Live Train Perform

Alexander De Fina is a serial fitness entrepreneur, leading fitness industry consultant, keynote speaker, and multiple award-winning coach and business owner.

Having built three hugely successful enterprises in Australia and Hong Kong from the ground up, including Asia’s top BootCamp "Bikini Fit" and Hong Kong’s specialist female-only gym "Pherform," Alex has made quite a name for himself in the fitness industry in Hong Kong and Australia. Among his many achievements, he also pioneered a new training programme for women – Female Specific Training – that optimised the way women train, accounting for differences between male and female anatomy...

So many self-help books and gurus sprout the benefits of saying "YES."
Whilst this mindset can certainly be beneficial at times, it can also create more problems because when you say yes to one thing, you're saying no to many others.

Sometimes in life, it is more powerful to cultivate the habit of saying "NO!"

Saying no at the right time then opens up the time, space, and freedom to say yes to the things that really matter to you.

This all ties in with your hierarchy of values. If you haven't...

Jamie is an Entrepreneur, Performance Coach, Online Business Strategist, and a Podcaster.
He is a friend, a colleague, and an awesome guy with great conversational and communication skills. We were due for a catch-up, so I reached out to him to record an episode. The plan was to record a couple of different conversations over the course of an hour, to drop them as separate episodes. Well, we recorded for over 3 hours.

This is the third of those conversations, where we discuss his most recent transformation. What started out as a commitment to himself to drop...

I met Rob in 2015 when he was a coach at Unit 27, in Phuket, Thailand, whilst I was on one of my month-long trips training in Thailand prior to a couple of months of annual travel around the world.

In this episode, Rob and I discuss his unique circumstances of being caught outside his primary country of residence as the world went into lockdown through the pandemic.
Rob was based in Thailand, running health and fitness retreats, prior to leaving for Australia with his wife to give birth to their first child. A few weeks later, as...

Jamie is an Entrepreneur, Performance Coach, Online Business Strategist, and a Podcaster.
He is a friend, a colleague, and an awesome guy with great conversational and communication skills. We were due for a catch-up, so I reached out to him to record an episode. The plan was to record a couple of different conversations over the course of an hour, to drop them as separate episodes. Well, we recorded for over 3 hours.

This is the second of those conversations, where we discuss his most recent transformation. What started out as a commitment to himself to drop...

Leroy Faure is the founder of Fit Dad Lifestyle, a global community supporting men throughout their fatherhood journey, which aims to help dads regain their fitness and confidence through building a worldwide network of dads who are on a mission to be good role models and leaders for their children.

Leroy spent six years in the Australian Army before moving to the fitness industry, where he founded two Group Fitness businesses. After becoming a dad, he discovered an opportunity for dads to include kids in their fitness programs. This was the idea that led to the launch...

Last weekend, Petr Yan beat Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision for the UFC interim bantamweight title at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi, and I had front row seats in his corner.

I am extremely grateful to have been involved in the preparations for this fight, and the memories of this experience will be cherished forever!

I did record a solo episode trying to sum up the experience...but it was pretty lacklustre if I'm honest.

So I thought, "Who would I love to have a conversation with, that will ask genuine questions and bring...

Join me for this episode as I speak with Lizzie Wright of UFit Singapore. Lizzie has been a guest on the podcast for the Coaches Corner segment. 
Lizzie is a personal trainer who has a background in competitive running, competing in 100m, 200m, and 400m races at the national level. Lizzie graduated from university with a degree in Marketing and Branding and was a part of the UFIT marketing team before becoming a full-time personal trainer. 

In this episode, we cover:

Brad is a friend and online client. We served in the Australian Army together, before separating to embark on our journeys.
Brad's journey took him down the path of becoming a police officer for five and a half years, before embarking on a new career path, which now sees him as a firefighter in Melbourne, Victoria. Brad also has an online coaching business that focuses on providing valuable advice and guidance to those going through the Victorian Police application process.

I've had some amazing conversations with both my face to face, and online clients, and thought...

Luke Leaman of Muscle Nerds is back again!

I love talking shop with Luke. He is a straight-shooter, and can make complex topics seem relatively simple to understand...which I massively appreciate!

Luke is a heavyweight in the fitness industry, and has definitely played a part in my development as a coach. I attended his Muscle Nerds foundations course a couple of years ago in Singapore, and anyone who has been listening to the podcast for a while knows that I say often "A healthy organism is an adaptable organism."

Luke's philosophy around...

In this follow up episode from last weeks chat with @the.brain.guy Scott Robinson, I share some tools from one of the modules in my NLP Master Practitioner Course.

During conversations, most of us fixate on words. What does this person mean and what shall I say in return?  It’s been long established that words are the least meaningful aspect of communication, conveying just 7% of meaning (Mehrabian, 1972).

For example, when someone tells you they’re willing to help you organize a social gathering, but their voice is flat and their facial expression looks like...

I met Scott Robinson a few years ago whilst I was on an Applied Movement Neurology Mastermind retreat in Thailand, and was absolutely blown away with his knowledge and approach to understanding neurobiology.
His ability to explain complex topics in a manner that made sense to me was one of the many reasons I had to get him on the podcast!
This is one of the reasons his IG has blown up over the last year, deservedly so.

Scott Robinson is a senior lecturer with the Academy of Applied Movement Neurology & works directly to achieve...

I've learned so many amazing principles and skills from my time as a soldier, and as a coach in the fitness industry, that are relevant and transferable to all aspects of life.

Last week I spoke with Marshall of Anvil Training and Development, and we briefly mentioned some of these principles.

In this episode, I dive a lot deeper into what those principles are, how they relate to my coaching and training philosophy, and provide real world examples of how they apply to other areas.

       2. SPRAID

Welcome back to the Live Train Perform podcast to Marshall of Anvil Training and Development.

Marshall and I met whilst we were undertaking our veteran run, veteran heavy yoga course in Australia at the start of 2020. This course was intended to provide the tools necessary for the attendees to take back to their networks to disseminate quality information to allow veterans to manage their minds, however these tools have many practical applications that pertain to the wider community also. He is the OG of the Coaches Corner episodes, which came up as an idea after many great...

The Live Train Perform Private Facebook Forum is the place to connect with other podcast listeners and guests, and to interact with the host, Shaun Kober.

Coaching philosophy: If I'm not impacting my clients outside of that one hour of training time, I'm not doing my job.

Training philosophy: Give people a lot of what they need, and a little of what they want.

Last week I spoke with Nic Edgerton  about the principles and protocols he uses with his physique athletes, and something he said piqued my interest, and that is, "I tell my guys to live 90% in the process, and 10% in the outcome."

In this episode, I dive a little deeper into this subject, and give some actionable examples of how to use the OODA loop set up your routine to ensure that you are focusing on the process, which will inevitably take you on the journey to achieving your goals.

Whilst yo...

In this episode, I speak with Nic Edgerton about the journey that took him from competing as a physique athlete, to becoming one of the leading physique coaches to come out of Australia in recent years.

Nic has a global reach, and has coached hundreds of transformations worldwide, along with over a hundred top three placings of his athletes in numerous bodybuilding and physique competitions in season 2019/20. 

This conversation covers a lot of ground, and we both give practical advice and actionable takeaways for the audience at pivotal moments along the way. 
Topics covered in...

 "Wait until you're my age, you'll understand what I'm talking about."

Everyone has heard this uttered to them by many different people, multiple times over the years. I can't recall how many times I've heard this...yet, I'm the one saying it now.

As we age, we are accumulating more and more dysfunctional patterns and muscular imbalances. The less time we spend on addressing them, the more they will start speaking to us. 
If I have two parallel lines, it doesn't mater how far I follow them, the distance between them will remain the sa...

I have been accused of being a baby killer.
I have been called a puppet of my Government sent to invade another country and do the dirty work on the ground. 
I've been assured that the work that my teams and I did was a waste of time and that the lives we lost was karma for being in another country.
The list of accusations and verbal abuse and simple ignorance goes on and on...however I don't lose any sleep about the opinions of others that haven't been in my boots, yet shout the loudest a...

Wes Masters was awarded the Military Cross by Her Majesty The Queen for his actions on the battlefield in Afghanistan on the 4th of July 2013.

Wes ran hundreds of metres across dangerous ground surrounded by Taliban firing points, carrying heavy equipment, in stifling heat to tend to his comrade who had taken a shot in the throat from a Taliban sharp-shooter.  His actions kept the wounded soldier in the fight. That wounded soldier was a sniper, who then went on to have a significant impact on the battle, and undoubtedly preserved the lives of many of his t...

I met Leo Tyson of Tyson Transformations many years ago in Phuket, Thailand, when he came onboard as one of my interns at Tiger Muay Thai.
In the years since, I've interacted with him numerous times, and have always been impressed by his knowledge and application of principle-based coaching.

One area where Leo stands out in my network of coaches, is his ability to break down and explain in simple terms, female specific physiology.

This episode dives into that topic in as much digestible and actionable detail as we could fit into a 90 minute...

 I've had so many great conversations with friends and colleagues about what we see happening in the fitness industry, and thought to myself, "I wish we would have recorded that." 

...So that's exactly what the Coaches Corner is about. 

In this third installment of a conversation I had with Jon Le Tocq of Storm Force Fitness, we discuss the differences between luck and opportunity, and why understanding that can impact how you approach your training and lifestyle decisions.

We round out the episode with a great discussion around the many benefits of tracking dat...

I've had so many great conversations with friends and colleagues about what we see happening in the fitness industry, and thought to myself, "I wish we would have recorded that."

...So that's exactly what the Coaches Corner is about.

In this second installment of a conversation I had with Jon Le Tocq of Storm Force Fitness, we discuss how people consider criticism as a negative thing, whereas people with a growth mindset take that criticism as feedback.
We also speak on how to not just gather information, but take new information, apply it, and...

I've had so many great conversations with friends and colleagues about what we see happening in the fitness industry, and thought to myself, "I wish we would have recorded that." 

...So that's exactly what the Coaches Corner is about. 

In this conversation I had with Jon Le Tocq of Storm Force Fitness, we discuss how most people that are spruiking specific methods of training or ways of eating, are typically trying to sell you something. Most great coaches are going to teach you the principles of progress, and guide you towards your own answers and me...

In this episode, I answer a question from a listener on what I did/do to protect my mental health.

Journaling is a big part of the process for me, because it allows me to practice gratitude and appreciation as I reflect on the past, as well as being the first action step to setting a vision, and subsequent action steps on the path into the future.

I reference a number of other podcast episodes and social media posts in this episode, which you will find below, for context.

I've had some amazing conversations with both my face to face, and online clients, and thought that a lot of people would benefit from being a fly on the wall.

So that's exactly what the Client Corner is about.

These episodes are open and honest coaching calls between myself, and the people who trust me to guide them on their own health and fitness journey through life.

I believe education drives compliance. Typically, if people know why they are doing something, they will be more inclined to buy into the process.
You...

In this episode Kat discusses the process of Binge Eating Disorder (BED) recovery and how MMM uses both behavioural weight loss therapy and the psychoeducational components of BED to create abstinence from binge eating. We cover various tools and techniques that can be implemented to help reduce urges to overeat, as well as challenge thoughts and behaviours around nutrition and body image.

This is a great conversation for those dealing with BED thems...

In this episode of the Live Train Perform podcast, we look at how Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) affect people on a daily basis. 
Kat discusses how lack of awareness and stigmas behind Eating Disorders (ED) can contribute to increases in ED prevalence and poor support/outreach for help. We also dive into understanding the 5 psycho-education components of BED to help you to understand why BED exists and the complexity behind it. 

I've had some amazing conversations with both my face to face, and online clients, and thought that a lot of people would benefit from being a fly on the wall.

So that's exactly what the Client Corner is about.

These episodes are open and honest coaching calls between myself, and the people who trust me to guide them on their own health and fitness journey through life.

I believe education drives compliance. Typically, if people know why they are doing something, they will be more inclined to buy into the process.
You...

In this episode, I speak with Jay Pattinson about the journey that took him from building a life that allowed him to travel and party all over the world, to have it all come crashing down around him, to then having to rebuild his life and recreate his identity.

This conversation covers a lot of ground, and we both give practical advice and actionable takeaways for the audience at pivotal moments along the way. 

From a young age, Mark showed an interest in the military and in 1993, at age 18, enlisted into the Australian Regular Army.

On completion of his initial employment training for the Infantry, Mark was
posted to the First Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR). In
1997, while serving in 1 RAR as an infantry sniper, Mark applied for, and was
selected to join the elite ranks of the Australian Special Air Service (SAS)
Regiment.

Serving in the SAS for over 10 years, Mark specialised in mobility operations,
sniping, personal protection duties, special reconnaissance...

I launched this podcast because I wanted to to cut through the bullshit that unfortunately pervades the industry I love so much.

The fitness industry has been hijacked by people who are taking advantage of people's insecurities and fears, with promises of getting you the results you want, with very little energy or effort required.

Attaining results short term shows that you're motivated, and can use discipline and restriction short term to get to where you need to be. You don't need to pay someone your hard earned money to get these results.
Keeping...

I've had so many great conversations with friends and colleagues about what we see happening in the fitness industry, and thought to myself, "I wish we would have recorded that." 

...So that's exactly what the Coaches Corner is about. 

In this conversation I had with Will Foden, we discuss how we recommend being "80% of the way there," all year round. So many people have the all or nothing mindset, and whilst that can be of service at different times, it shouldn't be the focus the majority of the time. A healthy organism is an adaptable or...

I've had so many great conversations with friends and colleagues about what we see happening in the fitness industry, and thought to myself, "I wish we would have recorded that." 

...So that's exactly what the Coaches Corner is about. 

In this conversation I had with Will Foden, we discuss a course he completed recently, that focused on identifying, and building out a systematized set of values that he could then action and live in line with.

We both give examples of how we perceive, and utilize specific tools to ensure that we are op...

In this episode, Kat and I discuss the ever growing prevalence of Eating Disorders and the impact it can have on people. 

Kat explains and defines the differences between Disordered eating habits and Eating Disorders. We delve into Binge Eating Disorder (BED) in depth and explore the diagnosis, the characteristics, the acute and long term effects and the impact that BED can have mentally, psychologically, socially and financially on people. We also touch on the stigma behind ED's and some of the resources available for help.

Kat is an Occupational Therapist, Neuro Linguistic Programming Practitioner, P...

Johnboy is the head boxing coach at the world renowned Tiger Muay Thai & MMA training camp based out of Phuket Thailand. He has worked with a multitude of combat sport athletes from multiple fight organisations across the globe, and has played a significant role in the development of some of the best professional fighters on the planet, most notably, the rise of Petr Yan through the ranks of the UFC, to defeating Jose Aldo to obtain the UFC bantamweight championship.

In this conversation, we discuss:

- Johnny's background and career in boxing
- The...

In this 5 minute fitness tips episode, I give some examples of using the same exercise, but changing how you do it, to elicit different physiological response and training outcomes.

The SAID principle stands for specific adaptations to imposed demands. Put simply, it means that you are going to adapt to not only what you do, but how you do it.

For example, I can use a push up to build stability and mobility in the shoulder girdle, hypertrophy (muscle building), strength (magnitude of force), power and speed (rate of force) and endurance (duration of force...

Damian is a friend, colleague and client.

He served his country, and experienced the highs and lows of war that most front-line soldiers share. From being blown up in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonation, to putting the pieces of his brothers back together in body bags. He suffered from debilitating mental and physical trauma whilst on deployment, however, unfortunately, the war didn't end when he returned to the United States.

Damian then served on the Police Force for a few years, prior to transitioning to becoming a personal trainer. I met Damo when he...

Damian is a friend, colleague and client.

He served his country, and experienced the highs and lows of war that most front-line soldiers share. From being blown up in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonation, to putting the pieces of his brothers back together in body bags. He suffered from debilitating mental and physical trauma whilst on deployment, however, unfortunately, the war didn't end when he returned to the United States.

Damian then served on the Police Force for a few years, prior to transitioning to becoming a personal trainer. I met Damo when he...

Damian is a friend, colleague and client.

He served his country, and experienced the highs and lows of war that most front-line soldiers share. From being blown up in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonation, to putting the pieces of his brothers back together in body bags. He suffered from debilitating mental and physical trauma whilst on deployment, however, unfortunately, the war didn't end when he returned to the United States.

Damian then served on the Police Force for a few years, prior to transitioning to becoming a personal trainer. I met Damo when he...

Damian is a friend, colleague and client.

He served his country, and experienced the highs and lows of war that most front-line soldiers share. From being blown up in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonation, to putting the pieces of his brothers back together in body bags. He suffered from debilitating mental and physical trauma whilst on deployment, however, unfortunately, the war didn't end when he returned to the United States.

Damian then served on the Police Force for a few years, prior to transitioning to becoming a personal trainer. I met Damo when he...

In this episode, Danny and I discuss the similarities, and the differences between eating for health, and eating for performance.

We cover a lot of ground, and relate his nutritional principles to a broad spectrum of people from general population weekend warriors, to elite athletes.

Danny shares his approach to preparing professional fighters for fight camp, as well as fight week, acute weight cutting techniques, and re-hydration protocols.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable conversation with a leader in the industry! I recommend grabbing a notepad and pen.

Danny is the founder...

In my line of work, I often see people taking training and dieting to the extremes. And whilst there is a time and place for that, it shouldn't be the norm.

So, how do we bridge the gap between eating and training for health, as opposed to optimal performance?

This is a soundbite from an interview I conducted with Danny Lennon of Sigma Nutrition, with the full episode live on Monday.

Shaun Kober is a Mindset & Performance Specialist, with a unique skillset forged in the trenches, through the various stages of life.
<...

I was introduced to Paul of Head-Up Charity by my mate Simon Moloney, who featured on the podcast recently, and told his story of being shot through the throat whilst out on task as sniper in Afghanistan, and was subsequently awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross by Her Majesty The Queen. 
Si is one of the co-founders of the mental health charity operating out of the UK. The original founder however, has an incredible story of his own that has kick-started the movement in the UK, and is looking to tie in with the team at Swiss 8 to build a...

Everyone knows exercise is good for us, and increases mental and physical health and longevity...but how much is too much?

Well, that depends!

Every single person is going to be different, and needs to make adjustments to their own training, nutrition and lifestyle, to get the most out of the time, energy and effort they are putting in.

Everyone has hit a heavy legs session that has crippled them for days, and it hurts to walk up stairs or sit on the toilet...that's a sure sign that you've done too much.  Duration: 00:06:51

Andrew "Pap" Papadopoulos is a fitness industry leader, having built, featured in, and developed a number of businesses utilising some of the tools learned during a stint in the Australian Army.

His desire to pursue exploring the limits of his capabilities has pushed him in many different directions, including featuring in a TV series called "Search for hurt", which became a platform for him to build his name, his brand and his businesses within the fitness industry.

Pap has worn, and does wear, a lot of different hats, and is continuing to build his fitness...

Everyone knows exercise is good for us, and increases mental and physical health and longevity...but how much is too much?

Well, that depends!

Every single person is going to be different, and needs to make adjustments to their own training, nutrition and lifestyle, to get the most out of the time, energy and effort they are putting in.

Everyone has hit a heavy legs session that has crippled them for days, and it hurts to walk up stairs or sit on the toilet...that's a sure sign that you've done too much.  Duration: 00:06:29

Swiss 8 is a proactive mental health model designed to provide the tools required to deliver high-quality content around their 8 pillars of health and wellness, to allow you to be "Better At Life."

These principles are delivered straight to your phone, via the Swiss 8 app, where you can build out your daily routine via the in-built calendar.

- Sleep
- Nutrition
- Time management
- Discipline
- Fitness/Movement
- Personal growth
- Mindfulness
- Minimalism

In this episode, I chat with the brains behind the organisation...

Everyone knows exercise is good for us, and increases mental and physical health and longevity...but how much is too much?

Well, that depends!

Every single person is going to be different, and needs to make adjustments to their own training, nutrition and lifestyle, to get the most out of the time, energy and effort they are putting in.

Everyone has hit a heavy legs session that has crippled them for days, and it hurts to walk up stairs or sit on the toilet...that's a sure sign that you've done too much.  Duration: 00:08:42

 "Real change starts within. If we want something outside of us to change; be it in life, business, income, health, love...we must first look inwards and change there first." - Simon Hall

Simon is a self-confessed Life Enthusiast, Entrepreneur, Human Guinea Pig, Speaker, World Adventurer, Writer and Podcaster.

I met Simon about two years ago at Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand, whilst he was going through a transitional phase of his life.

From the rigors of pursuing an Olympic games appearance in gymnastics, to being part of a successful team breaking into t...

Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts. 

When asked simple questions about global trends - why the world's population is increasing; how many young women go to school; how many of us live in poverty - we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers.

In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and a man who can make data sing, Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators Anna and Ola, o...

"I knew exactly who had shot me. That fucker got the drop on me. I could feel the bullet hole, and I was bleeding heavily. Shot through the throat...I know what that means. I've only got a few minutes left. I'm going to take out as many of them as I can, and go out with a bang." - @mo1089

I have some amazing guests lined up for the Live Train Perform podcast, one of those being this legend, whom I met at @tigermuaythai a couple of years ago.

Simon Moloney was awarded the...

In this five minute fitness tips episode, I discuss the benefits of implementing some form of barefoot training.

I also speak about one of my favourite exercises for developing stability in the feet and the hips, which transfers to better joint alignment, improves strength potential, and leads to better muscle activation, recruitment patterns, athleticism, and reduced injuries caused from muscular imbalances and dysfunction through the kinetic chain - The Hip Airplane. 

Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0VfBTqLgK0&t=33s

Shaun Kober is a Mindset & Performance Specialist, with a unique s...

Luke is a heavyweight in the fitness industry, and has definitely played a part in my development as a coach. I attended his Muscle Nerds foundations course a couple of years ago in Singapore, and anyone who has been listening to the podcast for a while knows that I say often "A healthy organism is an adaptable organism."

Luke's philosophy around training for health first, and utilising basic health markers like blood pressure, waking heart rate, and heart rate variability, has had a significant impact on my coaching and training philosophy over the last few years, and...

This was supposed to be one of my 5 minute fitness tips episode...but...I received a testimonial from a friend and client that stopped me in my tracks, and I wanted to share it with my audience.

I also want to express gratitude to every single one of you who listen to the podcast, and share it with your friends and family.

I've recently surpassed 20,000 downloads, which is a significant milestone for me, and keeps the fire burning to continue producing content that hopefully has a positive impact on those who tune in.

...

Heston Russell is a retired Special Forces Major and the Founder of Voice Of A Veteran.

In this conversation, we discuss the ramifications of the recent release of the Brereton report in Australia, and how that is affecting not only the Special Forces community, but the wider population. Heston opens up about the struggles he has faced since discharging from the Army, including starting a new business venture, trying to find his purpose in a foreign civilian environment, thoughts of taking his own life, the people that he draws inspiration from, and his new-found purpose of being...

Understanding the force/velocity curve is essential for smart and efficient programming for pro athletes, as well as a great tool to be applied at the appropriate times with general population clients.

@merciles_66_ competes with @onechampionship and is a National level wrestler from Dagestan.

He is already strong AF, so I don't need to spend much time working on his strength, however, if I want to build a more explosive athlete, I need to focus on his ability to apply his strength rapidly, through the other strength profiles on the force/velocity curve.

...