In the seventh episode of this series, we chat to Dr Haresh Suppiah, a Research Fellow in Sport and Exercise Science at La Trobe University, on the topic of sleep and how our sleeping habits can affect our daily performance and functionality.

Now we’ve had a number of people and La Trobe researchers and academics who have come on to this pod covering a variety of topics, whether that be injury prevention, nutrition, getting motivated to exercise and the like., but the one thing in common they have all spoken about is the importance of sleep, particularly in the context of an athlete’s performance or even just how an active person functions as a result of their sleeping habits.

Haresh provides us with some valuable tips and suggestions on how you can best set yourself for a good night’s sleep - whether that be for athletes or just the regular person that works a 9-5 job.

This is the final Thrive Health & Wellbeing Podcast episode for 2021. It has been an absolute pleasure bringing you the unique insights, views and expert advice from La Trobe University’s fine array of researchers, academics and industry professionals across the sport, health and wellness space. Thank you for your listenership, and we hope to see you back again in 2022.

If you have missed any episodes of the Thrive Health & Wellbeing Podcast, don’t forget you can go back and listen to all seven episodes in the series on Spotify, Anchor or Apple Podcasts.

Also,  please don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE on the platform where you get your favourite audio podcast.

Make sure you don't miss an episode of the La Trobe University Thrive Health & Wellbeing Podcast by following our new La Trobe Sport Active Recreation channels on Facebook and Instagram!:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ltsactiverec

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/ltsactiverec/

As Australia gradually moves towards a degree of normality in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a return to competitive sport and active recreation is right on our doorstep. But for so many of us on the eastern seaboard who are coming out of multiple months in lockdown, this has presented a unique challenge for those gearing up for a return to the field or gym in the coming months.

So in the sixth episode of this series, we chat to Dr Ebonie Rio, a senior researcher at the La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, about the impending return to sport and active recreation in the coming weeks.

Throughout our interview with Ebonie, we tackle the broad concept of injury prevention and how our risk of sustaining an injury upon our return to sport is significantly heightened as a result of the lengthy disruption to our regular training routines.

Over the next 20 minutes, Ebonie provides us with some valuable insights in preparing for a return to sport post lockdown and some practical tips on how we can lower our risk profile of pinging a hammy or aggravating an old injury ahead of what promises to be a massive summer of sport activity.

If you are looking to get into shape for summer, or want to get back into a fitness routine after lockdown, be sure to check out La Trobe Sport’s Summer Health & Fitness Challenge. For just $99, La Trobe Sport Health & Fitness Challenge participants will receive unlimited access to our wide variety of Indoor Sports Centre (Bundoora Campus) facilities and programs for 6 weeks. This includes free access to our Core Cave (Reformer Pilates studio), Zen Den (Mind and Body studio) and Strong Zone (Functional Training studio) specialty studios, as well as unlimited use of our newly renovated gym, swimming pool and group fitness classes. Full details here: https://www.latrobe.edu.au/sport/health-and-fitness/melbourne/fitness-challenge

Make sure you don't miss an episode of the La Trobe University Thrive Health & Wellbeing Podcast by following our new La Trobe Sport Active Recreation channels on Facebook and Instagram!:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ltsactiverec

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/ltsactiverec/

In the fifth episode of this series, we chat to Dr Anthea Clarke, who is a lecturer within La Trobe University’s Sport & Exercise Science discipline.

Anthea’s appearance on the Thrive Health & Wellbeing Podcast is timely given her involvement in the upcoming Supporting the Female Athlete short course being hosted by La Trobe’s Sport & Exercise Science discipline throughout the month of October.

Throughout this episode, Anthea takes us through some of the key considerations coaches need to keep in mind when it comes to facilitating a positive sporting environment for female athletes, as well as providing an overview of some of the key components that will be covered in the Supporting the Female Athlete short course.

Registration for the course is only $50 and close on Thursday September 30, so get in quick! For more information or to register for the Supporting the Female Athlete short course, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/supporting-the-female-athlete-short-course-tickets-163820470437

Make sure you don't miss an episode of the La Trobe University Thrive Health & Wellbeing Podcast by following La Trobe Sport on social media!:

• FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/latrobesport

• TWITTER: https://twitter.com/LaTrobeSport

• INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/latrobesport/

• LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/la-trobe-sport/

In the fourth episode of this series, we’re turning our attention to Australia’s largest health education provider, the La Trobe University Rural Health School.

To learn more about it, we chatted to two lecturers from the Rural Health School’s Allied Health division in Dr. Rodrigo Bini and Dr. Jayden Hunter, who are both based at La Trobe’s Bendigo Campus and specialise in exercise physiology.

Throughout this pod, Rodrigo and Jayden take us through some of the fantastic research being conducted at the La Trobe Rural Health School and some of the opportunities that are being provided to regionally-based students.

We also learn more about how physical activity and exercise supervision programs can improve productivity in the workplace and investigate some of the strategies that can be adopted to assist with the pain often associated with cycling.

Speaking of exciting initiatives happening at La Trobe’s regional campuses, La Trobe Sport is pleased to announce the opening of the Bendigo Sports Centre gym from August 9.

To celebrate the launch of the new regional health and fitness facility, La Trobe Sport is offering some exciting opening deals and discounts for students, staff and members of the general public. Find out more here: https://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/announcements/2021/take-advantage-of-the-bendigo-sports-centres-early-eagle-membership-offers

This podcast is a resource that has been created by the La Trobe community for the La Trobe community, and we hope that you get plenty out of it. If you enjoy this podcast, please don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE on the platform where you get your favourite audio podcast.

Make sure you don't miss an episode of the La Trobe University Thrive Health & Wellbeing Podcast by following La Trobe Sport on social media!:

• FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/latrobesport

• TWITTER: https://twitter.com/LaTrobeSport

• INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/latrobesport/

• LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/la-trobe-sport/

Well, we are now into the depths of winter here in Australia and the frosty mornings are well and truly upon us. Not exactly conducive conditions for wanting to get up and get active that’s for sure!

So to help us find that bit of motivation to get moving this winter, we spoke to Georgia Couvalias, the Health & Fitness Coordinator for La Trobe Sport, for Episode 3 of the Thrive Health & Wellbeing Podcast.

As you will hear throughout this episode, Georgia has an extensive background in exercise science and human movement but has a great way of tailoring her message for the common person.

If you’re someone who is thinking about starting a fitness program or is looking to get back into a movement routine after a lengthy layoff, Georgia provides us with a series of simple and practical tips that can help you get moving again.

If any elements of this discussion resonated with you and you want to learn more about beginning or restarting your health and fitness journey, get in touch with the friendly team at the Indoor Sports Centre. For more information, visit https://www.latrobe.edu.au/sport/health-and-fitness. 

Unmind is a wellbeing digital platform and is now available to all staff free of charge. The platform offers free resources, tools and educational pieces aimed at assisting with wellbeing. Please use the link to learn more and for more instruction on how to sign up: https://intranet.latrobe.edu.au/know-our-organisation/news/2021/unmind-app-for-staff

Make sure you don't miss an episode of the La Trobe University Thrive Health & Wellbeing Podcast by following La Trobe Sport on social media!:

• FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/latrobesport

• TWITTER: https://twitter.com/LaTrobeSport

• INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/latrobesport/

• LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/la-trobe-sport/

Additional sound effects obtained from https://zapsplat.com and https://freesound.org/.

This month at La Trobe University is Mindfulness in May; an initiative run by the La Trobe Health & Wellbeing team to promote the quality of mindfulness.

Across all of La Trobe’s Campuses this month, the La Trobe Health & Wellbeing Team will be providing staff and students with a variety of resources and workshops dedicated to cultivating mindfulness.

This month, we chatted to Dr. Eric Morris - Senior Lecturer and the Psychology Clinic Director in the School of Psychology & Public Health at La Trobe University.

Eric is an expert in the topic of mindfulness, and it was wonderful to hear from him and learn about some of benefits of mindfulness and how we can incorporate it within our daily lives. Click here to visit Eric's website or you can also check him out on Twitter.

Links to La Trobe University's 'Mindfulness in May' events are below:

Make sure you don't miss an episode of the La Trobe University Thrive Health & Wellbeing Podcast by following La Trobe Sport on social media!:  

• FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/latrobesport

• TWITTER: https://twitter.com/LaTrobeSport

• INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/latrobesport/

• LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/la-trobe-sport/

To kick off the La Trobe University Thrive Health & Wellbeing Podcast series, we chatted to Advanced Sports Dietician, Sarah Jenner, who is a lecturer at La Trobe University in the Nutrition and Dietetics discipline.

For the last four years, Sarah has worked as the Sports Dietician for the Carlton Football Club, and particularly enjoys teaching footy players how to cook and students about how athletic performance can be optimised with food.

Sarah has recently completed her PhD project, which provides insight into factors that influence Australian Football athletes’ food choice and highlights the importance of individualised nutrition advice provided by a sports dietitian.

For La Trobe staff and students living a busy lifestyle, it can be hard to maintain a healthy nutrition intake or to know which foods we should be eating to keep us sustained throughout the day. Sarah provides us with a suite of simple nutrition and cooking tips that can easily be adopted for our busy lives, and it was awesome to talk to her about her passion for all things cooking, food and sport.

Make sure you don't miss an episode of the La Trobe University Thrive Health & Wellbeing Podcast by following La Trobe Sport on social media!:

Additional sound effects obtained from https://zapsplat.com.

Welcome to the La Trobe University Thrive Health & Wellbeing Podcast! 

This podcast is a collaborative project between La Trobe Sport and the La Trobe Health and Wellbeing team. 

Over the next few months, we will have the pleasure of talking to a wide range of experts from a variety of La Trobe departments, faculties and disciplines that helped La Trobe rank number two in the entire world for our contribution to health and wellbeing (2020 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings). We will cover an array of topics including nutrition, mindfulness, exercise and sleep – all essential elements for a healthy lifestyle.

We will also chat to leading researchers in human movement and sport science to learn more about the latest trends being used in professional sport, which is sure to bring out the best in the weekend warriors amongst us.