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Music So you are strength and 
conditioning coach for WRU Wales

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rugby right? 
You were also a former pro for 

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10 years as well, playing for 
Cardiff Blues, playing for Wales

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as well. 
What's the difference between a 

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normal training programme for 
like the everyday athlete and a 

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pros approach to training? 
So I think I the easiest way of 

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kicking off would be to give you
a bit of an overview in terms of

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what a a life in a professional 
rugby player would be, in terms 

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of if we've got a seven day 
turnaround. 

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So yeah, day one, players coming
in, breakfast, meetings, 

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reviews, then tail end of the 
morning probably that'd be where

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we have our, our key, our key 
lower body lift of the of the 

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week. 
I think, you know, certainly 

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players like, and it makes sense
in terms of we try to front load

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the week and taper off as the 
week goes on. 

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So players have that freshness 
going into the game. 

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So gym based session would be 
very much consistent of a start,

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some movement prep and then you 
know, some speed mechanics, low 

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level plyometrics because we 
want to micro dose what we do 

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because we don't have huge 
amounts of time in the week 

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probably to work on your 
physical prep. 

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You've probably got 2 1/2 hours 
in the week. 

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You know, these professional 
rugby players, a lot of the work

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will go yeah, a lot of the work 
throughout the whole week. 

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A lot of the, the work will be 
on field, the, you know, in the,

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in the classroom as such, in 
terms of learning the plays, 

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putting them to play on field 
and rugby specific to sports 

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specific work that we do. 
So, you know, we have to be 

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very, you know, clear in terms 
of what we want to get out of 

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the session. 
Probably for me going off on a 

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tangent, you know, the 
importance is we don't try to 

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bring any fluff, any, any, any 
additional work that doesn't 

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need to be into the gym. 
We're working on developing the 

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physical qualities, the 
strength, speed and power. 

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So it's bang for buck. 
What can we get out of these 

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sessions in the short space of 
time? 

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So you know, for example, lower 
body key left front end of the 

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week, what are we trying to do 
with probably working more at 

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that force focus end of the 
spectrum in terms of our 

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strength qualities, You know, 
Max strength, that's the quality

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that underpins majority of the 
other physical qualities, your 

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speed, your power elements. 
So there's still a focus, a big 

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focus on that throughout this, 
throughout the season. 

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So it'll be our big key compound
lifts, your squats, your dead 

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lifts, that's what drives your 
global strength qualities, 

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followed by sing some single leg
work, posterior chain, your 

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glutes, your hammies, you know, 
your big muscle groups to 

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enhance these these qualities 
and then some some trunk and Co 

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worker at the same time. 
You know, afternoon session will

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be a learning session on field, 
you know, lower, lower pace, 

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lower key sort of session, just 
putting things into play for the

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next day. 
So day 2 or Tuesday, if you're 

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on a same day, turn around, 
that's going to be the big 

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physical contact on field day of
the week PM would be upper body,

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similar foot, similar approach 
to our lower body, our key upper

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body lifts and then finishing 
the session with more robustness

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work. 
So that's what we refer to as, 

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you know, some calf work, some 
capacity work, neck work. 

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So a big quality that we want 
players to have is durability as

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well, because we need the 
players to be fit and healthy 

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year round, you know, not just 
on match day, but also being 

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able to back it up in the 
training week. 

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So, you know, making sure we're 
not picking up soft tissue 

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injuries, which are just a 
common place in, in, in 

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professional sports. 
And this is just day one. 

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So this is on to day 2. 
Day 2. 

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OK, Yeah. 
Well, a little bit. 

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Wednesday will tend to be the 
recovery day. 

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So players will be off, they'll 
go, you know, sports massage, 

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the hot cold therapy, you know, 
making sure nutrition, sleep, 

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everything else is on point. 
The Thursday game day -2 as we 

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refer to it, that's going to be 
very much more, you know, sharp,

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short, sharp sessions on field, 
but also driving our power 

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quality. 
So gym based, more total body 

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work. 
That's where we'll be doing more

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of our Olympic lifting, our jump
variations, you know, throwing 

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variations, you know, really 
trying to drive intense speed 

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and movement. 
We also use velocity based 

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training at times. 
So what we find with that is 

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it's, you know, devices on the 
bars or the balls, whatever 

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we're throwing that gives 
instant feedback which creates 

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challenge amongst the boys. 
At the end of the day, these 

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boys are competitive 
individuals, so we want to drive

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competition as much as we can in
the gym environment as well. 

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So that's something that we do. 
And then Friday it's a team run,

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recover, get ready for game day,
so which is then on the 

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Saturday. 
So that's how we're probably a 

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typical week of a professional 
athlete. 

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But I think just to go back to 
it, it's, you know, they're long

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days. 
Monday, Tuesdays will be full 

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days, Wednesdays are down days, 
but still recovery learning. 

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And then Thursdays are trying to
be a little bit shorter. 

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So we're tapering and recovering
going into the game on the 

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Saturday. 
So how can me, Terry, 41 year 

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old man, like with a full time 
job and kids, obviously I'm not 

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a pro athlete, but how can like 
an everyday athlete take those 

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principles from a pros game and 
apply it to their own lives? 

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Well. 
Yeah, I think that's, that's a 

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great question. 
I think I've, I've probably 

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suggested that in terms of how 
much time we actually spend on 

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driving, physical qualities, 
what we're trying to develop, 

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you know, how much time we have 
in the gym, for example, you 

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know, 2 1/2 hours a week, you 
know, is that long enough to Dr.

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adaptation, create change, see 
improvements. 100%. 

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It's, you know, for me, it's, 
it's just bang for buck. 

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What are the exercises, You 
know, if we're talking about 

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developing lean muscle strength 
quality, which is a key 

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component and in terms of what 
people ideally from a training 

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perspective will have in their 
training week, you know, is, is,

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is is key. 
And that's where it is key. 

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Compound lifts, multi joint full
body exercises, you know, rather

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than the approach of doing 
millions of different exercises 

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in the gym, changing them week 
to week. 

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You know, it's been really 
sensible with your, you know, 

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the amount of time you've got 
and you know, the low variation 

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in key exercises. 
That's what we want to have low 

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variation. 
If you're doing, you know, if 

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you're consistent with your 
exercises, you're going to see 

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improvement in terms of the way 
you move, the way you, your 

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technical ability, which is 
super key in terms of driving, 

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driving change with what we're 
doing. 

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So what do? 
What do you see the the the 

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biggest mistake everyday 
athletes make? 

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Then when they try, is it 
because they're trying to do 

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more? 
I think there's, there's, 

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there's always, I think it's 
trying to fit everything in, 

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isn't it? 
I think often people will train,

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you know, trying to cover off 
your strength, your power, your 

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speed, your conditioning All in 
all in one session. 

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You know, So there's always can 
be a danger of trying to do too 

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much, which, you know, ends up 
overtraining and really, you 

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know, not necessarily driving 
the, the, the, the, and having 

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the clear understanding of what 
you're trying to develop in that

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session itself. 
So it's trying to just, it's 

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smart, but simple programming. 
That's what my beliefs are. 

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Right, I know everyone here 
hates adverts, but this one 

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Now let's get back to the 
episode. 

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Yes. 
So would you say like to an 

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everyday athlete, the it's the 
first portal call when you're 

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trying to improve performance 
proof ability is you go to the 

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drawing board and you actually 
boil it down. 

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What what am I actually trying 
to achieve? 

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And then you craft the plan. 
From that, yeah, 100%. 

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And you know, when you break it 
down like that in terms of for 

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the everyday athlete or the 
everyday person, in terms of 

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like, we're trying to what, what
are we trying to, what are we 

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training for? 
I think that's a great starting 

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point in terms of are you 
training for performance? 

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Are you trying training for 
longevity, quality of life, 

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which I think, you know, the, 
the, when we start tapping into 

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our late 30s forties, the 
mindset around that starts to 

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shift a little bit in terms of 
why the why and the motivation 

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behind what we're doing from a 
training perspective. 

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And I think, you know, then it 
becomes when we're breaking down

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our training, why, OK, but what 
do we need to, what do we need 

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to prioritize if we need to 
build lean muscle? 

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You know, muscle is the long, 
the organ of longevity. 

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You know, it's the more muscle 
mass we have, you know, the 

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higher, you know, the, the, the,
the longer our lifespan tends to

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be. 
You know, it's not as simple as 

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that, but there's plenty enough 
to, to research around that site

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and why the more muscle mass you
have, the better blood sugar 

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control you have, the less prone
to type 2. 

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You know, all the knock on 
effect is is. 

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And that's where I think, and I 
think social media has done a, a

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good job of that over the years.
A lot of, you know, negativity 

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around social media, but the 
information that's going out 

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around training and exercise is 
positive as well. 

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And I think, you know, a lot of 
ladies now these days are, are 

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buying into the benefits of, of 
strength training. 

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But so it's, it's like I said, 
but then it's also the flip 

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side, just as important as 
developing your cardiovascular 

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health, staying fit and healthy,
you know, making sure you take 

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in that box as well. 
So it's, you know, but you know,

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it's trying not to 
overcomplicate it. 

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It is having a plan in place, 
you know a purpose behind what 

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you're doing because if you've 
got a purpose and a plan, it's 

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more far more likely you're 
going to stay accountable and on

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track to, to, to achieving what 
you're trying to, to get with 

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your training. 
Yeah, you can certainly track it

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better and you missed a point 
then as well with more mass, 

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muscle mass. 
Obviously you look better in a 

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pair of Speedos as well. 
Aesthetics and to be honest, 

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that's that's also, and I 
probably, you know, 

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contradicting myself a little 
bit with what I'm saying now, 

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but I think there's been a big 
shift in the the fitness 

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industry over probably the last 
10 years where, you know, for a 

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large part of time, it's very 
much been geared around 

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aesthetics, You know, people 
trained to look better where, 

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you know, I think we're 
certainly seeing it now in terms

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of more of a shift towards maybe
performance. 

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Like in terms of, you know, 
you've seen growth in sports 

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like high rocks, you know, a lot
more people running, you know, 

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doing 10 KS marathon because 
people like having a goal, 

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something to train towards. 
And that's what helps keep 

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people accountable. 
I think the way the tech work 

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the world is in terms of the 
various devices, the trackers, 

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it all helps to keep people 
accountable. 

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And I think that's been a 
positive. 

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And seeing that shift in giving 
people a reason to, you know, 

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have a focus on their training 
is massively beneficial. 

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And it's not when I say 
performance, not necessarily, 

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you know, performance in terms 
of against other people, but 

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performance in, in terms of to 
themselves. 

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Like how much better can I get 
at my 10K time, my 5K time, high

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rocks time, whatever it may be, 
It's and it's it's having goals 

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that can help move you on and 
and and see progression. 

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Yeah, I like that because it's 
not necessarily like how big can

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I get my biceps is perhaps you 
know, how fast can I get my 5K 

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time in And then from the back 
of that you sort of work back. 

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Well, I need to work on the 
cardiovascular fitness and then 

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I need to work on my Sprint 
training or my and two running. 

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It's like the training is a 
product of the end goal. 

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Yeah. 
And I think like there's a, 

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there's a phrase and again, 
you'll do throughout podcasts, 

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I'll drop in little cliches, 
quotes and stuff, but I think 

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it's so practical in terms of 
training and keeping people 

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engaged, but also in other 
aspects of life in terms of me 

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growing a business. 
And it's the, the, the quote is 

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the man that loves walking will 
walk further than the man that 

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loves the destination, you know,
And when you love the journey, 

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the goals just happen. 
And for me, I think that's a 

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real important message, 
certainly from a a health and 

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fitness perspective, because it 
is about the process. 

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If you can find a way of 
enjoying the process, the goals 

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will just happen, you know, and 
it's, it is about, and that's 

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probably the challenge a lot of 
people have these days is 

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staying engaged in the process 
and the consistency there. 

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And that's the challenge. 
And, you know, I think that's 

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something sport has taught me 
over the years, Rugby's taught 

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me over the years of the 
importance of the consistency, 

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the behaviours, all that side of
things, which ultimately is, is 

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brings the results. 
So it is having a plan with your

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training and knowing what you're
training for, but it's also 

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trying to find a way of staying 
accountable, staying engaged and

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enjoying the process. 
Yeah, if your goal could be 

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something that you're only going
to achieve in a year's time. 

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So if you're constantly looking 
forward to a year, it's going to

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take a long time to actually get
there. 

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Watch pot never boils, as they 
say. 

251
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How does it how does it work in 
the in Wales? 

252
00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:04,160
Then when Steve Tandy gives you 
a call, is he saying I want 

253
00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:08,120
right, Robin, I want my boys to 
get bigger this week or I want 

254
00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:10,800
them to get faster this week. 
Is he giving you goals or is it 

255
00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:13,280
just like don't improve their 
strength conditioning? 

256
00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,160
Do you have specifics? 
So in terms of just a touch on 

257
00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:19,040
it, like how our environment 
works in Wales, so I'm part of 

258
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the strength and conditioning 
department. 

259
00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:24,200
So we have Hugh, Hugh Bennett 
head of performance, so we'd be 

260
00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:27,280
the head of our department. 
There's myself, strength and 

261
00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:30,240
conditioning coach, John Ashby, 
strength and conditioning coach.

262
00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:34,360
We then have Kieran Miller, head
of sports science, Chris Edwards

263
00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:36,880
had a nutrition. 
We've got a full time chef as 

264
00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:41,480
well, Andre Moore. 
So that that's, that's, that's 

265
00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:45,640
that's our, our department. 
So in terms of cons, you know, 

266
00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:49,160
the directive will go to Hugh, 
Hugh will come to us then or 

267
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we'll as a group, we'll put 
plans in place. 

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And you know, that's probably 
the big part of it is the, you 

269
00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:57,480
know, not just it's not just for
the players, it's the management

270
00:13:57,480 --> 00:13:59,520
as well. 
There's a lot of reflective 

271
00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:01,360
practice going on. 
Where can we improve? 

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How can we drive things forward,
You know, in terms of driving, 

273
00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:06,760
you know, the physical qualities
for the players. 

274
00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:09,200
This is something this isn't 
just in our environment. 

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So being with the national 
squad, we get the players for 

276
00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:14,600
small pockets of the years, you 
know, the Six Nations, the 

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00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:17,800
autumn internationals, summer 
tours, you know, it's only 

278
00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:21,080
really World Cup year that we 
get prolonged periods of time 

279
00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:23,680
with the players. 
But then I've also in the past, 

280
00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,680
I've worked at regional level 
where, you know, that's where 

281
00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:29,280
you know, you, you've got the 
players a lot more year round. 

282
00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:32,960
So for us, it's, it's how we can
work with the regions to put 

283
00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:36,480
plans in place that, you know, 
drive the players to the, the, 

284
00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:39,360
the, the direction that we want 
to go in with Wales. 

285
00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:42,160
And, you know, so it's, you 
know, it's not just one 

286
00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:45,360
conversation being had, it's the
drip down understanding the 

287
00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:48,280
style of play. 
And probably that's where we've 

288
00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:50,880
struggled a little bit over the 
years is probably having a clear

289
00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,200
understanding what is our style 
of play with Wales. 

290
00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:58,040
And I'd like to think since 
Steve's come in, certainly this 

291
00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:01,400
time, you know, for us, 
certainly there's a real clear 

292
00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:04,880
vision in terms of how we want 
to play, what the game plan is 

293
00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:07,520
about, how we want to grow the 
squad going forward. 

294
00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,640
And it's been really pleasing to
see, certainly in this Six 

295
00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:13,200
Nations now, the light at the 
end of the tunnel. 

296
00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:16,800
It's been a tough couple of 
years, 100% for us all in Wales 

297
00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,160
and certainly when we're in it 
and all the outside noise and 

298
00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:22,320
the criticism at times that 
comes with it. 

299
00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:25,360
You know, I think, you know, 
Steve's done an incredible job 

300
00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:28,080
in terms of bringing the group 
together real and building that 

301
00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:30,920
confidence and belief. 
And I think the last three games

302
00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:35,280
of the Six Nations now there has
been clear, you know, movement 

303
00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:38,960
forward in terms of how we want 
to play, you know, the style of 

304
00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:42,560
play we want, the togetherness 
of the squad, the physicality 

305
00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:44,480
the players are bringing. 
You know, that's what's been 

306
00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:47,520
really pleasing as well as the 
abilities and been one off games

307
00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:49,320
that each game has been 
building. 

308
00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:52,560
We talk about processes and you 
know, Steve's very much about 

309
00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:56,600
process driven in terms of, you 
know, not focusing on the the 

310
00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:59,800
result that will come. 
We get the processes right. 

311
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:02,520
They're game to game. 
We look for small improvements, 

312
00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,000
look for improvements, the 
results will come. 

313
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,560
And I think that's the direction
exactly where we're going. 

314
00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:10,640
And you know, what has happened 
in a in a fairly short space of 

315
00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:13,680
time since Steve's been in. 
So it's been it's been it's been

316
00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,080
great to see and that, you know,
it's certainly, you know, for 

317
00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:19,000
every involved in in Welsh rugby
at the moment, you know, 

318
00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:21,440
management, players, supporters 
as well. 

319
00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,600
I think it's given the nation a 
lift again, isn't it? 

320
00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:28,480
And I think the buzz, you know, 
certainly the stadium, you know,

321
00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:30,880
the Italian game, it was 
brilliant to see that that that 

322
00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:33,600
that energy is back in Wales. 
And hopefully this is just a 

323
00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:37,160
sign of things to come into next
year, World Cup year, you know, 

324
00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:39,640
hopefully big things can that 
can come for this. 

325
00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:40,520
Oh. 
Absolutely. 

326
00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,760
I remember it was the the 
Scottish game and I was watching

327
00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:46,600
it and I found myself, I was 
cheering, I was whooping and I 

328
00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:50,880
was like, this is the first 
Welsh game I've enjoyed properly

329
00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:52,480
for like 2 years and it was 
exciting. 

330
00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:53,960
It was, it was wicked to feel it
again. 

331
00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,120
Like so they're obviously making
progress. 100% and I think it's 

332
00:16:57,160 --> 00:16:58,840
also credit to the stadium as 
well. 

333
00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,600
I think, you know, from the 
autumn, from the autumn to the 

334
00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:06,079
Six Nations, there's been a 
clear drive in making this an 

335
00:17:06,079 --> 00:17:09,520
event as well for for 
spectators, supporters and 

336
00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:11,200
that's what it needs. 
We've got to move with the times

337
00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:14,480
and you know, I think the the 
stadium has done a great job in 

338
00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,720
terms of creating, helping 
create the environment. 

339
00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:20,680
And, you know, now obviously a 
lot of that environment is going

340
00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:23,800
to be dictated from what the on 
field performance, what the 

341
00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:26,480
product is. 
And it's just great to see that 

342
00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:31,240
product is now starting to get 
back to what we know it can be, 

343
00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:34,520
what the Welsh way is. 
And you know, just for the play,

344
00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:36,800
all the players involved, you 
know, you know, everyone, every 

345
00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:39,480
time everyone pulls on that 
Welsh jersey, even through the 

346
00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:41,600
dark times. 
It's like in the harder times, 

347
00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:44,640
everyone always goes on that 
pitch to give it their all. 

348
00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:47,320
You know, the pride they have 
playing for Wales, you know, and

349
00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:50,720
for whatever reason, you know, 
things haven't necessarily gone 

350
00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:53,240
gone the way we've wanted over 
the past couple of years. 

351
00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:57,760
But certainly, you know, autumn 
internationals, you know, Six 

352
00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:00,680
Nations, there's clear building 
blocks going in place. 

353
00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:03,360
And it's I think Welsh rugby's 
got a lot to look forward to 

354
00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:06,040
because I think there's a lot of
like there's a lot of noise in 

355
00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:08,240
other areas that, you know, 
Welsh rugby. 

356
00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:11,080
But you know, the product is the
most important part. 

357
00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:12,600
We need to keep building on 
that. 

358
00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:17,880
Yeah, if we take it back to the 
everyday athlete now and you 

359
00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:21,680
broke down sort of how you train
as a professional, you're 

360
00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:24,560
breaking down the the one thing 
that stood out is this sort of 

361
00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:28,320
analysis phase is looking about 
how you've what you've done over

362
00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:30,760
the past week, over the past 
day, over the past match, and 

363
00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:34,080
then applying that then to your 
for the for the next week and 

364
00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:37,880
how you can improve. 
Would that like that stands out 

365
00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:40,960
as a, an element of training 
that perhaps everyday athletes 

366
00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:43,640
don't incorporate into their 
training? 

367
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:45,440
Because everyone's going to go 
and they're going to hit the 

368
00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:47,280
weights, they're going to hit 
the track, they're going to do 

369
00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:49,000
their running. 
Everyone's got that in. 

370
00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,920
Would you say that is the a big 
part that maybe everyday 

371
00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:55,840
athletes don't put in? 
And if they did put it in, what 

372
00:18:55,840 --> 00:19:01,440
could that look like for them? 
Yeah, I think for me, you know, 

373
00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:05,120
we talk, let's clear like in 
terms of the everyday athletes 

374
00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:09,640
into what clearly define what 
you see as the the me. 

375
00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:13,960
I'm sat here, 41 year old, yeah.
And for me, it's it's, you know,

376
00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:16,800
who is the everyday athlete? 
The everyday athlete is, is that

377
00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:21,400
individual that is time, 
precious busy work life, busy 

378
00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:25,280
family life, you know, they 
don't have, you know, still 

379
00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:28,560
understands the importance of 
staying fit and healthy, but 

380
00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:31,400
there's so much other things 
going on in life that it makes 

381
00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:34,960
it hard to stay on track. 
You know, there's there's so 

382
00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:39,120
many other things going on that 
any slight deviation distraction

383
00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:42,280
takes takes people away from. 
The first thing they'll tend to 

384
00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:46,400
go is them them themselves, you 
know, and something I again, you

385
00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:48,200
know, for me, what is high 
performance? 

386
00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:49,920
What is a high performance 
lifestyle? 

387
00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:52,720
A high performance lifestyle, 
One of the three big rocks in 

388
00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:54,360
peoples lives. 
More often than not, as I 

389
00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:56,920
mentioned there, it's their 
family life, their friends, 

390
00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:00,160
their family life, the social, 
it's the their careers, their 

391
00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:02,360
working environments. 
And then there's them as 

392
00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:05,200
individuals, the self-care 
element and what always happens.

393
00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:09,200
You know what always happens? 
All the time energy goes into 

394
00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,480
careers, into families, into 
kids, and the thing that always 

395
00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:15,080
falls by the wayside is the 
self-care element. 

396
00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:19,040
But ultimately, for us to 
perform at our best and have 

397
00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:21,960
high performance in the 
workplace, to be the best 

398
00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:24,680
version of ourselves in whatever
career we're doing, but also to 

399
00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:28,000
be the best version of ourselves
as a mum, as a dad, you know, 

400
00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:30,200
it's as a as a wife, as a 
husband. 

401
00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:33,160
If you don't have your health 
and Wellness first and foremost,

402
00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:35,960
you're never going to be able to
be high performance in in those 

403
00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:38,680
areas. 
So it is essential that we find 

404
00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:42,120
time to prioritize your health 
and your well-being, even if it 

405
00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:46,400
is for just short moments during
the day, even if it's 15 minutes

406
00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:49,000
here, half hour there. 
Then it comes back to the 

407
00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,200
principle that I talk about at 
the start in terms of 

408
00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:53,280
professional sport, it's bang 
for buck. 

409
00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:57,080
How do we get the most change in
the smallest potential time? 

410
00:20:57,080 --> 00:20:59,920
That isn't going to take 
anything away from on field 

411
00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:02,440
training game on Saturday, but 
still going to be enough to 

412
00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:04,800
drive change. 
And that's the key to it. 

413
00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:08,720
So you know, how, how, how do we
go about creating change for the

414
00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:11,160
everyday athletes? 
First of all, the importance of 

415
00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:14,560
recognising the why. 
Why is it so important to find 

416
00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:17,400
the way of staying accountable 
to your own health and 

417
00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:20,160
well-being? 
Because ultimately the areas 

418
00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:22,800
that are distracting, taking you
away from it, they are going to 

419
00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:26,280
be the things that suffer if 
you're not physically well, if 

420
00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:28,800
you're struggling as so many 
people do today with their 

421
00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:32,680
anxiety, depression, you know, 
poor health, you know, you're 

422
00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:34,960
just not going to be able to be 
the best mum and dad that you 

423
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:37,240
could potentially be, let alone 
in the workplace. 

424
00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:40,960
So it's yeah, I think it's 
identifying that first of all, 

425
00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:44,520
not overthinking it, trying to 
keep things simple in terms of 

426
00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:47,160
your training, not beating 
yourself up if you don't get the

427
00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:51,160
perfect training session in and 
understanding what is the 

428
00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:53,760
biggest driver in terms of 
change physical health 

429
00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:56,600
consistency, consistency in what
you're doing. 

430
00:21:56,600 --> 00:22:00,480
Being able to show up day in day
outdoor, you know, a few times a

431
00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:03,320
a week, frequently week on week,
that's how you're going to do 

432
00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:05,680
it. 
So I think at times people can 

433
00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:08,480
overthink it, overthink it. 
Try to be finding the perfect 

434
00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:11,560
plan in place. 
The perfect plan doesn't exist. 

435
00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:14,240
It's about the repetition of 
simplicity, and that's always 

436
00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:15,960
the thing that's overlooked and 
undervalued. 

437
00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:17,280
Yeah, that's what I've done with
my training. 

438
00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:20,000
You, you've almost got to drop 
the ego because like you've got 

439
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,000
this ego. 
I want to fit in a massive 1 one

440
00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,080
hour session. 
What do you know what I do with 

441
00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:27,760
my strength sessions now? 
Three exercises each like 3 * a 

442
00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:28,520
week. 
That's it. 

443
00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:31,720
But because I know I can do 
that, it takes me 20 minutes, 

444
00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:35,680
maybe 15 minutes sometimes, but 
I can build a consistency 

445
00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:38,720
because when I've got an hour or
an hour and a half training 

446
00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:41,760
session to do and I've only got 
40 minutes to do it in, that's 

447
00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:43,560
when I don't do it. 
I go, well, I can't fit it all 

448
00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:45,760
in, then I don't do it. 
But if it if you just reign it 

449
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:49,600
in, that's been the biggest game
changer for me is just dropping 

450
00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:51,320
the ego. 
And do you want, that's a 

451
00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:55,160
really, because for me, you 
know, both in rugby and general 

452
00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:58,760
pop training, the biggest for 
those people that enjoy 

453
00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:03,000
training, it's the ego is what 
can get in people's way and hold

454
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,520
people back and reduce their 
ceiling of physical development 

455
00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:09,880
and physical quality. 
The base of the, the, the 

456
00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:12,600
pyramids in terms of physical, 
the what drives physical 

457
00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:15,720
qualities, the first and 
foremost movement competency, 

458
00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:17,840
You know, it's how well can we 
move? 

459
00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:20,680
How well can we, you know, you 
know, we train, what are we 

460
00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:21,760
training? 
It's the everyday athlete. 

461
00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,120
What are we training for 
majority of the time, it is 

462
00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:26,160
longevity, quality of life, what
we do. 

463
00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:29,960
So we want to be working, you 
know, through range of motion, 

464
00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:32,320
through range of motion as best 
we can. 

465
00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:35,440
You know, unless you've got 
anything significant that's 

466
00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:39,600
restricting you, what's often 
the thing that holds you back 

467
00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:42,600
from working through range of 
motion, if you're doing squats, 

468
00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:45,360
dead lifts or whatever it may 
be, the weight on your back. 

469
00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:48,400
So the first thing, drop your 
ego, reduce the weight and 

470
00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:51,240
perform the exercises and 
movement, these fundamental 

471
00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,960
everyday movements that we need 
for everyday life for them in 

472
00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:57,520
the correct way. 
There's your mobility work being

473
00:23:57,520 --> 00:23:59,280
done alongside your strength 
training. 

474
00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:02,160
You don't need to be spending 
hours on your mobility work. 

475
00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:04,120
Then your strength. 
How can you incorporate all 

476
00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:06,480
these things together? 
And a big part of it is, is 

477
00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:09,720
improve the way you move. 
Have more of a focus and pride 

478
00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:11,520
in how you move on a day-to-day 
basis. 

479
00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:14,960
The better you move, the better 
you're going to be able to 

480
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,520
express your strength, your 
force, your power, whatever it 

481
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:20,760
may be. 
And that's what then will nudge 

482
00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:22,720
your ceiling up. 
And that's something probably in

483
00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:25,160
rugby environments that can be 
probably one of the biggest 

484
00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:28,640
challenges is you're dealing 
with a lot of alpha males that 

485
00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:32,040
are very competitive in nature, 
but having the conversations, 

486
00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:34,120
boys drop a little bit of weight
there. 

487
00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:37,720
Focus on moving a bit better. 
Focus on working through a full 

488
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:41,480
range of motion that you need to
be able to get into on field 

489
00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:44,440
because if you're not we're able
to work through range of motion 

490
00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:47,080
in the gym, you're constantly 
restricting range of motion 

491
00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:48,600
there. 
You're going to be weak in end 

492
00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:51,760
range movements then on field 
that you are going to get into 

493
00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:54,040
when you're in the bottom of a 
rock or whatever it may be. 

494
00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:57,240
So you know, not everyone, you 
know, not everyone will have the

495
00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:00,480
same approach. 
But for me that's very much why 

496
00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:04,400
I see, you know, my methods in 
terms of professional rugby and 

497
00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:08,600
often daily pop are very similar
in terms of what what we do in a

498
00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:10,640
gym environment. 
It's, you know, for me it's 

499
00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:13,840
quality, quality of movement is 
at the heart of what we want to 

500
00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,200
try and drive everything on. 
Yeah, I've been at the receiving

501
00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:18,200
end of that. 
It's it's squats coming back in 

502
00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:20,800
here. 
The ego got the better of me and

503
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,960
I only need to up up the weight 
a bit, but then I pop my back 

504
00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:27,040
and then I'm out for two weeks. 
Well, that recovers so. 

505
00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:29,920
You know, a good a good point on
that again, it's it's like, what

506
00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:32,560
is strength training? 
You know, for me, strength 

507
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:36,120
training is the ability to 
strain under a load with good 

508
00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:38,120
technique. 
That's how we get stronger. 

509
00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:41,840
What isn't strength training is 
the ability to under a strain 

510
00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:43,880
under a load with crap 
technique. 

511
00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:47,640
That's where an injuries happen.
That's where backs start going, 

512
00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:49,720
where you start pulling muscles 
and twinges. 

513
00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:52,520
It's and it comes back to it. 
Focus on movement quality. 

514
00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:55,920
Focus on movement quality and 
doing things as perfection, as 

515
00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,600
close to perfection as you can. 
Chase, chase, virtuosity, the 

516
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:03,560
ability to perform the common 
uncommonly well, which is what 

517
00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:07,280
so many people don't do. 
And it's it's so it can't stress

518
00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:10,400
that emphasis enough in terms of
it's not necessary about the 

519
00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:12,800
load on your back or what you're
pushing, it's how well you can 

520
00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:16,000
move that load in the 1st place.
Only when you've earned the 

521
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,560
right to increase the weight do 
you do so. 

522
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:21,720
Yeah, yeah, yeah. 
So you, you played professional 

523
00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:24,120
rugby for 10 years, was it 
professional? 

524
00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:26,080
And you must have played for 
years before that as well. 

525
00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:32,320
Cardiff Blues Welsh Caps Did you
ever think that you'd become a 

526
00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:33,600
rugby player when you're growing
up? 

527
00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:37,960
So start playing rugby as an 8 
year old, you know, like a lot 

528
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:41,240
of young Welsh boys and it was 
my life. 

529
00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:45,200
It was, it's all I ever wanted 
to do was play rugby, you know, 

530
00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:48,160
play out in the garden, play for
my local club Pentil. 

531
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:54,720
And so I always, always had 
aspirations of playing rugby. 

532
00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:57,680
I think as I got old I can't 
remember exactly 95 

533
00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:00,160
unprofessional so I can't 
remember exactly how old I 

534
00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:01,360
should be able to. 
Work it says. 

535
00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:04,840
It says year 2000 on your 
LinkedIn on your Wikipedia. 

536
00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:07,680
So in terms of actually, you 
know, the the game obviously 

537
00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:11,280
going professional. 
So I, yeah, so you know, it was 

538
00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:13,200
something I always had 
aspirations when the game went 

539
00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:15,760
professional, then that was that
was my sole focus. 

540
00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:18,800
Wanted to play professional 
rugby for Wales, you know, 

541
00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:20,720
British Lions. 
I wanted to be the best of the 

542
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:23,600
best, you know, and that's 
something that you know, I 

543
00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:26,280
didn't obviously achieve, you 
know, and probably probably 

544
00:27:26,360 --> 00:27:28,440
moves on to it, probably another
area like it. 

545
00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:31,560
You know, I what I achieved in 
my rugby career, it's only 

546
00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:36,200
recently I've really been able 
to actually feel more fulfilled 

547
00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:40,000
with it because I certainly at 
the end of my career and for 

548
00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:46,440
many years after, I felt so 
unfulfilled from rugby because I

549
00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:49,040
wanted to be the best. 
I wanted, I genuinely wanted to 

550
00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:54,080
play for the British Lions. 
I wanted to be 506070 caps for 

551
00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:57,400
Wales. 
And I just because I didn't 

552
00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:00,840
achieve that, that's something 
that is eaten away, ate away at 

553
00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:03,840
me because my goal from a young 
age was to be the best. 

554
00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:07,720
And but you know, without 
sounding cheesy with it, it's 

555
00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:11,080
like I said, it's only recently 
now over the last few years, I 

556
00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:13,400
actually sit back and I'm like, 
and this isn't the bragging 

557
00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:15,520
rights. 
It's like I, you know, what I 

558
00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:18,240
achieved in my, in my career, 
I'm really proud of. 

559
00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:21,280
Like I played for Wales. 
I was part of two Grand Slam 

560
00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,560
winning campaigns, played 
against New Zealand, South 

561
00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:28,440
Africa, Australia, went to the 
Commonwealth Games in Australia,

562
00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:31,600
played for Wales Sevens. 
Like the experiences I had as a 

563
00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:34,400
professional rugby player. 
I'm so grateful. 

564
00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:37,520
I got a lot of gratitude for 
that now, but it's only been, I 

565
00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:40,160
think probably as I've got a 
little bit older, a little bit 

566
00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:44,480
more, you know, sentimental with
things that I can look back and,

567
00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:47,520
and be, you know, actually, no, 
I'm, I'm proud of what I 

568
00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:50,440
achieved there. 
And also, you know, the way my 

569
00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:54,000
career was, it wasn't, you know,
a straight line, you know, and 

570
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:56,840
it's a lot of what a lot of 
people don't see the 

571
00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:00,280
professional rugby play or the 
professional athletes, the, you 

572
00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,120
know, the, the setbacks, the 
failures, you know, it's for me,

573
00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:05,600
it's rugby. 
I really do see it's the perfect

574
00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:08,760
analogy for life and probably 
what's helped really mould me as

575
00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:11,840
a person then get me ready for 
the next stage of life is, you 

576
00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:15,400
know, rugby is a sport that is 
full of setbacks and failures, 

577
00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:18,760
you know, and it's ultimately 
it's how you respond to those 

578
00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:20,920
setbacks and failures that moves
you along. 

579
00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:24,320
And you know, that's something 
that I've taken and apply to my 

580
00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:26,960
second stage of my life because 
that's exactly what life is all 

581
00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:28,720
about. 
Without getting too cheesy and 

582
00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:32,440
emotional with it's, you know, 
it's been able to recognize it 

583
00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:35,720
and build your resilience as as 
a person that can handle these 

584
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,680
and, and using the reflective 
practice to to try and improve 

585
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:40,720
and learn from these 
experiences. 

586
00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:42,760
Yeah. 
I mean, just there's a tiny, 

587
00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:46,160
tiny percentage of the Welsh 
population that will ever play 

588
00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:48,120
for Wales. 
And you've got to do it numerous

589
00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:50,280
times. 
Like you, you did achieve what 

590
00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:53,440
every schoolboy aspires to do 
when they're when they're young,

591
00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:56,360
growing up like, but it's for 
you, I suppose it's it's finding

592
00:29:56,360 --> 00:30:00,680
that perspective in later life. 
And like to dive, dive a little 

593
00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,080
bit more probably into the way 
my career went. 

594
00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:07,560
It's, you know, I from a young 
age, you know, probably from 50,

595
00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:10,600
I probably really started to 
kick on from about 15 years of 

596
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:13,320
age. 
And you know, playing for Wales,

597
00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:17,680
you know, in the age grades, 
playing a year young, I was, you

598
00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:19,720
know, when again, it's not, it's
not bragging about stuff. 

599
00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:22,760
But I also got picked for Wales 
as an 18 year old. 

600
00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:25,680
So I'm actually one of the, the,
one of the youngest players to 

601
00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:27,640
have played for Wales. 
Not many people know that. 

602
00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:30,200
But I played. 
So I got picked to go on tour to

603
00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:32,720
Japan with Wales, played in the 
midweek game. 

604
00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:34,440
So it wasn't an official cap 
game. 

605
00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:38,160
But still as an 18 year old 
playing for Wales was, you know,

606
00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:41,680
an incredible achievement. 
It was still years late until I 

607
00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:45,240
won my first Welsh cap, but you 
know, the difference from going 

608
00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:49,360
from schoolboy youth rugby into 
the senior environment, that's 

609
00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:54,240
where it really started become, 
you know, it was a a it was 

610
00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:55,560
tough. 
It was competitive. 

611
00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,880
I played majority in my career, 
Cardiff Rugby, my home club, the

612
00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:02,920
club that I supported, you know,
and I had Martin Williams, one 

613
00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:06,800
of the greatest Welsh frankers 
of all time, as the seven in the

614
00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:09,360
seven jersey. 
And I spent the majority of my 

615
00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:13,120
career battling with Martin to 
get the game time. 

616
00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:15,480
And, you know, throughout, you 
know, we'd always probably 

617
00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:18,200
season on season play more or 
less the same number of games, 

618
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:22,320
but Martin B and Martin would 
play the big European games, you

619
00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:24,360
know. 
But then, you know, but I also, 

620
00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:27,320
I look back, that's also what 
brought the best out of me. 

621
00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:29,240
You know, nothing was given to 
me on a plate. 

622
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:33,400
I had to fight tooth and nail to
to and probably where my passion

623
00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:35,480
and love for strength and 
condition really came from 

624
00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:40,360
because I had to do everything I
could to succeed and get and to 

625
00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:43,360
achieve my ultimate ambition and
dream of playing for my country 

626
00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:46,880
through real grit and hard work.
And that's they're the qualities

627
00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:49,680
that I'm really proud. 
And the way my career went, 

628
00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:52,680
because like I said, it was full
of, you know, setbacks, 

629
00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:55,400
failures, whether that was 
selection, whether that was 

630
00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:59,200
injuries, you know, but 
ultimately, you know, I, I did 

631
00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:01,440
achieve what I wanted to 
achieve, you know, maybe, maybe 

632
00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:03,960
not to the level that I wanted 
to in terms of the volume of 

633
00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:07,600
caps and British Lions. 
But I said it's, it's, it's a, 

634
00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:09,920
it's a dream that, you know, I 
fulfilled. 

635
00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:13,040
And I'm, I'm, yeah, I'm, I'm 
proud of what I did and the way,

636
00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:15,000
the way I was able to do it as 
well. 

637
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:17,920
Yeah, you've, you've clearly 
played with some legends of the 

638
00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:19,440
sport. 
You mentioned Martin Williams 

639
00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:21,880
there, The new sense. 
That's what Jonathan Davis used 

640
00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:24,600
to call it, the new sense, 
Martin, Martin Williams. 

641
00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:28,120
But what one thing I wanted to 
ask you, you played with John 

642
00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:31,840
Alomo, literally the biggest 
legend in the game. 

643
00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:34,240
What was what was it like 
playing with people like him? 

644
00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:37,680
Do you all like, I'll never 
forget, like I don't even know 

645
00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:41,600
how it happened in terms of all 
I remember is being on in my car

646
00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:47,840
on a my little white Saxo on a 
11 weekday evening. 

647
00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:52,160
And I had the radio on and it 
announced that I think, and I 

648
00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:55,720
would have been, I've been 
pretty young at this time that 

649
00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:58,840
Jonah Lomu had signed for 
Cardiff Blues. 

650
00:32:59,320 --> 00:33:01,440
And I just remember my mouth 
just dropped. 

651
00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:06,480
This was Jonah Lomu, the guy 
that literally had inspired so 

652
00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:10,840
many people, kids, adults, the 
the greatest rugby player ever 

653
00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:13,120
to have played the game. 
He is, as far as I'm concerned, 

654
00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:16,680
he is, you know, in terms of 
excitement and he is signed for 

655
00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:19,560
Cardiff, the team I'm playing. 
I'm going to get to play with 

656
00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:21,600
Jonah Lomu and it was 
phenomenal. 

657
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:26,440
And you know, he, he as a bloke 
as well. 

658
00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:28,960
You know, you talk about a 
superstar of a sport, you know, 

659
00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:32,640
you don't get bigger than Jonah,
but what an absolute humble, 

660
00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:37,320
amazing guy he was, you know, 
and it's just, it's obviously 

661
00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:42,240
you know, not with us anymore. 
But I couldn't speak enough, You

662
00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:45,320
know, you, you, when you get to 
meet your genuine hero, your 

663
00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:49,560
childhood hero, and he's that 
sort of character as well. 

664
00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:52,040
It just, it doesn't disappoint. 
You know something else? 

665
00:33:52,040 --> 00:33:54,360
Stay with me for forever, for 
life. 

666
00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:55,480
Absolutely. 
What? 

667
00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:56,680
What? 
What do you find that he did 

668
00:33:57,120 --> 00:33:59,640
differently to others that sort 
of separated him, that made him 

669
00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:02,120
that elite? 
So I think, you know, when Jonah

670
00:34:02,120 --> 00:34:05,320
came to us, he was at the tail 
end of his career. 

671
00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:08,440
He was already at that stage 
struggling with his, you know, 

672
00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:12,040
kidneys and you know, his the, 
the, the illness, unfortunately,

673
00:34:12,159 --> 00:34:15,199
unfortunately, but you know, so 
he wasn't in his prime. 

674
00:34:15,199 --> 00:34:17,760
You know, he was coming after 
bouts of treatment and stuff. 

675
00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:21,360
So for Jonah, it was, you know, 
getting back to fitness. 

676
00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:24,280
So we didn't obviously see the 
best of Jonah during the that 

677
00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:26,719
time. 
But you know, you talk about 

678
00:34:26,719 --> 00:34:30,080
physical specimen. 
You know, this guy was 6 foot 

679
00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:36,600
5/19/20 stone when he was ASP 
his running, you know, velocity 

680
00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:41,159
speeds that are just, you know, 
Louise Erie Samet pace. 

681
00:34:41,320 --> 00:34:45,800
You know, it's incredible. 
But you know, the thing that I 

682
00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:48,120
keep saying it's it's the 
person. 

683
00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:51,199
It's the person that made Jonah.
Like I just couldn't get over 

684
00:34:51,199 --> 00:34:54,840
how humble, how much time he had
for all those guys that 

685
00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:57,880
obviously his team mates. 
But just, you know, whether it 

686
00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:01,400
was the Academy players, whether
it was, you know, the squad 

687
00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:04,080
players, whether it's the guys 
playing, had time for everyone, 

688
00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:07,280
and it's just, yeah, just 
something that's just an amazing

689
00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:09,720
experience. 
Who's who's some of the most, 

690
00:35:09,720 --> 00:35:11,760
like, physically intimidating 
people you've played with? 

691
00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:14,760
Who's some of the best players 
that you feel like or played 

692
00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:16,320
against? 
Yeah. 

693
00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:18,680
Or played Yeah, in your area 
era, obviously. 

694
00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:22,600
First thing, I don't think 
you'll get many rugby players 

695
00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:26,320
admitting to being physically 
intimidated by, you know, 

696
00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:30,640
rugby's an AA sport alpha male. 
So it's like so. 

697
00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:34,760
But to answer your question, I 
think you know, you know, the 

698
00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:38,440
the players I played were the 
games, you know, this world 

699
00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:41,360
class players. 
I think again to the best of the

700
00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:44,080
best would obviously, you know, 
when I had the opportunity, when

701
00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:46,840
I played against New Zealand, 
the Autumn Internationals, 2 

702
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:51,840
thousand 2005, you know, sort of
my claim to fame as well is that

703
00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:55,560
I was on the bench. 
I got I think probably 2025 

704
00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:58,600
minutes to go New Zealand. 
So I came on and they bought 

705
00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:00,280
brought Richie Mccour off the 
bench. 

706
00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:03,520
So that's my claim to fame. 
I'm not sure it's quite really 

707
00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:06,920
that reason, but you know, that 
game in itself, you know, there 

708
00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:11,200
was Richie Mccour, Dan Carter, 
Umang, you know, it was 

709
00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:13,920
incredible. 
But the player that I was just, 

710
00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:21,120
you know, was Norman Manon, who 
like the, the literally this 

711
00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:26,000
guy, you know, I, the, the, the 
pace, the power, but the 

712
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:29,480
footwork. 
I just, it was incredible. 

713
00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:33,200
It was just unmatchable for me. 
Like even in like just that 

714
00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,200
sport short space of time, just,
you know, they, I think they 

715
00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:39,600
tore us up that day. 
I think it was 40 points to 10 

716
00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:42,200
or something like that. 
But it was just, and he'd come 

717
00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:44,880
off the bench as well. 
And you talk about just someone 

718
00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:48,680
lighting, lighting it up so that
he would be 1. 

719
00:36:48,680 --> 00:36:50,960
I know that's probably a little 
bit of a name dropping one, but 

720
00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:55,120
probably one close to home in 
terms of again, physical, 

721
00:36:55,120 --> 00:36:58,520
physically as an 18 year old so 
play. 

722
00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:01,720
My first season for Cardiff was 
the season before we went 

723
00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:04,680
regional. 
So it was an 18 year old going 

724
00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:08,040
to Sardis Road and playing in 
the Derby, the the Cardiff Ponty

725
00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:12,000
Derby and facing the legendary 
Chief Dale Mackintosh. 

726
00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:15,480
That was probably one that an 18
year old is like, oh, I've got 

727
00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:18,760
to be on my button here to to 
him. 

728
00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:21,560
And yeah, I mean, chief's 
chief's a legend. 

729
00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:25,000
But you know, certainly the 
physicality he played the game 

730
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:28,480
at it was yeah, it was you know,
that that hero was special. 

731
00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:31,200
I I genuinely see as. 
It's it's nuts because like 

732
00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:32,680
obviously I, I played rugby for 
years. 

733
00:37:32,960 --> 00:37:37,720
In fact I was, I worked out I 
was probably 400th pick for 

734
00:37:37,720 --> 00:37:39,520
Wales as player to play as 
hooker. 

735
00:37:39,720 --> 00:37:41,720
Yeah, well, I worked it out. 
I was like, because I, you know,

736
00:37:41,720 --> 00:37:45,040
we're playing for the old pens. 
We're registered WRU team. 

737
00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:48,960
There's like 300 clubs in Wales.
Like so each club has two 

738
00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:50,920
hookers. 
So I'm probably around 400th 

739
00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:53,720
pick, I reckon. 
Like so lucky we didn't ever met

740
00:37:53,720 --> 00:37:57,240
on the per field, Rob. 100% I'm 
glad the physically intimidated 

741
00:37:57,240 --> 00:37:59,080
one then. 
I 100% would have thought it'd. 

742
00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:00,040
Be you. 
Absolutely. 

743
00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:03,800
I've lost my trail of four. 
I've lost the trail of four. 

744
00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:05,360
What? 
The question was, we'll move on 

745
00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:06,360
anyway. 
What? 

746
00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:09,760
What do you think separates the 
the good players from the 

747
00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:14,680
absolute elite then? 
Phrase I've already used. 

748
00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:17,680
Repetition, simplicity, you 
know, for me, again, it's a 

749
00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:21,480
phrase I use time and time 
again, both elite sports with 

750
00:38:21,480 --> 00:38:24,960
our squad. 
At times I like a quote on the 

751
00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:27,080
start of each week. 
I like a quote on a whiteboard 

752
00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:30,480
or on our screen that we use to 
inspire the players. 

753
00:38:30,480 --> 00:38:32,480
Whether they get inspired is a 
different matter. 

754
00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:36,480
But also, you know, in, in some 
of the work I do with, with Ion 

755
00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:37,960
as well. 
It's for me. 

756
00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:40,560
Anyone can achieve high 
performance, you know, high 

757
00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:42,560
performance lifestyle, high 
performance in sport. 

758
00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:46,600
It's all about the repetition of
simplicity, so often overlooked 

759
00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:50,040
and undervalued. 
What is it that separates the 

760
00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:54,560
good professional rugby player 
and the world class players? 

761
00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:56,840
It's the basics, the attention 
to detail. 

762
00:38:56,840 --> 00:38:59,320
It's the behaviours. 
It's usually not the the 

763
00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:01,720
physical qualities, the 
strength, speed, the power, the 

764
00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:04,320
skill. 
It's their ability to show up 

765
00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:09,160
day in, day out, be in early, do
that prehab, do the work they 

766
00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:12,240
need to do to get their body 
rate right for training to be 

767
00:39:12,240 --> 00:39:14,440
able to recover. 
Spending a bit longer than on 

768
00:39:14,440 --> 00:39:17,640
their recovery, making sure 
their nutrition's dialled in, 

769
00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:20,480
you know, making sure they're 
getting enough sleep at night, 

770
00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:24,080
supplementation, whatever it may
be, but not just doing it once 

771
00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:28,440
doing that day in day out. 
And that's where you really see 

772
00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:33,000
world class players stepping up.
And it always amazes me that you

773
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:36,360
know, I'm you know, you look 
around and just like, is this 

774
00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:37,960
not obvious? 
Is this not obvious? 

775
00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:41,400
If we want to be the best of the
best, is this this these are the

776
00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:44,240
traits that we need. 
And it's you know, I also 

777
00:39:44,240 --> 00:39:47,840
believe a lot in environment. 
And you know, it's probably 

778
00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:50,160
something over the last, you 
know, since the World Cup. 

779
00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:53,400
I think it's well recognised 
that, you know, we lost some, 

780
00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:57,560
you know, you know, pretty, you 
know, you know, same stage you 

781
00:39:57,560 --> 00:40:01,040
lost your George N, you know, 
George N, your damn biggers, 

782
00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:04,800
your Fallot House to a degree in
terms of you know, and these are

783
00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:06,960
your Lee half pennies, you know,
and. 

784
00:40:07,640 --> 00:40:10,400
As soon as you take them out of 
the environment and you've got a

785
00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:13,280
young crop of players coming 
through that may not have had, 

786
00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:16,760
you know, the experience and, 
and seeing what it takes to get 

787
00:40:16,760 --> 00:40:19,080
to the top, that's what becomes 
the challenge. 

788
00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:22,120
And, you know, I think not 
having those sort of players to 

789
00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:26,200
influence and to influence the 
current the, the, the, the group

790
00:40:26,200 --> 00:40:30,240
gone by has taken time to get 
there, but very much so now it's

791
00:40:30,240 --> 00:40:32,440
on the build. 
You've seen these behaviours and

792
00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:35,840
hopefully this is what's going 
to help move us forward and get 

793
00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:37,840
back to be and where we know we 
can be. 

794
00:40:37,880 --> 00:40:39,320
Yeah, well. 
You said that yourself. 

795
00:40:39,320 --> 00:40:41,880
You said that it was because you
were surrounded by these legends

796
00:40:41,880 --> 00:40:44,000
of the game that that upped your
level. 

797
00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:46,840
I'm just like, you know, a big 
part is competition. 

798
00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:50,160
You know, when competition is 
there and you have to fight 

799
00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:53,000
tough and nail to achieve 
anything that you want to 

800
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:55,320
achieve in professional sport, 
that's what's going to drive you

801
00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:57,760
got to find it's the it's the 
inches, isn't it? 

802
00:40:57,760 --> 00:41:00,280
It's the inches are there 
everywhere around is not going 

803
00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:03,840
to break into Al Pacini. 
Are you doing mean impression 

804
00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:04,360
right? 
Yeah. 

805
00:41:04,640 --> 00:41:07,480
But it's it's those marginal 
gains, it's the process, it's 

806
00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:10,320
it's getting those processes 
right day in, day out, the 

807
00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:13,720
consistency, you know, if we 
want to be like, it's all, you 

808
00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:16,800
know, probably for me, you know,
I'm fortunate, I'm, you know, 

809
00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:19,840
working in the elite end of 
sport, the Six Nations just gone

810
00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:24,720
by now, you know, probably, you 
know, what people don't see is 

811
00:41:24,880 --> 00:41:29,280
the, you know, the level, the 
physical, the physical stress, 

812
00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:32,280
the players get put through the 
mental stress, the players get 

813
00:41:32,280 --> 00:41:36,040
put through, you know, training,
playing, but not just that. 

814
00:41:36,040 --> 00:41:38,520
And that's again, what's so 
pleasing for me. 

815
00:41:38,520 --> 00:41:41,680
And my role is just how those 
players have, you know, the 

816
00:41:41,680 --> 00:41:44,880
Scotland game, the French game, 
the have been able to back it 

817
00:41:44,880 --> 00:41:47,920
up, back it up or not just have 
one good game, back it up into 

818
00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:52,120
the next game, recover, recover,
get the nutrition on point, get 

819
00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:55,400
ready so we can go again and 
play at that high level. 

820
00:41:55,600 --> 00:41:59,200
And that's what blows me away. 
And I've got so much respect for

821
00:41:59,200 --> 00:42:02,120
the players these days as well 
as like through what we've been.

822
00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:04,400
But that ability, these boys 
have gone through such an 

823
00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:07,760
intense period now in the Six 
Nations, the physicality of 

824
00:42:07,760 --> 00:42:11,280
rugby is just huge. 
But then they're going straight 

825
00:42:11,280 --> 00:42:15,320
back into regional rugby, into 
the URC, into the European, and 

826
00:42:15,320 --> 00:42:18,040
they've got to do this again, 
again, again. 

827
00:42:18,040 --> 00:42:22,480
And that's where the the, yeah, 
you know, the players like the 

828
00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:25,560
biggest element for me, you 
know, in terms of as a as a 

829
00:42:25,560 --> 00:42:28,480
coach, as a strength and 
ignitioning coach, probably, you

830
00:42:28,480 --> 00:42:31,960
know, where at the start of my 
career was all about how do I 

831
00:42:31,960 --> 00:42:35,560
make players fitter, faster, 
stronger to now, a big part of 

832
00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:38,760
the role is getting things right
in terms of how can we help 

833
00:42:38,760 --> 00:42:42,360
these players is manage stress. 
How do we help these players 

834
00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:46,000
recover between training 
sessions, between match day? 

835
00:42:46,160 --> 00:42:49,160
The better we can help players 
recover, the better they're 

836
00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:51,200
going to be able to train, the 
better they're going to be able 

837
00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:53,760
to perform on a Saturday. 
And what is recovery? 

838
00:42:53,760 --> 00:42:56,720
It's stress management. 
You know, again, we talk about 

839
00:42:56,720 --> 00:42:59,880
day-to-day life. 
We need to manage stress in all 

840
00:42:59,880 --> 00:43:02,200
our lives. 
And, you know, I think in this 

841
00:43:02,200 --> 00:43:04,760
day and age, it's, you know, for
a lot of players, players are 

842
00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:08,560
now incorporating breathwork 
coaches, the, you know, I think 

843
00:43:08,560 --> 00:43:11,480
it's, you know, everyone seeing 
the benefits of the hot, cold, 

844
00:43:11,480 --> 00:43:13,960
that side of things. 
You can't go away from the big 

845
00:43:13,960 --> 00:43:16,440
rocks, nutrition, sleep. 
But then it's all the other 

846
00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:19,640
things around it, sports, 
massage, bath work that helps. 

847
00:43:19,920 --> 00:43:22,880
Again, just lift that ceiling, 
improve the stress management 

848
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:26,240
that is, is key to to 
performance in all aspects. 

849
00:43:26,280 --> 00:43:27,320
Yeah, yeah. 
Now you. 

850
00:43:27,520 --> 00:43:31,800
You suffered an absolutely 
horrific injury playing rugby, 

851
00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:33,600
you said. 
You sent me the video and. 

852
00:43:33,840 --> 00:43:36,320
I thought you liked that one. 
Yeah, but I'm surprised how long

853
00:43:36,320 --> 00:43:39,280
it took you to realise what the.
No, I was because you sent me 

854
00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:40,880
the video and I because I was in
work at the time. 

855
00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:44,040
I didn't watch it at that time, 
but I saw your young little 

856
00:43:44,040 --> 00:43:44,640
face. 
I was. 

857
00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:46,440
Oh, my God. 
I mean, you're young Robin. 

858
00:43:46,440 --> 00:43:49,840
Like, yeah, but then you 
attached a photo as well. 

859
00:43:49,840 --> 00:43:53,520
And I assumed it was two 
people's legs, but no, they were

860
00:43:53,520 --> 00:43:56,080
both your legs and one was 
facing the wrong direction. 

861
00:43:56,080 --> 00:43:57,600
It was Absolutely. 
I'll put it on the screen 

862
00:43:57,600 --> 00:44:00,360
wherever the screen is here. 
What? 

863
00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:03,440
What was going through your head
when that injury happened? 

864
00:44:03,440 --> 00:44:04,760
And what, what happened first? 
Yeah. 

865
00:44:04,760 --> 00:44:06,200
And then what was going through 
your head? 

866
00:44:06,680 --> 00:44:09,880
Liberty Stadium Ospreys, you 
know was Cardiff, Cardiff, 

867
00:44:10,400 --> 00:44:14,760
Cardiff Ospreys tight game was 
going into the final minute of 

868
00:44:14,760 --> 00:44:16,440
the game, the Ospreys had just 
scored. 

869
00:44:17,640 --> 00:44:19,360
So it was we were chasing the 
game. 

870
00:44:19,360 --> 00:44:21,240
So I think we were a couple of 
points down. 

871
00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:22,960
So the game is right on the 
cusp. 

872
00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:27,960
So we had we had the kick off, I
was a 7 so naturally we were 

873
00:44:27,960 --> 00:44:30,320
going straight up the middle 
short kick off. 

874
00:44:30,320 --> 00:44:33,400
We've got to win this ball back.
You know the clock's going 

875
00:44:33,400 --> 00:44:35,280
against it. 
So we've gone up, jumped in the 

876
00:44:35,280 --> 00:44:38,560
air, reach for the ball. 
I can't remember what the 

877
00:44:38,560 --> 00:44:41,040
outcome of the kick kick was. 
I'd say we won it back. 

878
00:44:41,040 --> 00:44:45,680
Anyway, as I've come down, I've 
landed on my one leg and just as

879
00:44:45,680 --> 00:44:49,840
I've landed on my one leg, Ryan 
Jones, the number 8 Wales 

880
00:44:49,840 --> 00:44:52,520
captain I think at the time, 
landed on top of me. 

881
00:44:52,520 --> 00:44:57,920
So all 120 kilos of his weight 
has come on my one leg and I've 

882
00:44:57,920 --> 00:45:01,840
fallen flat on my front. 
And again, this is what is 

883
00:45:01,840 --> 00:45:04,360
amazing about the human body and
how it responds. 

884
00:45:04,360 --> 00:45:07,360
You know, the adrenaline that's 
you know, we are in fight or 

885
00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:09,560
flight mode. 
Got to get the kick off, got to 

886
00:45:09,560 --> 00:45:12,440
win back bodies on it gone down 
awkwardly. 

887
00:45:12,440 --> 00:45:14,360
Think bloody hell, like I've 
done. 

888
00:45:14,360 --> 00:45:16,800
I've rolled my ankle bad here. 
I've laid on my front. 

889
00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:21,280
And as I've looked over, 
literally the shock was just, Oh

890
00:45:21,280 --> 00:45:25,480
no, if if feel I can still sense
it today in terms of seeing my 

891
00:45:25,480 --> 00:45:29,440
leg turned around and my I'm 
lying on my front and my lower 

892
00:45:29,440 --> 00:45:34,600
leg is facing up towards the sky
in a horrible angle as well. 

893
00:45:34,600 --> 00:45:38,320
And it was just the sheer panic,
you know, whether you use the 

894
00:45:38,320 --> 00:45:40,000
video or not, but the sheer 
panic. 

895
00:45:40,320 --> 00:45:42,880
It wasn't pain. 
It wasn't, you know, it wasn't 

896
00:45:42,880 --> 00:45:44,400
pain that I was suffering at the
time. 

897
00:45:44,400 --> 00:45:47,720
It was, I look at my face and 
it's just the, the, the, the, 

898
00:45:47,760 --> 00:45:51,080
the, the fear that this is job 
done. 

899
00:45:51,080 --> 00:45:53,160
Like because it was, it's not 
been dramatic with it. 

900
00:45:53,160 --> 00:45:56,000
It's, you know, so like 
disfigured at that time. 

901
00:45:56,000 --> 00:45:59,040
And my hand's in my head and I'm
just like, you know, I'm a 

902
00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:03,560
202324 year old rugby player. 
That's all. 

903
00:46:03,560 --> 00:46:06,080
This is all I've ever known. 
This is all I've ever wanted to 

904
00:46:06,080 --> 00:46:08,920
do. 
And you know, I feel like, how 

905
00:46:08,920 --> 00:46:10,520
on earth am I going to be able 
to get back? 

906
00:46:10,520 --> 00:46:13,320
And this all happens in the 
space of a few seconds. 

907
00:46:13,800 --> 00:46:16,520
And it was, it was horrible. 
It was horrible. 

908
00:46:16,520 --> 00:46:19,680
But I also, again, reflection, 
it was also one of the best 

909
00:46:19,680 --> 00:46:23,720
things that ever happened to me.
I like both as a player but also

910
00:46:23,920 --> 00:46:27,400
from an individual. 
It molded me a lot during that 

911
00:46:27,400 --> 00:46:31,440
time because I'm really 
fortunate I played professional 

912
00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:33,760
rugby. 
An injury like that happens that

913
00:46:33,960 --> 00:46:36,040
you'd like to think isn't 
particularly common in the 

914
00:46:36,040 --> 00:46:39,240
sport, but may happen from time 
to time. 

915
00:46:39,240 --> 00:46:42,720
You know, the fact we've got, 
you know, access to, you know, 

916
00:46:42,720 --> 00:46:45,600
world class surgeons like, you 
know, we at the time I got to 

917
00:46:45,600 --> 00:46:48,000
drop their names in it. 
It's like Richard Evans was the 

918
00:46:48,200 --> 00:46:51,160
the consultant at the ground on 
that day that helped manipulate 

919
00:46:51,160 --> 00:46:54,080
and put the foot back into a 
reasonable position. 

920
00:46:54,360 --> 00:46:57,760
Rhys Thomas, you know who's my 
surgeon that fixed me up, Andy 

921
00:46:57,760 --> 00:47:00,920
Shane, my physio. 
But if I didn't have that care 

922
00:47:00,920 --> 00:47:04,160
and level of expertise, I know 
for a fact I would not got a 

923
00:47:04,160 --> 00:47:06,240
back back play. 
And that's not been dramatic 

924
00:47:06,240 --> 00:47:08,160
with it. 
And you know, for me, it was 

925
00:47:08,160 --> 00:47:11,000
probably the first stage I've 
had injuries, I think I 

926
00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:13,280
dislocated my soul had been 
through, but I hadn't 

927
00:47:13,280 --> 00:47:16,960
experienced something of this 
significance and something that 

928
00:47:16,960 --> 00:47:20,160
needed to come back. 
And for me, it's again, we talk 

929
00:47:20,160 --> 00:47:23,200
about processes. 
Rehab is a tough place to be for

930
00:47:23,200 --> 00:47:26,200
any, any, any athletes, 
certainly in team sport where 

931
00:47:26,360 --> 00:47:29,960
you're always used to being in 
around it with, with your, your,

932
00:47:29,960 --> 00:47:31,840
your teammates. 
But you're, you know, you're 

933
00:47:31,840 --> 00:47:33,320
isolated. 
You're doing the 1:00 to 1:00 

934
00:47:33,320 --> 00:47:35,440
work with the physio. 
You have an intensive physio, 

935
00:47:35,440 --> 00:47:38,720
You've got to do your own work 
along inside it and that goes on

936
00:47:38,720 --> 00:47:41,200
for months. 
It's small, mundane, but it's 

937
00:47:41,200 --> 00:47:44,280
the what it teaches you is the 
small wins You've got to you 

938
00:47:44,280 --> 00:47:46,160
can't be focused on when am I 
getting back playing? 

939
00:47:46,160 --> 00:47:48,760
It's got to be right. 
How, how am I getting improving 

940
00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:51,880
this week compared to last week?
Seeing the improvements in my 

941
00:47:51,880 --> 00:47:55,800
range of motion, seeing my 
improvements in my, my, my calf 

942
00:47:55,800 --> 00:47:58,960
capacity, whatever it may be, 
you know, first stage, I want to

943
00:47:58,960 --> 00:48:01,400
get back walking. 
And it's, you know, when the 

944
00:48:01,400 --> 00:48:04,720
injury happened, I was in 
hospital for a week after, you 

945
00:48:04,720 --> 00:48:08,280
know, and it's, you know, lying 
in the bed, unsure what's going 

946
00:48:08,280 --> 00:48:09,760
on. 
Like I said to all I've ever 

947
00:48:09,760 --> 00:48:12,920
known, it's, it's tough time, 
tough time, but it's, it's 

948
00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:15,720
something that massively you 
learn from it. 

949
00:48:15,720 --> 00:48:19,160
We talk about reflectiveness, 
you know, realising how much I 

950
00:48:19,160 --> 00:48:22,760
want this, how much I need to, 
you know, do to get back to 

951
00:48:22,760 --> 00:48:24,840
where I want to be. 
But it and it's the resilience 

952
00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:28,360
that it brings you and it's 
those setbacks, failures, little

953
00:48:28,360 --> 00:48:31,280
more, little more each time you 
build your resiliency tolerance.

954
00:48:31,280 --> 00:48:34,000
And you know what it does? 
It makes you a stronger person 

955
00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:35,800
100%. 
I suppose all the change was the

956
00:48:35,800 --> 00:48:37,800
goal. 
Like the process is still the 

957
00:48:37,800 --> 00:48:41,800
same whether you're playing for 
international caps in rugby or 

958
00:48:41,800 --> 00:48:46,160
you're trying to rehab a leg 
that's facing the wrong way. 

959
00:48:46,480 --> 00:48:49,640
Like I suppose in that moment 
your goal changed and the 

960
00:48:49,640 --> 00:48:51,840
quicker you can accept that your
goal has changed, because I 

961
00:48:51,840 --> 00:48:53,920
suppose that there's going to be
a bit of sort of denial. 

962
00:48:53,920 --> 00:48:55,440
I don't, you know what, what's 
that system? 

963
00:48:55,680 --> 00:48:58,400
The quicker you can get around 
to OK goals change but that 

964
00:48:58,400 --> 00:49:01,680
process is the same. 
And I think anyone that knows me

965
00:49:01,680 --> 00:49:07,600
probably knows what I built so 
much on in terms of both an eye 

966
00:49:07,600 --> 00:49:11,040
on my programme, our programme 
with Wales like it is all about 

967
00:49:11,040 --> 00:49:13,280
the basics. 
It's all about the simplicity, 

968
00:49:13,280 --> 00:49:18,320
it's all about the consistency. 
And I am so confident in that 

969
00:49:18,320 --> 00:49:22,000
approach that that is why I'm 
happy to hang my hat on. 

970
00:49:22,200 --> 00:49:24,880
And that is something that I've 
just learnt through rugby, 

971
00:49:24,880 --> 00:49:28,520
through sport, that is so 
applicable to everything else. 

972
00:49:28,520 --> 00:49:31,320
And you know, you, you, you 
know, the, as you said, the 

973
00:49:31,320 --> 00:49:33,960
goals change and you know, it's 
what I always try to like people

974
00:49:33,960 --> 00:49:37,720
injuries, you know, pick people,
pick things up in rugby, in, in 

975
00:49:37,720 --> 00:49:40,480
the gym, bat bags when puts 
people out for it. 

976
00:49:40,480 --> 00:49:43,640
And it, it's, you've got to try 
and teach, treat every 

977
00:49:43,640 --> 00:49:47,160
opportunity, every step back as 
an opportunity. 

978
00:49:47,320 --> 00:49:50,200
You know, it's an opportunity to
work on maybe another area of 

979
00:49:50,200 --> 00:49:52,760
your, your fitness. 
You know, if you've got a lower 

980
00:49:52,760 --> 00:49:55,600
limb injury, well, it gives you 
time to chance to potentially 

981
00:49:55,600 --> 00:49:58,920
work on your upper body. 
You know, if you can't do 

982
00:49:58,920 --> 00:50:01,080
anything upper body, is it 
giving you opportunity to do a 

983
00:50:01,080 --> 00:50:03,440
little bit more conditioning? 
But you've got it. 

984
00:50:03,640 --> 00:50:06,400
As you said, your goal might 
change, but the process doesn't.

985
00:50:06,400 --> 00:50:09,360
The process and the consistency,
the turning up, doing the 

986
00:50:09,360 --> 00:50:13,320
mundane, doing the repetition of
simplicity is what ultimately 

987
00:50:13,320 --> 00:50:17,920
drives you to your results. 
And it's that's, that's again in

988
00:50:17,920 --> 00:50:20,120
society today, that's the 
biggest challenge for so many 

989
00:50:20,120 --> 00:50:24,000
people we don't have. 
And an element of probably where

990
00:50:24,680 --> 00:50:28,920
people think results come from 
compared to where results do 

991
00:50:28,920 --> 00:50:32,360
come from often gets clouded. 
I suppose people think results 

992
00:50:32,360 --> 00:50:36,280
come from impact and it's not 
it's it's from the consistency, 

993
00:50:36,760 --> 00:50:39,840
even with a lesser impact, but 
it's that consistency and 

994
00:50:39,840 --> 00:50:41,640
frequency that will get you 
there in the long run. 

995
00:50:41,960 --> 00:50:44,160
Was it a career ender, that leg?
No. 

996
00:50:44,280 --> 00:50:47,720
And that's again, like, do you 
want like when I got back 

997
00:50:47,720 --> 00:50:52,040
playing, I never ever had any 
issues with my leg in terms of 

998
00:50:52,040 --> 00:50:54,160
that injury throughout my 
career. 

999
00:50:54,160 --> 00:50:57,360
So I, I retired early. 
I was 28 when I retired, so did 

1000
00:50:57,360 --> 00:51:02,440
retire early, but that injury 
happened at 2324 years of age. 

1001
00:51:02,440 --> 00:51:05,160
So, you know, had, you know, 
it's, it's amazing. 

1002
00:51:05,160 --> 00:51:09,040
It's amazing in terms of again, 
and hats off to the, the medical

1003
00:51:09,040 --> 00:51:10,840
care I received during that 
time. 

1004
00:51:10,840 --> 00:51:14,360
How on earth, you know, you 
manipulate you, you take care 

1005
00:51:14,360 --> 00:51:18,000
of, you know, twisting that leg 
back to normal like it's just 

1006
00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:20,440
unbelievable. 
But it's it's nuts. 

1007
00:51:20,440 --> 00:51:23,080
But when the when the viewers 
see the the the photos and 

1008
00:51:23,080 --> 00:51:25,640
stuff, it's incredible. 
So when you retired, was 

1009
00:51:25,640 --> 00:51:30,920
coaching always in your plan? 
No, not, not in terms of rugby. 

1010
00:51:30,920 --> 00:51:34,960
So I retired. 
So I retired early from rugby. 

1011
00:51:35,160 --> 00:51:40,320
It was a tough time. 
It was a tough time and my rugby

1012
00:51:40,320 --> 00:51:43,200
career, as I said, full of ups 
and downs, setbacks and 

1013
00:51:43,200 --> 00:51:45,200
failures. 
Towards the end of my career, 

1014
00:51:45,200 --> 00:51:48,160
probably in a 12 month period, 
I'd gone from playing for Wales 

1015
00:51:48,480 --> 00:51:52,600
to been struggling to find a 
contract And I, I was struggling

1016
00:51:52,600 --> 00:51:59,240
a lot with an Achilles injury 
that was just so consistent and 

1017
00:51:59,280 --> 00:52:02,360
you know, it really did drain 
the life out of me. 

1018
00:52:02,360 --> 00:52:07,160
But it also, it had came at a 
bad time in terms of I had six 

1019
00:52:07,160 --> 00:52:09,440
months left in my contract with 
Cardiff. 

1020
00:52:09,920 --> 00:52:12,280
I had an injury I couldn't play 
for the remains of that six 

1021
00:52:12,280 --> 00:52:14,640
months. 
There was a young kid coming 

1022
00:52:14,640 --> 00:52:17,920
through the the the ranks of the
time called Sam Warburton. 

1023
00:52:17,960 --> 00:52:19,880
I've heard of him. 
So you might have heard of him. 

1024
00:52:19,880 --> 00:52:23,320
There was Josh Navidi. 
So I was 28, I was struggling 

1025
00:52:23,320 --> 00:52:26,720
with injury, you know, I so it's
what happens in rugby. 

1026
00:52:26,720 --> 00:52:30,080
I've got to look for another 
club, you know, my by the time 

1027
00:52:30,360 --> 00:52:33,760
my, my, my contract had ended, 
I'm still injured, still trying 

1028
00:52:33,760 --> 00:52:38,680
to find the club and 
unfortunately it was, you know, 

1029
00:52:38,760 --> 00:52:41,000
things moved forward into the 
following season. 

1030
00:52:41,000 --> 00:52:45,440
But I'd, you know, in a 12 month
period, I'd really, I was in a 

1031
00:52:45,440 --> 00:52:49,680
bit of I, I don't use the word 
depression and that's how, but 

1032
00:52:49,680 --> 00:52:53,440
I, I recognise it was a dark 
place in my life in terms of 

1033
00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:58,120
despite what I'd already 
achieved and gone through with 

1034
00:52:58,120 --> 00:53:00,640
setbacks and failures. 
It was a challenging time, but 

1035
00:53:00,640 --> 00:53:03,280
ultimately I'd fallen out of 
love with rugby. 

1036
00:53:03,280 --> 00:53:07,360
I, I really didn't enjoy what I 
was doing and I took the 

1037
00:53:07,360 --> 00:53:11,200
decision to, to step away from 
professional rugby, which, you 

1038
00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:13,880
know, do I regret? 
I don't regret anything because 

1039
00:53:13,880 --> 00:53:17,600
the way my life has gone on, you
know, I'm so you know where I'm 

1040
00:53:17,600 --> 00:53:20,280
at now. 
I couldn't be happier and I 

1041
00:53:20,360 --> 00:53:22,280
believe everything happens for a
reason. 

1042
00:53:22,320 --> 00:53:25,680
You know, I think the way my 
career finished, I could have 

1043
00:53:25,680 --> 00:53:28,240
made it a lot easier for myself 
in the second stage. 

1044
00:53:28,240 --> 00:53:31,840
But when I retired from 
professional rugby, I wanted to 

1045
00:53:31,840 --> 00:53:33,120
move into strength and 
conditioning. 

1046
00:53:33,120 --> 00:53:37,120
I wanted to run my own gym. 
I think the way I achieved a lot

1047
00:53:37,120 --> 00:53:41,120
of what I achieved on field, I 
put down to my, my mindset 

1048
00:53:41,120 --> 00:53:43,760
around preparation as I spoke 
about my love for strength and 

1049
00:53:43,760 --> 00:53:47,480
conditioning, wanting to be 
physically prepared as best I 

1050
00:53:47,480 --> 00:53:49,680
could. 
And I think that's something 

1051
00:53:49,680 --> 00:53:53,440
that I really took an interest 
and you know, the, the, the 

1052
00:53:53,440 --> 00:53:56,760
passion I had for that as a 
rugby player, it seemed natural.

1053
00:53:56,760 --> 00:54:00,880
That's what I wanted to do post 
rugby, you know, was open my own

1054
00:54:00,880 --> 00:54:04,760
gym, you know, open my own gym 
with a view of training like a, 

1055
00:54:04,880 --> 00:54:08,000
a rugby player in terms of, you 
know, certainly, you know, my 

1056
00:54:08,000 --> 00:54:11,400
vision then was having a 
facility that was all about 

1057
00:54:11,400 --> 00:54:13,560
people, you know, a team 
environment. 

1058
00:54:13,560 --> 00:54:16,920
So people would come, train, 
enjoy each other's company, you 

1059
00:54:16,920 --> 00:54:19,240
know, pushing a prowler, 
flipping a tire. 

1060
00:54:19,400 --> 00:54:22,160
The the time was a little bit 
novel in terms of his stuff that

1061
00:54:22,160 --> 00:54:23,840
we were doing a lot in rugby at 
the time. 

1062
00:54:24,160 --> 00:54:26,800
You know, I wanted to be out, 
develop a facility around there.

1063
00:54:26,800 --> 00:54:30,800
And you know, when I idea grew, 
developed and you know, that's 

1064
00:54:30,800 --> 00:54:33,280
what I did for that's what I was
able to do. 

1065
00:54:33,440 --> 00:54:36,360
You know, for the first few 
years out rugby had no desire, 

1066
00:54:36,360 --> 00:54:38,800
no interest in rugby. 
For the first few years I was 

1067
00:54:38,800 --> 00:54:42,440
out of it and then over time got
the gym up and running. 

1068
00:54:43,080 --> 00:54:46,440
There was an opportunity then 
with Neath RFC semi professional

1069
00:54:46,440 --> 00:54:48,560
team where I, I, I coached out, 
did the strength and 

1070
00:54:48,560 --> 00:54:51,960
conditioning for them for two 
years and things then just 

1071
00:54:51,960 --> 00:54:53,680
built, you know, I was running 
my own business. 

1072
00:54:53,680 --> 00:54:57,920
Had an opportunity then to come 
back to Cardiff as an assistant 

1073
00:54:57,920 --> 00:55:00,840
strength and conditioning coach,
which I did for a few years and 

1074
00:55:00,840 --> 00:55:04,360
then found myself in the lead 
role for a number of years 

1075
00:55:05,200 --> 00:55:07,440
again. 
You know, my hometown played for

1076
00:55:07,440 --> 00:55:10,360
the club, you know, been the 
head of department for, for, for

1077
00:55:10,360 --> 00:55:12,720
the club. 
We'd, we'd won a European title 

1078
00:55:12,720 --> 00:55:15,600
during that time as well. 
And it's, you know, it's I, you 

1079
00:55:15,600 --> 00:55:18,280
know, I, like I said, everything
happens for a reason. 

1080
00:55:18,280 --> 00:55:21,840
And my passion, I, you know, the
point, I guess, you know, was 

1081
00:55:22,120 --> 00:55:25,200
that followed my passion after 
career changes are always tough.

1082
00:55:25,200 --> 00:55:28,160
And, you know, I really do not 
sympathise. 

1083
00:55:28,160 --> 00:55:31,120
But you know, I can relate to 
people that go through these 

1084
00:55:31,120 --> 00:55:33,880
stages of their lives and 
looking at career transition. 

1085
00:55:33,880 --> 00:55:36,200
And you know, the thing that I 
always talk about is if you're 

1086
00:55:36,200 --> 00:55:38,680
going through your career 
transition, it's trying to find 

1087
00:55:39,120 --> 00:55:41,520
that next stage is something 
you're you're passionate about. 

1088
00:55:41,720 --> 00:55:44,000
Because if you're getting up day
in day and you're passionate 

1089
00:55:44,000 --> 00:55:46,440
about and you're getting the 
process and you're hungry and 

1090
00:55:46,440 --> 00:55:49,280
you're, you're, you know, that's
what you will achieve things as 

1091
00:55:49,280 --> 00:55:52,280
opposed to going for a career or
a job that that's going to earn 

1092
00:55:52,280 --> 00:55:54,400
me loads of money. 
That should be almost like, 

1093
00:55:54,440 --> 00:55:57,320
again, it's the byproduct. 
It's the, you know, the goals 

1094
00:55:57,320 --> 00:55:58,840
just happen. 
It's about the journey and the 

1095
00:55:58,840 --> 00:56:01,360
processes. 
And you know, that's yeah, 

1096
00:56:01,360 --> 00:56:04,200
that's that's that's the 
direction it was and you know, 

1097
00:56:04,200 --> 00:56:08,000
finished at Cardiff. 
You know, I think it was would 

1098
00:56:08,000 --> 00:56:12,360
have been 2002 thousand and 
22,000 and 21 had a couple of 

1099
00:56:12,360 --> 00:56:16,360
years away where built ion 
further and then had the 

1100
00:56:16,360 --> 00:56:18,840
opportunity. 
Hugh Hugh Bennett with the head 

1101
00:56:18,840 --> 00:56:20,760
of performance of Wales. 
There's an opportunity to come 

1102
00:56:20,760 --> 00:56:25,520
back into rugby at the highest 
level pre World Cup, you know, 

1103
00:56:25,520 --> 00:56:29,120
and it's it's a role that I just
yeah, I it's this the ultimate. 

1104
00:56:29,160 --> 00:56:31,560
You know, it's for me. 
It's it's a role I'm so 

1105
00:56:31,560 --> 00:56:33,840
passionate about. 
I'm fortunate the people I work 

1106
00:56:33,840 --> 00:56:37,800
with daily, but it's yeah, it's,
you know, to to be running my 

1107
00:56:37,800 --> 00:56:40,840
own business but also working in
the elite end of sport is yeah, 

1108
00:56:40,840 --> 00:56:42,320
it's amazing. 
And you're still wearing those 3

1109
00:56:42,320 --> 00:56:44,040
feathers, you've still got them 
on the top. 

1110
00:56:44,040 --> 00:56:45,080
You've still got them on the 
top. 

1111
00:56:45,520 --> 00:56:47,800
No like starting a gym sounds 
great. 

1112
00:56:47,800 --> 00:56:50,960
I think most people in fitness 
would love to own their own gym 

1113
00:56:50,960 --> 00:56:54,720
and it looks great on Instagram 
but what how hard is it? 

1114
00:56:55,720 --> 00:57:01,080
Would you recommend it to anyone
or like what's the part no one 

1115
00:57:01,080 --> 00:57:02,480
talks about when they're open 
gyms? 

1116
00:57:02,800 --> 00:57:05,720
I, I, I think it applies to any 
business really. 

1117
00:57:05,720 --> 00:57:08,480
You know, it's starting you 
starting your own business is 

1118
00:57:08,480 --> 00:57:10,200
hard. 
It is hard. 

1119
00:57:10,200 --> 00:57:14,000
It's hard graft. 
It's a lot of hours, a lot of 

1120
00:57:14,120 --> 00:57:18,480
next to no pay. 
You've yeah, you've got to be 

1121
00:57:18,480 --> 00:57:21,280
very passionate about making a 
success. 

1122
00:57:21,280 --> 00:57:24,960
And ultimately that's sadly why 
so many start up businesses fail

1123
00:57:24,960 --> 00:57:29,880
within the first year. 
But I think it goes back to, you

1124
00:57:29,880 --> 00:57:35,440
know, like would I do it again? 
100% I think it was. 

1125
00:57:35,440 --> 00:57:37,560
Has it been hard? 
It's been extremely hard in 

1126
00:57:37,560 --> 00:57:42,160
terms of the last 12 years, 15 
years, retiring from rugby, 

1127
00:57:42,360 --> 00:57:45,520
trying to find myself again in 
terms of my identity. 

1128
00:57:45,520 --> 00:57:48,400
You know, a lot of my I felt at 
the time as a rugby player, 

1129
00:57:48,400 --> 00:57:52,640
you're robbing the rugby player 
to then finding more, more, more

1130
00:57:52,640 --> 00:57:56,040
meaningful, you know, assets of 
your character. 

1131
00:57:56,040 --> 00:57:58,320
And for me, I got into coach and
I can see why. 

1132
00:57:58,320 --> 00:58:00,320
You know, for me, I'm a caring 
person. 

1133
00:58:00,320 --> 00:58:03,200
I genuinely AM. 
And, you know, I'm doing 

1134
00:58:03,200 --> 00:58:06,680
something, you know, whether I 
love coaching, what is coaching 

1135
00:58:06,680 --> 00:58:09,760
is helping people. 
And you know, whether that's an 

1136
00:58:09,760 --> 00:58:15,320
elite rugby player or, you know,
a 40 year old, you know, 

1137
00:58:15,320 --> 00:58:19,760
middle-aged lady, legit like 
it's for me, it's, you know, 

1138
00:58:19,760 --> 00:58:22,560
that's what I enjoy. 
I enjoy helping people on their 

1139
00:58:22,560 --> 00:58:25,600
journey to achieve high 
performance in their lives, 

1140
00:58:25,600 --> 00:58:28,640
whatever they may be doing. 
And you know, for me, that's 

1141
00:58:28,640 --> 00:58:32,080
why, you know, coaching in the 
general pop space as well as 

1142
00:58:32,080 --> 00:58:35,480
international rugby is me 
extremely fulfilling and being 

1143
00:58:35,480 --> 00:58:40,000
able to build a business around 
that is, is, is key. 

1144
00:58:40,040 --> 00:58:42,520
So I don't think to go back to 
your question, it's like, you 

1145
00:58:42,520 --> 00:58:44,920
know, for me, it's really 
understanding you why, if you're

1146
00:58:44,920 --> 00:58:47,720
starting a business or you're 
starting a gym, what's your why?

1147
00:58:47,720 --> 00:58:51,120
What is your, why, what's your 
what, what is your, your purpose

1148
00:58:51,120 --> 00:58:53,920
with what you're doing? 
And for me, over the years, 

1149
00:58:53,920 --> 00:58:57,520
that's evolved, but I, I can see
all along what, you know, 

1150
00:58:57,560 --> 00:59:00,360
ultimately for me, I on my 
mission is about trying to have 

1151
00:59:00,360 --> 00:59:04,880
a positive impact on our local 
and wider society community from

1152
00:59:04,880 --> 00:59:06,320
a health and Wellness 
perspective. 

1153
00:59:06,320 --> 00:59:08,920
That's what I really want to do.
You know, we spoke a little bit 

1154
00:59:08,920 --> 00:59:12,560
early about it for me, growth 
for us, I on it's got nothing to

1155
00:59:12,560 --> 00:59:14,960
do with the financials. 
That's that's a byproduct for 

1156
00:59:14,960 --> 00:59:16,680
me. 
It's about how much impact can 

1157
00:59:16,680 --> 00:59:18,920
we have? 
How can much impact impact we 

1158
00:59:18,920 --> 00:59:22,840
have on our, our community, you 
know, our society that certainly

1159
00:59:22,840 --> 00:59:25,960
during this period, you know, in
the direction we're going, is 

1160
00:59:25,960 --> 00:59:28,040
becoming more and more 
challenging from a health and 

1161
00:59:28,040 --> 00:59:30,160
Wellness perspective. 
And, you know, people are 

1162
00:59:30,160 --> 00:59:33,080
getting sicker and unhealthier, 
you know, and it's something 

1163
00:59:33,080 --> 00:59:35,960
that we need, we need to take 
ownership and action of and 

1164
00:59:36,080 --> 00:59:40,200
having the support and, you 
know, coaching in place is, is, 

1165
00:59:40,200 --> 00:59:42,640
is what drives us. 
What's the problem with general 

1166
00:59:42,640 --> 00:59:44,080
population health at the moment 
then? 

1167
00:59:45,040 --> 00:59:48,440
In a snapshot in a snapshot, 
comfort and convenience, you 

1168
00:59:48,440 --> 00:59:51,560
know, I think that's the easiest
way to describe you know, 

1169
00:59:51,640 --> 00:59:55,840
society is just moulded. 
We're in more moulded as 

1170
00:59:55,840 --> 00:59:59,240
individuals in terms of it's 
society is trying to be make 

1171
00:59:59,400 --> 01:00:02,240
everything as comfort and 
convenient as possible in 

1172
01:00:02,240 --> 01:00:05,400
whether that's you know, 
day-to-day life in terms of your

1173
01:00:05,400 --> 01:00:08,800
working environment, sedentary 
lifestyles, being sat down all 

1174
01:00:08,800 --> 01:00:11,880
day, you know, whether that's 
going to the shops, you know, 

1175
01:00:12,200 --> 01:00:14,960
you know everyone trying to fly 
for via for the the. 

1176
01:00:15,040 --> 01:00:19,360
Closest parking spot, closest to
the, the door, you know, comfort

1177
01:00:19,360 --> 01:00:23,200
food, you know, you can talk. 
I think everyone can understand 

1178
01:00:23,200 --> 01:00:26,240
why I'm talking about comfort 
and convenience and you know, no

1179
01:00:26,240 --> 01:00:29,880
one, you know, with the comfort 
and convenience, it becomes 

1180
01:00:29,880 --> 01:00:33,560
detrimental to our, our long 
term health, our resilience, our

1181
01:00:33,560 --> 01:00:36,640
tolerance, you know, I think it 
makes us softer as in as 

1182
01:00:36,640 --> 01:00:39,640
individuals, you know, 
potential, why so many people 

1183
01:00:39,640 --> 01:00:43,200
these days suffering with mental
health problems is very much, 

1184
01:00:43,400 --> 01:00:45,840
you know, the, the lack of 
resilience, robustness that we 

1185
01:00:45,840 --> 01:00:48,920
can have. 
But, you know, ultimately, you 

1186
01:00:48,920 --> 01:00:52,120
know, going off again in a 
tangent, three primary causes of

1187
01:00:52,120 --> 01:00:56,400
90% of modern day chronic 
illnesses, you know, sedentary 

1188
01:00:56,400 --> 01:00:59,920
lifestyles, nutrient deficient 
diets and chronic stress. 

1189
01:01:00,080 --> 01:01:02,520
Those three primary causes, 
they're all things that are 

1190
01:01:02,520 --> 01:01:04,840
their lifestyle, their 
lifestyle, behaviours, habits. 

1191
01:01:05,080 --> 01:01:08,720
You know, it's not all but 90%, 
you know, that's what is 

1192
01:01:08,720 --> 01:01:11,760
driving, you know, these 
illnesses that we are getting 

1193
01:01:11,760 --> 01:01:13,720
sicker and sicker as a, as a 
nation on. 

1194
01:01:13,720 --> 01:01:16,800
And you know, for me, you know, 
I love the stats. 

1195
01:01:16,800 --> 01:01:19,160
I love the stats. 
But for me, it's really 

1196
01:01:19,160 --> 01:01:21,320
important to talk about because 
it's alarming. 

1197
01:01:21,480 --> 01:01:24,120
It's alarming that it's not 
being spoken about enough in 

1198
01:01:24,120 --> 01:01:27,440
mainstream media because as a 
result of the three primary 

1199
01:01:27,440 --> 01:01:30,760
causes, what ultimately is 
driving the chronic disease the 

1200
01:01:30,760 --> 01:01:32,320
way it is? 
It's inflammation within the 

1201
01:01:32,320 --> 01:01:34,640
body. 
So you know, the root cause of 

1202
01:01:34,680 --> 01:01:38,280
inflammation, poor blood sugar 
control, which is again, poor 

1203
01:01:38,280 --> 01:01:41,680
nutrition, crappy diets, you 
know, highly processed, ultra 

1204
01:01:41,680 --> 01:01:45,520
processed foods, lack of 
movement, chronically stressed. 

1205
01:01:45,520 --> 01:01:48,200
These are all things that 
implement, you know, affect our 

1206
01:01:48,200 --> 01:01:50,000
our blood sugar level. 
Sounds like my life. 

1207
01:01:51,720 --> 01:01:54,760
But then go again just to, to So
what are we seeing? 

1208
01:01:54,760 --> 01:01:58,080
We've seen in the last 15 years 
type 2 diabetes, which is poor 

1209
01:01:58,080 --> 01:01:59,960
blood sugar control. 
That's doubled. 

1210
01:02:00,160 --> 01:02:02,520
In the next 10 years, it's set 
to double again. 

1211
01:02:02,760 --> 01:02:05,480
You know, with that in mind, 
with that statistic in mind, to 

1212
01:02:05,480 --> 01:02:09,240
look at cancer rates. 
OK, so cancer rates 1900s it was

1213
01:02:09,240 --> 01:02:15,320
one in twenty 1940s it was one 
in 17 1970s it was one in ten 

1214
01:02:15,640 --> 01:02:19,200
2000s, one in three modern day 
one in two people will develop 

1215
01:02:19,200 --> 01:02:21,440
cancer. 
Where do we think these, you 

1216
01:02:21,440 --> 01:02:24,560
know, these issues are stemming 
from the one that's the most, 

1217
01:02:24,560 --> 01:02:27,360
and I'll leave you on this one. 
The one that frightens me even 

1218
01:02:27,360 --> 01:02:30,640
more is the dementia rates. 
You know, your cognitive health,

1219
01:02:30,640 --> 01:02:34,200
your well-being, you know, it's 
it's you know, dementia is 

1220
01:02:34,200 --> 01:02:36,080
already the biggest killer in 
society. 

1221
01:02:36,080 --> 01:02:39,520
So with men and women, it's the 
biggest killer in society. 

1222
01:02:40,320 --> 01:02:42,880
With that in mind, dementia 
rates are set to triple in the 

1223
01:02:42,880 --> 01:02:45,720
next 30 years in our lifetime. 
So it's already the biggest 

1224
01:02:45,720 --> 01:02:48,960
killer in society, but it's set 
to triple in the next 30 years. 

1225
01:02:48,960 --> 01:02:52,840
There's an argument, yes, ageing
population has has an impact on 

1226
01:02:52,840 --> 01:02:56,000
that, they're rightly so. 
But the comfort, convenience, 

1227
01:02:56,000 --> 01:02:58,760
the poor food, the lack of 
movement, the chronic stress, 

1228
01:02:58,960 --> 01:03:01,720
it's driving it. 
And for me the final one, which 

1229
01:03:01,720 --> 01:03:03,760
is the most scary, 1 is a 
father. 

1230
01:03:04,000 --> 01:03:06,040
You know, I've got a six month 
old at the moment. 

1231
01:03:06,200 --> 01:03:08,960
One in three children born this 
year will develop dementia. 

1232
01:03:08,960 --> 01:03:12,200
That's the hard facts of it. 
One in three children born this 

1233
01:03:12,200 --> 01:03:16,120
yield of dementia. 
And for me, this is now probably

1234
01:03:16,600 --> 01:03:20,680
where so much of my passion for 
what we're doing at eye on is 

1235
01:03:20,680 --> 01:03:24,400
being built around in terms of 
being impactful and trying to 

1236
01:03:24,400 --> 01:03:27,920
positive, trying to be a ripple 
in the pond in terms of our 

1237
01:03:27,920 --> 01:03:30,160
health and well-being of our our
society. 

1238
01:03:30,480 --> 01:03:33,080
You know, and you know, that 
comes the, the, the four key 

1239
01:03:33,080 --> 01:03:36,440
pillars movement, trying to help
people access purposeful 

1240
01:03:36,440 --> 01:03:40,720
movement, which is exercise, 
nutrition, stress management. 

1241
01:03:40,720 --> 01:03:43,240
But the other one that's often 
not talked about is, is the 

1242
01:03:43,240 --> 01:03:46,800
human connections element, the, 
the socialising, the ability to 

1243
01:03:46,800 --> 01:03:49,880
form relationships. 
You know, it's, it's, it's so 

1244
01:03:49,880 --> 01:03:53,800
important and pillars, what are 
pillars on top of strong 

1245
01:03:53,800 --> 01:03:56,200
foundations? 
What are the foundations to the 

1246
01:03:56,200 --> 01:03:58,640
pillars? 
It's about discipline, It's 

1247
01:03:58,640 --> 01:04:02,360
about consistency, repetition. 
It's the word mindset, you know,

1248
01:04:02,400 --> 01:04:04,120
and for me, it's what is 
mindset? 

1249
01:04:04,120 --> 01:04:06,920
The ability to consistently 
perform discipline behaviours. 

1250
01:04:07,840 --> 01:04:10,760
I was going to say, if you had 
to strip it all back, then what 

1251
01:04:10,760 --> 01:04:14,320
actually matters most for long 
term, but I, I suppose you've 

1252
01:04:14,320 --> 01:04:16,880
summed it up there. 
It's it's these pillars on the 

1253
01:04:16,880 --> 01:04:20,040
foundations that you're doing. 
So to answer that question, what

1254
01:04:20,040 --> 01:04:22,680
is what it what you know, you've
almost said it there yourself, 

1255
01:04:22,840 --> 01:04:27,120
longevity, you know, it's about,
you know, health span. 

1256
01:04:27,200 --> 01:04:29,240
You talk about health span 
versus lifespan. 

1257
01:04:29,480 --> 01:04:31,400
We're getting, you know, we're 
living longer. 

1258
01:04:31,400 --> 01:04:34,400
Why are we living longer? 
The access to more medication, 

1259
01:04:34,680 --> 01:04:38,360
you know, healthcare do an 
amazing job keeping people live 

1260
01:04:38,360 --> 01:04:40,840
for longer. 
But as a result, we're also, our

1261
01:04:40,840 --> 01:04:45,200
health span is decreasing. 
So we're living for longer in 

1262
01:04:45,200 --> 01:04:49,160
longer periods of poor health. 
You know, you know, people from 

1263
01:04:49,240 --> 01:04:52,480
50-60 years of age, people are 
dropping off a Cliff in terms 

1264
01:04:52,480 --> 01:04:55,720
of, you know, the quality of 
life, the loss of independence, 

1265
01:04:56,000 --> 01:04:58,920
you know, cognitive health stats
around dementia. 

1266
01:04:58,920 --> 01:05:01,840
It's frightening. 
So it's, it is all about 

1267
01:05:01,840 --> 01:05:04,280
longevity. 
How can we have longevity of 

1268
01:05:04,280 --> 01:05:06,600
quality of life? 
Because ultimately that's what 

1269
01:05:06,600 --> 01:05:08,560
we're all here for. 
We want to, we want to be able 

1270
01:05:08,560 --> 01:05:10,720
to enjoy. 
That's what you want to spend, 

1271
01:05:10,960 --> 01:05:14,800
you know, 50 years working and 
having five years of retirement 

1272
01:05:14,800 --> 01:05:18,280
and, you know, losing all your, 
your quality of life. 

1273
01:05:18,280 --> 01:05:21,800
You want to be living until 
you're 8090 years of age with, 

1274
01:05:22,120 --> 01:05:25,760
you know, being cognitively on 
point physically that you can 

1275
01:05:25,760 --> 01:05:27,240
travel. 
If you want to travel, you, 

1276
01:05:27,440 --> 01:05:29,680
you're not relying on loved ones
to be looking after you 

1277
01:05:29,680 --> 01:05:32,080
constantly. 
And that's where it, you know, 

1278
01:05:32,080 --> 01:05:34,520
we've got to take extreme 
ownership of our health. 

1279
01:05:34,520 --> 01:05:37,800
And I believe that and you know,
there's, there is enough support

1280
01:05:37,800 --> 01:05:41,240
out there to get it, but it's 
down to individuals. 

1281
01:05:41,440 --> 01:05:43,520
So if you have to advise 
someone, listen to this right 

1282
01:05:43,520 --> 01:05:45,720
now to make a start, Where do 
they start? 

1283
01:05:46,160 --> 01:05:47,720
How do they start looking after 
themselves? 

1284
01:05:47,880 --> 01:05:51,080
Just start. 
Do you mean like it's using 

1285
01:05:51,080 --> 01:05:54,360
those 4 pillars? 
You know, it's about trying to 

1286
01:05:54,360 --> 01:05:55,720
create more movement in your 
life. 

1287
01:05:55,720 --> 01:05:57,800
How do we overcome sedentary 
lifestyles? 

1288
01:05:57,800 --> 01:05:59,920
We need to move more. 
You know, I'm not talking about 

1289
01:05:59,920 --> 01:06:03,040
going to the gym and exercising.
It's getting outside, going for 

1290
01:06:03,040 --> 01:06:06,240
a walk, you know, trying to do 
more steps on a day-to-day 

1291
01:06:06,240 --> 01:06:08,280
basis. 
Just forcing yourself to to 

1292
01:06:08,280 --> 01:06:10,080
move. 
But at times it really does take

1293
01:06:10,080 --> 01:06:12,600
effort. 
You know, your nutrition, you 

1294
01:06:12,600 --> 01:06:14,960
know, it's all good and well, we
can say comfort and convenience,

1295
01:06:14,960 --> 01:06:18,520
it's hard to access good quality
foods, but a bit of preparation,

1296
01:06:18,520 --> 01:06:21,920
a little bit of preparation and 
organization really changes the,

1297
01:06:21,960 --> 01:06:25,200
the, the fuel that you're 
putting in your body 3-4 times a

1298
01:06:25,200 --> 01:06:29,240
day, which ultimately is what 
drives so much change in terms 

1299
01:06:29,240 --> 01:06:32,040
of both assisted training. 
You know, you can have the best 

1300
01:06:32,040 --> 01:06:34,600
training program in the world. 
If you're not, if you're not 

1301
01:06:34,600 --> 01:06:36,680
fueling in the correct way, it 
doesn't matter what you're 

1302
01:06:36,680 --> 01:06:38,680
doing. 
The stress management, that's 

1303
01:06:38,680 --> 01:06:41,800
often the, you know, that is, 
you know, the rat race of today,

1304
01:06:41,800 --> 01:06:45,040
as we said, busy work lives, 
busy family lives, That's the 

1305
01:06:45,040 --> 01:06:48,360
area that, you know, it can 
creep up on people, You know, 

1306
01:06:48,360 --> 01:06:51,720
trying to find ways that we can 
relax, switch off, like I said, 

1307
01:06:51,720 --> 01:06:55,320
going for a walk outside, you 
know, just trying to find ways 

1308
01:06:55,320 --> 01:06:57,960
we can relax is so, so 
important. 

1309
01:06:57,960 --> 01:07:01,120
And and valuing friendships, 
valuing the connections you have

1310
01:07:01,120 --> 01:07:04,680
with people is is essential. 
Also with the stress management 

1311
01:07:04,680 --> 01:07:08,880
is ingestion as well. 
I find it's smoking, vaping, 

1312
01:07:09,360 --> 01:07:12,680
alcohol, it's the junk food. 
These all cause stresses on your

1313
01:07:12,680 --> 01:07:14,280
body as well. 
So you may be thinking that 

1314
01:07:14,280 --> 01:07:16,480
you're relaxing, having a pint 
and a fag at the end of the 

1315
01:07:16,480 --> 01:07:17,920
night. 
You're actually just increasing 

1316
01:07:17,920 --> 01:07:21,440
your stress and stuff like that.
You know, there's, you know, 

1317
01:07:21,480 --> 01:07:23,720
certainly when it comes to your 
diet, you know what you're 

1318
01:07:23,720 --> 01:07:26,240
drinking, what you're eating, 
you know your gut health, your 

1319
01:07:26,240 --> 01:07:29,200
gut health is, it's, it's your 
second brain. 

1320
01:07:29,200 --> 01:07:32,160
You know, the gut health, the 
gut, the gut brain link. 

1321
01:07:32,160 --> 01:07:35,800
It's, it's there and it's, you 
know, your digestive system, it 

1322
01:07:35,800 --> 01:07:38,240
houses 7080% of your immune 
system. 

1323
01:07:38,520 --> 01:07:40,640
You know, serotyp only levels 
you feel good fact. 

1324
01:07:40,640 --> 01:07:44,600
If you're plying it full of 
garbage day in day out, it's you

1325
01:07:44,640 --> 01:07:46,920
are going to become sicker. 
It is going to drive 

1326
01:07:46,920 --> 01:07:49,800
inflammation within the body. 
It is going to cause chronic 

1327
01:07:49,800 --> 01:07:51,560
disease. 
It is going to affect your brain

1328
01:07:51,560 --> 01:07:53,240
health. 
You know, it's you can't get 

1329
01:07:53,240 --> 01:07:55,600
away from it. 
And it's, it's an area people 

1330
01:07:55,600 --> 01:07:58,240
always say, oh, I haven't got 
time to eat healthy, blah, blah,

1331
01:07:58,240 --> 01:07:59,960
blah. 
But I'm telling you, if we 

1332
01:07:59,960 --> 01:08:02,400
don't, we don't address it, we 
are going to become one of those

1333
01:08:02,400 --> 01:08:05,040
statistics that is there. 
And it's very frightening, the 

1334
01:08:05,040 --> 01:08:07,240
trajectory we're on. 
We'll we'll end it on a happier 

1335
01:08:07,240 --> 01:08:10,840
note. 
Let's try and wrap it up then. 

1336
01:08:10,840 --> 01:08:13,320
So how, how could, if we're 
going to wrap it up and conclude

1337
01:08:13,680 --> 01:08:18,520
what is the best way that people
can live a more or take a more 

1338
01:08:18,520 --> 01:08:21,680
professional approach to their 
living like these pro athletes, 

1339
01:08:21,680 --> 01:08:23,680
but take it through to sort of 
the everyday athlete? 

1340
01:08:24,120 --> 01:08:26,240
Lifestyle. 
I think what I've said time and 

1341
01:08:26,240 --> 01:08:29,600
time again, I want almost that 
to become, you know, the, the 

1342
01:08:29,600 --> 01:08:32,359
key point that's remembered. 
Anyone can live a high 

1343
01:08:32,359 --> 01:08:34,760
performance or achieve a high 
performance lifestyle. 

1344
01:08:34,760 --> 01:08:39,319
It is all about repetition and 
simplicity, so often overlooked 

1345
01:08:39,319 --> 01:08:43,080
and undervalued consistency. 
Repetition is what the key to 

1346
01:08:43,120 --> 01:08:45,240
it. 
And ultimately, it's about just 

1347
01:08:45,240 --> 01:08:47,560
doing a little bit more than 
what you're currently doing 

1348
01:08:47,560 --> 01:08:51,160
across those four key pillars, 
movement, can we move a little 

1349
01:08:51,160 --> 01:08:54,200
bit more nutrition, can we eat a
little bit better? 

1350
01:08:54,200 --> 01:08:56,600
Can we reduce the ultra 
processed foods? 

1351
01:08:56,600 --> 01:08:59,120
Can we prepare, you know, foods 
to take for lunch to the 

1352
01:08:59,120 --> 01:09:01,359
workplace? 
Stress management? 

1353
01:09:01,359 --> 01:09:04,720
Can we look after ourselves? 
Can we try to find ways of 

1354
01:09:04,920 --> 01:09:08,040
relaxing at times, even for 
those short, simple windows 

1355
01:09:08,040 --> 01:09:11,160
during the day that we may have 
and then value in time with 

1356
01:09:11,160 --> 01:09:13,560
friends and loved ones and 
trying to have quality with it. 

1357
01:09:13,560 --> 01:09:15,680
And that's the that's the big 
one. 

1358
01:09:15,800 --> 01:09:18,279
You know, they're the big, the 
big four, the big four. 

1359
01:09:18,279 --> 01:09:21,439
As such, can we do a little bit 
more in each of those areas day 

1360
01:09:21,439 --> 01:09:24,040
in, day out? 
Because ultimately that's what's

1361
01:09:24,040 --> 01:09:26,760
going to drive change and doing 
that for the long term. 

1362
01:09:27,040 --> 01:09:30,800
You know there is no magic, you 
know, magic program and training

1363
01:09:30,800 --> 01:09:33,680
program, whatever. 
You know an online coach might 

1364
01:09:33,680 --> 01:09:37,560
be trying to sell you a search 
or you know any fad diet that's 

1365
01:09:37,560 --> 01:09:39,560
been advertised as the quick 
fix. 

1366
01:09:39,800 --> 01:09:42,160
You know, it's all about the 
basics. 

1367
01:09:42,200 --> 01:09:45,439
And it is all in the the ability
to continually show up 

1368
01:09:45,439 --> 01:09:49,080
consistently day in, day out, 
which drives change and drives 

1369
01:09:49,359 --> 01:09:52,000
long term health and longevity, 
which is what we want. 

1370
01:09:52,399 --> 01:09:55,840
This is what we want, Robin. 
Thanks very much my man. 

1371
01:09:56,000 --> 01:09:58,280
Tom, man mate. 
But awesome interview, thank you

1372
01:09:58,280 --> 01:09:59,560
very much. 
Tom man, thanks mate. 

1373
01:09:59,680 --> 01:10:02,320
Congratulations, you made it to 
the end of the episode. 

1374
01:10:02,320 --> 01:10:04,520
If you found value in it, please
leave us a review or drop us a 

1375
01:10:04,520 --> 01:10:06,320
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1376
01:10:06,320 --> 01:10:08,360
another one, make sure you 
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1377
01:10:08,680 --> 01:10:09,200
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