Health Oddity Podcast

We are joined by our first ever Romanian guest, Daniel Vintila. 

Daniel spent 10 years working as a croupier in Casinos onboard luxury cruise ships & in his time has pursued strength & fitness in many forms; Spartan racing, calisthenics, bodybuilding, kettlebells & most recently competing in both Powerlifting & Strongman. 

Daniel is a Strongfirst Elite Instructor & trains exclusively at home in his well equipped garage gym. We discuss finding your way in fitness, training around long shifts & onboard big ships & the importance of competition to focus the mind & training programme.

We are joined LIVE from Aberdeen, Scotland by the Highland Wolf - John Gibb. John is a Scottish Stonelifter & Strongman & the day before recording this episode he was crowned Britain’s Strongest Stonelifter 2024! J

ohn was the 157th lifter (& walker) of the historic Dinnie Stones & was also featured in the recent documentary ‘STONES’ from Maximum Iron. We discuss training, eating, grip strength, sandbags, atlas stones & even get a tour round his awesome ‘shed of strength’.

This is a great conversation with a man who is forging world class strength using rugged & historic methods & has the bruises & trophies to prove it!

We are joined by returning guest Steve Bush, who was last with us on Episode 127 (Why Weight Loss Surgery Fails for the Majority of People).

That was nearly 2 years ago so we thought it was about time to check in with Steve again.

The release of this episode coincides with the 5th Anniversary of Steve’s gastric sleeve surgery & Steve updates us on his latest thinking, recent physical achievements & plans for the future.

This is an honest, open & inspiring conversation with a man who was given a second chance at life & how he is choosing to live it.

We are joined by Sue Collins (formerly Mapstone) as she reflects on a lifetime of sport & how an ever evolving love of sport, activity & movement have developed through the decades as commitments, circumstances & challenges arose.

Sue represented England at the 1974 & 1978 Commonwealth Games (as a 17 & 21 year old respectively) in the Pentathlon. She won the Silver medal in Edmonton, Canada in 1978. Subsequently, Sue had a family, a long career in teaching & continued sport & training throughout.

 Now, at 67, we discuss Sue’s training post a fairly recent knee replacement. This is a down to earth, engaging & relatable conversation with a funny, self deprecating lady whose attitude towards life we could all learn from.

We are joined by returning guest Claire Booth; Strongfirst Senior & Elite Instructor & head of Strongfirst GB.

We last spoke to Claire WAY back on episode 33 (about 3.5 years ago) so it was great to catch up.

In this episode we discuss mixing & balancing the three training modalities of Barbell, Kettlebell & Bodyweight, the impact of menopause & the importance of getting the right HRT balance & why ALL women should be engaging in regular structured strength training - especially in their 40s, 50s & beyond.

For the first time in 7 episodes Pete & James get an opportunity to discuss recent events & the guests we’ve met over the last few weeks.

Britains Disabled Strongman/Strongwoman, the recent documentary ‘Stones’ from Maximum iron, the development of Walk Bath & the planning of the 2025 Unique Results Ski trip are all up for discussion & well as what we’ve learned & implemented over recent weeks.

We are joined by London based Scot, Clare Rafferty, a HYROX coach & athlete, Member of the Official Global HYROX Master Team, Race Director, Strength & Conditioning Coach & Running Coach with over 10 years experience.

We learn about Clare’s journey from the Bodybuilding stage to Running start line to Hybrid Fitness Athlete & the lessons she’s learnt along the way.

This is a great conversation about embracing change, seizing opportunities & finding your calling. There’s also some great advice for those training for HYROX & Hybrid Fitness Events & how to avoid making some common mistakes & maximising your performance on race day.

We are joined from Belfast, Northern Ireland by Stevie Shanks; Drummer with Flash Harry & Clann an Drumma, Multiple World Record Weight Lifter (about 40 on last counting), Stone lifter & organiser of the annual Donald Dinnie Day Gathering in Scotland.

We discuss the history of the Dinnie Stones & Stevie’s father - Jack Shanks - an old time Strongman & the first to lift the Dinnie Stones since Donald Dinnie himself, the evolution of stone lifting & how Stevie has shifted the focus of his own training now that he is in his 60s.

We also learn a cool way to trick the step-counter on your Fitbit! This is a fascinating & inspiring conversation with a man whose passion for physical culture & the history of strength is palpable.

We are joined today by Del Wilson. A Personal Trainer, Kettlebell Athlete & Coach - someone who has been at the forefront of kettlebell sport in England for many years.

Del talks about his background in Formula 1 engineering, competitive Bodybuilding, Endurance Running & his transition into Kettlebell Sport where he found his true calling.

Del competes in Kettlebell Pentathlon, Marathon & Long Cycle (all explained in this episode) & holds Master of Sports World Class ranking across 7 events. 

He also continues to travel & compete internationally in his late 50s & has no plans to slow down.

We are joined from Putney in London by Aidan O’ Flaherty AKA @theirishphysio ahead of his ‘Running Injuries & Performance Master Class’ in Essex on Saturday 5th October.

Aidan is a former pro football player, competitive rower & runner who now works with high level endurance athletes (up to Olympic level) & recreational runners of all shapes, sizes & abilities.

In this fascinating conversation we discuss all things running, Training mileage, building running specific strength, foot striking, common injuries, biomechanics & more.

An essential episode if you run yourself or are an Physio, Osteo, Therapist or Coach who works with runners.