Fit To Succeed

We are back for the 2nd part of this important discussion with the PT Dr's, Dan & Alex. Having established in part 1 the prevalent bias and deep-rooted fitness misconceptions that continue to impact the wider industry, and recognising the ever-increasing public health needs, we go deeper down the rabbit hole to weigh up the role of client referral to other qualified specialists. In a never-ending information age, we will likely benefit from a more analytical fitness workforce who can think critically and seek reliable scientific evidence before laying down a solid, unbreakable knowledge and belief construct that strongly influences their coaching and behaviours. So, let's get to it: referral and critical thinking! Guest biographiesDr Alex De Lyon: an internationally accredited Personal Trainer and Health & Exercise Specialist with over 14 years of experience in health and fitness. He holds a PhD in the field of Sport & Exercise Science, an MSc in Sport & Exercise Psychology, and a Fi

Enjoy discussion, debate, and revealing research about the modern personal training industry! Bias is a common feature in everyone's life, but when bias becomes ingrained that it leads to fundamentally incorrect misconceptions that influence fitness trainer, coach and client behaviours, it has the potential to derail goal achievement and may even cause harm! Is there a growing requirement within the job role of the modern personal fitness trainer, that is not being addressed in vocational education? What are the problems of operating beyond professional scope of practice? All these are addressed in this important 2-part episode!  Guest biographies Dr Alex De Lyon: an internationally accredited Personal Trainer and Health & Exercise Specialist with over 14 years of experience in health and fitness. He holds a PhD in the field of Sport & Exercise Science, an MSc in Sport & Exercise Psychology, and a First-Class degree in Sports Coaching & Performance. Alex’s research has explored the role o

SummaryGoing without food for longer may seem a difficult step to take to manage your body weight or your health! Especially if you love good food, as we do on the Fit to Succeed show! In this episode, we investigate the very popular trend of intermittent fasting with leading women's health coach, Laurie Lewis. We discuss how to apply a fasting approach, in easy-to-take, comfortable steps and benefit from Laurie's years of experience and her supportive coaching methods and tips. Guest biographyFor Intermittent Fasting Coach and Author, Laurie Lewis, menopause dealt a crushing blow - brain fog, lack of balance, memory loss, and the rapid gain of 50 pounds of stubborn body fat. She tried everything she knew to feel better, and the methods that worked in the past made no difference. After four years of struggle, Laurie stumbled upon Intermittent Fasting and started fasting that very same day. The menopausal fog lifted in less than one week, she had more energy and felt more “like herself.” She lost 51

SummaryAs a coach, it can seem difficult to generate interest and attract new clients to sign up for your services. So many fitness and nutrition professionals struggle with the marketing and sales aspect of their business. Successful sales precede almost all successful coaching opportunities. How do you master the business skills needed to attract new leads and persuade people to be coached by you? Well, start with this free podcast episode where we discuss several important coaching sales tips to boost a fitness or nutrition business.Guest biographyMatt is a business owner, nutrition coach, CrossFit coach and elite Lacrosse player. He created a nutrition coaching business called Beyond Macros to help educate clients to focus on sustainable health and wellness transformations. With a degree in business administration, further certifications from the International Society of Sports Nutrition and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition, and a decade of professional coaching under his belt, Matt is nicely positioned as

SummaryThe rate of thyroid problems is increasing in the Western world. More people are struggling with their weight, metabolism, energy and health and many do not yet realise the source of the problem! Often those who have a diagnosis of thyroid disease, such as hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's disease, have yet to find a lasting solution to return to good health. Dr Christianson joins us on the podcast to reveal a fascinating solution that can benefit up to 80% of those who suffer from low thyroid function. Restoring health and fitness is possible with the right dietary strategy after all!Guest biographyDr Alan Christianson is a certified Naturopathic doctor and the founder of the Endocrine Association of Naturopathic Physicians. He has been running his Integrative Health clinic since 1996 and has become a renowned name in the field of natural hormonal health and wellness, with more specific specialization in thyroid and adrenal disorders. He is the author of the several books, including the bestselling books,

SummaryNo doubt, you are well aware that a bad night's sleep can leave you struggling for energy and the ability to remain alert. But did you know that sleep loss and exercise performance also have a strong connection! Even small amounts of lost sleep that become a regular habit can have a significant negative impact on your sporting performance, your exercise and, ultimately, your fitness results. Episode 52, with a global leader in the field sleep research, Dr Michael Grandner, will help unfold the details and give you actionable tips to help restore your sleep today! Guest biographyDr. Michael Grandner is the Director of the Sleep and Health Research Program and Associate Professor, Clinical Translational Sciences, Medicine, Psychiatry, and Psychology in the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson. He is Board-Certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine. Dr Grandner has 4 university degrees, obtaining his PhD in clinical psychology 2007. He has published 100’s of scientific articles and been cit

Summary:Even though every human on the planet has stored body fat of differing amounts, it is surprising how little most people actually know about its functions in life. This may be because the science of body fat is relatively new only gaining real interest since the mid-'90s. Fat is so much more than a wobbly store of excess calories, it interacts, communicates, and even supports healthy body processes. Dr Sylvia Tara, the author of The Secret Life of Fat, kickstarts season 3 with a great interview. Guest biography:Sylvia Tara holds a PhD in biochemistry from The University of California, San Diego and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She was a healthcare management consultant with McKinsey & Company and has worked for the world’s largest biotechnology companies.After an extended battle with her own body fat, Dr Tara became fascinated with its resiliency and embarked on a mission to better understand it. Her book, The Secret Life of Fat, is the culmination of years

Summary:In many aspects of life women and men have a basic right to be equal! However, the debate still continues as to whether men and women should be performing physical training and exercise the same. Both genders certainly can train the same if they wish, but is that the most effective thing to be doing in terms of overall health and in trying to optimise results? Dr Jade Teta rejoins us for a special show on our 50th episode to answer some important questions on gender-specific hormonal physiology and how this can be tied into exercise and fitness training. Guest biography:Dr Jade Teta is a highly experienced personal trainer of over 25 years. He has produced numerous video-based workouts that are used by hundreds of thousands all over the world. Jade has a degree in biochemistry and is a qualified physician. His speciality is in a subset of medicine called naturopathic medicine. If you compare him to your family doctor, but instead of using drugs and surgery first, Jade chooses to use drugs as a second

Summary:There is no doubt that successfully managing the health and wellbeing of the human body has plenty of benefit for the workplace for all types of employment. However, the question is whether an employer or corporate organisation have the right to interfere with their employee's lifestyle and health-related habits? Also what realistic actions can be taken to make a difference in workplace productivity and efficiency? Dr John Briffa, a leading voice within corporate health and wellness, joins us on today's show to answer these important questions. Guest biography:Dr John Briffa is a practising medical doctor, author and international speaker. He is a prize-winning graduate of University College London School of Medicine, and also holds a BSc degree in Biomedical Sciences. Dr Briffa is a former columnist for the Daily Mail and the Observer newspapers in the UK, and former contributing editor for Men’s Health magazine and is a previous recipient of the Health Journalist of the Year award in the UK.Dr

SummaryFitness is a truly exciting and rewarding career, but it seems that many new trainers may struggle to find those secrets to success on their fitness journey. Approximately 50% of personal trainers (*2018) have been in the industry for less than 5 years, whereas only 6.9% of trainers have more than 15 years of experience. So to speak with a fitness professional that has consistently succeeded within the industry at all levels for more than 3 decades is truly something special! In this episode, we tease out some gems and enjoy a few fascinating stories with leading international fitness expert, Ceri Hannan. Guest biography33 years in the Health & Fitness industry has taken Ceri Hannan across the World in various capacities. As the former British Aerobics Champion, he represented the United Kingdom at European & World level. His presenting career alongside his work with many health club operators has seen his programmes and systems delivered to millions of fitness consumers globally! Ceri is based

Summary:20 years a dedicated vegan ... invested morally, nutritionally, and politically into this lifestyle ... then a monumental shift back to an omnivorous life to try and rescue her failing health! Lierre Keith then wrote a book about this change and discussed the flaws, from her perspective, on the underlying principles of vegetarianism and veganism. The praise for her book was clear to see, but so was the kickback! Online criticism, attack on character, and even death threats followed from those who disagreed! A decade on from the publication of The Vegetarian Myth and we speak with Lierre about her life and experiences since. Guest biography:Lierre Keith is an American writer, food activist, and an environmentalist. She is the author of the highly acclaimed book, The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability (2009). She is co-author, with Derrick Jensen and Aric McBay, of Deep Green Resistance: Strategy to Save the Planet (Seven Stories Press, 2011) and she’s the editor of The Derrick Jensen Re

Summary:Glutes! Backside! Bottom! Derrière! Tush! Buttocks! Booty! Whatever you choose to call it, training the 3 major muscles that make up the gluteals has been a huge fitness trend in recent years. Developing shapely, athletic and functional hip musculature is certainly an important aspect of strength and conditioning and physical performance as you will find out in this episode with the 'Glute Guy', Bret Contreras! However, for some, it is simply a matter of striving towards the goal of a fit, curvy, Kardashian or Beyonce type figure. Guest biography:Bret Contreras is considered by many to be the world’s foremost expert on training the gluteals (buttocks) and goes by the name of the 'Glute Guy'. However, he is also very well versed in a wide range of high-level sports science as a result of years of study and a PhD in this field. Bret is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and the author of the highly recommended book, Glute Lab, named after the fitness facility he operates in San Diego, Cali

Summary:The world of online personal training is definitely growing! In fact with the recent movement restrictions due to Coronavirus impacting numerous countries around the world, online training has taken a significant boost! The fitness industry model is still very much built around a face-to-face delivery of fitness training services and that is what the vast majority of personal trainers conform to offer. So what things need to be considered when adapting personal training to an online offering? We asked Sharad Mohan, the CEO of the leading PT software platform, Trainerize to share his inside perspective. Guest biography:Sharad Mohan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Trainerize—the company known for digitizing the fitness club experience—and the driving force behind their mission to “make fitness accessible”. Founded in 2008, Trainerize has been helping fitness businesses leverage technology to stay relevant in the digital fitness age and engage their members in new ways using mobile and wearable devices. Epi

Summary:Do you really know how to run? If you are a trained, recreational, or novice runner, then the chances of suffering an injury through participation in this most basic of human activities may be higher than you think! A 2015 scientific review identified that for every 1000 hours of running the rates of injury increased from 2.5 injuries in highly-trained distance athletes to 7.7 injuries in recreational runners, and then up to 17.8 injuries in novice runners. Yet despite this strong correlation between injury rate and the ability, skill and capacity to run effectively, it is common to find that little technique guidance and coaching is provided by fitness professionals to teach others how to run. Guest biography:Kelly Starrett, DPT is a coach, physical therapist, author, and speaker. Along with his wife Juliet, Kelly is co-founder of The Ready State. The Ready State began as Mobility|WOD in 2008 and has gone on to revolutionize the field of performance therapy and self-care. Kelly received his Doctor of

Summary:It has been well established that the quantity and the quality of food that we eat can have a significant impact on our health, but what about the time of day we choose to eat? Does that matter? In our modern, busy world, meal timing is likely lower down our priority list, if it even made it onto the list in the first place. Food is often squeezed into the 24-hour rat race just to keep the engine running. Danny Lennon joins us to discuss chrono-nutrition and why emerging science is teaching us that meal times do matter in our overall diet and daily habits. Guest biography:Danny is the founder of Sigma Nutrition and the host of Sigma Nutrition Radio, a highly rated podcast on iTunes. He has a master’s degree (MSc.) in Nutritional Sciences from University College Cork. Danny also completed a BSc. Degree in Biology and Physics Education. He works as a performance nutritionist to professional MMA fighters, professional boxers and competitive powerlifters and has consulted with several teams across a range

Summary:Exercise and fitness is often a priority, but it often has to be squeezed into the busy lives we all lead, which may mean that physical activity, training, recreational or elite sport is more and more often happens in the evening and into the night. In this episode, we discuss with our excellent guest whether sleep problems can result from late exercise habits and whether sleep problems can have a negative impact on our fitness and performance. Guest Biography:Dr Ian is the Director of Melius Consulting and Sleep4Performance and previously completed a PhD with the University of Western Australia (UWA), where he worked with elite sporting organisations/athletes to optimise performance. Ian is highly sought after with professional athletes, working with Olympic and elite athletes with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and professional teams in Super Rugby, Basketball, Australian Rules Football (AFL) and martial arts. He has also been featured on the health report on ABC radio, ABC radio national a

Did you know that the number 1 new years resolution is to diet and eat healthier (71%)? However, there is a vital component that precedes better eating habits...ensuring that we have healthy digestion in the first place! Healthy food can only be utilised by the body if there are healthy digestive processes occurring within the body. Guest biography:Dr Liz Lipski is a Professor and the Director of the Academic Development for the Nutrition programmes in Clinical Nutrition at Maryland University of Integrative Health. Dr Lipski holds a PhD in Clinical Nutrition, is a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition (FACN) and holds two board certifications in clinical nutrition (CNS, and BCHN) and one in functional medicine (IFMCP). She is also on the faculty for The Institute for Functional Medicine. Episode content:Along with a brief discussion about the 25-year history of her best-selling book, and the updated release of the 5th edition of Digestive Wellness, Dr Lipski shares some really practical tips on how to

Chronic sleep loss is becoming a problem of epidemic proportions in modern society. Could your genetic chronotype have something to do with your ability, or inability, to get the needed hours of rest and recovery? If you find you regularly can't sleep then perhaps this discussion with sleep coach and author, Nick Littlehales will open your eyes to potential solutions. Guest biography:Nick Littlehales is a pioneer in the field of sleep coaching within UK sport, with more than 2 decades of experience helping to deliver innovative and practical solutions to real-life problems around sleep. Nick’s fascinating journey to become the world’s leading Elite Sport Sleep Coach and his revolutionary R90 Technique is encapsulated in a book called  SLEEP.Episode content: Following a fascinating review of Nick's journey, somewhat ahead of the curve, into the field of sleep coaching, we discuss in detail the importance of chronotype on our daily routine and preferences. There is plenty to enjoy and learn in this down to

The use of foam rollers, or other self-massage tools, has shifted in recent years from a very niche, rarely seen piece of equipment, to becoming a regular item seen in most gyms that are now used by gym members and fitness trainers alike. The big question is whether foam rollers are being used correctly and can we exploit the potential benefits more effectively?Guest biography:Rodney Corn has nearly 30 years of experience in the Health and Fitness industry as a personal trainer, strength and conditioning coach, international educator and presenter, author and researcher. He co-founded SOMA (Self Osteo-Myofascial Applications) with long-time friend and colleague, Ian O’Dwyer (See episode 24 with Ian). Rodney is also the Director of Eleiko Education, promoting performance, learning, and kindness through world-class education and products.Episode content:Rodney helps us explore the effects and benefits of foam rolling and how this simple self-massage tool can be utilised to help improve human movement and joint

Progress is about making real change within yourself as a fitness professional, and also within your clients as they progress on their wellness journey. Dr John Berardi, of Precision Nutrition fame, is just about to launch an exciting new project called the Change Maker Academy. He joins us on the Fit to Succeed show to share some key concepts and golden nuggets with our valued listeners. Guest biography: John Berardi is a Canadian-American entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Precision Nutrition, the world’s largest nutrition coaching, education, and software company.He is now launching the Change Maker Academy, devoted to helping would-be change-makers turn their passion for health and fitness into a powerful purpose and a wildly successful career. Over the last 15 years, Dr Berardi has advised Apple, Equinox, Nike, and Titleist, as well as the San Antonio Spurs, and the Carolina Panthers. He's also been named one of the 20 smartest coaches in the world and 100 most influential people in health