PerformWell Podcast

PerformWell Podcast
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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

    You don't need motivation. You need a date.

    You keep saying you’ll start Monday. What if the missing piece is a date in the diary? Nick and Grant unpack motivation vs discipline, why forcing yourself through training you hate rarely lasts, and how a goal you actually care about can change your behaviour. Nick shares what kept him moving during his Ironman, and we get into self-help without action, overthinking the perfect plan, and choosing your first event. What would you book if you stopped putting it off? Tell us in the comments. 🎙️ Episode 162 of the PerformWell Podcast. 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 Nick on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@getfitbynick Subscribe for more honest conversations about training, mindset and performing well. 00:00 You need a date 00:29 Why can’t you stay consistent? 01:10 Is discipline enough? 02:04 Internal vs external motivation 03:23 The Ironman moment that tested Nick’s why 05:40 Stop waiting to feel motivated 07:08 You don’t have to love every training session 08:46 Be motivated by the goal 09:15 Write down what you want and why 11:03 Self-help books without action 12:28 Take action first, then course correct 15:11 Book a date and start with one goal 17:03 How one event changes your habits 18:54 Practical tips to perform well 20:37 Like, subscribe and join the conversation #FitnessMotivation #MotivationVsDiscipline #PerformWellPodcast

    You don't need motivation. You need a date.

  2. Sep 27

    How Far Can You Actually Get Natural? (ft. Craig Swinton)

    Craig Swinton is heavily enhanced, competes as a bodybuilder, and used to be a paramedic. So we asked him the question everyone in the gym is quietly asking: how far can you actually get without gear? His answer wasn't what we expected. A natural lifter should train exactly the same way he does. Half his male clients are walking around with low testosterone and no idea. And the four things he'd fix before anyone even mentions a needle are the least exciting things on the list. We also get into what gear actually costs. Craig's cystic acne and Accutane, my torn brachialis and three months on tren I still think about. Plus peptides, GLP-1s, sleep apnea, fake nattys, and whether people buy from your physique or your personality. If you're in your thirties and quietly wondering whether your body's best days are behind you, this one's for you. ⚠️ Nothing here is medical advice. Speak to a doctor. 🎙️ Hosted by Nick & Grant. Nick: instagram.com/getfitbynick Grant: instagram.com/coach_grantmcdonald/ 💪 This week's guest, Craig Swinton (APEX Fitness Coaching): instagram.com/apex_fitness_coaching_/ 📲 Follow us: Instagram instagram.com/performwellpodcast/ TikTok tiktok.com/@performwellpodcast YouTube youtube.com/@getfitbynick 00:00 Craig's back, and this time we answer the question 01:23 An ex-paramedic on why he uses gear anyway 04:27 Is TRT still natty? Where's the line? 06:29 If you took steroids 10 years ago, are you natural now? 09:07 How long a natural needs to catch up, and the real ceiling 12:37 Would Grant ever go on? The side effects that stop him 16:49 What three months on tren actually cost me 18:42 Peptides, GLP-1s and the new middle ground 25:50 Should a natural train differently? Craig says no 30:15 Why he won't push gear on a dad 34:23 Half his male clients have low testosterone 37:22 The four levers to fix before you touch anything 42:28 Sleep apnea takes ten years off your life 49:24 Fake nattys, and whether physique or personality sells 57:50 What it really means to perform well #NaturalBodybuilding #NattyOrNot #LowTestosterone

    How Far Can You Actually Get Natural? (ft. Craig Swinton)

  3. Sep 20

    Why You Feel Old At 35 (It's Not Your Age)

    Everyone in their mid thirties suddenly decides they're past it. The aches show up, recovery feels slower, and the conclusion is always the same. Must be my age. It usually isn't. Nick and Grant go through the research on muscle mass and metabolic decline, including the MRI study where a 70 year old triathlete's quad matched a 40 year old's while a 74 year old who didn't train had wasted away. Nick tells the story of what six months behind a bank desk during lockdown did to a body that had been fit for fifteen years, and what happened when he started moving again. Two coaches in their mid thirties arguing that this is the prime, not the decline, with the client examples to back it up. A 67 year old working towards a muscle up. A 45 year old through menopause in the best shape of her life. None of it is genetics and none of it is luck. Older is not old. There's a difference. 00:00 The complaint we hear every single week 01:19 When your physical prime actually is 02:47 My 67 year old client is working towards a muscle up 04:31 The study that kills the age excuse 07:28 Stop chasing fat loss and start chasing strength 09:35 Pick a challenge, any challenge 10:55 What six months behind a desk did to me 14:01 The steps number that changes things 15:49 What is genuinely not normal at 35 16:45 When age does start to matter 21:46 Turning up on the bad days 24:51 Older is not old 📚 References Wroblewski et al. "Chronic exercise preserves lean muscle mass in masters athletes." Phys Sportsmed. 2011;39(3):172-8. Forty athletes aged 40 to 81. Muscle area held across the whole range. PMID: 22030953 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22030953/ Pontzer et al. "Daily energy expenditure through the human life course." Science. 2021;373(6556):808-12. 6,400 people, 29 countries. Metabolism is stable from 20 to 60. PMID: 34385400 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34385400/ We're coaches, not doctors. If something feels medically wrong, go and get tested. 🎙️ Hosted by Nick & Grant. Nick: instagram.com/getfitbynick Grant: instagram.com/coach_grantmcdonald/ 📲 Follow us: Instagram instagram.com/performwellpodcast/ TikTok tiktok.com/@performwellpodcast YouTube youtube.com/@getfitbynick #FitnessOver35 #OlderNotOld #PerformWellPodcast

    Why You Feel Old At 35 (It's Not Your Age)

  4. Sep 6

    Your Diet Is Working. You Just Can't See It Yet

    Three weeks in. You're training. You're eating properly. The mirror hasn't caught up and the scale has stopped moving. Nothing has gone wrong. You're early, and you're measuring the wrong thing. This week Nick and Grant are joined by Southampton personal trainer and nutrition coach Gemma Paddington to unpack the three week wall: why the scale drops fast and then stalls, why quick weight change is almost never fat, and what's actually changing underneath while you can't see a thing. We get into glycogen and water weight, weight loss vs fat loss, why Gemma times progress photos around a client's cycle, the client whose scale weight went UP 2kg and why that was good news, weekend calories, refeeds vs cheat days, the comparison trap, and how precise you actually need to be with food depending on where you're starting from. Plus what all three of us have had to unlearn this year, and what to actually do when you hit week three and want to quit. If you've ever said "I'm doing everything right and nothing's happening", this one's for you. GUEST Gemma Paddington: https://www.instagram.com/gemmapaddy82/ 🎙️ 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 🏋️ Coaching: https://performwellcoaching.co.uk New episodes every week. If this one helped, drop a comment and tell us where you got stuck, we read all of them. CHAPTERS 00:00 Your diet is working, you just can't see it yet 00:40 What the first three weeks actually look like 02:08 Why the scale isn't the metric at week three 03:27 Inches, centimetres and other British nonsense 03:55 Why the scale drops fast and then stops 05:23 Glycogen, water and the first two weeks 06:05 Weight loss vs fat loss: not the same goal 09:42 The client whose weight went up 2kg 11:08 How fighters cut water weight, and why you shouldn't 13:56 When weight cutting goes wrong 14:48 What's changing that you can't see 16:10 Recomp: strength up, weight flat, fat dropping 16:59 If not the scale, then what? 17:27 Bloating, cycles and timing progress photos 18:58 Where the honeymoon ends 19:30 "Two sessions a week and 2,000 steps a day" 20:12 The pit of despair 21:21 The weekend maths 22:21 Cheat days vs refeeds 24:18 How to actually run a refeed 28:23 The comparison problem 30:06 Body dysmorphia 31:06 Precision vs simplicity 33:49 Just track something 34:51 Why protein is so hard for people 35:44 What we've each had to unlearn this year 40:00 Gemma's back injury and training past 40 41:38 Three things to do at week three 43:52 Gemma calls out a coach in the gym 46:27 What does it mean to perform well? #fatloss #nutrition #fitnesspodcast

    Your Diet Is Working. You Just Can't See It Yet

  5. Aug 30

    Every Goal I Set as a Kid, I Quit. Then I Did an Ironman.

    Every goal I set as a kid, I quit. The Marines, two weeks from Greenberry. SAS selection. A business that folded in COVID. Cycling the length of Britain. At 35, the Ironman is the first one I've actually ticked off that list. Grant and I break down what the last 12 months really cost: the 11 to 15 hour training weeks, the social life, the strength work I loved, the beer gardens I cycled past. Why "I don't have time" almost always means "I don't have the energy." Why discipline shows up AFTER commitment, not before it. And the question that nearly broke me the day before the race: Does it still count as an Ironman if they cancel the swim? If you're strength-first and you think endurance is out of your reach, this one's for you. 🎙️ 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 🏋️ Coaching: https://performwellcoaching.co.uk #ironman #ironmantraining #hybridathlete

    Every Goal I Set as a Kid, I Quit. Then I Did an Ironman.

  6. Aug 23

    He Ran a World Record Marathon With Heart Disease (ft. Archie Hunt)

    Archie Hunt was born ten weeks early with a heart that isn't supposed to let him run. In April he ran 2:27:41 at the London Marathon in a cape and a pair of red pants, and set the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon dressed as a book character. The previous record was 2:42, held by a man dressed as Dracula. The part nobody expects is how he did it. Ninety-two percent of his training is zone one and zone two. No intervals, no threshold sessions, no marathon blocks, for two full years. He built from 40k a week to 200k a week by run-commuting to and from work with a backpack, around 60-hour weeks as a corporate lawyer in London. In that time his heart got measurably stronger and he came off three of his four medications. He's also beaten runners who've trained hard their entire lives, which is why the hate mail is always from people slightly slower than him and never from anyone faster. We get into all of it. Why patience beats intensity. Why he'd take 300th place with a PB over 10th without one. What he thinks about at 30k when it's falling apart. And what it actually means to perform well when the ceiling you're chasing keeps moving. In this episode: Why he was told not to run, and why he found a different doctor How 200k a week is possible around a full-time job The zone two case, from someone who has no other option Fuelling, 3,500 calories a day, and two breakfasts at his desk Throwing up at 60k of a 110k ultra and winning it anyway Splitting yourself into the person who trains and the person who races Sub 2:20, Comrades, backyard ultras, and the elite start at London Follow Archie: https://www.instagram.com/archibald_on_the_run/ Archie trains under medical supervision with regular scans and checkups. As he says himself in the episode, don't copy a 24 year old on the internet. If you have a heart condition, speak to your own specialist. 🎙️ 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 #Marathon #ZoneTwo #RunningPodcast #WorldRecord #Endurance

    He Ran a World Record Marathon With Heart Disease (ft. Archie Hunt)

  7. Aug 16

    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)

  8. 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.
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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
    157
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © PerformWell Podcast
  • Show Website
    PerformWell Podcast

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