Top Deck Muscle

This week the roles are reversed! After sitting down with Kwame last week, this time he put me in the hot seat, with no questions off limits. What followed was probably one of the most personal conversations I've had on Top Deck Muscle. We talk about who I am outside of bodybuilding, the experiences that changed the direction of my life, becoming a husband and father, resilience, relationships...

Millions of followers and a world-title-winning physique don’t make you immune to self-doubt. In this episode, Kwame Duah opens up about imposter syndrome, struggling to ask for help and why he sometimes questions whether he deserves a seat at the table. This week on Top Deck Muscle, Ben takes the interviewer’s seat to get to know the man behind the physique, the videos and the big personality! Kw...

Bro science vs evidence based lifting. Which one actually gets better results? It has become one of the biggest debates in the gym, and with so much fitness information being thrown at us online, training has somehow become more confusing than ever. In this episode, we break down what both sides actually get right, where things can get taken too far, and why blindly following either camp can hold...

Fitness culture has never been bigger. After four weeks off, we had plenty to unpack! Ben had just returned from Bali, where fitness culture has become a huge part of the lifestyle, while Kwami had just been at the Australian Fitness Expo in Sydney, seeing firsthand just how much the industry continues to grow. Those two experiences sparked a bigger conversation about what happens when fitness goe...

At just 25 years old, Cam Whitters has already built a physique that has him knocking on the door of an IFBB Pro Card, coming incredibly close three times during his most recent season. But what impressed us most in this episode wasn't just how Cam looks. It was the way he thinks. Cam spoke incredibly well about what those near misses taught him, how his mindset has changed through competing,...

You’ve done the hard part. You followed the plan, pushed through the hunger, got into the best shape of your life… and then suddenly thought: “Okay… now what?” In this episode of Top Deck Muscle, we unpack the part of getting lean that almost nobody talks about: what happens after you reach the goal. Whether you have competed in bodybuilding, dieted for a photo shoot, prepared for a wedding or sim...

Getting stage lean might look glamorous from the outside. But what does it really take to prepare for a bodybuilding competition, and what happens when the show is over? In this episode of Top Deck Muscle Radio, we give an honest, unfiltered look behind the curtain of contest preparation. Drawing on decades of combined competition experience, we break down the physical, mental, financial and perso...

Sleep is one of the most powerful tools for improving your physique, performance and overall health. Yet it's also one of the first things people sacrifice. In this episode, we break down what the research actually says about sleep and why it has such a huge impact on muscle growth, fat loss, cravings, recovery, hormones and injury risk. We also share practical strategies to improve your sleep...

Fat loss doesn't need to be complicated... Yet most people end up overwhelmed by conflicting advice, chasing the latest trends, or focusing on things that barely move the needle. In this episode, we break fat loss down into the practical principles that actually make a difference for YOUR results. No extreme diets. No unnecessary rules. No magic supplements. Just the strategies that consistent...

Imagine being able to sit down with your 18-year-old self for one hour. What advice would you give? In this episode, we share the biggest lessons, regrets, mistakes, and mindset shifts from nearly four decades in the fitness industry. These are the conversations we wish someone had with us when we first walked into a gym. If you're looking to build more than just muscle, and avoid years of unneces...

We have more gyms, coaches, apps, podcasts, YouTube channels, meal plans, training programs, and fitness information available than ever before. So why are so many people still struggling to achieve the results they want? In this episode, we explore what we believe is one of the biggest issues in modern fitness: It's no longer an information problem. It's an implementation problem. We disc...

Most people think getting lean means giving up their favourite foods, living on chicken and broccoli, and avoiding takeaway forever. Chris William, better known as "The Calorie Guy" , has built a massive following by challenging that belief. In this episode, we dive deep into the truth about calories, fat loss, flexible dieting, food guilt, and why so many people struggle to maintain res...

If you’ve ever said.... “I know what to do… I just don’t have the time.” This episode is for you! We break down how to actually get great results when life is busy, covering training, nutrition, recovery, routine, time management, and the small changes that make the biggest difference long-term. No unrealistic routines. No 2-hour workouts. No meal prep obsession. Just practical strategies to help...

Our most powerful episode yet! In this episode we sit down with Richie Elliott, an ex-combat sports athlete who competed internationally as both a fighter and coach. He’s coached national and world champions across boxing, kickboxing, and MMA, served in the elite French Foreign Legion, and now works as both a boxing coach at Rikers Gym and a UFC cutman with some of the best fighters in the world....

In this episode of Top Deck Muscle, we sit down for a completely unfiltered Q&A round, answering some of the most frequent questions we get asked around training, fat loss, muscle growth, recovery, nutrition, and mindset. We cover questions like: Why do some people train hard for years but never change their physique? Are you better off bulking… or staying lean year-round? How much protein do...

In this episode of Top Deck Muscle, Ben and Kwame tackle one of the biggest reasons people lose motivation… Putting in the work, but no longer seeing results. Whether your goal is fat loss, muscle gain, strength, or simply feeling better in your body, this episode is a full troubleshooting guide to help you identify what’s actually holding you back. We cover: -Why most people aren’t training as ha...

The fitness coaching industry is booming. But is it getting better, or just louder? Episode 13 of Top Deck Muscle features Richard Collins, a coach with 20 years in the trenches from professional sporting athletes to physique competitors. In this episode, we cover: Why two clients with the exact same programme get completely different results, and what it actually comes down to The red flags to wa...

What does it actually take to walk around at 136kg of lean muscle? Episode 12 of Top Deck Muscle features the man mountain himself, Matt Hampton . bodybuilder, former elite volleyball player, walking dictionary and one of the most physically impressive human beings you'll ever come across. But behind the size is a story most people never see. In this episode: the real financial and physical co...

In Episode 11, we sit down with Alexandra Milne- online coach, content creator, and one of Australia’s rising voices in the fitness space, for our first-ever female guest on the show. We dive into the real issues women are facing right now in the fitness industry… and why so many are stuck despite doing “all the right things.” From chronic dieting and overdoing cardio, to the pressure of social me...

They doubted him. Wrote him off. Counted him out. But Charlie Dixon proved them all wrong. In this episode of Top Deck Muscle, we sit down with AFL star Charlie Dixon to break down the mindset, resilience, and pressure that comes with competing at the highest level. This conversation goes way beyond footy. We dive into: What it takes to perform under pressure How to handle doubt, criticism, and se...

54 years old… and still in his prime. In this episode, we sit down with Nick Jones- founder of Gen-Tec Nutrition, multiple-time international bodybuilding champion, and a man who’s still outperforming guys half his age. But this isn’t just about training. We dive into the mindset, discipline, and life lessons that have kept him consistent for decades, through business, fatherhood, and the ups and...

Kwame is back, and we’re getting straight into it! In this episode, we break down how to actually stay in shape while on holiday (without over-restricting or completely blowing out), when a mini cut actually makes sense and how to do it properly, and whether deloads are essential… or just an excuse to take a week off training. If you’ve ever come back from a holiday feeling like you’ve undone all...

You asked the questions; here are my honest answers In this solo-cast episode, I answer a series of questions submitted through our social media, covering everything from training and nutrition to genetics, recovery, mindset, and the realities of building a great physique. We dive into topics like: • Whether peptides are the next big thing or just another shortcut • How social media has distorted...

What does it take to become one of the strongest humans on the planet? In this episode, we sit down with strongman athlete and 4× Guinness World Record holder Jordy Steffens to unpack the journey behind the records. From the training, nutrition, and relentless mindset required to perform at the highest level, Jordy shares what it really takes to push the limits of human performance. But this conve...

The fitness industry is louder than ever. Cold plunges. Wearables. Detoxes. High-protein everything. But what actually matters, and what’s just noise? In this episode, we go head-to-head on what we think is overrated, underrated, and completely misunderstood in the fitness industry. Because too many people are majoring in the minors. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by trends, confused by conflicti...