of his Coach the Coach Programme) with legendary coach Brett Sutton, the coach who trained many of the legends I idolised as I was first getting into the sport, I knew that I had found what I was looking for. The Trisutto method offered a lot of what I had been missing: it was simple, effective, and built on principles that truly work. Here's how these principles and the season I spent working with Brett translate into my coaching approach at Sense Endurance, and why they work. I’ll try to be comprehensive and will surely be forgetting a number of ideas I’ve subconsciously implemented in my approach.

Swim

Swimming is often the most misunderstood discipline in triathlon. The obsession with ‘perfect’ technique can lead us down a rabbit hole, wasting time on things that don’t matter in the sport. I’ve written about this before [link]. 

Brett’s method cuts through that noise with one clear goal: Technique Under Fatigue (TUF). We don’t aim for perfect form every time we swim, we aim for manageable form that can hold up in the toughest moments of the race. 

A typical workout? Extensive short intervals—40 x 100m with a pull buoy and paddles, for instance—at a controlled intensity where athletes learn to keep their stroke together even as fatigue sets in. The focus isn’t on swimming fast for speed’s sake; it’s about making sure you can swim at a solid pace without breaking down under pressure. One of my athletes was sceptical at first. Working with another coach, he had been focused largely on drills and “perfect” form, but after I started working with him and switched him to these more controlled, repeatable sessions, he swam faster, stronger, and with less fatigue in his long-distance events.

Bike 

When it comes to the bike, most training approaches preach high-cadence, fast spinning as we see in regular cycling. But most triathletes aren’t natural cyclists, and legs get tired—high cadence is often not sustainable. Brett’s approach flips that thinking. Low RPM training helps build strength, durability, and most importantly, keeps the legs fresh for the run. It’s not about racking up endless kilometres; it’s about training the legs to handle the fatigue and pressure of race day. 

One of my go-to workouts for building strength and endurance on the bike is a Controlled Climb: intervals at a low cadence in the big ring. This builds strength without adding unnecessary strain on the nervous system, while also building aerobic capacity. Another key workout is race-day brick sessions, where athletes get on the bike, go for a low-cadence ride, and then get off and run. The results speak for themselves—athletes come off the bike with fresher legs, ready to run faster than they thought possible.

Run 

Running, in my opinion, is about efficiency first, endurance second. Too often, athletes spend endless hours pounding pavement, either running too slowly (as is the trend now) or too fast, only to suffer when it comes time to race. We focus on holding good mechanics under fatigue and making sure each stride counts. 

A staple in my approach are steady-state intervals, where my athletes run at race pace (or, “Medium Effort”, which ranges from 85% to 95% of their threshold) for a set distance, followed by short rests, and repeat this process over the course of a session. This isn’t about high volume; it’s about focusing on form and pacing that holds up over time. It’s about running fast enough to build fatigue, and then running with that fatigue. The results have been clear: athletes using this approach consistently hit their race goals and don’t fade in the final kilometres. By focusing on form and efficiency, we’ve cut down on injuries and improved overall performance.

Mental Resilience and Endurance

The mental side of triathlon is often underestimated, but it’s just as crucial as the physical. Brett emphasises a key principle: “You start. You finish.” This isn’t about perfect numbers or feeling great during every workout. It’s about pushing through, even when things aren’t going perfectly. The discipline to finish, regardless of the pace or difficulty, translates directly to race day. This approach requires athletes to learn about their bodies, know their limits, and gain the confidence to adjust when necessary—especially on tough days. Triathlon is an aerobic sport, and “easy” workouts still have tremendous value. It’s in finishing these workouts—no matter how slow or tough—that resilience is built. You can’t measure that growth in splits or times; it’s about consistency. One athlete, who once focused heavily on pace, found their confidence skyrocket once they simply committed to finishing each workout, adjusting their effort based on how they felt. This mindset shift also helped another athlete struggling with self-doubt. By focusing on finishing instead of quitting, she learned to embrace discomfort and push through setbacks, even when the pace wasn’t perfect. As she shifted away from data and listened more to her body, her confidence soared and she began racing closer to her true potential.

Simplicity in Training 

Too often, the triathlon community overcomplicates training. Between all the gadgets, metrics, and endless advice, it’s easy to lose sight of what really matters. The Trisutto method strips everything back to the essentials: swim smart, bike strong, run efficiently, and stay mentally tough. 

It’s not about doing more, it’s about doing it right. I’ve seen firsthand how switching to simpler training principles can have a massive impact. I frequently talk to athletes overwhelmed by conflicting advice and technology, unsure of where to focus. Working with athletes, we urge them to take a step back, enjoy their simplified sessions, which ensures that they’ll be smashing personal bests with less training volume and more consistency within a few months. Once athletes stop chasing numbers and start chasing performance, the results are undeniable. A huge part of this is requiring athletes to take the brave step to move away from all data, or at least develop the ability to disregard data in their workouts. After all, we want them to listen to their bodies, not to their watches or bike computers.

Coaching 

For me, coaching is about creating durable, adaptable athletes, not just ticking boxes on a training plan. Brett’s coaching philosophy of focusing on individual needs rather than a one-size-fits-all approach has influenced how I work with athletes. It’s not about pushing for the sake of pushing; it’s about ensuring each athlete gets what they need to perform at their best, consistently. 

A busy athlete of mine was having some level of success using a stock plan that required quite a high mileage, but the demands of life and the lack of adequate recovery meant that this approach had become unsustainable. Taking a gamble, we switched it to short, intense sessions that focused on developing strength and form without piling on fatigue. The shift not only improved her race times but also helped reduce her injury rate. 

One key lesson I took from Brett is the importance of controlling intensity. Too often, athletes push themselves to the point of injury, but the Trisutto principle of not going higher than 95% of your max effort ensures that athletes get the most out of their training without risking burnout. The 5% difference may seem small, but it’s huge. It gives athletes permission to dial it back just that little bit on the very edge of the sword. It also allows for more repetitions in set, switching a workout from raw (anaerobic) speed development to muscular development building. By focusing on manageable efforts and keeping the intensity controlled, athletes can get better results over the long haul.

Conclusion 

What Brett taught me, and what I’ve applied at Sense Endurance, is that we don’t need to overcomplicate things to see great results. The focus should always be on building a strong foundation through technique, strength, and consistency—not chasing numbers for the sake of it. 

By sticking to the basics—swim with manageable form, bike with controlled effort, and run with efficiency—we can build athletes who are mentally tough, physically durable, and ready to take on any race that comes their way. This isn’t about doing more; it’s about doing it right.