PerformWell Podcast

PerformWell Podcast
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Performance isn't one thing. It's how you train, recover, think, and show up - every single day. PerformWell brings you straight-talking conversations with coaches, athletes, and experts who actually live this stuff. No fluff. No filler. Just what works.

  1. 3d ago

    ICU Nurse by Day, Cage Fighter by Night (ft. Bryony Tyrell)

    Bryony "Killer Bee" Tyrell spent seven years as an intensive care nurse. She spent her nights becoming one of Britain's leading female cage fighters. She raised two kids through all of it. Nobody on the ward had any idea. Now Gemma Arterton is playing her in a feature film. In this episode: why weight cutting kills more fighters than punches do, what her coach shouted at her from the corner in Belgium when she was too tired to stand, why she'd rather fight 15,000 people than speak to them, and why at 46 she's still competing and moving into stunt work. She also put both of us on the floor before we started recording. She fights at 52kg. Bryony is the clearest example we've had on this show of something that keeps coming up: the people doing extraordinary things almost never quit their normal life to do it. They just refuse to accept that the ordinary one is all they get. Follow the film: https://www.instagram.com/killa_bee_film/ Shot at: Hoplite BJJ https://www.hoplitebjj.co.uk/ The PerformWell Podcast. You haven't peaked. You just stopped doing hard things. Hosted by Nick Finch and Grant McDonald. Online coaching: performwellcoaching.co.uk Instagram: www.instagram.com/getfitbynick www.instagram.com/performwellpodcast www.instagram.com/coach_grant_mcdonald #MMA #Nurse #Podcast

    ICU Nurse by Day, Cage Fighter by Night (ft. Bryony Tyrell)

  2. Aug 12

    I'm Doing an Ironman. You Shouldn't.

    Should you do an Ironman? Probably not. Three days before Ironman Leeds, Nick Finch and Grant McDonald talk about why chasing someone else's challenge is the fastest way to end up training for a life you don't want. Everyone's doing a Hyrox. Everyone's running a marathon. Everyone's posting the medal. And if you're in your thirties watching all of it happen on your phone, it's easy to feel like you're behind on a race you never entered. This episode is about the opposite of that. It's about reference experiences, the small things you tick off that quietly build the confidence to attempt bigger ones, and why nobody wakes up one morning and does a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and a marathon in a single day. Nick breaks down the four year ladder that got him to the start line: a charity boxing match in front of a thousand people, a failed attempt to cycle the length of the UK, a marathon, and a swim with the Royal Marines. Grant walks through the same pattern in karate, from white belt to two national titles, and why earning his black belt was harder and more frightening than any competition. We also get into the 11 hour training weeks, the 24 week build, the swim cutoff that ends your race before you've even got on the bike, and the honest answer to what happens if it goes wrong on Sunday. The question underneath all of it: what's your marathon? Tell us in the comments. We read every one. SUPPORT THE FUNDRAISER Nick is racing for CALM. https://www.justgiving.com/page/stronger-than-the-silence NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE Post race debrief, recorded within 48 hours of the finish line. Subscribe so you don't miss it. ABOUT THE SHOW PerformWell is a podcast about people who have done something most people would call impossible. We find the part you can copy. Every guest gets the same question at the end: what does it mean to perform well? Hosted by Nick Finch and Grant McDonald. WORK WITH NICK Online coaching, The Hybrid Build: performwellcoaching.co.uk Instagram: @getfitbynick @coach_grantmcdonald #Ironman #HybridTraining #PerformWell

    I'm Doing an Ironman. You Shouldn't.

  3. Aug 9

    You Don't Look How You Think You Look (ft. Rob Stark)

    Rob Stark photographs physiques for a living. He still catches himself in a mirror and thinks he looks small. Rob went from 64kg at 6'2" to 101kg and back down to 80kg. Before the camera he was a DJ at Ministry of Sound, a filmmaker with a U2 music video to his name, an actor and a performer. He told me before we recorded that he wasn't sure he had anything interesting to say. In this one we get into why nearly everyone hates being photographed, how Rob talks people down before a shoot, what a physique built as a hiding place actually costs, and why he still gets nervous after twenty years behind the lens. Grant and I have both been shot by Rob. This one's personal. Follow Rob: https://www.instagram.com/starkphysiques/ https://www.shotbystark.com/ Get after your own goals: 💪 Coaching: performwellcoaching.co.uk 🎙️ Hosted by Nick & Grant. Nick: https://www.instagram.com/getfitbynick Grant: https://www.instagram.com/coach_grantmcdonald/ 📲 Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performwellpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@performwellpodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@getfitbynick 00:00 The man who thought he had nothing to say 00:45 A career that started by accident 08:12 Everyone is creative until it gets taken out of them 11:13 Fifty side quests and one pattern 13:48 The holiday photo that started it 14:45 The advice that stopped him wasting years 15:33 Wanting to be lean and big at the same time 17:48 Nick at 75kg and 6'4" 20:18 Testosterone, bloods, and doing it properly 29:31 Body dysmorphia goes both ways 30:24 Hiding inside a character 32:39 How to talk someone down before a shoot 35:53 I'd rather fight 1,000 people than talk to them 40:41 Building a body you can hide in 45:07 What does it mean to perform well? 53:05 Twenty years in and still nervous 55:24 Meditation, and rowing versus sailing #bodydysmorphia #physiquephotography #performwellpodcast

    You Don't Look How You Think You Look (ft. Rob Stark)

  4. Aug 2

    I Nearly Quit Recording This Podcast Off a Cliff (ft. Tim Miller)

    As far as we can find, this is the first podcast ever recorded hanging off a cliff. If you know otherwise - comments are open. I'm terrified of heights. Tim has spent 20+ years as a mountaineering and climbing instructor, and he's the founder of Boulder Shack Climbing Gym in Southampton. I told him I'd do an episode on his turf and then found myself suspended over the edge of a sea cliff, genuinely wanting to quit, crying behind my sunglasses. What followed became a conversation about the thing that actually gets you through fear: trust. Trust in the equipment, trust in the person holding your rope, and trust in yourself, built one small promise at a time. We get into "type 2 fun", the Fear Bubble (Ant Middleton), why calm is contagious, and the breakfast question that talked me off the ledge. Literally. Follow Tim: 🧗 Boulder Shack Climbing Gym, Southampton 🎙️ In Progress with Tim Miller on YouTube, Spotify & Apple Podcasts Tim Miller: https://www.instagram.com/timothy.rocks/ Get after your own goals: 💪 Coaching: performwellcoaching.co.uk 🎙️ Hosted by Nick & Grant. Nick: https://www.instagram.com/getfitbynick Grant: https://www.instagram.com/coach_grantmcdonald/ 📲 Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performwellpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@performwellpodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@getfitbynick If this episode made you want to do the scary thing - subscribe. And if you don't, I'll come hunt you down once I get off this ledge. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro The First Podcast Ever Recorded Off a Cliff 0:53 Why We're Hanging Off a Cliff (Fear → Trust) 2:14 The Psychology of Staying Calm 4:23 "Oats Are Working Now, Mate" Tim's Panic Trick 6:04 Has Tim Ever Been Scared? 7:57 Commit First Why We Do Hard Things 9:21 Kids, Parents & Safeguarding: 20 Years of Trust 12:30 "Isn't This Mental?" Panic Mid-Podcast 13:40 The 1AM Knock Foster Care & Trust 16:05 The Spain Burglary Story 17:57 When You Can't Back Out (The Tryfan Story) 20:37 "Let's See Nick Cry" The Courage to Be Seen 21:37 The Fear Bubble (Ant Middleton) 23:46 The 3 Types of Fun 24:33 The Moment I Nearly Quit 26:16 The Climb Out "That Was NOT a V1" 27:11 One Step at a Time Key Takeaways 28:18 What a World We Live In + Where to Find Tim 29:56 Outro #podcast #climbing #overcomingfear #type2fun #mindset

    I Nearly Quit Recording This Podcast Off a Cliff (ft. Tim Miller)

  5. Jul 19

    Doing Hard Things When Nobody's Watching | Luke Bland

    Six months ago Luke Bland sat in his car, pressed record and spoke from the heart. One of those messages - we're all going to die, and most of us are sleepwalking through the time we've got left, stopped over three million people mid-scroll. In this episode of the PerformWell Podcast, Nick Finch sits down with Luke (@lukewbland): dad of two, former Royal Marines recruit, scaffolder turned business owner, Ironman, and a man who has run 100 miles in a single go - with a 200-miler and a 215-mile Race Across Scotland still on the calendar. It's an honest, no-fluff conversation. Luke talks about the turning point that made him quit drinking and drugs overnight at 32 and pour that same energy into endurance sport. We get into learning to swim just nine months out from an Ironman and coming out of the water nearly last, why "world class basics" - manners, timekeeping and hard graft are the only edge he thinks he needs, and the surprisingly underwhelming truth about crossing the finish line. Along the way: men's mental health and brotherhood, being present as a dad, why "no time" doesn't hold up as an excuse, and what it really takes to not die average. Whether you're chasing your first Ironman, trying to get off the sofa, or just tired of the highlight reel - this one's for you. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ FOLLOW & CONNECT ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎙️ The PerformWell Podcast → https://www.instagram.com/performwellpodcast/ 💪 Nick Finch (host) → https://www.instagram.com/getfitbynick 🏃 Luke Bland (guest) → https://www.instagram.com/lukewbland/ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ SUPPORT THE CAUSE ❤️ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Nick is racing Ironman Leeds to raise money for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), a UK suicide prevention charity. For men under 50, suicide is still the leading cause of death - CALM is working to change that. Donate to "Stronger than the Silence" → https://www.justgiving.com/page/stronger-than-the-silence Every share and every pound makes a difference. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ CHAPTERS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 – Intro 00:55 – Meet Luke Bland & the "don't die average" message 02:26 – Losing control: quitting drink and drugs at 32 03:43 – Hyrox, Ironman Barcelona & learning to swim in 9 months 06:49 – Falling in love with the bike and the trails 08:09 – Royal Marines, Lympstone & "world class basics" 10:14 – Failing young and the drive to prove yourself 14:46 – Scaffolding and the power of a group of lads 17:31 – Men's mental health: "therapy without calling it therapy" 18:43 – Advice for busy dads: why "no time" doesn't hold up 21:04 – Stacking days & the quiet mind of an overthinker 23:54 – What you do when no one is watching 26:53 – The 200-miler, "the tunnel" & signing up for what scares you 31:22 – Would you still do it without social media? 32:48 – Discipline, dawn training & the highlight-reel trap 39:40 – Celebrate the wins — but do what you love 45:27 – What it means to "perform well" & a message to his kids 47:40 – What's next: 200 miles, Scotland & speaking on mental health #DontDieAverage #UltraRunning #PerformWellPodcast.

  6. Jul 12

    13 Years Running & Finally Got the England Vest | Nick Bester

    Nick Bester started running at 23 with a 25-minute 5K. Today: a 2:19 marathon PB, 100 consecutive marathons under 3 hours, and an England vest that took 13 years to earn. In episode 151 of the PerformWell Podcast, the two Nicks get into what elite marathon training really takes — 100-mile weeks with four rest days a year, 15x1km sessions harder than race day, and why the pain never gets easier, it just gets faster. Plus: strength training for runners and how to structure your week around the gym, fuelling up to 120g of carbs per hour (and the 90km Comrades ultra Nick once ran on a single gel), getting humbled at a local fartlek session in Iten, Kenya, and swapping a banking career for coaching mid-COVID. 💙 I'm raising money for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). If this episode gave you something, the fundraiser is here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/stronger-than-the-silence Follow Nick Bester: YouTube — @justalilbester Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/justlittlebester Strava — https://stories.strava.com/profiles/nick-bester Nick's next race: Battersea 5K, 28 July Follow PerformWell: Host Nick Finch: https://www.instagram.com/getfitbynick Nick Finch YouTube: @getfitbynick PerformWell Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/performwellpodcast Catch us on all MAJOR podcast platforms. Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:45 The POV video that led to a 5K PB 03:09 "It hurts just as much" — elite pain 05:23 Kipchoge pace + the £50 track challenge 07:11 Kenyan fartlek explained 11:59 Combining strength training & running 16:08 Seven attempts at sub-2:20 17:53 100-mile weeks & four rest days a year 19:02 Running as hypnosis + the runner's high 21:54 Fuelling: before, during and after 26:36 Gut training & 120g carbs/hour 29:10 Banker to running coach — the career swap 33:02 100 consecutive sub-3 marathons 35:35 Achilles rehab & cross-training 40:00 13 years for one England vest 41:58 What it means to perform well #MarathonTraining #Running #NickBester #Ultramarathon #Podcast

  7. Jul 4

    Why you're not losing weight in a calorie deficit

    Everyone overcomplicates fat loss. In this episode we break down the single biggest reason you're not losing weight - and why "I'm not losing weight" is the wrong question in the first place. We get into the difference between losing weight and losing fat, why the scale lies to you, the under-reporting trap that quietly stalls most people, how to actually weigh your food (cooked vs raw), and whether your metabolism is really "broken." Then we hand you the exact protein targets, calorie equation and training setup we use with our coaching clients, plus refeeds, calorie cycling, and why your weight spikes after a big meal (and why it's not fat). If the scale won't budge no matter what you do, this one's for you. 🔴 STRONGER THAN THE SILENCE We're taking on a full Ironman this August for CALM, raising money for men's mental health. Every pound helps, please donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/stronger-than-the-silence 🎙️ Hosted by Nick & Grant. Nick: https://www.instagram.com/getfitbynick Grant: https://www.instagram.com/coach_grantmcdonald/ 📲 Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performwellpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@performwellpodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@getfitbynick CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:33 The one real reason you're not losing weight 01:41 Weight vs fat: ask a better question 02:31 Why the scale is lying to you 03:23 Are you actually in a deficit? (under-reporting) 04:58 Cooked vs raw: the food-weighing mistake 06:27 When it's NOT just calories (PCOS, thyroid) 07:32 Adaptive thermogenesis & the Biggest Loser study 08:49 Why your metabolism and step count drop 11:03 Build muscle to burn fat at rest 12:35 How much protein you actually need 14:34 The simple calorie equation 15:42 Why strength training is non-negotiable 16:57 Refeeds & calorie cycling explained 18:58 Why your weight spikes after eating (not fat) 21:00 The takeaway: stop chasing the scale #FatLoss #CalorieDeficit #WeightLoss #FitnessPodcast #performwell Credits: Music: Infinite by Soundridemusic Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZwcnKbRBpo

  8. Jun 28

    He Jumped Off This Bridge. Now He Walks Over It Every Day.

    DeeDee jumped off Southampton's Itchen Bridge and survived. In this episode he opens up about that night, getting sober, and how movement gave him a reason to keep going. This is an honest conversation about men's mental health, suicide, recovery and finding purpose. ⚠️ Content warning: this episode includes discussion of suicide, a suicide attempt, self-harm and addiction. Please take care while watching. You are not alone, and free confidential support is listed at the bottom of this description. 🔴 STRONGER THAN THE SILENCE We're taking on a full Ironman this August for CALM, raising money for men's mental health. Every pound helps, please donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/stronger-than-the-silence After two near-fatal incidents and years of using alcohol as a mask, DeeDee got sober and rebuilt his life with purpose. He founded The Big Movement to get men moving and talking for their mental health, he talks people down from the same bridge he jumped from, and this year he ran a marathon over it. We talk about rock bottom, sobriety, loneliness, bullying, self-worth and the small daily habits that brought him back. It's raw, it's hopeful, and it's exactly why we make this show. If you're a man sitting in silence, or you love someone who is, this one is for you. GUEST: DeeDee Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannydcrook/ 🎙️ Hosted by Nick & Grant. Nick: https://www.instagram.com/getfitbynick Grant: https://www.instagram.com/coach_grantmcdonald/ 📲 Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performwellpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@performwellpodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@getfitbynick SUPPORT (UK, free and confidential) Samaritans: call 116 123, any time, day or night CALM: call 0800 58 58 58, 5pm to midnight, or webchat at thecalmzone.net Shout: text SHOUT to 85258 In an emergency, call 999 CHAPTERS 00:00 Why we're raising for CALM this year 00:55 His first ever half marathon (and the sub 2 hour finish) 02:16 The Big Movement: getting men moving for their mental health 03:48 Why "movement" really means dance (and why men resist it) 06:10 The clap game: how ten strangers connect in a room 08:03 The dancer who said "I'm not depressed any more" 09:36 Lifting, boxing and the anger you have to release 11:17 Running a marathon over the bridge he nearly died on 13:09 What rock bottom actually looked like 15:53 Two bridges, a coma, and the drinking underneath it all 19:19 Getting sober: 18 months, 0% beer and beating the triggers 23:08 "It was a rebirth": finding purpose on the other side 24:22 Why he talks strangers down from the bridge 27:48 How bullying follows you into adulthood 32:34 The mirror exercise that changed everything 34:05 Gratitude, journaling and the books that helped 35:13 Why he goes back to that bridge every single day 38:02 The next marathon, and why the suffering is the point 40:50 What does it actually mean to perform well? 43:28 Where to find DeeDee and The Big Movement #MensMentalHealth #MentalHealthAwareness #StrongerThanTheSilence #ItGetsBetter #PerformWell

See All (151)

About

Performance isn't one thing. It's how you train, recover, think, and show up - every single day. PerformWell brings you straight-talking conversations with coaches, athletes, and experts who actually live this stuff. No fluff. No filler. Just what works.

Information

  • Creator
    PerformWell Podcast
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    151
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © PerformWell Podcast
  • Show Website
    PerformWell Podcast

You Might Also Like