Dr. Alex Hutchinson is an author and journalist based in Toronto, Canada. His latest book, Endure: Mind, body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance, is an exploration of the science and mysteries of endurance. 

Alex is a contributing editor for Outside Magazine, writing a Sweat Science column. He also writes a column for The Globe and Mail and Canadian Running magazine. He’s also written award-winning articles for Popular Mechanics, has written about adventure travel for the New York Times, and was a columnist at Runner’s World for five years.

Alex started out as a physicist with a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, then spent a few years as a postdoctoral researcher with the U.S. National Security Agency, working on quantum computing and nanomechanics. During that time, he competed as a middle- and long-distance runner for the Canadian national team, mostly as a miler but also dabbling in cross-country and even a bit of mountain running. He still runs most days, enjoys the rigors of hard training, and occasionally races.

If you’re into human performance or have ever wondered what factors govern the limits of human athletic potential, then Alex’s book Endure is a must-read.

To find more of Alex's work:

www.AlexHutchinson.net

Outside Magazine Sweat Science

Timestamps:

00:00:22 Intro

00:01:50 Athletic and Academic Background

00:06:07 Limits of Endurance Test

00:10:50  Theoretical maximum/Tim Noakes

00:15:15 Model of Fatigue

00:19:12 Mental Fatigue

00:20:30 Practical Application in Training

00:25:17 Low Hanging Fruit In Performance

00:28:35 A Note From our Sponsors

00:29:00 Outro

The curse of knowledge occurs when an individual, often unknowingly, assumes that others have the background or knowledge to understand a particular topic.

Once we know something, it's tough to remember what it's like not to know it and to factor that into our communication. 

This leads to misunderstanding, frustration, inefficient or ineffective learning environments, and mango trees with boats in them. 

In this episode, we discuss how the curse of knowledge works, the factors that enhance or mitigate it, and how to effectively account for it in our personal and professional lives. 

This is part two of our interview with Shaun Taylor, a founding member of Canada's tier-one SOF unit, JTF2.

Shaun has also managed to fit numerous other careers into his lifetime, ranging from coffee shop owner to computer systems teacher to a world championship title in 24-hour solo mountain bike racing, followed by 15 years as a professional coach.

In this half of the interview, we talk about his career(s) after JTF2, his experiences as a world champion MTB racer and coach, and what eventually led him to become part of his podcast, The Collective.

Shaun's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shauntaylors1/

The Collective Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@the_collective_yt/streams

The Collective Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_collective_ig/

Timestamps:

• 00:00:22 Maintaining Mental Health
• 00:04:11 Becoming A Civilian Again
• 00:09:04 24-Hour Mountain Bike Racing
• 00:13:45 Mental Strategies
• 00:22:14 What Did You Look For In Coaching Clients
• 00:26:20 Regulating Stress Response
• 00:30:08 Better Manage Stress Response
• 00:31:46 Embarrass Past Selves
• 00:34:30 Metacognition
• Rapid Fire Questions
• 00:40:12 Tips On Building Positive Group Culture
• 00:40:34 Recovery Routine
• 00:40:45 Soft Selection Course Prep
• 00:40:53 How Should Women Train
• 00:41:00 Managing Egos
• 00:41:08 Carryover Exercises
• 00:41:19 Reset Mindset
• 00:41:35 Optimal Balance in Training
• 00:42:01 Preparation Training
• 00:42:15 Training For BJJ
• 00:42:35 Integrating

Shaun Taylor has had a dizzying array of careers and life experiences. 

He was one of the original members of JTF2, Canada’s tier-one special operations unit, and retired as a warrant officer. 

Shaun was also a Use of Force instructor for a Canadian Police college, and shortly after that, he became a computer systems engineer and was a full-time teacher in that subject. The experience he gained there led to him writing a 700-page study guide that was sold throughout North America.

He followed his stint as a professional nerd by moving into a consulting role in private international security, where he eventually met his wife.

This led him to the next stage of his career, where, as one would expect of a retired special operator, he settled down and opened a successful coffee shop.

Shaun then discovered a passion for ultra-endurance racing, eventually leading to competitive 24-hour Solo mountain bike racing. During thirty 24-hour solo races, he competed around the world and eventually became a World Champion. People in the racing circuit began asking Shaun for help, so he created his own coaching company and worked with high-performance race athletes worldwide for the next 15 years.

In 2022, after several discussions with friends within the veteran community about the concerning statistics on veteran suicide and mental health, Shaun stepped away from his coaching business. Since then, he has focused on improving things for the Veteran, LEO, and First Responder communities, which led to podcasting and the start of a new podcast platform called The Collective.

His podcast has had over 200 guests, ranging from SOF members to human behavioral scientists, with a general focus on human betterment.

Shaun's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shauntaylors1/

The Collective Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@the_collective_yt/streams

The Collective Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_collective_ig/

Timestamps:

• 00:00:22 Intro to Shaun Taylor
• 00:02:20 Seven Careers
• 00:07:17 JTF2
• 00:10:24 Problems Establishing Unit
• 00:11:43 Team Culture
• 00:14:41 Extreme Accountability
• 00:19:17 Positive and Negative Competition
• 00:23:24 Reason For Being
• 00:26:02 Understanding Your Own Purpose
• 00:31:22 How Do You Get Motivated
• 00:40:26 When Did You Start Training
• 00:44:08 What Did You Most Struggle With
• 00:46:30 Living Two Different Lives
• 00:51:50 How to Fit Training Plan Into Operational Schedule
• 00:54:51 Always Ready To Get The Go Signal
• 00:58:34 Maintaining Mental Health
• 01:00:25 Outro

One of the most common training mistakes is the all-or-nothing trap: alternating between phases of intense effort and consistency and doing nearly nothing. The fitness industry consistently reinforces the ‘go on a diet’ or ‘get ripped in 30 days’ mentality. Unfortunately, this is also a recipe for frustration and poor results. 

A much better approach is to view things through the lens of sprint and maintenance phases. This is far more effective for long-term success.

This is part 2 of our 2-part episode with Dr. Christopher Lowry, a professor of Integrative Physiology, Psychology, and Neuroscience, specializing in the gut microbiome. If you haven’t listened to the first half of this interview, we recommend starting there first. 

His research program at CU Boulder focuses on understanding stress-related physiology and behavior, emphasizing the microbiome-gut-brain axis. His research is designed to lead to novel, microbiome-based interventions for preventing anxiety, mood, and trauma- and stressor-related disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

In this half of our interview with him, we’ll talk more about his work there, as well as practical ways to improve your gut health and the potential implications for that when it comes to better resilience under stress.

More about Dr. Lowry: https://www.colorado.edu/iphy/people/faculty/christopher-lowry

Dr. Lowry's TedX talk: Plants, the Microbiome, and Mental Health

Timestamps:

00:00:22 Who is Dr. Chris Lowry

00:01:10 Gut Biome, Immune System, and Mental Health

00:05:51 Mechanisms at Work

00:08:06 Working With Certain Strains With Veterans

00:10:38 TBI and PTSD

00:12:18 Neurotransmitters in the Gut

00:18:01 Mitigate Damage From Bad Eating Habits

00:22:42 Ayahuasca and PTSD

00:24:33 Two Hit Model of Stress Exposure

00:27:55 Long Covid and Neuroinflammation

00:33:38 Lower Inflammatory Response 

00:34:22 Learn More About Dr. Chris Lowry’s Work

00:35:15 Outro

Christopher A. Lowry, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Departments of Integrative Physiology, Psychology, and Neuroscience, the Center for Neuroscience, and the Center for Microbial Exploration. 

He has additional appointments in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Center for Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, as a Principal Investigator in the Department of Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System, VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education, & Clinical Center, and as the director of the Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Laboratory at CU Boulder. 

He is also the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Military and Veteran Microbiome Consortium for Research and Education.

Dr. Lowry’s research program at CU Boulder focuses on understanding stress-related physiology and behavior, emphasizing the microbiome-gut-brain axis. His research is designed to lead to novel, microbiome-based interventions for preventing anxiety, mood, and trauma- and stressor-related disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Lowry about his work involving the microbiome-gut-brain axis, a research term for how our digestive systems' health is intertwined with our brains' health. We’ll cover broad theoretical topics like what the gut microbiome is and how it works, to the practical side of things like what you can eat to make it healthier.

We’ll also discuss some of Chris’ work on how the gut biome can affect our resilience and susceptibility to traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress, as well as his research in these areas, specifically involving the veteran and first responder communities. 


More about Dr. Lowry: https://www.colorado.edu/iphy/people/faculty/christopher-lowry


Timestamps:

00:00:22 Who is Dr. Chris Lowry

00:03:08 Background, Education and the Microbiome

00:10:28 Where is the Biome

00:13:02 What Benefits Our Microbiome

00:16:46 How Does Food Diversity Affect the Microbiome 

00:20:15 Blood/Gut Barrier

00:22:28 Fiber: Diversity is Best

00:27:05 How do Antibiotics Affect the Microbiome

00:29:13 Recovery From Antibiotics

00:30:31 Guidelines in Probiotic Diversity

00:35:00 Outro

"The hardest part of the day is getting out of bed" is a common phrase among successful SOF selection candidates. 

Aside from serving as the sort of inside joke that helps people bond and encourage one another while doing difficult things together, it also conveys some essential concepts related to resilience and motivation and helps to reinforce the types of mindsets that excel in difficult conditions. 

In this episode, we break those concepts down and discuss how you can apply them in your own life, whether you're undertaking a career in special operations or taking on another challenging path. 

Casey Glass has been a strength and conditioning coach at an active-duty special operations unit for nine years. Alongside helping the operators she works with to excel in their training workups and deployments, Casey also manages their preparation training for selection into tier-one units. 

In this episode, we speak with Casey about training for longevity. This is an important issue for anybody in the world of special operations. The intensity of the training and the pace of workups and deployments can take a major toll on operators, and they can pick up movement limitations and injuries surprisingly fast. Many SOF commands are sort of like laboratories designed to accelerate the aging process in athletes if you’re not actively accounting for longevity in your training and recovery processes. 

During her time coaching special operators, Casey has seen this process play out countless times and, over the years, has developed an approach that helps prolong operators' lifespans so they can stay healthy and capable throughout their careers.

Timestamps:

• 00:00:20 Intro 
• 00:01:27 What Does Training for Longevity Mean?
• 00:04:45 Energy Balance
• 00:09:30 Long-Term Effects of Under-Eating While Training
• 00:12:23 What Makes Operators Successful
• 00:13:52 Auto Regulation
• 00:17:10 Velocity Apps 
• 00:19:35 Auto Regulation and Conditioning
• 00:23:16 Movement Quality
• 00:25:05 What Brings People Back to Damaging Training
• 00:28:28 Which Modality is Most Effective?
• 00:32:34 Types of Training Methods 
• 00:35:38 Controlling Your Center of Mass
• 00:37:32 Cues for Good Positions
• 00:39:07 Contextual Factors for Stacking Ribcage
• 00:42:25 Social Media and Resources
• 00:42:55 Outro  

For more about Casey, go to https://linktr.ee/warfighterhp

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL Lieutenant and an NSCA CSCS who graduated from the US Naval Academy and Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, also known as BUD/S. For over 25 years, he has been writing workout books that prepare people to ace fitness tests and selection programs. People from all fitness levels use his military preparation products for help with everything from losing weight and getting ready for basic training to preparing for special operations. 

Stew founded StewSmithFitness.com and Heroes of Tomorrow Fitness – an online fitness resource for people seeking to join the Military, Law Enforcement, and Firefighting professions.

He and his team train over 5,000 young men and women who wish to serve their country and communities locally for free each year.

In this episode, we discuss his career, his approach to coaching everything from the specifics of the CSS to big-picture SOF prep training, and what he's learned about successful SOF candidates in his 25+ years of coaching. 

Timestamps:

• 00:00:22  Intro
• 00:01:12 Background
• 00:03:50 What Have You Learned Since You Started
• 00:06:31 Approach to Coaching CSS
• 00:08:49 Technique Preference
• 00:13:23 Working on Range of Motion
• 00:16:25 Alternating Breaststroke Kick
• 00:17:50 What Are You Currently Doing
• 00:19:03 How Far do People Travel to Train With You
• 00:20:05 How Does Your Coaching Change From Person to Person
• 00:24:20 Helping People Prepare For The PST
• 00:29:12 Most Common Beginner-Level Issues
• 00:34:34 Balance of Treading Training
• 00:37:01 Biggest Differences in Prep Strategies
• 00:41:12 Reasons Attrition is High
• 00:43:29 Have They Been Doing the Work
• 00:45:21 Main Variables in Prep for Individual Characteristics
• 00:48:09 Advice for Talking to Recruiters
• 00:51:48 Scruff Duty
• 00:54:10 Best and Worst Advice You’ve Ever Received
• 00:58:21 Learn More About You
• 00:59:24 Outro