Dan Buchanan has spent over 20 years working at the sharp end of elite sport — Reading FC, Derby County, Argentina Rugby team, and even a stint helping Diversity dance group.

Now co-founder of Go Perform, one of the South East's leading sports rehab centres, he's building the same environment professional athletes rely on, for every kind of athlete.

In this episode, Dan explains:

• why rest is often the worst thing you can do for a tendon injury;
• how context, not diagnosis, defines good rehabilitation;
• why elite sport is waking up to mental health and emotional wellness
• and the growing wave of serious Amateur Athletes who are demanding — and deserving — pro-level care.

We also cover: myofascial release and when the flashy tools on your social feed are actually just noise; the anti-gravity treadmill that helped the likes of Ledley King recover; the overlooked role of loading in recovery; and Dan's honest take on ice baths, peptides, and the wellness trends that separate signal from placebo.

Whether you're managing a long-term niggle, returning from surgery, or simply trying to train harder without breaking down - this one's essential listening.

And if you're looking for a performance gym, full of expertise to help you stay at the top of your game, recover and be part of a community as well - check out Go Perform here: https://www.go-perform.co.uk

As an Amateur Athletes you might recovery is something you do after training.Ice baths. Stretching. Massage guns. Sleep trackers.

But according to Dr. Peter Tierney — a PhD in Applied Sports Science who has spent 14+ years working across elite sport with Chelsea FC, the English FA, Leinster Rugby and lululemon — people often miss the point entirely.

In this episode, we break down the science behind performance, recovery, training load, wearables, consistency and what the elite athletes actually do... it might just surprise you.

Why do some athletes continue improving while others plateau?

Why are so many people relying on recovery tools… but still feeling exhausted?

And what happens when your body says one thing, but your data says another?

This conversation dives into hacks and optimisation trends, but more importantly, Peter goes beyond that to explore;- the hidden cost of inconsistency- the psychology behind performance- and why “recovery” may have far less to do with what happens after training than you think.

This episode may just completely change how you think about performance and recovery.

Because as Peter explains: “Recovery in reality is everything outside of training.”

Find out more about Peter

Peter's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drpetertierney/

S.H.I.T Framework: https://www.instagram.com/p/DWUKV_1DDQs/

Resisted Sled Sprints Research: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334708151_Momentum_for_resisted_sled_sprints_Momentum_a_practical_solution_to_calculate_the_optimal_load_for_resisted_sled_sprint_training

Wearable Health Metrics: https://www.instagram.com/p/DU-66nYDHq7/

What does it really take to chase elite performance while living the busy life of a Architect?

In this episode of The Amateur Athlete Diaries, I sit down with heptathlete and full-time architect Lucy Woodward. An athlete balancing one of the most demanding disciplines in sport with a seven-year professional career pathway to becoming a qualified architect.

What stood out from our conversation was Lucy's dedication to structure and prioritisation.

Sacrifice in a sport that offers little guarantees. The reality is that in athletics, you’re not doing it for money, Lucy and many athletes alike do it for pure passion and the drive to improve.

Lucy opens up about:

- Training six days a week around a full-time job

- The resilience required when progress stalls for multiple years

- Overcoming a crippling high jump mental block that nearly ended her career

- Rebuilding her love for the sport

- What it means to be one performance away from the Commonwealth Games

This episode explores a fundamental question:

What keeps you going when the outcome is uncertain?

Because being an Amateur Athlete is far from about being perfect. That can be the target...

But it’s more about showing up, again and again, day after day, with that goal of progress, not perfection, always front of mind.

What if your brain, and not your body, is the real limiter of performance?

To open up Season 3 of the Amateur Athlete Diaries, we’re joined by Humphrey Bodington; founder, ultra-endurance athlete, and someone who turned ongoing concussions symptoms into a deep exploration of brain performance, human potential, and now a business.

After experiencing the long-term effects of head injuries through rugby, Humphrey went beyond traditional recovery - working with neuroscientists, experimenting with nootropics, and ultimately building a company focused on cognitive optimisation.

This episode breaks down:

- Why brain health is the foundation of athletic performance

- The real link between concussions, cognition, and injury risk- How endurance challenges build resilience, identity, and confidence

- The transition from athlete to founder, and why both require the same mindset

- Practical ways to think about optimising your brain for training, work, and life

We also dive into ultra-endurance challenges, including self-built Ironman distances, Edinburgh to London rides, and 14 marathons in 7 days - not always focusing on the result, but for what the process unlocked.

The key takeaway?

It’s not the finish line that changes you - it’s who you become in the process.

If you’re someone balancing training with work, business, or life - this episode may just shift how you think about performance, recovery, and long-term potential.

This is The Amateur Athlete Diaries. Listen in to learn, connect, and hear stories from those performing in their sport whilst balancing work and life.

In this episode, I sit down with Damaine Benjamin. A European Masters Champion in the 400m hurdles, sports massage therapist, coach, father of two, and full-time working athlete.

He trains five to six days a week.

He funds his own competitions.

He even coaches himself.

And at 38 years old, he became European Champion.

But this conversation shows the far from plain sailing path to a gold medal. We discuss:

- Growing up competing in Jamaica’s ultra-competitive athletics system

- Sleeping on campus and training at night when access was restricted

- Quitting athletics entirely and playing Sunday league football

- Returning overweight and out of shape in 2015

- Injuries, setbacks, being told he was “getting old”

- Learning to reduce volume and train smarter, not harder

- Winning European gold while thinking about how it would grow his business

- Why Masters athletics is more competitive than ever

- And what it truly means to be an Amateur Athlete

Damaine opens up about discipline, identity, community, self-coaching, social media, and why he believes speed is everything, even in life outside the track.

He also shares insights from his experience as a coach:

- Why most 400m runners train endurance when they should train speed

- How periodisation changed his career in his late 30s

- The realities of self-funding international competition

Listen in and hear about what it took to reach European Gold at 38.

What happens when everything in your life starts to fall apart but you still have a date circled in the calendar?

The latest episode of The Amateur Athlete Diaries is from my conversation with Keaton Loader back in November. We discuss how discipline is forged in difficult moments, the power of having a goal, and why boxing goes beyond sport to influence other areas of life.

We talk about:

• Training through sadness, depression, and uncertainty

• Why discipline only reveals itself when life gets hard

• The balance between pushing yourself and listening to your body

• Boxing as both a lonely & deeply communal sport

• Learning to celebrate wins and not just chase the next goal

• How purpose, routine, and environment can pull you forward

This is a conversation about sport, yes but an underlying message throughout centres on identity, resilience, and finding structure when things life gets out of control.

Boxer or not, Keaton's story has elements many of us will be able to relate to. Listen in now and let us know your thoughts!

MyFitPod supported this episode.MyFitPod is your own private gym. No waiting. No crowds. No gym-timidation. Just you — training on your terms.Check it out here: https://myfitpod.co.uk

What happens when the thing you love most is taken away from you?

In this episode, I sit down with Scottish decathlete, Tom Chandler, who is fresh off winning the South of England Combined Events. We talk about injuries, identity, pressure, and what it means to persist when sport stops becomes less one dimensional.

After three knee operations, Tom opens up about how injury forced him to confront who he was beyond being an athlete; and why that process ultimately made him stronger, more grounded, and more patient in chasing big goals.

We talk about:

- Losing your identity when sport is taken away

- Why injuries can be the most powerful (and brutal) teachers of lessons

- Competing across two days in the decathlon and managing emotions under pressure

- Being process-driven as an amateur athlete with real-world responsibilities

- Why “you are not your sport” doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter

This is conversation dives into perspectives, resilience, and what it takes to stay in the game, even when that path isn’t linear.

Something a little different here...

We quizzed Kyle on some questions you may be wondering after hearing about his 3,000+ mile run around the perimeter of Britain.

Question 1: How Much Did You Spend?

Question 2: How Much Did A Search For Meaning & Purpose Influence Your Decision To Take On This Challenge?

Question 3: What Has Your Recovery Been Like Since Finishing?

Question 4: What Was The Reaction From Friends & Family To Doing This Challenge?

Let us know what you think and if you'd like to see more of this sort of content!

Running 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours sounds simple on paper but sleep deprivation, fueling mistakes, and mental fatigue make it considerably harder in practise.

In this episode of The Amateur Athlete Diaries, I’m joined by Katie Williams to unpack her experience taking on the 4x4x48 challenge, a brutal endurance test that became less about running fitness and more about mindset, recovery, and self-belief.

Katie shares:

- Why she decided to take on the 4x4x48 just weeks after a 50km ultra

- What the challenge felt like between midnight treadmill runs and minimal sleep

- The mistakes she made with fueling and recovery, and what she’d do differently

- How sleep deprivation affected her body and nervous system- Why endurance challenges are as much about identity as they are performance

We also zoom out to explore how the challenge fits into her wider training life; balancing ultrarunning with powerlifting, learning when to pull back, and discovering how far you can go when the goal becomes simply showing up again.

This episode is a unfiltered look at endurance culture, pushing limits, and what Amateur Athletes can learn from doing something deliberately uncomfortable, without necessarily chasing perfection.

MyFitPod supported this episode.

MyFitPod is your own private gym. No waiting. No crowds. No gym-timidation. Just you — training on your terms.

Check it out here: https://myfitpod.co.uk/pages/my-fit-pod-basingstoke

Running thousands of miles sounds extreme, and it is, but for Kyle it was necessary and fuelled by nothing other than a delusional level of self belief.In this conversation, I speak with why The Milky Runner, just a normal guy working as a chef came to take on, and complete, such an impressive feat. Kyle talks honestly about what it took to keep going when the novelty wears off, injuries hit and motivation was low. Being homeless for a period of time, Kyle has faced his fair share of battles in life and took on this challenge on a personal mission but also in support of Family Action who help parents, children and families of all types. Mr Matthews speaks with great humility and assurance of what he has achieved, but also with confidence and optimism of what is now to come.Something tells me this is just the begining for him. So whilst this may sound like a 'nutty' challenge, I assure you there is plenty to Kyle's story that many of us can relate; specifically the times he has dedicated to meal deal choices.Enjoy my conversation with The Milky Runner, The Unofficial Youngest Person To Solo Run The Perimeter of Britain.This episode was very kindly support by Fit Box in Brighton. Fit Box is a functional training platform that consists of outstanding classes run by there master trainers.They bring a unique fitness environment to the local community, combining state-of-the-art connected gym equipment with an unrivalled class offering, and a team of motivating personal trainers. They even an official Hyrox gym!Check them out here: https://thefitboxgroup.co.uk/