As far as we can find, this is the first podcast ever recorded hanging off a cliff. If you know otherwise - comments are open.

I'm terrified of heights. Tim has spent 20+ years as a mountaineering and climbing instructor, and he's the founder of Boulder Shack Climbing Gym in Southampton. I told him I'd do an episode on his turf and then found myself suspended over the edge of a sea cliff, genuinely wanting to quit, crying behind my sunglasses.

What followed became a conversation about the thing that actually gets you through fear: trust. Trust in the equipment, trust in the person holding your rope, and trust in yourself, built one small promise at a time. We get into "type 2 fun", the Fear Bubble (Ant Middleton), why calm is contagious, and the breakfast question that talked me off the ledge. Literally.

Follow Tim:
🧗 Boulder Shack Climbing Gym, Southampton
🎙️ In Progress with Tim Miller on YouTube, Spotify & Apple Podcasts
Tim Miller: https://www.instagram.com/timothy.rocks/

Get after your own goals:
💪 Coaching: performwellcoaching.co.uk

🎙️ Hosted by Nick & Grant.
Nick: https://www.instagram.com/getfitbynick
Grant: https://www.instagram.com/coach_grantmcdonald/

📲 Follow us:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performwellpodcast/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@performwellpodcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@getfitbynick

If this episode made you want to do the scary thing - subscribe. And if you don't, I'll come hunt you down once I get off this ledge.

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro The First Podcast Ever Recorded Off a Cliff
0:53 Why We're Hanging Off a Cliff (Fear → Trust)
2:14 The Psychology of Staying Calm
4:23 "Oats Are Working Now, Mate" Tim's Panic Trick
6:04 Has Tim Ever Been Scared?
7:57 Commit First Why We Do Hard Things
9:21 Kids, Parents & Safeguarding: 20 Years of Trust
12:30 "Isn't This Mental?" Panic Mid-Podcast
13:40 The 1AM Knock Foster Care & Trust
16:05 The Spain Burglary Story
17:57 When You Can't Back Out (The Tryfan Story)
20:37 "Let's See Nick Cry" The Courage to Be Seen
21:37 The Fear Bubble (Ant Middleton)
23:46 The 3 Types of Fun
24:33 The Moment I Nearly Quit
26:16 The Climb Out "That Was NOT a V1"
27:11 One Step at a Time Key Takeaways
28:18 What a World We Live In + Where to Find Tim
29:56 Outro


#podcast #climbing #overcomingfear #type2fun #mindset

Six months ago Luke Bland sat in his car, pressed record and spoke from the heart. One of those messages - we're all going to die, and most of us are sleepwalking through the time we've got left, stopped over three million people mid-scroll.

In this episode of the PerformWell Podcast, Nick Finch sits down with Luke (@lukewbland): dad of two, former Royal Marines recruit, scaffolder turned business owner, Ironman, and a man who has run 100 miles in a single go - with a 200-miler and a 215-mile Race Across Scotland still on the calendar. It's an honest, no-fluff conversation.

Luke talks about the turning point that made him quit drinking and drugs overnight at 32 and pour that same energy into endurance sport. We get into learning to swim just nine months out from an Ironman and coming out of the water nearly last, why "world class basics" - manners, timekeeping and hard graft are the only edge he thinks he needs, and the surprisingly underwhelming truth about crossing the finish line.

Along the way: men's mental health and brotherhood, being present as a dad, why "no time" doesn't hold up as an excuse, and what it really takes to not die average. Whether you're chasing your first Ironman, trying to get off the sofa, or just tired of the highlight reel - this one's for you.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ FOLLOW & CONNECT ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🎙️ The PerformWell Podcast → https://www.instagram.com/performwellpodcast/

💪 Nick Finch (host) → https://www.instagram.com/getfitbynick

🏃 Luke Bland (guest) → https://www.instagram.com/lukewbland/

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ SUPPORT THE CAUSE ❤️ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Nick is racing Ironman Leeds to raise money for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), a UK suicide prevention charity. For men under 50, suicide is still the leading cause of death - CALM is working to change that.

Donate to "Stronger than the Silence" → https://www.justgiving.com/page/stronger-than-the-silence

Every share and every pound makes a difference.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ CHAPTERS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

00:00 – Intro

00:55 – Meet Luke Bland & the "don't die average" message

02:26 – Losing control: quitting drink and drugs at 32

03:43 – Hyrox, Ironman Barcelona & learning to swim in 9 months

06:49 – Falling in love with the bike and the trails

08:09 – Royal Marines, Lympstone & "world class basics"

10:14 – Failing young and the drive to prove yourself

14:46 – Scaffolding and the power of a group of lads

17:31 – Men's mental health: "therapy without calling it therapy"

18:43 – Advice for busy dads: why "no time" doesn't hold up

21:04 – Stacking days & the quiet mind of an overthinker

23:54 – What you do when no one is watching

26:53 – The 200-miler, "the tunnel" & signing up for what scares you

31:22 – Would you still do it without social media?

32:48 – Discipline, dawn training & the highlight-reel trap

39:40 – Celebrate the wins — but do what you love

45:27 – What it means to "perform well" & a message to his kids

47:40 – What's next: 200 miles, Scotland & speaking on mental health

#DontDieAverage #UltraRunning #PerformWellPodcast.

Nick Bester started running at 23 with a 25-minute 5K. Today: a 2:19 marathon PB, 100 consecutive marathons under 3 hours, and an England vest that took 13 years to earn.

In episode 151 of the PerformWell Podcast, the two Nicks get into what elite marathon training really takes — 100-mile weeks with four rest days a year, 15x1km sessions harder than race day, and why the pain never gets easier, it just gets faster.

Plus: strength training for runners and how to structure your week around the gym, fuelling up to 120g of carbs per hour (and the 90km Comrades ultra Nick once ran on a single gel), getting humbled at a local fartlek session in Iten, Kenya, and swapping a banking career for coaching mid-COVID.

💙 I'm raising money for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). If this episode gave you something, the fundraiser is here:

Follow Nick Bester:

Follow PerformWell:

Catch us on all MAJOR podcast platforms.

Chapters

#MarathonTraining #Running #NickBester #Ultramarathon #Podcast

Everyone overcomplicates fat loss. In this episode we break down the single biggest reason you're not losing weight - and why "I'm not losing weight" is the wrong question in the first place.

We get into the difference between losing weight and losing fat, why the scale lies to you, the under-reporting trap that quietly stalls most people, how to actually weigh your food (cooked vs raw), and whether your metabolism is really "broken."

Then we hand you the exact protein targets, calorie equation and training setup we use with our coaching clients, plus refeeds, calorie cycling, and why your weight spikes after a big meal (and why it's not fat). If the scale won't budge no matter what you do, this one's for you.

🔴 STRONGER THAN THE SILENCE We're taking on a full Ironman this August for CALM, raising money for men's mental health. Every pound helps, please donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/stronger-than-the-silence

🎙️ Hosted by Nick & Grant.

Nick: https://www.instagram.com/getfitbynick

Grant: https://www.instagram.com/coach_grantmcdonald/

📲 Follow us:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performwellpodcast/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@performwellpodcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@getfitbynick

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro

00:33 The one real reason you're not losing weight

01:41 Weight vs fat: ask a better question

02:31 Why the scale is lying to you

03:23 Are you actually in a deficit? (under-reporting)

04:58 Cooked vs raw: the food-weighing mistake

06:27 When it's NOT just calories (PCOS, thyroid)

07:32 Adaptive thermogenesis & the Biggest Loser study

08:49 Why your metabolism and step count drop

11:03 Build muscle to burn fat at rest

12:35 How much protein you actually need

14:34 The simple calorie equation

15:42 Why strength training is non-negotiable

16:57 Refeeds & calorie cycling explained

18:58 Why your weight spikes after eating (not fat)

21:00 The takeaway: stop chasing the scale

#FatLoss #CalorieDeficit #WeightLoss #FitnessPodcast #performwell

Credits:

Music: Infinite by Soundridemusic

Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZwcnKbRBpo

DeeDee jumped off Southampton's Itchen Bridge and survived. In this episode he opens up about that night, getting sober, and how movement gave him a reason to keep going. This is an honest conversation about men's mental health, suicide, recovery and finding purpose.

⚠️ Content warning: this episode includes discussion of suicide, a suicide attempt, self-harm and addiction. Please take care while watching. You are not alone, and free confidential support is listed at the bottom of this description.

🔴 STRONGER THAN THE SILENCE

We're taking on a full Ironman this August for CALM, raising money for men's mental health. Every pound helps, please donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/stronger-than-the-silence

After two near-fatal incidents and years of using alcohol as a mask, DeeDee got sober and rebuilt his life with purpose. He founded The Big Movement to get men moving and talking for their mental health, he talks people down from the same bridge he jumped from, and this year he ran a marathon over it. We talk about rock bottom, sobriety, loneliness, bullying, self-worth and the small daily habits that brought him back. It's raw, it's hopeful, and it's exactly why we make this show. If you're a man sitting in silence, or you love someone who is, this one is for you.

GUEST: DeeDee Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannydcrook/

🎙️ Hosted by Nick & Grant.

Nick: https://www.instagram.com/getfitbynick

Grant: https://www.instagram.com/coach_grantmcdonald/

📲 Follow us:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performwellpodcast/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@performwellpodcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@getfitbynick

SUPPORT (UK, free and confidential)

Samaritans: call 116 123, any time, day or night

CALM: call 0800 58 58 58, 5pm to midnight, or webchat at thecalmzone.net

Shout: text SHOUT to 85258 In an emergency, call 999 CHAPTERS

00:00 Why we're raising for CALM this year

00:55 His first ever half marathon (and the sub 2 hour finish)

02:16 The Big Movement: getting men moving for their mental health

03:48 Why "movement" really means dance (and why men resist it)

06:10 The clap game: how ten strangers connect in a room

08:03 The dancer who said "I'm not depressed any more"

09:36 Lifting, boxing and the anger you have to release

11:17 Running a marathon over the bridge he nearly died on

13:09 What rock bottom actually looked like

15:53 Two bridges, a coma, and the drinking underneath it all

19:19 Getting sober: 18 months, 0% beer and beating the triggers

23:08 "It was a rebirth": finding purpose on the other side

24:22 Why he talks strangers down from the bridge

27:48 How bullying follows you into adulthood

32:34 The mirror exercise that changed everything

34:05 Gratitude, journaling and the books that helped

35:13 Why he goes back to that bridge every single day

38:02 The next marathon, and why the suffering is the point

40:50 What does it actually mean to perform well?

43:28 Where to find DeeDee and The Big Movement

#MensMentalHealth #MentalHealthAwareness #StrongerThanTheSilence #ItGetsBetter #PerformWell

A doctor told Mark he'd be in his coffin by 40. Two years later, he's 137kg lighter — and he never touched a weight-loss jab. No Ozempic. No surgery. Just the most honest transformation we've ever filmed.

Mark went from 234kg (34 stone) to 97kg in two years — the natural way. He sits down with Nick, Grant and Gemma to talk about the GP appointment that scared him straight, what he was really eating at his heaviest, the sepsis scare that nearly ended it all, and the day he deadlifted the exact weight he'd lost. We go deep on the stuff nobody talks about honestly: the weight-loss jab debate (when they help and when they don't), emotional eating, loose skin, body dysmorphia, why the scales lie, and the mindset that got him through the bad days.

Built. Challenged. Real.

👉 Interested in the coaching programme Mark followed? Reach out via the links below.

— FOLLOW MARK —

Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/windsorpolo25/

🎙️ Hosted by Nick, Grant & Gemma.

Nick: https://www.instagram.com/getfitbynick

Grant: https://www.instagram.com/coach_grantmcdonald/

Gemma: https://www.instagram.com/gemmapaddy82/

📲 Follow us:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performwellpodcast/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@performwellpodcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@getfitbynick

— CHAPTERS —

00:00 Intro

00:45 Welcome & meet Mark

01:41 "I'd be dead by 40" — the doctor's prognosis

03:05 Caring for mum & the moment he decided to act

04:37 Being judged & made to feel invisible

06:39 What he was really eating (10–15lb of sweets a day)

09:05 234kg: the daily reality at his heaviest

09:59 The sepsis scare that nearly ended it

11:40 The numbers: 234kg → 97kg

12:07 Deadlifting the 120kg he lost

14:21 Fibre, fullness & gut health

15:05 Before vs now: the food breakdown

17:39 Self-loathing & "I don't deserve to look after myself"

19:01 Relapses & why a gain isn't failure

21:55 Why he refused the weight-loss jabs

22:42 The big Ozempic debate

24:30 Emotional eating

27:54 "Start where you are" — advice for big beginners

30:20 The carb myth

34:24 Good foods vs bad foods

34:59 Walking: the #1 thing that actually worked

36:37 The 3 levels of transformation

38:00 Loose skin & "I'd rather live"

38:40 Body dysmorphia & the comfort blanket

39:26 The best reaction from a stranger

40:30 The loose-skin surgery injustice

42:15 Why he said no to a gastric bypass

43:25 Mental resilience: "the power is within"

45:14 Why the scales lie

46:15 How often you should actually weigh yourself

50:24 His message to anyone starting today

51:20 What "performing well" really means

52:03 Wrap & where to follow Mark

#WeightLossTransformation #WeightLossJourney #NoOzempic #PerformWell #FatLoss

Is "science-based lifting" actually making you better - or just making you train like a robot with a foam roller through your arm?

In Episode 146, Nick and Grant break down where evidence-based training earns its place and where the internet took it way too far.

Bluetooth handles, lengthened partials, 3 reps-in-reserve, mouth guards mid-set - we get into all of it. Two coaches, 15 years each, 30,000+ hours on the gym floor, calling it straight. We cover why Jeff Nippard's own lengthened-partials research landed back at "just do the full rep," why the bench press got unfairly cancelled, why mechanical tension and hard effort beat perfect form on a spreadsheet, and the simple form → time-under-tension → weight framework we use with every client.

Science is a tool, not a religion.

It's a way - not the only way.

──────────────────────────────────

🎙️ Hosted by Nick & Grant.

Nick: https://www.instagram.com/getfitbynick

Grant: https://www.instagram.com/coach_grantmcdonald/

📲 Follow us:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performwellpodcast/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@performwellpodcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@getfitbynick

──────────────────────────────────

Chapters:

00:00 Is science-based lifting worth it?

01:30 What science-based training really means

03:00 Full range vs partial reps

04:00 Why old-school bodybuilders still got huge

05:20 When data ruins training

06:00 Knees-over-toes & flawed science

08:00 Jeff Nippard, Israetel & online lifting culture

08:30 Lengthened partials vs full reps

11:00 Coaching experience vs studies

12:00 Reverse-banded hack squats

14:35 Bench press vs dumbbell press

16:30 Mechanical tension & chest growth

18:10 Which is safer?

20:30 Final verdict on science-based lifting

22:10 The movement patterns that matter

22:50 Why training hard still wins

23:30 Form, tension & progressive overload

24:35 Drop sets and plateau breakers

25:30 It’s a way, not the only way

#sciencebasedlifting #hypertrophytraining #buildmuscle #strengthtraining #performwellpodcast Credits: Music: Infinite by Soundridemusic Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZwcnKbRBpo&list=PLyuakwzSUr6DM1YqTg65HiWG0UrmxdOFk

Most people think pole fitness is a party trick.

Beccie Dunn thought it looked cool in a photo and couldn't even walk into a class alone. Then it fixed her. Beccie spent years trapped in body dysmorphia — eating 900 calories a day, training like a bodybuilder, desperate to be as small as possible. Pole fitness broke that cycle. When she saw how much strength, muscle and proper nutrition it actually took to get good, everything changed.

Now she runs Dynamic Aerial Academy in Southampton and has built one of the most empowering fitness communities in the UK.

In this episode we tried pole for the first time (and got absolutely humbled), then sat down to talk about everything the fitness industry doesn't say loudly enough.

We cover:

How pole fitness rewired Beccie's relationship with food, her body and strength

Why she was eating 900 calories while training a full-body skill sport

The eating disorder, the body dysmorphia, and the exact moment the switch flipped

Breaking her foot mid-session — and teaching the rest of the class on it

Training kettlebells on the day she went into labour (waters broke that night)

Why pole is one of the hardest skill sports you can do — and why that's the point Sleep, REM cycles and what's actually killing your recovery

Raising strong kids in a world obsessed with junk food

Building community, handling online hate, and staying in your lane

This one's for anyone who's ever punished their body trying to look a certain way — and needed someone to show them a better reason to train.

🔔 Subscribe for new episodes weekly

📍 Dynamic Aerial Academy, Southampton

📸 Follow Beccie:  @becciedunnfitness 

https://www.instagram.com/becciedunn/

📌 Chapters

00:00 - Intro & Welcome to Dynamic Aerial

00:17 - What Pole Fitness Actually Is

01:43 - How Beccie Got Into Pole & Built Her Academy

02:13 - Bodybuilder Training vs Performance Training

03:31 - Eating 900 Calories While Training Pole

05:14 - The Turning Point: Strong & Sexy Is Born

07:00 - Why Pole Is Closer to Gymnastics Than the Gym

08:47 - She Broke Her Foot and Still Taught That Night

10:00 - Managing Tendonitis & Injuries in Pole

11:04 - Kettlebells: The Most Transferable Tool to Pole

13:00 - How Long Does It Take to Get Good at Pole?

14:00 - Building Community From Day One

19:00 - Social Media, Followers & Mental Health

21:57 - How to Handle Online Hate

26:20 - Who Is Pole Fitness For? (Everyone)

31:00 - Competition vs Social Media in the Pole World

33:00 - What to Expect in Your First Pole Class

35:39 - Why Sleep Is Your #1 Performance Tool

37:00 - Deep REM, Sleep Data & Evening Routines

40:00 - Perimenopause, HRT & Sleep

40:38 - Training Through Pregnancy Up to Labour

44:22 - Raising Kids on Real Food

51:44 - What Does It Mean to Perform Well?

53:42 - Find Beccie & Dynamic Aerial Academy

──────────────────────────────────

🎙️ Hosted by Nick, Grant & Gemma.

Nick: https://www.instagram.com/getfitbynick

Grant: https://www.instagram.com/coach_grantmcdonald/

Gemma: https://www.instagram.com/gemmapaddy82/

📲 Follow us:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performwellpodcast/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@performwellpodcast

YouTube:  @getfitbynick 

#PoleFitness #BodyDysmorphia #EatingDisorderRecovery #StrengthTraining #PerformWellPodcast #FitnessWomen #StrongAndSexy #PodcastFitness #WomensHealth #FitnessMotivation

Everyone's telling you to start your summer diet. We're telling you to stop.

Nick, Grant & Gemma have a combined 40+ years of PT experience — and their biggest lesson isn't about what to eat or how much cardio to do. It's this: the body you're chasing for summer probably isn't worth the cost of getting it. In this episode of The Performwell Podcast, Gemma opens up about the psychological fallout of getting shredded, Nick breaks down why chasing a physique goal is like thinking school is your whole life, and Grant shares the clients who got the body — and still weren't happy.

From crash diet culture and body dysmorphia, to steroids hiding in plain sight on Instagram, to how Gemma's testosterone and HRT journey became the most sustainable thing she's ever done — this is the conversation you need before you start cutting for summer.

If you've ever crash dieted before a holiday, compared yourself to someone online, or wondered why getting lean still didn't feel like enough — watch this first.

WHAT WE COVER:

→ Why 6–8 week summer transformations usually backfire

→ The psychological damage of extreme dieting and photo shoot prep

→ Body dysmorphia — and why even the fittest people aren't immune

→ What actually is a healthy body fat % for men and women

→ The steroid problem hiding in plain sight on your Instagram feed

→ Why the body you can't sustain isn't worth chasing

→ Gemma's HRT and testosterone journey — and how it changed everything

→ How to shift your mindset from "summer body" to something that actually lasts

──────────────────────────────────

🎙️ Hosted by Nick & Grant, with special guest Gemma.

Nick: https://www.instagram.com/getfitbynick

Grant: https://www.instagram.com/coach_grantmcdonald/

Gemma: https://www.instagram.com/gemmapaddy82

📲 Follow us:

nstagram: https://www.instagram.com/performwellpodcast/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@performwellpodcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@getfitbynick

──────────────────────────────────

0:00 – Intro: The Problem With Summer Diets

0:53 – Why 6–8 Week Transformations Are a Mistake

3:29 – The Psychological Fallout of Getting Shredded

4:02 – Body Dysmorphia — Does Anyone Actually Escape It?

7:03 – Photo Shoots, Bodybuilding & Knowing Your Limits

12:10 – What's Actually a Healthy Body Fat % for Men & Women?

19:20 – The Steroid Problem Nobody's Talking About

21:40 – Gemma's HRT & Testosterone Journey — And How It Changed Her Life

#SummerDiet #HolidayPrep #FitnessPodcast #SummerBody #BodyDysmorphia #DontStartYourDiet #PerformwellPodcast #FitnessTruth #SustainableFitness #GymCultureUK #HRTWomen #TestosteroneWomen #GetLeanForSummer #CrashDiet #MentalHealthFitness