Raise the Bar is a place for honest conversations about health, fitness, and high performance. It exists to give you the tools and mindset shifts to close the gap between where you are and where you want to be.
In a world of thirty-second reels and conflicting advice, this show filters out the noise and creates space for nuance in the health conversation. Hosts Ariel Comeau and Matt Duncan, coaches with 30 years of combined experience, sit down with world-class experts and everyday high performers to discuss the latest research, hard-won lessons, and the difficult realities of transformation.
Biohacking: What Actually Works (and What's a Waste of Money)? | Camilla Thompson
What if everything you're doing to improve your health is actually making it more complicated?You're tracking your sleep, buying supplements, following health experts and trying the latest wellness trends. But are you actually getting healthier, or just getting better at measuring everything?Biohacker and author, Camilla Thompson, joins Raise the Bar to challenge the idea that better health requires more money, more technology or a perfectly optimised routine.After years of unexplained illness and a difficult recovery from mould exposure, Camilla became determined to understand what her body needed. But her journey also taught her something unexpected: knowing when to stop optimising can be just as important as knowing where to start.Camilla explains:Why getting the basics right should come before expensive biohacking trends How to use health testing and wearables without becoming obsessed with the numbersWhy the same diet, supplements or health routine won't work for everyoneWhich free and paid biohacks Camilla actually usesHow exercise, sleep and everyday habits can support brain health and healthy ageingWhy doing everything perfectly isn't necessarily the healthiest approachFrom genetics and supplements to sleep, brain health and longevity, this conversation will change how you think about taking control of your health.In This Episode You Will Learn:00:00 Intro01:00 What Is Biohacking and How Do You Start?03:13 The Foundations of Better Health: Sleep, Diet and Exercise 07:46 Camilla Thompson's Chronic Illness and Recovery Story 15:27 Biohacking for Longevity: Healthspan vs Lifespan 17:23 Do You Really Need Supplements? Why Testing Comes First 21:04 Are Health Trackers and Wearables Helping or Hurting? 31:20 Can Your Lifestyle Change Your Genetic Risk? 41:59 Can You Get Everything You Need From Food? 57:23 How to Protect Your Brain Health as You Age 01:06:06 How Exercise and Sleep Support Brain Health 01:20:47 How to Build a Better Sleep Routine 01:26:22 The Best Free and Paid Biohacks to Try 01:36:21 How to Avoid Biohacking Overwhelm*Resources:*Follow Camilla Thompson:Instagram: @biohackmecoach - https://www.instagram.com/biohackmecoach/ Website: https://www.biohackme.com.au/*Raise the Bar Podcast:*Experience OneCoach: https://one.coach/Visit One Playground: https://oneplayground.com.au/Follow Raise the Bar: https://www.instagram.com/raisethebarpodcast/Follow Ariel: https://www.instagram.com/arielcomeau_/Follow Matt: https://www.instagram.com/mattduncancoach/
11 Oct 2026
The Brutal Truth About Making It To The UFC | Cameron Rowston
UFC middleweight fighter, Cam Rowston, spent more than a decade chasing the UFC, refused to quit through every setback, and is now undefeated in the organisation. He talks about how a first-round knockout loss sent him packing two suitcases for Auckland, and why he walked into his 2025 Contender Series fight treating it as his last shot. He also lays out the numbers behind a pro fight camp. Up to six hours of training a day. An eight-kilo cut in fight week. Lights out by 8 p.m.
Cam trains under head coach Eugene Bareman at City Kickboxing in Auckland. Having produced three world champions, the gym holds a special place in his routine h. He turned pro in 2016 and spent close to a decade fighting outside the UFC before earning his contract. He went on to win his debut in Perth five weeks later. At the time of recording, he was 3-0 in the UFC with two finishes. In this conversation, he covers how an MMA coaching team fits together, the isometric holds and bike sprints that build his power, and the pre-fight routine that keeps him steady once the hand wraps go on.
Cam Explains:
How training partners who texted him on Sunday mornings got him on the mat seven days a week.
That getting stronger doesn't always mean loading the bar heavier, and why two-minute bodyweight lunge holds and pulls against a bar he can't lift are part of his power work
What happens when you dwell on a lost exchange for even a second or two, and why the constant threat in a cage makes staying present easier than in other sports
What he picked up from training on and off with Alexander Volkanovski since 2015
Why being the 31-year-old "uncle" of the gym now drives him harder than chasing a UFC contract did
In This Episode You Will Learn:
(01:28) Why the people in the gym kept him coming back as a beginner with no fight plans
(14:18) Why amateur fights work as an apprenticeship, and how a pro loss can get you written off
(25:10) Why an MMA head coach should have competed across every discipline
(43:10) The main routes into the UFC, and why winning on the Contender Series doesn't guarantee a contract
(1:06:49) What a pro training week looks like, from two-a-days to six hours with extras
(1:31:22) How a nine-week fight camp is built around one opponent, and what happens when that opponent pulls out
Resources:
Follow Cam Rowston
Instagram: @camrowston
Raise the Bar Podcast:
Experience OneCoach: https://one.coach/
Visit One Playground: https://oneplayground.com.au/
Follow Raise the Bar: https://www.instagram.com/raisethebarpodcast/
Follow Ariel: https://www.instagram.com/arielcomeau_/
Follow Matt: https://www.instagram.com/mattduncancoach/
9 Oct 2026
Where Should You Start in Health: Movement, Sleep, or Nutrition? | Coach’s Corner
In this Coach's Corner, the hosts reflect on their conversation with exercise physiologist Rob Lyon. They take two ideas from his episode and turn them into steps listeners can use throughout the week. The first is the lead domino, an idea that a single change makes every following event easier. They discuss how to use the mindset as a coach, from assessing training regimens to determining the best systems for beginners, including sleep schedules.
The second part of their conversation focuses on intensity. While plenty of people sweat through classes that sit in zone three, most coaches agree that it’s a dead zone because it's too hard to build an aerobic base and too easy to raise VO2 max. Matt and Ariel break down the heart rate zones and explain why a 20-second all-out sprint often never gets your heart rate into zone five. They also walk through the 4x4 protocol: a ten-minute warm-up, four minutes at zones four to five, and three minutes of active recovery, repeated four times for 16 minutes of hard work.
In This Episode You Will Learn:
(00:01:08) How to tell whether your biggest problem is spending too little energy or recovering too little
(00:04:19) What a newborn taught one host about controlling bedtime when sleep quality is out of reach
(00:05:53) Why committing to three days a week builds more motivation than promising seven
(00:09:30) Why better sleep leads to harder training and less impulsive food choices
(00:10:47) What heart rate zones two, four, and five mean, from about 60 to 95 percent of your max
(00:12:03) Why so many class workouts stall in zone three, the so-called dead zone
(00:14:34) The 4x4 protocol step by step, from the ten-minute warm-up to 16 minutes at high intensity
(00:18:15) How threshold training differs from VO2 max work and grows your zone two
(00:19:08) The two takeaways: more 4x4 sessions and one habit you know you can master
Resources:
Connect with Rob Lyon
Instagram: @lyon__health
Connect with Raise the Bar Podcast:
Experience OneCoach: https://one.coach/
Visit One Playground: https://oneplayground.com.au/
Follow Raise the Bar: https://www.instagram.com/raisethebarpodcast/
Follow Ariel: https://www.instagram.com/arielcomeau_/
Follow Matt: https://www.instagram.com/mattduncancoach/
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