Men’s Health: Built For Life

Nike Global Coach Courtney Fearon joins Men’s Health Fitness Director Andrew Tracey to make the case for putting speed back into your training. From cardiovascular fitness and maintaining muscle to coordination and the sheer enjoyment of moving fast, Courtney explains why sprinting deserves a place in your week — and how to start building it back in, even if you haven’t run flat out since school. We discuss what one sprint session a week could look like, why you should approach it like strength training, and the importance of warming up, recovering properly and gradually increasing your speed. Plus, has fitness become a little too serious? Courtney shares how he’s helping bring the fun back through SPLIT Series, his community track and field events, and Ministry of Sound Games, where fitness competition meets live DJs, nightclub production and an after-party. We also get into gym culture, questionable fitness advice and why your training playlist might be helping — or holding you back. Follow Courtney: Instagram: instagram.com/fear.on SPLIT Series: Instagram: instagram.com/split_series Events and information: split-series.com Rusty Runners’ Instagram: instagram.com/rustyrunners_ Ministry of Sound Games: Instagram updates via Ministry of Sound’s club account: @ministryofsoundclub Events and tickets: ministryofsound.com/games Men's Health UK: Built For Life Podcast Hosted by Fitness Director Andrew Tracey Produced by Ruth Holroyd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For Tom Hiddleston, running is part of the creative process, a way to clear his head and a reminder of what it feels like to be alive. In this special crossover episode of Men’s Health Built For Life and Runner’s World, he joins Andrew Tracey and Ben Hobson to talk strength, stamina and the joy of movement. From his six-week challenge to bulk up for a Thor audition to the physical demands of playing Loki and mountaineer Edmund Hillary, Tom reveals how he trains to be ready for whatever a role throws at him. He shares the five-exercise workout he uses to combine strength and cardio in around 40 minutes, why he realised running alone wasn’t enough, and how his approach to food has evolved at 45. Plus, stories from the Avengers’ stunt gym, why Scarlett Johansson was ‘probably the hardest worker in the room’, and what Hollywood’s great physical performers taught him about making an audience believe. An infectious reminder that training can help you think more clearly, tackle demanding days and stay strong for the things that matter — whether that’s an action sequence or carrying your kids.l alive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Men’s Health’s Built for Life, Ben and Andrew are joined by speaker, author and performance coach Pete Cohen for a personal conversation about grief, connection and finding meaning after loss. With more than 30 years’ experience working with everyone from Olympic champions to business leaders, and 12 years as GMTV’s resident life coach, Pete has spent his career helping people navigate challenges and make changes in their lives. Losing his wife, Hannah, brought those questions into deeply personal territory. Following Hannah’s death in 2023, Pete brought together personal footage to create Hannah’s Story — a documentary capturing her experience of living with brain cancer, their relationship and the life they shared. What began as an act of remembrance became a celebration of her life. Reflecting on love, bereavement and the process of telling Hannah’s story, Pete offers a personal perspective for anyone navigating loss or trying to understand what someone close to them is going through. It’s a conversation that can help you feel less alone in grief, open up difficult conversations and reflect on what matters most in your own life — including the relationships we can too easily take for granted. Men's Health UK: Built For Life Podcast Hosted by Andrew Tracey and Ben Shephard. Produced by Ruth Holroyd Trusted guidance for men passionate about their health, fitness and mental wellbeing. With muscle-building advice, style hacks, nutrition tips and workouts to try, we’ve got all areas covered. Want more from Men’s Health? Join the Men’s Health SQUAD for exclusive training plans, expert advice and tools to help you get stronger, faster – we’re with you every rep of the way. Click here: https://bit.ly/4eQkqIH Men’s Health UK: https://www.menshealth.com/uk/ Men’s Health UK on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menshealthuk/ Men’s Health UK on Twitter: https://twitter.com/menshealthuk Men’s Health UK on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menshealthuk/ Men’s Health on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/menshealthuk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When most of us think about recovery, we picture ice baths, saunas, supplements and sleep trackers. But some of the things we do to recover place another stress on the body – and when we’re already running on empty, doing more might be the last thing we need. In part three of our three-part performance series, in association with Samsung, MH Fitness Director Andrew Tracey is joined by physiologist and human-performance expert Oli Patrick to ask a surprisingly overlooked question: what actually is recovery? They explore the difference between recovering from training and recovering from the demands of everyday life, why you can be under-recovered without being overtrained, and when an ice bath or sauna might help – or simply add to the load. Oli also explains what to look for in your energy, performance and health data, why sleep starts long before bedtime, and why sometimes the best recovery method is simply giving yourself time to rest. Men’s Health UK Guest: Oli Patrick: instagram.com/_olipatrick Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When most of us think about improving our performance, we assume that means training harder and doing more. But hard sessions aren’t necessarily productive sessions – and when it comes to hybrid training simply smashing two different, programmes together could leave you smashing your body to bits. In part two of our three-part performance series, in association with Samsung, MH Fitness Director Andrew Tracey is joined by the UK’s fittest man, Harry Lightfoot, and his coach, AOD Fitness founder Mike Allen, to explore what it really means to train for performance. They discuss the difference between exercising and training, why copying the routines of professional athletes rarely works and how to combine strength and endurance without burning out. They also explain the importance of finding your minimum effective dose, how to use data without letting it rule your decisions and why your hardest workouts might not be the ones that move your fitness forward. Men’s Health UK Guests: Harry Lightfoot: instagram.com/harrylightfoot_ Mike Allen/AOD Fitness: instagram.com/aod_fitness Trusted guidance for men passionate about their health, fitness and mental wellbeing. With muscle-building advice, style hacks, nutrition tips and workouts to try, we’ve got all areas covered Men’s Health UK: https://www.menshealth.com/uk/ Men’s Health UK on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menshealthuk/ Men’s Health UK on Twitter: https://twitter.com/menshealthuk Men’s Health UK on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menshealthuk/ Men’s Health on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/menshealthuk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When most of us hear the word ‘diet’, we think weight loss. But eating to lose fat and eating to perform at your best aren’t necessarily the same thing. In part one of our three-part performance series, in association with Samsung, MH Fitness Director Andrew Tracey is joined by Ollie Marchon and performance nutritionist Liam Holmes to explore what it really means to fuel your training. They discuss the signs that you’re under-fuelled, why hard sessions aren’t necessarily productive sessions and how eating more could improve your performance, recovery and mood without sacrificing your physique. They also explain why you shouldn’t be afraid of carbohydrates, how to practise your race-day nutrition in training and the simple 30/90 rule for fuelling before and after every workout. Men's Health UK Guests: Ollie Marchon: instagram.com/olliemarchon Liam Holmes: instagram.com/liam_nutritionist Trusted guidance for men passionate about their health, fitness and mental wellbeing. With muscle-building advice, style hacks, nutrition tips and workouts to try, we’ve got all areas covered Men’s Health UK: https://www.menshealth.com/uk/ Men’s Health UK on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menshealthuk/ Men’s Health UK on Twitter: https://twitter.com/menshealthuk Men’s Health UK on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menshealthuk/ Men’s Health on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/menshealthuk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Hunt is the father of two autistic, non-speaking sons, Jude and Tommy, the man behind Stories About Autism and the author of Love Needs No Words. In this episode of the Men’s Health Built For Life podcast, James joins Andrew Tracey and Ben Shephard for an honest conversation about autism, fatherhood and learning to communicate beyond spoken language. He shares the fear and grief that followed his sons’ diagnoses, the heartbreaking decision to have the brothers live separately and the daily realities of raising children with high support needs. James also explains how celebrating the smaller ‘inch stones’ has transformed the way he sees parenthood – and recalls the extraordinary moment a message from his son appeared on his phone for the first time: “Hi Dad.” It’s a moving conversation about resilience, connection and finding joy in a life that may look very different from the one you originally imagined. Men's Health UK: Built For Life Podcast Hosted by Fitness Director Andrew Tracey and Ben Shephard. Produced by Ruth Holroyd Trusted guidance for men passionate about their health, fitness and mental wellbeing. With muscle-building advice, style hacks, nutrition tips and workouts to try, we’ve got all areas covered. Want more from Men’s Health? Join the Men’s Health SQUAD for exclusive training plans, expert advice and tools to help you get stronger, faster – we’re with you every rep of the way. Click here: https://bit.ly/4eQkqIH Men’s Health UK: https://www.menshealth.com/uk/ Men’s Health UK on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menshealthuk/ Men’s Health UK on Twitter: https://twitter.com/menshealthuk Men’s Health UK on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menshealthuk/ Men’s Health on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/menshealthuk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Men’s Health Built for Life podcast, Men’s Health Fitness Director Andrew Tracey sits down with former firefighter, IFBB professional bodybuilder and Gladiators star Jamie Bigg – better known as Giant. Jamie opens up about leaving bodybuilding, the injury that ended with his biceps tendon snapping and why he believes he was dropped from Gladiators. The conversation then turns to the growing number of teenage boys experimenting with steroids. After almost a decade of steroid use left him with a sperm count of zero, Jamie explains why young men need to understand the potential consequences, the warning signs parents should look for and the honest conversation every father should be prepared to have with his son. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the Men’s Health Built for Life podcast, Andrew Tracey is joined by researcher, speaker, author and leadership expert Nick Petrie, whose work has taken him inside organisations including Google and NASA to study resilience, burnout and sustainable high performance. Nick explains why the behaviours that make you successful early in your career – working harder, saying yes to everything and pushing through exhaustion – can eventually become the very things that hold you back. We discuss why simply taking time off often fails to solve burnout, how a small group of people manage to combine high performance with surprisingly low levels of stress, and why learning to ‘pulse’ between different modes of work and recovery may be one of the most important skills you can develop. We also explore the idea of finding your ‘opposite world’, why scrolling on your phone isn’t really recovery, the dangers of building your entire identity around your career, and how to keep evolving your definition of success as your life changes. Nick’s new book, Burn Bright, brings together the research, stories and practical habits he’s uncovered while studying people who have learned how to perform at a high level without burning themselves out. This is a conversation about staying ambitious, working better and building a version of success you can actually sustain. Men's Health UK: Built For Life Podcast Hosted by Fitness Director Andrew Tracey and Ben Shephard. Produced by Ruth Holroyd Trusted guidance for men passionate about their health, fitness and mental wellbeing. With muscle-building advice, style hacks, nutrition tips and workouts to try, we’ve got all areas covered. Want more from Men’s Health? Join the Men’s Health SQUAD for exclusive training plans, expert advice and tools to help you get stronger, faster – we’re with you every rep of the way. Click here: https://bit.ly/4eQkqIH Men’s Health UK: https://www.menshealth.com/uk/ Men’s Health UK on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menshealthuk/ Men’s Health UK on Twitter: https://twitter.com/menshealthuk Men’s Health UK on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menshealthuk/ Men’s Health on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/menshealthuk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Built for Life podcast, UFC welterweight title contender Ian Machado Garry joins Andrew Tracey ahead of the biggest fight of his career at UFC 330 to talk about what it takes to believe you can become the best fighter on the planet – and why, ultimately, fighting isn't the most important thing in his life. Ian talks about growing up in Dublin, discovering boxing and martial arts, the influence of Conor McGregor and the mindset that's taken him from highly touted prospect to the brink of a UFC world title. We get into why he believes every man should understand his own physical capability, what it means to be ‘dangerous’ without being violent, and why discipline, fatherhood and being a good husband matter more to him than anything he can achieve inside the Octagon. Along the way, Ian breaks down his surprisingly efficient approach to training, why longevity dictates what he does in the weights room, his move to a plant-based diet, the brutal reality of cutting weight and why he believes the practice needs to change. He also explains why he's turned down millions in gambling sponsorships – and lays out exactly what he intends to do when he steps into the Octagon for his title shot. A conversation about ambition, discipline, family, morality and what it really means to become the best – without losing sight of the man you want to be outside the cage. Men's Health UK: Built For Life Podcast Hosted by Fitness Director Andrew Tracey and Ben Shephard. Produced by Ruth Holroyd Trusted guidance for men passionate about their health, fitness and mental wellbeing. With muscle-building advice, style hacks, nutrition tips and workouts to try, we’ve got all areas covered. Want more from Men’s Health? Join the Men’s Health SQUAD for exclusive training plans, expert advice and tools to help you get stronger, faster – we’re with you every rep of the way. Click here: https://bit.ly/4eQkqIH Men’s Health UK: https://www.menshealth.com/uk/ Men’s Health UK on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menshealthuk/ Men’s Health UK on Twitter: https://twitter.com/menshealthuk Men’s Health UK on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menshealthuk/ Men’s Health on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/menshealthuk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices