Remedy

It’s Feel-Good Friday! 🌟

Meet Martin. Now in his 62nd year, he is a true inspiration to kick off the weekend!

We all know how easily life can get in the way of health. For Martin, that looming diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes became a reality right around his 'Big' birthday. It had been years in the making, and lifestyle and living eventually caught up.

But Martin wasn’t having it. 🙅‍♂️

Fast forward to today: 🩺 Martin stands free of diabetes! His HbA1c, the key number that confirmed his condition, is safely back in the normal zone—and has been for a while.

This incredible transformation didn't happen by chance. It’s the direct result of:

✅ Consistency with regular, coached exercise
✅ Commitment to guided lifestyle changes

And the story only gets better. Instead of facing a difficult health future, Martin is now well on his way to his biggest goal yet: walking the Camino next year! 🚶‍♂️🌄

Better days lie ahead for all his efforts. You're showing everyone that it's never too late to take control of your health and turn things around.

Well done, Martin!

Cortisol: The hormone everyone is talking about.

Chances are you've heard someone say:

“My cortisol is through the roof.”

Maybe you're tired but wired.

You're struggling to sleep.

You're carrying more weight around your middle.

You feel stressed, overwhelmed or constantly “switched on”.

And if you're in midlife, you may be noticing changes in your body that you didn't experience in quite the same way before.

So… is cortisol the problem?

Not exactly.

And this is where things get interesting.

I like to go beyond the social-media headlines and understand what's actually happening inside the body.

Why am I talking about this?

Most people who know me will know me through my work in strength coaching and sports performance.

That's been a big part of my professional life for many years — strength, conditioning, movement, performance and helping people build stronger, fitter bodies.

But over the years I've become increasingly interested in what sits underneath all of that.

Because strength and performance don't exist in isolation.

Sleep affects training.

Nutrition affects recovery.

Stress affects how we feel and perform.

And as we get older, all of these things become increasingly interconnected.

So alongside my background in strength and sports performance, I've invested a lot of time over recent years developing my understanding of metabolic health and the hormonal system, including through my studies as a Metabolic Fitness Professional.

I'm not a doctor or endocrinologist, and I'm not here to diagnose hormonal conditions.

I'm a coach.

But I believe that if I'm going to work with people's health and performance, I should keep learning and understand as much as I can about what's happening underneath the surface.

And that's why I think it's worth looking beyond:

“Your cortisol is high — here's how to fix it.”

Because the reality is much more interesting.

So, what is Cortisol?

Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced by your adrenal glands.

It's part of the body's stress-response system — the HPA axis — and helps us respond to physical and psychological demands.

It plays an important role in:

• Energy availability and blood glucose
• Blood pressure
• Immune and inflammatory responses
• Metabolism
• Alertness
• Sleep/wake regulation

So cortisol isn't “bad”.

You need it.

The goal isn't to get cortisol as low as possible.

Cortisol has a rhythm.

Cortisol normally follows a circadian rhythm — generally higher around waking and progressively lower towards the evening.

Think:

MORNING → ON

EVENING → DOWN

Poor sleep, psychological stress, shift work, illness, under-fuelling, excessive training and insufficient recovery can all interact with our stress and sleep systems.

Which is why:

LOWER YOUR CORTISOL

isn't particularly useful advice on its own.

What about mid-life?

This is where the conversation gets even more interesting.

Midlife can bring changes in:

• Hormones
• Sleep
• Body composition
• Muscle mass
• Recovery
• Appetite
• Stress perception
• Training tolerance

For women, perimenopause and menopause add another important layer through changing oestrogen and progesterone.

But cortisol isn't a women's issue.

It's a human issue.

So when someone says:

“My body just doesn't respond like it used to.”

I don't automatically think: Cortisol

I think:

What's happening with the whole system?

Sleep.

Nutrition.

Strength.

Fitness.

Recovery.

Stress.

Hormonal changes.

Daily movement.

Because the body doesn't operate in isolated boxes.

So what can you actually do?

You don't need to spend your life trying to “hack” cortisol.

Give your body the things it needs to regulate, recover and adapt.

Sleep
Protect your sleep and keep your routine consistent.

Move
Exercise is a stressor — but the right dose helps build resilience.

Get Strong
Strength training becomes increasingly important as we age.

Nourish
Don't chronically under-eat while demanding more from your body.

Recover
Training provides the stimulus. Recovery allows adaptation.

Breathe
Controlled breathing can help shift you towards a calmer physiological state.

Get outside
Light exposure, particularly earlier in the day, helps support your circadian system.

And this is where the thinking behind my Remedy System comes from.

I don't see these as separate problems.

Training.

Nutrition.

Breathing.

Mobility.

Recovery.

Light.

Relaxation.

Sleep.

Daily movement.

They're all pieces of the same picture.

The aim isn't to control cortisol.

It's to create the conditions that allow the body to regulate, recover and adapt.

And what about supplements?

This is where social media can get carried away.

You'll see:

Flush cortisol.

Reset your adrenals.

Burn cortisol belly-fat away.

Be careful.

Cortisol isn't a toxin that needs flushing, and there isn't one magic supplement that fixes poor sleep, chronic under-recovery, an unsuitable training load or a medical condition.

And genuine cortisol disorders such as Cushing's syndrome or adrenal insufficiency are medical conditions — not something to fix with a wellness protocol.

My approach?

Don't obsess over one hormone.

Look at the whole person.

Train. Nourish. Recover. Regulate. Adapt.

That's the approach I've developed through years of strength and performance coaching, alongside the metabolic education I've invested in.

And it's the thinking behind Remedy.

Not a quick fix.

Not a cortisol detox.

Not a seven-day hormone reset.

Just a system built around the fundamentals that support the body as a whole.

Because perhaps the better question isn't:

“How do I get my cortisol down?”

It's:

“How do I build a body that can handle stress, recover from it and adapt?”

That's the conversation I want to explore.

Phew…that’s a lot already but…..

There's a lot more to this and questions you might be asking are…

Cortisol Belly — Is that actually a thing?

Cortisol & menopause — What changes in midlife?

Exercise & cortisol— Why raising cortisol during training isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Tired & wired — What's actually going on?

Supplements — What does the research actually say?

If you'd to cover these areas simply put ‘cortisol’ in the comments and the series will be posted.

Thanks for reading and have a great evening wherever you are.

Byron.

You don't have to be “unfit” to need Remedy.

Remedy isn't just for someone who hasn't exercised for years.
In fact, some of the people who benefit most from a more individualised approach are already active.

They train.
They walk.
They eat reasonably well.
They look after themselves.

But they still feel:
“I'm not recovering like I used to.”

Or:
“I've lost a bit of my spark.”

Or:
“I feel stiff when I get up.”

Or simply:
“I want to stay in good shape as I get older.”

That's exactly why I created an approach that considers training AND recovery.

THIS IS WHAT RESILIENCE LOOKS LIKE.

This is Nicky.

A horse-riding accident left her with a double fracture and a very long road back.

She didn’t just have to recover from the injury…

She had to learn to walk again.

There were undoubtedly difficult days, frustrating days and days when progress probably felt painfully slow.

But step by step, movement by movement, Nicky kept going.

And this is something I think we sometimes forget when we talk about health and fitness.

It isn’t always about getting fitter, lifting heavier or achieving a number on the scales.

Sometimes the biggest achievement is simply getting your body to do something again that you once took completely for granted.

Standing.
Walking.
Moving without fear.
Building strength.
Building confidence.

Nicky’s journey is a great reminder that the body can adapt, recover and become capable again — but it takes patience, consistency and the right support.

And when you see where someone started and where they are today…

That’s progress worth celebrating.

Well done Nicky.

Keep moving.

Keep building.

Keep believing in what your body can do.

Life comes full circle ❤️

When I was born, Ann was the nurse looking after me. For nearly 20 years now, the roles have been reversed—I’ve had the absolute privilege of looking after her as my client.

Ann has faced enormous challenges over the last decade, navigating the loss of her partner and close family members. Yet, her strength and commitment to showing up never waver.

Recently, through our tracking, we noticed a shift in her health data. Because we monitor these details closely, we were able to signpost her to the right medical experts immediately to get things stabilised and back on track.

Now in her 77th year, Ann trains regularly to stay resilient, keep her body charged up, and maintain the independence needed for all her daily life.

So why is she standing in front of an infrared light panel?

Red light and near-infrared therapy are a key part of our recovery and longevity protocol. It aids cellular energy production, reduces inflammation, and helps keep her body feeling vibrant and restored. It’s just one tool in the system we use to ensure she stays strong, healthy, and independent for many years to come.

From caring for me on day one to training together today— Ann, you are an absolute inspiration.

Listening to your body doesn’t mean avoiding hard work.

Sometimes listening tells you:

“You’re ready. Let’s work.”

One of the goals of Remedy isn’t to help people do less.

It’s to help people become capable of doing more.

More strength.
More movement.
More fitness.
More energy.
More life.

That means challenging the body, giving it a reason to adapt, and gradually building greater physical and metabolic capacity.

The key is getting the right level of challenge, at the right time, followed by the right recovery.

My recent learning around metabolic fitness and mitochondria has reinforced something I’ve believed for a long time:

You don’t build resilience by avoiding every challenge.

You build it by gradually increasing your ability to handle challenge.

Some days the body needs recovery.

Other days it’s telling you:

“I’m ready. Let’s push.”

And when you’re ready, we train.

I don’t want my clients constantly protecting themselves from workload.

I want to help them become stronger, fitter, more resilient and more capable of handling whatever life asks of them.

Because life isn’t always gentle.

Work. Family. Travel. Stress. Poor sleep. Unexpected demands.

The goal isn’t to avoid all of that.

The goal is to build the capacity to handle it.

Sometimes that means backing off.

Sometimes it means challenging yourself properly.

The real skill is knowing which one you need — and when.

That’s intelligent living.

Have a great day wherever you are reading this.

Why I don't use exactly the same session for everyone

Imagine going into a restaurant and being told:
“Everyone gets the same meal.”

You'd probably question that.
So why do we accept exactly the same approach to fitness and wellbeing?

One person may need more movement.

Another may need more recovery.

Someone else may need strength work.

Another person may need to focus on managing training load and lifestyle.

That's why Remedy sessions are individualised.

Your body isn't the same as everyone else's.

So your plan shouldn't be either.

What are mitochondria?

You've probably heard the word mitochondria thrown around recently.
But what are they?

Very simply, mitochondria are structures inside our cells that play a major role in producing usable energy.
And because energy is fundamental to everything we do, mitochondrial function has understandably become an area of huge interest.

This is one of the reasons I became interested in using targeted infrared light as part of my wider approach.

But I don't believe in one magic intervention.

Remedy is about bringing multiple pieces together:

Movement.
Resistance.
Recovery.
Breathing.
Lifestyle.

And appropriate supportive techniques.

The system matters more than any single technique.