AdapNation: all things Self-Optimisation!

Here's something VERY different!

Listen to this cinematic podcast episode (audio version of this video) where Steve explains his story and the motivation behind everything we do at AdapNation, including the creation of the unique #BeYourBest Self-Optimisation Journey.

As a fan of the AdapNation Podcast, the underlying message here should resonate deeply. We're all on this journey of self-discovery and self-optimisation together!

I (Steve) love exploring these ideas, having incredible guests on the show, and being able to share incredible insights with you all. Most importantly, your responses and support fills me with a sense of purpose and passion that I didn't think I'd feel. Thank you.

Normal service resumes next week. Some awesome guests discussion recorded and ready for your listening pleasure. ☺️

Comment on the AdapNation Show Notes for this episode, share a tagged post on social, and please leave us a review in your Podcast Platform if you like what we're doing.

Episode Show Notes: https://adapnation.io/118-beyourbest-journey-story/

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If you like this and other AdapNation episodes, please don't forget to subscribe to the channel, as well as leaving a 5 star review and letting friends and family know of this Podcast on Social Media.

Negative Funks and Harmful Rumination - I’m not immune to these toxic states and thoughts, even when I know better!

I (Steve) keep my guard low on this show generally, and have no issue exposing my struggles and weaknesses for us all to learn from. But, there’s being open and relaxed, and then there is being truly transparent. Completely letting your guard down, and letting the raw and ugly truth come out.  

In this episode with Bryn Jenkins, this is exactly what I did. It was like therapy - a session on the ‘Dr Jenkins’ couch! 

I wanted to air this chat, because we all want to show the world that we’ve got our shit together. To downplay the negative and ugly aspects of our personality and behaviours. But, here’s the thing - we can’t complete avoid periods of negative mindsets. Not even self-optimising Mr #BeYourBest! 

We can’t always be happy, even though that’s the dream - the societal expectation. Being unhappy is seen as a failure, yet in spite of many low moments, people achieve the most incredible lives. What gives? 

What I think you’ll find interesting in this chat was the on-the-mic realisation that I am likely deficient in some Psychological Nutrients. And that, there is a of Self-Sabotage in all of us.  

I know better - mentally, academically and through personal experience, and yet I allow myself to to brew negativity and harmful non-productive thoughts from time to time. January 2020 tested me, and for no obvious reason... 

Reasons for my negative thought spirals (Full Show Notes) -  https://adapnation.io/117-steve-negative-funks/ 

The #BeYourBest Journey : https://adapnation.io/beyourbest-journey/ (£10 coupon BESTYEAR-2020) 

Referenced in Show:

▪︎ Nir Eyal interview - #109: How to Become Indistractable 

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If you like this and other AdapNation episodes, please don't forget to subscribe to the channel, as well as leaving a 5 star review and letting friends and family know of this Podcast on Social Media.

AdapNation Useful Links:

■ The #BeYourBest Self-Optimisation Journey 

■ Social - Instagram & Facebook & Tons of Free Website Content 

■ #HyperWorkouts - Expertly written Gym Workout Plans, with video guides, print-outs & HeavySet import 

■ AdapNation Butler - An Online Personal Assistant that can inspire easy and tasty Home-cooking 

■ AdapNation Food Diary - 100’s of Tasty Healthy Meal Ideas, that are focussed on helping you thrive 

Keto Muscle Building guru Danny Vega joins us for a part two on Keto, but this time the focus is on maximally building muscle whilst on a ketogenic diet.

Danny first joined us on the show in Episode 108, where we laid down the Keto knowledge, definitions and life benefits from taking a low carb and nose-to-tail approach to nutrition. In this episode, we decided to get really curious and specific as it relates to performance and muscle growth.  

For as long as there have been bodybuilding bros and athletes, there has been a strong emphasis on consuming a lot of carbs to fuel performance and to get bigger and stronger. Therefore, the natural response to a Keto Diet is that it will be suboptimal for athletic and bodybuilding goals. 

Is this a true statement? Are carbs essential to maximise progress? Can you build appreciable muscle on a low carb or Keto diet? What sacrifices are you making in doing so? 

These are important questions, as is the question about how to intelligently introduce carbs into a low carb diet and still maintain ketosis and fat adaptation when you have very specific training goals. And, what performance issues can you expect as you transition into a ketogenic or low carb lifestyle?

Danny helps answer these questions with detail, relatability and non-dogmatically - offering us all some great Keto muscle building intelligence. Some of which will surely surprise many listeners.  

This episode is great for everyone, whether you are in a low carb diet or not, as we cover many physiologic response to our diets and the effects that has on our training and muscle development. 

 Enjoy! 

Check out the Full Show Notes of What’s Discussed -   https://adapnation.io/116-danny-vega-keto-muscle/

The #BeYourBest Journey : https://adapnation.io/beyourbest-journey/ (£10 coupon BESTYEAR-2020) 

Where to find DANNY VEGA and his work:

▪︎ Instagram - @dannyvega.ms, @fatfueledmom & @fatfueledkids 

▪︎ Keto Muscle Intelligence - Keto muscle building nutrition and training program and coaching 

▪︎ Carnivore Keto Cut - Danny’s successful and enjoyable 30 day weight loss cutting program 

▪︎ 5 Mistakes Behind Keto Muscle Building - free downloadable guide 

▪︎ Fat Fueled Family - The Podcast & The Website 

▪︎ Facebook - Danny Vega 

Referenced in Show:

▪︎ Ben Pakulski & joint-venture Muscle Intelligence Keto Plan 

▪︎ Keto Savage - Robert Sikes 

▪︎ Dr Benjamin Bikman - Leading Insulin expert 

▪︎ UCAN Superstarch - A Keto-friendly carb supplement 

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If you like this and other AdapNation episodes, please don't forget to subscribe to the channel, as well as leaving a 5 star review and letting friends and family know of this Podcast on Social Media.

AdapNation Useful Links:

■ The #BeYourBest Self-Optimisation Journey 

■ Social - Instagram & Facebook & Tons of Free Website Content 

■ #HyperWorkouts - Expertly written Gym Workout Plans, with video guides, print-outs & HeavySet import 

■ AdapNation Butler - An Online Personal Assistant that can inspire easy and tasty Home-cooking 

■ AdapNation Food Diary - 100’s of Tasty Healthy Meal Ideas, that are focussed on helping you thrive 

Mattias Ribbing, aka Grand Master of Memory, walks us through his most powerful techniques and concepts behind developing a strong memory, that in turn optimises learning and super charges our ability to understand. 

Mattias held the Swedish Memory Champion title for three years in a role, and was internationally named the Grandmaster of Memory. Competing in memory sports, he would do things such as quickly memorising 1060 random digits without a mistake! 

Today, however, Mattias is the author of four books and a renowned speaker. His focus is no longer on spectacular feats of memory, but instead helping children and adults massively improve their ability to learn through engineering understanding and remembering through visualisation.

Memory is so much more than an ability to reel off some facts, remember someones name, or recite a phone number. Memory is the cornerstone of human experience, and a stronger memory will enrich your life. From learning new things and developing new ideas to vividly recalling past experiences and designing your best life based on your acquired wisdom.

So, if you wish you could remember more of what you read or listened to - both the main ideas as well as the details, then this episode is a must! If you want to develop your expertise, make maths easier, and generally remember more of your life, then Mattias offers some incredible yet simple insights into how great minds do it.  

Check out the Full Show Notes of What’s Discussed -   https://adapnation.io/115-memory-mattias-ribbing/

The #BeYourBest Journey : https://adapnation.io/beyourbest-journey/ (£10 coupon BESTYEAR-2020) 

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If you like this and other AdapNation episodes, please don't forget to subscribe to the channel, as well as leaving a 5 star review and letting friends and family know of this Podcast on Social Media.

AdapNation Useful Links:

■ The #BeYourBest Self-Optimisation Journey 

■ Social - Instagram & Facebook & Tons of Free Website Content 

■ #HyperWorkouts - Expertly written Gym Workout Plans, with video guides, print-outs & HeavySet import 

■ AdapNation Butler - An Online Personal Assistant that can inspire easy and tasty Home-cooking 

■ AdapNation Food Diary - 100’s of Tasty Healthy Meal Ideas, that are focussed on helping you thrive 

Learn Menno’s definitive guide to weight training programme design in the densely packed episode.

Menno Henselmans is one of the few popular voices in muscle building and fat loss that speaks from a truly evidence-based standpoint, is not dogmatic, and has also walked the walk.

Menno is know for many things, including his support of the sciences, his enviable physique, and world class coaching practice. But the biggies are most probably his positions on Training Volume, Training Frequency and Training Recovery to maximise muscle growth.

So, for that reason, we dedicated this interview to Menno providing us with his definitive position on optimal weight-training programming design for you, me and every other non-competing gym over who wants to look good naked.

We’ll cover Menno’s thoughts on Consistency, Training Volume, Progressive Overload, Rep Ranges, Intensiveness, Training to Failure, Recovery, Frequency, periodisation and a few other things too.

Check out the Full Show Notes of What’s Discussed -  https://adapnation.io/114-menno-henselmans/

The #BeYourBest Self-Optimisation Journey : https://adapnation.io/beyourbest-journey/ (£10 coupon BESTYEAR-2020) 

Where to find Menno Henselmans and his work:

▪︎ Main website - https://mennohenselmans.com

▪︎ Menno’s Free Email Course on Building Muscle and Losing Fat 

▪︎ Instagram - @menno.henselmans

▪︎ Facebook - MennoHenselmans

Third Party References:

▪︎ Christian Thibaudeau - pt1, pt2, pt3 and pt4 

▪︎ Paul Carter

▪︎ Brad Schoenfield

▪︎ Lyle McDonald

▪︎ Alan Aragon

▪︎ Mike Israeltel

▪︎ Eric Helms

▪︎ Layne Norton

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If you like this and other AdapNation episodes, please don't forget to subscribe to the channel, as well as leaving a 5 star review and letting friends and family know of this Podcast on Social Media.

AdapNation Useful Links:

■ The #BeYourBest Self-Optimisation Journey 

■ Social - Instagram & Facebook & Tons of Free Website Content 

■ #HyperWorkouts - Expertly written Gym Workout Plans, with video guides, print-outs & HeavySet import 

■ AdapNation Butler - An Online Personal Assistant that can inspire easy and tasty Home-cooking 

■ AdapNation Food Diary - 100’s of Tasty Healthy Meal Ideas, that are focussed on helping you thrive 

Joe DeFranco joins us for a masterclass on training for Speed and Sports Performance.  

Joe, with 22+ years Sports & Conditioning experience has trained 1000’s of athletes, and contributed to some incredible careers in NFL, Rugby, Figure Skating, Skiing and many more sports. 

Joe’s the go-to S&C trainer in the college football space, and made his name helping these young men excel in the NFL Combine. He’s also a leader online, with his Podcast and popular Instagram feed, as well as his renowned CPPS coaching certification. 

This interview extends the conversation of #107: How to Improve Sport Performance and Body Mechanics, where Joe’s top coaching principles were shared by Bryn Jenkins. If you are keen to understand how to improve your sport specific speed and sprinting, this latest episode is is absolute gold! 

There are gems for Coaches and Trainees alike - helping us all understand what a great coach is, and how a solid coach-trainee relationship can have an enormous impact. 

Check out the Full Show Notes of What’s Discussed -  https://adapnation.io/113-joe-defranco-speed/

The #BeYourBest Journey : https://adapnation.io/beyourbest-journey/ (£10 coupon BESTYEAR-2020) 

Where to find Joe DeFranco and his work:

▪︎ Instagram - @defrancosgym 

▪︎ CPPS Certification Website - https://cppscoaches.com 

▪︎ CPPS Online Certification - https://cppsacademy.com 

Third Party References:

▪︎ Christian Thibaudeau - pt1, pt2, pt3 and pt4 

▪︎ James Smith (Joes biz partner) - @smittydiesel  

▪︎ Prof. Peter O’Sullivan on Back Pain 

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If you like this and other AdapNation episodes, please don't forget to subscribe to the channel, as well as leaving a 5 star review and letting friends and family know of this Podcast on Social Media.

AdapNation Useful Links:

■ The #BeYourBest Self-Optimisation Journey 

■ Social - Instagram & Facebook & Tons of Free Website Content 

■ #HyperWorkouts - Expertly written Gym Workout Plans, with video guides, print-outs & HeavySet import 

■ AdapNation Butler - An Online Personal Assistant that can inspire easy and tasty Home-cooking 

■ AdapNation Food Diary - 100’s of Tasty Healthy Meal Ideas, that are focussed on helping you thrive 

AdapNation is all about removing roadblocks and enabling you to #BeYourBest. And when it comes to roadblocks… Back Pain is the leading cause of disability globally!

But… have we placed far too much emphasis on ageing, degeneration, injury, surgery and opioid medications where it comes to the discussion and treatment of back issues?

Be prepared to hear a different story. We’ve got on the refreshing and ground breaking Professor Peter O'Sullivan on the show to give us a crash course on the reality of our backs, back pain management, and how to have a healthy back into your old age.  

Peter is a Professor of Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy at Curtin University, Perth, is one of the most influential and innovative names in this specialty - with half his time spent on clinical research into Pain and pain disorders, and the other hand of his time treating 1000’s people with pain issues. 

As always, this is an insightful and hugely practical interview, with big ideas, mind-blowing concepts, and has the potential to make a big difference to so many peoples lives.

Full Show Notes of what we discussed -  https://adapnation.io/112-back-pain-peter-osullivan/

#BeYourBest Journey : https://adapnation.io/beyourbest-journey/ (£10 coupon BESTYEAR-2020) 

Get Your Free #BeYourBest Scorecard - https://adapnation.io/beyourbest-journey/scorecard/ 

Where to find Prof Peter O'Sullivan and his work online:

▪︎ Twitter - @PeteOSullivanPT 

▪︎ Pain Health - https://painhealth.csse.uwa.edu.au 

▪︎ Pain-Ed - http://www.pain-ed.com 

Third Party References:

▪︎ John E Sarno - The Mind/Body Prescription & Healing Back Pain 

▪︎ Michael Ray - Chiropractor, pain specialist and part of Barbell Medicine 

▪︎ Mark Rippetoe 

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If you like this and other AdapNation episodes, please don't forget to subscribe to the channel, as well as leaving a 5 star review and letting friends and family know of this Podcast on Social Media.

AdapNation Useful Links:

■ The #BeYourBest Self-Optimisation Journey 

■ Social - Instagram & Facebook 

■ #HyperWorkouts - Expertly written Gym Workout Plans, with video guides, print-outs & HeavySet import 

■ AdapNation Butler - An Online Personal Assistant that can inspire easy and tasty Home-cooking 

■ AdapNation Food Diary - 100’s of Tasty Healthy Meal Ideas, that are focussed on helping you thrive 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! The time to be merry, connect with family, eat well… and reflect on how we showed up through the course of the year. 

Sticking to the AdapNation ritual, Bryn and Steve get together with hot drink in hand just before Christmas, to look back at the year just been and honestly self-reflect on our performance and satisfaction. Oh, and a biiiiiig announcement…. 

Did we do what we said we would? Have we lived up to our values and expectations? Did we miss the target on any of our 2019 declared themes? Were there any pleasant surprise victories along the way? 

It’s such a cathartic and and inspiring process. Hopefully our honesty, reflection and questions spark a similar process for you and those close to you. 

Here’s the format of our reflection & planning - https://adapnation.io/111-2019-reflections-and-big-announcement

HUGE Announcement!

Perfectly timed and relevant to this 2020 goal setting process, we’ve just launched the #BeYourBest Self-Optimisation Journey! A unique and life-transforming 100 day offering that is set to counteract the modern-day challenges we face, and give you the edge to #BeYourBest across your mindset, nutrition, exercise, replenishment, physique… and life holistically! 

Steve passionately shares this news (1:06:40), including the problem we are attempting to address, the 2020 challenges ahead, the need for better solutions, what the #BeYourBest Journey is, and how it works. This truly has been a labour of love over two years! 

#BeYourBest Journey : https://adapnation.io/beyourbest-journey/ 

Get Your Free #BeYourBest Scorecard - https://adapnation.io/beyourbest-journey/scorecard/ 

£10 OFF COUPON: HPY-XMAS19-10 (expires in Jan 2020)

Dr. Bill Schindler, the hands-on anthropologist and archeologist, and overall student of prehistoric and indigenous cultures and tooling, joins us today for what is a truly fascinating and thought provoking discussion on our evolution as a species.

Bill’s on a mission to take the archaeological record and get the truth out there to the masses. He believes is we can all better understand our evolutionary past, and what critical nutritional and tooling decisions were made along the way to result in the most capable species on the planet, then we will know how to thrive as individuals today.

It’s astounding just how much we know about our early cultures, practices, diets, food processing, tooling and how we acquired our food.

Furthermore, the strong linkage we have established between an increase in nutrient density in our diets and the explosion in body size, brain volume, intelligence, social skills and proliferation is a compelling call to better respect the power of nutrition.

In this episode, Bill helps us understand the connection between the technology we developed, and our very existence! That without the food acquiring and processing tools we developed and harnessed, we simply would not be. This is powerful stuff!

This episode strongly makes the case to return to an ancestral-influenced diet, with evidence and logic that is hard to refute.

Check out the show notes for a full run down of what we cover. Enjoy! This will absolutely help you #BeYourBest.

Full Show Notes of what we discussed -  https://adapnation.io/110-bill-schindler-evolution/

Where to find BILL SCHINDLER and his work online :

▪︎ The Dr Bill Schindler website

▪︎ Themodernstoneagefamily.com & themodernstoneagediet.com

▪︎ Social - Twitter (@DrBillSchindler),, Instagram (@DrBillSchindler), Facebook (drbillschindler)

▪︎ Bill Schindler, starring in National Geographic's The Great Human Race

▪︎ Discovery Channel Naked and Afraid TV Show 

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If you like this and other AdapNation episodes, please don't forget to subscribe to the channel, as well as leaving a 5 star review and letting friends and family know of this Podcast on Social Media.

AdapNation Useful Links:

■ Social - Instagram & Facebook

■ AdapNation Butler - An Online Personal Assistant that can inspire easy and tasty Home-cooking

■ AdapNation Food Diary - 100’s of Tasty Healthy Meal Ideas, that are focussed on helping you thrive

■ #HyperWorkouts - Expertly written Gym Workout Plans, with video guides, print-outs & HeavySet import

Nir Eyal, a foremost leader in understanding behaviour design, habit formation, and developing compelling technology, joins us today for a truly fascinating and highly relatable discussion on the modern plague - DISTRACTION.

Full Show Notes of what we discussed - https://adapnation.io/109-indistractable-nir-eyal/

Nir has been advising companies for years on how to design tech that gets us hooked. Who better to seek counsel from than an industry insider when it comes to hacking back and reclaiming our focus?! Nir wrote the book (literally) on how to get people hooked on tech, as well as how to become indistractable.

If you want to live the most fulfilled life and achieve what you really want, in line with your values, then you must develop a framework and mindset that limits the distraction and noise, and allows you more traction in the things that really matter. Distraction pulls us away from action, and often break our own rules and values. So why do we allow it to happen… all the time?!

That’s exactly what we’re going to cover in this episode. The what, why and how of distraction, at the scientific and deeply psychological level. You’ll better understand your behaviours - which are natural human behaviours, as well as understanding how you can claim back control.

We also spend a lot of time discussing the elephant in the room. Whether we should be blaming the big tech giants for causing deep distraction and the growing mental health crisis. Are they really the issue? Are we doomed to fall under their spell and get less and less important stuff done? 

Are our kids destined for a terrible future due to social media in their lives? Are they powerless to the ever strengthening algorithms?

This and so much more. You’ll love this one, I’m sure! You may even relate to Steve’s issues with distraction and pain avoidance... 

Where to find NIR EYAL and his work online :

▪︎ Nir’s website, info on being Indistractable, and where to claim the bonus materials - NirAndFar.com/Indistractable

▪︎ The Book - Indistractable: How to Control You Attention And Choose Your Life

▪︎ Nir’s Schedule Maker Tool

▪︎ Nir’s Distraction Guide & Habits vs Routines articles

▪︎ Social - Instagram (@neyal99) and Twitter (@nireyal)

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If you like this and other AdapNation episodes, please don't forget to subscribe to the channel, as well as leaving a 5 star review and letting friends and family know of this Podcast on Social Media.

AdapNation Useful Links:

■ Steve’s Morning Ritual to manage distraction and be productive 

■ Steve’s template for a Perfect Day and Perfect Week 

■ The Power of Mindfulness, and how this simple habit can help you focus on what matters most 

■ Social - Instagram & Facebook 

■ #HyperWorkouts - Expertly written Gym Workout Plans, with video guides, print-outs & HeavySet import 

■ AdapNation Butler - An Online Personal Assistant that can inspire easy and tasty Home-cooking 

■ AdapNation Food Diary - 100’s of Tasty Healthy Meal Ideas, that are focussed on helping you thrive