
Pushing The Limits
Pushing the limits - the show that gets deep into the psyche of limit pushers from all walks of life. Out the box thinker, elite athlete, successful entrepreneurs, social change innovators, scientists and more.
Cutting to the chase to find out what makes them so successful, how they did it, what their life philosophies are and what gems of wisdom they can impart to us all.
Hosted by Professional Adventure Athlete Lisa Tamati, author, producer, motivational speaker and mindset coach
Latest episodes

Nov 30, 2017 • 37min
Ep 45: Quick fire tips for Runners from absolute beginners through to experienced.
If you are just starting out as a newbie runner or perhaps you have been at it for a while but want to improve your running experience, times, distances or enjoyment, then Lisa shares with you on this podcast some of her favourite quick win, running tips. Things you may have already heard but forgotten as well as some completely new insights and ninja tips learned through hard won experience. So whereever you are on your running journey and whatever distance or terrain you like there is something for everyone here. We would also like to thank the sponsors of this show. Running Hot Coaching: The online training platform run by Lisa Tamati and Neil Wagstaff. Do you have a dream to run a big race, maybe a half marathon, a marathon or even an ultramarathon? Have you struggled to fit in the training in your busy life? Maybe you don't know where to start or perhaps you have done a few races but keep having motivation or injuries troubles? Do you want to beat last years time or finish at the front of the pack? If you answered yes to any of these questions then we can help you. We promise to get you to the start line in the best shape ever! We will give you the benefit of our years of knowledge and experience in competing and training athletes, so you can avoid the mistakes, train efficiently, have fun and stay in optimal health while you are doing it. So who are we? Lisa Tamati is an a professional ultramarathon runner with over 23 years experiences racing the world's toughest endurance events and leading expeditions. Author of two internationally published running adventure books. She is also a mindset expert. From crossing the Libyan desert on foot to running Death Valley to running the length of NZ for charity, she has been there and done that. For more information on Lisa click here: www.lisatamati.co.nz Neil Wagstaff is an exercise scientist, coach and ultramarathon runner with over 22 years experience in the health and fitness industry. He has trained hundreds of athletes and coaches alike to the successful completion of their goals. For more info on Neil click here: ... see more (link to the about us page Training Tilt software - a complete toolkit for trainers, health and fitness professionals, coaches and nutritionists, combine your website, ecommerce needs, client communication and training plans into one easy to use platform. Find out more at www.lisatamati.co.nz/trainingtilt The Path of an Athlete - Mindset academy. This is an in-depth online programme that teaches you how to develop mental toughness, resilience, leadership skills, a never quit mentality and the keys for success in any endeavour. Do you wish you had the mental toughness of an extreme athlete? Do you seek the confidence to deal with any threat, to steer any situation or challenge to a positive outcome? If so, you can now learn the secrets to mental toughness and to developing a never quit mindset from someone who has been there and done that and lived to tell the tale. For more information on "The Path of an Athlete" mindset eCourse go to www.lisatamati.co.nz/ecourse

Nov 23, 2017 • 22min
Ep44: The importance of a daily Breath focused practice
In this episode Lisa discusses proper breathing technique and why it is so very important for health. The benefit list is long. But most people in our modern society don’t breath properly i.e. diaphragmatic breathing for a number of reasons. The benefits Proper breathing helps with: relieving anxiety, stress and tension can stop panic attacks Helps our psychological state and helps us to control our emotions and change our emotions. Helps detoxify the body. Helps to optimally oxygenate the body and all its organs which helps with healing, longevity and health in general. Leads to more inner peace, focus and mind and thought control. Helps athletes to optimal performance in their sports. strengthens the important diaphragm muscle which tends to weaken as we get older. Breathing only in the upper chest stimulates the panic receptors, breathing into the stomach activates the calming receptors there and activates the parasympathetic nervous system. Using the diaphragm muscle helps massage and move the inner organs and helps with digestion and detoxification. Helps you control your anger, fear and anxiety to face more and bigger challenges without freezing or panicking. Can help lower the release of stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline in the bloody stream. Stop overuse of the upper chest muscles and intercostals (which happens when we just breath into the upper 1/3 of our lungs). This can lead to tight and shortened muscles in the neck, shoulders and chest. Deep diaphragmatic breathing helps us deal with pain and breath through it. When we stop breathing or hold our breath because we are in pain, it gets worse. Diaphragmatic breathing strengthens your lungs, it doesn’t increase lung capacity but makes them stronger and strengthens the primary breathing muscles. We would also like to thank the sponsors of this show. Running Hot Coaching: The online training platform run by Lisa Tamati and Neil Wagstaff. Do you have a dream to run a big race, maybe a half marathon, a marathon or even an ultramarathon? Have you struggled to fit in the training in your busy life? Maybe you don't know where to start or perhaps you have done a few races but keep having motivation or injuries troubles? Do you want to beat last years time or finish at the front of the pack? If you answered yes to any of these questions then we can help you. We promise to get you to the start line in the best shape ever! We will give you the benefit of our years of knowledge and experience in competing and training athletes, so you can avoid the mistakes, train efficiently, have fun and stay in optimal health while you are doing it. So who are we? Lisa Tamati is an a professional ultramarathon runner with over 23 years experiences racing the world's toughest endurance events and leading expeditions. Author of two internationally published running adventure books. She is also a mindset expert. From crossing the Libyan desert on foot to running Death Valley to running the length of NZ for charity, she has been there and done that. For more information on Lisa click here: www.lisatamati.co.nz Neil Wagstaff is an exercise scientist, coach and ultramarathon runner with over 22 years experience in the health and fitness industry. He has trained hundreds of athletes and coaches alike to the successful completion of their goals. For more info on Neil click here: ... see more (link to the about us page Training Tilt software - a complete toolkit for trainers, health and fitness professionals, coaches and nutritionists, combine your website, ecommerce needs, client communication and training plans into one easy to use platform. Find out more at www.lisatamati.co.nz/trainingtilt The Path of an Athlete - Mindset academy. This is an in-depth online programme that teaches you how to develop mental toughness, resilience, leadership skills, a never quit mentality and the keys for success in any endeavour. Do you wish you had the mental toughness of an extreme athlete? Do you seek the confidence to deal with any threat, to steer any situation or challenge to a positive outcome? If so, you can now learn the secrets to mental toughness and to developing a never quit mindset from someone who has been there and done that and lived to tell the tale. For more information on "The Path of an Athlete" mindset eCourse go to www.lisatamati.co.nz/ecourse

Nov 16, 2017 • 1h
Ep 43: Mal Law - Adventurer, Philanthropist, Trail Running Maniac
Mal Law is a living trail running legend. His life philosophy is summed up in this one sentence. Dream Big. Live Big. Do Good. Inspire People. These are the beliefs that drive his passion for ‘adventures with a cause’. From early childhood he devoured stories of great adventurers and explorers and always dreamed big and imagined great adventures of his own, but until quitting a successful market research career in 2008 he had lacked the self-belief to actually live big. That all changed when the idea of running New Zealand’s 7 mainland Great Walks back to back in just 7 days came to me out of the blue. It was a hugely audacious challenge; one that nobody had ever attempted before and it would push him as a self confessed humble ‘weekend warrior’ type athlete, to the very brink of his capabilities. But he had a special reason for wanting to attempt the unthinkable; what many said was the impossible. He wanted to do good by raising a serious amount of money for a charity close to his heart, Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ, because as a 9-year old he had lost his older brother to this cruel disease. And against the odds I succeeded. What’s more he discovered that in sharing his adventures he could inspire people to push their own boundaries and tackle their own ‘personal Everest’. Since then he has dreamed up, planned and completed lots more epic adventures and has raised almost $800,000 for charity. He has defied the odds and refused to let his limited athletic prowess define who he is or what I he is capable of. He continues to push his personal boundaries and through writing, film-making and public speaking he continues to tell stories that inspire people to believe, as he does, that ordinary people really can achieve extraordinary things. His most famous and audacious adventure was to run 50 marathons in 50 days doing 50 mountains in New Zealand. This huge adventure nearly broke him and he had to change the goals along the way due to injuries but in true nature he persevered as best he could and the film from this mission has now travelled with the Banff Mountain film festival all over the world. He had over 300 people involved, the logistics were huge and the project planning immense. It was a project that he admits nearly broke him and he has never quite been the same. We discuss being "breakable", we discuss the hell hole of depression after huge projects like this, we discuss burn out and how to find balance and joy again in life. Mal is now inspiring other trail runners through his Wildthings trail runner club and you can join that here www.wildthings.club or find more out about Mal go to www.malcolmlaw.co.nz We would also like to thank the sponsors of this show. Running Hot Coaching: The online training platform run by Lisa Tamati and Neil Wagstaff. Do you have a dream to run a big race, maybe a half marathon, a marathon or even an ultramarathon? Have you struggled to fit in the training in your busy life? Maybe you don't know where to start or perhaps you have done a few races but keep having motivation or injuries troubles? Do you want to beat last years time or finish at the front of the pack? If you answered yes to any of these questions then we can help you. We promise to get you to the start line in the best shape ever! We will give you the benefit of our years of knowledge and experience in competing and training athletes, so you can avoid the mistakes, train efficiently, have fun and stay in optimal health while you are doing it. So who are we? Lisa Tamati is an a professional ultramarathon runner with over 23 years experiences racing the world's toughest endurance events and leading expeditions. Author of two internationally published running adventure books. She is also a mindset expert. From crossing the Libyan desert on foot to running Death Valley to running the length of NZ for charity, she has been there and done that. For more information on Lisa click here: www.lisatamati.co.nz Neil Wagstaff is an exercise scientist, coach and ultramarathon runner with over 22 years experience in the health and fitness industry. He has trained hundreds of athletes and coaches alike to the successful completion of their goals. For more info on Neil click here: ... see more (link to the about us page Training Tilt software - a complete toolkit for trainers, health and fitness professionals, coaches and nutritionists, combine your website, ecommerce needs, client communication and training plans into one easy to use platform. Find out more at www.lisatamati.co.nz/trainingtilt The Path of an Athlete - Mindset academy. This is an in-depth online programme that teaches you how to develop mental toughness, resilience, leadership skills, a never quit mentality and the keys for success in any endeavour. Do you wish you had the mental toughness of an extreme athlete? Do you seek the confidence to deal with any threat, to steer any situation or challenge to a positive outcome? If so, you can now learn the secrets to mental toughness and to developing a never quit mindset from someone who has been there and done that and lived to tell the tale. For more information on "The Path of an Athlete" mindset eCourse go to www.lisatamati.co.nz/ecourse

Nov 9, 2017 • 55min
Ep 42: Te Radar - Comedian, Satirist, documentary maker
Te Radar (Andrew J Lumsden) is an award winning satirist, documentary maker, writer, stage and screen director, failed gardener, and amateur historian. He was also the presenter of six top rating TVNZ documentary series, Global Radar, Radar Across the Pacific, Radar’s Patch, Off the Radar, Hidden In The Numbers and Homegrown. Global Radar won the 2012 New Zealand Television Award for Best Information Programme, and Radar Across the Pacific won for Best Factual Programme. Te Radar was nominated for Best Presenter – Entertainment/Factual. Radar’s Patch won the 2010 Qantas Film and Television Award for Best Information/Lifestyle Programme. He has recently toured his acclaimed New Zealand history show Eating the Dog following its award-winning season at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival. In this interview Lisa talks to Radar about his journey to success. Why it was a case of having to "make it" and finds out what method there is to the magical madness he creates. He talks about successes and failures and why doing it his own way was so important to him. We would like to thanks our sponsors Training Tilt software - a complete toolkit for trainers, health and fitness professionals, coaches and nutritionists, combine your website, ecommerce needs, client communication and training plans into one easy to use platform. Find out more at Training Tilt The Path of an Athlete - Mindset academy. This is an in-depth online programme that teaches you how to develop mental toughness, resilience, leadership skills, a never quit mentality and the keys for success in any endeavour. Do you wish you had the mental toughness of an extreme athlete? Do you seek the confidence to deal with any threat, to steer any situation or challenge to a positive outcome? If so, you can now learn the secrets to mental toughness and to developing a never quit mindset from someone who has been there and done that and lived to tell the tale. For more information on "The Path of an Athlete" mindset eCourse go to www.lisatamati.co.nz/ecourse

Nov 2, 2017 • 46min
Ep 41: Dr Lior Rauchberger from MyDNA.life talks DNA testing for personalised health
Dr Lior Rauchberger talks in this interview about the future of personalised health care through the use of DNA tests. Simple swab tests can now reveal how your body will uniquely respond to some medicines, what you eat and drink, and how you exercise. MyDNA is helping move healthcare from offering solutions that work for most people, to finding what is best suited to your body. Less ‘one-size-fits-all’ advice, more that’s tailored to fit your body. It’s personalised health and it's very exciting. No longer do you have to take a stab in the dark as to what works best for your genetic make up. The experimenting can stop, the less than satisfactory results that plague many of us. Questions like why do I put on weight when my friend doesn't even when I do more exercise and eat less. Why does one guy respond well to weight training and builds big strong defined muscles and another doesn't. Why does one medication work for one and not for another. DNA testing can tell us some of these reasons and more are being revealed every day as the research finally catches up. Find out from Dr Lior Rauchberger what's in store for our futures and how you can personally benefit. For more information go to https://www.mydna.life/ Training Tilt software - a complete toolkit for trainers, health and fitness professionals, coaches and nutritionists, combine your website, ecommerce needs, client communication and training plans into one easy to use platform. Find out more at www.lisatamati.co.nz/trainingtilt The Path of an Athlete - Mindset academy. This is an in-depth online programme that teaches you how to develop mental toughness, resilience, leadership skills, a never quit mentality and the keys for success in any endeavour. Do you wish you had the mental toughness of an extreme athlete? Do you seek the confidence to deal with any threat, to steer any situation or challenge to a positive outcome? If so, you can now learn the secrets to mental toughness and to developing a never quit mindset from someone who has been there and done that and lived to tell the tale. For more information on "The Path of an Athlete" mindset eCourse go to www.lisatamati.co.nz/ecourse

Oct 26, 2017 • 1h 10min
Ep 41: Chris McDougall Author of Born to Run pops in for a fireside chat
Chris McDougall is the world wide best selling Author of Born to Run and Natural Born Heroes. Two books that have revolutionised the running world and bought to the fore the discussions around human endurance, the history of running, the ability of people to run incredible distances and the barefoot running revolution. In this fireside chat we discuss how he writes his incredibly entertaining and intricately woven stories despite have ADHD. How he manages to sit still long enough to get anything down and what impact the stories he has shared have had on millions of readers around the world. Trained as a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press, Christopher McDougall covered wars in Rwanda and Angola before writing his international bestseller, Born to Run. His fascination with the limits of human potential led him to create the Outside magazine web series, “Art of the Hero.” Born to Run is currently being made into a feature film starring Matthew McConaughey. The book - "Born to Run" was about a Hidden Tribe of superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. It was a 2009 best-selling ethnography. The book has sold over three million copies. Natural Born Heroes: Chris in this book travels to the Mediterranean, where he discovers that the secrets of ancient Greek heroes are still alive and well on the island of Crete, and ready to be unleashed in the muscles and minds of casual athletes and aspiring heroes everywhere. After running an ultramarathon through the Copper Canyons of Mexico, Christopher McDougall finds his next great adventure on the razor-sharp mountains of Crete, where a band of Resistance fighters in World War II plotted the daring abduction of a German general from the heart of the Nazi occupation. How did a penniless artist, a young shepherd, and a playboy poet believe they could carry out such a remarkable feat of strength and endurance, smuggling the general past thousands of Nazi pursuers, with little more than their own wits and courage to guide them? McDougall makes his way to the island to find the answer and retrace their steps, experiencing firsthand the extreme physical challenges the Resistance fighters and their local allies faced. On Crete, the birthplace of the classical Greek heroism that spawned the likes of Herakles and Odysseus, McDougall discovers the tools of the hero—natural movement, extraordinary endurance, and efficient nutrition. All of these skills, McDougall learns, are still practiced in far-flung pockets throughout the world today. For more information on Chris and his epic adventures and books visit www.chrismcdougall.com Training Tilt software - a complete toolkit for trainers, health and fitness professionals, coaches and nutritionists, combine your website, ecommerce needs, client communication and training plans into one easy to use platform. Find out more at www.lisatamati.co.nz/trainingtilt The Path of an Athlete - Mindset academy. This is an in-depth online programme that teaches you how to develop mental toughness, resilience, leadership skills, a never quit mentality and the keys for success in any endeavour. Do you wish you had the mental toughness of an extreme athlete? Do you seek the confidence to deal with any threat, to steer any situation or challenge to a positive outcome? If so, you can now learn the secrets to mental toughness and to developing a never quit mindset from someone who has been there and done that and lived to tell the tale. For more information on "The Path of an Athlete" mindset eCourse go to www.lisatamati.co.nz/ecourse

Oct 23, 2017 • 35min
Ep 40:Leadership - Becoming an effective leader, the types of leadership roles, skills and phases
In this solocast Lisa talks about the different types and styles of leadership. The different phases that a leader can go through throughout the stages of their career. She gives examples and stories of the differing leadership archetypes and how to transition between different leadership facets in a given role. She talks of the character traits necessary to engender respect, trust, loyalty and motivation, honour and going beyond the call of duty. If you aspire to be a strong and resilient leader who can help your team, organisation or business navigate the shark infested waters of any challenge then this podcast will give you the tools, the reflections and techniques you can employ to guide your crew to success. Training Tilt software - a complete toolkit for trainers, health and fitness professionals, coaches and nutritionists, combine your website, ecommerce needs, client communication and training plans into one easy to use platform. Find out more at www.lisatamati.co.nz/trainingtilt The Path of an Athlete - Mindset academy. This is an in-depth online programme that teaches you how to develop mental toughness, resilience, leadership skills, a never quit mentality and the keys for success in any endeavour. Do you wish you had the mental toughness of an extreme athlete? Do you seek the confidence to deal with any threat, to steer any situation or challenge to a positive outcome? If so, you can now learn the secrets to mental toughness and to developing a never quit mindset from someone who has been there and done that and lived to tell the tale. For more information on "The Path of an Athlete" mindset eCourse go to www.lisatamati.co.nz/ecourse

Oct 19, 2017 • 41min
Ep39: Ben Warren Nutritionist, talks eating for health, vitality, longevity and hormone balance
Ben Warren, founder of Be Pure is all about designing a scientifically driven and holistic health and nutrition programme for the individual. Helping clients with difficult chronic health issues through eating plans and supplementation designed according to their profile and genetic type. Ben believes that our health and optimal energy is influenced by what we eat, how we move, how we sleep and how we think and that the human body is an amazing and complex thing and we that we need to look at it from all angles so it can function optimally. In this discussion we cover topics ranging from chronic lifestyle diseases through to gut health, hormone balance, avoiding the toxins in our environment to anti-aging strategies, common allergens and detoxing. We talk about the future of health including much more personalised solutions and the psychology of getting to the root cause of issues rather than looking for "quick fixes" that don't usually get to the bottom of the problems. www.bepure.co.nz For more episodes of Pushing the limits make sure you subscribe on itunes. Just search for "Pushing the Limits" or on stitcher, soundcloud or via the website at www.lisatamati.co.nz/podcast. We would also like to thank our show sponsors: Training Tilt software - a complete toolkit for trainers, health and fitness professionals, coaches and nutritionists, combine your website, ecommerce needs, client communication and training plans into one easy to use platform. Find out more at www.lisatamati.co.nz/trainingtilt The Path of an Athlete - Mindset academy. This in-depth online programme that teaches you how to develop mental toughness, resilience, leadership skills and the keys for success in any endeavour. For a free mini course go to www.lisatamati.co.nz Do you wish you had the mental toughness of an extreme athlete? Do you seek the confidence to deal with any threat, to steer any situation or challenge to a positive outcome? If so, you can now learn the secrets to mental toughness and to developing a never quit mindset from someone who has been there and done that and lived to tell the tale.

Oct 12, 2017 • 55min
Ep 38: Barefoot Ted's wild adventures
Many have come to know about Barefoot Ted through the pages of Christopher McDougall’s best-selling book Born to Run Barefoot Ted spent over a decade mastering natural running techniques, and is an accomplished athlete known for self-experimentation and testing his natural human capabilities. He is founder and president of LUNA Sandals, the adventure sandal company based in Seattle, and Solowheel Seattle, the one-wheeled urban transporter company he started in 2014. In 2003 Barefoot Ted McDonald was on a seemingly simple mission: to learn how to run pain-free. That simple desire led him down a rabbit-hole of a quest to learn as much as he could about natural running form, the natural selection of footwear, and the evolution of human movement. On his journey he re-discovered that the human body is not broken by design – humans have an amazing capacity to move well solely with their own equipment – their bodies. As he learned more about the natural selection of footwear in human cultures, he kept finding the simple sandal as the footwear of choice for many cultures past and present. This fascinating quest into the world of movement, running, and simple footwear led him to a man named Caballo Blanco and into the Copper Canyons of Mexico in 2006; the story of which is famously chronicled in Christopher McDougall’s best-seller, Born To Run. Nowadays Barefoot Ted heads up a minimalist shoe company called Luna Sandals based on the sandals used by the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico. He is also a proponent of the solowheel and believes this relatively new way to get around will become a phenomenon. You can find out more about Barefoot Ted at www.barefootted.com and to check out the Luna Sandals go to Luna Sandals To purchase the book in which he starred "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall go to http://www.chrismcdougall.com/born-to-run/ Training Tilt software - a complete toolkit for trainers, health and fitness professionals, coaches and nutritionists, combine your website, ecommerce needs, client communication and training plans into one easy to use platform. Find out more at www.lisatamati.co.nz/trainingtilt The Path of an Athlete - Mindset academy. This is an in-depth online programme that teaches you how to develop mental toughness, resilience, leadership skills, a never quit mentality and the keys for success in any endeavour. Do you wish you had the mental toughness of an extreme athlete? Do you seek the confidence to deal with any threat, to steer any situation or challenge to a positive outcome? If so, you can now learn the secrets to mental toughness and to developing a never quit mindset from someone who has been there and done that and lived to tell the tale. For more information on "The Path of an Athlete" mindset eCourse go to www.lisatamati.co.nz/ecourse

Oct 9, 2017 • 59min
Ep 37: David Tait - Kiwi Adventurer and outdoor education teacher
David has participated in adventure Sports for more than 30 years and have competed in the Coast to Coast One Day, Southern Traverse, Arrow Adventure Race Series and every North Island Multisport race held in the 1990’s. David has instructed in the Outdoors since 2000 in kayaking, caving, climbing and tramping. He keeps current by continuing to find challenges in the outdoors and spends a huge amount of time ‘out there’ ether with kids or on a personal adventure somewhere. David is passionate about growing young people through adventure and challenge activities and has dedicated his life to this. In 2010 he established the GO-4-12 Youth adventure Race which is also the official New Zealand Secondary Schools Adventure Racing Championships. The success of the GO-4-12 and the obvious need to get kids off electronic devices and into the outdoors motivated him to establish the Kiwi Adventure Trust a not for profit Trust which currently works with over 70 groups and school each year. David’s Story is one of following ones passion and he has refused to give up until he has achieved the goals that are in his heart. For more information on the Kiwi Adventure trust and what they do visit their website http://www.kiwi-adventure.co.nz/