Side Quest Podcast

During the time that I've been a part of the Roman Fitness Systems Mastermind, I have had the chance to meet some amazing people.

Benjamin (Ben) Johnson, is one of the most genuine, intelligent, and down to Earth dudes I've ever met.

Ben is a writer, fitness coach, and one hell of an amazing cook.

In his past, Ben was the fat kid. He struggled with his weight for years until he, like many people, took it more serious. 

At his core, Ben wants to help people. Whether that is developing as a writer, carrying their groceries, or helping them achieve their health and fitness goals, Ben's primary goal is to help as many people as he can.

Ben is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or commonly known as Mormons. It's from his faith and the foundation that he was raised on that feeds his desire to help others.

Having got to know Ben, I don't think I've ever met anyone more willing to go out of their way to help their fellow man or woman.

Oh yea, I mentioned he loves to cook. The dude is probably a 4-star chef and doesn't even know it. 

For more show notes head to www.sidequestfitness.com/ben-johnson/

It's okay to be selfish.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't care for others, but if you can't take care of yourself, you can't fully take care of others.

But, we're all busy. We all have lives that ask a lot from us. Time gets sucked away, technology sucks our extra time into its black hole, and what is sacrificed is more than often the passions we love more than anything.

You stop drawing, painting, singing, dancing, acting, you stop creating because you need to be working or taking care of others.

If you want to see your life change. If you want to advance to your highest level, there is a time of day that needs to be YOURS and YOURS alone.

No distractions. No one else to bother you. No email. No phone. No computer.

Only you and what makes you happy.

Strength training and whiskey, specifically scotch, are among my favorite things in the world.

How I had not discovered the Strength & Scotch Podcast before is beyond me. But while digging through the podcasts on iTunes, I came across these guys and fell in love.

Grant and Heavey host the Strength and Scotch Podcast, but they're also giant nerds. Heavey actually worked on the Mars Rover with NASA, while Grant is a huge comic book and video game nerd like myself.

When they decided to start the podcast they were drinking together and talking fitness and figured, why not record it? 

Both are super curious dudes who love getting to the bottom of things. So they decided to combine their love of scotch and fitness to deliver a fun, sometimes crazy, but a valuable resource for others who share their passion of strength and scotch.

For more show notes head to www.sidequestfitness.com/strength-and-scotch

In this episode of the podcast, I answer questions from the community of Heroes.

Ever wondered why protein is crucial for dieting?

What the best strategy is for maintaining weight loss?

Have you always wanted to ask me what my favorite movies are?

Or do you want to know how you can make gains in the gym, in life, or just want to have your craziest question answered?

In this first Community Questions episode of the podcast, I answer 3 questions from listeners or followers on social media.

In this episode I discuss:

• Petravita
• Eat more protein
• Make water awesome
• Level up your sleep
• Health Points System
• 9 Rules of Life
• Indiana Jones series (Holy Grail, Temple of Boon, Raiders of the Lost Bar)
• Macro your macros
• My favorite movies

There is no lift on Earth more badass than the deadlift.

You either lift the weight or you don't. Period.

But many people avoid this lift because they've been told that it can cause injury. Well, sure, anything can cause injury if you do it wrong.

So this month on Coaches Corner, Nick Sorrell, Tanner Baze, and myself hop on a call to chat all things deadlifts.

How to progress deadlifts if your new, how to get through sticking points, how to program deadlifts, and tips on pulling the weight off the floor.

For more show notes head to www.sidequestfitness.com/all-things-deadlifts/

In Fallout 4, you're allowed the ability to invest your attribute points into SPECIAL stats at the start of the game. However, unlike the previous

Unlike the previous games, each SPECIAL stat starts out at 1 instead of 5. But you can level each one up as your character levels up.

SPECIAL stands for: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck.

All of these attributes are important in our real lives as well.

In this episode of the podcast, I break down each and show you what steps you can take to level each of these attributes up in your own life.

For more show notes head to www.sidequestfitness.com/special/

Slyvon Blanco is in the running for the coolest name on Earth.

He's also a fitness coach, Lifehacker, website genius, and a lover of the finer things in life like deadlifts and donuts.

Growing up as an immigrant Sly understood that he needed to work hard and "go get it." From a young age he learned how to find more efficient methods of getting things done.

But he grew up nerdy, small, and easy to bully. Fitness for him was about finding the strength, and size, to stand up to his bullies.

Since starting his blog in 2011, he's had dreams of traveling the world as he works. This year, he made that a reality.

He and his girlfriend started in Southeast Asia, journeyed back Canada, and, for now, are in South America.

Sly considers himself a jack-of-all-trades. He wants to learn about everything and not only be stuck in one area of expertise.

He's accomplished this not only as a fitness coach and online entrepreneur but he can build websites, code, and he makes some of the most delicious foods.

For more show notes head to www.sidequestfitness.com/blanco

In May of 2016, I had Craig Ballantyne on the podcast and we chatted, amongst many things, about the rules he has for his life.

Rules that he follows every day and that guide his vision of business success and personal development.

A couple months before that, at a conference in Austin, Texas, a presenter talked to the attendees about rules and why rules must be followed.

Both of these events created a cascade of thoughts in my mind.

"Do I have rules that I follow that guide my life?"

"Am I just flying by the seat of my pants?"

So I took the challenge from Craig and developed my own rules.

Rules that are important to my life, my business, but more important, rules that will help me be the best I can be---help me achieve my highest level.

For more show notes head to www.sidequestfitness.com/9-rules-I-live-by

On this episode of the podcast, I'm joined by fellow nerd, fitness enthusiast, and host of the Dumbbells and Dragons podcast, Kenneth Rotter.

Ken got into fitness at 25 after asking a friend if he could go to the gym with him. HIs friend decided to create some of the hardest workouts he could, trying to get Ken to quit. Ken admits he didn’t know any different and thought they were "normal" workout.

Like myself, Ken has always been a console kid compared to a computer kid. 

He decided to start his website, and later podcast, because he wanted to meet two people, Chris Hardwick and Marshawn Lynch.

Now, his desire has evolved into inspiring people to "go a little bit further than they did yesterday."

The tag line for Dumbbells and Dragons is: Work Out. Nerd Out. I have to say we did at least one of those on this episode.

For more show notes head to www.sidequestfitness.com/dumbbells-dragons/

Around the world of fitness and health, you'll many times find people telling you to follow the 80/20 rule.

"80% of the time eat a healthy diet and exercise and 20% of the time you can goof off and still receive the results you want."

But as humans, we often strive for perfection.

Then when we aren't perfect, we beat ourselves up.

Success isn't an overnight thing. Like building a LEGO tower, it takes one piece at a time, stacked one by one on top of the other to finish the tower.

Perfection is a noble goal and I will never fault someone for giving it their all. I'd rather than someone strive for mediocrity.

But how do you battle the guilt when it rears its ugly head after a weekend or week long diet debacle?

In this episode, I'll break out some math to help you better understand that one day, or a couple of days, won't hurt you long term.

• 80/20 principle (Pareto Principle)
• Breaking down the math of the 80/20 principle
• 73 days
• Late night pizza
• 10 1/2 weeks
• Feeling guilty for cheating on your diet
• You are not a failure
• Consistency
• Weddings, meatballs, and booze
• Tanner Baze
• Get back on the horse
• Tou’re going to have bad days, great days, and meh days
• The Vortex
• The nobility of striving for perfection
• Put in the work
• The grind of the quest
• Choices you made today aren’t the choices you have to make today
• I have the choice
• Forgive yourself and get back on track
• LEGOs are build one piece at a time