Get tired after lunch? Many of us do, but why is this, is it what we eat, what we're doing, our quality of sleep? Join us to find out as we dive into the 10 core factors that can affect how energised you are after lunch.
Does your metabolism slow down as you age? Many people say it does, but not like you think, its another cultural norm we need to challenge as the narrative is wrong. What does have a BIG influence on metabolism is muscle mass, something a lot of people into fitness want to increase. I've lost a load of muscle recently from having long covid, so this spurred the conversation around what can cause muscle loss, how to navigate it if injured or ill, how metabolism and age plays a role, and how to ge...
You've heard the phrase "Everything in Moderation", but is this a helpful term, or a free pass to do whatever, whenever, justifying any action we take? It's often used in nutrition conversations where we justify eating junk food, or consuming alcohol, but as ever, context is key, so, let's get stuck into the context, and of course some research. Join Tom and I as we venture down the rabbit hole...
Tom and I debate the purpose of learning, why we might learn from books vs audio vs video, what Tom reads and why, the stages of learning we go through in life and the purpose of these stages, the issue with fiction books that are led by opinion, why books fall foul of confirmation bias, and more. If you love to learn, you'll love this show. Check out my top Self-development books here: https://bencoomber.com/blogs/news/ben-coomber-s-favourite-personal-development-books...
How good are you at talking to other people about uncomfortable things? Do you often talk to yourself and challenge what you believe, making yourself feel uncomfortable? If you're not good with uncomfortable conversations, this podcast is for you..
When you’re stuck in a rut, everything feels like it’s working against you, you then get negative, feel frustrated at the smallest of things, and in a short space of time you’ve gone from a glass half full to a glass basically empty kind of person. This happened to me over the last few months, so Tom and I fire up the mic, discuss how I got stuck in a rut, how I got out, and then aim to give you tactical skills of how you can get out of a rut, whatever that rut is. Please share this show if you ...
The movement we do, is it optimal? The way we walk, the way we bend, the way we run, and then the way we exercise? Rachel joins me to go down the movement rabbit hole looking at human biomechanics, how we move on a daily basis, the errors of many gym programs, what functional exercise means, why peoples gym based goals could and should be broader, how simple things like shoes could easily cause pain and incorrect movement, and then whether kids should even wear shoes. A fascinating chat with a d...
Does your weight give you anxiety? Have you gotten older and the weight you’ve gained feels like it will always be there and you’ll never lose it, like your body has settled at this weight forever despite your best efforts? If so this is the podcast for you. We evolve the conversation from episode #619 and look at what weight maintenance really is from two different perspectives, how our mindset can often hold us back in this area, and ultimately - what we can all do about it to be healthier, ha...
When we discuss obesity and being overweight, it often comes around to genetics and whether or not somebody is 'just naturally' heavier, and after some interesting news stories in the media recently, we wanted to explore this idea, starting with the theory that we all have a genetic set point our bodies naturally want to sit at. Is your weight nature, or nurture, and if it’s a combination, what has the biggest impact, and most importantly, how do we set ourselves up for weight management success...
Cardio isn't scientifically speaking great for fat loss due to a variety of reasons, but that doesn't mean its bad, it just needs to be used appropriately and be fully understood. Join Tom and I as we venture down the cardio rabbit hole and look at human physiology, environmental factors, habit stacking, weight training vs cardio for fat loss, body composition, healthy ageing, and more, then you can decide how much cardio you're off to do....
Humans are naturally lazy, we seek ease, comfort and minimal expenditure for maximum return, the issue is this can be counter productive in our modern world. Today we venture down a few rabbit holes looking at human movement and whether we are actually as sedentary as the media constantly tells us we are, whether this affects our metabolism, how we can hack our own natural instincts, how this compares to tribes like the Hadza in Tanzania, and, why humans like drugs that give us a high, or low, a...
In this episode Tom my co-host interviews his training coach, Jenny Todd, who is 4x England’s Strongest Woman and previous winner of Britain’s Strongest woman, Europe’s Strongest Woman and the 2017 Arnold Amateur Middleweight Division. They discuss her approach to competing, why she decided to retire from the sport after reaching the top, the lessons learned along the way about being a world champion level athlete, and also about being a happy person. They also discuss gym programming, where to ...
We all agree fruit and vegetables are healthy, but is one better than the other? A recent article points to vegetables being better than fruit, is there any truth to the article? What about glycemic control, nutrient density, sugar content, preparation, and the overall calorie volume? It’s all discussed in this show alongside research processes, where goals intersect with the detail of nutrition, and ultimately how to navigate fruit and vegetables in your diet for health, long term.
I'm in a bit of a personal life pickle, but, as ever, there is a lesson to draw from it, so here goes..
What has the covid-19 pandemic taught us about our health, fitness, food, mindset, mental health, physical health, life and MORE? I'm one for reflection, perspective and learning, and I fire up the mic for a solo show on "8 ways I hope the world changes after covid". Got one you want to add to my list? Hit me up, email into the show and share it.... https://bencoomber.com/blogs/news/8-ways-i-hope-the-world-changes-after-coronavirus...
Tom and I delve into new research on The Halo Effect, how the generations have approached nutrition, how this feeds into how we feed our kids, how I have approached feeding my daughter, and how to positively influence change in someone else's diet or lifestyle, such as your kids, friends, family or partner. WARNING - This show opens with references to 'Erections', and before you think WTF, we did a quick research review of erectile function and plant based diets.
To truly understand ourselves we must understand our past and our upbringing, and there is no better way to do this than to grill your mum on what you were like as a kid - so I've done just that. I sit down with my mum and ask her "what was I like as a kid" "what was I good at" "what choices did I make" "how did the divorce effect me" "how have you seen me develop and mature" "what parenting principals did you try live by", and more. This is an interview I have wanted to do for a long time, and ...
Artificial Sweeteners have a lot of controversy around them, some saying things like "they're toxic", and "they're like poison for your brain". But what is the truth, and where have the fears around sweeteners come from? This podcast will explore the history of sweeteners, the different types, how we understand and interpret the science on them, what we should consider before consuming them, and how to essentially be informed around their use, and wade through the various claims made about them ...
In part 2 we delve into gym culture and what we feel needs to change, bad habits of gym goers (our pet hates), whether gyms do enough to teach people what to actually do in the gym, small gyms compared to big gyms, how long you should stay on a basic weight lifting program as a new lifter, when and how to approach more advanced and complex programs, and the lessons you the listener have learnt from years in the gym - a quick fire bit at the end from all your awesome comments from social media. I...
The gym can be a confusing place, what exercises are best, what reps are best, why are some machines hogged over others, and how do we get the results we’re looking for with the minimal amount of effort? Tom and I, combined, have been in the gym for 28 years, so we thought we would fire up the mic and discuss all the things we know now, that we wish we knew back then. Why we train, how you become happy training, how to get rid of training induced anxiety, the pay off of the big 3 exercises, how ...
In life, in sport, in the gym, is winning the goal? Dr Josephine Perry is a sports psychologist and coaches young athletes from the age of 8, right up to 80 year olds still trying to achieve their goals. And while we all have goals, how do they take shape, and what is the definition of achieving them? When we then set out to achieve a goal, what then holds us back, fear, a lack of confidence, the comments of others, a lack of preparation? Dr Perry has just written an awesome book called “I Can: ...
Most people would say they wish they had more confidence, with many claiming some people are just naturally more confident, but is this true? Surely we are all confident at some stuff? Two people wrote into the podcast which formatted what we feel is a deep dive into developing your inner confidence, refining your ability and character, how to know what ideas are good and which are the bad ones, and use a few examples, one being how to write something, like a blog or a book or to start a project...
Caffeine, something 99% of us take, multiple times a day, but what is the science behind it, what is the perfect dose, how does it affect our sleep, how does it affect performance in the gym, in training and sport, and when can it be bad? Find out, alongside Tom and I jumping down a few other rabbit holes…! Want to get our Caffeine white paper? Awesome, grab a copy here: https://btn.academy/pages/nutrition-report-caffeine...
Stress is in all our lives, but how deep does it go, how does it affect us, and are we aware of all the stressors in our life? Having coached for 14 years now, I've seen and worked with a lot of stressed people, and there are common character traits of the 'stressed' person, thus, we could argue that stress isn't real in some respects, but it very much is, because life is happening all around us and pushing and pulling us constantly. In this solo podcast I cover the many forms of stress in our l...
Right now, and at many points in our lives, things get difficult, and its often tough to see a way out. This podcast was spurred by a great question sent into the show which started simple on the surface, but Tom and I found a way to go down a deep rabbit hole and look at life challenges, goals and what happens when we can't achieve them, where self-awareness only gets us so far with our own problems, why you should never stop at one diagnosis if you're not happy, how to solve our life frustrati...
Stress and fat loss have long been connected, some point to a direct effect, and some to an indirect effect, after all when you look at the research stress and obesity are directly correlated. But physiologically, what direct effects could there be, and what effects could there then be indirectly? Tom and I fire up the mic and dive down the rabbit hole to explore all the ways in which stress can hold back your fat loss efforts, getting geeky, then zooming out to look at the wider picture. Stress...
Is sugar addictive? People often quote their addiction as a real thing, but we don’t eat sugar, we eat food with sugar in it. So is sugar addictive - or is it the sugary foods, the tastes, the flavours, that make it addictive? Before we talk about sugar and whether its addictive we need to speak about the problem solving process, as this podcast was spurred from a nutrition talk I did where someone put up their hand and said “Ben, how do you solve sugar addiction”. It turned out that wasn’t the ...
“Food is thy Medicine” is a famous quote, but is it true, or could it actually be a harmful phrase that alienates the nutrition industry from the medical industry? In our industry we often complain that modern medicine isn’t holistic enough, that it doesn’t treat the whole person, but this is unfair, and modern medicine is actually doing the work it needs to do to save lives. Join Tom and I as we go down the rabbit hole and explore how this feeds into the Healthism debate, where ‘how’ we approac...
Breathing is something I think we all take for granted. But with stressful lives a modern reality, anxiety at an all time high, asthma being a common respiratory condition, is it time we drew more focus to the breath and how it affects our physiology and psychology? Patrick McKeown, author of 8 books on the topic, joins me to discuss all things breathing, oxygen, why Co2 is the unsung hero, how breathing actually affects our body and mind, how you can test your breathing with the BOLT score, and...
Omar Meziane’s CV is seriously impressive. He’s worked with England Rugby, England Football, Harlequins Rugby Club, England Cricket, the Spice Girls... I could go on and on and on, there is so much he’s done. We first met each other via our mutual friend James Haskell, who Omar has now co-written 2 books with - Perfect Fit and Cooking for Fitness. Today I finally get the privilege of chatting to him about his career in sport as a chef working with the worlds best athletes, how he views food and ...
