Top Deck Muscle

If you’ve ever said....
“I know what to do… I just don’t have the time.”

This episode is for you!

We break down how to actually get great results when life is busy, covering training, nutrition, recovery, routine, time management, and the small changes that make the biggest difference long-term.

No unrealistic routines.
No 2-hour workouts.
No meal prep obsession.

Just practical strategies to help you stay in shape, build momentum, and stop feeling like fitness has to take over your entire life.

Whether you’re balancing work, business, kids, travel, or just a packed schedule in general, this episode is designed to help remove the excuse of “having no time” once and for all.

As always, we keep it honest, realistic, and based on real-world coaching experience.

We hope this helps!

Our most powerful episode yet!

In this episode we sit down with Richie Elliott, an ex-combat sports athlete who competed internationally as both a fighter and coach.

He’s coached national and world champions across boxing, kickboxing, and MMA, served in the elite French Foreign Legion, and now works as both a boxing coach at Rikers Gym and a UFC cutman with some of the best fighters in the world.

But this episode goes far beyond fighting.

We dive into resilience, leadership, purpose, discipline, fatherhood, and what it really means to be a strong human being in today’s world.

One of the most powerful takeaways from this conversation was Richie’s perspective on who the “real hero” actually is, and why it’s often not the person society celebrates most.

This was one of the deepest and most meaningful conversations we’ve had on the podcast so far, and honestly, one we think every person can take something from!

Please share this with someone who you think will benefit from this podcast, you never know know how much they may need to hear it

Much love, Ben & Kwame

In this episode of Top Deck Muscle, we sit down for a completely unfiltered Q&A round, answering some of the most frequent questions we get asked around training, fat loss, muscle growth, recovery, nutrition, and mindset.

We cover questions like:

• Why do some people train hard for years but never change their physique?
• Are you better off bulking… or staying lean year-round?
• How much protein do you actually need to build muscle?
• What should you do when motivation disappears?
• Are deloads necessary or overused?
• Can you still build an impressive physique training only 3 days per week?
• Why do some workouts feel incredible… and others feel flat?
• What’s the most overrated thing in the fitness industry right now?
• Is social media helping or hurting people’s progress?

This episode is packed with practical advice, honest opinions, relatable conversations, and plenty of laughs along the way!

Whether you’re just getting started or have been training for years, there’s something in this one for everyone.

If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to follow the show, leave a review, and share it with someone who’d appreciate hearing it!

In this episode of Top Deck Muscle, Ben and Kwame tackle one of the biggest reasons people lose motivation…

Putting in the work, but no longer seeing results.

Whether your goal is fat loss, muscle gain, strength, or simply feeling better in your body, this episode is a full troubleshooting guide to help you identify what’s actually holding you back.

We cover:

-Why most people aren’t training as hard as they think

-How to get the best results whilst avoiding injury

-Common nutrition mistakes that stall progress

-Why “healthy” foods can still sabotage fat loss

-The recovery habits most people ignore

-Sleep, stress & cortisol explained simply

-The 'all-or-nothing' mindset trap

-How to rebuild momentum when motivation disappears

This episode is raw, practical and packed with actionable advice you can apply immediately to improve your results!

If you’ve been spinning your wheels lately and wondering why your body isn’t changing, this one is for you!

Stay chocolatey fam!

The fitness coaching industry is booming.

But is it getting better, or just louder?

Episode 13 of Top Deck Muscle features Richard Collins, a coach with 20 years in the trenches from professional sporting athletes to physique competitors.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why two clients with the exact same programme get completely different results, and what it actually comes down to
• The red flags to watch for when choosing an online coach (coaches flexing their income is a big one)
• Why the fitness industry is the Wild West right now, and how to navigate it
• Why AI will never replace a great coach (and what makes a great coach irreplaceable)
• "You can only push people as far as they know you care", the quote that changes how you coach forever
• The difference between troubling the comfortable and comforting the troubled
• Why athletes who played team sports handle bodybuilding better than those who didn't
• What Richard would tell any aspiring coach starting from zero today

Practical, honest, and genuinely one of the best coaching conversations we've had on the pod.

Richard, thank you for your time and wisdom, it has been an absolute pleasure!

Trust us, you'll want a notepad for this one.

🔗 @richard_collinscoach | Full Potential Academy

What does it actually take to walk around at 136kg of lean muscle?

Episode 12 of Top Deck Muscle features the man mountain himself, Matt Hampton. bodybuilder, former elite volleyball player, walking dictionary and one of the most physically impressive human beings you'll ever come across.

But behind the size is a story most people never see.

In this episode: the real financial and physical cost of being that big, two career-threatening injuries (a torn pec and a ripped bicep, an honest conversation about performance enhancing supplements, and why the hardest part of his lifestyle isn't the training, it's everything else.

Matt also breaks down his training philosophy, what he looks for when working with clients, and why patience is the single most underrated trait in fitness and life.

Funny, raw, and with a bunch of usable takeaways!

We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

🔗 @matthamptonpt | Zone 6 App — zone6.com.au

In Episode 11, we sit down with Alexandra Milne- online coach, content creator, and one of Australia’s rising voices in the fitness space, for our first-ever female guest on the show.

We dive into the real issues women are facing right now in the fitness industry… and why so many are stuck despite doing “all the right things.”

From chronic dieting and overdoing cardio, to the pressure of social media and the return of the ultra-skinny trend, this is an honest and highly valuable conversation about what actually works, and what needs to change.

We also go deeper into Alexandra’s journey, building a following of over 500,000 people, dealing with criticism online, and what it really takes to back yourself and chase something bigger.

If you’re a female trying to get results, this episode truly matters.

And for the guys listening, this will give you a whole new perspective.

If you got value from this episode, share it with someone who needs to hear it.

And if you haven’t already, follow the show so you don’t miss what’s coming next!

They doubted him. Wrote him off. Counted him out. But Charlie Dixon proved them all wrong.In this episode of Top Deck Muscle, we sit down with AFL star Charlie Dixon to break down the mindset, resilience, and pressure that comes with competing at the highest level.This conversation goes way beyond footy.We dive into:

• What it takes to perform under pressure
• How to handle doubt, criticism, and setbacks
• The mindset behind long-term success
• Lessons from life inside elite sport

If you’ve ever felt overlooked or underestimated, this episode will hit home.🎙️ Follow / Subscribe to Top Deck Muscle for more episodes and to never miss an upload!

54 years old… and still in his prime.

In this episode, we sit down with Nick Jones- founder of Gen-Tec Nutrition, multiple-time international bodybuilding champion, and a man who’s still outperforming guys half his age.

But this isn’t just about training.

We dive into the mindset, discipline, and life lessons that have kept him consistent for decades, through business, fatherhood, and the ups and downs of a long career in the industry.

From how he trains and eats to stay in shape YEAR ROUND at 54…to the reality of what it actually takes to maintain a high level over time…to how bodybuilding quite literally changed and saved his life.

This is a powerful conversation about longevity, purpose, and doing the work when most people would’ve already slowed down.

If you’re serious about improving yourself, not just for a season, but for life, this one is a MUST

Drop a comment below with your biggest takeaway 👇

Kwame is back, and we’re getting straight into it!

In this episode, we break down how to actually stay in shape while on holiday (without over-restricting or completely blowing out), when a mini cut actually makes sense and how to do it properly, and whether deloads are essential… or just an excuse to take a week off training.

If you’ve ever come back from a holiday feeling like you’ve undone all your progress, struggled to know when to push vs pull back, or just felt a bit lost with how to structure things long-term, this episode will help you simplify it and stay on track!