Movement is Medicine: Why Basics Beat Trends (And Keep You Pain-Free) With Dr Dani Antonellos

In this episode, Dr Dani Antonellos (Osteopath, WBFF Pro Bikini Athlete & Clinic Director) breaks down why everyone's skipping the basics and paying the price with pain and injury. Joined by co-host Naila Ahmed (Holistic Therapist), we explore movement as medicine, the nervous system's role in training, bodybuilding identity, and why strength training is the foundation for life.
What You'll Learn:
✅ Why basic movement patterns (squat, hinge, lunge, push, pull) beat flashy exercises.
✅ How to overcome fear of injury and train pain-free.
✅ The nervous system's role in pain, stress, and performance.
✅ Why social media makes everyone skip what actually works.
✅ Dani's bodybuilding journey: turning pro, losing her period, and lessons learned.
✅ How to build multiple businesses without burning out.
✅ Movement-based rehabilitation vs. traditional hands-on therapy.
✅ Why heavy lifting is medicine for your body AND mind.
✅ The truth about peptides, Ozempic, and quick fixes.

ABOUT DR. DANI ANTONELLOS: She is a professional WBFF and FMG Bikini Pro Athlete, Director of Paddo Performance (high-performance gym in Sydney), co-founder of the My Training Space app, and leads United Health Education—a global education platform teaching movement-based rehabilitation to health professionals.
Her mantra: "Movement is Medicine."
Connect with Dani:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/counsellingwithnaila?igsh=eGpwOHdybzdoa3Nv 
Website: https://www.paddoperformance.com.au/dani-antonellos-services 
App: My Training Space (iOS)
Education: https://www.unitedhealthed.com/ 
Podcast: Level Up: With Sharelle and Dani

ABOUT NAILA AHMED (Co-Host)Naila is a holistic counsellor and therapist specialising in nervous system regulation, emotional healing, and childhood trauma. She helps clients rewire their patterns to create internal peace and external success.

Connect with Naila: https://www.instagram.com/counsellingwithnaila?igsh=eGpwOHdybzdoa3Nv 

Want the quick takeaways? Read the blog post for a full breakdown of the episode. https://www.trueformpodcast.com/blog 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

So I think that people are skipping the basic because they're not sexy, because they don't get likes on Instagram, or maybe because people just think it's too good to be true.

Jack Graham 0:09

But people are just so scared of injuries. I I will do a c consult with somebody and they're like, I want to get fit, I want to get strong, but I cannot get injured. If I get injured, I can't do anything. And they're just so afraid of injuries and pain.

SPEAKER_02 0:20

Because a lot of people in the fitness industry think, okay, I've been training at the gym for a couple of years. The next step has to be a bodybuilding show or it has to be a powerlifting or I have to do HIROX. Well, you don't. It's not like you pick up a basketball once and then you have to go and, you know, play basketball. It doesn't work like that.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

I just stand by the fact that heavy lifting is always going to be the medicine. Even from a nervous system perspective, it literally grounds you. His Parkinson's began when I was 15. And so literally half of my life has been seeing degeneration occur through a lack of self-care and a lack of movement. When I was 20 is when he first stopped being able to comfortably get up and down from his seat.

Jack Graham 1:04

What is up, everybody? Welcome back to the True Form Podcast. As you probably just noticed, there are three people on today's episode. I'm stoked to announce that Nala is joining me as a co-host of the True Form Podcasts semi-regularly. Ever since we recorded our first episode, I'll link that in the show notes so you can go back and listen to that one. I've been hassling her to get back on the podcast and she's finally agreed. And she's going to be co-hosting once a month with me, helping you find your true form. So Nala, stoked. Thank you. And what a better episode to kick it off with Denny. We dive into mind, body, and identity, giving you everything you need to find your true form and live a life that is true to you. Also, if you're vibing with any of today's topics or you just want to improve your mind, body, or identity, then you've got three amazing coaches on today's podcast. I'll link all our info in the show notes. So if you want to take that coaching a little bit further, you can look us up. Danny, Nala, I appreciate both of you for coming on the podcast, and I appreciate you for taking the time to find your true form and listening to this episode.

SPEAKER_02 2:11

Very exciting. Let's do it.

Jack Graham 2:14

Alright, so between all of us, we're being PTs, coaches, health coaches. Danny, you're a c clinician, uh, business owner, also a podcast host. You have an app. Uh between us, we've probably worked with tens of thousands of people. So I'm gonna put out to both of you what do you see people focusing on the most? Like there's a lot of information out there, more than ever. Information is just abundant at the moment. And people I find are focusing on many different things, trying to get some results, but they're just focusing on the wrong things. So what do you see people are getting wrong and what should they be focusing on?

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Danny, you go first.

SPEAKER_02 3:02

Beautiful. Jack, you call who who would you like?

Jack Graham 3:08

I'll I'll I'll I'll get us kicked off in a direction that I'd like to go in. Because like we all we all train, we all know that you know training is important, doing the right technique. But more now than ever, I find people are just focusing on the wrong goals. Like they'll see somebody that they see on social media, I want to look like that. It's like they start training, doing their training platform or eating the way they're eating, but they don't never stop to ask why they're actually want to look like that or want to achieve those goals or want to run that mar insert goal here. So I see people focusing on the end result, but not taking the time to ask why I want to achieve that. And as a PT I see that all the time. People start, they're all excited, they're smashing in the gym, and then all of a sudden they just hit this wall, and they're just like, Well, this isn't actually what I wanted, or what am I doing here? So it's not necessarily you know the right supplement or a diet or a training program that I see people focusing on wrong because I do believe just getting people moving and eating a little bit better is amazing. I don't really care what they're doing, but it's just getting people to stop and ask themselves, why am I doing this? Or why why do I actually want to achieve that that I see people getting wrong?

SPEAKER_02 4:27

Yeah, I totally agree.

Jack Graham 4:31

Lots of go go for it.

SPEAKER_02 4:33

I think that's gonna work, Jack. If you you call out the name and we'll answer, we're ready. So no, I totally agree um with that in a sense, and you know, we all started sort of in the industry a long time ago. I mean, I've been since 2013 really. So what, yeah, 13 years. And ever since social media has become more popular, people are getting mixed up and caught up in the wrong things, as you said, because there is just so much information out there. A lot of the information is not the right information because the basics can be boring. And I feel like as a content creator and as a coach, people are trying to reinvent the wheel to get likes, to get subscriptions, to get views, you know, and that is really um putting out the wrong messages to people who are trying to seek information. But unfortunately, people do go to social media for information because, you know, people rarely watch the news anymore. They go on TikTok or Instagram and um go on to the days of having your workouts from a magazine or your printed off bodybuilding.com, you know, it's like, okay, I'm gonna look up my favorite coach or favorite influencer and copy what they're doing. Now, again, there's a difference between being a content creator and being an amazing coach, uh, totally different job roles, really. So I think that people are skipping the basics. And I see this every day, not only with online clients, but then um even here at the gym working with people with injuries, the basics are being forgotten because they're not sexy, because they don't get likes on Instagram, or maybe because um people just think it's too good to be true. And that speaks for whether it's training or nutrition. You know, in most cases, if you just do the basics well and do them often, that will get you the results. But people just think, oh no, it it has to be more than that.

Jack Graham 6:31

When you say the basics, what are you talking about?

SPEAKER_02 6:34

Uh when it comes to training, so basic movement patterns, right? We we need to really regress the movements. Um, I'm talking maybe a squat pattern, hinge pattern, lunge, push, pull, your core work. Make sure you warm up, make sure you activate. Okay. Do all of those movements well, include them in your well-rounded program. Then depending on your goals, we can spend more time in one area than another. Uh, but don't have holes or loopholes in your program around those movement patterns. And then with your, I don't know if we want to go into nutrition as well, but it's like, okay, well, just your basic food groups. Don't try not to leave out food groups or don't think that a supplement will make up for lacking enough protein in a diet. People are sort of going to uh the one percenters and then just forgetting the basic rules again because they're either being sold to on Instagram or they think, you know, the basics is boring and too hard. So they go to something that's shiny and new and promises quick results. I feel like that's where, in a lot of cases, the industry is heading, unfortunately, because of social media.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

And what do you feel like your experience has been like detaching people from that focus on the external and all of that, and then bringing them into the mindset of long-term health and activating? Because when we think about, for example, big things you focus on, it's that core core and glute activation, right? Like this is like the trunk of your body. Like it's such a shift in mindset, going from all the external to literally going internally within your body. So, like, what has your experience been like taking people from that external to like, okay, let's focus on these basics and the long-term health?

SPEAKER_02 8:26

It's really interesting in a sense. I mean, working with injured people for me is a lot easier because what are the options? You're either going to do this thing that works or you're gonna stay injured. But then, so then it's it is sort of easier in that sense. But then for someone who has a hypertrophy goal or sporting performance or strength goal, well, again, you just need to highlight the areas that they're lacking in their training and in their movement patterns, and then essentially allow them to feel the difference that those movements make in the training. And we can say that they work all day and night. However, the person has to really actually notice the difference themselves. So a lot of people might see a video online and think, oh no, I can do a plank, that's so easy, or I can do this movement, that's too easy. But then, and we've worked with some of the strongest powerlifters in in the world, you know, you get them doing the basic movements and they're sweating and it's just so hard and they're shaking, and then that's a very humbling experience. So for them to then feel it themselves, I think is the best way uh to sell it, essentially, because essentially now we're in a position where we have to almost sell the basics. But a lot of people are relieved by that because in this day and age, most of us are just doing too much, our plates are so full, it's a busy world out there. So it's actually nice to reframe someone and say, hey, like you don't need to worry about all this. Let's just focus on these key areas, these key actions. That's all you need to do. You don't have to do more, don't add more, just let's work on this. So I think it's like a big sigh of relief for a lot of people in a world where people think that they always have to do more.

Jack Graham 10:10

But isn't more better?

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Yeah, right. Going off the back of what you've just said, I think I can also answer the original question, Jack, is like the shift in perspective, right? Like getting people to think in a different way. Um, Danny, what you said about getting people to like feel into the impact of it. That's literally the core of my work today, right? Because I started off teaching, like yeah, training and nutrition. I had my own time of like focusing on the external and trying to do all the HIIT workouts and just whatever that was trending. And I guess for me as a coach, years ago, it was like I was noticing the trend of body image issues and a lack of just loving oneself and grounding into oneself, which was contributing to exactly the problem that you're talking about. So it's interesting because you've noticed it from a physical sense, I've noticed it from like an emotional self-worth identity sense. So when you talk about just feeling into the impact of it, now when I think about as a therapist, the work I do with clients and like their nervous system and regulating it, um, literally lowering the cortisol in their body, grounding emotional, emotionally and physically, it contributes to the way that they train as well. Because I'm still having conversations with my clients around their training because it has an impact on their emotional state. So if it's all holistic, right? So yeah, um, I just I just love that.

Jack Graham 11:43

I just want to continue on that. So trying to put this into a into a question for you. Um so jump in at any point. So we're talking about identity and trying to get that identity, like awareness is a big thing to be identifying with that goal and then making sure that you actually identify with that goal is the question that I was asking at the start. You both sort of talked about the busy world and trying to get everybody to calm down, bringing those nervous systems down. I I can you just just touch on that? Like I've got a follow-up question to that, but maybe Nali, you can dive into the nervous system a little bit. Danny as well. Like, how does the nervous system fit into this world that we're living in?

SPEAKER_01 12:28

Well, the nerve one of the major key roles of the nervous system is to detect threat versus safety and to draw our attention to it, right? Draw a logical mind to what is going on in our immediate reality. And so for example, Danny, what you were saying about people just going to social media, like even the act of constantly being on social media, like it's triggering cortisol and like this constant dopamine release in our mind. So if we think about someone who wants to train to look better, to whatever that their goal is, and they're always looking at this, like the whole entire act of doing that is stressful. And like, I'm not saying that it's bad to look. Obviously, we're all on social media, that's where we're doing all of our work. But it's that people are, it's such a just even the act of going on your phone, it's so external, it's so chasing, like, okay, how do I want to look? How do I want to feel? Rather than actually like the psychology behind doing that, right? And so just even being on Instagram, for example, all the time, like this act of like doom scrolling, you're not actually absorbing the information and your nervous system is in a state of, I wouldn't say threat, but just like hyper-vigilance, right? And so what you're consuming, it's you know, you can argue that it isn't in the most grounded way possible. So then the information you're consuming and the way you're you're integrating that into your life, for example, with training and nutrition, it's not optimal, right? And so yeah, when you talk about the nervous system, it's it's essentially giving our body and our mind that feedback and that information of like when we feel safe or when we feel unsafe. And so it's just this entire concept of everyone is so just in their mind trying to find what's right, what's productive, what's gonna get them the result quick, quick, quick, rather than what's actually gonna be good for me, for my body, you know. So it's it's an entire domain of just like grounding into yourself. That was very abstract, what I just said. I don't know if it if it totally Danny, you pipe in. Let me know what you think of that.

SPEAKER_02 14:41

No, it makes it makes total sense. And I um noticed that in myself as well. And there's a reason why these apps are worth billions of dollars. They're created for us to become addicted because they give us that dopamine. It's like um they likened the the scrolling of the feeds to like um pokey machines, you know, what's next, what's next, what's next. And then the algorithm is just articulated to keep us on there. So then if we are in that state of whether we're doom scrolling or whether we're a bit hyper-vigilant, like what you said, then yeah, trying to then receive education and information while we're in that state, it's just not the right way. I mean, there's there's many ways that it is beneficial. However, I think we do need to set boundaries around that. Um, not to go on a whole social media tangent, but you know, that's you know where it all is. So set boundaries around that. Only follow the people that make you feel good when you're watching. Um, take on the take everything with a grain of salt, you know, the first three seconds is designed to suck you in and hook you in. You know, it's um use social media as a way to connect, but then also, yeah, it's just about trying to switch off where you can and then focusing on yourself because there's always going to be someone stronger, there's always gonna be someone with the six-pack, there's always gonna be someone having the dream life that you wish you had, and then years go on and you never really appreciated what you did have. So I like your your sense on that, Nylo of just about tuning back into you and what actually makes you happy. And I'm finding the fitness industry over the years has really changed from an aesthetic goal. Look, we all want to look and feel awesome, whatever that means to us. However, since the COVID times, I feel like a lot more people just want that connection and want wellness and they want, you know, their hormones regulated. They want to be able to go out and socialize. That's why we're seeing a boom in the wellness centers, high rocks, crossfit, all of those things that have a community aspect. Um, I feel like they're really making waves in the industry because they all have the underlying factor of human connection, which is what we're lacking in this day and age.

Jack Graham 16:56

100%. And you too took my very vague, basic question and just rolled with it in exactly the direction I wanted. So, what what I'm hearing is that where, you know, the nervous system gets stressed from all these external factors. Social media is probably one of the biggest factors, but you know, you could take work, relationship, sometimes even exercise, the food you're eating, everything. So we're getting stressed, more and more stressed. And Danny, I think you're right. People are starting to realize that this doesn't feel right. I don't feel right, what else is out there, like what what is missing, and people are going to more health-based like gym, like community gyms, like going out to things that would have considered been considered woo-woo about ten years ago, but um almost mainstream now, and people are using them to actually make their lives better. So Danny, for you, like pain is a big thing. I find a lot of people are getting in more pain because of what we were just discussing, that nervous system overload. So when people come in, I I again I I'm gonna my thi my I've I've noticed a few things over the last couple of years. I don't know if it's social media or what's going on, but people are just so scared of injuries. Like I will do a c consult with somebody and they're like, I want to get fit, I want to get strong, but I cannot get injured. If I get injured, I can't do anything. And they're just so afraid of injuries and pain and adding to that. So you said you work with people with pain now and they haven't got much choice doing what you say because they want to get out of pain. But what does that conversation look like when it comes to injuries, pain, and just getting them to calm down a bit to do the things they need to, which is exercise and probably move the joints in their body in ways that they're probably scared of. How does that conversation go?

SPEAKER_02 18:43

Yeah, it's really interesting, and I think it depends on your demographic as well. I know now that I'm in my 30s, I think twice before jumping off a step, or you know, I'm like, oh, if I hurt myself here, then I can't go to work. That means we don't can't pay the rent and so on and so forth. I think there's more repercussions in actually getting injured than when we were young and swinging off monkey bars and things like that. So it's a very real fear because a lot of people, if they get injured, they can't work or play with their kids or all of that. So it does come up a lot naturally. Um, I am seeing in this day and age, there's just common patterns with people having back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain. What do we do most of the day? We sit down. Whether you have a sedentary job or not, you're still driving a car, you're sitting down watching TV at night a lot of the time. So the postures that modern society has brought us to are now causing pain and injury around that. But the good news is there are tools. So, back to your question on what do you do when someone is scared, you have to just really strip back. And that's when the art of exercise regression comes into it, as I was sort of saying, go back to the basic movement patterns and prove to them and allow them to prove to themselves that then they can complete that movement. So, for example, if someone has, you know, back pain uh when squatting or deadlifting, get them to perform a regressed version of a barbar back squat, okay? Goblet squat, or pop a band around their knees and even get them to squat to a box. They do that 15, 20 reps, couple of sets, and and all of that. Oh, okay, that doesn't hurt. Good. That movement's okay. And then just slowly build into it. But I think as a coach or a practitioner, it's just about you not doing too much and then also just not getting caught up in your client's emotions. And I know Nila, you say this all the time, working, you know, with mindset. You can't get swept away in their emotion. Doesn't mean that we're a brick wall and don't empathize with them, but hear what they say and then make them feel heard and understood, and then give them small tasks that they can achieve, whether it is through movement, nutrition, mindset, they can tick it off, feel accomplished, and then realize, okay, this is not causing more pain. Let's go to the next movement and the next movement. So I feel like coaches are too quick to progress because they just, again, it's so much easier to make an exercise harder, but to sit with the easier version of the exercise, and I mean easier in a sense of you're not adding all these boso balls, single leg, all this random equipment you find in the gym, you can still work very hard doing sets of just you know goblet squats if you slow it down at the right way. But it's a lot harder for people to sit in those movements, even as a coach. Uh so I that's why I find that people are just progressing too quick. Therefore, people can get injured. So that was my long way of sort of saying, Um, yeah, sorry, no, that was my sort of long way of saying there's no reason for them to be scared, but you have to prove it, they have to feel it themselves. You can't say, Oh, don't worry about. About it, you'll be right. You know, that's not gonna work. You just have to take them through step by step. That's how we build confidence in every area.

SPEAKER_01 22:08

I was gonna say a lot of that comes down to your worth as a coach. Like so many coaches I see will give all the glamorous movements and everything because they their clients aren't excited, right? By it. And like you were talking about their emotions and like sometimes maybe projecting that onto you as a practitioner. And so it's just being really grounded in those basics that are gonna help them, right? Just going off a little bit the back of what you were saying in terms of people needing community, um, and then going towards like high rocks and Pilates, like love them, CrossFit, all of that. I was a CrossFit coach years ago and I was doing that, but like I just stand by the fact that heavy lifting is always gonna be the medicine, even from a nervous system perspective, it literally grounds you. So when we talk about clients thinking that the regression needs to look like, for example, Chris Pilates, again, not shaming it, it has its space, but it's so important. And I just gotta say, Danny, like when I literally came to your gym in Sydney, Paddo, like you've nailed it in terms of community and heavy lifting. Like that's the medicine, that's what people need, right? So I just gotta say that, like you've done such an incredible job, you and Paul, with that space. Because yeah, what you're talking about in terms of community and connection, but also moving in the right way, it's just so important. Thank you.

Jack Graham 23:38

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SPEAKER_01 26:34

I would say like, I don't want to seem overwhelming, but both at the same time, it's always important to begin strengthening your body, strength training, lifting as soon as possible. Like it's gonna sound really woo-woo, but again, from a nervous system perspective, like lifting weights literally grounds you into the your body and the earth. Like if you it sounds so woo-woo, I know, but if you think about it, like the act of like say deadlifting or squatting, you have to have that mind-body awareness. You have to be so focused, your form, your technique, thinking, and it's like you your breath work, everything is happening at once. And so, yeah, I would say like a mix of both. Even now with my clients in therapy, I'm prescribing, I'm saying to them, have your protein. Because again, from a nervous system perspective, if you're not having protein, just your carbs and your fats, well, well, just your carbs, you know, it's just it's gonna take you on a blood sugar roller coaster. So I would say, like, yeah, everything together.

SPEAKER_02 27:41

Yeah, I agree. I definitely feel like it goes hand in hand. And I think um training can be a form of meditation. And I first experienced that when I hired my first coach many years ago now, like eight years ago, um, for my first bodybuilding show. And she actually taught me how to use tempo. So slowing down the movement, controlling it, you know, time under tension for your muscles. And I realized that I wasn't able to stress about uni and all of the things I was doing back then and think about tempo at the same time. So it really took away all of my external worries just for that moment in the gym. And that's when a big light bulb went off. And I started respecting training a lot more because you do have to be super present and allow yourself to be present just for that time. Whether you're training for half an hour or one hour, you owe yourself that time to just move your body well and be in your body. So it's definitely a form of meditation. For some people, it's a bit of anger management. I don't, I never promote negative self-talk, but we've still got some of the boys at the gym before they're about to hit a lift. You know, if you don't get this lift, you suck. Or, you know, that's the PG version. They say that's an internal dialogue, but you know, they it's it's an anger release, it just gets the emotions going. So I feel like whether you want to just get that bad energy out or just learn how to tap into your body, I feel like moving your body and then strengthening your mindset goes hand in hand. And then it gives you confidence if you lift a certain weight or hit a PB, even add an extra two kilos on something, you know, you get that sense of achievement and that you're working towards something, which then brings your confidence. And not to mention the social element as well. Not everyone loves chatting at the gym, but you're still getting that social engagement, which is so important for our mental health too. So yeah, I feel like it's all intertwined.

Jack Graham 29:40

Definitely. So just follow it up there, Danny. You said you got a coach for the first time. Like when was that and what was the coach for?

SPEAKER_02 29:49

Uh yeah, so I'd I'd my first coach really was my dad because he was a bodybuilder. But I was 16, my brother and I were in the garage, you know, just pumping some weight. Two more reps, kids. Okay, fine. But then as I got a little bit older, um started playing tennis, then went to my first fitness expo. And I'm pretty sure you were there, Nyla, actually. I was. I'll never forget that. I'll never forget that. We were talking around the fitness expos back in the day, the uh Arnolds, and I spotted my first ever coach, Hattie Boydal, who uh was really strong, but also a bodybuilder as well. So, of course, back then you follow them on Instagram, you say, Who's that person? Look them up, follow them on Instagram, and we ended up getting in contact, and I signed on for her coaching to then compete in bodybuilding as well. And despite my dad um being a really good bodybuilder back in the 80s, I never thought I'd be the one to go down that path. I thought my brother would have been. But he went down the hairdressing path and I went down the bodybuilding path. So stereotypes sort of switched there, which was fun. Um, so yeah, that's when I really, as I sort of mentioned, respected training, uh, my nutrition as well. But then the mindset piece came with that too, and just to have that accountability, to have someone open my eyes to a bigger world out there, because she was from Sydney, so I got to meet a lot of new people as well, and probably hence why I ended up living here. Um, it was just a really nice way to have someone else take the reins and show you that belief that you probably didn't know you had. That's what coaching is, right? We all coach people, but I think it's important to reflect on times where we have been coached and take the positives out of that as well. So that's what that was for.

Jack Graham 31:39

Definitely. Can you reflect on that time? So you went to the expo, and was that when you you just went, I want to do that, or how did the you progress into a bodybuilder?

SPEAKER_02 31:49

Um, I was working at a gym, uh Fernwood Fitness, which was awesome times. And again, Nyla, you've worked at those gyms as well. So yeah, we we have a lot of similarities, which is um why we're obviously still in touch. And I knew that I loved it, but then I just have that personality type. I feel like you guys as well. It's like, all right, what's next? What's next? What's next? And then when you put yourself in an environment like a fitness expo where you see all these new people from all over Australia and the world doing these epic things, you get really curious if you dare to. And by no means did I think, okay, now I'm gonna get on stage. But like any good coach, she had a well-set up Instagram uh sales method. And then we got on the phone and got chatting, and then I came to a realization that her coaching is was perfect for me at the time, which is what we all do in our discovery calls with our clients, right? So I was on that, and she gave had she gave me the space in that call to have that aha moment and to have the confidence to go, you know what? Yep, let's give it a go. And I remember hanging up the phone and then I called my dad. I'm like, Dad, I think I'm doing a bodybuilding show. He goes, No, you're not. What are you talking about? You know, and it was just so foreign, the idea. But then just one day at a time, and five shows later, I ended up turning pro in 2019, and you know, that was a massive part of my journey there. It was um, yeah, good times.

Jack Graham 33:24

Congratulations.

SPEAKER_02 33:27

It's a long time ago now. Your first show. Oh my god. You won. Embarrassing. No, that was um at the fitness expo again. That uh that was that ICN? My second one, my second show. That was ICN. Yeah, that's right. And then I did three after that. But yeah, you were there as well, cheering me on. It's it's really interesting sport, yeah.

Jack Graham 33:50

Why do you think it's interesting?

SPEAKER_02 33:52

It's challenging, it's challenging, but from the outside, people, you know, it um whatever perception, it's not for everyone. I feel like it's too common in these days and age. I was doing it, you know, and and people in the 80s and 90s say, well, I was doing it way before you, but I feel like I was still doing it before it became excessively popular because a lot of people in the fitness industry think, okay, I've been training at the gym for a couple of years. The next step has to be a bodybuilding show, or it has to be a powerlifting, or I have to do hierarchs. Well, you don't. It's not like you pick up a basketball once and then you have to go and you know play basketball. It doesn't work like that. You you still have to um enjoy it and be good at it, in my opinion. So I'm just finding it so interesting now in 2026, just how popular it's gotten. And I often have conversations and wonder if social media didn't exist, would we have as many bodybuilders? Because it's really good to build your brand and get attention. So I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_01 34:52

Well, I was I'm curious to ask, like, when you think about your knowledge now of training and because I've lately you've done posing workshops, right? Mixing your knowledge of like the body and injury prevention and how certain blocks, for example, in your body, that's a very layman way of explaining it, but how that can prevent how you prevent and impact the way that you pose. So when you think about you as an athlete in your first beginning shows and perhaps the lack of what you know now, how do you reflect on that? Of like, do you ever think, like, oh, if I knew now what I knew back then, how you would have performed differently on stage and in your workouts leading up to the shows? How does that cross over?

SPEAKER_02 35:38

Yeah, awesome question because you back then the worlds were still separate in the sense of allied health and injury prevention and then bodybuilding, strength training, you know, sport as well. Um, so it was part of the journey, I suppose, not to use that word, but it was. It was part of, okay, how do I bridge the two worlds together? Bridging the gym culture with the allied health space. And why in uni, when I was studying osteopathy for five years, why did I learn, you know, two semesters on injury on exercise? Sorry. The rest was all hands-on therapies. But then why as a PT and an athlete did I learn or not really learn anything about injury rehab? So it wasn't until sort of 2019, the fifth show, where I met um obviously my coach was amazing, and I I had her the whole time, which was great. And she was, she's always into further learning. So she connected me with, you know, some of the best Australian strength coach, in my opinion, the best strength coach in the world. Um, my late business partner, and Dr. Andrew Locke, who passed away unfortunately last February, but he connected us. Well, she connected us as well. So all of those little blocks were getting filled by uh learning from a lot of different people. So then I was able to actually take that into the final couple of shows that I did. And I believe that it was those principles that allowed me to stay pain-free in my prep and then also be able to target the right muscles because I wasn't doing any glute activation. I was just trying to put the most amount of weight on the bar, but instead of my glutes growing, which is what you need for a bodybuilding stage, um, you know, my quads would take over or lower back and things like that. So it's using the art of coaching and programming, whether you're bodybuilding, strength training, you know, we work with athletes, we work with gen pop. Anyone who's doing a repetitive behavior, such as a workplace, posture, a sport, posing for bodybuilding, they're gonna have deficits. So then it's the coach's job to fill in those gaps. So then you don't have injuries from overcompensation. Nice.

Jack Graham 37:51

You you asked, are we seeing more bodybuilders? And I don't think we are. Like just it from what you're you just answered there, you are a bodybuilder. It takes a certain person to be able to dedicate themselves to all those disciplines. It's not just working out hard, it's so much more to that. And you obviously nailed that and did it to perfection because you are the person that you are now and you are the coach that you are now, and you've taken all those lessons, and it comes through with all the content and everything you're doing. So I I don't think there are a lot of built bodybuilders out there. I think there's a lot of people that, like we said at the first, that identity, they think they want to be that bodybuilder, start working out, get those followers on Instagram, all the views, all that sort of thing. But I don't think there's actually people dedicating themselves to the sport like you have and learning all the things you have along the way. So I don't think there's that many bodybuilders out there. I think there's only a few like yourself out there.

SPEAKER_01 38:49

No, as far as banana, you go. I was gonna say a few of my clients and past clients have actually been people who have tried to go into bodybuilding, but have come out of it burnt because it's mirrored back their severe self-worth issues, externalizing that body image issues which is linked to emotional trauma in their childhood. Like you can go down a rabbit hole with that. Yeah, just tying into not everyone is actually a bodybuilder and supposed to be, and that's okay because everyone's got their own path, right? If that is you, it's great, but not every and you know, so yeah, again, it comes back to that identity piece of like, is this your true form to be a bodybuilder and everything that it takes? And Danny, from your journey, like it's beautiful because you were doing that bodybuilder and you still are, and going through that journey of like finding what was working, not working, and not coming out the other side burnt, you know what I mean?

Jack Graham 39:52

So I think that comes into a question that I get all the time. Guess that are bodybuilders, athletes, sometimes even coaches. I a lot of them say that you should book yourself in for an event to have something to aim for or drive you forwards. And this is something where I sort of go back and forth. Like obviously it comes with the rise of higher rocks and events like that. People are booking themselves in so they have that thing to drive towards. Is that a good thing? Should we be putting people like signing people up for events or whip bodybuilding, powerlifting, higher rocks insert event there? Is it a good thing to have something to aim for?

SPEAKER_02 40:36

I think within reason. So you want the event to be within a realistic time frame. Don't just sign yourself up, you know, for eight weeks to do a HIROX event when you've never trained like that in the first place. If you can sign up to something that you still enjoy and you will somewhat enjoy the training and the process and then make the time frame realistic, then I think it is a great motivator. I mean, if I didn't have that show date locked in, I know that I may have cut some corners, you know, because why would you put yourself through that if the repercussions weren't that large? Whereas for me, I knew I was going to be on stage, they're literally judging how you look, you're in very little clothing. I made sure no stone was left unturned and I, you know, didn't cut any corners. And for someone, they use their wedding or an event, but again, make sure the time frame is realistic and then also make sure that there's support after the event. Because what I notice is, and I'm sure you guys have seen it, you know, they they do the thing and it's motivating. They're seeing the scales, you know, drop the weight, or you know, they're lifting more. The event comes and then they just let go of all their processes that they undertook to get there. And then often, you know, that's when you rebound and you can damage yourself and mentally it can become, you know, murky waters. So I really think that having that support after the event is actually more important than leading up to it.

SPEAKER_01 42:07

Because it's easy to tell someone you need to reverse diet, but again, stepping into that identity of like what you need to do because emotion after a show, emotions are high. Everything's happening, you know, depending on whatever result you got. Like it's just so much going on in that moment, right? Comes back to that grounding and that nervous system regulation, I would argue, you know. So it's yeah, that's so interesting.

Jack Graham 42:33

Danny, you I I think that goes into the question I'm about to ask. Like, obviously, you are an athlete and you like your bodybuilding career shows that you took everything on, learn as much as you can, so you left no stone unturned. Do you do that with life and business as well? Because you've you're doing a lot of things. Like you were a PT, you decided to be an osteo, like obviously you own a gym now, you started an app as well, which I'd love to dive into. You're a podcast host, you're doing all these things. Like do you think those things you've learned dur during your bodybuilding career continued through that, or is that something you you think you already had before that?

SPEAKER_02 43:14

It's interesting, isn't it? And I appreciate the time for reflection because when you are doing a lot of things, you normally always just you know think forward and what's coming next. But you guys are in business, right? You do need to take that ownership to be an entrepreneur and to when the onus is on you or or your team, you know, you really have to lead by example. And whether that is in your athletic capabilities in your sport, or whether that is the ability to be a great coach or great friend, great partner, you know, you need to hold yourself to a high standard within reason. We don't want to not allow room for error because we are gonna make mistakes. But if you make a decision in that moment and that feels like the right decision and the right action, and even if things go a bit pair, Shapes, you can't beat yourself up over it. So there are a lot of high achievers out there. And personally, yeah, I just find myself, well, if I'm gonna try it, I'm gonna try it at my best ability, still be a student mindset. I'm lucky I don't have problems asking for help, or if I make a mistake, yeah, I don't beat myself up over it too badly. Sometimes you go, why'd you do that? But I think um I'm not sure. I'm not sure if it's something you're born with, or Nyla would know probably more about this, or you're conditioned by your upbringing, and then you carry that into your sport because I know now that I'm not actively competing in bodybuilding anymore. I haven't since 2019, but I am still taking some of those traits into business and discipline and studies and and being a good coach as well. There's only so much I feel that we can do. You don't want to be a jack of all trades. Um, so it is just interesting. I think when you're listing out the things that I'm doing, they all roll into each other. So I just as a creative, I just love if it was up to me, I'd start a million businesses and then have everyone else take care of the paperwork and the finances and all of that. But you know, it's not realistic, right? I feel like we can relate somewhat. Um, but yeah, you definitely have to hold yourself to a high standard no matter what you're doing, if you want to be successful in in uh being a leader and a business owner, I feel.

SPEAKER_01 45:26

Just going off what you said about your upbringing, it's interesting because I do know your dad and your brother. And I've had conversations with your brother before about your dad specifically. No, oh god, coffee club nuts. And um, if I just I don't know, if I just like lightly psychoanalyze you for a moment, like your dad, he's all about those structures. And you know, and if I think about that from like a nervous system lens, it's like all about that structure, that grounding. And I just feel it is so important for whatever you want to build in life, right? Whether it is bodybuilding or your business, your relationship, sticking it out, you know, like where whether it's easy or whether it's hard, being grounded in those routines. So yeah, you could argue that like the way that you've been brought up has had an impact on that. And yeah, just person like personally knowing your dad and like your brother and conversations I've had with him before, it's it's evident, which is which is so cool.

SPEAKER_02 46:29

Thank God I only inherited, you know, 50% of that. No, Nyla, and my dad's very that's why he was such a great bodybuilder, very routine. And I'm sure we all know someone like that in our life that they don't want to try too much or too little. They're kind of just coasting. And he loves to coast and do the same thing. I know at any given time what he's doing at any moment because he's been doing the same thing forever. So I think that's what Nyla's getting at. So you do have to have some element, but then we also need uncertainty in life. We've got certainty and uncertainty. And I think me moving away and starting all these things, you know, I uh develop different personality traits as we do. Our parents are our biggest teachers, so um, yeah, there's definitely that element of stability and grounding that you do need. I feel like you can't just have your life all over the place, but then if you're to take risks in life, you can't be doing the same thing also. And I think that's more prevalent in our generation. I feel like our parents' generation, it was somewhat normal to have the same job for 30, 40 years, doing the same thing, clock in, clock out, which is great. Because when they left work, they left work. That's it. For people like us, the work never ends. So you have to create those boundaries yourself, which is um a challenge in itself. But yes, thank you, Nala.

SPEAKER_01 47:45

Of course. No, totally love it.

Jack Graham 47:49

Let me reverse my question then. Like you you are doing all these things. I think all of three of us are in the same boat where we're doing a bunch of different things, but they do tie into the one thing we're trying to achieve, and generally it's just helping people live better lives. So, how do you not get distracted? So you're doing a like all eat podcast, gym, clinician, working with a bunch of people, but it's all going in that one direction. Now more than ever, it is very easy to get distracted by other things. Like people come along and say, hey, we could do this, or business business opportunities come along. Like it's quite easy to get distracted. So, how are you staying focused on what you want to do what you want to achieve?

SPEAKER_02 48:31

The magic question, isn't it? I definitely feel myself um getting pulled in all kinds of directions, which it's great every time an opportunity comes up, but then I've learned over the years to I you need to know how to say no, because every time you say yes to something, although it's a fun, cool opportunity, you need to say, well, is this taking away from my current projects or current mission? Um, it's still good to say yes and challenge yourself. And if something makes you nervous, you have to do it. But I've got an inner dialogue now where I can ask myself, well, is it a yes, a no, or a maybe later? You know, not everything has to be done then and there. I've like with the posing workshops, for example. Um, Beck, who runs Australian Posing School for Bodybuilders here in Sydney, asked me like three years ago to run those workshops, and it just wasn't the right time. Then she came back three years later and it was. So there are gonna be things that, yeah, just pop up. But I think um organization is number one. I love using Google Calendar. I swear by it. I know you do because you sent me the invite to this podcast. But what was even a world before using calendars? I don't know. Um, and then I've also got various team men like Paul with the gym. Um, and then I've got someone, Katarina, Julie, my business partner's in United Health Education. If if a seminar opportunity comes up or travel, we get to talk internally. And Kat's sort of good at directing us. Um, Julie and I being the creatives, Kat sort of does the uh systems. And she sort of says, okay, guys, but that's gonna take away from this, and that's actually gonna take that long because if you say yes to something, you have to organize it and plan it's gonna take energy. So I think, yeah, organization and having the right people around you who can actually guide you as well as your own ability to self-reflect and say, yes, no, not now or never.

Jack Graham 50:25

People around you, are they on the same mission as you?

SPEAKER_02 50:29

Yeah, I struggled to hire people like really badly because I just when you're so obsessed with your craft, it's really well, this might be a limiting belief, but I found it hard to hire people to help because no one is in your brain. So then it's your ability to be able to relay what's in here to someone else. And then a lot of the time, if it's not their business, they're not gonna love it as much as you. So I have a small like small, like I can count on literally one hand, little bits, uh, little um groups of people for each venture that I trust that I can open up to fully. Um I've forgotten even the question now. What was your your question? Something about the teams. Um, they're on the same mission. Yeah. Yeah. So I feel like we're all on our individual mission with our individual skills, but those skills are brought together. Like I didn't develop the app. We hired app developers. I didn't make a lot of the systems now for our new website for United Health Education. I got Kat to help me do that. With Paul, you know, he's got his skills, he loves handpicking, uh really unique pieces of gym equipment. And I do my roles in the gym. So I feel like we're all on the same mission, but it looks different, and we bring individual skills. I think that's what I was getting at.

Jack Graham 51:50

No, same question for you. Like you're jet shed set jet setting around the world. You decided not to come back to Australia. Like, obviously, you've been able to say no and learn how to say no. Like, how are you staying on mission but from the other side of the world?

SPEAKER_01 52:06

Yeah, well, I was gonna say I am literally in this perfect balance, you could say, of like structure and flow in my life. I genuinely don't know which country I'll be in in two weeks, right? I'm so grounded with my health, my training, and my work. But it's it's giving myself a chance at life, right? Like saying yes to myself. And I think that's where you come in with the saying no and the boundaries and that, again, identification to yourself. This is what's most aligned for me right now. Like I feel it on a soul level, on a nervous system level. What I have learned traveling solo for the past five months by myself, living out of my suitcase, figuring it out, like what you were saying before, Danny, about that uncertainty piece. It's so big right now, and I'm fully embracing that. And again, you have to have a certain level of grounding in yourself to be able to safely embrace that uncertainty. So, yeah, and again, when you talk about having boundaries, well, and being able to say no, I have had to say no to a lot of people and a lot of things and face that disappointment, but realizing that disappointment is not mine to carry, it's an experience we're all having about the same situation. And yeah, just realizing that not everything in life all the time, like any decision you make, I think being okay with you're always gonna be uming and r'ing, maybe, you know, about is this right for me? Isn't it wrong? But I feel when you really ground into yourself, your nervous system, your identity, and your true form, you the yeses become clearer and the no's become clearer. And you're always gonna feel like maybe the grass might be greener on the other side, or it is and you just learn and it's constant feedback. So I feel that's how you truly grow in life. Like we say we want all these incredible things, but we're so afraid of embracing those new realities, right? And the new sense of self. But it's gonna come with those tough decisions and being okay with the mess sometimes. Like when I think about the version of Nyla before I left Australia, or like when I just left Australia, how I was when I was traveling, it was chaotic, you could say. And now it's not like because I'm just it's just one of the most incredible ways to know yourself, like traveling solo like this. So yeah, it all comes down to as you keep talking about that identification piece and just knowing that you've got your own back and being okay with the mess at times that it brings, and being like, cool, this is the uncertainty, I'm in it, and I'm just in it, and that's it. I don't have to have the answer right now of what's better, just being present, you know, and having that safety in yourself to do so.

Jack Graham 55:04

Yeah, and two things on that. Like it's not saying no, it's saying yes to yourself. Like that's a good mind switch to have. Like, I struggle because I'm a people pleaser and I like make making people happy. So saying no sometimes is very hard for me because I know they're gonna be upset, but it's not no, it's yes for me and my time and my passion and my energy. So I appreciate that. Also, like goes to show that you are a good coach. Like you're on you're traveling around halfway around the world, but you're still focusing on the things, the basics that you need to, so you can be healthy and still do the work you need to. So, yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_01 55:39

Totally thank you.

Jack Graham 55:40

Danny, um, you mentioned United Health Education. Can you talk more on that?

SPEAKER_02 55:48

Yeah, for sure. So that is one of our companies that I I mentioned previously. Um started with Dr. Andrew Locke, uh, one of the world's renowned physiotherapists. And again, in my opinion, the the greatest uh person to ever do rehab. And I was very lucky to be able to learn from him. So we have our courses uploaded now online certification. So we we train a lot of allied health professionals and personal trainers. We actually have a lot more personal trainers interested in our learning, which is super interesting. I think um just a different mindset. Trainers want to know more, and then academics think they know it all in a lot of cases. But we've we've got a great mix of both. But it was really interesting to have a lot of um PTs. So we did a lot of face-to-face seminars over 20 around Australia, New Zealand. He traveled the US with his wife Julie, um, who I'm still in business with now, um, and Europe as well. So that is our education platform. But then we also provide resources for people in pain as well, because you know, we have our programs there that people can log on and and find something essentially that works for their training. But it's all exercise-based. So we've gone against the traditional hands-on therapies. Again, a time there's a time and a place, but we're on a mission to help as many people worldwide, and it's by teaching people how to move well, so then they don't need as many hands-on treatments because it's all about autonomy, right? And being able to feel good in your body and prevention uh rather than just treat treating the symptoms. Uh, so that is yeah, one of my main uh businesses and projects, you know, at the moment, and that's the one that we want to continue to take all over the world. It brings a lot of joy um amongst sad times, obviously losing the great doc. But um there's no bigger honor than to carry that forward and to still be able to help bring those messages, you know, everywhere we go and to coaches all over. Because there's only so many clients we can see at a time. But if you're educating those who have their own clients, you know, that's really special to me. So I absolutely love that side of what I do.

Jack Graham 58:06

Me too. Absolutely love that message. Like movement is medicine. And like you said, if you can teach more and more people to do that, like I think you are going to change the industry, like like we're talking about before, the industry, the fitness industry is sort of in a bit of a weird transition stage. But yeah, that message right there is a good one to have. I find people now will get again, like you said, there's time and a place for all that sort of sort of therapy. But when you get locked in for every month for the next two years and you need to go back and see that person, I I think it's just a little bit I don't know how to say it. Like you shouldn't need it that much and that often to be healthy and fit and strong. Like you should be able to do that on your own, you should be strong, and if you need it, yeah, you add it in, but it shouldn't be relying on that therapy to get you moving again. And I see unfortunately, I see a lot of the time people will just stop training, go see that therapist, and they're only getting manipulated or worked on. I'm like, yeah, but three months to down the track, you're you're gonna lose everything that you've just gained in the gym. So it's a good message. I love that.

SPEAKER_02 59:18

Thank you. It's um it is really interesting because I think it's not really taught well at university, whether it's a physiotherapy degree, my osteopathy degree. Um, it's it's very university is very evidence-based, and it's it doesn't teach you how to be a star in the gym because that's your personal training certificate. It's a whole nother you have to live and breathe training to be able to understand how to teach people training. So that's where unfortunately the messages are a bit mixed up. And then let's just say someone hurts their back, they go to the GP. The GP doesn't understand training, or they understand not to take away from GPs, again, love them for the right jobs, but not for injury rehab. They get their anti-inflammatories and then they get told, well, you shouldn't have deadlifted, stop deadlifting. You know, you hear it all the time. So then the person gets scared to go back to the gym, they're in pain, they're on pain meds, then they go get their hands on treatment. And then the Allied Health Professional is kind of in the same cycle saying, Well, yeah, you need to see me, you know, weekly for the next six weeks or, you know, every month for the rest of your life. And the actual cause of the injury isn't addressed because a lot of the time we get injured when, again, to go back to back pain, a lot of the time it's a flexion-based injury. People are just picking up too much load at work or at the gym or picking up their kids, and they haven't developed strong enough glutes, core, and the right movement patterns to be able to handle those loads. We get a disc herniation that causes symptoms. Then people go get their back massaged, but their back was the only part that was working in the first place. So then you're just strengthening, uh weakening the one strength that you had. Whereas to break that cycle, we have to say, okay, well, why was the back working so hard? Which skills were lacking, which muscles were lacking? Let's build the skills, let's build the muscles. Then the lower back won't have to work as hard. So that's sort of the whole reframe. But it it is going against, you know, massive the pharmaceutical industry, the education system. Um, but that's again why I just want to strengthen that message that you you awesomely brought up. Movement is medicine, you know, the right movement. So it's just about getting out of that reliance model and that cycle, learning how to move well. And yeah, just putting in the work. Don't be lazy and just lie on a treatment table, you know, and expect someone else to do it for you. You have to. It's nice sometimes, but you you do just have to put in that work. You know, we're getting a little bit um lazy as a society, and it's it's just not gonna work, you know. We need to be able to do it ourselves and move well for longevity.

Jack Graham 1:01:59

Yep. Uh though to answer your question before, like why more PTs are doing it, I think just more PTs are starting to realise there's just a big disconnect and they'll lose their clients for six months because the doctor said, Here's these painkillers, go see this like physiochirro insert profession there. And you don't see them for six months, and they're getting better, but they're not doing anything. And like you said, it just it's it's frustrating for me when that happens because uh I'm like I just put it in, I'm just a PT. Like a doctor s supersedes me, and when a doctor says it to a patient to do this, they're gonna listen to the doctor, and the what does the PT knows? But it's good to have courses like what you're doing and spread the message because the more we know, the easier we can explain it, the more education, and then like you said, once you get people to experience that and feel that they can still do those things even though they're in pain, like that's when mindsets change and people change, and yeah, we keep them in the gym and keep them stronger.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:01

You're right, and that's the go go now.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:06

What's your question? No, I have a question for both of you because I'm just thinking about that piece of laziness versus instant and delayed gratification that we see a lot right now. What are both of your thoughts on peptides that are just I feel like yeah, tell me, go down.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:27

I'm not educated enough to answer that question, to be honest. I um I have a few people obviously in the industry around me that have dabbled, um, but I haven't really looked into any of the research on injury rehab. I've never really had to prescribe it to anyone um yet. I know it's emerging and it's sort of uh on everyone's forefront of what they're talking about, and it can be used for weight loss, but I don't think I'm educated enough to talk about that. Sorry, Nyla. I don't want to give the wrong advice.

Jack Graham 1:03:59

Um, I think it's education, is the big key there. I've interviewed a lot of doctors, uh coaches from the US. Uh I find the US are a lot more open. Like doctors are actually prescribing certain peptides now to help their patients, and I think they are useful. I think here it's just like as soon as you mention it, it's almost like the black market, and you're talking about the black market, so everybody keeps it hush, hush. But I think we need to start talking about it more and educating people on it more, because I think people just have this idea that they're this magical thing that's going to fix them, like say JLP1 or like Ozampic, whatever you want to call it, like people just think, oh, I can just take that and I'm gonna lose weight and all my problems are gonna be fixed. But it comes down to what we're talking about. Like, why are you taking it and who you are who are you identifying as? Because if you just start taking this JLP1 to lose weight, you're gonna start seeing these changes. But if you haven't changed any of your habits or who you want to identify as, as soon as you stop taking it, you're just gonna go back to your old self. Same with the peptides, like the injury prevention peptides. Like they are some of them do help prevent injuries or help you recover from injuries, I should say. But if you're still doing all the old things you were doing, you're just gonna keep getting injured or you're gonna stay in pain. Like you can't you can't just r use it to replace who you are or what you're doing or who you're identifying as. So I think just talking about it and the education piece here in Australia needs to become more common. I think that happened with uh testosterone. I I don't know, I've never used it, never even wanted to use it. Um maybe Danny, you experienced more around it in the bodybuilding uh industry uh sport, but uh I think now it's a little bit more talked about. So people like talking to young guys in the gym, not all of them just want to go straight to it because it's talked about more the risks, like people are talking about the risks and what it can actually do to your body long term a lot more. So a lot of the young kids are going, Oh, maybe I won't take it because of this, this, and this. And obviously some are still just like, yeah, I don't care, I'll just take it. Give me the results now. Um, but they're just convers different conversations you've got to have with them. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:13

Nice. I'm definitely uh noticing a lot of the people that are wanting to take again, time to place for everything, have to pre-frame, but the ones that are taking Ozempic and um what are the other ones? Uh I can't even remember what they're called, to be honest. Um They're they're the ones who aren't doing the basics. You know, they're not looking after their nutrition, they're not training hard. And it is unfortunate. So whether it's your GLB1s, your peptides, whether it's a surgery or a painkiller, unfortunately, a lot of people just do these things because they will do absolutely anything but doing the basics, you know. And it is unfortunately, you know, with a lot of the weight loss drugs, you do lose that muscle mass that you've been working so hard. And we have been seeing it a lot more in Hollywood. Um, I mean, look, everyone has their reasons. I don't know what it feels like to be ultra famous with all eyes on you 24-7. It would be stressful, I'd imagine. And people deal how they have to, but we're seeing emerging trends in Hollywood of people on OZNP and they're stick thin and they don't have muscle mass. And yes, when they're young and, you know, fitting into those beautiful dresses, that's great. But what about when they're 80 and they might have a fall? You know, where's that muscle mass to keep them together and to prevent further injuries? You know, that could be life-ending. It's um, I just think the wrong messages are out there. We need to still be promoting again, doing the basics, strength training. A lot of people come to me and they've been told they need surgery by the doctor. And what even happens is if someone does get surgery and then don't fix their biomechanics, the next segment gets injured. If we're talking lower back pain, you know, or if they have a hip surgery but they still have a weak glue, okay, their hip feels okay, then they go back to their shitty squatting technique, then the other hip plays up, or their their the hip that was worked on still has issues. So all of these quick fixes are still not going to change how you move and your eating habits and your mindset around all of that. Um, again, time to place is a small percentage of people that will benefit from surgery, GLP ones and all of that, but I'm talking for the masses and for the people who just follow trends, it's just not worth it in my eyes.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:31

I feel like it's the modern day weight loss shakes like going to that just focus on wanting to be skinny. And it's like, no, we need muscle to stave off the pressure on our bones. We need weight training to strengthen our bone mass for the long term. Coming back to that identity piece is how do we see our life? How do we see, is it just like right now, this instant gratification looking good right now, as soon as possible? Or is it that long-term health and that longevity, how we're going to show up for our life and people in our life when we're 80, you know, is it's just so much of it is that identity piece and like shifting our perspective. Even having protein in every meal, that is a massive mindset shift for so many people. They just don't understand. And protein, I found a lot with my clients now, like in therapy, like they're it's so random. They're scared of protein because it makes them feel fuller and it can bloat you more than carbs. So then they're scared of having it, and that the fear of being fat, it's just like I could go down a rabbit hole with it, but it's just so much to change in terms of that mindset and identity. So yeah.

Jack Graham 1:09:48

I think we've all been in the fitness industry or working out long enough, we've seen all the trends come and go and then come back again and then go again and then come back again, or just slightly different variations. It's like, all right, but this time we're doing 100 grams of carbs instead of 120, and it's completely different. No, it's not. And I think that's just the longevity piece of it. Like, it's something that I really struggle to teach and make my clients see. Like, what do you like? Look at yourself when you're 80. Like, what's your 80-year-old self telling you now to do? So they are living the life that they want, and it's a very hard thing. I think I think, like we said, just social media and that instant gratification that we live in now, people just don't really pay too much attention to their future selves and what that's actually going to look like.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:36

No. Unless they've gone to a nursing home or unfortunately had a loved one, you know, pass away or from old age, then it's like, whoa, okay, this is what happens when we get old. But until then, it's like out of sight, out of mind. I want to go out, I want to feel young and do all these cool things now. So I find it is um difficult unless people have had sort of a personal experience. You don't really imagine the the luxury of aging. It is a luxury to get to 80, you know. Um, but yeah, it's just something. It's not really sexy to ask that. You know, how are you gonna feel when you're 80? I don't know. I'm in my 30s, I don't care. It's just so common. So I can understand how that is a challenge.

Jack Graham 1:11:19

But it comes back to the basics, aren't sexy either. Even when it comes to finance, like finance, the basics in finances aren't sexy, but no one everybody just wants to invest in the new fancy crypto or whatever it is to make them. No, uh, down to fitness as well. Like it the basics just aren't sexy, and people just want that brand new shiny exercise plan to get them the results next week.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:45

You know, that's the art of coaching, isn't it? I saw my dad, his Parkinson's began when I was 15. And so literally half of my life has been seeing degeneration occur through a lack of self-care and a lack of movement. When I was 20 is when he first stopped being able to comfortably get up and down from his seat. So that was one of my biggest he is actually the reason why I initially went into the fitness industry because I was like, I felt like I'm solving the root cause of his problem, right? And that's what kept me doing that work for years. And yeah, when you talk about Danny like nursing home and having a loved one die, I've literally lived through all of that. And I remember when I would coach my clients with like just squats, like the basics again, how much you need that for the long term. And he passed away two years ago. And I feel like a part of me died with him in the most, I know it sounds depressing, but in the most like spiritually awakening way possible. And it's just like live now, move now, do the work now, do the basics now. Yes, it's not sexy, but for me, I'm like, I know what can happen if you don't, you know what I mean? So yeah, it's just really when you said that, like nursing home, having I was like, yeah, that spoke to my soul totally.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:18

You've been there, right? And what an honor again to then carry on the messages from our loved ones as they pass on, you know, okay, how can we um create a legacy for them while teaching them maybe the things that that they should have done, or I don't know, whatever messages you take, there's always something to take, and it's really nice that you are able to to take your very hard situation, but then also use that as one of your purposes to now teach people to have a better life. I don't think there's any better way to honor someone.

Jack Graham 1:13:51

All right, yeah, thank you. 100% agree, but it does take special people to do that. Like not everybody goes through a traumatic experience like that and wants to continue that message or wants to continue changing people's lives. So I appreciate both of you doing that for sure. Let's wrap up. I know you're both busy people and have things to go to. Daniel, I can hear barbells dropping in the background and it's making me jealous.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:15

I can you damn, I thought this was a soundproof.

Jack Graham 1:14:19

It's a good thing. It's a good thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:20

Very on bread.

Jack Graham 1:14:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:22

Well, true. I'm not lying. I'm not making it up.

Jack Graham 1:14:25

It's making me jealous. So we'll wrap up with one question. I'll get both of you to answer this. Daniel, you go first, unless you haven't got an answer. Palm it off. If you could get one if you could get everybody on the whole entire planet to do one thing, and it has to be a practical thing to do every day to improve their overall health and wellness. What would you get every single person on the planet to do?

SPEAKER_02 1:14:52

Jeez, I'm not sure how micro or macro we're going, because initially I'm like, squat, but then I'm like, is that too small of an answer? Because no, I I I think that was off the pre-frame of Nyla, the ability to get up and down, really. You don't want to lose that. That if I'm gonna be really practical and say do one movement, just be practice getting up and down off a chair or squatting in the gym.

Jack Graham 1:15:17

Yeah. I I don't think that's too small at all. I think I 100% agree. Like a lot of people can't even get off the ground. So, and people don't even move their legs up. Like, I know plenty of people that just don't squat for weeks until they go to the gym or for days until they go to the gym and then they squat. And it's like, you still can do it without any gym around you. So I love that 100%. Nala, what do you got?

SPEAKER_01 1:15:43

The question was.

Jack Graham 1:15:45

One thing everybody needs to do.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:49

Or from the lens of my work personally, look at your childhood, please. Like if some we weren't born thinking we deserve mediocre. We weren't born thinking we need to be broke or have a bad relationship or people pleasing. Like we weren't born that way. Things happened along the way in our life. If you don't have what you want now, whether it is that body, health, relationships, finances, career, whatever it is, that fulfillment, there is a root cause to it. Something made you believe something along the way. It's scary, but we've all got those skeletons in the closet. Just have that willingness. And once you open up that can of worms, your life is gonna change. Just that. Just look at your childhood, please.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:39

That was way deeper than mine. Oh goodness.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:45

Jack, what about you?

Jack Graham 1:16:47

Breathe. Just take five deep breaths. Doesn't have to be to any certain tempo or anything. I just want everybody to take three uh five slow breaths and that's it.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:00

I think Danny and I both did a long exhale, then. Yeah, nice. Oh shit. Yeah, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:06

Last hour and a half. That's good too.

Jack Graham 1:17:09

Yeah, surprising how many people just don't breathe properly, even though we just do it normally, but just breathe into your belly five times, and that's it.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:17

Really good.

Jack Graham 1:17:18

Awesome. Amazing. Well, again, I appreciate you both. Appreciate your time, Danny, for coming on the podcast. No, thanks for co-hosting with me. Can't wait for the next episode.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:27

Me too.

Jack Graham 1:17:28

Danny, where can everybody connect with you, find the work you're doing, and learn from you?

SPEAKER_02 1:17:34

On my Instagram. So at Danny Antonellis. I'm sure you'll spell it for people, hopefully. Um, and then on in my bio, I'll have all the links to United Health Education, app, the gym. It's all there. So head to my Instagram, please.

Jack Graham 1:17:49

It'll all be in the show notes as well.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:51

Thank you. That was great. Thanks, guys. Really appreciate you having me on.

Jack Graham 1:17:55

Yeah. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:57

Wealth of knowledge.

Jack Graham 1:17:58

Thank you for being here at the end of this episode. Obviously, you've enjoyed it and it's helped you find your true form. Before you go, there's one thing I want you to do, and that is interact with this episode. Wherever you're listening, watching, wherever you're following along, interact with this podcast any way you can. Like, subscribe, five star review, comment, make sure it's positive. That really does help this podcast grow more and more so I can get epic guests on, like you just heard from. So thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to find your true form, and I'll see you in the next episode.