Battle Cancer Q&A | The Lean Machines, Sonny Webster & Zack George
Chris Williamson (host), Leon (The Lean Machines) (guest), Zack George (guest), Sonny Webster (guest), John (The Lean Machines) (guest), Guest (unclear which of the four, very short interjection) (guest), John (The Lean Machines) (guest), Sonny Webster (guest), Leon (The Lean Machines) (guest), Guest (singing outro – one of the panel) (guest)
In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Chris Williamson and Leon (The Lean Machines), Battle Cancer Q&A | The Lean Machines, Sonny Webster & Zack George explores athletes Discuss Training, Diet, Relationships And CrossFit Culture Before Battle Cancer Chris Williamson hosts Sonny Webster, Zack George, and The Lean Machines (Leon and John) for a loose, humorous Q&A on training, nutrition, relationships, and CrossFit culture ahead of the Battle Cancer competition.
Athletes Discuss Training, Diet, Relationships And CrossFit Culture Before Battle Cancer
Chris Williamson hosts Sonny Webster, Zack George, and The Lean Machines (Leon and John) for a loose, humorous Q&A on training, nutrition, relationships, and CrossFit culture ahead of the Battle Cancer competition.
They answer audience questions ranging from technical weightlifting advice and PR strategies to diet flexibility, relationship dynamics for serious athletes, and whether 18 is too late to start weightlifting.
The conversation contrasts bodybuilding and powerlifting with CrossFit and Olympic lifting, emphasizing sustainability, mental health, and the benefits of training in a supportive community.
Throughout, the group mixes serious, practical insights with self-deprecating jokes and stories, making performance training feel more approachable and less dogmatic.
Key Takeaways
To improve the overhead squat, prioritize the movement itself plus targeted mobility.
Sonny recommends practicing overhead squats within a manageable range, supplementing with snatch-grip behind-the-neck presses, Sotts presses, and ankle/calf mobility work to maintain position and depth.
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A strong PR attempt is mostly decided by mindset and environment.
The athletes agree that heavy lifts are often won or lost in the head before you touch the bar; training with stronger people, creating a hyped atmosphere, and going in already committed to PB can make increases more likely.
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Starting weightlifting at 18 is not too late, but expectations matter.
While 18 is relatively late if you want to reach absolute elite levels, examples like Sonny’s training partner and Zack’s progress show that with a solid sporting background and focused coaching, high performance is still possible.
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For serious athletes, having a supportive partner is essential.
They note that high-level training often means the sport comes first, which can strain relationships; partners who either share the athletic lifestyle or respect it without resentment make long-term commitment more sustainable.
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Rigid “cheat meal” thinking harms the relationship with food.
The group discourages labeling foods as forbidden; instead they promote an 80/20 approach—mostly whole foods within a calorie target, with room for treats—because it reduces guilt, binges, and all-or-nothing dieting.
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Bodybuilding contest prep often leads to long-term body-image and food issues.
They criticize extremes of show prep—starving to reach unsustainable leanness, then spending years comparing yourself to that one stage photo—as psychologically damaging, especially compared to more performance-focused models.
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CrossFit’s biggest strengths are progression, variety, and community.
While CrossFit’s skill barrier can intimidate newcomers, the athletes argue that scalable progressions, diverse movements, and a supportive box culture make it more holistic and socially engaging than typical commercial gyms.
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Notable Quotes
“If you wanna be better at anything, you always train with people that are better than you.”
— Zack George
“You hit it or you miss it before you’ve even lifted it.”
— Leon (The Lean Machines)
“It’s always better to be consistently good than to be awesome at times and shit the rest of the time.”
— John (The Lean Machines)
“Life’s too short… it’s not all done in one day either.”
— John (The Lean Machines)
“We can’t just judge a book by its cover, and that’s what everything social media is now.”
— John (The Lean Machines)
Questions Answered in This Episode
How can beginners structure their first six months to make CrossFit less intimidating while still progressing safely?
Chris Williamson hosts Sonny Webster, Zack George, and The Lean Machines (Leon and John) for a loose, humorous Q&A on training, nutrition, relationships, and CrossFit culture ahead of the Battle Cancer competition.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
What practical signs show that a diet is becoming psychologically unhealthy, even if it’s working physically?
They answer audience questions ranging from technical weightlifting advice and PR strategies to diet flexibility, relationship dynamics for serious athletes, and whether 18 is too late to start weightlifting.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
For someone starting Olympic lifting at 18–25, what training priorities and timelines are realistic if they want to compete seriously?
The conversation contrasts bodybuilding and powerlifting with CrossFit and Olympic lifting, emphasizing sustainability, mental health, and the benefits of training in a supportive community.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
How should couples negotiate time and energy when one partner is a high-level athlete and the other is not?
Throughout, the group mixes serious, practical insights with self-deprecating jokes and stories, making performance training feel more approachable and less dogmatic.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Where is the line between productive discipline and harmful obsession in chasing new PRs and body composition goals?
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Transcript Preview
(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.
Hi.
Say hello, everyone.
How you doing? Hello.
How you doing?
What's happening? Mic's over here. (laughs)
(laughs) Nailed it. (laughs)
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?
It's just gonna be fun to compete with the boys. It's just gonna be a laugh.
Yeah.
Very different workout to what we're used to.
Yeah, I'm feeling a little bit stressed because obviously I'm the biggest athlete out of all four of us here, so...
(laughs)
(laughs)
He's got a lot of weight to carry.
Right. Yeah.
I'm the biggest, you don't need to carry me.
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.
I don't wanna run.
(laughs) Are there any, are there any workouts?
(laughs) I'm sure there's one workout where you all have to run.
Yeah.
You have to run all the way around.
And there's a carrying one.
50 kilometer.
I've got to carry Sunny.
(laughs) Sunny's dead last.
(laughs) Who's gonna carry you?
Yeah, they'll be sweeping up when they come across the line.
(laughs)
(laughs) I made it. They're like, "Yeah, just in time for next year, sorry."
(laughs)
Yeah, fantastic. So we asked on Instagram for some questions from people and we got a mixed bag. Some-
Sensible.
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.
God, I guess that's coming at me.
Yep.
Um, okay, so for me, favorite exercises for overhead squat would be behind neck press in snatch grip.
(laughs)
What are you doing joking about?
Because that's what you'd say.
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.
Mm-hmm.
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.
(laughs) They're just busy- (laughs)
(laughs)
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