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This week on the podcast, Mikki speaks to Dr Justin Keogh, exercise scientist and behavioural researcher, about the often underappreciated role of resistance training in healthy ageing, disease prevention, and long-term independence.

In this conversation, they explore why strength may be far more than a physical attribute—touching on its role in brain health, cardiovascular function, and overall quality of life. Dr Keogh unpacks the evidence around resistance training and cognitive outcomes, challenges common assumptions about exercise in older adults, and discusses whether we’ve been too conservative in how we prescribe strength training across the lifespan.

They also dive into the practical side of programming—what actually works, what’s often done poorly, and how to strike the balance between safety and meaningful stimulus, even in later decades. Along the way, they explore the psychological and behavioural shifts that occur when people regain strength, and why this may be one of the most powerful tools we have for supporting both physical and mental resilience as we age.

This is a wide-ranging, evidence-informed discussion that reframes strength training not just as exercise, but as a cornerstone of lifelong health.

Dr Justin Keogh is an exercise scientist and behavioural researcher with a strong focus on translating evidence into practical strategies that improve health, function, and performance. His work centres on the role of exercise—particularly resistance training—in mitigating treatment-related effects in cancer survivors, addressing sarcopenia in older adults, and enhancing athletic performance across a range of populations.

His sports science research spans rugby union, powerlifting, sprinting, golf, and strongman, with more recent work extending into Australian rules football and swimming. He has also developed a growing research interest in female athletes, particularly in how strength and conditioning, alongside movement competency, can reduce the elevated risk of lower limb injury.

Dr Keogh’s research is especially relevant to ageing populations and those affected by cancer, where he investigates how combined exercise and nutritional interventions can improve body composition, physical function, quality of life, and potentially influence disease progression. Complementing this, he has spent the past decade exploring the behavioural drivers of health, examining the barriers, facilitators, and motivations that influence physical activity and other health behaviours in older adults and cancer survivors using both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

He is a Fellow of the International Society of Biomechanics in Sport and the Australian Association of Gerontology. Dr Keogh also contributes to the field through service roles on Exercise and Sport Science Australia’s Sports Science Advisory Group, the Australian Strength and Conditioning Association Conference Committee, and the Sarcopenia Diagnosis Task Force Committee for the Australian and New Zealand Society of Sarcopenia and Frailty Research.

Justin bio https://research.bond.edu.au/en/persons/justin-keogh/

Podcast Stronger Through the Ages https://open.spotify.com/show/69bzn3LApQ9ohOmx2Q26sN

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In this Mini Mikkipedia episode, Mikki breaks down why short eating windows and time-restricted eating (TRE) don’t always deliver the fat loss results people expect—especially for active women. Drawing on key research, including the TREAT trial and Sutton’s early time-restricted feeding study, she explains how compressing your eating window doesn’t reliably reduce calorie intake and may even compromise body composition.

Mikki also explores the interaction between exercise and appetite, highlighting how fasted training combined with delayed eating can amplify hunger signals and drive overeating later in the day. The takeaway? It’s not a willpower issue—it’s physiology.

This episode offers a practical, evidence-based look at how to align nutrition with training, appetite, and real-life behaviour for better outcomes.

Highlights:

• Why shorter eating windows don’t guarantee lower calorie intake
• The risk of increased lean mass loss with TRE
• How fasted training + delayed eating drives compensatory hunger
• The difference between metabolic benefits vs real-world behaviour
• Practical strategies to align eating patterns with training and appetite

Contact Mikki:
https://mikkiwilliden.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutrition
https://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/
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NZ listeners - save 10% off Calocurb by using the code Mikkipedia10 at www.calocurb.co.nz
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This week on the podcast, Mikki speaks to Darryl Edwards, movement coach and founder of the Primal Play Method, about rethinking exercise through the lens of play, biology, and human nature.

In this conversation, they explore why so many adults lose their natural instinct to move, and how modern, structured exercise may be missing something fundamental. Darryl shares how playful, varied movement aligns more closely with our evolutionary design, and why this approach can support not just physical fitness, but brain function, resilience, and long-term health.

They also discuss the psychology of movement—why enjoyment is often the key to consistency, and how play can shift our relationship with effort, discomfort, and motivation. Along the way, they challenge reductionist thinking in health and fitness, highlighting the broader role movement plays beyond calories burned or steps counted.

This is a refreshing and thought-provoking conversation that invites a return to movement as something instinctive, engaging, and sustainable for life.

Darryl Edwards MSc, FCIMSPA (Chartered), FBSLM, DFSEM(UK), DipExMed, ACSM-CES, CertLM is a London-based movement coach, author, speaker, and founder of the Primal Play Method®, an approach grounded in evolutionary biology, exercise physiology, cognitive neuroscience, and play psychology. With over 15 years of experience coaching and teaching movement, his work focuses on improving long-term adherence through practical, engaging, and sustainable activity rather than rigid exercise models.

After nearly two decades in investment banking technology, he rebuilt his own health using a back-to-basics movement approach, which now underpins his work with individuals, clinicians, educators, and organisations aiming to reduce sedentary behaviour and support both physical and mental wellbeing.

He is a Fellow of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine, a Chartered Fellow Physical Activity and Health Practitioner with CIMSPA, a Diplomate Member of the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine (UK), and an ACSM Cancer Exercise Specialist®. In 2025, he received the US Play Coalition’s Stephanie P. Garst Distinguished Service Award for his contribution to promoting physical and social health through play, and in 2026 he is a keynote speaker at Playtopia: Make Way for Play in Boston and a speaker at the ESMO Breast Cancer conference.

His TED talk, “Why Working Out Isn’t Working Out,” explores why traditional exercise often fails people and highlights the importance of enjoyable movement for long-term consistency.

Darryl Edwards: https://www.primalplay.com/who-is-darryl-edwards

Curranz Supplement: Use code MIKKIPEDIA to get 20% off your first order - go to www.curranz.co.nz or www.curranz.co.uk to order yours
NZ listeners - save 10% off Calocurb by using the code Mikkipedia10 at www.calocurb.co.nz

Contact Mikki:
https://mikkiwilliden.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutrition
https://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/
https://linktr.ee/mikkiwilliden