Uneven ground, blinding sunlight, blistering heat and an unspoken bond between two prime athletes - it could only be the intense sport of beach volleyball that brings all these elements together. Two of England’s finest volleyball players, Jess Grimson and Daisy Mumby, have been playing together since just before the pandemic, and in that time done the groundwork for their shot at the Commonwealth Games in 2022. Speaking on the unique physical challenges posed by a sport where the...

Welcome back to The Perfect Athlete, and to a new series of incredible conversations and tips for performing at your peak. With 34 successful caps for England, a Premier League title and Champions League medal to his name, Adam Lallana has proven himself an invaluable midfield talent at Southampton, Liverpool, and now Brighton & Hove Albion. He’s played with, and against, some of the world’s most talented footballers, picking up on the physical and mental training regimes tha...

With a wealth of championship titles to his name, George Groves has experienced the pain of having to rebuild, and exhibited physical, mental, and emotional strength throughout his illustrious boxing career. For episode 11 of The Perfect Athlete we finally hear from a world champion in my own profession. This feature-length deep dive covers every step of George’s journey - every trainer, every injury, the landmark bouts, right through to the motivations for calling time on his boxing c...

One of the greatest performance enhancers we can control is an action we all do around 20,000 times a day without a second thought - breathing. Respiration is a key factor in developing physical fitness, and influencing our mind and our sleep, so to perform at our best on any level, we should understand and improve how we breathe. Sharing his decades of experience researching, teaching and experimenting with breathwork on this episode, Patrick McKeown explains the best techniques for masterin...

*TRIGGER WARNING* - This episode does include a mention on attempted suicide at 44:38. Get 15% off at https://www.precisionhydration.com/ with discount code PERFECTATHLETE We all know that we need water to survive, but beyond the classic rule of thumb to drink 8 glasses a day, there’s a world of science behind hydration that most of us don’t realise affects everything we do. With experience in maximising performance from elite Formula 1 drivers like Mark Webber and Jenson Button, Prec...

Extracting every ounce of performance from our bodies takes a measured approach to nutrition. Working with data, analysis, and an understanding of both good and bad habits all form the basis of understanding how best to fuel the body. As a professional performance nutritionist who’s worked with me for a number of years now, NutritionX’s Dr James Morehen has observed first-hand the need for a personal approach to nutrition. He weighs in on making gradual changes to habits as opposed to imposin...

The level of intelligence, physicality and resilience required to be a member of the SAS and SBS is almost unparalleled. There may not be such a thing as a truly Perfect Athlete, but those who serve in the special forces could be considered the closest thing to it. One such man with 14 years of service across the SAS and Parachute Regiment, two Everest summits to his name, and now taking on the challenge of wrestling high performance racing cars around some of the UK’s fiercest tracks, is Jay...

Welcome to the most in-depth science lesson you’ll ever have, on something that we all share in common - the heart. It’s well documented that training in a variety of sports at youth level improves coordination and dexterity, but is there a danger to the cardiovascular health of young athletes from training them a particular way? Dean Perkins is a Personal Trainer, elite youth tennis coach, and currently completing a PhD which looks at heart adaptations in children and adolescents. In this e...

Completing the Tour de France is a worthy challenge for any professional athlete - it takes another degree of determination to complete all 2082 miles on foot, in 68 consecutive days. The level of strength and endurance required from a running coach with a stunning best marathon time of 2:25, while raising thousands for mental health support and awareness, is truly astonishing. Pete Thompson joins Chris Billam-Smith for episode 5 of The Perfect Athlete to discuss some of Pete’s incredible run...

From kickabouts at his home estate in London to playing an instrumental part in AFC Bournemouth’s incredible run in the Premier League, Cherries winger Junior Stanislas has made a name for himself. Performing at your best in the top flight takes belief in your own ability, the confidence of your manager, and the determination to better your rivals. On the next episode of The Perfect Athlete podcast, Junior joins Chris Billam-Smith to pull back the curtain on how the team takes on a unique cha...

To be an athlete means to commit yourself to finding every advantage, even if it’s worth 1-2%. Understanding sleep, recovery, training techniques and hormones are all vital factors in mastering your body. Joining me to break down the myths and misconceptions around all of these is my former strength and conditioning coach, Daryl Richards. We delve deeper into the specifics of training, the difference in approach for athletes vs regular PT sessions and the essential steps to allow your body to...

The key to success in most sports is to become the best athlete possible. Polo is unique though - you don’t just train yourself, you also train your horse. In a sport with some unique physical challenges, Hazel Jackson-Gaona has worked tirelessly to become the 2nd best player in the world of women’s polo. On The Perfect Athlete this week it’s time to demystify a sport which few people know much about beyond the Ralph Lauren logo - from the cost of breeding and genetics in the equestrian...

Farmer, father & BDO World Champion - Scott Mitchell’s career in darts has taken him from driving tractors in Dorset to competing around the world among the best players on the circuit. With a chance at a PDC tour card in this year’s Q School, he shows no signs of slowing down. On this episode of Perfect Athlete podcast Scott joins me, Chris Billam-Smith, to break down the intense mental discipline and unique physical challenges that make the perfect darts player. We learn about how...

Hi, I'm Chris Billam-Smith, AKA The Gentleman. I'm a professional boxer, and the current Commonwealth Cruiserweight Champion. This is my brand new podcast, The Perfect Athlete. I'm always striving to be the best and perform better in my sport and I'm constantly experimenting with new technique within my training and lifestyle to find that extra 1% or 2% difference to make me stronger, faster or mentally sharper than my opponents. I'm on a mission to find out what makes the perfect athlete, ho...