We are joined from Prague by first time guest Pavel Macek for this special double episode. Pavel is a Strongfirst Master Certified Instructor, a lifelong Martial Artist, Coach, Author, Strength Historian & cat lover.

We cover much ground (hence the double episode). Strength, resilience, psychology, meditation, stoicism, philosophy, morning routines & productivity. We also discuss Pavel’s upcoming ‘Enter the Dumbbell’ workshop in the UK.

A fascinating conversation with a calm, clear & inquisitive man on a journey to improve himself & others.

This is Part 1 of 2.

We are joined this week by first time guest & possibly the STRONGEST person pound for pound we’ve ever had on the show, Chloe Brennan.

Chloe is the Founder & Coach @holisticstrengthcoaching she is World & European Strongwoman Champion in the Under 73kg class, she is a Strongman commentator & one of only a handful of women worldwide to lift the famous Dinnie Stones in Scotland.

We discuss Chloe’s athletic life growing up, her transition to strength sports, her love of personal development & the ‘mindset of strength’ & spreading the benefit of being strong (mentally & physically) to EVERYONE.

We are joined by Sean Cole; former Physical Trainer in the Royal Navy, owner of SC Vital Fitness & Co-Director of Balance Wellness Club (both in Portsmouth, UK) & mentor to Gym Owners & Personal Trainers.

We discuss Sean’s time in the Navy & his transition back into civilian life. His journey as a business owner & his own health & fitness path. We also talk about alcohol, the physical & emotional impact of it & how through a combination of sobriety, contrast therapy & breath-work Sean is truly living an authentic life in his 50s.

An honest & thought provoking conversation.

We are joined by Laura Shanks, career woman, mother of 2 & a rapidly improving & rising HYROX athlete.

Laura talks about her early experiences of exercise & training & the overriding focus on weight loss, weight control & staying slim. In her mid 40s Laura is now a HYROX athlete who podiums at events & is chasing her first race win.

We discus discipline, scheduling training, a performance mindset, eating to fuel an athletes lifestyle & the balance of sacrifice & reward when chasing performance goals - as a regular person vs a full time athlete.

An interesting, insightful & inspiring conversation that we can all take something from.

We are joined by Nick Rainbird, who we last spoke to on Episode 195 entitled - The Healing Power of Nature.

Nick has recently taken his love of the great outdoors, nature & wellness to the next level & completed his Wim Hof Instructor training in Poland & joins us to discuss the 3 Pillars of the Wim Hof system, embracing the cold & things that take us out of our modern state of constant comfort.

An inspiring & relevant conversation with a man who preaches what he practises & is bucking the trend of modern society & the path many are unconsciously drifting down

We take a deep dive with returning guest Paul Mcllroy into his new book - Perpetual Strength: How to keep getting stronger year in, year out - using the art & science of comfort zone expansion.

We discuss the theory & philosophy behind Paul’s approach as well as the application, programmes & exercises selected. This is Part 2 of 2.

We take a deep dive with returning guest Paul Mcllroy into his new book - Perpetual Strength: How to keep getting stronger year in, year out - using the art & science of comfort zone expansion.

We discuss the theory & philosophy behind Paul’s approach as well as the application, programmes & exercises selected. This is Part 1 of 2.

We are joined from Michigan USA by Ryan Wohlfert - Health & Wellness Dr & Dr of Chiropratic.

This is a great discussion to kick off 2025 as it is about a topic that the majority of adults will need to address at some stage in their life - back pain & spinal health. Dr Ryan offers an empowering approach to personal responsibility & lifestyle modification & far from talking about ‘back cracking’ & ‘manipulations’ shares his teachings on posture, strength training, nutrition, hydration & daily spinal hygiene (think daily oral health - but for your back).

This was a fun & informative conversation & Dr Ryan will definitely be returning to the show in the future. https://www.drwohlfert.com/posture-minicourse

https://www.youtube.com/RyanWohlfert

https://www.drwohlfert.com/

Pete & James don their Christmas attire once again (& zoom backdrops) for the second of a two part festive special to close out 2024 - this time they’re turning the Christmas Cheer up to 11!

They preview upcoming guests, discuss James’ recent trip to Iceland along with such varied topics as strength training, monkey bars, Marcus Aurelius (inspired by Gladiator 2), Perpetual Strength, Walking & how to solve a Rubik’s Cube with one hand WHILST doing pistol squats - a podcast first anywhere in the World!

Pete & James don their Christmas attire (& zoom backdrops) for the first of a two part festive special to close out 2024.

They discuss their own training as they head into Christmas. Pete’s new Walk Bath / Walking Solves App the recent release of Paul Mcllroy’s new book ‘Perpetual Strength’ & James’ upcoming trip to Iceland to watch the Magnus Classic Strongman Competition. T

hey also talk about what they’ve learned from recent guests & their individual focus for 2025.