Pushing the Limits

Today I had the privilege of sitting down and chatting to Letchen du Plessis who has just recently qualified for the CrossFit Games as an Adaptive Athlete after coming 1st Worldwide in the Neuromuscular Division. After obtaining a Netball scholarship at North West University Potchefstroom, Letchen had her eyes set on pursuing Netball as a further career. However, 3 months into University Netball, Letchen suffered an injury in which she dislocated her hip and had to undergo 3 hip operations within the year. She ended up with Avascular Necrosis of the hip joint and was eventually diagnosed with Dystonia and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome; a journey that has challenged her to learn to walk again and compete again as an athlete. What I enjoyed most about this episode was purely Letchen's energy and mindset; so positive, so optimistic, and so ready to take on new challenges as her own and thrive. She believes that anyone can achieve anything if they set their mind to it, stay open to opportunities, and always finish things. If you are looking for some motivation for your day, then be sure to listen to this episode!

On this episode of PTL I speak to a very good friend of mine, Monique, who has constantly inspired me to further explore my spirituality when it comes to what I do, how I think, and how I eat.  Nowadays, the practice of mindfulness is no longer trapped within the box of Buddhism, as we see more and more ambitious and successful people incorporate this practice into their lifestyles; from athletes to entrepreneurs to clinical psychological treatments, this way of interpreting the world around us and ourselves has proved to be highly beneficial. Monique is the quintessential mindfulness guru; having a deep knowledge and understanding of what it means to be spiritual, how to practice spirituality, and how to engage and connect with ourselves and with the world around us. Join us as we explore the concepts of spirituality, the ways in which one can practice mindfulness, and the effects of wholesome foods on us as spiritual beings. 

"Your mind is so powerful. If you push hard, you can overcome those limits set on you by other people"- Victor Buitendag. Today I speak to adaptive athlete and CrossFit coach Victor Buitendag. Victor became a quadriplegic after experiencing a motor vehicle accident in the military 28-years-ago. While in rehabilitation he asked a nurse to give him a dumbbell and that was the first workout he ever did as an adaptive athlete. Victor went on to become an international South African wheelchair rugby player and is currently training as a CrossFit athlete and adaptive CrossFit coach. In this amazing episode, Victor talks about the power of gratitude and talks us through his mindset of embracing our lives and our experiences and using them to inspire those around us. He talks about the importance of not entertaining fear when it comes to living, and how our expereinces and our circumstances do not dictate who we are. He also sheds light on the challenges experienced by disabled people in South Africa, and shares with us his goals to help create and inspire a platform where adaptive athletes can train and compete within South Africa. An amazing journey and an inspiring person, I am so grateful to have Victor share his story with us. I hope you find inspiration in his words just as much as I did.

In this episode I talk to Justin Maguire, the head of Autonomic Coaching; a company that uses biochemistry, biomechanics and psychology to help improve health and wellness, helping people who experiencing chronic exhaustion, digestive problems, and those who haven’t quite been able to reach their true and deserving potential.  Justin has studied nutrition, biochemistry and physiology since 2005 and believes in creating the opportunity for everyone to have access to tools that can improve their health and well-being.  During this episode we talk about his experiences using the psychological techniques and methods of Autonomic Coaching to help him through his life's challenges. We touch on the topic of energy and the importance of being kind to yourself in improving both psychical and mental health, as well as the topic of sleep and the biochemical effects that having poor quality sleep can impose. Join me as we explore the human body from the inside-out; and as we learn more about how we can achieve our true potential purely on what we think, what we eat and how we behave.

Hello to all my amazing listeners and welcome to Season 3! This season promises to introduce you all to an amazing group of inspirational people who we will all get to know more about and learn from as the weeks go on! Today we are talking to Lil Kimble; a South African Powerlifter who is currently ranked 2nd world-wide in the 52kg weight category. Amongst all of her achievements, which I will list below, Lil is also talks to us about her journey of drug addiction, the need to be patient when competing and the importance of always finding a silver lining. I hope you all enjoy this episode and learn something new from Lil's journey; something which I definitely did! Lil Kimble: 1. #2 worldwide at 52kg 2. 4 x GPC World Champion 3. 5 x South African Champion 4. 19 x GPC world record holder 5. 6 x GPC European record holder 6. 44 x GPC South African record holder

We have made it! The final episode of Season 2! I hope you have all enjoyed this journey as much as I have. Throughout these 2 seasons we have had the privilege of meeting and getting to know amazing people who push their limits in everything that they do; and who have shared with us some ways in which we can push our limits within our own lives. For our season finale we are chatting to Dylan Sage. Dylan is a professional rugby player who is currently playing in France and has a history of going to the Olympics with the South African Sevens Rugby team as well as playing for the Blue Bulls in Super Rugby. We delved into what it takes, mentally, to play professional rugby as well as the importance of developing mental toughness. We touch on the importance of reflection; on how crucial it is to  be able to make mistakes and learn quickly from them. We also chatted a bit about the food in France, because there is no real conversation unless it involves food. So sit back, plug in those ear phones and enjoy listening to this podcast of mental toughness, passion and travel!

It's Thursday which means a brand new episode from Pushing The Limits! It's the 2nd last one of Season 2, I can't believe how quickly it's going! But I hope you've all been enjoying this journey as much as I have!  Today I had the privilege of speaking to the lovely Denae Brown; CrossFit Games athlete and performance coach. We spoke about the importance of keeling a balanced mindset when it comes to training and competing and knowing when to be hard on yourself and when to practice kindness. We also touched a bit on Denae's past experience with Domestic Violence and how her awareness of her self-worth was an important aspect of her choosing a better path for herself in her life. Chatting to Denae was amazing as she showed so many signs of strength, but was probably one of the kindest and sweetest people I had ever spoken to. It's amazing how true strength lies in the act of kindness and empathy!

Today we chat to EFC MMA fighter Dansheel Moodley. It was actually our second time recording an episode together! Due to lockdown everything's been done over the laptop and we all know technology; one day it hates you, another day it hates you a little less! However, we had some great discussions about the importance of studying as an athlete as well as how the skills of time management can actually aid in your training. We also touch on the ideas of meditation; how it improves focus in training and competing as well as in daily life. One of the ideas I enjoyed the most from Dansheel was the idea of visualising your future-self; an amazing concept that truly can hold so much power! If you are interested in the mental aspect of MMA and the positive benefits of meditation and mindfulness, then this episode is for you! What are you waiting for? Throw those earphones in and let's get deep into the world of MMA...

'It's not useful to think about assumptions or beliefs as right or wrong. It's more useful to think of them as helpful or harmful. Get rid of the harmful ones and keep the helpful ones' - Dr Alan Barnard Welcome back to another episode of Pushing the Limits! Today I had the privilege of sitting down and chatting to Dr Alan Barnard; one of the world's leading Decision Scientists and Theory of Contraints experts in the world. He is the CEO of Goldratt Research Labs and has worked for over 20 years with his mentor, Dr Eli Goldratt, the creator of Theory and Constraints and best-selling author of The Goal. On this episode we learn where Dr Alan's journey of self-development and success began; having conversations with his grandfather on the importance of reading books and studying successful people. We also explore the importance of decision-making, the significance that decision-making has on life, different leadership styles and the evolutionary benefit of vulnerability and chaos. If you are interested in hearing more about Dr Alan's experiences with Richard Branson on Necker Island and interviewing people like Dr Phil, then make sure to press play and potentially make a life-changing DECISION!

Hello to all my amazing listeners! I thoroughly hope that you all enjoyed episode 1 and the return of PTL! On this episode I talk to the very talented and very down to earth Namibian Red Bull BMX Rider Eric Garbers. The extreme sport of riding really does require absolute belief and confidence in your abilities to stay in control of your movement and safely and successfully perform your tricks. Its amazing how the techniques used to execute this sport (techniques such as visualisation, which we talk about more in the episode) are also techniques that are so crucial when wanting to perform well in any sphere of life; business, arts, public speaking etc.  The need for passion in doing what you are doing is also a critical point in finding success and joy in your journey. No matter what you do, if you are embarking on something that is challenging, it is imperative that you are doing something that you ENJOY. This will enable you to get through those tough and rough patches and it will make the completion of those challenges some of the sweetest parts of the journey. I really enjoyed chatting to Eric; this conversation was really relaxed and it was awesome to learn more about a sport that I had almost zero knowledge on to begin with! I hope you all enjoy listening to Eric speak more about BMX and the intricacies it has to be great and have fun!