Welcome to another inspiring episode of The Progress Theory, where host Dr Phil Price dives into the science behind human performance and achievement. In today’s episode, Phil sits down with Dr Meganne Christian, a UK astronaut and European Space Agency reserve astronaut, whose unconventional journey is as fascinating as it is motivating. From her roots in the UK and Australia, through her career as a material scientist, to a transformative year spent in Antarctic darkness and isolation, Meganne...
Jun 30, 2025•39 min•Season 6Ep. 15
Welcome back to The Progress Theory, where we explain the science and strategies behind human performance. In this episode, Dr Phil Price sits down with one of the UK’s top CrossFit athletes, David Shorunke. Known for his impressive rise through the competitive CrossFit ranks—despite being one of the taller athletes in the sport—David shares invaluable insight into his training philosophy, the unique challenges faced by taller competitors, and the impact of recent changes to the CrossFit qualifi...
Jun 16, 2025•59 min•Season 6Ep. 14
In this episode, we are joined by S&C coach for Arete Performance, Tom Farrow. What does creative play mean to you? Learning is so important because we need to acquire knowledge so that we can implement that and start developing. However, learning is so much more than just memorising information. We need to ask lots of different questions so then we can get our hands dirty by lots of different types of trial and error to not only retain information but also acquire new knowledge that we can ...
Jun 09, 2025•54 min•Season 6Ep. 13
In this episode of The Progress Theory, host Dr Phil Price welcomes CrossFit coach and athlete Louise Sondergaard to dive into the world of ergometer training, focusing on the vital yet often overlooked skill development in using ergs, particularly the SkiErg and rower, to enhance athletic performance. Having first discovered Louise through the Upside Strength podcast with Sean Seale, Dr Phil was intrigued by her passionate discourse on integrating skill learning into erg training within CrossFi...
Jun 02, 2025•48 min•Season 6Ep. 12
Hello, and welcome to the progress theory where we discuss scientific principles for optimising human performance. I am Dr Phil Price and in this episode, we are joined by a roundtable of researchers in forensic psychiatry. We have Jill Colangelo, Dr Alexander Smith, and Professor Michael Liebrenz , all who are researchers in forensic psychiatry from the University of Bern. Now if you take the whole population, we know that a very small subset of them probably have psychopathic traits. Now if we...
May 26, 2025•52 min•Season 6Ep. 11
Hello, and welcome to the Progress Theory, where we discuss scientific principles for optimising human performance. I am Dr Phil Price. In this episode, we are joined by Ultra Runner and CEO of Beyond the Ultimate, Kris King. Now, ultra marathons are gaining in popularity. More and more people are looking to push their running performance further than they've ever done before. However, have you ever considered doing an ultra marathon in some of the harshest environments in the world? Well, that'...
Apr 15, 2024•51 min•Season 6Ep. 10
Hello and welcome to the Progress Theory, where we discuss scientific principles for optimising human performance. In this episode, we are joined again by the legendary Dr. Pak. Now, it was so good to have Dr. Pak back on the show. His last episode was amazing, but this time I wanted to move away from the minimal dose effect research that he's done before and focus more on this new research, which is more around strength and hypertrophy and how we can utilise this information to become as strong...
Apr 08, 2024•59 min•Season 6Ep. 9
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory, where we discuss scientific principles for optimising human performance. I am Dr. Phil Price. And on today's episode, we are joined by Powerlifter and S&C coach, Rob Palmer. Now, I've known Rob for many, many years and I know he knows a thing or two about getting as strong as possible. He's won many national titles and international titles in Powerlifting and was an S C coach in professional rugby for over 15 years. So I wanted to know a bit more aro...
Apr 01, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 6Ep. 8
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory, where we discuss scientific principles for optimising human performance. In this episode, we're joined by sports physiologist, Dr Becky Neal. Have you ever done an obstacle course race such as Spartan or a Tough Mudder? Now think about doing one of those, but at Everest Base Camp. That's exactly what Dr Becky Neal has done. And not only that, she did it as part of a massive research study. So in this episode, we discussed her experiences in the Himalaya ...
Mar 25, 2024•52 min•Season 6Ep. 7
Hello, and welcome to The Progress Theory, where we discuss scientific principles for optimising human performance. I am Dr. Phil Price, and on today's episode, we are joined by S&C coach and hybrid athlete Jamie Scott. Jamie came to me a few months ago discussing the possibility of him wanting to do a PhD in the area of hybrid training. So I thought, well, this is a perfect opportunity for you to on the show, and we can discuss all of the types of areas that we can look into. So in this epi...
Mar 18, 2024•58 min•Season 6Ep. 6
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. I am Dr Phil Price and in today's episode, we have ex SAS, and now the founder of the Modern Warrior project, Lindsay Bruce. I’ve been desperate to know what separates those who make into the SAS compared to the rest of us. You hear on social media the importance of leadership, discipline, a fast learner, for example, all of which are important, but you can be a great d...
Mar 11, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 6Ep. 5
Hello and welcome to the progress theory, where we discuss scientific principles for optimising human performance. In this episode, we are joined by Hyrox athlete and the host of the Roxlyfe podcast, Greg Williams. Now, Hyrox is a functional fitness event which is gaining massively in popularity. It involves running and functional fitness stations and seems to be very popular with the hybrid, crossfit and running communities. Greg on his Roxlyfe podcast has interviewed many of the elite athletes...
Mar 04, 2024•49 min•Season 6Ep. 4
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory, where we discuss scientific principles for optimising human performance. In this episode, we're joined by Celtman and Norseman champion Eilidh Prise. Now, extreme triathlons like the Celtman and The Norseman are getting more and more popular, so it's a real privilege to have on The Progress Theory someone that has won both. In this episode, Eilidh discusses how she's incorporated her training into a lifestyle that she absolutely loves and also discusses ...
Feb 26, 2024•48 min•Season 6Ep. 3
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory, where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. I am Dr Phil Price, and in today's episode, we have sports physiologist and coach Evan Peikon. Evan is back on the podcast, and this time we're discussing his work with NNOXX, where he is a co-founder. NNOXX is a NIRS device that measures muscle oxygenation and saturation and is the first to ever measure nitric oxide non-invasively. In this episode, we discuss the phys...
Feb 19, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 6Ep. 2
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. I am Dr Phil Price and in today's episode we have S&C coach and host of Upside Strength, Sean Seale. I’ve always wanted to know what separates those who reach the podium of the Crossfit games vs the rest of the field or even those that only make the sanctional level. One of the areas that could be underdeveloped is their aerobic system, as this will directly influen...
Feb 12, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Season 6Ep. 1
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory! I'm thrilled to announce that we're back with season six, and we have some incredible new episodes lined up for you. Our first episode will be released on February 12, 2024, and I can't wait for you to hear it. It's been an eventful year for me, becoming a father and experiencing lots of changes at my work at St. Mary's University. But now we're back and ready to bring you the best podcast episodes yet, featuring amazing guests, coaches, scientists, and ...
Feb 08, 2024•10 min
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. In this episode, we have S&C coach Sean Seale. Sean is the host of Upside Strength, an amazing resource which includes a podcast, educational seminars and an awesome youtube channel. Through his podcast, he has investigated different physiological concepts and their application to endurance training and CrossFit, and it has been awesome to hear his journey of learni...
Aug 15, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 5Ep. 20
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. In this episode, we have Crossfit coach and head of DekaComp, Michele Letendre. On paper, Crossfit should be a challenging sport to programme for. You need to be efficient in so many movements across a spectrum ranging from maximal strength to long-distance endurance. Add to this the fact that you don’t know what might come up in competition, which makes programming dec...
Aug 08, 2022•1 hr•Season 5Ep. 19
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. In this episode, we have Hybrid coach and athlete Alec Blenis. It’s easier to understand programming for strength and endurance sports individually, but hybrid programming is more complex and that’s what makes it so exciting. But what are the best hybrid programming recommendations? In this episode, Alec discusses his journey into Hybrid training, his current goals and ...
Jul 18, 2022•48 min•Season 5Ep. 18
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. In this episode, we have Dr Tyler Churchward-Venne, Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and physical education at McGill University There is a lot of training involved in a hybrid programme, so in order to make sure we are recovering between sessions to reduce the negative effects of residual fatigue or reduced protein synthesis, we need to make sure ou...
Jul 11, 2022•51 min•Season 5Ep. 17
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. In this episode , we have Sports Physiologist & Bioscientist, Evan Peikon. What does the physiology of a hybrid athlete look like? We can understand the physiology of individual strength and endurance sports, and through this series of the Progress Theory , we also know how strength training can have a positive effect on, for example, running performance through imp...
Jul 04, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 5Ep. 16
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. In this episode , we have Dr Kenji Doma, Senior Sport and Exercise Science Lecturer at James Cook University. Usually, whenever people think of the interference effect during hybrid training they think about how endurance training inhibits the strength and hypertrophy adaptations from strength training. The research support for strength training enhancing endurance perf...
Jun 27, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 5Ep. 15
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. In this episode we have Dr Keith Baar, Professor of Molecular exercise physiology at the University of California. But before we get to the show I want to thank our sponsors, who the show would not be possible without. I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to my production partner, KULT Media. KULT Media has been instrumental in the development & success o...
Jun 20, 2022•51 min•Season 5Ep. 14
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. On this episode we have S&C and physiology lecturer, Dr Matt Buckthorpe, to discuss the physiological adaptations to muscle from strength and power training. But before we get to the show I want to thank our sponsors, who the show would not be possible without. I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to my production partner, KULT Media. KULT Media has been ...
Jun 13, 2022•45 min•Season 5Ep. 13
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. In this episode we have Dr Shaun McLaren, S&C coach and Sport Scientist for the Newcastle Falcons, and teaching fellow in Sport and Exercise physiology at Durham University. But before we get to the show I want to thank our sponsors, who the show would not be possible without. I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to my production partner, KULT Media. KULT...
Jun 06, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 5Ep. 12
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. I am Dr Phil Price and in today's episode, we have the season 5 review where I will be reflecting on the last 5 episodes of the Progress Theory and pull together what key scientific principles or training ideas have really stood out to me and led me to implement them into my own training. I like these episodes as they highlight the key aim of this podcast: discussing th...
May 16, 2022•10 min•Season 5Ep. 11
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. In this episode, we have the English Institute of Sport S&C coach for the GB swimming team, Andy Elkins. In sports such as running and rowing, you’re always pushing away from something, such as the ground or the rowing machine in those examples, and therefore the movement patterns are quite similar. Swimming, however, is completely different as you’re suspended in w...
May 09, 2022•49 min•Season 5Ep. 10
In this episode, we have the S&C coach and the Head of Athlete Performance and Development at Xavier College, Nathan Heaney, also known as the Conditioning Consultant. More athletes are becoming familiar with training programmes based on training zones. You may have heard of 80/20 running where the aim is to do 80% of your running training in the easy zone, and 20% in the intense zone. But is it as simple as making your easy runs easy and your hard runs hard? What defines these training zone...
May 02, 2022•59 min•Season 5Ep. 9
In this episode, we have Dr Carla Meijen, lecturer and researcher in sports psychology at St Mary’s University. One thing that has always stood out to me about elite performers, the best of the best, is their psychological resilience. Whatever happens during a race or their approach during their training and preparation, they have the ability to remain focused on the main goal and not talk themselves out of winning. In this episode, Carla and I discuss the main psychological determinants of endu...
Apr 25, 2022•51 min•Season 5Ep. 8
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. I’m Dr Phil Price and on today’s episode, we have Professor Louis Passfield, sports scientist and physiologist from the University of Calgary. Cycling, despite being a huge sport in itself, has gained popularity within the hybrid training community. Many are choosing cycling as the endurance sport they want to develop in while aiming to increase strength simultaneously....
Apr 18, 2022•54 min•Season 5Ep. 7
