This conversation explores how to ask sensitive questions about weight, food, training, and health without triggering shame or defensiveness. Vanessa is joined by Alice Moore and Gee Tual from Peak Movement, and together they unpack how trust, timing, and tone shape whether a hard question opens a useful conversation or shuts it down.In this episode, they focus on how coaches can notice behavioral changes, check in with care, and stay within scope while still being honest. They also discuss how the same questions land differently with clients, friends, partners, and family.

• Vanessa introduces the tension around asking about weight gain, weight loss, overtraining, and exercise avoidance, especially when the topic carries emotional baggage.
• Alice Moore shares that communication should lead every coaching relationship, starting with open check-ins about how a client is feeling mentally, physically, and emotionally.
• Alice reframes difficult food conversations around fueling the body rather than policing what someone eats, using simple logic to reduce emotional confrontation.
• Gee Tual adds that coaches should ask how a person feels about their body from the inside, while staying alert to scope boundaries and referring out to nutritionists or psychologists when needed.
• The group emphasizes that trust is essential before raising hard questions, because a trusted coach can challenge someone without it feeling like judgment.
• They discuss how defensiveness often shows up when the question touches something the person already knows but does not want to admit.
• Alice explains her approach of asking enough questions for the client to rationalize the issue themselves, which helps them own the answer and build self-awareness.
• Gee shares that the real question under the visible behavior is often, “Are you okay?” because changes in training, food, sleep, or hydration can reflect stress, grief, shame, or loneliness.
• Vanessa raises the challenge of how to pause a hard conversation and revisit it later, instead of forcing an answer while emotions are high.
• The discussion closes on a broader idea: fitness should be framed as health, longevity, and future capability, not just aesthetics or fat loss.

“We are the ally.”

“Always be the safe space.”

“What’s the drive behind it? Why are they doing or not doing that?”

• Start difficult conversations with curiosity, not accusation.
• Ask what changed, what the goal is, and whether the behaviour is a one-off or a pattern.
• Use pauses when emotions are high rather than forcing an immediate response.
• Focus on health, function, and future wellbeing instead of appearance.
• Build trust before raising sensitive observations.
• If the issue may be beyond your scope, refer out early and respectfully.

Vanessa welcomes coach Kieran Gives for a conversation about his journey from plumbing to personal training—and how boxing and movement shaped the way he coaches. They explore patience, learning through mistakes, in-person feedback, and building strength for everyday life.Kieran shares why training should fit around life, not take it over, and why progress is rarely a straight line. Whether the goal is to box, walk farther, lift with confidence, or keep up with your kids, the conversation is a reminder to train for what matters to you.

• Kieran’s path from plumbing to coaching—and how his own fitness journey inspired him to help others.
• Why training for capability can be more meaningful than focusing only on calories or appearance.
• How boxing can bring together movement, breath, focus, and a sense of presence.
• Why in-person coaching offers real-time feedback and helps people learn from mistakes.
• The value of patience, managing frustration, and accepting that skills take time to develop.
• How regressions, fundamentals, and adjusting intensity to the day can support steady progress.
• Why strength training can help people stay capable and independent as they get older.
• Kieran’s advice for coaches: understand each person’s goals and help them find a realistic path forward.

• Train for a goal that matters in your life.
• Progress isn’t always linear; returning to the fundamentals is part of learning.
• Consistency and patience can matter more than short-term intensity.
• A good coach can offer feedback, realistic expectations, and a path tailored to you.

“Random training, random results.”

“The body is tremendously complicated, but it can be simplified.”

“Long-term consistency is going to get you there.”

KIERAN GEEVES PT

I became a trainer because I know what it’s like to feel out of shape, move with pain, and not know where to start. Discovering how good it feels to move well, feel strong, and actually enjoy training changed everything for me — and that’s what I help others find too. Over the past six and a half years, I’ve worked with incredible mentors and helped hundreds of people move pain-free, step into the ring for their first boxing fight, and build bodies that can handle whatever life throws at them — from running around with the kids to hiking with friends.

My coaching is personal, down-to-earth, and focused on lasting results. I combine boxing, strength, mobility, gymnastics rings, and handstand training to help people move better, build confidence, and find joy in the process. I also love coaching kids in boxing — teaching them coordination, focus, and self-belief through movement sets them up for life. I don’t believe in quick fixes; I believe in building skills, understanding your body, and finding a way to train that you actually look forward to.

About Your Host:

Vanessa holds a BSc in Sports Science and brings nearly 20 years of experience in the fitness industry. As a respected Movement Therapist, she combines scientific and holistic approaches to deliver high-quality training for both individuals and groups. Driven by a passion for learning and improvement, Vanessa's mission as an expert generalist is to help others find betterment in their lives. Vanessa trains clients and fitness professionals across Australia, consults for Technogym, and is an accomplished presenter at International Fitness Conferences. Her guiding ethos is simple: do things BETTER!

What if the most useful education in your life was not the one that made you look smart, but the one that forced you to rethink yourself? Vanessa Leone traces the courses, mentors, failures, and breakthroughs that shaped her from a perfection-driven science student into a coach who sees movement, behaviour, and the human body in a completely different way.Vanessa takes you inside the moments that changed everything - from chasing a coveted high-performance internship to realising her obsession with perfection was holding her back, from fleeing to Canada to confront anxiety to discovering that real coaching starts when science meets people, not just theory.

You'll discover:

• Why epigenetics changed the way Vanessa thinks about genetics, environment, and what actually shapes your future
• How tools like GymStick, BOSU, aqua training, Zoo, and bodyweight systems opened her eyes to movement beyond machines
• What fascia, body reading, and hands-on learning revealed about tension, pain, and the stories the body tells
• Why some of the most powerful learning happens in mentorships, retreats, and being challenged in front of people who can critique you
• How working with coaches around the world expanded her understanding of movement, culture, and what it means to keep growing

Vanessa also shares the courses that confirmed what she did not want to do, the mentors who became lifelong influences, and the mindset shift that turned learning into a lifelong expansion rather than a destination. If you are a coach, trainer, health professional, or simply someone who feels stuck in your own growth, this episode is a reminder that the next breakthrough may come from what you are willing to question.This is a reflective, motivating episode for anyone who wants to understand their body better, coach better, or simply stay curious about who they are becoming. Perfect for listeners who love practical wisdom, honest self-reflection, and the kind of learning that changes how you move through the world.

Notable quotes

“Your genes don't define you. Your environment has way, way, way more control over what happens to you now and in your future.”

“The more you can learn about yourself, the more you can accept yourself.”

“Your fitness journey is just continuous expansion. There's no end point.”

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About Your Host:

Vanessa holds a BSc in Sports Science and brings nearly 20 years of experience in the fitness industry. As a respected Movement Therapist, she combines scientific and holistic approaches to deliver high-quality training for both individuals and groups. Driven by a passion for learning and improvement, Vanessa's mission as an expert generalist is to help others find betterment in their lives. Vanessa trains clients and fitness professionals across Australia, consults for Technogym, and is an accomplished presenter at International Fitness Conferences. Her guiding ethos is simple: do things BETTER!