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I'm extremely excited to announce a brand new sponsor for the Behind the Shield podcast

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that is Transcend.

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Now for many of you listening, you are probably working the same brutal shifts that I did

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for 14 years.

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Suffering from sleep deprivation, body composition challenges, mental health challenges, libido,

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hair loss, etc.

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Now when it comes to the world of hormone replacement and peptide therapy, what I have

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seen is a shift from doctors telling us that we were within normal limits, which was definitely

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incorrect all the way to the other way now where men's clinics are popping up left,

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right and center.

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So I myself wanted to find a reputable company that would do an analysis of my physiology

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and then offer supplementations without ramming, for example, hormone replacement therapy down

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my throat.

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Now I came across Transcend because they have an altruistic arm and they were a big reason

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why the 7X project I was a part of was able to proceed because of their generous donations.

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They also have the Transcend foundations where they are actually putting military and first

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responders through some of their therapies at no cost to the individual.

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So my own personal journey so far filled in the online form, went to Quest, got blood

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drawn and a few days later I'm talking to one of their wellness professionals as they

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guide me through my results and the supplementation that they suggest.

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In my case specifically, because I transitioned out the fire service five years ago and been

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very diligent with my health, my testosterone was actually in a good place.

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So I went down the peptide route and some other supplements to try and maximize my physiology

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knowing full well the damage that 14 years of shift work has done.

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Now I also want to underline because I think this is very important that each of the therapies

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they offer, they will talk about the pros and cons.

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So for example, a lot of first responders in shift work, our testosterone will be low,

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but sometimes nutrition, exercise and sleep can offset that on its own.

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So this company is not going to try and push you down a path, especially if it's one that

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you can't come back from.

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So whether it's libido, brain fog, inflammation, gut health, performance, sleep, this is definitely

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one of the most powerful tools in the toolbox.

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So to learn more, go to transcendcompany.com or listen to episode 808 of the Behind the

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Shield podcast with founder Ernie Colling.

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This episode is sponsored by a company I've used for well over a decade and that is 511.

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I wore their uniforms back in Anaheim, California and have used their products ever since.

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From their incredibly strong yet light footwear to their cut uniforms for both male and female

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responders, I found them hands down the best workwear in all the departments that I've

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worked for.

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Outside of the fire service, I use their luggage for everything and I travel a lot and they

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are also now sponsoring the 7X team as we embark around the world on the Human Performance

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project.

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We have Murph coming up in May and again I bought their plate carrier.

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I ended up buying real ballistic plates rather than the fake weight plates and that has been

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my ride or die through Murph the last few years as well.

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One area I want to talk about that I haven't in previous sponsorship spots is their brick

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and mortar element.

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They were predominantly an online company up till more recently but now they are approaching

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100 stores all over the US.

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My local store is here in Gainesville Florida and I've been multiple times and the discounts

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you see online are applied also in the stores.

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So as I mentioned 511 is offering you 15% off every purchase that you make but I do

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want to say more often than not they have an even deeper discount especially around

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holiday times.

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But if you use the code SHIELD15 you will get 15% off your order or in the stores every

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time you make a purchase.

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If you want to hear more about 511, who they stand for and who works with them, listen

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to episode 580 of Behind the Shield podcast with 511 regional director Will Ayres.

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Welcome to the Behind the Shield podcast.

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As always my name is James Gearing and this week it is my absolute honor to welcome on

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the show strength and conditioning coach and the man behind the Wolfpack collective John

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Wolf.

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So in this conversation we discuss a host of topics from John's early life, his journey

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into the world of strength and conditioning, finding kettlebell training, mace work, training

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the tactical athlete, the mindset side of coaching, his own mental health story, foundation

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training and so much more.

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Now before we get to this incredible conversation as I say every week please just take a moment.

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Go to whichever app you listen to this on, subscribe to the show, leave feedback and

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leave a rating.

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Every single 5 star rating truly does elevate this podcast therefore making it easier for

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others to find and this is a free library of over 900 episodes now.

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So all I ask in return is that you help share these incredible men and women stories so

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I can get them to every single person on planet earth who needs to hear them.

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So with that being said I introduce to you coach John Wolf.

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Enjoy.

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Well John I want to start by saying this is a long time coming.

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I had one on the show quite a few years ago now.

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You were kind of the next person that I had in my crosshairs and then we bumped into each

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other again at a foundation training seminar a while ago.

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So I want to say firstly welcome to the Behind the Shield podcast.

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Hey happy to be here James.

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Yeah it has been a long time coming and what a wonderful treat it was to just organically

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be at the same place at the same time.

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Absolutely.

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I think we both have a huge amount of respect for what Dr. Goodman and the foundation's

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team provide the world in terms of a framework to work through.

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Fundamentally I think we all need to work on as humans that postural alignment and breathing

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is two primary platforms from which we perform and that self-regulation that comes with it.

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Man I got work that weekend.

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I got a lot of value out of it.

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Yeah it's not easy people like look at the picture.

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Oh you just stand with your legs apart and you hold your hands out like just you wait.

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Just you wait and it's not supposed to be crushing but it's amazing how much pressure

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or stress you can put on in a good way on the human body merely by just changing the

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position.

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Yeah definitely.

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You know I think that it really goes to you know the difference of what's perceived externally

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and what that internal experience intrinsic experience is you know and the amount of effort

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you put into to what you're practicing and it really it's one of those things where even

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if you get a workout and you understand like okay look this doesn't look too hard but the

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way you perform it can really change both the experience and the adaptive response right.

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So yeah you could just stand there in a posture but that's not doing the work necessarily.

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You actually have to understand what you're trying to accomplish and put some effort towards

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that.

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Absolutely.

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Well I want to dive into that when we get to that point in the timeline but let's start

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the very beginning.

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So tell me where you were born and tell me a little bit about your family dynamic what

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your parents did how many siblings.

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All right yeah definitely.

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So I was born in Monterey California.

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It's a pretty unique place in terms of being part of California but being a little bit

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on an island it's a peninsula and it actually has some deep history in terms of the history

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of California.

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Monterey was the first capital.

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It has a deep military history which is what brought both sides of my family into the area

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and because of that military history is also the houses it's called the Defense Language

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Institute where most of the military historically has gone to learn foreign language and so

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growing up it was really interesting in high school that the little town I grew up in Marina

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which is if you could call a suburb of Monterey it's just the outskirts of Monterey.

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You know you just say Monterey because nobody knows where Marina is you could drive through

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in blink of an eye in a fog bank really and it is documented as one of the most culturally

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diverse areas per capita in all of the United States actually the year I graduated 96 I

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believe there was an article that that stated as and some of those experiences that came

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from that cultural diversity really have shaped my perspective.

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I myself am Mexican Japanese and English so I'm a product of that diversity in some way

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shape or form and I have siblings right that are all mixed in different ways or they all

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share one father so they they're Mexican and Filipino right and so again I that means I

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was in a variety of different households and and learning different cultural values most

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of my friends were kind of in those same situations where you you might have a father that was

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in the military a mother that was brought in from a different country and then their

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parents the that the more ethnically diverse side of the family their their grandparents

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would come in and they didn't speak in English so I got to learn a lot of how to say hello

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goodbye thank you and eat a lot of really diverse ethnic foods which to be honest I

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have no complaints about.

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Was the Japanese side post World War II was that a military and civilian meeting?

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Yeah actually post Vietnam War really I think most of the the people that settled in that

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area really came as a product that timeline oh looks like we dropped oh we're back so

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yeah my grandparents were both my grandfathers were both Vietnam War veterans and I think

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a lot of that a lot of that time that's where a lot of people were stationed in that area

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as part of what was called the Golden Triangle so when people were stationed there usually

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you set your roots and you stayed there you know it's a really beautiful place I'd argue

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Monterey California is one of the most beautiful places in the world but but of course that's

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home so I might be a little biased.

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What is your perspective of the way the the divisions have been driven into this country

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by both sides of the aisle and trying to you know really kind of underline the labels oh

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you're you know you're this you're that you're this color that color this gender whatever

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it is when you came from such an eclectic background and that was the United States

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to you?

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You know I think that's a really great question you know growing up and growing up in California

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there's certain things that you you may have a bias around you know growing up in California

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even between then and now some of those terms have really changed what the meaning of the

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terms were or are and so growing up in California you think you're relatively liberal person

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but now as I've as I've removed myself from that environment I live in Texas now which

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is a very conservative environment for the most part except for the time I lived in Austin

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which is you know a little blue island in a big red state right and so this has been

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really something that I've reflected on a lot you know what I realized in that environment

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I grew up in you think it's liberal to accept people of diverse backgrounds different beliefs

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right and and to learn to coexist in a meaningful way in this relatively little melting pot

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and what I've reflected on since is that that might have been what I defined it as but in

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the current context really isn't the definition right now it's a seemingly competition based

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on who can who can prove they're more woke you know for the for the current terminology

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but realistically what I realized was in that environment it was a very traditional environment

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I wouldn't say it was necessarily conservative in the traditional definition but but the

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values that were instilled on the family level you know basically everything stems from the

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smallest concentric circle you and your mate you and your mate and your children the household

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the the neighborhood the community that you subscribe to whether that's your spiritual

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beliefs or or just your your community at large if it's ethnic that you relate to and

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how those shared beliefs kind of echo throughout and so what I realized was man even though

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I grew up in this place that would be predominantly defined as a liberal state I grew up around

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people with really traditional values and that was really a gift because I in as I've

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been removed from that I realized I yearn for that level of commitment to family values

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to bettering the family through generations and and and also people that have walked that

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that path they value hard work it's hard hard to get your family to the US and then the

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value that you place in being there as as a unique opportunity relative to where you've

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come from otherwise you wouldn't have come and and so these are the things that that

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I find a pain in the lack of of that shared value system that that shared belief the lack

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of of you know the attitude of gratitude for being where we are and this taking for granted

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that everybody's do more rather than empowering the individual to be the master of their own

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fate and working hard to to determine what what what they're do you know you have to

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do you deserve it or have you earned it and those are two very different things in terms

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of mindset I'd really I'd really like to believe I earned anything I've gotten in this life

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including the bumps and bruises that have come along the way absolutely no I think it's

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it's so sad because it is such a an eclectic beautiful country that was founded on immigration

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and even the UK you know used to be obviously a lot more white European a few hundred years

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ago but then after some of the the good and horrible things that the British people did

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you know you know most of them were just trying to get on with their lives but some of the

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people under our flag and going into different nations now it's this this incredibly diverse

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you know beautiful tapestry of cultures from all over the world and that is England you

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know or the UK and that is also you know the US and so you speak to people normal people

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and everyone has the same kind of experience like I never really thought about you know

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whatever it is transgender whatever you you pick a pick a hot topic at the moment like

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you know is it hurting someone no well then it's none of my business you know and the

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same with you know different races and cultures like yeah I've got some amazing friends that

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are gay or you know Indian or whatever again the the thing is and you know COVID comes

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out and all of a sudden supposedly everyone hates Asians and now at the moment apparently

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anti-semitism is through the roof I haven't heard a single thing said towards the Jewish

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people personally with my own ears so this is you know this is I think why as a community

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we need to talk to each other and turn the damn TV off and we were just talking before

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we hit record there's a big cell phone shut down at the moment yes where I live that's

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exactly what we need turn off all the devices turn off the screens and walk out your front

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door and look at your community are they at each other's throats are they stringing people

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up from trees are they or are they getting on are they neighbors is there you know some

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dickheads in your neighborhood of course but the most people kind and you know they come

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from all backgrounds and walks of life but they all want to feed their kids and put a

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roof over their head then you know we have so much more in common and most of the differences

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should be celebrated and not be a threat yeah I think that's that's absolutely the truth

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I grew up in a place again that was so diverse there's just so much to learn so much that

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you don't know and you know I think one of the the states that we have in our youth that

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is really a great gift and you're gifted this as a parent when when you get to observe it

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in your own children is is the true curiosity like curiosity without judgment right and

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judgment is conditioned right so we condition our children if if we have beliefs that that

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impose the our own fears our own beliefs upon a certain person or subset of the population

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that that's something that's learned more than anything else usually children they just

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they want to know you know how come I look different than that person and it's a genuine

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curiosity is usually there's no attachment to it and and you know as humans as we get

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older we lose the awe that comes from observing things that we've never observed because we've

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seen it more than once you know the the the awe of everyday life is diminished as we experience

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it more and we have more years on this on this planet and and we lose that curiosity

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and and I think that's one of the gifts being around children or having your own child where

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you get to look at the world through the lens of through their lens through that curiosity

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with all that curiosity and all that awe and you know you said it yourself if you go outside

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your front door you might have a pretty diverse neighborhood and in that neighborhood you

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feel safe so you don't you don't necessarily judge people the same way that the media is

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conditioning people too or you know if you live in a really homogeneous environment then

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then you might have a lot of those concerns but really fear-based and it tends to be the

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national narrative the media's narrative that people find themselves influenced by you know

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and it's at some point in time you got to control your inputs right I hate to believe

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that any any buddy wearing a uniform and a shield that's there to to protect and serve

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in any way shape or form wouldn't do their best to serve the person that in need in front

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of them no matter what what they look like and I don't think that's in the heart of

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of most people that that are served in that way you know and you know there's always that

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vocal minority or the like you said in every subset of our society there's going to be

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some people that that don't align to what we hope the values are and unfortunately they

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get highlighted a lot more much you know the spotlight shine on them a lot more brightly

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in in the media than than all of the heroes whether they whether they wear a uniform or

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not you know whether they're a teacher whether they're a service member whether they're they're

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fighting fires both literally and and socially you know that are out there doing the hard

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work every day absolutely well obviously you ended up finding yourself in the strength

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and conditioning world what were you playing and doing as a young child back then man you

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know when I was young I always kind of envisioned being a doctor which was funny you know I

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I'm relatively studious and really curious analytical so I've always continued to dive

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into being very interested in how the human body works I did a lot of different things

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though I've had very eclectic work history from from hospitality working in Monterey

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there's a lot of hospitality hotels tourism real estate also high-end real estate which

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is something that's common out there finance work in mortgage and work with autistic children

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because I have experience with one of my younger siblings having a developmental disability

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have having comfort in that arena and being able to translate that into into a learning

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environment where other children needed needed the type of support and acceptance that comes

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from from that familiarity and and that was really enriching ultimately I didn't stay

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in a lot of those things when when the big you know economic implosion happened in 2008

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and everybody was at my desk crying because they're gonna lose their house and I didn't

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have a financial vehicle to solve the problem I didn't have any vehicle to solve the problem

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I just made the determination that you know I spent the last five years investing in myself

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my physical practice you stuff kettlebells at my desk every office like try to convince

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everybody to take a break and do something physical in the middle of the office whether

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they're wearing just take your suit jacket off it's okay you know let's go ahead and

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get a little bit of movement in and inviting people over to my garage and having swing

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bells and do all kinds of different stuff that hey if I can't help people in in the

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profession I'm in right now immediately you know I like to think I'm a highly empathic

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person so like I would go home and be really distraught at seeing these families at my

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desk you know father mother crying kids wondering what's going on and and I just determined

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I was like man if if the economy is not going to support me being able to do what I'm here

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to do help people realize in America dream protect those assets and in the immediate

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timeline I'm not I realized there was a lack of alignment with what I felt purposeful doing

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and if I was going to do something to serve people in that immediate you know immediately

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hey if if I can offer something at scale that builds community gets people moving I can't

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necessarily change their financial reality or future but I can change the way that they

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perceive themselves right now and feel about their existence through good coaching and

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and doing what's right for their the only vehicle they're going to have for their whole

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life you know within their body and within that influence their mental emotional spiritual

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well-being because that's I think that's where good coaching intersects with with good movement

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or good physical practices it shouldn't be just just what you do in the gym ideally you're

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instilling beliefs and providing support for people to transcend whatever limiting factor

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there is across those planes you had a unique perspective on the crash when I when I moved

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to California from Florida so many of my friends were trying to convince me to buy property

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you got to get now there's this amazing mortgage you can get you just pay the interest and

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luckily coming from California from Florida the California prices were insane and I had

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that baseline to compare it so I'm not spending half a million dollars on an 800 square foot

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1950s house it's not happening so you know through your lens you know so that we can take away

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lessons and hopefully it doesn't happen again as a consumer or obviously the the banks themselves

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what were the the things that led to that and what was the ripple effect of that that

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you saw in the position that you were in yeah the financial vehicles themselves were a big

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thing and conditioned consumers so the environment the environment that we're in influences our

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beliefs and the way we show up and I think that people discount that we have in our society

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we have this belief that as an individual society that we're making all the choices

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irregardless of what's happening around us and I think this has already come up in our

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conversation people are very susceptible to condition to programming well if we if we

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don't control our inputs we're all susceptible to it because it frames our perspective of

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the common existence right and so and we have very short memories as human beings but the

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financial vehicle that you probably were talking about was really prevalent at that time were

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loans that you weren't just even paying the interest you're paying less than the interest

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because it was banking on this this belief that California real estate was going to continue

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growing at like 12 percent 15 percent year over year which is unsustainable and then

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people were getting upside down only more and more interest and then there were they

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were seeing those huge jumps 20 25 30 percent increase in value and then cashing out that

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value on the on the belief that it was going to perpetually be the existence they lived

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in and and people in the financial industry kind of fed into it you know they condition

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people to believe that that was that was a good strategy that they can they can live

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well they have the cake and eat it too you know they can they can buy a nice car and

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still keep their house and then you know eventually maybe some of those people had to live in

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the cars they're nice cars that maybe they wouldn't even have their nice cars after that

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you know it's a really tough thing but but this is true whether we're talking about our

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assets in tangible form or the our personal assets we can't borrow against your assets

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perpetually and not have it come due at some point in time you know if you if you're borrowing

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against your health if you're if you're not investing back into your personal well-being

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like I said physically mentally emotionally spiritually eventually you're going to be

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you're gonna be tapped out you're gonna be below below zero in terms of what you have

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access to in one or more of those those accounts and and you just you just got to put in every

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day you know you can't you can't take out more than you're putting in it's just never

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going to work long term well you mentioned about having kettlebells in the office when

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were you first exposed to strength and conditioning and how did you find yourself in the world

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of kettlebells specifically man you know really strength and conditioning was part of my youth

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my parents put me in martial arts when I was four funny story the reason they put me in

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martial arts because back to like my humanistic nature right like I was like oh I just want

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to hug everybody I don't I grew up in a rough area traditionally very like underprivileged

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area in Monterey and my father grew up in a rough time the this town seaside that I

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grew up in had had really big trouble during the like 60s a lot of places were really racially

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driven at that time and that's when my father grew up and he didn't fit in anywhere he's

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basically said every every neighborhood he walked through was in a white neighborhood

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he had to fight his way out of the white neighborhood there's a black neighborhood had to fight

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his way out of black neighborhood was a Mexican neighborhood he's a white and Japanese dude

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you didn't fit in anywhere and and that was something that I found strength in but in

324
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his era of coming out through adolescence it was it was a big challenge and so when

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I grew up in this in this neighborhood there's still really rough and so I might have a toy

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somebody else didn't have and I didn't come home with my toy my dad said well how come

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you don't have your toy I was like oh you know this guy I was four I didn't really have

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a lot of like this ownership understanding that like preserving my my integrity or boundaries

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I was like oh the kid you know it was like a conflict and the kid ended up with my toy

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he's like well if you ever come home without your toy or without an ass whooping in the

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future you're gonna get the latter you know and so they wanted to put me in martial arts

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so I could learn to have the type of tools that they felt I needed to have to survive

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in this world as a man you know instilled in me in my youth but the martial arts studio

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was a very place a high value on conditioning and discipline and it had a really great code

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of conduct bylaws that we all had to subscribe to as part of the core of our culture those

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things have driven who my identity as a human being and then the conditioning we had was

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brutal it was it was phenomenal though as a foundation for for me moving forward I

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always felt capable physically capable even if I was untrained or deconditioned for a

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long period of time just the my nervous system adapted to that reality in my youth and it's

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carried me on at times even when I wasn't so disciplined fast forward to high school

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curls for the girls and remember anybody remember those like cement filled plastic weights that

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everybody had in the garage and man just busting it out and trying to emulate what my uncles

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were doing because I thought they were so cool in my early teens and some of those things

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were leaking some of that concrete obviously by those years and then you know I really

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got distracted by the dream of the world you know partying and doing all these things working

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and I didn't find myself back to a level of commitment that I could be proud of until

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I actually found a darker time in life I was ended up being 130 pound meth addict at one

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point in time and I realized I needed to tap back into those things that supported me being

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my better better or best versions of myself and reflected back on my youth and martial

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arts reflected on being physically capable and invested doubled down in that arena and

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those arenas and so really everything that's happened in my life as a result of and how

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I overcame that dark time was kind of the intermingling of those two things with a new

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lens looking for methodologies and frameworks that supported me adopting those early beliefs

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and applying them in the context of me as a sovereign adult and also looking at things

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that extended both longevity and performance like the you know in the current paradigm

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you hear like Dr. Peter Tia talk about the difference between longevity and and so lifespan

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and health span you know if you live a long time of the last 20 years of your life you

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you cannot contribute that's not a good life but if you live a good life for even five

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or ten years less even but you're capable for everything up to the last year that's

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pretty awesome you know and and optimizing for those two things for some reason that

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that experience that the dark time really shaped the perspective that I value that because

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I was far from capable of doing much other than just trying to get get out of my own

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way for a long time there.

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So when you look back I think one of the misnomers about addiction is or someone tries a drug

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and there's this chemical hook and then they just can't shake it off and the reality is

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it's a way of filling a void because something that's happened to us prior to that addiction

367
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so you mentioned about having veterans in your family when you look back were there

368
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you know what were those elements now with this mature lens that you you know look introspectively

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that contributed to the suffering that you feel with meth in your case.

370
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Again this is a good question this is a good question because it's absolutely the truth

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and there's the intersection of those two things you need something that makes you susceptible

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right.

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Susceptible to finding some type of external escape or you know some way of for me you

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know I think that there's a lot of as a coach as I've evolved you know a lot of people use

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anger as a fuel like everybody watch water boys like tackling fuel you know like well

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mama doesn't know doesn't hurt her you know or whatever you know hey they know water sucks

377
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it really really sucks right.

378
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So and people aren't people I would say as a coach a lot of times I want to transfer

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the energy that people find in anger improving the world wrong into something that's more

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loving right because it's something that's sustainable because even if you achieve great

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things off that off high octane fuel of anger right you're not doing it in a way you're

382
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going to love and accept the outcomes and celebrate yourself as a result but I think

383
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there's something even more dangerous and this is this is to answer your question and

384
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that's apathy you know living in an apathetic state as a human being there you don't you

385
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don't even have enough care to be angry you know you might be angry but you also just

386
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lost a sense of humanity a sense of connection a sense of purpose that's even hard to tap

387
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into anger as a fuel and for me it was back to you'd said you know my my the veterans

388
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of my family well one of one side of my family I was really a lot more close with than the

389
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other my my grandmother was kind of like my second mom I had experienced death in the

390
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family before that but nothing so proximal nothing that really changed my perspective

391
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and when she passed away it wasn't just that she passed but but I felt she was such a wonderful

392
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maternal energy not only to me and my family but to an extended community it was ridiculous

393
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when she passed the the mortuary the funeral home just had people spilling out into the

394
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street to to say to to to pay respects and to tell stories about the impact she had on

395
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their lives and and it was just the way she left I felt was so unfair and it shook shook

396
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the foundation of what I thought were universal truths in my youth you know this is a really

397
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dangerous thing people grow up on Disney and all of these things that what what should

398
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be you know we believe things are right and wrong we believe things should be a certain

399
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way and when they don't line up it really can shake your foundation of what life should

400
00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:17,080
be like or is like and and this this death really did that now fast forward a year to

401
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the date I was already kind of in a downward spiral but say uh the day before the anniversary

402
00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:30,200
of her death my grandfather went back into the hospital he had lung cancer diagnosed

403
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20 years after he stopped smoking cigarettes in the military and and it really he he degenerated

404
00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:44,080
really quickly and so right after midnight my mom and I are in the room with them and

405
00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:51,520
that was that was that literally one year to the day after my grandmother passed during

406
00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:55,680
that time and during that window I wasn't the only person in my family that was self

407
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distracting my uncle he ended up with some legal problems I ended up seeing him and we

408
00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:06,720
had problems he and I and and we ended up having a night where we talked all night and

409
00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:11,920
he let me know he he had tried to kill himself a couple times and yeah I pleaded with him

410
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let him know hey you know I love you it doesn't matter whether our you know rougher times

411
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have been but I need you your kids need you we love you and I also acknowledged at that

412
00:36:24,240 --> 00:36:31,520
time I couldn't remove you know the freedom he had to make choices you know and so and

413
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nothing I could say would would change it and he let me know it was gonna happen so

414
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one day I answered the phone at work I hear my mom crying man I knew exactly what happened

415
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so I was really in this state right I just didn't care about much you know and even though

416
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I was trying to do good things and do right in many areas of life it just wasn't enough

417
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to fill that to fill the cup in terms of meaning of life and and you know I was apathetic I

418
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didn't care and so yeah you know I fell into the trap I cared about performance I think

419
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this is something that a lot of people on the listeners podcast can relate to you're

420
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hurt and you just double down on saying like I show up I get my work done I show up I'm

421
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in pain it doesn't matter because I measure my value based on this objective thing you

422
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know my performance metrics my I was I still had two jobs I was making good money but I

423
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was doing things to blow off steam and like burning it at both ends back to that withdrawing

424
00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:41,960
more than depositing in really core fundamental aspects of life even though I'm I didn't

425
00:37:41,960 --> 00:37:48,360
value it because I value making money working hard achieving in some type of meaningful

426
00:37:48,360 --> 00:37:55,760
but less meaningful way for what I needed at that time in life to feel purposeful and

427
00:37:55,760 --> 00:38:00,880
it was just like a way to externalize and validate myself because I didn't feel valid

428
00:38:00,880 --> 00:38:06,200
and then and then I fell into the trap of using as an experiment and then I instead

429
00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:14,080
of like taking time off to recover I needed to perform so I used again that fed that cycle

430
00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:18,480
and before I knew it I was I was deep down a hole I didn't know how to get out of for

431
00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:24,200
quite a while sorry that was a long explanation no no but this is the right explanation this

432
00:38:24,200 --> 00:38:28,080
is what people need to hear this is you know this is behind the curtain and the irony is

433
00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:32,960
a lot of people in in the professions are listening you know we see this we see you

434
00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:37,600
know the addiction and all and the violence and the suicides and all these things and

435
00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:42,960
so what's beautiful is when people have this courageous vulnerability like you have to

436
00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:47,320
tell their stories it debunks the myth that everyone else is fine and they're the only

437
00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:54,320
one struggling and also debunks the myth of you know well crack is a you know a poor black

438
00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:57,600
problem or you know whatever it is I mean I've had numerous people that were addicted

439
00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:01,440
to meth on the show that were high performers just like you said you know they were in Wall

440
00:39:01,440 --> 00:39:06,760
Street or they were firefighters but behind the scenes they were they were drowning and

441
00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:12,280
that was the thing that was keeping them going yeah I mean it's it's it's painful when you

442
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:19,560
realize how how common the human experience is sometimes because we could project value

443
00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:25,200
on somebody because of what they've achieved and because even even though they're in pain

444
00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:29,320
they've been able to contribute meaningful things to our life through entertainment through

445
00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:35,200
laughter you know you talk about Robin Williams or you know associated with the brand on it

446
00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:39,640
twitch Steven Boss who is a dancer and he he committed suicide not too long ago I met

447
00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:43,400
him in person got to work with him and I I just love being around the guy I was like

448
00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:50,200
man this guy's so humble he's so cool he's so he he he's an edifier you know he celebrated

449
00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:55,680
my skills in the time even though he's a he was a just a phenomenal mover and I was like

450
00:39:55,680 --> 00:39:59,600
man you know what I look forward to the next time I get to interact with this human being

451
00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:04,780
and then it never it never happened you know but I always enjoyed watching him perform

452
00:40:04,780 --> 00:40:08,320
I had the opportunity to connect with him in person and I never would have known you

453
00:40:08,320 --> 00:40:13,040
know just I think a lot of people didn't really know about what my reality was at the time

454
00:40:13,040 --> 00:40:19,120
until until it was obvious yeah I remember twitch twitch did a duet I think it was on

455
00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:23,960
so you think you can dancing that was the show and it was with an Asian dancer if my

456
00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:30,200
memory serves me right and it was such a powerful dance you know and I love watching that I'm

457
00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:34,720
in the contemporary dance some of those are just incredible but yeah I mean he always

458
00:40:34,720 --> 00:40:38,760
just seemed to exude happiness and he was I think a host on some of the television shows

459
00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:44,040
and I mean he was just like Robin Williams he was that is the last person I would expect

460
00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:47,780
that would do that but that is the problem we all wear a mask some of us are entertainers

461
00:40:47,780 --> 00:40:54,400
some of us are soldiers or firefighters some of us are coaches but when you realize that

462
00:40:54,400 --> 00:41:00,120
everyone is hurting and you create an environment for someone to drop that mask and say I'm

463
00:41:00,120 --> 00:41:06,680
a human being I do this thing but that's not who I am that's I think I think it's happening

464
00:41:06,680 --> 00:41:11,360
I think it's beginning but debunking that myth again because if you look around in my

465
00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:16,520
profession I always say this you know if I pull up on a car crash I can't queen out and

466
00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:20,800
start screaming like oh my god there's so much blood you know you have to be in a certain

467
00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:26,720
kind of alpha mode if you want to use that expression but after the event you've lost

468
00:41:26,720 --> 00:41:30,960
you know two children or whatever happened in that you have to then kick back in the

469
00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:37,960
other side you know the the yin and the problem is is a lot of us we just think that you know

470
00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:43,840
the the Schwarzenegger Rambo you know masculinity a lot of us were raised on is reality and

471
00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:49,160
it's not you talked about Disney same thing the reality is that every single human being

472
00:41:49,160 --> 00:41:56,040
feels the spectrum of emotions you cannot get around it or you don't and it's toxic

473
00:41:56,040 --> 00:42:02,480
right like you're like I know that at times surviving not not to say that my experiences

474
00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:09,280
were like a lot of first responders but you can decondition your ability to feel and then

475
00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:14,160
it's a really slippery slope where it's you don't feel human anymore you you know like

476
00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:19,200
but it doesn't it doesn't absolve you of the pain because then you lack you lack so many

477
00:42:19,200 --> 00:42:24,280
of the things that do contribute to you living a meaningful existence as a human being right

478
00:42:24,280 --> 00:42:29,600
and and relearning how to feel relearning how to communicate and express those things

479
00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:36,560
is is even scarier it's harder and you know I've gone through my version of that and I

480
00:42:36,560 --> 00:42:43,840
I've worked with a lot of people to try to bridge the gap you know try to try to and

481
00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:48,380
make it as safe as possible you know the gym is a relatively sterile environment but like

482
00:42:48,380 --> 00:42:55,760
you can you can start to get people to find their edges as you know physiological stress

483
00:42:55,760 --> 00:43:00,320
emotional stress they're just all perceived as stress so like if we can find different

484
00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:06,360
thresholds and then condition different internal responses then the carryover can be really

485
00:43:06,360 --> 00:43:12,560
great because sometimes those softer skills and psychological tools and frameworks and

486
00:43:12,560 --> 00:43:19,400
you know you're building scaffolding for people to process sometimes in a very unrelated

487
00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:23,040
environment something that they can experience and trigger and then be able to process in

488
00:43:23,040 --> 00:43:27,760
a way that's a lot healthier than the default mode which is what we find ourselves in a

489
00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:34,160
lot absolutely well I want to get to the coaching side and the emotional connection with a lot

490
00:43:34,160 --> 00:43:39,400
of these these athletes just before we do though what was the darkest place that you

491
00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:44,080
found yourself and what were the tools that you were able to use to navigate yourself

492
00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:50,760
out of that darkness yeah man there was a wake-up call so you know when everything is

493
00:43:50,760 --> 00:43:56,120
dark you know you you can see if you see a sliver of light it's a it's a it could be

494
00:43:56,120 --> 00:44:02,480
really it could really really powerful but it also could be really triggering too right

495
00:44:02,480 --> 00:44:08,840
because it amplifies the current reality you're in and so at the time I didn't care much

496
00:44:08,840 --> 00:44:16,200
about a lot but I did find somebody I chose to see value in you know like a person that

497
00:44:16,200 --> 00:44:19,760
person ended up being my wife at one point in time and that didn't work out the way I

498
00:44:19,760 --> 00:44:26,000
perceived it largely probably because I created this really unsustainable paradigm in the

499
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:31,840
relationship because where I was and what I projected in that the early phase of the

500
00:44:31,840 --> 00:44:37,040
relationship and and that but it served a great purpose right it served a great purpose

501
00:44:37,040 --> 00:44:42,800
because it it opened my eyes just a sliver and and from that sliver shortly thereafter

502
00:44:42,800 --> 00:44:46,240
sometimes the universe really interesting how it starts to stack on messages if you

503
00:44:46,240 --> 00:44:52,960
just listen you stay aware a really close friend of mine that grew up with he he saw

504
00:44:52,960 --> 00:44:57,840
me in that state we were kind of both involved in that that aspect of life to some degree

505
00:44:57,840 --> 00:45:04,240
meal I was just fell a lot deeper and he just he grabbed me and shook me because it was

506
00:45:04,240 --> 00:45:10,120
just a very transactional type of relationship at the time he's like hey where's my friend

507
00:45:10,120 --> 00:45:14,960
you know I mean you're the one that always was more emotionally tuned in and you know

508
00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:20,840
he was really angry he had a lot a lot of childhood trauma and he's like I'm I'm the

509
00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:27,680
one who's supposed to be able to rely on you and he was crying and I was so empty I was

510
00:45:27,680 --> 00:45:33,160
such a shell I was so tired I had no emotional or physical energetic reserves and I just

511
00:45:33,160 --> 00:45:40,160
acknowledge it's like man I should feel something right now just as fundamentally as a human

512
00:45:40,160 --> 00:45:44,840
being I should feel something right now but I was devoid of emotion I knew what I should

513
00:45:44,840 --> 00:45:52,480
feel and I had no capacity to feel it and I was like man I got my car drove home and

514
00:45:52,480 --> 00:45:57,680
just reflected on that mentally because I had no emotional response and I was like man

515
00:45:57,680 --> 00:46:05,240
this is this is the antithesis of any existence I've had up to this point or anything I valued

516
00:46:05,240 --> 00:46:10,560
up to this point in my life and it really shook me it really shook me when I had the

517
00:46:10,560 --> 00:46:17,560
opportunity to like process it shortly thereafter I went to my mom's house I called her I was

518
00:46:17,560 --> 00:46:22,200
like hey you know is it okay if I come by now let her know I sat her down at the table

519
00:46:22,200 --> 00:46:28,160
I was like man you know mom I know you know I've been messed up I've tried to avoid being

520
00:46:28,160 --> 00:46:33,400
around you for for this last year and she had six brothers who all gone through different

521
00:46:33,400 --> 00:46:39,760
journeys with different either substances or violence or other problems so she obviously

522
00:46:39,760 --> 00:46:44,880
knew you know and I just let her know I was like you know one I know you know and you've

523
00:46:44,880 --> 00:46:51,640
known two I really appreciate you not calling me out in a way that made me feel judged and

524
00:46:51,640 --> 00:46:56,960
the fact that you're still here emotionally present with me and not not doing that now

525
00:46:56,960 --> 00:47:04,160
and then three as well as you know I see what I've done and I'm and I don't want you to

526
00:47:04,160 --> 00:47:08,320
worry because obviously that's the third thing she's been worried sick through the whole

527
00:47:08,320 --> 00:47:14,400
process and you just say you don't have to worry because I'm gonna fix it and so ultimately

528
00:47:14,400 --> 00:47:19,800
that that leads so that the answer that you asked after like what is the path out and

529
00:47:19,800 --> 00:47:27,240
you know it's hard because I feel I had an unfair advantage I always felt loved things

530
00:47:27,240 --> 00:47:32,120
were far from perfect and things were things were hard in a lot of different ways and my

531
00:47:32,120 --> 00:47:36,800
parents weren't together told you all my siblings were from a different father that relationship

532
00:47:36,800 --> 00:47:43,960
wasn't always easy on me between he and I he and my mom everything the life's imperfect

533
00:47:43,960 --> 00:47:48,120
but in my heart or heart I'll heart of hearts I always knew I was loved I was celebrated

534
00:47:48,120 --> 00:47:53,800
in some way shape or form and I got to lean on that as a fundamental aspect of my identity

535
00:47:53,800 --> 00:48:01,800
and I you know it's hard as humans sometimes to remember you're loved because I think most

536
00:48:01,800 --> 00:48:05,920
of us we want to be loved by the world like back to Robin Williams or twitch and they

537
00:48:05,920 --> 00:48:11,320
were sometimes it's just the one person who shows up and lets you see you for who you

538
00:48:11,320 --> 00:48:15,600
are and sometimes we don't even have that one person show up when we feel we need it

539
00:48:15,600 --> 00:48:21,640
and it has to be us and we have to find ways to validate our own existence but if we let

540
00:48:21,640 --> 00:48:27,440
if we let someone in oftentimes that one person shows up where when you need them and if you

541
00:48:27,440 --> 00:48:33,480
let that one person's perspective of you matter enough to like to validate you and give you

542
00:48:33,480 --> 00:48:40,040
a good reason to be here and do the work it can get you through I've seen it lots of times

543
00:48:40,040 --> 00:48:44,920
not only with myself other people but at the same time even though even though I knew I

544
00:48:44,920 --> 00:48:52,720
was loved man I couldn't feel it I couldn't see it and I just had to be willing to accept

545
00:48:52,720 --> 00:49:00,200
that at a time where I didn't feel it so that was that was the path out man you know a lot

546
00:49:00,200 --> 00:49:04,800
of hard work a lot of slipping down it was a Sisyphean effort you know the rock kept

547
00:49:04,800 --> 00:49:12,320
rolling right back down the hill you know and eventually there's a breakthrough and

548
00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:18,280
I'm really happy to be to survive that era of my life and then use it as fuel to serve

549
00:49:18,280 --> 00:49:19,720
other people yeah.

550
00:49:19,720 --> 00:49:26,140
Well it's a powerful story before we hit record we were talking about the do not disturb function

551
00:49:26,140 --> 00:49:31,160
on our phones and that really is a great analogy for what you're talking about the inability

552
00:49:31,160 --> 00:49:37,320
to feel you are not feeling it but those calls and voicemails and texts they're still racking

553
00:49:37,320 --> 00:49:42,840
up you've just turned off the the stimulus so at some point you have to turn it back

554
00:49:42,840 --> 00:49:46,400
on and face all those I think it's kind of a good analogy like you said just because

555
00:49:46,400 --> 00:49:50,960
we're not feeling doesn't mean that the body isn't experiencing all of the the impacts

556
00:49:50,960 --> 00:49:58,720
it's just been you know deafened at that point yeah and you know it's tough because some

557
00:49:58,720 --> 00:50:03,480
of those loving messages you don't feel you don't feel you're not willing to accept that

558
00:50:03,480 --> 00:50:09,880
is true you know but eventually you just have to realize like hey we all have value and

559
00:50:09,880 --> 00:50:13,720
we all have some way to contribute you know back to what we talked about earlier in the

560
00:50:13,720 --> 00:50:20,640
podcast valuing your contribution to society rather than expecting society to serve you

561
00:50:20,640 --> 00:50:27,640
and you know thankfully the people on this podcast they've opted to be the people most

562
00:50:27,640 --> 00:50:33,160
people listening here they've opted to contribute in a meaningful way willing to sacrifice themselves

563
00:50:33,160 --> 00:50:39,440
man you know and even in that system even in that subset of society I think there's

564
00:50:39,440 --> 00:50:45,360
still less susceptibility to these these kind of pitfalls though you know but but that alone

565
00:50:45,360 --> 00:50:53,640
that choice alone to me to be someone and for me to be any way shape or form to be able

566
00:50:53,640 --> 00:51:00,240
to serve people who serve in that capacity is an honor and so it no matter no matter

567
00:51:00,240 --> 00:51:05,240
what else has happened and no matter what other choices have been made fundamentally

568
00:51:05,240 --> 00:51:11,040
you making that choice as a career path is something that's constant in your life to

569
00:51:11,040 --> 00:51:17,920
me that that speaks volumes of the value of you as a human being and and and if there's

570
00:51:17,920 --> 00:51:24,360
a way I can be of service then I would be happy to you know and well I think another

571
00:51:24,360 --> 00:51:29,640
thing that a lot of people listening have in common is simply that they don't accept

572
00:51:29,640 --> 00:51:35,480
that the way they feel that whether it's their physical side their emotional side that that's

573
00:51:35,480 --> 00:51:39,000
just the way it's going to be I think a lot of people are on here listening wanting to

574
00:51:39,000 --> 00:51:44,040
hear from all of these great minds because there's hope then I mean your story is a story

575
00:51:44,040 --> 00:51:48,480
of hope and post-traumatic growth it's not you know you're not sitting here now still

576
00:51:48,480 --> 00:51:53,000
curled up in a ball relying on meth to fill the void you know you've come out of that

577
00:51:53,000 --> 00:51:57,880
so whether it's overcoming back injury with Eric Goodman or you know what we'll talk about

578
00:51:57,880 --> 00:52:03,200
today being the the the best version of yourself as a first responder or simply overcoming

579
00:52:03,200 --> 00:52:07,320
trauma I think a lot of people listening obviously are from you know the uniform professions

580
00:52:07,320 --> 00:52:12,720
and the medical professions but I think the people listen because they there is hope and

581
00:52:12,720 --> 00:52:15,600
they know that there are solutions to their problems on here too which is what you're

582
00:52:15,600 --> 00:52:21,360
bringing here today yeah and sometimes the solutions are more simple than they seem right

583
00:52:21,360 --> 00:52:28,760
like as humans what I've really observed is in myself and everybody else oftentimes the

584
00:52:28,760 --> 00:52:33,600
simplest solution to make some level of measurable and meaningful meaningful products measurable

585
00:52:33,600 --> 00:52:37,360
not an objective necessarily like we live in a subjective reality right like as human

586
00:52:37,360 --> 00:52:43,160
beings you know you said what I think I feel with my experience that's not always measurable

587
00:52:43,160 --> 00:52:47,140
I can I can I can chart it on a graph one to ten how do I feel or whatever the case

588
00:52:47,140 --> 00:52:52,920
is but but that's even kind of objectifying something in a way that it doesn't take into

589
00:52:52,920 --> 00:52:59,640
full account the reality internally and and some one of my students and I've been working

590
00:52:59,640 --> 00:53:05,840
on some some projects together some retreats in the jungle to to disconnect from society

591
00:53:05,840 --> 00:53:12,920
to reconnect with ourselves and nature and and the framework you know that we were talking

592
00:53:12,920 --> 00:53:20,440
about is something we'll call elevate so it's it's an acronym ELVT and and essentially we're

593
00:53:20,440 --> 00:53:26,160
trying to elevate reality right our reality you know by elevating you or elevating me

594
00:53:26,160 --> 00:53:33,720
you know and all we want to do is elevate how we breathe move and feel which basically

595
00:53:33,720 --> 00:53:39,920
you know if we do the first two the third is almost a foregone conclusion right so it's

596
00:53:39,920 --> 00:53:46,080
not complicated but there are a lot of different ways to tap in and there are a lot of ways

597
00:53:46,080 --> 00:53:53,200
to enhance like our our reality in the present moment but as humans we often because it can

598
00:53:53,200 --> 00:54:00,240
be simple as going outside and for a walk barefoot in some dirt you know or grass and

599
00:54:00,240 --> 00:54:05,840
that's grounding but for some reason we'll we'll make a million reasons why we don't

600
00:54:05,840 --> 00:54:11,160
have the ability or time to do that you know a five-minute walk you know with some intentional

601
00:54:11,160 --> 00:54:17,200
breathing can be super impactful and yet we'll have all this resistance right so it's not

602
00:54:17,200 --> 00:54:22,740
it and and we always want to resist the thing that we know is going to give us the most

603
00:54:22,740 --> 00:54:28,380
direct path to feeling better and it's just why we need support we need we need community

604
00:54:28,380 --> 00:54:31,680
we try

605
00:54:31,680 --> 00:54:36,880
there is a great book by Stephen Pressfield called the war of art and I read it it kind

606
00:54:36,880 --> 00:54:41,240
of helped me kind of write write this second book that I'm writing but that's what the

607
00:54:41,240 --> 00:54:45,480
whole book is about it's about resistance and he's specifically talking about writing

608
00:54:45,480 --> 00:54:49,680
but my god there are so many parallels and I've reached out to him hoping that I'll be

609
00:54:49,680 --> 00:54:55,320
able to get him on the podcast one day because then that resistance is everywhere and and

610
00:54:55,320 --> 00:55:02,120
the simple concept the greater the resistance you feel the more important that thing that

611
00:55:02,120 --> 00:55:07,840
you're trying to do is and it's so true and a lot of people feel resistance to oh god

612
00:55:07,840 --> 00:55:12,320
I gotta cook I'm just gonna go you know to McDonald's so oh you know I don't I've got

613
00:55:12,320 --> 00:55:16,240
to walk the dog but you know what it'll be fine let's open the back door I think the

614
00:55:16,240 --> 00:55:20,800
reason why there's so much resistance is because they are really important things you know

615
00:55:20,800 --> 00:55:23,840
and he talks about you know the closer you get to finishing the book and I can attest

616
00:55:23,840 --> 00:55:31,440
to this the harder it gets you know when you reframe it like if I'm feeling a lot of resistance

617
00:55:31,440 --> 00:55:37,920
that's my that's my sign that this is actually important that kind of reverse psychology

618
00:55:37,920 --> 00:55:42,840
is incredibly powerful if you know if this next to no resistance it probably isn't even

619
00:55:42,840 --> 00:55:47,240
a big deal but you know the reason why you feel so much resistance to that gym session

620
00:55:47,240 --> 00:55:50,120
getting your bag packed and walking through the door of across the gym or whatever it

621
00:55:50,120 --> 00:55:57,080
is is because there's a lot of value to that and it will help but there's this weird universal

622
00:55:57,080 --> 00:56:01,800
element that the greater the benefit sometimes the greater the resistance until obviously

623
00:56:01,800 --> 00:56:09,120
you create that discipline yeah man shoot that it's it's a it's a bit of a mindfuck

624
00:56:09,120 --> 00:56:13,360
you know there's a paradigm shift that we need to take on you know pressure is a privilege

625
00:56:13,360 --> 00:56:18,080
and guess what most of the people as you said people that are listening to this podcast

626
00:56:18,080 --> 00:56:22,320
they would see that as true in their professional lives they just don't necessarily apply it

627
00:56:22,320 --> 00:56:32,320
to their own benefit you know on a daily subjective basis how do I improve my perception of reality

628
00:56:32,320 --> 00:56:37,480
that I'm experiencing right now and there's just a lot of tools but they take they take

629
00:56:37,480 --> 00:56:43,200
practice and man feels there's I can only speak from experience there's a lot of resistance

630
00:56:43,200 --> 00:56:49,960
to doing what's right for me as a platform for being of greater service it's this we

631
00:56:49,960 --> 00:56:56,140
all seem to buy into the need to do for do for others do for achievement in measurable

632
00:56:56,140 --> 00:57:01,080
ways that are outlined external of us and and have a hard time creating that internal

633
00:57:01,080 --> 00:57:09,200
framework without support absolutely so I had um Zahoran who became a good friend um

634
00:57:09,200 --> 00:57:14,240
all about kettlebells I had Greg Walsh on not too long ago from wolf brigade deep into

635
00:57:14,240 --> 00:57:19,160
the the mace side I know you know back from when I knew about you and I was watching all

636
00:57:19,160 --> 00:57:23,480
your videos when you're back with on it um those are the two tools that we seem to see

637
00:57:23,480 --> 00:57:28,640
you using a lot so how did you come across kettlebells and maces and who were some of

638
00:57:28,640 --> 00:57:33,920
the mentors early in your career yeah man kettlebells were probably one of the earliest

639
00:57:33,920 --> 00:57:41,840
things that I actually I found Paul Sotswine's writings in muscle media 2000 was an EAS uh

640
00:57:41,840 --> 00:57:47,200
publication magazine a fitness publication and and I just loved his writing he was talking

641
00:57:47,200 --> 00:57:52,960
about like really simplified frameworks for achieving you know outrageous strength levels

642
00:57:52,960 --> 00:57:59,080
and I started applying those in the context of this time instead of 2001 where I was trying

643
00:57:59,080 --> 00:58:04,640
to to rebuild myself and I saw a huge ROIs got all of his books I was reading them all

644
00:58:04,640 --> 00:58:08,120
back then there's a VHS tapes you didn't even have DVDs you don't even have DVDs anymore

645
00:58:08,120 --> 00:58:12,400
really everything's streaming I mean you could still buy a DVD I guess but who does that

646
00:58:12,400 --> 00:58:22,080
anymore and then um and then at that same time I you know the internet was is mostly

647
00:58:22,080 --> 00:58:28,480
like chat rooms it was like archaic time for the internet so you can just like google something

648
00:58:28,480 --> 00:58:35,760
because google didn't really exist um and so Paul wrote a testimonial about this other

649
00:58:35,760 --> 00:58:43,720
mover another coach Scott Sonnen and so around that time that Paul was bringing kettlebells

650
00:58:43,720 --> 00:58:51,000
Scott was swinging clubs and doing all these uh mobility coordination drills some of ground

651
00:58:51,000 --> 00:58:58,360
based standing a lot of them were like inspired through folklore folklore dance or cultural

652
00:58:58,360 --> 00:59:04,760
movement systems um and uh yeah man I went down that and I was like these are rabbit

653
00:59:04,760 --> 00:59:10,280
holes I can go down for a while I saw because kettlebell certified in 2003 it was like the

654
00:59:10,280 --> 00:59:14,160
golden era of kettlebells in terms of like a lot of the people that were contributing

655
00:59:14,160 --> 00:59:20,360
to the RKC in helping teach it they had moved on to have their own kettlebell systems you're

656
00:59:20,360 --> 00:59:28,440
talking about like Mike Muller Steve Cotter uh Jeff Martone uh uh Steve Maxwell right

657
00:59:28,440 --> 00:59:33,480
they were all assisting at the certification it was it was brutal it was awesome like everybody

658
00:59:33,480 --> 00:59:38,800
took turns with what they were working on and put the whole crew through stuff outdoors

659
00:59:38,800 --> 00:59:44,760
in Minneapolis and it was it was great it was eye-opening and then I also went in that

660
00:59:44,760 --> 00:59:51,440
year to another certification uh that was a club swinging certification and mobility

661
00:59:51,440 --> 00:59:55,560
certification uh called circular straight training and so it was kettlebells and clubs

662
00:59:55,560 --> 01:00:00,040
and all the mobility stuff were the foundation from which a lot of the other practices I

663
01:00:00,040 --> 01:00:03,080
adopted really sprung from.

664
01:00:03,080 --> 01:00:09,080
So as you are coaching kind of circling around to what we talked about for a little bit before

665
01:00:09,080 --> 01:00:15,000
that um I think one of the real eye-opener is probably Julian Peneau from StrongFit I

666
01:00:15,000 --> 01:00:21,240
had him on several times and he really started tapping into the emotional release of some

667
01:00:21,240 --> 01:00:25,920
exercises and I even saw this with my my stepson my bonus boy he went through that kind of

668
01:00:25,920 --> 01:00:31,240
turbulent teenage time and would kind of give up halfway on a sled push and I'd kind of

669
01:00:31,240 --> 01:00:35,960
get on him a little bit and then he'd get all angry you know push the sled and then

670
01:00:35,960 --> 01:00:43,320
burst into tears but again there's when you look at coaching let's say CrossFit you know

671
01:00:43,320 --> 01:00:46,560
you walk through a door here's your warm-up you know here's your strength portion here's

672
01:00:46,560 --> 01:00:52,520
your wad you know here's your cool down or accessory and then you leave again when I created

673
01:00:52,520 --> 01:00:58,280
um my own class at the gym which is a tactical athlete training class it was a lot more of

674
01:00:58,280 --> 01:01:03,120
an intimate environment I got to literally you know write it however I want it literally

675
01:01:03,120 --> 01:01:06,360
would go on you know what's the weather that day how many people have I got so I would

676
01:01:06,360 --> 01:01:12,880
put it together literally on the fly but I started weaving in a sandbag carrier we got

677
01:01:12,880 --> 01:01:17,160
a parking garage like I think five stories high so they'd have to carry the sandbag there

678
01:01:17,160 --> 01:01:21,000
all the way up the stairs and then we'd drop them on the roof and then I would just talk

679
01:01:21,000 --> 01:01:25,920
to them and this would be like once every three months and just check in on them and

680
01:01:25,920 --> 01:01:31,440
why are you even here what is your what is your why and it was amazing feeling stronger

681
01:01:31,440 --> 01:01:35,920
because I was subjected to domestic abuse or I've been going through a divorce or you

682
01:01:35,920 --> 01:01:41,920
know whatever and all of a sudden you realize as a coach or I realized that the doing part

683
01:01:41,920 --> 01:01:48,840
was just a small portion you know and as a great example of a weight loss program Johann

684
01:01:48,840 --> 01:01:53,400
Hari talks about and very long story very short they're trying to get this woman this

685
01:01:53,400 --> 01:01:58,120
kind of ivy thing she's the rock star of the class loses all this weight and then falls

686
01:01:58,120 --> 01:02:04,520
off the wagon and then some astute person down the road starts doing psychological evaluations

687
01:02:04,520 --> 01:02:09,960
of these patients and she they figure out she started eating after her grandfather abused

688
01:02:09,960 --> 01:02:16,760
her sexually and so she didn't want to be slim she didn't want to attract the advances

689
01:02:16,760 --> 01:02:24,280
of people so that was her kind of safe space was the obesity so I had a real kind of aha

690
01:02:24,280 --> 01:02:32,440
moment on understanding the person the why their emotional kind of you know spectrum

691
01:02:32,440 --> 01:02:36,760
as an absolute superpower on top of the fact that you're simply coaching you know barbells

692
01:02:36,760 --> 01:02:42,340
and all the things so you came out of you know your struggles you you enter the coaching

693
01:02:42,340 --> 01:02:47,640
world talk to me about you know your relationship as a coach with the emotional side of your

694
01:02:47,640 --> 01:02:53,360
athletes that you coach this is exactly what you just said is is there's a lot to unpack

695
01:02:53,360 --> 01:02:58,120
if you're really going to help and I kind of alluded to this before you work with a

696
01:02:58,120 --> 01:03:05,960
lot of high achievers a lot of athletes particularly in combat sports or you know contact sports

697
01:03:05,960 --> 01:03:11,880
you know there's always there's a lot of dialogue internally where they went through a lot of

698
01:03:11,880 --> 01:03:18,280
struggles and they're trying to redefine who they are and prove prove to other people who

699
01:03:18,280 --> 01:03:25,120
they are a lot of times or you have people who are moving away from from an optimal state

700
01:03:25,120 --> 01:03:32,600
of health because they there's psychological trauma and they're trying to preserve themselves

701
01:03:32,600 --> 01:03:38,560
in a way that isn't healthy and sustainable so you know it's always this this thing where

702
01:03:38,560 --> 01:03:43,560
what got you potentially to somewhere you value isn't going to get you to where you

703
01:03:43,560 --> 01:03:49,600
want to be from there you see this in in a lot of you know tactical athletes as you just

704
01:03:49,600 --> 01:03:57,000
spoke to the the barrier to entry is being a fire breather and being able to push yourself

705
01:03:57,000 --> 01:04:03,660
beyond the capacity of the average bearer you know the average person but once you get

706
01:04:03,660 --> 01:04:10,120
to a certain level your knowledge experience and and your your strategic mind your ability

707
01:04:10,120 --> 01:04:14,120
to see things other people don't see put things into play that other people wouldn't have

708
01:04:14,120 --> 01:04:20,040
the wherewithal to do and still be able to perform maybe not you're not 25 anymore but

709
01:04:20,040 --> 01:04:26,160
your value and the paradigms of your value is are different but also the strategies for

710
01:04:26,160 --> 01:04:31,060
you to extend the duration of your career your duration of service that's a big thing

711
01:04:31,060 --> 01:04:36,680
for longevity to me is is is longevity this is before Peter Atiyah talked about life span

712
01:04:36,680 --> 01:04:43,120
versus health span longevity can be defined as as a duration of life and it can be I found

713
01:04:43,120 --> 01:04:49,320
it an alternate that the duration of service so like how long are you serviceable like

714
01:04:49,320 --> 01:04:54,960
as a tool to be durable and have longevity like how long is this going to be effective

715
01:04:54,960 --> 01:05:03,280
as a tool and to me I don't I don't I want my duration of service to extend as a function

716
01:05:03,280 --> 01:05:09,080
of the container of my duration of life and to for that to be the case we have to we have

717
01:05:09,080 --> 01:05:16,640
to start to unpack some of these other things and reframe our perception our soft skills

718
01:05:16,640 --> 01:05:25,880
our tools and so when we we look at you said this this emotional response to the physical

719
01:05:25,880 --> 01:05:30,760
you get to a point where somebody's more receptive right because you break down some of the armor

720
01:05:30,760 --> 01:05:36,880
the barriers through through stressors and through shared suffering a lot of times we

721
01:05:36,880 --> 01:05:42,800
create team we create community you understand that people are there when you're having a

722
01:05:42,800 --> 01:05:48,840
hard time and they're offering a helping hand it kind of transcends some of these maybe

723
01:05:48,840 --> 01:05:56,280
limiting beliefs in a lot of ways but also even it even earlier some of the things that

724
01:05:56,280 --> 01:06:03,520
I like to look at is is more than just work capacity multi-planar movement skills because

725
01:06:03,520 --> 01:06:08,440
there's a large argument that the human brain evolved not only to enhance our ability to

726
01:06:08,440 --> 01:06:15,240
communicate but because we're highly articulate as we move in new ways we unlock new neural

727
01:06:15,240 --> 01:06:21,560
pathways we create a state of neuroplasticity heightened state of receptivity and creativity

728
01:06:21,560 --> 01:06:26,520
this isn't something that we talked about it on it a lot with nootropics enhancing that

729
01:06:26,520 --> 01:06:32,360
would cognitive support supplementation but that's why a lot of the movement skills I

730
01:06:32,360 --> 01:06:38,240
taught there were also they were taught to induce various levels of flow state and when

731
01:06:38,240 --> 01:06:42,320
somebody doesn't move a lot you don't need to move and do a lot of outrageous stuff to

732
01:06:42,320 --> 01:06:48,920
induce this state because it's relative to your current your current reality right physically

733
01:06:48,920 --> 01:06:55,040
and so that as you start to enhance and expand someone's movement practices and movement

734
01:06:55,040 --> 01:07:03,440
capacity we can also interweave social emotional tools you know frameworks mental models that

735
01:07:03,440 --> 01:07:08,520
start to change the way that they perceive themselves they're also implanting matras

736
01:07:08,520 --> 01:07:15,120
and in like removing judgment and providing new perspective like even when you're talking

737
01:07:15,120 --> 01:07:23,520
about injury you know my the negative talk right like this my effing shoulder it always

738
01:07:23,520 --> 01:07:29,920
it always keeps me from doing what I want to do well hey hold on you know what told

739
01:07:29,920 --> 01:07:35,240
your shoulder to do the thing that got it in here it wasn't your shoulder you're the

740
01:07:35,240 --> 01:07:41,800
tyrant that keeps on putting this shoulder in if every part of our body is part of a

741
01:07:41,800 --> 01:07:46,760
body you know we have other humans we're going up this five story climb with when somebody

742
01:07:46,760 --> 01:07:52,640
falls back we we work with them to get them to where they need to go you know like yeah

743
01:07:52,640 --> 01:07:57,600
they have to do the work but but you start to create support and you start to create

744
01:07:57,600 --> 01:08:02,840
new ways to address the limiting factor of that person's performance we don't do that

745
01:08:02,840 --> 01:08:07,500
for ourselves a lot of time so just all these paradigm shifts that give people tools on

746
01:08:07,500 --> 01:08:14,240
how to reframe their experience to understand like hey we're a system we're a team we're

747
01:08:14,240 --> 01:08:19,960
a part all these parts are part of a whole and we only get there all as one or not at

748
01:08:19,960 --> 01:08:27,960
all you know and and and how to how to create an environment within ourselves to to like

749
01:08:27,960 --> 01:08:34,160
recognize like hey this part of me needs more attention oh if i think about that physically

750
01:08:34,160 --> 01:08:39,640
then we start to start to process that same reality on other planes of existence that

751
01:08:39,640 --> 01:08:45,000
you know as a human the human existence like mentally i need some support that i'm not

752
01:08:45,000 --> 01:08:49,200
getting emotionally i need some support i'm not getting and instead of being mad about

753
01:08:49,200 --> 01:08:53,920
my inability to show up in those ways but maybe i need some support and some tools maybe

754
01:08:53,920 --> 01:08:59,760
i need some information some and and ideally the coaching experience just as you said supports

755
01:08:59,760 --> 01:09:08,120
that in in tribe and community and i think that's where real good coaching transcends

756
01:09:08,120 --> 01:09:13,920
counting reps and assigning load you know because it's not just physical load it's the

757
01:09:13,920 --> 01:09:18,640
right the right mental stimulus right emotional service and challenging somebody when they

758
01:09:18,640 --> 01:09:23,320
need to be challenged supporting them when they need to be supported and i like to think

759
01:09:23,320 --> 01:09:27,520
a good coach can be dr jekyll and mr hyde you know and in a group environment you might

760
01:09:27,520 --> 01:09:32,920
be both within the span of a couple seconds you know you have to recognize that this person

761
01:09:32,920 --> 01:09:36,400
needs to be yelled at because that's how they respond because that's where they're at like

762
01:09:36,400 --> 01:09:40,200
and they're like yeah all right fine and then this other person needs to be nurtured a little

763
01:09:40,200 --> 01:09:46,240
bit and given the appropriate assignment for where they are and this is largely it can

764
01:09:46,240 --> 01:09:51,400
be different in tactical environments obviously you don't you don't do as much nurturing when

765
01:09:51,400 --> 01:09:56,940
life and death is in play in the group setting because everything has to function at a certain

766
01:09:56,940 --> 01:10:04,960
baseline but but in general pop man you'd be surprised how how little stimulus it takes

767
01:10:04,960 --> 01:10:11,100
for somebody to to reach the threshold and and how you might need to create new strategies

768
01:10:11,100 --> 01:10:16,000
to to get them through that so they don't leave and never come back so that so they

769
01:10:16,000 --> 01:10:23,320
don't let resistance keep them from achieving the next level of their personal evolution

770
01:10:23,320 --> 01:10:26,840
while we're on this topic and you talk about tactical population as well fight the fire

771
01:10:26,840 --> 01:10:31,680
service especially listening I mean other professions too but we are so sleep deprived

772
01:10:31,680 --> 01:10:39,000
I mean basically 24 hours with no sleep every third day for 10 20 30 years I for the longest

773
01:10:39,000 --> 01:10:42,920
time you know there will be days where I come off shift and I go to my CrossFit gym and

774
01:10:42,920 --> 01:10:48,600
I do some you know redline fire breathing workout and then one day I had Jeff Nichols

775
01:10:48,600 --> 01:10:55,280
on the show who's you know strength conditioning guru and also ex SEAL Team Six guy and so

776
01:10:55,280 --> 01:11:00,720
you know walks the walk on on both sides of that and he opened my eyes and was like look

777
01:11:00,720 --> 01:11:04,920
if you come off shift and you've got a high level of stress because you haven't slept

778
01:11:04,920 --> 01:11:11,520
what makes you think that adding more stress would be beneficial and I was like oh my god

779
01:11:11,520 --> 01:11:15,520
that's so simple and yet I missed it for and I was you know coaching and an athlete all

780
01:11:15,520 --> 01:11:21,000
that for a long time when he when he said this and I remember you know a little little

781
01:11:21,000 --> 01:11:25,200
ways on was there was a CrossFit workout and there were snatches and I'd come off shift

782
01:11:25,200 --> 01:11:31,560
and I was tired and the complex movement of a smash a snatch of which are not super competent

783
01:11:31,560 --> 01:11:37,280
anyway was absolutely infuriating and I kind of remembered it dropped the barbell and just

784
01:11:37,280 --> 01:11:44,320
did a one mile slow run while they finished off the the wad and I was like ah yeah that

785
01:11:44,320 --> 01:11:48,760
was kind of more of a visceral understanding of it then so talk to me about that you have

786
01:11:48,760 --> 01:11:56,920
a lot of you know alphas again and I use that term you know endearingly not not patronizingly

787
01:11:56,920 --> 01:12:03,440
that buy into the fact that you know you can sweat out stress you can burn off stress what

788
01:12:03,440 --> 01:12:10,000
have you seen as far as the the kind of the the variation of intensity based on what that

789
01:12:10,000 --> 01:12:16,000
person has experienced you know a day two days prior yeah I think you know it's different

790
01:12:16,000 --> 01:12:20,560
from a you know general pop you do have a lot of variability you have your parent your

791
01:12:20,560 --> 01:12:29,200
business owner there's a lot of uncontrolled variables but the key is is there's this notion

792
01:12:29,200 --> 01:12:35,160
that is is preposterous to me that you can have a perfectly balanced day and achieve

793
01:12:35,160 --> 01:12:41,880
anything there's there's there's always sacrifice of short-term balance necessary and you're

794
01:12:41,880 --> 01:12:47,560
just saying to yourself in the fire service 24-hour straight sleep deprivation high stress

795
01:12:47,560 --> 01:12:55,360
high alert you can you can adapt to that and you have to and you might need tools to upregulate

796
01:12:55,360 --> 01:12:59,800
yourself at a moment's notice or within two minutes time frame or whatever the say says

797
01:12:59,800 --> 01:13:06,280
like like sustain operational already right and there's a lot of ways to do that in that

798
01:13:06,280 --> 01:13:12,280
you know like hey I'm I'm on still let me get some like sort of like fire breathing

799
01:13:12,280 --> 01:13:17,800
workout like breath of fire up regulations you know strategies some some movement training

800
01:13:17,800 --> 01:13:22,440
that's highly diverse but not intense so that you're not taxing the system you're just upregulating

801
01:13:22,440 --> 01:13:26,840
the nervous system so so that if you if you do get a call you're ready then you could

802
01:13:26,840 --> 01:13:33,200
do that at some type of cadence to keep yourself you know tuned in and tuned up but because

803
01:13:33,200 --> 01:13:41,520
you have no control over being in a state of high stress for a long period of time we

804
01:13:41,520 --> 01:13:47,120
talk about in our education system that I could design for on it balance and harmony

805
01:13:47,120 --> 01:13:53,840
there was no balance for that day by design and external of your choice you had no choice

806
01:13:53,840 --> 01:13:59,760
in that matter so if we look instead of in one day it doesn't just start over the next

807
01:13:59,760 --> 01:14:06,160
day you have to look at in any training you know higher stress lower stress you have to

808
01:14:06,160 --> 01:14:14,660
have the opportunity to recover from these in these longer states of of they're not you

809
01:14:14,660 --> 01:14:22,080
stress they're distress right and so so you need to have the the wave you talk about the

810
01:14:22,080 --> 01:14:29,140
yin energy the recovery energy in place and we have now so many new lifestyle norms that

811
01:14:29,140 --> 01:14:35,680
help with that you know sauna cold plunge breath work is a bigger more accepted practice

812
01:14:35,680 --> 01:14:40,680
in in especially high performance environments because you have you could have each of those

813
01:14:40,680 --> 01:14:44,520
protocols in ways that up regulate or down regulate you and just understanding how to

814
01:14:44,520 --> 01:14:51,840
do those things but it's necessary and and you don't adapt better to more compounded

815
01:14:51,840 --> 01:14:58,560
stress right like eventually something something reaches the threshold of your adaptive response

816
01:14:58,560 --> 01:15:04,720
this is and your adaptive responses is not measurable but it's it's always it's always

817
01:15:04,720 --> 01:15:10,360
about what we talked about earlier how many deposits versus how many withdrawals and each

818
01:15:10,360 --> 01:15:16,560
person has a certain threshold different account balances different external factors that are

819
01:15:16,560 --> 01:15:22,360
also contributing so you just have to have better understanding of where you're at and

820
01:15:22,360 --> 01:15:28,160
and you that run was probably the best thing you could have done that day because you still

821
01:15:28,160 --> 01:15:36,200
got you know you still got the energy out you needed to you probably you know you're

822
01:15:36,200 --> 01:15:41,280
still high stress you needed to move you probably have a hard time down regulating without some

823
01:15:41,280 --> 01:15:47,080
type of kind of some type of stimulus but what kind of stimulus and and and you got

824
01:15:47,080 --> 01:15:53,240
the energy out you're able to reflect probably on the on the run of what what the state was

825
01:15:53,240 --> 01:15:57,840
you found yourself in when you're so frustrated like you're probably about to Hulk smash everything

826
01:15:57,840 --> 01:16:07,840
when you feel like how come I can't get this movement Hulk smash just turning green you

827
01:16:07,840 --> 01:16:12,840
know and and and you made a conscious decision to do what was better for you and thankfully

828
01:16:12,840 --> 01:16:18,960
you had a really great conversation that helped frame that you know you know we just been

829
01:16:18,960 --> 01:16:24,720
so brainwashed to think we just could push through perpetually and that's back to what

830
01:16:24,720 --> 01:16:29,880
we're saying like when you're young you have extremely higher levels of adaptive reserves

831
01:16:29,880 --> 01:16:37,240
you haven't compounded the cost of these 24 hour shifts over one year much less five years

832
01:16:37,240 --> 01:16:44,680
ten years and fifteen years and and just what what got you in the door isn't gonna isn't

833
01:16:44,680 --> 01:16:49,120
gonna keep you there perpetually you know you hang your hat on that there's something

834
01:16:49,120 --> 01:16:54,840
to be proud of getting in but then as you go through different phases of your career

835
01:16:54,840 --> 01:17:01,160
you're gonna have to develop different strategies to to to endure and to optimize your performance

836
01:17:01,160 --> 01:17:08,560
and your your serviceability to yourself into your community to your teams you know absolutely

837
01:17:08,560 --> 01:17:12,320
well while we're on that profession and doesn't actually doesn't have to be that profession

838
01:17:12,320 --> 01:17:16,760
specifically but while we're talking about a little bit more of the out the box from

839
01:17:16,760 --> 01:17:21,960
what you would normally see in in a gym I have fallen in love with I mean kettlebells

840
01:17:21,960 --> 01:17:28,020
have always loved but now you know the mace work as well what as you started progressing

841
01:17:28,020 --> 01:17:32,800
in you know you were an early adapter adopter excuse me to some of this work but as you

842
01:17:32,800 --> 01:17:38,200
were interacting with people whose work was really revolving around the barbell maybe

843
01:17:38,200 --> 01:17:45,720
dumbbells what would the values that you were seeing that maces and kettlebells were bringing

844
01:17:45,720 --> 01:17:52,120
that maybe were missing and creating imbalances in some of these gyms yeah you know a lot

845
01:17:52,120 --> 01:17:57,160
of times back to what I said when I got back into fitness the first was bodybuilding centric

846
01:17:57,160 --> 01:18:02,480
and there's nothing wrong with bodybuilding as part of a complete perspective of a performance

847
01:18:02,480 --> 01:18:07,280
enhancement you know performance optimization I think it serves a great purpose in many

848
01:18:07,280 --> 01:18:12,880
ways you can intentionally fill in the gaps because you're you're going away from compound

849
01:18:12,880 --> 01:18:18,080
full body movements to something more targeted but a lot of times we I think it's ebb and

850
01:18:18,080 --> 01:18:22,640
flow we attack things from multiple angles I think that's one of the things we we really

851
01:18:22,640 --> 01:18:27,600
talked about with unconventional fitness it wasn't just using unconventional tools it

852
01:18:27,600 --> 01:18:32,640
was having an unconventional mindset and and that stemmed from like unconventional warfare

853
01:18:32,640 --> 01:18:38,440
right you know you could have militaristically a superior force but you can't account for

854
01:18:38,440 --> 01:18:44,600
the creativity that you know like say how did the United States earn its its freedom

855
01:18:44,600 --> 01:18:49,520
right guerrilla warfare you know basically like everybody lined up in lines had a lot

856
01:18:49,520 --> 01:18:54,240
more firepower these little guys running around the trees picking people off they're not playing

857
01:18:54,240 --> 01:19:01,960
by the rules you know it was back to what I told you or my my martial arts history when

858
01:19:01,960 --> 01:19:06,640
I was young it was kind of a weird traditional mixed martial arts it was boxing judo jiu-jitsu

859
01:19:06,640 --> 01:19:13,160
and karate so I I got exposed to all these things and in the dojo we we sparred with

860
01:19:13,160 --> 01:19:17,640
an amalgamation of all those skills they're still traditional in their presentation but

861
01:19:17,640 --> 01:19:22,960
we problem solve per opponent what worked best back to like you box a wrestler you wrestle

862
01:19:22,960 --> 01:19:29,360
a boxer and and now that's evolved into modern MMA which is a completely different like animal

863
01:19:29,360 --> 01:19:35,040
but but I was exposed to that when I was young so it's really about you do what works best

864
01:19:35,040 --> 01:19:39,600
given the context of the situation give me your opponent and when we talk about unconventional

865
01:19:39,600 --> 01:19:46,040
fitness I like to attack things from multiple different fronts this is how we overcome a

866
01:19:46,040 --> 01:19:50,720
weakness that's that's patterned in our nervous system and our beliefs it's like we don't

867
01:19:50,720 --> 01:19:56,920
have to attack it from the same thing a mobility limitation and I know this is something you

868
01:19:56,920 --> 01:20:03,520
you recognize can be the greatest hindrance to your strength gains so hammering more reps

869
01:20:03,520 --> 01:20:08,360
without having prerequisite movement skills it's not going to get you better outcomes

870
01:20:08,360 --> 01:20:13,760
if we I like to say strength is positionally dependent so if you don't have the capacity

871
01:20:13,760 --> 01:20:18,640
to get in the right position you're not going to be strong you're going to find ways around

872
01:20:18,640 --> 01:20:25,280
that instead of learning to develop the the attributes required to really move through

873
01:20:25,280 --> 01:20:30,000
that resistance to overcome that resistance and to make it now what was a weakness of

874
01:20:30,000 --> 01:20:35,680
strength well unconventional tools provide feedback feedback that is more unique the

875
01:20:35,680 --> 01:20:39,680
nice thing about the kettlebell is when I don't let you put a kettlebell down for a

876
01:20:39,680 --> 01:20:44,720
whole workout you start to realize where your limitations are in terms of strength endurance

877
01:20:44,720 --> 01:20:49,160
postural endurance which is also something we talk about with dr eric goodman in foundation

878
01:20:49,160 --> 01:20:54,200
training postural endurance especially for a tactical athlete might be more important

879
01:20:54,200 --> 01:21:00,400
than limit strength because it's when you get tired when what when the limiting factor

880
01:21:00,400 --> 01:21:05,440
the the least common denominator gets tired that's when the kinetic chain starts to break

881
01:21:05,440 --> 01:21:10,320
down it's not when you're in the positions of strength for two to three reps yeah that's

882
01:21:10,320 --> 01:21:16,120
really great to kind of knock down this wall awesome what happens after that you know and

883
01:21:16,120 --> 01:21:20,040
what happens when you don't get the rest and it's the end of your 24 hour shift you're

884
01:21:20,040 --> 01:21:25,240
on your third call because it's just one of those crazy days you know and and that endured

885
01:21:25,240 --> 01:21:29,640
for the last several weeks it's just been that kind of season whatever gets tired first

886
01:21:29,640 --> 01:21:34,760
and checks out it's going to put a ridiculous amount of stress on the rest of the system

887
01:21:34,760 --> 01:21:40,360
well these feedback tools give you give you that benefit the kettlebell as I said if I

888
01:21:40,360 --> 01:21:44,640
if I put some parameters to really find where the limiting factor is and you know once you

889
01:21:44,640 --> 01:21:50,340
get to that point of understanding then now we have something to to create a hypothesis

890
01:21:50,340 --> 01:21:55,760
around and like create a strategy to overcome specifically what that looks so you know what

891
01:21:55,760 --> 01:22:01,240
that limitation is if where that postural endurance is going to show up first second

892
01:22:01,240 --> 01:22:08,800
maces I can feed asymmetry so we want more symmetrical bodies more efficient they transfer

893
01:22:08,800 --> 01:22:14,080
load across midline really effectively but we were inherently asymmetrical so if I feed

894
01:22:14,080 --> 01:22:19,100
your asymmetries you become intimately more aware I don't need to tell you a lot you feel

895
01:22:19,100 --> 01:22:24,080
a lot and it doesn't have to be heavy it's just a unique environment that I get to put

896
01:22:24,080 --> 01:22:29,280
you in assign the reps and you're like really okay coach when that mace head is on the left

897
01:22:29,280 --> 01:22:35,640
side I'm having a really tough time stabilizing it in space and controlling it it's starting

898
01:22:35,640 --> 01:22:41,440
to pull me around that's a great observation let's start to look at why why that is what

899
01:22:41,440 --> 01:22:45,200
do you think what do you think is the limiting factor here you know we can problem solve

900
01:22:45,200 --> 01:22:49,920
for that and it brings people into the experience of the coaching experience the problem solving

901
01:22:49,920 --> 01:22:55,400
experience back to what I said like you want to give people the tools to be able to understand

902
01:22:55,400 --> 01:23:00,320
their body better because we weren't given owners manuals like our car when we bought

903
01:23:00,320 --> 01:23:05,640
it right we don't know when it changed oil and we were told we need to sleep x amount

904
01:23:05,640 --> 01:23:09,680
you don't get we don't get that freedom we have to create solutions around it like you

905
01:23:09,680 --> 01:23:14,160
know we still want to live you know and so and perform so these tools they do a lot of

906
01:23:14,160 --> 01:23:18,920
they can do a lot but you need to be taught how to use the tool as a feedback you know

907
01:23:18,920 --> 01:23:22,720
if you got a toolkit you know and you have all the tools you ever want but you don't

908
01:23:22,720 --> 01:23:28,360
know how to use any of them you don't know what what each one is for then then you're

909
01:23:28,360 --> 01:23:33,520
still at a loss and I think that's one of the things we did really well at the audit

910
01:23:33,520 --> 01:23:38,440
within the audit education system we try to teach how to use the tools as feedback mechanisms

911
01:23:38,440 --> 01:23:45,400
for us to learn where the inherent limitations of our movement skills were strength endurance

912
01:23:45,400 --> 01:23:54,800
and gamify it make it fun you know we all want to enjoy our experience and so gamification

913
01:23:54,800 --> 01:23:59,320
whether we like it or not we're all addicted to dopamine you know this whole cell phone

914
01:23:59,320 --> 01:24:03,460
thing you're talking about do not disturb like I think there's probably part of my brain

915
01:24:03,460 --> 01:24:08,920
wondering if I got some Instagram likes while we've been on this call but but that's the

916
01:24:08,920 --> 01:24:13,440
common state of existence for a lot of us right so can we do all these things and have

917
01:24:13,440 --> 01:24:20,720
fun and create a deeply enriching environment and experience throughout the whole process

918
01:24:20,720 --> 01:24:26,120
you know it doesn't always need to be woo woo and feelings sometimes you just take the

919
01:24:26,120 --> 01:24:30,760
opportunity for when those things surface to address them with each individual or the

920
01:24:30,760 --> 01:24:35,560
group as a whole when you find that they're receptive but sometimes it's just work and

921
01:24:35,560 --> 01:24:41,720
intelligently designed work elicits those opportunities what about the aging athlete

922
01:24:41,720 --> 01:24:45,320
I love the you know you were talking about that positional strength and I think you know

923
01:24:45,320 --> 01:24:50,840
that and muscular endurance obviously are big in this profession as I'm turning 50 next

924
01:24:50,840 --> 01:24:57,520
month I've kind of had a realization I mean I got beat up pretty hard you know as a firefighter

925
01:24:57,520 --> 01:25:01,800
I did stunts to stunt man a martial artist my whole life so you know there's a lot of

926
01:25:01,800 --> 01:25:07,760
things that aren't in the same position that they should be as I turn 50 so I for me personally

927
01:25:07,760 --> 01:25:12,600
I've kind of let go of the idea of trying to be the fire breather of the gym or you

928
01:25:12,600 --> 01:25:15,360
know I've never going to be the strongest guy but I had a pretty good motor for a long

929
01:25:15,360 --> 01:25:22,360
time and instead focus on addressing the imbalances obviously foundation training is one of several

930
01:25:22,360 --> 01:25:31,520
tools that I really lean into but as we start getting older what is what is the emphasis

931
01:25:31,520 --> 01:25:36,380
what is your perspective of the emphasis on addressing imbalances because to me my whole

932
01:25:36,380 --> 01:25:42,200
philosophy is if everything works the way it's supposed to I will be stronger I will

933
01:25:42,200 --> 01:25:46,320
be more efficient therefore I will be fitter as well I don't need to try and lift heavier

934
01:25:46,320 --> 01:25:53,080
now to me I need to start unfucking some of the things I did for the last 30 years I love

935
01:25:53,080 --> 01:25:57,720
what you just said rule number one if you take one of my seminars you'll hear it if

936
01:25:57,720 --> 01:26:02,800
you ever show up for workshop or somewhere all right everybody rule number one and this

937
01:26:02,800 --> 01:26:07,280
is the most important rule yeah I already shook hands because I like get nervous so

938
01:26:07,280 --> 01:26:11,360
I always hug people and shake hands before I go up on in front everybody I'm like hey

939
01:26:11,360 --> 01:26:16,360
who's who's the asshole is presenting today I hope he's I hope he's he's cool you know

940
01:26:16,360 --> 01:26:20,040
and they laugh at me because they know they're gonna be putting up with me for the next day

941
01:26:20,040 --> 01:26:26,640
or two and uh and then I get up on stage and say everybody I need you to abide by one rule

942
01:26:26,640 --> 01:26:32,160
above all else and that rule is you can't leave this door any more fucked up than how

943
01:26:32,160 --> 01:26:36,800
you came in right and and what does that mean means that you have to take some personal

944
01:26:36,800 --> 01:26:42,680
responsibility for your journey here and that means that if you are put in a situation like

945
01:26:42,680 --> 01:26:47,920
if you follow the directions as prescribed or your interpretation and you're not having

946
01:26:47,920 --> 01:26:53,480
the experience that you should have like the discomfort is growing is bordering on potential

947
01:26:53,480 --> 01:27:00,440
pain and and you know you have the responsibility to either check out of doing it at that moment

948
01:27:00,440 --> 01:27:07,800
and ideally to provide me that that awareness so that I can be a meaningful like do my job

949
01:27:07,800 --> 01:27:12,520
like I'm only like I can tell you what to do but until there's a problem to solve we're

950
01:27:12,520 --> 01:27:18,280
not all learning you know and so all of a sudden then I become a lot more important

951
01:27:18,280 --> 01:27:24,680
so I think having having somebody with some technical proficiency having a team of people

952
01:27:24,680 --> 01:27:30,520
like uh you know you have a lot of wear and tear you know at the advanced ages especially

953
01:27:30,520 --> 01:27:36,480
if you have had a hard charging career so you you you need to leverage the insights

954
01:27:36,480 --> 01:27:42,360
of people you trust build a good team right and uh resources whether it's clinicians and

955
01:27:42,360 --> 01:27:45,800
coaches or whatever the case is doesn't mean you need to use them all the time you're not

956
01:27:45,800 --> 01:27:53,020
divulging your power to them there are resources for you to to tap into but the internal game

957
01:27:53,020 --> 01:27:58,240
we're playing is as you said it needs to be a different game it needs to be a different

958
01:27:58,240 --> 01:28:05,680
game how uh what what's the best james if i was to ask you what what's the best ability

959
01:28:05,680 --> 01:28:11,480
what's the most important ability what would you say it is in all honesty my my most valuable

960
01:28:11,480 --> 01:28:18,520
ability now is to not be in pain that would be my best ability at 49 you said it right

961
01:28:18,520 --> 01:28:23,000
so if i can create a hierarchy of values in our current state they're going to be a different

962
01:28:23,000 --> 01:28:29,360
hierarchy of values than they were when we were 20 right and so if if and this is corny

963
01:28:29,360 --> 01:28:33,920
but no matter what age you are you see this in the nfl with with rookies they're just

964
01:28:33,920 --> 01:28:43,080
starting the career the best ability is availability are you are you game ready right now or are

965
01:28:43,080 --> 01:28:50,720
you a detriment to the team if you put you on the field and and and our age like you

966
01:28:50,720 --> 01:28:56,560
said you have a bonus kid you have you have family you kind of show up for them that's

967
01:28:56,560 --> 01:29:01,160
back to what you're saying are you present are you available and and that means different

968
01:29:01,160 --> 01:29:05,880
things at different times in our lives but when we frame it because that's the ultimate

969
01:29:05,880 --> 01:29:10,480
like ability is like can i tune in can i be present can i be my best when i need to be

970
01:29:10,480 --> 01:29:17,080
my best and and what are what are the things i need to do to create that reality you know

971
01:29:17,080 --> 01:29:23,360
in the in the areas of life i i exist in right now and um and yeah so then we gamify that

972
01:29:23,360 --> 01:29:29,080
you know uh do you have little kids are are you expecting to have grandkids do they where

973
01:29:29,080 --> 01:29:34,560
do where do they play on the ground hey how comfortable are you on the ground i'm scared

974
01:29:34,560 --> 01:29:40,280
to be on the ground let's learn to play on the ground can you get up without using both

975
01:29:40,280 --> 01:29:45,460
hands can you do these things that's a predictive indicator of longevity you know what i mean

976
01:29:45,460 --> 01:29:50,680
like we start tying things to to paradigms that we wouldn't have considered before um

977
01:29:50,680 --> 01:29:56,400
and we play games mental games with how we frame what we value so that people can be

978
01:29:56,400 --> 01:30:01,560
motivated to achieve things that they wouldn't have been motivated to do when they're younger

979
01:30:01,560 --> 01:30:07,120
it has to be a game everything we learn as a kid is is framed and the best learning is

980
01:30:07,120 --> 01:30:16,400
framed in in play and i think if we can make it a you know a rewarding experience to to

981
01:30:16,400 --> 01:30:22,800
like play again you know uh what am i that told you about the elevate uh framework that

982
01:30:22,800 --> 01:30:27,920
uh a student of mine were working they talked about you know play play-based learning and

983
01:30:27,920 --> 01:30:32,840
they're like looked at the definition of play and it was basically like plays is is looked

984
01:30:32,840 --> 01:30:39,560
at as this arbitrary thing it's just it's just rewarding like no the best learning is

985
01:30:39,560 --> 01:30:44,520
is done through play because you don't you don't get burned out on it you don't you don't

986
01:30:44,520 --> 01:30:49,960
trivialize the experience because the experience itself is inherently rewarding so if we can

987
01:30:49,960 --> 01:30:55,080
if we can if we can do that and you're expanding on your physical capacities at a time where

988
01:30:55,080 --> 01:31:02,120
most often you're you're kind of cognitively focused on your physical decline you know and

989
01:31:02,120 --> 01:31:07,960
and maybe that requires some shifts of what we measure is work capacity going to continue

990
01:31:07,960 --> 01:31:15,240
to go up at the age of 50 in those traditional linear lifts probably not and definitely not

991
01:31:15,240 --> 01:31:20,200
if we just keep pushing up against the wall of resistance that's there yeah but if all

992
01:31:20,200 --> 01:31:28,240
of a sudden we remove like we like we talk about the vehicle of our body in america we

993
01:31:28,240 --> 01:31:33,640
like uh sayings like there's no replacement for displacement it basically says like if

994
01:31:33,640 --> 01:31:39,080
i just put a bigger engine in the car then it's a better car but then i'm snapping the

995
01:31:39,080 --> 01:31:45,920
axles i can't turn because the car's too heavy there are different ways in the modern era

996
01:31:45,920 --> 01:31:51,120
of building a performance vehicle that we look at optimizing the performance of that

997
01:31:51,120 --> 01:31:56,520
vehicle across many different metrics rather than just straight line performance and i

998
01:31:56,520 --> 01:32:02,680
think that that's what we need to do for older athletes like how can we increase the efficiency

999
01:32:02,680 --> 01:32:08,840
with which you move and if we retest some of those other things after we remove attachment

1000
01:32:08,840 --> 01:32:16,160
to them and they stayed the same but you have expanded the holistic range of adaptations

1001
01:32:16,160 --> 01:32:20,560
that improve your quality of life in the here and now and you go back and you're like i'm

1002
01:32:20,560 --> 01:32:26,960
just as strong as i was before well because we didn't put a bigger motor in but we took

1003
01:32:26,960 --> 01:32:31,920
the you're driving around with the parking brake on you had this so you have a you had

1004
01:32:31,920 --> 01:32:37,680
a block behind your accelerator you know i mean like we reduced we were we put lighter

1005
01:32:37,680 --> 01:32:44,800
wheels on your on your car and now it's a lot more efficient turning the wheels like

1006
01:32:44,800 --> 01:32:50,320
there's just so many ways that we can improve performance across the spectrum of what actually

1007
01:32:50,320 --> 01:32:55,280
is meaningful in life and there's different ways that we can frame and the value the way

1008
01:32:55,280 --> 01:33:00,640
we value it so so that's that's the game i think that's the game and i love playing

1009
01:33:00,640 --> 01:33:06,400
that game i don't know if you could tell but but it all it all you know it's all contextualized

1010
01:33:06,400 --> 01:33:13,080
it has to be something that that somebody buys into you know that's my purpose i just

1011
01:33:13,080 --> 01:33:18,840
kind of shared i was 36 when i had my first kid hopefully they you know like my mom was

1012
01:33:18,840 --> 01:33:23,720
20 when she had me so there's this different different reality of when i'm going to be

1013
01:33:23,720 --> 01:33:28,600
a grandparent relative to when she she became a grandparent even then i was the first one

1014
01:33:28,600 --> 01:33:34,360
so she was you know 56 you know people were in their 40s a lot of times when they became

1015
01:33:34,360 --> 01:33:43,600
grandparents i'm probably going to be in my no 50 60 late 50 60 you know maybe and uh

1016
01:33:43,600 --> 01:33:47,960
i still want to get on the ground play with my grandkids and if i could do that pain free

1017
01:33:47,960 --> 01:33:54,760
and enjoy that process rather than like and then oh can someone help me up my my hip my

1018
01:33:54,760 --> 01:34:03,240
back you know i'm going to be one happy grandpa and that's what i'm training for i have that

1019
01:34:03,240 --> 01:34:09,040
that foresight right now love it i love the the play element as well and even if you listen

1020
01:34:09,040 --> 01:34:13,480
i had the guy from finland talking about their education system and there's a lot of play

1021
01:34:13,480 --> 01:34:18,920
a lot of you know curiosity a lot of um looking at the holistic child rather than just standardized

1022
01:34:18,920 --> 01:34:25,240
testing and memorization but uh when i look at crossfit what really drew me in if it was

1023
01:34:25,240 --> 01:34:29,400
all barbells and warbles all day long i probably wouldn't have stuck with it very long but it

1024
01:34:29,400 --> 01:34:34,040
was the handstands and the rope climbs as a guy that got into it i did it about 16 years

1025
01:34:34,040 --> 01:34:39,440
ago when i started um i couldn't it could barely do a pull-up but i mean that's beside

1026
01:34:39,440 --> 01:34:43,800
the point i sure as hell couldn't do a muscle up or a you know legless rope climb all the

1027
01:34:43,800 --> 01:34:49,520
things that you get to to advance in but you know i couldn't do a handstand so you know

1028
01:34:49,520 --> 01:34:57,080
putting a pin one hole lower in a you know um in a globo gym machine isn't rewarding

1029
01:34:57,080 --> 01:35:00,140
and i mean arguably even you know a little bit more weight on a barbell i don't find

1030
01:35:00,140 --> 01:35:06,720
that rewarding but walking on your hands in your 40s or climbing a rope when you couldn't

1031
01:35:06,720 --> 01:35:11,240
even do a pull-up those are the things and that is play those are the parts of it that

1032
01:35:11,240 --> 01:35:15,160
i really like i think that was one of the reasons play and community is why crossfit

1033
01:35:15,160 --> 01:35:21,440
was so successful absolutely man they they've done they did that in a way that we hadn't

1034
01:35:21,440 --> 01:35:26,840
seen historically in a meaningful way you know there was group fitness and people gamified

1035
01:35:26,840 --> 01:35:31,760
that and made it playful with dance and things like that and like choreography and music

1036
01:35:31,760 --> 01:35:39,560
and production but but is different when you're expanding your skill set through your through

1037
01:35:39,560 --> 01:35:44,520
your formal play your movement skill set you you feel like you're a highly more capable

1038
01:35:44,520 --> 01:35:49,720
human not just a better dancer not to say that i don't value dancing i could definitely

1039
01:35:49,720 --> 01:35:54,840
improve my dancing skills and i'm pretty sure that would enhance my social skills or success

1040
01:35:54,840 --> 01:36:01,040
at this point but but just you know i can move so i can learn to dance i just and i

1041
01:36:01,040 --> 01:36:05,000
can shake i can shake it bro don't don't question it i just don't know how to do the structure

1042
01:36:05,000 --> 01:36:10,560
dance so i can learn choreography and because i move because i can move right if you can

1043
01:36:10,560 --> 01:36:16,560
move in more expensive ways you have more ways of play unlocked right i want to unlock

1044
01:36:16,560 --> 01:36:23,480
as many of those things or keep them open for as long as possible because it's no fun

1045
01:36:23,480 --> 01:36:29,400
when you get a little older and you're like i can't do x y or z anymore because i bought

1046
01:36:29,400 --> 01:36:34,200
into this paradigm that i don't think it has to be true and we're all going to get to a

1047
01:36:34,200 --> 01:36:38,600
point where it's not wise to do certain things anymore but it doesn't have to happen any

1048
01:36:38,600 --> 01:36:43,800
sooner than it than it has to happen absolutely well one more area i want to get to then we'll

1049
01:36:43,800 --> 01:36:48,680
touch on foundation training and then go to what you're doing now the class that i've

1050
01:36:48,680 --> 01:36:53,760
coached for a long time is targeted at um tactical athletes and i do a little foundation

1051
01:36:53,760 --> 01:36:57,880
training in there you know there's there's some kind of crossfit-esque style stuff and

1052
01:36:57,880 --> 01:37:02,760
there's a lot of strongman so again julian pino's work and the reason was having done

1053
01:37:02,760 --> 01:37:07,600
crossfit for so long and seeing some of the imbalances that kipping and some of these

1054
01:37:07,600 --> 01:37:13,840
things created um i realized that what we don't really do very well that is so important

1055
01:37:13,840 --> 01:37:20,120
in the fire service is to push to drag to carry and to climb we just don't do those

1056
01:37:20,120 --> 01:37:26,400
as much so for me personally the sleds you know handle the sandbags um you know kettlebells

1057
01:37:26,400 --> 01:37:32,160
again were were really important movements that were missing within the crossfit gym

1058
01:37:32,160 --> 01:37:37,280
itself what are some of the modalities or philosophies that you bring to the tactical

1059
01:37:37,280 --> 01:37:43,960
athletes that you train versus maybe some of the civilians you know it's really funny

1060
01:37:43,960 --> 01:37:51,560
i i don't see that there's a different different set of modalities necessarily it's the uh

1061
01:37:51,560 --> 01:37:55,320
dan john he has said something about fitness back in the day i really like i like i like

1062
01:37:55,320 --> 01:38:01,960
simplification of things right so he says fitness is you know it's not that complicated

1063
01:38:01,960 --> 01:38:05,880
it's kind of like mexican food you got the same ingredients it's just how you assemble

1064
01:38:05,880 --> 01:38:12,560
those ingredients to create a completely different outcome and so so its ratios its intensities

1065
01:38:12,560 --> 01:38:17,600
it's how spicy you want it how much chili do i put in there you know you're a fire

1066
01:38:17,600 --> 01:38:25,600
breather alright you know ghost pepper as it is you know it's a little pepper um and

1067
01:38:25,600 --> 01:38:32,560
so you know people inherently need the same fundamental sets of attributes developed appropriate

1068
01:38:32,560 --> 01:38:38,160
to where they are and they need they need uh you know a lot of what we do as coaches

1069
01:38:38,160 --> 01:38:44,340
manage safety and safety in terms of managing space you know different exercises require

1070
01:38:44,340 --> 01:38:47,880
different amounts of space to be safe like you don't want a dog or a child to be in a

1071
01:38:47,880 --> 01:38:54,480
certain place turn certain exercises um or load management and sophistication management

1072
01:38:54,480 --> 01:38:59,840
like how how complex is the movement skill outside of that like you know some people

1073
01:38:59,840 --> 01:39:06,920
just really like to be they have an affinity for something they they they attach value

1074
01:39:06,920 --> 01:39:12,720
to something they might identify with something there's always a path towards what they identify

1075
01:39:12,720 --> 01:39:15,960
with most while you fill in the gaps with a whole bunch of other things that they probably

1076
01:39:15,960 --> 01:39:22,800
don't know they need or want and and then as they adapt they they get to reframe their

1077
01:39:22,800 --> 01:39:27,920
value proposition right like a lot of times people just want to look better naked and

1078
01:39:27,920 --> 01:39:34,200
then they start to evolve through their movement practice all these different new new observations

1079
01:39:34,200 --> 01:39:38,640
about how their body's functioning how they feel and they're like i still want to look

1080
01:39:38,640 --> 01:39:43,600
better naked but i really i'm just a happier human so i'm going to keep doing this for

1081
01:39:43,600 --> 01:39:49,160
a whole bunch of different reasons now so uh nothing nothing that i i think is off the

1082
01:39:49,160 --> 01:39:54,400
table or on the table specifically there are things variations of drills or skills that

1083
01:39:54,400 --> 01:40:00,520
have inherently more risk but i love what you're talking about having a better perspective

1084
01:40:00,520 --> 01:40:09,760
from outside looking in uh strong man stuff uh round back lifting odd object lifting is

1085
01:40:09,760 --> 01:40:16,600
is something you guys see is necessary and gym mechanics versus real world mechanics

1086
01:40:16,600 --> 01:40:22,560
having the ability to oscillate between the two and create some resilience in in adaptability

1087
01:40:22,560 --> 01:40:28,880
is is i think really important so that we don't get into this uh dogmatic perspective

1088
01:40:28,880 --> 01:40:33,240
of this is the right way to do it because in life you're not just going to be able to

1089
01:40:33,240 --> 01:40:39,320
set everything up nothing's a perfect barbell height you know like you know you have to

1090
01:40:39,320 --> 01:40:44,880
rotate pick up your kid you chase them into a street it and try to keep them from getting

1091
01:40:44,880 --> 01:40:50,280
into danger the path of danger that things are highly dynamic so if we can bridge the

1092
01:40:50,280 --> 01:40:56,480
gap between what we consider sterile and safe in the gym and what we can understand it likely

1093
01:40:56,480 --> 01:41:02,200
going to be the the what's expected of real life when it matters most and bridge that

1094
01:41:02,200 --> 01:41:08,160
gap in anticipation for those moments so that people are problem solving and out of you

1095
01:41:08,160 --> 01:41:14,800
know out of their their their developed abilities when those moments come then i think we're

1096
01:41:14,800 --> 01:41:22,680
doing great what have you observed about fear and what i mean by that is the solution um

1097
01:41:22,680 --> 01:41:28,800
that i found in in my class was if i brought someone in and said hey you can come do crossfit

1098
01:41:28,800 --> 01:41:33,000
with me and they were let's say a firefighter that was in relatively good shape when they

1099
01:41:33,000 --> 01:41:37,200
first got hired and then they are one of the ones that just kind of you know found themselves

1100
01:41:37,200 --> 01:41:43,440
getting um deconditioned over the next 10 years and you show them you know they come

1101
01:41:43,440 --> 01:41:49,120
in and people are snatching and you know climbing ropes for example there's an element of fear

1102
01:41:49,120 --> 01:41:53,120
like i don't want to look stupid i don't want to do this what was so good about the strong

1103
01:41:53,120 --> 01:41:57,480
man stuff is like you just got to pick that up and you got to carry it over there or push

1104
01:41:57,480 --> 01:42:06,320
this from here to here so removing that fear for some of my um again less conditioned uh

1105
01:42:06,320 --> 01:42:11,480
fellow first responders was a real kind of superpower to getting them involved you're

1106
01:42:11,480 --> 01:42:16,440
not going to look stupid this is where this is where the growth begins but we're not here

1107
01:42:16,440 --> 01:42:20,680
to humiliate you or anything what have you observed because i think there's this perception

1108
01:42:20,680 --> 01:42:26,320
of police fire especially that we're all phenomenal athletes but behind the scenes there there's

1109
01:42:26,320 --> 01:42:31,280
there's a lot of fear of looking stupid whether it's our operational training or our fitness

1110
01:42:31,280 --> 01:42:38,440
training yeah everybody has that man you know how many people have been hey you're awesome

1111
01:42:38,440 --> 01:42:43,000
and or your gym's awesome and as soon as i get in better shape i'm going to come hang

1112
01:42:43,000 --> 01:42:49,840
out with you i worked you can negate the whole point of of a good guide or coach like i want

1113
01:42:49,840 --> 01:42:57,200
to get you there faster and easier more pain free and uh a big part of of in a in a group

1114
01:42:57,200 --> 01:43:02,320
dynamic where people are judging themselves relative to what other people have achieved

1115
01:43:02,320 --> 01:43:08,600
already because they've gone through the process a lot of it's like good planned programming

1116
01:43:08,600 --> 01:43:15,080
so like kettlebell swings for example right people are like okay it says swings on the

1117
01:43:15,080 --> 01:43:22,080
board i have five levels of progression for a kettlebell swing and if you're doing any

1118
01:43:22,080 --> 01:43:29,840
of them i call all the variations some form of swing and so but you're still doing a swing

1119
01:43:29,840 --> 01:43:35,080
and i'll have three different variations in that group going on at the same time you know

1120
01:43:35,080 --> 01:43:40,280
i have more than that but just as an example right like progressions to get to a certain

1121
01:43:40,280 --> 01:43:47,240
level of proficiency tech i get to manage that as the coach and then i get to reward

1122
01:43:47,240 --> 01:43:53,800
the person to go from level one to level two maybe even in that first session right so

1123
01:43:53,800 --> 01:43:59,480
they get an element of i think a lot of times they have an unreasonable expectation of themselves

1124
01:43:59,480 --> 01:44:04,120
and as a coach if we're not careful we can say oh you look you look like you're in shape

1125
01:44:04,120 --> 01:44:11,480
back to where you said we have perceptions of of somebody before we assess so if we just

1126
01:44:11,480 --> 01:44:15,760
start everybody at level one they can go to level one two three maybe in one class and

1127
01:44:15,760 --> 01:44:20,760
then they're they're like one step away from the mean the average in the class maybe you

1128
01:44:20,760 --> 01:44:24,600
know in terms of performance they're still just using a bunch of bandwidth to figure

1129
01:44:24,600 --> 01:44:28,520
out like where they're at mostly you know so as soon as they get comfortable they can

1130
01:44:28,520 --> 01:44:32,920
progress really quickly but i need to create a framework that supports that early evolution

1131
01:44:32,920 --> 01:44:38,360
because momentum once you build momentum in terms of development it's really hard to stop

1132
01:44:38,360 --> 01:44:45,600
someone but if if they feel failure if they taste failure first because you set an arbitrary

1133
01:44:45,600 --> 01:44:52,840
measure of what the baseline should be without any understanding of of like so some people

1134
01:44:52,840 --> 01:45:02,120
are really good at doing their job and really lousy movers in general they're amazing athletes

1135
01:45:02,120 --> 01:45:08,400
that come in with pro sport contracts and they can't do some basic movement skill stuff

1136
01:45:08,400 --> 01:45:13,200
so you just can't assume so if i as a coach i'm like all right cool this is how we're

1137
01:45:13,200 --> 01:45:16,800
doing it all right everybody working i'm over here telling you what i want you to do boom

1138
01:45:16,800 --> 01:45:20,720
boom boom dang that's good just do this one now do this one now all right cool now just

1139
01:45:20,720 --> 01:45:25,680
keep that going and everybody's working as you know the way the way they're supposed

1140
01:45:25,680 --> 01:45:31,600
to be it's like a kid that learns to walk the kid that learns to walk is going to start

1141
01:45:31,600 --> 01:45:36,400
running you know what i'm saying you ain't going to stop them because it's just going

1142
01:45:36,400 --> 01:45:42,440
to be the natural evolution of that momentum carrying to the next step and it but if if

1143
01:45:42,440 --> 01:45:47,400
they see everybody and they're more focused on everybody watching them fall every time

1144
01:45:47,400 --> 01:45:53,640
they stand up and use a prop they might stay on the ground they might not get up you know

1145
01:45:53,640 --> 01:45:58,680
and i just want i just want that early success to be tasted and it is just like man you know

1146
01:45:58,680 --> 01:46:04,640
it just i just can't you can't stop somebody once they build that momentum i i just call

1147
01:46:04,640 --> 01:46:10,960
it to zero to 60 60 isn't fast it's not top speed is cruising but if i can get you from

1148
01:46:10,960 --> 01:46:16,960
from stand still to highway speed cruising you're going to want to see what this you

1149
01:46:16,960 --> 01:46:21,160
want to see what this car can do you're going to find little opportunities windows to punch

1150
01:46:21,160 --> 01:46:27,600
it you know absolutely well you've got all this background what was it that drew you

1151
01:46:27,600 --> 01:46:36,640
into foundation training meeting dr eric goodman you know it's funny we've done all this this

1152
01:46:36,640 --> 01:46:42,320
discovery in this conversation no matter how involved any of us are they're big gaps in

1153
01:46:42,320 --> 01:46:48,320
our game based on a lack of perspective based on lack of experience and what i found is

1154
01:46:48,320 --> 01:46:54,920
i got really proficient you know through my career at moving external loads in very dynamic

1155
01:46:54,920 --> 01:47:02,720
ways but something i didn't realize i learned to do that in a very specific way my primary

1156
01:47:02,720 --> 01:47:10,720
solution to most physical problems was extension and extension at the cost of like posterior

1157
01:47:10,720 --> 01:47:17,360
rib mobility and in that full breath on the back side so i have this like barrel chest

1158
01:47:17,360 --> 01:47:25,680
and i use i use that extension mechanism to solve most problems historically since i was

1159
01:47:25,680 --> 01:47:32,800
in judo that's like okay you're going for a flight you know and and so it's just conditioned

1160
01:47:32,800 --> 01:47:38,040
as a as a sound solution more often than not i've been working on that and then what i

1161
01:47:38,040 --> 01:47:44,480
realized was like i learned to work on that but i wasn't working on it i was working on

1162
01:47:44,480 --> 01:47:49,720
it from an external viewpoint like okay how do i open this stuff up and i i met eric and

1163
01:47:49,720 --> 01:47:55,240
jesse as i came in awesome human beings and i started working with them like all right

1164
01:47:55,240 --> 01:48:04,200
this is this is the complementary skill set intrinsically working from the inside out

1165
01:48:04,200 --> 01:48:10,400
like uncoupling aspects of my spine that i'm just naturally biased towards compression

1166
01:48:10,400 --> 01:48:16,680
and needed not like some decompression from something pulling me outside of my body i

1167
01:48:16,680 --> 01:48:23,400
needed to create that internal dynamic of creating space in my spine and and and mobilizing

1168
01:48:23,400 --> 01:48:28,960
the ribs with every breath and i was like man this is just fundamentally the complement

1169
01:48:28,960 --> 01:48:36,360
to everything that we all if other people walk similar paths to me it's the opposite

1170
01:48:36,360 --> 01:48:40,280
like on a color wheel you have the complementary color is not the color next to it is the color

1171
01:48:40,280 --> 01:48:46,120
across it and so i just felt like for me it was the perfect complement to what what i've

1172
01:48:46,120 --> 01:48:51,560
learned to value and put most of my energy in and i think that that's back to what we're

1173
01:48:51,560 --> 01:48:56,200
saying you get to a certain level of the game that's where you find the most reward it's

1174
01:48:56,200 --> 01:49:00,800
like not to do the more things that look the same it's actually like find the thing that

1175
01:49:00,800 --> 01:49:08,120
is probably the most opposite and the most challenging to to look to work through because

1176
01:49:08,120 --> 01:49:14,080
it moves you completely out of your areas of strength absolutely i mean it totally saved

1177
01:49:14,080 --> 01:49:17,880
my career and i i prophesize about foundation training all the time and when people find

1178
01:49:17,880 --> 01:49:24,160
out it's literally going to be 10 or 15 minutes you know of work per day or whatever frequency

1179
01:49:24,160 --> 01:49:28,760
they're doing it's hard to explain it's like no you do it with something it's not it's

1180
01:49:28,760 --> 01:49:33,640
not doesn't even take enough time to really do a foundation training class like it's you

1181
01:49:33,640 --> 01:49:37,360
know a lot of people do it with pilates or yoga or you know whatever their thing is and

1182
01:49:37,360 --> 01:49:42,120
i do it as a kind of cool down at the end of my class um when i teach and then the one

1183
01:49:42,120 --> 01:49:49,520
i do most frequently is that 12 minute foundation training on youtube and it literally repaired

1184
01:49:49,520 --> 01:49:55,240
my back it put as you said that decompression internally and that strength around my spine

1185
01:49:55,240 --> 01:50:01,200
so even though their herniation and ligament tears it created that that strength and i

1186
01:50:01,200 --> 01:50:05,760
was dead lifting a few a few months later in a firefighter charity competition you know

1187
01:50:05,760 --> 01:50:11,880
225 for reps so i am here i am now about to turn 50 and my back is still solid as long

1188
01:50:11,880 --> 01:50:17,400
as i keep doing it if i stop then i feel it but if i keep doing it it's absolutely incredible

1189
01:50:17,400 --> 01:50:21,280
sounds like you make those daily deposits we were talking about before you try to make

1190
01:50:21,280 --> 01:50:25,840
withdrawals man so you look you're wise beyond your years james even though you're about

1191
01:50:25,840 --> 01:50:28,480
to turn it's a lot of years to be wise beyond

1192
01:50:28,480 --> 01:50:36,600
all right well then speaking of adversity you were you know with onyx for a long time

1193
01:50:36,600 --> 01:50:42,840
you know rose to a high level within that company um you talked before about some challenges

1194
01:50:42,840 --> 01:50:48,800
you had in your early life walk me through you know the the the change of environment

1195
01:50:48,800 --> 01:50:52,160
for you and some of the challenges you had recently and then where are we finding you

1196
01:50:52,160 --> 01:50:57,720
now with your new project yeah man definitely uh you know at the same

1197
01:50:57,720 --> 01:51:06,120
time i left on it in january of last year i also um found myself at the end of of a

1198
01:51:06,120 --> 01:51:12,800
engagement right so the dissolution of my my family life is i knew it so i had a bonus

1199
01:51:12,800 --> 01:51:19,040
child right uh at a stepson we weren't married but once you call someone your family your

1200
01:51:19,040 --> 01:51:24,480
family you know so he's still he's still in my heart he's still that's the same dynamic

1201
01:51:24,480 --> 01:51:32,080
has not changed um and then and then of now four-year-old soon to be five-year-old um

1202
01:51:32,080 --> 01:51:41,040
and and uh so huge change in in terms of living situation employment and identity i think

1203
01:51:41,040 --> 01:51:45,520
a lot of our identities tied up in these things so i took this last year to really reflect

1204
01:51:45,520 --> 01:51:51,480
on what it is i i want to do now that i'm growing up again you know and so uh a big

1205
01:51:51,480 --> 01:51:57,560
part of it is is i want to lead community i want to work with men so i started a local

1206
01:51:57,560 --> 01:52:02,920
uh group of men that i'm working with in the san antonio area and we do you know whether

1207
01:52:02,920 --> 01:52:06,960
it's one-on-one or small group coaching and then we go for hikes and we talk about being

1208
01:52:06,960 --> 01:52:14,920
a father being a leader uh whether entrepreneurial and uh or just within the family or just believing

1209
01:52:14,920 --> 01:52:19,960
yourself and i think self-leadership is a big recurring theme um planning on starting

1210
01:52:19,960 --> 01:52:25,560
a podcast so i'll follow in your footsteps probably pick your brain uh lessons from leading

1211
01:52:25,560 --> 01:52:32,200
the pack and not and not necessarily just about leading from the front in an organization

1212
01:52:32,200 --> 01:52:38,480
but again leading from the front within the various aspects of ourselves we need to create

1213
01:52:38,480 --> 01:52:42,960
greater alignment because there are different parts of us that are pulling in different

1214
01:52:42,960 --> 01:52:46,760
directions and it's true of all of us you know the sooner we get all the ducks in a

1215
01:52:46,760 --> 01:52:51,960
row a lot less resistance to make forward progress right we just have to define where

1216
01:52:51,960 --> 01:52:58,160
we're going um in that same vein uh i have a website coachjohnwolf.com where all these

1217
01:52:58,160 --> 01:53:05,000
things will start to live and are starting to live and i'm using uh kind of an advisory

1218
01:53:05,000 --> 01:53:11,640
role uh for a coaching platform called sambal uh to to deliver all this stuff so i've been

1219
01:53:11,640 --> 01:53:16,000
investing in helping them build out that infrastructure in a way that i think is going to serve my

1220
01:53:16,000 --> 01:53:21,720
community and hopefully other coaches benefit from that but at the same time i do deliver

1221
01:53:21,720 --> 01:53:27,880
my online and hybrid type of coaching for those people who live local on that platform

1222
01:53:27,880 --> 01:53:35,080
all of which can be uh accessed through just hit me up on coachjohnwolf.com uh you can

1223
01:53:35,080 --> 01:53:39,880
see some of the other things i'm involved in i told you about a student uh that has

1224
01:53:39,880 --> 01:53:45,040
created essentially the elevate framework which is basically this is the scientific

1225
01:53:45,040 --> 01:53:53,160
method applied to training so you hypothesize something e is explore uh you know and you're

1226
01:53:53,160 --> 01:53:58,120
basically trying to like come to a point where like i think this is the way i need to move

1227
01:53:58,120 --> 01:54:02,640
forward remember how we're talking about like at this age how do we how do we address like

1228
01:54:02,640 --> 01:54:07,240
not doing the thing that we thought we value well we have to get more involved in this

1229
01:54:07,240 --> 01:54:13,400
process and so e is explore l is load so you test the theory over and over and over and

1230
01:54:13,400 --> 01:54:18,760
you progressively load so this is just progressive overload in terms of training v is vanquish

1231
01:54:18,760 --> 01:54:23,360
or verify you could use one or the other vanquish is kind of fun because it's kind of like the

1232
01:54:23,360 --> 01:54:29,800
boss level of the video game back to gamification or verify you're verifying that that that process

1233
01:54:29,800 --> 01:54:35,640
of loading that theory is going to net an outcome and the outcome is a test a test of

1234
01:54:35,640 --> 01:54:41,880
your limit capacity and the way that you you decide the experiment and t is tune tune is

1235
01:54:41,880 --> 01:54:49,120
a tuning or like a tuning to a new reality where this you you know this new thing to

1236
01:54:49,120 --> 01:54:54,720
be true is part of this new version of you and then in that tune state you start to formulate

1237
01:54:54,720 --> 01:54:58,800
new hypotheses so you go back through the cycle this goes back to something called the

1238
01:54:58,800 --> 01:55:04,720
like the ooda loop in terms of tactical superiority observe orient decide and act some of y'all

1239
01:55:04,720 --> 01:55:08,960
might be familiar with that the faster you cycle through the more tactical superiority

1240
01:55:08,960 --> 01:55:15,440
you have the more likely you can get find yourself in a bad situation and create a more

1241
01:55:15,440 --> 01:55:24,880
optimal outcome through faster cycling of this of this process so so we do events we

1242
01:55:24,880 --> 01:55:29,040
have something called the adventure retreat we do out in the dominican republic to get

1243
01:55:29,040 --> 01:55:38,240
people unplugged from the pressures and common beliefs of modernity the distractions and

1244
01:55:38,240 --> 01:55:43,600
into the jungle plugged back into nature baby plug back into yourself and figure out what

1245
01:55:43,600 --> 01:55:50,080
that means you do a lot of self-discovery when you when you take the noise out and tune

1246
01:55:50,080 --> 01:55:56,480
back into an environment that's more natural and and we do things that we we want to have

1247
01:55:56,480 --> 01:56:00,200
people be just a little uncomfortable with some people are afraid of heights we go zip

1248
01:56:00,200 --> 01:56:06,800
lining some people have you know some people have a hard time you know traversing terrain

1249
01:56:06,800 --> 01:56:11,160
they haven't been in natural environments go for these nice hikes and even if you are

1250
01:56:11,160 --> 01:56:15,800
comfortable with a lot of those things sometimes you're uncomfortable in silence you're uncomfortable

1251
01:56:15,800 --> 01:56:20,560
being unplugged you're uncomfortable and we just we foster environment and conversations

1252
01:56:20,560 --> 01:56:26,840
that help people tune into those those realities and so it's a little bit of an adventure

1253
01:56:26,840 --> 01:56:31,680
it's not what you do it's how you do it you know it's how you perceive it so we go on

1254
01:56:31,680 --> 01:56:37,600
that adventure together that's the adventure tree all these things you can find through

1255
01:56:37,600 --> 01:56:45,760
me on IG that I would like to talk about these things coach John Wolf on Instagram and yeah

1256
01:56:45,760 --> 01:56:50,600
one way or the other if there's any way I can be of service you know sign up for my

1257
01:56:50,600 --> 01:56:56,720
email list on the website or or you know hit me up and see if there's something if there's

1258
01:56:56,720 --> 01:57:01,600
something I do that interests you I'd love to have a conversation about it you know.

1259
01:57:01,600 --> 01:57:04,560
Which jungle are you taking the people to?

1260
01:57:04,560 --> 01:57:09,760
This is in the Dominican Republic it's actually so Dominican Republic you think like Punta

1261
01:57:09,760 --> 01:57:15,640
Cana or you know like the big touristy areas but this is on the Samana Peninsula which

1262
01:57:15,640 --> 01:57:22,680
has largely been undeveloped so this area that we go to was just like a little village

1263
01:57:22,680 --> 01:57:30,160
they didn't have electricity until 2011 barely got any Wi-Fi until a year and a half ago

1264
01:57:30,160 --> 01:57:34,400
we're plugged in with the people that are developing the area and they're doing so very

1265
01:57:34,400 --> 01:57:38,880
consciously and matter of fact the working with some of these people are working with

1266
01:57:38,880 --> 01:57:42,920
the government to create a better master plan of the area so it doesn't fall into the same

1267
01:57:42,920 --> 01:57:47,920
traps things like Tulum or Punta Cana or even on the peninsula there's another beach town

1268
01:57:47,920 --> 01:57:54,320
called Las Sarenas it's beautiful but there was no master plan so it just creates a chaotic

1269
01:57:54,320 --> 01:58:00,840
reality and you know you can't stop progress from happening but if you get enough people

1270
01:58:00,840 --> 01:58:06,440
that kind of buy into a preservationist mindset of what makes this place special and it has

1271
01:58:06,440 --> 01:58:12,320
a long history of spirituality in this valley they're actually finding archaeological findings

1272
01:58:12,320 --> 01:58:19,440
of a culture that preceded the one that they thought started this area so that's the Taino

1273
01:58:19,440 --> 01:58:24,720
people was what they thought were the first people's civilization in this area but they're

1274
01:58:24,720 --> 01:58:35,400
finding like relics from an unnamed civilization and a lot of people there believe in the spiritual

1275
01:58:35,400 --> 01:58:40,240
like if you hear like vortexes like places where you kind of like easier to tune into

1276
01:58:40,240 --> 01:58:46,800
the spiritual realm around the world this has a really profound energy whether you want

1277
01:58:46,800 --> 01:58:53,600
to believe in vortexes or not it's just a place where it's really easy to tune in and

1278
01:58:53,600 --> 01:59:02,360
hopefully it stays that way I really hope so as I feel it's a place I grew up in Monterey

1279
01:59:02,360 --> 01:59:09,920
that's my heart's home I live in Texas this is my physical home but I found my soul's

1280
01:59:09,920 --> 01:59:14,280
home in this place of El Valle I think it's a very special place.

1281
01:59:14,280 --> 01:59:20,040
Well it sounds amazing well I want to thank you so much it's been such an amazing conversation

1282
01:59:20,040 --> 01:59:24,880
you mentioned Dan John it was a similar kind of thing obviously we were going to talk about

1283
01:59:24,880 --> 01:59:30,960
strength training and all the things the first half of the conversation was about post-traumatic

1284
01:59:30,960 --> 01:59:36,440
stress and you know he had a father in World War II a brother in Vietnam you know there

1285
01:59:36,440 --> 01:59:39,800
was all kinds of addiction and things and this is what's so beautiful you know you have

1286
01:59:39,800 --> 01:59:44,560
all these people and yes they do this thing they coach that you know this is their area

1287
01:59:44,560 --> 01:59:50,620
of specialty but it's these human conversations so I want to thank you so much for your courageous

1288
01:59:50,620 --> 01:59:55,800
vulnerability and being so generous and coming on the Behind the Shield podcast today.

1289
01:59:55,800 --> 02:00:01,740
Thank you for having me James this is long overdue and I had an absolute blast you facilitated

1290
02:00:01,740 --> 02:00:06,360
me sharing a lot more than I thought I was going to there's no shield anymore here you're

1291
02:00:06,360 --> 02:00:17,640
behind the shield.