Physical activity expert Professor Greg Whyte talks to Louise and Annie about the importance of being active, his amazing challenges for Comic and Sport Relief and doing more today than you did yesterday is a great way to get the best out of yourself.

In this twenty first episode of the season of the Her Spirit podcast BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin and BBC Triathlon presenter Annie Emmerson talk to Professor Greg Whyte. 

Greg Whyte was awarded an OBE in 2014 for his services to Sport, Sport Science & Charity, and was voted as one of the Top 10 Science Communicators in the UK by the British Science Council. Greg is an Olympian in modern pentathlon, and is a European and World Championship medalist. He is an expert in the field of sports and exercise science. Graduating from Brunel University, he furthered his studies with an MSc in human performance in the USA and completed his PhD at St. Georges Hospital Medical School, London. 

Greg is currently a Professor of Applied Sport and Exercise Science at Liverpool John Moore’s University and Director of Performance at the Centre for Health and Human Performance at 76 Harley Street, London. Greg's former roles include Director of Research for the British Olympic Association and Director of Science & Research for the English Institute of Sport. And currently sits on the Her Spirit advisory board.

Greg is the preeminent authority on Exercise Physiology and Sports and Exercise Performance in the UK. An internationally recognised expert in the field, Greg has extensive professional experience assessing, treating and improving the performance of patients, sporting enthusiasts and athletes ranging from cancer sufferers to celebrities attempting their first mountain summit to Gold medal seeking Olympians.

Greg is well-known for his involvement in Comic Relief, since 2006 Greg has applied his sports science work to assist various celebrities in completing some of the toughest challenges. Greg has trained, motivated and successfully coached 23 Sport & Comic Relief Challenges including: the comedian David Walliams to swim across the English Channel the Gibraltar Straits and the length of the Thames; James Cracknell to run, cycle and swim to Africa; a team of 9 celebrities including Cheryl Cole, Chris Moyles and Gary Barlow to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro; Eddie Izzard to run a remarkable 43 marathons in 50 days; Christine Bleakley to waterski across the English Channel; Dermot O’Leary, Oly Murrs and others to cross the driest desert in Africa; John Bishop to complete 'Bishops Week of Hell’ that involved John cycle, row and run from Paris to London; and Davina McCall in her 'Beyond Breaking Point' 506 mile ultra-triathlon. Greg supported Jo Brand on her 'Hell of a Walk' from Hull to Liverpool and Radio 1's Greg James on his 5 triathlons in 5 cities in 5 days.

In 2019 Greg trained Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly for a 24 hour Danceathon and raised over £700,000 for Comic Relief. 10 years on since Greg took the original 9 nine celebrities to Kilimanjaro, he found another 9 celebrities to attempt the challenge the list included Dani Dyer, Osi Umenyiora, Dan Walker, Alexander Armstrong, Shirley Ballas, Ed Balls, Jade Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Anita Rani. Greg and the celebrities completed the challenge overcoming some obstacles with the main one being altitude sickness.

As a result of his work, Greg has helped raise over £45million for charity. His book 'Bump it Up

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