The Dr. Greg Wells Podcast

By Dr. Greg WellsScience Medicine Health & Fitness Education Self-Improvement Life Sciences

The Dr. Greg Wells Podcast episodes

April 12, 2022 #154. Ray Zahab on Making Good Decisions Under Pressure
This week I had the privilege of interviewing my friend Ray Zahab on Sharpen Your Edge Live.
Ray is one of the top adventurers in the world. He’s an ultra-runner, Explorer in Residence Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and has run across some of the most difficult terrain on the planet, including the Sahara desert, the Gobi desert, and a run from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean across the Andes mountains.
In this amazing conversation Ray talks about his latest expedition attempt across Ellesmere Island, pushing the limits, building trust and making good decisions under pressure.
If you want to learn more about him, you can go to his website at rayzahab.com and his organization website at impossible2possible.com.
Enjoy!
19 min
April 12, 2022 #6. All About Protein, Weight Loss and Optimizing Nutrient Intake.
In this episode, registered dietitian and exercise‑nutrition scientist Dr. Eric Williamson breaks down how much protein you actually need, why distribution across the day beats chasing a narrow “anabolic window,” and how needs shift with endurance work and with age. We translate lab findings into simple plate‑building moves you can use on travel days or during heavy training blocks. Eric also tackles the big myths (carbs vs protein, fasting, snack frequency), explains why resistance training is non‑negotiable during fat loss, and shares a practical, hunger‑aware approach to hitting targets without blowing up your social life. Come for the science; leave with a repeatable playbook for muscle, energy, and long‑term health.
42 min
April 05, 2022 #5. How mindfulness Helps You Master Your Mind.
What if we could adopt a simple practice that can build our mental strength and mental health at the same time?
In this conversation, Dr. Ellen Choi joined Dr. Greg to explore the science of mindfulness and its impact on performance and wellbeing. Drawing from her research and personal journey, she explained how mindfulness training can transform error‑prone, reactive habits into compassionate, intentional responses. The conversation covered practical meditation techniques, the neuroscience of attention, and the importance of aligning actions with values to live a meaningful, high‑performance life.
Dr. Choi bridges human physiology, psychological research and practical training. Unlike many mindfulness advocates, she approaches the practice as a scientist and organizational psychologist, rigorously testing its effects on stress, attention, errors and performance in real‑world environments.
Her background as a former commercial real‑estate professional, yoga teacher and meditation coach gives her a unique perspective on how mindfulness can be applied in high‑pressure workplaces.
She teaches that brief, consistent meditation can build mental strength, self‑awareness and compassion, enabling individuals to shift from reactive to responsive modes under pressure. Through her workshops and research she demonstrates that mindfulness is not just a calming practice but a performance‑enhancing skill that develops resilience and clarity.
In this episode, you’ll discover how to use mindfulness to help you notice when your mind is wandering and to gently return your focus to what matters most in your life.
High performers often struggle with stress, perfectionism and knee‑jerk reactions that undermine effectiveness. Dr. Choi shows that mindfulness training can build “legit mental strength”—a combination of self‑awareness, compassion and attentional control—that allows you to stay calm under pressure, learn from your mistakes and align your actions with your deepest values.
Your mind is a powerful tool for you and Dr. Choi can be your trusted guide to help you master it.
50 min
April 05, 2022 #153. Mark Henick on Optimizing Mental Health Post-Pandemic
Welcome back!
I’m excited to share my live conversation with mental health advocate Mark Henick.
Influenced by his direct experience with stigma and the mental health care system, Mark dedicated his life from an early age to opening minds and creating change.
Mark is the principal and CEO of Strategic Mental Health Solutions, a consulting firm that specializes in helping organizations and individuals to move strategically from basic mental health awareness toward meaningful, measurable action.
Mark is a sought after public speaker and active media commentator on issues related to mental illness and mental health. Mark’s TEDx talk, Why We Choose Suicide, is among the most watched in the world with over 6 million views. His story of searching for “the man in the light brown jacket” who saved his life from a teenage suicide attempt went viral around the world.
In this conversation Mark walks us through five things that we can do to improve our mental health during these challenging times and in this post-pandemic world.
You can learn more about Mark and his new book So-Called Normal at his website markhenick.com.
Enjoy!
13 min
March 29, 2022 #152. Dr. Greg Wells on Peak Performance
Welcome back!
This week I’m excited to share my live broadcast on Sharpen Your Edge. I dive into the idea that we can reach our true human potential by modulating our energy and tension levels to get that balance between activation, tension, energy, and performance. This is an important concept that applies to everyone - athletes, musicians, artists, business people, etc.
In this episode, I talk about peak performance state, zone flow states and how we can reach our true human potential.
Tune into my live broadcasts at linkedin.com/in/drgregwells every Thursday at noon Eastern.
Enjoy!
9 min
March 29, 2022 #4. How to spark your competitive fire every day.
What if the key to reaching your full potential in your career and life wasn't about what talents you were born with, but something more?
In this conversation, Jake Thompson recounts how growing up as a small athlete in football‑crazy Texas taught him to outwork bigger opponents, yet eventually led him to a pivotal realization: the healthiest competition is with your own previous self, not with others. He explains how this shift inspired him to launch Compete Every Day, a company and philosophy that encourages people to beat yesterday’s best through intentional habits, journaling and focusing on purpose rather than comparison.
You will learn that that constantly comparing yourself to others is exhausting; instead, competing against your own previous performance fosters sustainable growth.
You’ll discover how to use rules like the “midnight rule,” where you can learn from failures, treat them as lessons and then move forward without dwelling on them.
Many high performers feel trapped by comparison. Thompson’s insights help you break free from unhealthy competition, and shows you how to focus on what you can control—effort, attitude and habits— to channel your competitive drive into beating yesterday’s version of you.
Because motivation fades and discipline compounds so when we compete with ourselves - we can get a little bit better every day.
52 min
March 23, 2022 #151. Dr. Greg Wells on Avoiding Burnout and Overwhelm
Welcome back!
I’m really excited to launch Season 6 with a live broadcast I did on Sharpen Your Edge. We are seeing overwhelming levels of burnout, fatigue, and exhaustion. I want to make sure that we're providing you with as much information as we can about how to optimize your health, wellbeing, and performance during these incredibly challenging times.
In this episode I talk about what to do if you’re feeling stressed, overwhelmed and burned out.
Tune into my live broadcasts at linkedin.com/in/drgregwells every Thursday at noon Eastern.
12 min
March 22, 2022 #3. What are we truly capable of achieving?
What are we actually truly capable of achieving?
In this conversation, science journalist and former national-team runner Alex Hutchinson and Dr. Greg explore the “curiously elastic” limits of human performance—why endurance underpins achievement across domains, and how the brain co-sets the ceiling we feel in the body. Drawing on the research behind Endure, Alex discussed how perception of effort, context, and belief interact with physiology to shape what we can actually do in sport, work, and life.
You will learn that endurance is a universal performance skill, the brain plays a decisive role alongside muscles, lungs, and fuel—making many “walls” more negotiable than they feel, and pain, oxygen, heat, thirst, and fuel each have distinct brain–body dynamics that can be trained and managed.
You’ll discover how to use “effort reframing” to make your workouts feel easier and to extend your performances safely.
If you are feeling stuck at a performance ceiling—“I just can’t go farther/faster or focus longer”, then this episode will give you a science-based framework to reinterpret those ceilings and reach new heights.
Because your endurance and potential is trainable and Alex Hutchinson can show us how to break through.
49 min
March 15, 2022 #2. How to improve The Health and Performance of your working brain.
What if you could bridge the gap between cutting edge brain research and knowing what to do today to improve your mental health and performance?
In today’s interview, Dr. Brynn Winegard joins Dr. Greg to share how the brain’s physiology has the potential to transform our daily routines and the way we work.
Today you’ll learn how to align with your brain’s natural rhythms, how to avoid brain myths that leave you burned out and the power of simple lifestyle shifts that elevate your mental health.
Discover the 4 keys to brain health and why moving, eating, resting and interacting with others are essential for helping you to improve your brain so your can live a limitless life.
If you are burned out, overwhelmed, or feeling unaccomplished, then this is the episode that you need to listen to.
Because a better brain is achievable and Dr. Brynn Winegard will show us the science to help make that happen.
47 min
March 08, 2022 #1. How to bring the power of #GladToBeHere to your life.
49 min