The Kilted Athlete

It’s old school, basic and not fancy. It doesn’t make for good Instagram on Tic Tock posts. But it effective.In this episode I talk about one of the GOATs of exercises … the push-up. Remember push-ups? That exercise that we used to do back in school. What ever happened to it? Why did people stop doing them.I could easily talk about push-ups for an hour (in fact, I have). Join me as I talk about this simple but difficult exercise. I’ll talk about correct technique, some common mistakes, and also discuss whether those fancy variations are effective or just party tricks.Let’s make push-ups great again!

Isometrics is a form of strength training where you hold a static position without visible movement of the joint. Think planks, squat holds, dead hangs.There are many benefits to adding isometric exercises in to your routine. They can be done almost anywhere with little or no equipment required, are a great way of making your workout more challenging without the risks associated with adding more weight, and can help with endurance and strengthening weaker spots in your range of motion.In this episode I talk practically about isometrics and how you can incorporate them in to your program.

Being motivated is one thing, but what happens when you’re not feeling it.Motivation tends to claim the glory for achievements but it’s Discipline that does the hard yards.

We’ve all been told we need to warm up before a workout or physical activity, but what should we do specifically. Often we do a series of default warm up exercises just because that’s how we’ve always done it.In this episode I talk about what we’re actually trying to achieve with a warm up and how to tailor your warm up to your specific activity.

There’s a lot of fitness advice out there - unfortunately it’s not all good. In part 1 of my Fitness advice hall of shame, I talk about 5 bits of “advice” that make me cringe.

Resilience - AKA grit, guts, determination, fortitude … it goes under many names.In this episode I talk about what resilience is, and how to develop both physical and mental resilience.

12 months ago today I recorded the first episode of The Kilted Athlete Podcast. I was pretty bloody nervous - I’d never done anything like this before. So for the first anniversary of the podcast I thought I’d do something special. I’ve re-recorded my very first episode “Make it Happen”.This is all about making things happen - your goals, projects or ambitions. Whether it’s starting a fitness regime, or learning a musical instrument, these 7 tips are key to making things happen.I hope you enjoy “Make it Happen” version 2.0

There are so many variations of each exercise out there, but are they worth it, or are they just “party tricks” that have little exercise value?In this episode I give you the tools to figure out for yourself whether that fancy new exercise variation you have just seen is of value, or just nonsense.

Welcome to the 50th episode of The Kilted Athlete Podcast. Yes, that’s right … there’s another 49 episodes (if you haven’t listened to them all check them out).Dumbbells vs barbells. Which is better? Spoiler alert … neither is the overall champion. Both have their pros and cons.In this episode I talk about the differences between dumbbells and barbells, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and I talk about how I incorporate both in to my workout routine.

I’ve often talked on this podcast about how we should be taking our sets to failure in the gym. I’ve talked about how we should keep going with our set until we can’t do any more reps will achieve a lot better results than simply doing an arbitrary number of reps per set. In this episode I talk about some of my go to techniques of “value adding” to your sets to get that little bit more out of your muscles..

Running doesn’t need to be complicated, but I do have a few tips on technique that might increase your efficiency and decrease your risk of injury.

The half marathon is a solid running event. The 21.1 km event is my favourite distance to run.Here’s a guide to half marathon training. It can also be scaled up or down for other distances.This guide is my tried and tested training plan for running a half marathon. The plan is simple and flexible, allowing you to train around your schedule.Enjoy

Hey guys, I just wanted to give a shameless plug to my new podcast - Kiltman’s Kitchen.Now, just to make it clear from the start - I have no formal cooking qualifications, nor am I any sort of cooking professional. In terms of cooking expertise, I’m somewhere on the scale between Gordon Ramsay and the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. I’m not letting that stop me from doing a cooking podcast though. Join me as I talk about what I’m getting up to in my kitchen … the good, the bad, and the ugly.Check out Kiltman’s Kitchen https://open.spotify.com/show/6G2ItGkDRZeusGw8svL3Pn?si=Y2d2UiJgSGiMe-TIytvhzw

You’ve just completed your goal. After months of intense training, discipline, and focus, you’ve achieved what you set out to do. After the feeling elation is over you find yourself at a loss, unmotivated and feeling empty.This is not uncommon. Whether you’re entering your first event, or you’re an Olympic athlete, you’re probably going to experience this. This is sometimes called “post marathon blues” or “post goal slump”.In this episode I talk about my tips (from personal experience) a dealing with this feeling.

Hey guys, welcome to my first episode for 2026. Hope you all had a great New Year.Thank you all for listening throughout 2025. Your support is greatly appreciated.Please contact me if you have any questions, comments or episode suggestions. You can email me at [email protected] or find me on Facebook or Instagram as The Kilted Athlete Podcast.

In this episode I chat with a champion and all round good bloke Bennett Powell.https://www.peakcoffee.com.au/collections/bean/bennetts-brew

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring … except for the Kiltman, trying to record his Christmas Eve episode before midnight.

Society is obsessed with weight loss. Fuelled by marketing, media, and even BMI tests, for decades we’ve had it ingrained in us that the number on the scale is the true indicator of our health and fitness.In this episode I encourage you to rethink the weight loss mentality, and prioritise maintaining muscle over reaching an arbitrary number on the scale.

We’ve been training hard and keeping our nutrition on track all year. But then December arrives, and it’s hell-bent on destroying your fitness regime.Here’s some practical, tried and tested survival tips for that difficult time of year.

In the episode I talk about the importance of having positive friends and being a positive friend.

Welcome back to the Kilted Athlete Podcast.We’re coming towards that time of year again - the New Year’s resolution season. The time of year that people start making “New year, new me” posts on social media and all the marketing kicks in.But the 1st of January is not some magical time of the year where everyone suddenly becomes more motivated and disciplined. The reality is (spoiler alert) your New Year’s resolution is probably doomed to failure before the smoke from the New Year’s Eve fireworks has even settled. In this episode I talk about why the “New Year, New Me” mentality is setting you up for failure, and offer alternatives to the traditional New Year’s resolution.

Midweek chat for Wednesday 19 Nov 2025My email address to contact me [email protected] find me on facebook or instagram as The Kilted Athlete Podcast

When it comes to supplements, there’s a lot of information and misinformation out there. There’s a lot of marketing, influencers, and hype out there and it’s often difficult to differentiate the facts from the BS.But do you really need supplements, or are you just creating expensive urine?The supplement industry is huge and so is the marketing. In this episode I talk about how to cut through the marketing and hype, and how to work out if you really need supplements. As I mentioned in this episode, here is the link to the Australian Sports Commission policy on supplements.https://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/supplements*Please note, I am sharing these tips as a fitness professional and an athlete, not as a doctor or dietitian. Please talk to your doctor or dietitian for specific dietary advice.

Are you looking to increase the distance of your runs? Maybe you’ve just registered for your first half marathon, or maybe you want to run a 5km parkrun non stop. Or maybe you haven’t run long distance for a while and you want to get back in to it.Here are my tried and trusted methods for increasing your distance.

I’ve mentioned compound and isolation exercises in several of my podcast episodes. In this episode I take a deep dive into the differences between the two, as well as the pros and coms of each.

Ever had a workout planned, only to find that, for some unexpected reason you have less time available. It happens to me all the time. But don’t let this become an excuse to skip your workout. Whether you’ve been stuck in traffic, or held back late at work, don’t ditch your workout because you have less time than you planned. Just rethink your workout.Here are some of my tips to make a short workout work for you.

The midweek chat is back. These are short informal episodes where I cat about what’s going on.This week I talk about what I listen to when I’m working out, and a few other things.

Hollywood has a lot to answer for when it comes to how we perceive fitness, and the 6-pack is the perfect example of this.The reality is, having a strong core and having a 6-pack are two entirely separate things, and having one doesn’t automatically mean the other.Having a strong core is essential in day to day life as well as athletic performance. It helps support your posture, your lower back, and is important for day to day tasks.In this episode I talk about the importance of a strong core and offer practical, no nonsense tips on exercises.My method isn’t guaranteed to give you a 9-pack, but it will help you develop a strong core.

Some people set out to do something, and they get it done, others find excuses along the way. There’s one big difference between the doers and the “don’ters” - the doers hold themselves accountable.

In this random sport episode I investigate the Kirkwall Ba’, one of many “village football” games that are played across the UK. In a game where the whole town is the playing field, there are no field limits, no referees, no uniforms and very little rules, the Ba’ could easily be mistaken for a riot rather than a friendly game of football. Join me as I talk about the Kirkwall Ba’ game.

A common goal amongst runners is to be able to run faster over a set distance.Here’s some tips of what to do and what not to do to run faster.

One of the most common species found in the gym is the Leg Day Sook.The Leg Day Sook will average 3 arm workouts per week but might to a token leg workout once a month … maybe.In this episode I get brutal. I call out the some of the bs excuses for skipping leg day, and I talk about what a real, no nonsense leg workout should look like.

I get it - we all get busy. Someone we don’t have a lot of time to spend in the gym (or sometimes the music playing in the gym is really bad and you just want to get out of there).Here’s 10 tips on how to get in, do your workout, and get out quickly.

I have a special guest on this episode.Kevin Chilvers is the Race Director of Runfest - a series of 4 running events that take place in some beautiful locations on the NSW North Coast.As well as organising running events, Kevin is an avid runner himself. This weekend Kevin and his wife Amanda will be running their 3rd marathon for the year - the Sydney Marathon. In this episode Kevin and I chat about his marathon journey . We also talk about the Runfest series.To check out the Runfest series go to this link https://www.runfest.com.au/

Our bodies and minds are hard wired to find the path of least resistance. But the whole point of strength training is to find the path of most resistance.Are you subconsciously finding the easy way out? In this episode I discuss ways to ensure you’re creating resistance in your workouts so that you can get the most benefit from your strength training.

Welcome back to my series on random sports. This episode is about Chess Boxing - a hybrid sport that combines the two completely opposite disciplines of chess and boxing.

The dreaded beep test! The 20 metre shuttle run that gets tougher the further you get.The beep test is not only a test of physical fitness, but of mental determination. It’s often used as a pre entry fitness test for Police and Military, as well as sporting teamsAs someone who has done the beep test countless times, and coached many people to do the beep test, I’ve come up with a few tips to help you master it.

Welcome to the first episode of my Random Sports series.Probably the most well known of the traditional Scottish Highland Games events is the Caber Toss.This sport combines brute strength with technique, balance and accuracy.Join me as I talk about the Caber Toss (and even share my experience when I attempted this unique sport).ps; yes, that is me in the photo tossing the caber 😂

In strength training, how we split our training between workouts is referred to as “splits”.In this episode I talk about some of the different training splits, as well as some of the considerations when choosing the right split for you.

I’ve spoken in other episodes about the importance of staying active and strong as we get older.Here’s some tips on how to keep active.

Intervals and Negative Splits are two training methods I regularly incorporate in to my run training schedule.In this episode I talk about both methods and how they work.

Ego Lifting is sacrificing good lifting techniques in order to lift more weight. It usually leads to the exercise being less effective and can also cause injury.In this episode I talk about how to avoid ego lifting and the difference between ego lifting and challenging yourself.

Making the right choices when it comes to food can be difficult. Reading food labels accurately can be tricky—especially when you're trying to determine what's genuinely nutritious versus what's just marketing. Here’s a few tips on how to successfully navigate food labels.

Do you read your work emails while you’re on holidays? Do you put yourself “on call” unnecessarily?This episode is about disconnecting from work. I talk about the importance of switching off from work and share some tips from my own experience on how to disconnect and enjoy life after work.

Squats are a fundamental human movement that correlates to things we do in every day life. Whether you’re a bodybuilder, a runner, or just someone trying to be more mobile, squats can benefit everyone.In this episode I talk about squat techniques, some different types of squats and how squats can improve your life.

In this episode I talk about the importance of strength training for runners, as well as strength exercises and routines and how to incorporate strength in to your training schedule.

Gym etiquette isn’t rocket science - it’s just about having consideration for other gym users.In this episode I discuss some of the main points on gym etiquette.

In this episode I talk about the differences between treadmill running and outdoor running and discuss some of the pros and cons of each.

In this episode Keith talks about getting better at things and shares his tips on being a bit less sh!t each day.

Free weights or machines? Which is better?