Bulls Rise: The UB ENS Podcast

The Real Curriculum: How Fitness, Behavior Change, and College Are All Teaching You the Same Lesson ft. Heather Bieber

You already know what you should do. So why is it so hard to actually do it? This week on Bulls Rise, Coach P sits down with Heather Bieber, Director of UB's undergraduate Exercise Science program and a behavior change expert whose career has revolved around one question: why do people struggle so much to change, even when they know what to do? Heather's path was never a straight line. from an aerobics class at 13, to personal training at a high-end Boston gym, to public health at Emory, to wellness coaching at Universal Studios, to running a program at UB. In this episode, she dismantles the myth that behavior change is about willpower, exposes the truth behind perfect-eating social media content, and explains why there's no one right way to exercise. She shares the rheumatoid arthritis client who taught her more than any textbook, breaks down why small steps beat total overhauls, and reveals why coaching is mostly psychology and barely about the program. When asked what it means to rise, Heather kept it simple: stay humble, be okay being vulnerable, dust yourself off, and get back on the horse. 🎙️ Bulls Rise is the official podcast of the University at Buffalo Department of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences. Hosted by Dr. Chris Perry, PhD, CSCS. #BullsRise #BehaviorChange #HealthCoaching #ExerciseScience #UBENS #UniversityAtBuffalo

The Man Behind Bulls Rise: Coach P on Sleep, Teaching, and Why Serving Others Matters ft. Dr. Chris Perry

For the first time in Bulls Rise history — the host becomes the guest. In this episode, Dr. Jen Temple takes over the microphone to interview Coach P (Dr. Chris Perry) — UB faculty member, sleep researcher, strength and conditioning coach, and host of the Bulls Rise Podcast. What follows is the most personal and transparent episode Bulls Rise has produced. Coach P walks through the full story of his journey — from Penn State undergrad to Eastern Kentucky master's student to Arizona State PhD to University at Buffalo professor. He shares the day a mentor locked him in a classroom and forced him to teach cold. He opens up about the Instagram DM from a high school classmate in rehab that nearly saved him from quitting social media. He breaks down sleep debt, shift work, and the truth about why you can't sleep in and make it up. And he closes the episode with a manifesto on what really matters: being a human being first. When asked what helps him rise, Coach P pointed to his faith, his family, and one lesson he's learned again and again across every chapter of his career: walk through the door of challenge — the fear disappears once you're on the other side. 🎙️ Bulls Rise is the official podcast of the University at Buffalo Department of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences. Hosted by Dr. Chris Perry. #BullsRise #CoachP #UBENS #ExerciseScience #SleepScience #UniversityAtBuffalo

The Why Behind the Grind: Inside the UB ENS Trenches ft. Jenna Kersten & Rion Dugan

Two students. One shared mission. The first-ever student episode in Bulls Rise history. Jenna Kersten is a first-year Doctor of Physical Therapy student in UB's combined three-plus-three program. Rion Dugan is a fourth-year exercise science major on the pre-med track, grinding through MCAT prep while teaching as Dr. Lee Kroll's TA. They both peer-tutor across the ENS department. They both lost their fathers. And they both turned that loss into the foundation of everything they're building. In this episode, Jenna shares her story of losing her dad to a medical mistake — and the moment she dedicated her career to ensuring no other family loses someone the same way. Rion tells the cinematic story of the 9 PM gross anatomy lab where twenty silent students gathered around his cadaver bench to learn the carotid artery — and applauded when he finished. He also unpacks the mentor moment that redirected him from PT school to medical school in a single sentence. This conversation dismantles the myth that exercise science is "just gym class," explores the hidden curriculum of learning to struggle, and delivers the most poetic moment Bulls Rise has produced yet — Rion's Buffalo eternal flame metaphor about finding the work that no amount of hardship can put out. Whether you're a current student, a prospective student, a parent, a mentor, or anyone who's ever wondered if you're on the right path — this episode will land. 🎙️ Bulls Rise is the official podcast of the University at Buffalo Department of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences. Hosted by Dr. Chris Perry, PhD, CSCS. #BullsRise #UBENS #ExerciseScience #PreMed #PhysicalTherapy #StudentLife

Practice Before Game Day: How Sim Lab Mistakes Save Lives ft. Dr. Sarah Krzyzanowicz, EdD, ATC

A student forgot the AED in a simulation. Years later — when a parent went into real cardiac arrest at his workplace — he didn't forget it again. That story is the heart of this conversation. Dr. Sarah Krzyzanowicz is the Clinical Director of UB's Master of Science in Athletic Training Program, and she joins Coach P to break down the teaching philosophy producing clinicians who actually perform when lives are on the line. Dr. Sarah challenges the broken "sage on the stage" model of education, makes the case that confidence is built only through experience, and shares the three-question reflection practice she gives every student to turn experience into real growth. She also unpacks how simulation-based learning works (hint: it's not about expensive equipment), why she wants her students to fail in practice, and how the Adam Grant principle of "confident humility" shapes everything she teaches. We also get her unconventional origin story — growing up in a town with no stoplight, competing as a national-level snowboarder, singing with the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the 17-year journey to her doctorate that proves it's never too late to keep learning. Whether you're a current athletic training student, a clinical educator, a coach, a healthcare professional, or just someone who wants to understand what real-world learning actually looks like, this episode will change how you think about expertise, failure, and the long road from classroom to competence. 🎙️ Bulls Rise is the official podcast of the University at Buffalo Department of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences. Hosted by Dr. Chris Perry, PhD, CSCS. #AthleticTraining #SportsMedicine #ClinicalEducation #UniversityAtBuffalo #ExerciseScience

From Undeclared to Unstoppable: Heat Physiology, Fitness Culture & The Truth About Sweat ft. Ayla Gabel

She went from undeclared to unstoppable — and she's already changing how we think about heat and health. This week on Bulls Rise, we sat down with Ayla, a second-year PhD student at UB studying heat physiology under Dr. Hayden Hess — and she came ready. Her dissertation is tackling something most of the research world has quietly ignored: how adults with obesity actually thermoregulate in extreme heat, and why decades of flawed methodology have left us with public health guidelines that may be failing the people who need them most. But this conversation goes far beyond the lab. Ayla walks us through the deadlift that left her with two bulging discs, the moment she stopped caring what her body looked like and started caring what it could do, and the mindset shift that turned a career-ending injury into the foundation of everything she's built since. She calls out the fitness industry hard in this one. She makes the case that motivation is overrated, that discipline is a schedule-not a feeling, and that the simplest tool most people ignore — reducing friction — is the actual key to showing up. She breaks down what sweat really does (and doesn't do) for cooling, why electrolyte culture may be oversold, and what every person should be doing right now to prepare for summer heat. And when asked what it means to rise, she didn't hesitate: Just keep showing up. 🎧 Full episode available now on all platforms.