Some of my own big fitness goals recently have been just that - fitness goals. Not so much the running or the swimming, but all round fitness that includes strength, endurance and power. But how do you motivate and test yourself with these less linear goals? Well for me, Turf Games came along and gave me the answer. My guest on the podcast today is Turf Games founder Andy Manteit, who tells us more about what the Turf Games involves, who it’s for, and some of the benefits. We talk training and c...
Feb 28, 2022•59 min
My guest on the podcast today was the RAF’s second ever female fast jet pilot, flying the Tornado GR4 on the front line, completing three tours of duty and 45 missions over Iraq. Mandy Hickson talks to me about mindset and motivation, resilience and imposter syndrome, stress and confidence, both in and out of the armed forces. I saw Mandy speak at an event a few years ago and recently read her book, ‘An Officer not a Gentleman’, which is like a guidebook for how to set and accomplish your most a...
Feb 21, 2022•47 min
Do you ever feel like you’re stuck and unable to find a way forwards? Do you procrastinate, self-sabotage or hold yourself back some other way? If so then you are in the right place as my guest on today’s episode has over 25 years of experience helping people with overcoming precisely these challenges. Moira Geary is known as the Recombobulator. She spoke at Momentum last month and her presentation on the subconscious mind, fear and positivity was a huge hit so I invited her on the show to dive ...
Feb 07, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Through my work as a speaker I get invited to present at a lot of company wellbeing weeks and events. A topic that I’ve noticed an increasing number of organisations have been including on their agendas lately is the menopause. The more people I spoke to about this the more I came to realise how important it is for all of us - men and women - to understand the menopause and how we can have more constructive and supportive conversations about it, both at home and in the workplace. I’m delighted t...
Jan 31, 2022•54 min
We're often told when we're trying to build a new habit that we should try and carry it out at the same time of day, in the same place and in the same way. This makes sense as it uses the 'Reminder, Routine, Reward' process that James Clear describes in his book Atomic Habits. But what happens when that routine changes, such as when you go on holiday, when you're unwell or just hit the weekend? This simple tip can help you build a habit that is context independent, and becomes just a part of wha...
Jan 28, 2022•3 min
In today’s mini-motivation episode I share one simple idea: your energy flows where your attention goes. With all the noise in the world today it’s up to each of us to decide in advance what we’re going to pay attention to.
Jan 17, 2022•2 min
20 years ago when I started my career as a personal trainer clients would come to me asking the question ‘George, how should I be eating and exercising in order to lose weight, tone up and get fit?’ This is the bread and butter of many personal trainers and although I think things have got a bit more sophisticated over the past couple of decades with out understanding of the other more immediate benefits of diet and exercise, ultimately the question of ‘what should I be eating’ is still very muc...
Jan 10, 2022•54 min
This is a brand new series of podcast episodes I’ll be dropping into the show throughout the year, where I’ll aim to share just one quick idea with you in just 2 or 3 minutes. It’s actually a part of one of my own goals to improve my ability to be concise, and I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback about how useful or interesting you find them! This first Mini-Motivations episode is about the different ways we can measure progress, and how it can affect our motivation....
Jan 05, 2022•3 min
My first guest of 2022 was also my first guest of 2021, and I’m thinking maybe this will become a thing as long as he’s happy to keep coming back on! James Stott, AKA the Magic Marine joined us last time to talk about motivation, and he returns today with to talk about adventure, magic, myths and motorcycles. We also talk about taking ideas we read about in books and applying them to our own lives. James is an ex-Royal Marine turned professional close up magician and if you want to see some of h...
Jan 03, 2022•38 min
The end of one year and the start of another is a great time for reflection. Among other things it’s a good time to look back over the previous 12 months and identify some of the things that you’re going to take forwards into the next 12, and some of the things that that you’d rather leave behind. In today’s episode I want to share some of the things that have made my list. The 6 things I will be taking forwards into 2022 are: Planning Disconnection Attention Flow Creation Implementation The 6 t...
Dec 31, 2021•41 min
Every experience we have in life has the potential to teach us something about ourselves, and if we pay enough attention to it we can take these lessons and transfer them across to other areas of our life. My guest for today’s episode is a living breathing masterclass of precisely this. Following a 21 year career in the RAF flying combat helicopters, Sarah Furness has taken what she has learned about performing under pressure in war zones and the resilience required to resist interrogation, and ...
Dec 13, 2021•46 min•Ep. 56
Are you outgoing or reserved? People or task focused? Are you an influencer, a supporter, decisive or cautious? Although your answers may change from situation to situation, we all have a set of general tendencies that we otherwise know as our ‘personality’. Personality profiling is the topic of today’s podcast, and I’m joined by award winning DISC coach Vicky O’Farrell. Vicky recently did my own DISC profile and we spent some time together going through the results, and I figured it’d make for ...
Dec 06, 2021•40 min
My guest on today's episode is Jess Robson, mental health activist and creator of the global movement 'Run Talk Run'. Jess is doing some tremendously important work in the world of mental health, and has created a space for a growing number of people to talk about their mental health in a supportive and positive environment. I asked her about her own mental health journey and some of the strategies that have helped her over the years, and the power of saying ‘no’ which ironically is how Jess cam...
Nov 08, 2021•44 min
NSDR, or Non-Sleep Deep Rest, is a relaxation technique where you bring your mind and body into a state of deep relaxation, somewhere between being awake and asleep. NSDR is a term coined by Dr Andrew Huberman, professor of neurobiology and opthamology at Stanford University and it's similar to a form of yoga called Yoga Nidra. It brings numerous benefits that I’ve been enjoying recently and I want to share it with you today. NSDR is a powerful stress-buster as it activates your parasympathetic ...
Oct 18, 2021•16 min
When many of us define success we think of things such as those that we are able to have or to do, but my guest on today’s episode has a different take. Jennifer Merritt is a success mentor, and after a successful corporate career you might expect her to fall in line with the traditional society views of what success is. Although she sees success as something we can all create as a feeling, it’s not something that needs to diminish our drive to strive for more. In our conversation today she shar...
Oct 11, 2021•57 min
If there's been one positive from the pandemic it's that it has shone the spotlight of attention even more fiercely on the conversation about mental health. Although the statistics inform us that 1 in 4 of us will suffer from a mental health problem at some point in our lives, every single one of us has 'mental health' that needs looking after. Today's episode is less about the general societal challenges with mental health, and more of a conversation with you as an individual. I share a dozen d...
Oct 04, 2021•51 min
The early bird catches the worm, but the early worm gets eaten by the bird. You don't have to be a 'morning person' to benefit from some kind of morning routine. In this week's solo episode I get into one of my favourite subjects, why I believe they can make such a big difference to how your day goes, and how to set up your perfect routine. There's some more general advice and observations on habits and routines, and how to get back on track again when you hit an obstacle that knocks you off cou...
Sep 27, 2021•37 min
Journaling is one of those things that lots of people know they could probably benefit from, but struggle to get started and turn it into a habit. I've been writing in a journal since I was about 13 years old and these days it's one of my most important tools for maintaining my motivation, performance and personal development. A couple of years ago one of my coaching clients Alexa Whitten - herself a book coach and author-maker and another avid journaler - approached me to suggest we collaborate...
Sep 06, 2021•53 min
For today’s episode I’m joined by the award-winning host of the Game Changers podcast, Sue Anstiss MBE to talk about women in sport. Sue has been a major player in driving change in women’s sport for over 30 years. She’s a founding trustee of the Women’s Sport Trust and co-founder of the Women’s Sport Collective and was recognised for her services to women’s sport with an MBE in 2018. More recently though, she has written a book that charts the history of women in sport and exposes many of the i...
Aug 30, 2021•44 min
Much as I love the holidays I know that I'm at my best when I have routine in my life! In today's episode I share 5 of the key areas of my life I regularly reset. Not just after a break, but any time I sense they're starting to drift away. 1) Morning routine 2) Planning 3) Training 4) Evening routine 5) Goals You may have other areas that benefit from a bit of a reset, but the principles I share in today's episode can be applied anywhere. I'd love to hear from you if you have any comments or que...
Aug 23, 2021•38 min•Season 3Ep. 47
Welcome back to Season 3 of the A Bit Of A Boost podcast! And what a start to season 3, as I welcome back a guest from episode 27, positive psychologist, happiness expert and all round wonderful person Vikki Barnes! During my time off I relaxed by reading her brand new book ‘Free Happiness’, made many notes, and decided that I’d ask her to join me again here on the podcast for another chat about happiness, positivity and life in general. We talk about festivals, working with Sir Richard Branson,...
Aug 16, 2021•45 min
A couple of weeks ago I was in the North East visiting my mum and I dropped my friend Dean Coulson a line to see if he was around for a workout. Dean is a coach and trainer with a very similar set of beliefs to me when it comes to how to approach holistic wellbeing, and our training sessions are always peppered with fascinating conversations. I knew Dean would make a great guest for the podcast, and the timing was perfect as his brand new book THRIVE! is published today! (July 22 2021) Dean’s pe...
Jul 26, 2021•47 min•Ep. 45
One of the things that continually intrigues me is how people perform consistently at a high level. Whether it’s in their work, their sport or any other area of their lives, pushing and holding themselves to higher standards seems to be a hallmark of the high performer. My guest on today’s episode is ex-professional rugby player Leon Lloyd, who now works with individuals and organisations to help them build high performance habits, teams and culture. Leon started playing professional rugby union...
Jul 19, 2021•40 min
In today's solo podcast I get into the vast topic of exercise. With so many different approaches, is it really possible to claim one way is the 'best'? And what 'results' are we looking for anyway? We talk about the difference between activity, exercise and training, the WHO recommendations and what they really mean, the FITTA principles of exercise, the 5 components of physical exercise, the strength / endurance continuum, and why some people are 'low-responders' to exercise....
Jul 12, 2021•1 hr 12 min
My guest on today’s episode is double Paralympic gold medalist archer Danielle Brown. After becoming disabled as a teenager, Danielle realised that even in adversity we have a choice. Choose to let the things outside your control defeat you, or choose to control your response to it. Taking up archery on her fifteenth birthday, Danielle made the Great Britain team three years later, jumping straight in as world number 1. She hung onto that position for her entire career. Danielle is a five time W...
Jul 05, 2021•1 hr 2 min
The theme of today’s episode is happiness, and my guest is a man who knows a thing or two about the subject - Raj Nayak. Raj left a high flying job in one of India’s largest media networks to launch his own business driving positive change and bringing happiness to workplaces around the world. But how do you even begin to talk about happiness when there is so much devastation in the world right now, especially in India, where Raj is based? We get to talking about this among many other topics in ...
Jun 28, 2021•49 min•Season 2Ep. 41
My guest on today’s podcast is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, Chris Fensom. We’ve known each other for a long time now and he’s a real goldmine of wisdom and insights. When I was going to his classes he would regularly drop a thought bomb that would stop me in my tracks, and I wanted to see if we could capture some of that essence in today’s conversation. Typically, Chris came to the interview armed with questions for me! So what you’re about to listen to is very much a 2 way conversation which...
Jun 21, 2021•1 hr 11 min
In the world of ultra endurance, one thing I’ve come to realise is that no matter how much you’re doing or how far you’re going, there’s always somebody doing more or going further. Logically then, there must be a person who is doing the most and going the furthest, and it’s quite possible that this person is my guest on today’s podcast, Adam Holland. We recorded this episode on a Monday, the day after he had completed a 24 hour ultra marathon. I’ve done a couple of these in the past, and I can ...
Jun 14, 2021•36 min•Season 2Ep. 39
We all know that feedback is valuable. It can lead to growth, accelerated improvement and see things from different perspectives. But it can also feel uncomfortable and we put up defences that stop us from benefitting from it. Whether it's solicited or unsolicited, the 6 steps I talk about in today's episode will increase your chances of getting the best from what's being offered.
Jun 07, 2021•32 min•Season 2Ep. 4
It’s another podcast first for me today, as I welcome not just one but TWO guests to speak to! In 2019, Nigel Pattison, Steven Gregory & I completed the Frog Graham Round, a 42 mile ultra marathon in the Lake District that included swimming across 4 of the lakes. These guys have been hugely inspirational to me both for a long time, and I gain a lot by watching their approach and attitude to whatever they take on. They’re both fitness industry pros (Steve runs a local gym ( https://www.fitlif...
May 31, 2021•54 min•Season 2Ep. 3
