In this episode, I’m joined by exercise physiologist Marcelle Malan as we discuss current trends in health and fitness alongside how to effectively communicate their relevance and context with clients.
We begin with why behaviour change is rarely just about logic, and why people often need a meaningful or emotional reason to stick with difficult habits.
Marcelle shares her view that different people are motivated by different levers — for some it’s emotion, for others it might be numbers, progress tracking, or competition — and that understanding those drivers is key to creating lasting change.
We then dive into the mechanics of breathing, which Marcelle feels are often missing from mainstream conversations about breathwork. Rather than focusing only on breathing techniques for relaxation or performance, she explains why it matters to understand what breathing is doing mechanically in the body. We discuss the role of the diaphragm not just in respiration, but also in spinal stability and movement, especially when lifting or carrying load.
We also chat about heart rate variability (HRV) and how it’s often presented as a simple marker of stress or recovery when the reality is much more nuanced. Marcelle explains what HRV is, why it can be useful when tracked over time, and why comparing your numbers to other people is rarely helpful. We also touch on how many health and fitness norms are based on male data, which can create misleading assumptions — especially for women.
Along the way, there’s plenty of humour, coffee chat and practical advice on how to think more critically about the information we absorb online.
Join the conversation with your thoughts, observations and feedback by leaving us a comment!
Links:
www.fitpro.com/blog/authors/marcelle-malan/
www.instagram.com/marcelle.malan_ep/
www.theepgroup.com.au/practitioners/
https://open.spotify.com/episode/74T9m0N6w0v7a94xY4ZYAn
