Roll With The Punches

Scotty's back and since retiring last year from paramedicine after decades of doing work that became a pretty big part of who he was, we got into what happens when you suddenly don't have to work anymore. We covered money, identity, the weirdness of no longer being the provider, and why he's now much more interested in spending his time doing things he actually gives a shit about.
Then we got into the (kind of all too recent, if you ask me) period of his life when he was diagnosed with cancer and how rather than sitting around waiting to see what happened, he started making plans for what would happen to his daughter if he died. He kept working as a paramedic, kept cooking, kept living his life and somehow found plenty of humour in a situation that wasn't all too funny at all.
And then, because Scott is Scott, we ended up talking about his obsession with adventure, his ability to somehow get himself into rooms and friendships most people wouldn't, and the fact that he seems to have spent his entire life saying yes when someone says, "You should come."
"You get one go on the merry-go-round and you should give it a good crack." Not a bad philosophy, dare I say, Scotty!
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SCOTT DOUGLAS
Website: horatio-jones.com.au
TIFFANEE COOK
Linktree: linktr.ee/rollwiththepunches
Website: tiffcook.com

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Di often slides into my Insta DMs in response to gym content, then sent me a photo of her epic guns and I genuinely couldn't believe she was almost 64. So obviously I had to get her on the podcast for a good yarn...
Di is not just incredibly strong with a phenomenal physique, she's also got a really interesting story. She was the 'fat kid' at school, got into powerlifting, walked away from training for a long while, then came back at 50 and has basically spent the last 14 years rebuilding herself through the gym.
She's had total knee replacements, multiple surgeries, a broken patellar tendon and plenty of reasons she could have decided she was 'too old' or 'too injured' to train. Instead, she kept finding ways to work around what her body could do.
We got into ageing, strength, training to failure, knowing when to push and when to stop, food, emotional eating, tracking calories, why all-or-nothing thinking keeps people stuck, and why women really need to stop worrying about everyone else in the gym.
And then we got into her lifting numbers, which are frankly ridiculous.
122kg deadlifts for reps. Eight pull-ups. Heavy sled work. Nearly 64 years old.
She's also a weight loss and nutrition consultant, so of course got into the psychology behind why people eat when they're not actually hungry, and why sometimes food isn't really about food at all.
Honestly, Di is exactly the kind of woman I want more women to hear from. And my biggest challenge to her at the end of the episode was this... Di, you need to get better at bragging about yourself, sista!

SPONSORED BY TESTART FAMILY LAWYERS
Website: testartfamilylawyers.com.au
TIFFANEE COOK
Linktree: linktr.ee/rollwiththepunches
Website: tiffcook.com

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I met Dallas Lane by accident at the gym, and within about five minutes of chatting I knew I needed to get her on the podcast. She’s 50, a boxer, a trainer, a mum, a writer, and someone who has lost around 70 kilos. She’s also living with MS, after spending years knowing something wasn’t right and fighting to finally get a diagnosis.
And honestly, the MS is almost the least interesting thing about her.
We talk about being told you’re too old, what happens when your body gives you limitations you didn’t ask for, why Dallas refuses to let MS become her identity, and how she’s still getting in the ring and training despite balance issues, foot drop and fatigue. We get into adaptive boxing, therapy, crying, grief, her dad, writing poetry, and why sometimes the thing that changes your life doesn’t actually get to decide what your life looks like.
She’s bloody funny, incredibly honest and has one of those personalities where you could talk for hours without noticing the time. I absolutely loved this one.

SPONSORED BY TESTART FAMILY LAWYERS
Website: testartfamilylawyers.com.au
TIFFANEE COOK
Linktree: linktr.ee/rollwiththepunches
Website: tiffcook.com
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I knew Stephen Seiler was going to be a bloody brilliant conversation, but I don't think I expected us to cover SO much ground.
For those who aren't familiar, here's a bit about him...
Stephen is a Professor of Sport Science whose work around endurance training and intensity distribution has influenced and catalysed international research into training intensity distribution and the 'polarised training model'. He's published a lazy 100+ peer-reviewed papers, written more than 100 science articles on exercise physiology and the training process, and is a founding editorial board member of the International Journal of Sport Physiology and Performance.
So yeah... he knows a thing or two about training.
In this chat we get into training, recovery, stress, AI, wearables, burnout, being an introvert who spends their life talking to people... and why the world's best athletes often trust what they feel in their own bodies more than what their watch is telling them.
Stephen has spent decades researching how we actually get better at training, and one of the things I loved most was his take that training isn't a maximisation problem, it's an optimisation problem. In other words, more isn't always better. A lesson I seemed to want to learn the hard way in far too many areas of my life... and training is no exception.
We also get into the idea that all of our stress goes into the same bucket, whether it's a hard workout, work, kids, life or even exciting things happening. And honestly, this is a bloody good reminder for anyone who is constantly pushing, achieving and wondering why they're knackered.
Oh, and we have a pretty cracking conversation about AI in coaching, why your Garmin might actually be making your sleep worse, and why sometimes the smartest thing you can do is take the damn rest day.
Basically, Stephen made me question quite a few things I thought I knew about training, recovery and performance, which is exactly what I want from a conversation.

SPONSORED BY TESTART FAMILY LAWYERS
Website: testartfamilylawyers.com.au
TIFFANEE COOK
Linktree: linktr.ee/rollwiththepunches
Website: tiffcook.com
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Burnout... Imagine if the fix was as simple as just pee when you need to pee.
Well, Cait Donovan (who I adored chatting with) has landed on the hypothesis that it very well starts right there. Cait's spent years pulling apart the research on burnout after the seemingly unlikely reality of landing there herself as a passionate Chinese Medicine practitioner.
And what she discovered is that burnout is a whole lot more complicated than simply doing too much and needing a holiday.
We get into why some of us become so disconnected from the signals our bodies are sending us that we don't even realise we're ignoring them, how the pathways we've spent a lifetime building become the easiest ones for our brains to keep taking, and why recovery isn't about finding one magic answer.
We talk resentment, self-abandonment, boundaries, trauma, athletes, emotional regulation, and why sometimes the thing that finally helps isn't THE answer... it's just the next piece of the puzzle.
And honestly, there were a few moments where I thought, well f*ckety f*ck... that's uncomfortably familiar.

SPONSORED BY TESTART FAMILY LAWYERS
Website: testartfamilylawyers.com.au
CAIT DONOVAN
Website: caitdonovan.com
TIFFANEE COOK
Linktree: linktr.ee/rollwiththepunches
Website: tiffcook.com
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