It’s another season finale which therefore makes it guest interview pod time!  

Throughout all our recordings, we strive to deliver a well rounded and inclusive perspective on the topics we bring to you.

That said, it is inevitably delivered through the female lens and so, to give balance and equality to the subjects we’ve delved into this season, we welcome the lovely Tim Foster to the pod.

Having first crossed paths at our local gym (and being initially intimidated by his sheer size and athleticism), Tim became a friendly face to chat all things strength training with. And, as an ex-professional rugby player, we realised Tim had a wealth of experience and a unique perspective to share.  And it’s that very male perspective we thought worth bringing to the pod.

In this episode, he gives an insight into the realities of playing a demanding sport at an elite level, from the highs of team camaraderie and international travel to the lows of injuries and personal life sacrifices.  

He also discusses how he navigated the transition from professional athlete to City Trader, what that meant for his training regime and nutrition practices and how he has dealt with the ageing process.

We explore the male experience of body image issues, perfectionism, goal setting and accountability.

Tim is an avid listener of the pod (honestly) so knew well our ethos of honesty, vulnerability and embracing imperfections and therefore brings his own version of this in what is a great conversation and the perfect way to round off season 3.

Enjoy!

If you live close to the Bishop’s Stortford area and would

[email protected]

[email protected]

If ever you needed reassurance that your Podcast hosts are still far from perfect, this is the episode that provides just that! 

With another season of recordings soon drawing to a close, we reflect back on the wide variety of thought provoking topics we’ve covered and how they have impacted our own behaviours and habits.

From our experiences of sobriety to our battles with ageing and body image demons, lessons learnt from injury and over training, ongoing attempts to limit UPF and an increased focus on our feeding schedules, we lay ourselves bare once again in the hope it provides some comfort that we are all just a work in progress!

As ever, your ongoing feedback is always welcome along with any suggestions for future topics for season 4. Just drop us a line any time. And if you live close to the Bishop’s Stortford area and would like to discuss your training or nutrition needs, please contact us at:

[email protected]

[email protected]

Intermittent fasting (IF) has become one of the world’s most popular health and wellness trends with the tantalising promise that changing mealtimes, rather than the meals themselves, can be good for you.

Worn almost like a badge of honour, proponents of IF claim that it can lead to weight loss, improved metabolic health, and a host of other longevity benefits.

Humans have been fasting for thousands of years for health or spiritual reasons and, while there is increasing noise around the benefits of fasting from a cell repair and lifespan perspective, it might not be any more superior for weight loss than a typical calorie-controlled diet. 

With so much conflicting information out there, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction when it comes to this controversial eating pattern.

In this episode, we take a closer look at the basic principles behind IF and explore its potential benefits and drawbacks.

If you live close to the Bishop’s Stortford area and would like to discuss your training or nutrition needs, please contact us at:

[email protected]

[email protected]

When it comes to a child’s relationship with physical activity and nutrition, it’s clear that parents play a major role.  They are typically the earliest influence in a child’s development of attitudes and values, including those related to food, body image and exercise. No pressure there then!

It’s natural to want to encourage your child to eat well and be active to support their physical and mental health, but it can feel like a minefield out there, never knowing whether your well-intentioned actions or advice are helping or hindering. Focus too much on exercise or food choices and my child develops negative associations. Ignore the issue and let them find their own way and my child becomes sedentary and unhealthy!  What the hell is a parent meant to do? 

In this episode we discuss ways to promote positive relationships with food and fitness to our youngsters, and how to foster a healthy approach to both, now and in the future. We also advocate the importance of introducing your kids to strength training, dispelling some well-established myths and giving guidance on where to start.

Convinced by its benefits and interested in signing your kids up for our next ‘Strong Foundations’ class on Friday 31stMay, then please use the booking link below. 

And, if you live close to the Bishop’s Stortford area and would like to discuss your training or nutrition needs, please contact us at:

[email protected]

[email protected]

Eating well and engaging in regular physical activity is the bedrock of healthy living. The benefits are undisputed, well researched and universally understood.

From weight management and disease prevention to facilitating longevity and independent living, it forms the basis of most of the fodder we talk about on this very podcast.

But at what point does prioritising healthy behaviours tip past the point of being life enhancing into the realms of preoccupation and dangerous obsession?

The way that our society views nutrition, exercise, and (lack of) self-acceptance, fuels and almost supports disordered eating and over training. Indeed, our very culture is built around working hard and grinding harder as a marker of success.

This mindset extends beyond work and career progression to how we approach our fitness and nutrition practices. More is always better and there’s little to no place for rest and recovery…that’s just for the weak and ill disciplined, right?

That couldn’t be further from the truth as we’ve both found out to our cost over the years. 

So how do we recognise when our focus on being “healthy” becomes “unhealthy” and destructive? And how do we let go of our fears and anxieties to facilitate behaviour change?

If you live close to the Bishop’s Stortford area and would like to discuss your training or nutrition needs, please contact us at:

[email protected]

[email protected]

We live in a food abundant society where the fast pace of life demands our food be supplied, prepared and often ingested ever more quickly.  Convenience is king and so it’s no surprise that food in its natural form has been replaced by snacks and ready meals that, all too often, offer very little nutritional value.

They are designed and marketed to be alluring, hyper palatable, exceptionally moorish and ADDICTIVE! 

We are at the point where over half the food we buy in the UK is ultra processed (and for low-income households, it’s the only affordable and viable form of nutrition available). Yes, UPFs make up 57% of the UK diet (making us the worst in Europe) – and the health risks associated with this way of eating are becoming ever more evident. 

With that backdrop of increasing concern and growing public confusion, what better time to bring some awareness and understanding to the subject of UPF in the most honest way we can.  We discuss how to recognise UPF, the latest research around their impact on our health and what you can do to find healthier alternatives.

If you live close to the Bishop’s Stortford area and would like to discuss your training or nutrition needs, please contact us at:

[email protected]

[email protected]

Frustrated by lack of discernible progress in the gym? Devoting time to physical activity but not really seeing the results you expected?

Could it be because you are still exercising instead of training? 

Perhaps you’ve always considered “exercise” and “training” to mean the same thing, both terms referring to moving your body to burn calories and achieve a certain physical goal.  It’s surely pointless semantics in the grand scheme of just trying to get healthier.

There is, however, a big distinction between the two in terms of approach, execution, goal setting and timelines which we’ll explain in this episode. And by creating awareness of these differences and applying this to your current regime, it could lead to the results that have so far alluded you. We hope it helps.

If you live close to the Bishop’s Stortford area and would like to discuss your training or nutrition needs, please contact us at:

[email protected]

[email protected]

We launch our third season of recordings by discussing the topic of ageing, the most natural of human processes. From our conception to the day we die, we are ageing, without exception or immunity. It is a privilege rather than a disease that not all get to experience.  

However, there seems to be a well-established myth that ageing is an inevitable, slippery slope of decline from the vitality of youth to frailty, immobility, disease and loss of independence. THAT SIMPLY ISN’T TRUE and we can all enjoy a full and healthy existence for many years to come, but only if we invest every day in the attitudes and behaviours that will give us a fighting chance. 

We talk about how to establish a different mindset around getting older alongside a framework of daily habits that can give your brain and body a leg up in order to beat, and indeed embrace, the ageing process.  

If you live close to the Bishop’s Stortford area and would like to discuss your training or nutrition needs, please contact us at:

[email protected]

[email protected]

 Missing your weekly fill of our imperfect musings then you’re in luck! We’re back with a bonus episode, not only to fill the void until season 3 hits the air waves, but because we simply couldn’t leave this topic any longer.  This episode is dedicated to the complex and multifaceted subject that is BOOZE!

The impetus for us to deliver a pod on alcohol has been growing over the last few months, heightened by our own recent endeavours with sobriety.  Perhaps you were one of the vast number who took on Dry January and have found yourself questioning your longer-term relationship with booze, or, conversely, have returned to your pre-January drinking habits.  Whichever side of this fence you might have fallen we thought it was time we shared our views on the subject in our own, unique and imperfect way! 

We openly discuss the role alcohol has played in our lives, past and present, calling out our own habits, behaviours and attitudes and reflect on the ways in which it has detracted from many of the values we hold dear.  We talk about the impact of alcohol from a health perspective but also its effects on sleep, training performance, fat loss and nutrition habits.  Whether abstinence or better moderation is your goal, we give our advice on how to navigate the challenges you might face in a society that still glamorises booze despite the consequences to our well being.  We hope you find it useful!

If you live close to the Bishop’s Stortford area and would like to discuss your training or nutrition needs, please contact us at:

[email protected]

[email protected]

Hard to believe that this recording draws to a close our second season – time flies hey!  It’s been another phenomenal few months for us as podcasters and we are hugely appreciative of all the supportive messages and feedback we’ve received. So, to finish the series, we’re returning to our now traditional concluding format of a guest appearance.

Today we welcome to the pod Lucy Robinson. 

 Lucy is a yoga instructor and triathlon coach who delivers individual and class-based sessions in and around the Bishop’s Stortford area.  We chat to Lucy about the common barriers and misconceptions that traditionally surround her practice, how she has challenged these limiting mindsets and the multifaceted benefits that yoga brings.

The phrase “we always resist what we need the most” has never rung truer!

Check out Lucy’s website

 www.tri-konasana.co.uk or follow her on Instagram @tri_konasana and to enquire about her services email trikonasana[email protected].

And, if you live close to the Bishop’s Stortford area and would like to discuss your training or nutrition needs, please contact us at:

[email protected]

[email protected]