The Physical Performance Show

In episode 369 of The Physical Performance Show, sports physiotherapist Victor Popov shares insights from his four-decade career working with elite athletes across Olympic Games, Tour de France cycling, AFL premiership teams, and international swimming. He recounts his journey from early days in Sydney's top sports medicine clinics to supporting champions like Robbie McEwen, Susie O'Neill, and Shane Watson, emphasising the value of multidisciplinary collaboration and continuous learning.

This episode delves into the critical role of the nervous system in athletic performance, with Victor Popov explaining how heart rate variability, sleep, nutrition, and even ice baths can be used to assess and optimise recovery and resilience. He introduces his Neural Engagement Therapy and Training (NET) program, designed to help clinicians and athletes better understand and improve nervous system function. Victor Popov also offers practical advice for both aspiring professionals and athletes, highlighting the importance of self-belief, teamwork, and the ability to train consistently without injury. Special High Performance Seminar Event with Victor Popov on 30th August - register here.

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POGO Physio Telehealth Consultations believe that everyone deserves access to complete and remarkable physiotherapy services.

Our goal is to get you back to your Physical Best. Find out more about Telehealth Consultations and book online.

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Huw Darnell — Exercise Physiologist & Performance Coach

Helping athletes move from pain and injury to peak performance. Learn more at huwdarnell.com.au and follow on Instagram @huwdarnell.

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In episode 368 of The Physical Performance Show, the podcast enters a new era as accredited exercise physiologist Huw Darnell joins as co-host alongside Brad Beer. With over a decade of experience in the endurance sports industry, Huw brings a fresh perspective to the show, sharing his journey from a sport-obsessed youth through injury setbacks to becoming a leading strength and conditioning coach for runners and triathletes.

This episode explores Huw's personal and professional evolution, including the pivotal injuries that shaped his approach to athlete rehabilitation and performance. Huw and Brad discuss the importance of psychological support for injured athletes, the barriers endurance athletes face in adopting strength and conditioning, and practical strategies for integrating effective training into busy schedules.

Listeners are introduced to a new show format, Uncovering Injuries, which will feature deep dives into common endurance sports injuries from both physiotherapy and exercise physiology perspectives. The episode is rich with actionable advice, including Huw's "four pillars of performance"—movement, recovery, mindset, and nutrition—and a weekly physical challenge encouraging barefoot training to build foot strength.

Learn more at huwdarnell.com.au

Follow Huw on Instagram: @huwdarnell

Show Sponsor:

POGO Physio Telehealth Consultations believe that everyone deserves access to complete and remarkable physiotherapy services.

Our goal is to get you back to your Physical Best. Find out more about Telehealth Consultations and book online.

Follow @Brad_Beer Instagram & Twitter

Huw Darnell — Exercise Physiologist & Performance Coach

Helping athletes move from pain and injury to peak performance. Learn more at huwdarnell.com.au and follow on Instagram @huwdarnell.

The Physical Performance Show: Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter (@tppshow1)

Please direct any questions, comments, and feedback to the above social media handles.

In episode 367 of The Physical Performance Show, sports physiotherapist Sue Mayes shares her expertise in foot and ankle injury management. With over 30 years of experience leading physiotherapy at the Australian Ballet and now a senior lecturer at La Trobe University, Sue provides groundbreaking insights into injury prevention and rehabilitation.

Sue discusses her innovative research on ballet dancers and athletes, highlighting the importance of calf strength, strategic exercise implementation, and challenging traditional approaches to stretching. She reveals how implementing targeted calf raises reduced injury rates in professional dancers, and explains why prolonged stretching can be counterproductive.

This episode offers a masterclass in foot and ankle assessment. Her practical advice spans from managing bone stress injuries to developing comprehensive rehabilitation strategies that support athletes' long-term performance and recovery.

Show Sponsor:

POGO Physio Telehealth Consultations believe that everyone deserves access to complete and remarkable physiotherapy services.

Our goal is to get you back to your Physical Best. Find out more about Telehealth Consultations and book online.

Follow @Brad_Beer Instagram & Twitter

The Physical Performance Show: Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter (@tppshow1)

Please direct any questions, comments, and feedback to the above social media handles.

In this episode, Olympic triathlete Hayden Wilde shares a powerful 2025 update. Just days after running a blistering 27:38 10K in Tokyo — one of the fastest ever by a triathlete — Hayden was involved in a high-speed cycling crash that left him with a fractured scapula, five broken ribs, and a punctured lung. Hayden shares the emotional and physical rollercoaster of his injury, including emergency support from his sponsors, a medical evacuation, and career-saving surgery in Belgium. Now deep in rehab, he opens up about the mindset, team effort, and small wins guiding his return to racing. This is a must-listen for anyone interested in elite performance, resilience, and the real journey behind recovery at the highest level. Show Sponsor: POGO Physio Telehealth Consultations believe that everyone deserves access to complete and remarkable physiotherapy services. Our goal is to get you back to your Physical Best. Find out more about Telehealth Consultations and book online. Follow @Brad_Beer Instagram & Twitter The Physical Performance Show: Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter (@tppshow1) Please direct any questions, comments, and feedback to the above social media handles.

In this episode we welcome back renowned tendinopathy expert, Professor Peter Malliaras, for a 2025 Tendinopathy Rehabilitation Update.

As a leading physiotherapist, researcher, and director at Monash University's Musculoskeletal Research Unit, Peter shares the latest advancements in managing and rehabilitating tendon injuries.

Peter continues to provide cutting-edge insights into evidence-based treatments for persistent tendon symptoms. Whether you're an athlete dealing with tendinopathy or a practitioner looking to refine your approach, this episode is packed with valuable takeaways to help you stay at the forefront of tendon rehabilitation.

Show Sponsor:

POGO Physio Telehealth Consultations believe that everyone deserves access to complete and remarkable physiotherapy services.

Our goal is to get you back to your Physical Best. Find out more about Telehealth Consultations and book online.

Follow @Brad_Beer Instagram & Twitter

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Please direct any questions, comments, and feedback to the above social media handles.

In this episode we're syndicating a conversation originally recorded for the Physio Network podcast with Dr Rich Willy and host Sarah Yule.

We delve into the art and science of injury prevention and recovery for runners. With a focus on mastering running injuries, this conversation is packed with actionable insights tailored for endurance athletes. Dr Rich Willy, Associate Professor at the University of Montana and Director of the Montana Running Lab shares his expertise on managing persistent running injuries, the critical role of education and load management in treatment, and the impact of footwear—including clinical insights on "super shoes." We also explore the challenges of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) and effective strategies for managing bone stress injuries in runners.

Show Sponsor:

POGO Physio Telehealth Consultations believe that everyone deserves access to complete and remarkable physiotherapy services.

Our goal is to get you back to your Physical Best. Find out more about Telehealth Consultations and book online.

Follow @Brad_Beer Instagram & Twitter

The Physical Performance Show: Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter (@tppshow1)

Please direct any questions, comments, and feedback to the above social media handles.

Alec Mackenzie is a PhD scholar with Griffith University, the Queensland Academy of Sport, and Swimming Australia. Alec dives into the prevention of shoulder injuries in swimmers, sharing insights from his ground-breaking research. His recent systematic review, "Identifying Evidence-Practice Gaps for Shoulder Injury Risk Factors in Competitive Swimmers," has made waves in the sports medicine world by bridging literature and expert opinion to better manage swimmer's shoulder.

In this episode Alec unpacks the top three statistically significant factors contributing to shoulder pain in swimmers, offering invaluable advice for athletes, coaches, and triathletes.

Show Sponsor:

POGO Physio Telehealth Consultations believe that everyone deserves access to complete and remarkable physiotherapy services.

Our goal is to get you back to your Physical Best. Find out more about Telehealth Consultations and book online.

Follow @Brad_Beer Instagram & Twitter

The Physical Performance Show: Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter (@tppshow1)

Please direct any questions, comments, and feedback to the above social media handles.

Dr Kieran Richardson is a specialist musculoskeletal physiotherapist who advocates for physiotherapy rehabilitation to address ACL injuries. He completed the rigorous two-year specialist training program conferred by the Australian College of Physiotherapists in 2016. With a research-based, individualised approach, Kieran aims to achieve significant long-term outcomes. He has a keen interest in non-surgical ACL management, running national workshops and lectures on the subject. As the Director of Global Specialist Physio, Kieran shares his expertise online.

In this episode, we delve into the conservative management of ACL injuries, the what, why, and how of non-surgical ACL injury management.

Show Sponsor:

POGO Physio Telehealth Consultations believe that everyone deserves access to complete and remarkable physiotherapy services.

Our goal is to get you back to your Physical Best. Find out more about Telehealth Consultations and book online.

Follow @Brad_Beer Instagram & Twitter

The Physical Performance Show: Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter (@tppshow1)

Please direct any questions, comments, and feedback to the above social media handles.

David Butler has been a pivotal Physiotherapist figure in the field of pain management since the mid-1980s, with a career spanning clinical practice, research, and education. As the director of the Neuro Orthopedic Institute (NOI), David leads numerous biopsychosocially-based seminars worldwide, educating both practitioners and patients about pain.

In this episode, David delves into the intricacies of pain, discussing its mechanisms, significance, and impact on our health and well-being.

Show Sponsor:

POGO Physio Telehealth Consultations believe that everyone deserves access to complete and remarkable physiotherapy services.

Our goal is to get you back to your Physical Best. Find out more about Telehealth Consultations and book online.

Follow @Brad_Beer Instagram & Twitter

The Physical Performance Show: Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter (@tppshow1)

Please direct any questions, comments, and feedback to the above social media handles.

Dr Alison Grimaldi, Principal Physiotherapist at PhysioTec in Brisbane, Australia, adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland with over 30 years of professional clinical experience joins us to explore diagnosis assessment and management of the tricky musculoskeletal condition that can affect many endurance athletes, gluteal tendinopathy. Gluteal tendinopathy is pain on the outside and lateral aspect of the hip.

Dr Grimaldi is one of the world's preeminent experts when it comes to the rehabilitation of hip related injuries.

Show Sponsor:

POGO Physio Telehealth Consultations believe that everyone deserves access to complete and remarkable physiotherapy services.

Our goal is to get you back to your Physical Best. Find out more about telehealth consultations and book online.

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