I spent eight to ten years working in corporate environments technology companies, financial consultancies, e-commerce brands. I know exactly what it feels like to sign a 37.5 hour contract and consistently work more than that. I know what it feels like to reach the end of the day and realise your health, your training, and your social life all got squeezed out again.

In this episode I talk through the system that actually worked for me and still does today.

I cover why your employer will not manage your wellbeing for you and why accepting that is actually the first step to changing things. I talk through how I use multiple overlapping calendars work, personal, fitness, nutrition and social to give myself a clear visual picture of the week so I can see where the gaps are and protect them before anyone else fills them.

I share why I moved my training from evenings to mornings, why evening training kept failing me no matter how motivated I was, and what changed when I restructured my mornings around my sessions instead of the other way around.

I also cover how to decline meetings without feeling guilty, how to block your calendar so people cannot book over your non-negotiables, why a Sunday planning session changes everything, and why getting things out of your head before you train is one of the most underrated habits you can build.

If you feel like the day just disappears and there is never enough time for your health this one is for you.

Most people talk about calorie deficits like they are simple. Eat less, move more, done. In this episode I want to give you the honest version, what it actually feels like, what I learned going through one myself in 2022, and whether it is even the right move for you right now.

I take you back to when I was around 88 kilograms and genuinely believed I would never go below that number. I walk through everything I learned during that process — the things nobody tells you and the things I wish someone had told me earlier.

I cover the five things that actually made the difference. Stabilising your output through consistent training and daily movement. Tracking and logging your food not just for the numbers but for the education it gives you about your own diet. Hydration and why I was not taking it seriously enough. Weighing yourself daily and using a weekly average rather than reacting to single readings. And following a structured nutrition plan with meal timing that actually worked around my life and my training.

I also talk about the thing most people do not want to say out loud, that feeling hungry is okay, and learning to accept that is one of the hardest parts of a deficit. I share how I thought about calories as a currency, how I used sparkling water in the evenings when my calories were gone, and why I targeted just 500 grams of loss per week rather than trying to rush the process.

The honest truth is there is a lot you can do for your health before you ever need to put yourself into a calorie deficit. This episode will help you figure out if it is the right time for you.

This one is different. Less health and fitness, more business and life.

I wanted to have an honest conversation about my journey from corporate life to building JLC because I think there are things in that story that might help you if you are sitting on an idea, a passion, or a side hustle you keep putting off.

I take you back to where it all started. The pandemic taking the gym away from me and making me realise how much movement meant to my life. Getting my level 2 and level 3 qualifications in 2022 not because I wanted to start a business but because I wanted to learn. Being made redundant from an e-commerce brand in 2023, the shock of that, and how I used the garden leave to travel to Bali and start helping people with their training on Instagram. Setting up Stripe for the first time thinking it was way too much for what I was doing.

I talk about what it was actually like running JLC alongside a demanding corporate role at a large financial consultancy. The evenings, the weekends, the check-ins on Monday nights, the programming on Saturday mornings. The days where it was genuinely too much and why I kept going anyway.

I also talk about what it feels like now. Coaching full time, based in Dubai, still figuring it out, not 100% confident every day, but more excited and more fulfilled than I ever was in a tech role doing someone else's work.

And then I talk about the opportunity that exists right now. The tools available today that simply did not exist when I started. AI, technology, the abundance of knowledge that is available to anyone who is curious enough to go looking for it. The barrier to starting something has never been lower. And if you have a passion or even just something that interests you, now is genuinely the right time to do something about it.

You do not have to have it all figured out. You just have to start.

I recorded this one fresh off a flight from Dubai to London so everything I'm talking about here I literally just lived through yesterday.

In this episode I cover the full picture of travel and how to handle it without your training, nutrition and energy falling apart. Because most people underestimate what travel actually does to the body and then wonder why they feel off for days after landing.

I talk through what to do before you travel, including hydration, sleep, getting a session in beforehand, and packing with intention. Protein powder, snacks, supplements. I share the exact mistake I've made with protein powder bags splitting in luggage so you don't have to learn that one the hard way.

On the plane I cover why cabin air is one of the most dehydrating environments you'll spend time in, why movement every hour or two matters more than most people realise, and why alcohol is genuinely one of the worst things you can do on a long haul flight if you want to feel human when you land.

On arrival I talk about why your first day is not a normal day and shouldn't be treated like one. Walk outside, get natural light, eat at local meal times as quickly as you can, and give yourself permission to feel a bit off. It doesn't mean you've lost progress. It means you're human.

I also share what I actually did yesterday, including a very small breakfast before a lunchtime flight, staying up until 11pm on arrival despite my body thinking it was 2am Dubai time, and what I'm planning for the gym today.

Travel is part of life for the men I coach. Corporate trips, relocations, holidays. The goal is never perfection. It's damage limitation, realistic expectations, and getting back on track as quickly as possible.

I've never done a proper introduction episode, until now.

In this one I take you right back to the beginning. Growing up on a family farm in the late 80s, lambing season, early starts, and learning what it actually means to show up every single day. From there I talk about my national diploma in agriculture, a gap year working harvest in New Zealand, a degree at the Royal Agricultural University, and eventually making the decision at 25 to step away from farming entirely.

What followed was a career that took me through digital marketing, coding, software testing, and into a senior role at a large financial consultancy in Manchester all while building James Long Coaching on the side. I also talk about my time presenting on a local radio station, my love of DJing, and how the pandemic was the moment I realised coaching was something I genuinely wanted to build.

I'm now based in Dubai, running JLC as my sole business, building a tech startup on the side, and about to be reunited with my dog Milo who is flying out to join me in the Middle East.

This episode is for anyone who has stumbled across the podcast for the first time, or anyone who wants to understand the journey behind the coaching why I do it, who I work with, and what I genuinely believe fitness can do for every other area of your life.

What to do when you haven’t trained in two weeks by JLC POD

How to stay consistent when your job changes by JLC POD