Summary

In this episode of the OPD podcast, Joe and Austin welcome Tom Shepherd, a performance coach and author, to discuss the importance of mindfulness in training and life. Tom shares his journey in the fitness industry, emphasizing the significance of quality over quantity in training, the role of suffering in personal growth, and the transformative power of meditation. The conversation explores how mindfulness can enhance performance in sports and daily activities, the flow state, and the importance of creating a culture of self-improvement. Tom also introduces his upcoming venture, Kaizen, focused on constant self-improvement.

Takeaways

- Mindfulness is about channeling attention to what we want in our lives.

- Mindfulness can enhance performance in sports and daily activities.

- Suffering can lead to personal growth and deeper meaning in life.

- Meditation should focus on acceptance and stillness, not just relaxation.

- Finding meaning in suffering can transform our perspective on life.

- Athletic endeavours can provide a safe space to explore suffering and resilience.

- The flow state is where effortless action occurs, enhancing performance.

- Recognising moments of mindfulness can lead to greater fulfillment in life.

- Creating a culture of self-improvement is essential for personal development.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Tom Shepherd and Mindfulness

02:37 The Importance of Mindfulness in Performance

04:32 Understanding Focus and Attention

08:48 Quality Over Quantity in Training

12:41 Practicing Mindfulness in Daily Life

15:28 The Impact of Environment on Mindfulness

20:14 Mindfulness in Martial Arts and Training

23:58 Self-Reflection and Mindfulness in Work

30:27 Finding Meaning in Activities

37:33 The Relationship Between Fun and Meaning

40:41 The Balance of Thrills and Meaning

41:28 Mindfulness and the Search for Meaning

42:15 Understanding Suffering and Its Role in Life

43:38 Facing Inner Demons for Personal Growth

45:35 Resilience Through Adversity

46:19 Meditation: Beyond Relaxation

48:53 Cultivating Focus and Mindfulness

51:42 The Importance of Non-Goal-Oriented Meditation

53:45 Finding Effortless Action in Life

55:52 The Flow State and Meaningful Action

58:43 Applying Mindfulness to Everyday Life

01:00:58 Creating Meaning Through Responsibility

01:04:10 The Necessity of Suffering for Fulfillment

01:05:31 Strength Through Suffering

01:06:17 The Future of Coaching and Self-Improvement

Summary

In this episode of the OPD podcast, Joe and Austin delve into the complexities of functional health, discussing the impact of social media on health anxiety, the dangers of fear-based marketing, and the importance of understanding the root causes of symptoms. They explore how stress and anxiety can exacerbate health issues and emphasize the need for mindfulness and acceptance in managing health. The conversation also touches on the unique challenges faced by competitors in the fitness industry and the significance of education in navigating the functional health landscape.

Takeaways

• Functional health is often misrepresented on social media.
• Symptoms can be exacerbated by health anxiety and stress.
• Fear-based marketing can lead to unnecessary health concerns.
• Mindfulness practices can help regulate the nervous system.
• Understanding the root causes of symptoms is crucial for healing.
• Many health issues are secondary to stress and anxiety.
• Competitors in fitness may face unique health challenges.
• It's important to avoid echo chambers in health discussions.
• Temporary symptom relief is not a long-term solution.
• Education and understanding are key in functional health.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Video Format

02:04 Exploring Functional Health and Its Misconceptions

03:28 The Role of Symptoms and Health Anxiety

05:26 The Impact of Social Media on Health Perception

07:52 The Complexity of Health Issues and Treatment Approaches

12:01 Understanding the Feedback Loop of Symptoms and Stress

14:53 The Importance of Systemic Thinking in Health

18:33 The Dangers of Fear-Based Marketing in Health

22:01 Navigating Health Information and Testing

24:49 The Role of Diet and Lifestyle in Health Management

27:55 Temporary Solutions vs. Long-Term Health Strategies

31:04 Navigating Variability in Health

34:15 Understanding Stress and Anxiety Responses

38:16 The Role of Mindfulness and Acceptance

42:04 Breaking Free from Reliance on Supplements

46:04 The Impact of Marketing on Health Perception

50:43 Trust Issues in Health Coaching

54:46 Identifying Stress as a Core Issue

57:07 Functional Health for Competitors vs. General Population

We are honoured to be joined today by the master of the neurosteroid and TRT-realm, Dave Lee, to dig into some of the more intricate discussion surrounding pregnenolone supplementation for mental health, sleep, quality of life & more.

Check out Dave here:

IG: @imdavelee

Linktr.ee/imdavelee

Back for another IG Q&A, today we run through Joe's experience of the Arnold's, autonomic nervous system interactions with chronic illness, and a bunch of listener questions.

In this episode, Austin runs us through his most recent prep in detail, how he added a significant amount of size, how he landed peeled, and how he feels about the placings.

A long-form, open discussion on how we like to handle peak week's for a variety of classes and criteria.

Another instalment of you guys favourite! In this episode, Austin & Joe get caught up on how the competitive season is going, and some fun stuff planned for the rest of this year.

The comeback nobody was waiting for. A little rusty, probably not as funny as it used to be, but we had a blast anyway.

We are honoured this week to be joined by a true veteran of the hypertrophy realm, most well known for his pioneering of myoreps, Borge Fagerli.

In this episode, we dig through the state of current hypertrophy research and how its presented on social media, what occurs in the real world, and how to autoregulate your own programming based on results.

To purchase Borge's new myoreps ebook, follow this link, and use code OPD20 for 20% discount:

https://www.borgefagerli.com/myo-reps-in-english

There has been a great deal of social media discussion on training frequency recently, unfortunately leading to an abundance of confusion as to whether certain higher frequency models will build more muscle than the same volume at a lower frequency, or whether frequency doesn't matter at all. Luckily, Dr Soko joins us today to clear up any and all confusion, to leave you guys with exactly what you need to know to make sure you're not leaving any stone unturned on your hypertrophy programming.