Often when we're feeling compromised in our health and or our happiness, the first place to look is not for things to add to our lives in order to "fix" them; more that we should look for things that need to be removed and often those things come in the form of our behaviours.

"People need to have a strong 'why' – it gives them a stronger sense of purpose." – Jason Khalipa

Jason Khalipa (@jasonkhalipa) is an entrepreneur, dad, author, Crossfit Games champion and all-around remarkable human.  He is incredibly generous with his wisdom and energy and has channelled much of what he knows into his forthcoming book, AMRAP Mentality. (If you're unfamiliar with the term AMRAP, it means as many rounds or as many reps as possible in fitness training.)

In our conversation, we cover:

• How he applies his champion's mindset to get the most out of life, including working through a very challenging time where his little daughter was battling leukemia.
• How being healthy and strong gives us reserve power to work through life's challenges and just some thoughts on living a good life.
• How building camaraderie and community on the floor of corporate fitness facilities has evolved the way teams connect and perform in their day-to-day work.

There is so much we didn't end up touching on, so if you'd like to learn more about Jason I highly suggest reading up on him in J.C. Herz's incredible book, Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of Crossfit and the Primal Future of Fitness as a starting point.

Athletic accomplishments aside, Jason is a generous teacher, community member and role model.  Check him out on Instagram at @jasonkhalipa or check out his chain of gyms at NC.fit.

AMRAP Mentality: Succeeding in Competition, Business and Life By Making The Most of Every Minute

"We live our lives as if our next day is so guaranteed, but it's urgent.  Life is urgent. "

• Justin Duguay

Justin Duguay ( @jtdioxide ) is back for round two and we both agree that we pushed ourselves a bit into the zone of discomfort at times with this one. I happen to think that adds value to the episode, but you will have to decide for yourselves.  Justin is, after all, the guy who said, "Vulnerability makes us ripe for growth," during his interview in episode three.

Covered in this episode:

• A unique project that Justin and his sister, Danielle, have brought to a local school
• An inconvenient truth about the fitness industry and its experts
• A story of two encounters that have brought focus to his life

You'll quickly recognize that Justin is a guy who is very motivated by helping other people perform better in their lives.  He shares a lot of his coaching reflections and insights on Instagram at @jtdioxide or you can check out his blog at www.CrossfitDioxide.com .

"I can only perform well and do things well if I'm taking care of myself – you can't pour from an empty cup." – Sal Di Stefano

Sal Di Stefano (@mindpumpsal) is a lifelong health and fitness experimenter/enthusiast and fitness media entrepreneur as well as co-host of the disruptive and informative Mind Pump podcast.  Mind Pump is an online radio show/podcast that has been described as Howard Stern meets fitness.

During our call, Sal gets into:

• Aligning your health goals with the rest of your life.
• How he thinks about self-care through life's challenges.
• His "trading dimes for quarters" philosophy.
• Avoiding the trap of "fighting for 1%" in your health and wellness

If you enjoyed this conversation, I would strongly encourage you to check out episodes of Sal's podcast.  They currently have well over 600 episodes available and have interviewed everybody who is making a difference in the field of modern fitness and wellness.  You can also check out Sal on Instagram @mindpumpsal.

Arnold's Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding

Mind Pump Media

MAPS Anabolic

MAPS Anywhere

Sarah Beatty (@9tothrive_inc) is the founder 9 to Thrive, a brand new a corporate wellness events company who deliver fitness events to workplaces.  Tired of constantly struggling to balance a busy workload with her health and well-being and inspired by her passion for health and wellness, she focused on creating an easy way to bring healthy activities TO the workplace.

But this episode isn't all about workplace wellness!

Sarah is also a personal trainer and has some great tips for helping people to get started on their own wellness journey, so if that's where you're at and what you're looking for, we've got that in the conversation too. 

In the episode, Sarah shares:

• How small changes can lead to discovering your hidden superpowers.
• How smaller businesses can offer wellness initiatives that help them attract talent.
• How to start building workplace wellness initiatives with your teams, even with no budget.
• Measuring the ROI of workplace wellness initiatives

Sarah's social channels:

Business Site  Instagram

"The more you move, the more you exercise, the less stressed you are and the lower the risk of chronic conditions." - Richard Cisneros

Richard Cisneros is a physiotherapist and acupuncturist who specializes in helping athletes recover from injury or lapsed athletes ramp themselves back into better, stronger movement.  He's on the podcast because I admire how his methodology empowers the patient with a focus on returning them to at least some movement as soon as possible.

We actually had to restart a couple of times due to having a bit too much fun, but here's what we got recorded for the episode:

• The surprising therapeutic power of deadlifts
• His impactful internship at a neuro-rehab clinic
• Richard's philosophy on how our mental game plays into our physical game

Richard is super passionate about helping people to perform optimally, simply by enhancing human movement.  Connect with him via his clinic's website, right HERE.

Episode 4, featuring Greg Amundson

Website for Richard's clinic.

"I don't chase happiness; I choose what's worth struggling for."  - Matt Poyner 

Many of us may find ourselves occasionally putting off important things in life because we are "too busy."  Matt Poyner is a backcountry outdoorsman, dad, artist, carpenter, ER doctor, graphic designer, husband, and brewer, among other things (and not necessarily in that order.)  You could say he leads a busy life, but he might call it a life of fulfillment.

In our discussion, we have a few laughs and dig into:

• What makes being an emergency room doctor the perfect vocation for a person of varied interests.
• How physical struggle and exertion has contributed to human evolution
• His philosophy on parenting
• Matt's four elements of a fulfilled life.

Links and References :

How to Be Everything: A Guide For Those Who (Still) Don't Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up by Emilie Wapnick

Wired to Eat: Turn off Cravings, Rewire Your Appetite for Weight Loss, and Determine the Foods That Work for You by Robb Wolf

The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance by Steven Kotler

"The best diet theory is the one that relates best to your unique hormonal function." -Bharat Oza

Bharat Oza  ( @b_elite_bharat ) is back and this time he's answering your questions as submitted via Instagram and our Facebook Page. 

Among other things, Bharat shares:

• His thoughts on what makes "the best nutrition strategy"
• What's the deal with intermittent fasting and is it right for you?
• Thoughts on Bulletproof and other fatty coffees
• Pros and cons of paleo, ketogenic, HCLF, plant-based diets

Bharat still spends loads of time learning and sharing as he explores how we can all live better lives.  Want to learn more from Bharat?  Tune in to his weekly Facebook live videos at 9:00am EST each week where he shares a ton of great information.

Enjoy!

This is a solo podcast where I share an essay prompted by a recent conversation with a friend.  These are a few ideas I've had kicking around in my branium for a few months now and it was time to try to channel them in some type of cohesive flow.

"We've got to get out of the habitual thinking, and the only way to do that is to put new thoughts in." – Denise Marek

Denise Marek (@marekdenise) used to be a self-proclaimed expert at worrying, and the root cause for that turned out to be linked to events that happened very early in her life.  Finally, she realized that she was able to look at her circumstances differently and it was then that she began to identify the four steps to getting herself (and others) from a state of worried and stressed to a state of calm and to eventually begin working on a path of self-mastery.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Denise's proven four-step process for managing fear and getting yourself CALM
• How she became an expert at worrying before she became the worry management expert.
• How she made up her mind to get the same book agent as Dr. Phil and then easily made it happen.
• How to train fleas. (Who knew that was even still a thing?)

Denise gets extremely real with me in this interview; be sure to stick around to the end for an amazing honest view into her origin story.  If you want to put a name to the face and check out more of what Denise is up to, you can follow her on Instagram at @marekdenise or check out her website, denisemarek.com