Skip to content
Modern WisdomModern Wisdom

Battle Cancer Q&A | The Lean Machines, Sonny Webster & Zack George

I recently sat down with Sonny Webster, Zack George and Leon & John from The Lean Machines for a special edition super podcast before the Battle Cancer Fitness Competition in London. Lots of listeners had submitted questions in advance via Instagram and I posed as many as I could to the boys before Sonny have to rush off to some swanky event with the Queen. Expect to learn why the boys believe Competitive Bodybuilding to be an unhealthy lifestyle, what sport they would all be focussed on if they were not lifting weights, how to make your moustache join in the middle and why Sonny sucks so bad at Double Unders. Other Things: Check out Battle Cancer: https://www.battle-cancer.co.uk Follow Zack: https://www.instagram.com/zackgeorge Follow Sonny: https://www.instagram.com/sonnywebstergb Follow The Lean Machines: https://www.instagram.com/theleanmachinesofficial - Listen to all episodes online. Search "Modern Wisdom" on any Podcast App or click here: iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/modern-wisdom/id1347973549 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0XrOqvxlqQI6bmdYHuIVnr?si=iUpczE97SJqe1kNdYBipnw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/modern-wisdom - I want to hear from you!! Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Email: modernwisdompodcast@gmail.com

Chris WilliamsonhostLeon (The Lean Machines)guestZack GeorgeguestSonny WebsterguestJohn (The Lean Machines)guestGuest (unclear which of the four, very short interjection)guest
Nov 5, 201828mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

  1. 0:00 – 1:21

    Battle Cancer eve: nerves, banter, and (not) wanting to run

    1. CW

      (wind blowing) Anyway, so welcome back. I'm joined on the long-awaited super podcast, Sunny Webster, Zack George, Leon and John from the Lean Machines.

    2. LM

      Hi.

    3. ZG

      Say hello, everyone.

    4. LM

      How you doing? Hello.

    5. SW

      How you doing?

    6. CW

      What's happening? Mic's over here. (laughs)

    7. LM

      (laughs) Nailed it. (laughs)

    8. CW

      So we asked online for some suggestions for people to ask you questions, ahead of Battle Cancers big event tomorrow. First question, how are you guys feeling for the comp tomorrow? You've seen the workouts now, you know what's coming up. How are you feeling?

    9. ZG

      It's just gonna be fun to compete with the boys. It's just gonna be a laugh.

    10. LM

      Yeah.

    11. SW

      Very different workout to what we're used to.

    12. ZG

      Yeah, I'm feeling a little bit stressed because obviously I'm the biggest athlete out of all four of us here, so...

    13. LM

      (laughs)

    14. CW

      (laughs)

    15. SW

      He's got a lot of weight to carry.

    16. ZG

      Right. Yeah.

    17. LM

      I'm the biggest, you don't need to carry me.

    18. ZG

      Normally, normally when I'm on my own, it's, it's hard. But with these three to carry as well, it's, I don't know how I'm going to get through. But it'll be fun, I would say.

    19. SW

      I don't wanna run.

    20. ZG

      (laughs) Are there any, are there any workouts?

    21. LM

      (laughs) I'm sure there's one workout where you all have to run.

    22. CW

      Yeah.

    23. ZG

      You have to run all the way around.

    24. SW

      And there's a carrying one.

    25. ZG

      50 kilometer.

    26. SW

      I've got to carry Sunny.

    27. LM

      (laughs) Sunny's dead last.

    28. ZG

      (laughs) Who's gonna carry you?

    29. SW

      Yeah, they'll be sweeping up when they come across the line.

    30. LM

      (laughs)

  2. 1:21 – 2:35

    Improving the overhead squat: no shortcuts, just positions and mobility

    1. CW

      Some sensible ones, some less sensible ones. Um, someone asked what are the best supplementing exercises to an overhead squat? Let's start with the serious one.

    2. SW

      God, I guess that's coming at me.

    3. CW

      Yep.

    4. SW

      Um, okay, so for me, favorite exercises for overhead squat would be behind neck press in snatch grip.

    5. ZG

      (laughs)

    6. SW

      What are you doing joking about?

    7. CW

      Because that's what you'd say.

    8. SW

      Behind neck press in snatch grip, obviously for me, whenever you're trying to improve your overhead squat, I always suggest people, there's no shortcuts around it. You've gotta practice the actual movement. So for me, actually just working a range where you can keep a good position for the overhead squat's the most important thing.

    9. CW

      Mm-hmm.

    10. SW

      Um, in terms of other supplement exercises that I like to do would be something like Sotts press, 'cause I find for me that really helps. I know a lot of people struggle with that one.

    11. CW

      (laughs) They're just busy- (laughs)

    12. LM

      (laughs)

    13. SW

      It's not an easy one, but for me again, practicing that exercise, working on my front rep mobility, I find that really helps me keep my chest up more in the overhead squat. So that's another really good exercise. And finally, if anyone has struggled as well with their ankle mobility-

    14. CW

      Yeah.

    15. SW

      ... trying to work on actually loosen up the calfs and focusing on your range of motion there will also make the overhead squat much easier.

    16. CW

      Do you want-

    17. ZG

      Good luck. Anyone else? Pick something. (laughs)

    18. LM

      Yeah, no one, no one can really follow that.

    19. ZG

      Add to that. Add to that.

    20. CW

      I mean, that's, that's definitely a definitive answer.

    21. LM

      Yeah.

  3. 2:35 – 4:13

    If not CrossFit or weightlifting: alternate sports picks (rugby, boxing, and more)

    1. CW

      We got a cool one here, Alfie Armstrong. If each of the guys had to take up a sport besides CrossFit or olly lifting, what would they choose-

    2. ZG

      Good question.

    3. CW

      ... and why?

    4. ZG

      That's a great question.

    5. SW

      Mine would be rugby, 'cause I played quite a good level already, so in the past.

    6. CW

      Because you'd walk through fools, is that why?

    7. LM

      (laughs)

    8. ZG

      Yeah.

    9. LM

      Like... You'd be like Pac-Man running down the pitch. (laughs)

    10. CW

      (laughs)

    11. SW

      Zach, stop eating players. (laughs)

    12. LM

      (laughs)

    13. SW

      Yeah, I used to, I used to play at a decent level, so mine would be rugby.

    14. ZG

      You're quite good at table tennis as well though, aren't you?

    15. LM

      Ooh.

    16. SW

      Ooh, that'd be a good one.

    17. CW

      You'd be the biggest table tennis player ever.

    18. SW

      I would be the biggest table... Oh, no, change that. Table tennis. I would look so odd.

    19. LM

      You would totally make table tennis sexy.

    20. SW

      Yeah. (laughs)

    21. LM

      Aesthetically. You'd be the next cover model.

    22. SW

      I'd be the poster boy, easy.

    23. ZG

      You'd be the Rafael Nadal of table tennis.

    24. SW

      Table... No, I wouldn't wear a shirt, topless. Table tennis.

    25. ZG

      Right. I would, I, I used to box. Um, but back in the day when I used to box, I didn't really have the head for it, as in like mentally. So I would probably go back to boxing because I think now-

    26. SW

      You know what you know now.

    27. ZG

      Yeah, now that I've got the attitude and the awareness that I've got, I think I'd absolutely smash it. So I'd definitely go back to that.

    28. CW

      That's cool.

    29. ZG

      Torn between snowboarding and basketball.

    30. LM

      Those are two cool sports.

  4. 4:13 – 5:17

    Why Sonny struggles with double-unders: equipment excuses and rope chaos

    1. CW

      Um, why does Sunny with impeccable timing and coordination in lifting suck so bad at double unders?

    2. LM

      (laughs)

    3. SW

      Great question. (laughs)

    4. ZG

      (laughs) Great question.

    5. SW

      Oh, it's 'cause I don't have the right rope. I'm blaming my equipment.

    6. LM

      (laughs)

    7. ZG

      He's had tradesmen, bad working.

    8. SW

      I, I once had this heavy rope which I could actually do-

    9. LM

      But you did better without it.

    10. SW

      I could actually do like 30 or 40 double unders on and I was happy. And then I lent it to my friend for one of the open workouts where there was like skipping and something and he snapped it. And ever since then-

    11. ZG

      Bastard.

    12. SW

      ... I haven't got a new rope. I want a new heavy rope and I'll get them back.

    13. LM

      So what he's saying is that the new ro- a normal rope is too light for him. He's basically saying normal ropes aren't hard enough.

    14. CW

      Normal gravity.

    15. SW

      I've been doing that... (clapping)

    16. ZG

      Double unders aren't h- hard enough for you.

    17. LM

      Even that was wrong. (laughs)

    18. SW

      Yeah. I jumped and I was like... (clapping)

    19. LM

      (laughs) Yeah.

    20. SW

      I was jumping and going... (clapping)

    21. LM

      (laughs)

    22. SW

      Yeah, I know. It didn't work.

    23. CW

      Right. Let me have a look.

    24. SW

      Fuck skipping.

  5. 5:17 – 7:44

    Training vs relationships: supportive partners, insecurity, and athlete schedules

    1. CW

      Um, I'm not really too sure. MJordan93, I don't know if this is a question or not. Moaning girlfriends that don't understand why you do what you do?

    2. SW

      I thought that was a good one.

    3. CW

      I don't really understand if that's a question.

    4. SW

      Um, it's probably more talking about like how you deal with relationships. Probably best for you boys, me being single.

    5. ZG

      Like, Rose, my partner, couldn't be any less bothered by exercise. Like she doesn't enjoy it, doesn't do it. And she gives me zero shit for doing it. Like she's like, "It's your thing, you do it," and I don't push her into it. So I think, I think that comes down to who your partner is, really.

    6. LM

      Yeah.

    7. CW

      For sure.

    8. ZG

      The thing is, my relationship's slightly different obviously with my wife. She's in the social media world and fitness world as well. So it's, it's a little bit easier for her to understand. Um, but also, you know what? I, I think regardless of your...... your, your trade and what you do, somebody should always just support it, you know? And if you've got ... As John was saying, if you've got a partner who gives you crap for going to the gym, it's normally because they're only ... They're quite insecure about themselves. If they give you crap about your job, unless, you know ... Not generalizing unless you're, like, a topless waiter or something. (laughs) Then, then it is still-

    9. JM

      I think it ... I think it must be hard though, being, like ... Because I've obviously had two long relationships while I've been doing my sport. And I think that it must be always hard for whoever you're with to realize that they will always come second best to what you're doing, which is why-

    10. ZG

      Yeah, especially when you're a top-level athlete as well.

    11. JM

      And that must be difficult to, to sort of deal with. But I think, like we said, having someone that supports and understands your commitment to what you're doing is really important.

    12. CW

      Zach, it must be ... It must be interesting for you 'cause you're in a relationship with two, like-

    13. JM

      He's in love.

    14. CW

      ... top, top-level athletes in it, right? Like, there's yourself and your missus does-

    15. SW

      Yeah. She's a 400-meter hurdler.

    16. CW

      ... 400-meter hurdles.

    17. SW

      Yeah, so she understands, like, what it takes to kind of be the top of your sport. So for me, it's, again, it's pretty, pretty comfortable situation, so just-

    18. CW

      Do you ever find that she's giving you shit for bitching out, like, "I don't wanna get up today. I don't wanna do whatever."

    19. JM

      Better out.

    20. SW

      No, we went track, and she kills me at track, obviously, yeah.

    21. CW

      (laughs)

    22. SW

      She runs 400-meter hurdles quicker than I do it flat with any hurdles.

    23. JM

      Wow.

    24. SW

      Which is-

    25. ZG

      I did tell you the next day, I said, "If you do sprints tomorrow after work and you're done, you'll pull your hamstring."

    26. SW

      Yeah, and then I went to track with her the first time. So obviously I'm super competitive. She was killing me, but then there were these old boys, probably about 50 years old, and like, they were keeping up with me. I was like, "Flipping hell, this is not on."

    27. CW

      Yeah.

    28. SW

      And then third sprint, tried to beat them, pulled my hamstring. So then I had to stop, and they finished, like, seven more rounds.

    29. CW

      (laughs)

    30. SW

      (laughs) I just had to go sit there and sunk it. So, uh, but yeah-

  6. 7:44 – 9:08

    How to hit a PR: warmups, mindset, and the power of gym atmosphere

    1. CW

      Uh, how do you personally attack a new PR? You've PR'd today.

    2. SW

      Yeah, I did PR today. Uh-

    3. CW

      Have, have, have a knocker warmup for about 90 seconds and then-

    4. SW

      Yeah, well, today, yeah, had a knocker warmup for two minutes.

    5. JM

      You missed one.

    6. CW

      I missed, I missed one. Sonny, yeah, I'll let you tell ... talk about your optimal warmup strategy afterwards, so.

    7. JM

      Yeah, yeah, yeah.

    8. SW

      Yeah, I normally warmup about 40 minutes, um, just 'cause I'm not a mobile person at all, and like Sonny-

    9. CW

      Sonny's pissing himself. I've seen you cold bar 160-

    10. JM

      I know. (laughs)

    11. GI

      (laughs)

    12. CW

      ... before at Body Power.

    13. SW

      But I think P... getting PB is a lot of it's down to atmosphere as well.

    14. CW

      Yeah.

    15. JM

      Yeah.

    16. SW

      Like, I normally PB when I'm with these boys, just 'cause the atmos-

    17. ZG

      I think you-

    18. SW

      ... is always so much better.

    19. ZG

      You know I have, like, obviously mine are a lot lighter than Zach and Sonny's, but I think you hit it or you miss it before you've even lifted it. It's completely in your head.

    20. JM

      Yeah.

    21. ZG

      Like, whether ... If you, if you've got a doubt, then you're gonna find a weak point.

    22. JM

      Yeah.

    23. ZG

      Yeah.

    24. SW

      Yeah.

    25. ZG

      Most of the time when I PR when it's a, like, heavy lift, it's either when I'm with Zach or Sonny, and it's not anything that they're saying or doing. It's purely just the atmosphere.

    26. JM

      Well, it is what they're doing.

    27. ZG

      At that specific-

    28. JM

      They're lifting h- h- weights so heavy that when I'm going up to my measly 90 kilos for a snatch, I see them warm it up and barely bend their knees to get it. So it's like, well, you're just approaching it, "Well, if I don't get it, I don't get it." It's like, it doesn't feel ... It strangely doesn't feel heavy anymore when you- I get that. ... when you see what those guys are throwing around.

    29. CW

      So are, are we saying get a team behind you, get some people in the gym chanting, get some good music going?

    30. GI

      Yeah.

  7. 9:08 – 11:12

    Sonny’s legendary resilience: PR stories, minimal sleep, and hangover lifting

    1. SW

      I think for me as well-

    2. CW

      Shout loud. (laughs)

    3. SW

      ... like, before I even go into the gym, I've got in my head, "Right, I'm gonna-"

    4. CW

      Yeah.

    5. SW

      "... I'm gonna PB today." Like, you get that buzz or that feeling. Like the other day, like, it was like 6:30 at night and I was like, "I'm gonna go and jerk till 05." And I literally wasn't even planning to train. I just thought, "Fuck it, I'm gonna do it."

    6. CW

      Yeah.

    7. SW

      Took my kit bag, went down, had a knocker.

    8. ZG

      (laughs)

    9. SW

      That was it. I knew I could do it.

    10. ZG

      Went straight up on warmups.

    11. CW

      Have, have you missed something then?

    12. SW

      (laughs)

    13. GI

      (laughs)

    14. JM

      What was your first weight was your first lift?

    15. SW

      Uh, I actually took my time, started with 70.

    16. JM

      Oh.

    17. ZG

      Started off with 70.

    18. SW

      I started at 70, hit 70- Took your start. ... 100, 1:20, 40, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100.

    19. CW

      That's a, that's a really long warmup.

    20. ZG

      Yeah, that's a marathon.

    21. CW

      That's incredibly ... I saw you do-

    22. SW

      But when you got against 200, mate, there's a lot of jumps.

    23. CW

      But when you did ... on the Wolverson standard, Body Power-

    24. SW

      Yeah, yeah.

    25. CW

      ... 140 cold, 160, 170, and 170 was what you needed to get, and so it was three ... like, two warmup sets and then a main arm.

    26. SW

      Yeah, it's, it's not se-

    27. ZG

      Amazing.

    28. SW

      It's not sensible, but I just didn't want to-

    29. ZG

      I don't know how your body takes it.

    30. JM

      That's phenomenal.

  8. 11:12 – 13:03

    Does powerlifting help weightlifting? Strength vs mobility and movement specificity

    1. CW

      Right, so can powerlifting help weight lifting?

    2. SW

      Um, I'm not commenting on this. No. I, I don't... I personally don't really like powerlifting, um- Especially not a lot of bench pressing for- ... any overhead work. I think the only way you can get away with benching in weightlifting is if you have a good range of motion. Like for me, like, I, I almost hyperextend with most of my joints, so for me actually doing bench press, for example, um, will help me obviously gain stability-

    3. CW

      Stabilize, but most people have got the opposite problem, right? It's like-

    4. SW

      Yeah, most people can't-

    5. CW

      ... they can't get overhead, so you don't need to tighten that upper back.

    6. ZG

      I've got the same son.

    7. SW

      If you're doing low bar squats-

    8. JM

      You really-

    9. SW

      ... and going only halfway down, then I don't think that's gonna carry, carry over particularly well.

    10. JM

      (laughs)

    11. CW

      There's powerlifters up and down the country going-

    12. JM

      (laughs)

    13. SW

      So weightlifting, personally.

    14. CW

      Yeah.

    15. JM

      ... deadlift, obviously strength in the muscle chains-

    16. SW

      Yeah.

    17. JM

      ... and ... it will do at a base level of strength. Also-

    18. ZG

      I was going to say, the one thing I think would actually ... it would benefit, it's not exactly the center or something, but the one thing it would do is you would stop worrying about heavy weights, moving big, heavy weights is never going to become an issue. And so when you-

    19. JM

      You can deadlift 280.

    20. ZG

      ... yeah, you're not really going to worry about doing a clean.

    21. SW

      But you'd be surprised how many people can deadlift two eigh- 280, but would get nowhere near a 100 kilo clean because they haven't got the mobility.

    22. JM

      Yeah.

    23. SW

      Yeah.

    24. ZG

      They also thing though is that, that's going to be age dependent. Because typically the longer you've been in a sport like power lifting, I presume the tighter you're going to get.

    25. SW

      Mm-hmm.

    26. ZG

      So if you're 18, you've been in power lifting for two years, you're probably going to have a decent crossover into crossfit or weightlifting.

    27. SW

      Yeah.

    28. ZG

      If you're 40 and you've been power lifting for the last 30 years-

    29. SW

      Yeah.

    30. ZG

      ... the chance of you getting to the bottom of a snatch with speed is going to be-

  9. 13:03 – 13:39

    From moustaches to shaved toes: grooming myths and a high-school confession

    1. ZG

      Got you. My mustache doesn't connect in the middle. What assistance exercises help you the most to avoid this?

    2. SW

      I'm gonna leave you stay over here.

    3. ZG

      Is it true that if you shave, like, it grows back-

    4. JM

      More puffy?

    5. ZG

      ... and gets bigger? I don't know if I believe that.

    6. JM

      That was like a rumor of everyone in school, wasn't it?

    7. ZG

      I'm just going to leave you.

    8. JM

      Like borrowing your dad's razor and...

    9. ZG

      Yeah. That's why I absolutely crapped myself the first time I shaved my toes. (laughs) Because like, one of the, one of the- (laughs) Why did you shave your toes? I fancied one of the girls at high school.

    10. SW

      I shaved my toes.

    11. ZG

      And she spent... I just, was just hanging out one day and I remember her saying that she hated it because her dad had a, uh, ugly feet because he ha- he had hairy toes. So I went home and shaved my toes and now my big toe is like super hairy. (laughs)

  10. 13:39 – 15:13

    The Lean Machines’ naked photoshoot story (and Leon’s trimming mishap)

    1. JM

      Leon, I think, I think talking of-

    2. SW

      True story.

    3. JM

      ... talking of shaving body parts, it would probably be an apt time to explain what happened at our naked shoot.

    4. ZG

      Probably would, it probably would have been apt.

    5. JM

      Funny, one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life.

    6. ZG

      Come on.

    7. JM

      Do you want me to tell it? You're not going to?

    8. ZG

      Go for it.

    9. JM

      So we ... first photo shoot Leon and I ever did, uh, it was for Attitude Magazine, which is a gay magazine basically to promote sexual awareness and sexual health. Like, "Will you do a photo shoot?" Like, never done one before, but hell, why not? And we thought it would be a naked shoot, but you'll be covered up. Like, no it was like-

    10. ZG

      You're wearing pants or something.

    11. JM

      ... get the kit off them boys. And obviously Leon-

    12. SW

      No bits out.

    13. JM

      ... thought I'd have a little bit of a trim up. And I'm thinking, you know sometimes you just take things too far? And he just kept going and kept going and basically he took his (laughs) , he took his trousers off.

    14. ZG

      (laughs)

    15. JM

      And everyone was like, it was literally like Hitler's mustache, just on top. It's just a little box.

    16. ZG

      It was like somebody just put a little hairy Oxo cube above it.

    17. SW

      (laughs)

    18. ZG

      Just on your face.

    19. JM

      I looked, I looked at him, I looked down and looked up and just-

    20. ZG

      We're holding this rope at the time, like a ... It, it's a big rope.

    21. SW

      Yeah. (laughs)

    22. ZG

      This big boat ferry rope, whatever it was. We're leaning away like we're doing a, uh, you know, really cool tug of war like you do-

    23. JM

      Really cool. (laughs)

    24. ZG

      ... Starkers.

    25. SW

      You did not know that one.

    26. ZG

      We're leaning away and he just suddenly ... I just see, we're just staring at each other because we're like, "This is so weird." And I just suddenly see his eyes go...

    27. JM

      (laughs)

    28. SW

      (laughs)

    29. ZG

      (laughs) He just looks down. Yeah, yeah, it just got a little carried away.

    30. SW

      That's nice to tell the kids.

  11. 15:13 – 16:26

    Is 18 too late to start weightlifting? Goals, backgrounds, and realistic ceilings

    1. JM

      Is it too late to start weightlifting at 18 years old?

    2. SW

      A lot of people have been asking this recently, but like...

    3. ZG

      Depends what the goal is though, I guess.

    4. JM

      Do you think that this is a...

    5. ZG

      What level you'll get to.

    6. JM

      Do you think that this is a byproduct of the fact that a lot of people that are good at the sport do it-

    7. SW

      Just go bring it later. Yeah.

    8. JM

      ... do it, do it young? Like you talk about the fact you've done it since you were 11, 12 years old, et cetera.

    9. SW

      Yeah. Of course for me-

    10. ZG

      He's been doing it for three years though.

    11. SW

      ... it comes so naturally.

    12. ZG

      (laughs)

    13. SW

      But at the end of the day more and more people are getting into weight lifting later. It depends like, if you want to be a competitive top level weight lifter starting at 18, that is quite late. But then to say that, like my old training partner Brad, he started at 18, he went to Commonwealth Games. So I don't think that's too late, it just needed to be sensible and have like probably a background from another sport that's going to carry over, because your transition could be quite quick.

    14. ZG

      I started 20 and...

    15. SW

      You know, like for example, Zach's numbers, he's like nearly lifting, you know, what's, what're your two bests, Zach can do?

    16. Snatch was at 125 and clean did at 155.

    17. Which are big numbers, yeah. So 25, 65 for someone who's only been lifting three years. But obviously you didn't start till how old?

    18. I started lifting properly when I was 25. Yeah.

    19. So do you know what I mean? So he's got ... You're seven years on Zach. So whoever that person is-

    20. JM

      Yeah.

    21. SW

      ... no, it's not too late. (laughs)

  12. 16:26 – 21:30

    Eating big, staying performance-ready: calories, ‘cheat meals,’ and sustainable dieting

    1. JM

      Got you. What do you weigh at the moment, Zach?

    2. SW

      102.

    3. ZG

      Huh, gone up?

    4. SW

      Yeah.

    5. ZG

      Since regionals. Oh, man. You need to go on a diet.

    6. SW

      I just, you just can't get light air.

    7. I don't know what it is.

    8. ZG

      Whenever I went, me and Zach, we eat a lot of food.

    9. SW

      I double everything.

    10. ZG

      And when we go out, first time I went to hang out with Zach in Leicester, he was like, "Let's go get some pick and mix." Just had a massive Nando's.

    11. SW

      (laughs)

    12. ZG

      I said, "I'll get this." I love pick and mix. Before I had to re-mortgage my house to pay for a pick and mix.

    13. JM

      (laughs)

    14. ZG

      Got all the most expensive stuff and just stacked up on it, like way more than me.

    15. SW

      Yeah.

    16. JM

      Was it the fudge, fudge he's done?

    17. SW

      No. It's the, uh, mini eggs.

    18. I like mini eggs.

    19. Loads of mini eggs.

    20. ZG

      Every time we hang out, no joke, if we say, if John says to me-

    21. SW

      We get diabetes.

    22. ZG

      ... if John says to me, "We're going to Leicester," I make sure ... If I don't ... I could forget half of my gym kit, but the one thing I will always take is food prep. So I c- I cannot eat with these boys.

    23. SW

      (laughs)

    24. ZG

      I just cannot do it. I come back with diabetes.

    25. JM

      (laughs)

    26. ZG

      It's phenomenal. How do they do it? We do go ham on donuts.

    27. JM

      What do you think your calories are on a typical day at the moment like?

    28. SW

      Uh, it's three- No, it's not as high as what people think. It's 3300.

    29. ZG

      Lower than mine.

    30. SW

      Yeah, because I'm just a naturally big guy. If I eat like 4000 calories, I'll just put on weight so easily.

  13. 21:30 – 23:42

    Bodybuilding culture and mental health: extremes, identity, and social media pressure

    1. CW

      Do you think, going to a topic that we haven't touched yet today, bodybuilding, which is kind of, I guess... I don't hear the bodybuilding.com forums and, like, all of that kind of culture appears to have now the new thing that's coming through is more functional fitness.

    2. LM

      Yeah.

    3. CW

      CrossFit, weightlifting, stuff like that. Do you think that inherently in the bodybuilding diet mentality, there is something a little bit unhealthy in that with that flip-flop between the super low, super high...?

    4. SW

      Yeah, I think, I think a lot of people who do bodybuilding have a bad relationship with food after they've kind of prepped for a show or just-

    5. CW

      Yeah.

    6. ZG

      It's one of those things as well. It's like it's not even just about the relationship with food, it's the relationship with themselves.

    7. SW

      Yeah, how they look and-

    8. ZG

      So we all remember, we all remember when we were at our leanest, you know? We've all got that one photo that we've got saved on a phone, we're like, "I'm gonna get back to that." (laughs)

    9. CW

      It appears 10 times on your Instagram feed. It's like 30 uploads. (laughs)

    10. ZG

      (laughs) Yeah. And it's, and it must be even harder for the-

    11. SW

      Guilty! (laughs)

    12. ZG

      ... guys and girls who have to get in prep and get on stage.

    13. SW

      Yeah.

    14. ZG

      You know, the, the amount of stress and how hard that is for them to even get to that point.

    15. SW

      And then all these judges to show you how you look.

    16. ZG

      You know, that's... And, and they know that it's not sustainable, but they're... Like exactly as Zach was saying.

    17. LM

      Yeah.

    18. ZG

      They then get on stage and then they take, get told they're not good enough. And that's, that's-

    19. CW

      Yeah.

    20. LM

      Someone will think they're in great shape and then-

    21. SW

      I just think psychologically-

    22. LM

      Yeah.

    23. ZG

      It's brutal. I had someone come to me and ask me to coach them to ge- step on stage. And I said I wouldn't do it. And I said, "Look, each to their own, but apart from probably Jamie Alderton, there's not really anyone that I know who can step on stage and then go back to having a normal relationship with their food."

    24. SW

      Yeah.

    25. ZG

      And I said, I said to him, I was like, "What I see is," like, I haven't walked that myself, but what I see time and time again is people diet, make their life miserable to get on stage, and then for the rest of their life, they go, they compare themselves to one image.

    26. SW

      They think good about the calories they're gonna meet, like.

    27. ZG

      "I can't wait to get back to this," and I've never seen them get back to that again.

    28. CW

      Yeah.

    29. ZG

      Why? Because you starving yourself. It's not sustainable. It's not a normal thing to do. It's not healthy. Like, me and Liam did a video a while back, like, everyone was, had their opinions on Tess on... Who was the obese woman on the front of Cosmo?

    30. CW

      Yeah. Yeah, Tess Holliday.

  14. 23:42 – 27:11

    Why CrossFit wins people over: high barrier, endless progressions, and community

    1. CW

      I think that it's definitely one of the reasons why CrossFit is... The uptake of CrossFit can sometimes be a little bit slower is that people don't like to do stuff that they suck at.

    2. ZG

      Yeah.

    3. SW

      No.

    4. CW

      And the barriers to entry of doing a sport where there's so many-

    5. SW

      It's difficult.

    6. CW

      ... very difficult... Like, perfect example. You've spent your entire athletic career, Sonny, doing two lifts.... and you know, that were-

    7. LM

      Yeah.

    8. CW

      ... or almost exactly to lift.

    9. LM

      Yeah.

    10. CW

      And you think, like, you can go into a gym and master a supinated bicep curl in the space of three minutes having never lifted a weight before.

    11. LM

      Yeah.

    12. ZG

      Yeah. Yeah.

    13. CW

      So the barriers to entry for doing a sport like CrossFit are inherently a lot higher.

    14. LM

      So many steps.

    15. ZG

      But what's cool about it is that you're gonna have something you're good at. Like, you go in, Sonny and Zac can be super strong. But there could be an overhead squat, um, mobility thing that those boys haven't got that I've got.

    16. CW

      Yeah.

    17. ZG

      So there's... Every dog has their day.

    18. LM

      Single arm dumbbell overhead squat.

    19. ZG

      Yeah.

    20. CW

      Oh, yeah. Won't even happen.

    21. LM

      Handstand holds, I'm rubbish at.

    22. ZG

      I'd snap in half.

    23. LM

      Handstand holds, yeah, Jon kicks my ass at handstand holds. Every time.

    24. Yeah.

    25. Yeah, you always learn.

    26. ZG

      Yeah.

    27. LM

      Yeah.

    28. CW

      I think the thing that can be hard when it comes to CrossFit as well is that you don't... You've never really seen any documentaries and bio videos done about going to the gym because they're not sexy enough. But you see like... If you've never done CrossFit and you see Fittest on Earth, you're gonna be like, "Oh my Christ."

    29. LM

      "Which guy the hell am I ever gonna do that?"

    30. CW

      Yeah.

  15. 27:11 – 28:28

    Wrap-up before Battle Cancer: more banter, team superlatives, and goodbye

    1. CW

      Um, so Sunny has got to... What's Suny going to do now?

    2. ZG

      I think Sunny's just going to have a, have a-

    3. LM

      I think he's gonna-

    4. CW

      Quick afternoon tea with Richard Branson.

    5. ZG

      Come and do the queen, his neck. Cup of tea with the queen, I've heard.

    6. CW

      To, to wet the baby's head, right? The new royal baby.

    7. LM

      (laughs) They're taking the fucking piss, mate. (laughs)

    8. ZG

      (laughs)

    9. LM

      (laughs)

    10. CW

      (laughs) So guys, thank you very much. I appreciate your time. Good luck tomorrow. Battle cancer.

    11. ZG

      Thank you.

    12. CW

      When this is out, everyone will know exactly how you've got on. But-

    13. ZG

      Yeah. No, thanks so much for having us. Really appreciate it.

    14. CW

      Even if-

    15. LM

      Thank you very much.

    16. CW

      Even if you don't win-

    17. ZG

      Mm-hmm.

    18. CW

      ... you've definitely won most Instagram followers, I think, on one team. (laughs)

    19. LM

      Yeah, I think we did. Yeah.

    20. We will definitely have most chafed legs also. (laughs)

    21. (laughs)

    22. ZG

      Because mine and John's quads are so big.

    23. CW

      If, if-

    24. LM

      Heaviest, heaviest team maybe. We'll be heaviest team.

    25. CW

      If you wanna watch the funniest people do over and unders- Yeah.

    26. LM

      We will, yeah. We will, yeah.

    27. ... like me and Sunny will definitely be the funniest people to watch doing that.

    28. ZG

      Oh, that's gonna be great. (laughs)

    29. LM

      Crawl under someone and jump over them.

    30. You trying to get-

Episode duration: 28:28

Install uListen for AI-powered chat & search across the full episode — Get Full Transcript

Transcript of episode WD8OszMUM2w

Get more out of YouTube videos.

High quality summaries for YouTube videos. Accurate transcripts to search & find moments. Powered by ChatGPT & Claude AI.

iOSAndroidClaudeChrome