Side Quest Podcast

Jay Ashman, a former multi-sport athlete—baseball, football, basketball, tennis, soccer, swimming, and more—became a rugby player after a failed NFL tryout.

During his time playing rugby, Jay played for Reading Rugby, Long Island RFC, and Old Blue Superleague. In 2009, though, he decided to call it quits. From there, Jay Ashman turned to a career in fitness. He was a PT manager in NYC at Equinox and he worked in Long Island at Big Al’s Fitness. He was also the former Director of Athletics at Gorilla Pit in Mentor, OH and the Head Strength Coach at BrewHouse Barbell in OKC.

He's also the former Director of Athletics at Gorilla Pit in Mentor, OH and the Head Strength Coach at BrewHouse Barbell in OKC. Currently, he works at City Gym in Kansas City where he trains athletes and non-athletes who want to look their best.

During his years as a strength coach, Jay's worked with professional men and women who've played professional sports. And he consults with rugby players nationwide, while also coaching the Liberty High School rugby team in KC.

In his spare time he, along with his new wife Sarah, enjoy discovering new places to eat in downtown KC, dealing with their passive-aggressive dog, Lily, and pretending to be hipsters.

In this episode we discuss:

• The most hipster thing he does
• What city he wants to spend more time in
• Expensive places to live
• Living in NYC
• Meeting Harvey Keitel & celebrities in NYC
• Playing rugby
• The brotherhood of rugby
• What he would tell men in their 30s to make it the best decade possible
• Where he’d go in a time machine
• What Star Wars character he’d love to see get a movie
• Sith Code
• His man crush
• How to improve sex with your partner
• Failed relationships and what he learned
• Learning to love himself

hey say it’s important to reflect on your birthday; to ponder what you’ve learned during your latest orbit around the sun and to contemplate how you can make the future better.

Well, I don’t know who the hell “they” are, or why they’re telling me that I should do anything on my birthday other than eat ice cream, play video games, and drink whiskey. But fuck looking back, I’m looking forward. (To the steak I’m going to eat and the sex I’ll be having with my wife.)

Pfft, who am I kidding, of course I’m going to look back. I'm an introspective kinda guy. And it’s fun to imagine traveling through time to deliver messages to younger versions of Robbie Farlow.

So if I could travel through a wormhole and deliver some life lessons to the younger, dumber, and far less attractive version(s) of myself, what life lessons would I attempt to upload and save in my adolescent cranium?

Originally, this article started as a letter to my younger self. But that quickly (d)evolved into a listicle. Because,

a) people like lists. And,

b) the future is on mobile and I’m trying to crush that game early on.

So since it's my 31st birthday, and I'm doing what “they” suggest, which is really an excuse for me to attempt to leave a mark on the world should I cease to live in 2017 and humanity is denied witnessing another four or five decades of my wisdom, here are the 61 Life Lessons I Would Deliver to Younger Versions of Me (And Wisdom You'll Find Useful as Well).

Nick Sorrell is a Strength and Nutrition Coach based out of Louisville, KY. Nick spends his time getting people lean, writing nonsensical content on his website, and occasionally intercepting a pass or two.

Nick has been a guest on the show numerous times. But this is the first time in over two years that he's been on the show without other guests.

We dive into a ton of deep stuff in this episode. And I will warn you: you may get burned listening to this. Nick has a big heart, but he's not afraid to drop the truth when it needs to be said.

In this episode we discuss:

• Overthinking shit
• The importance of ritual
• Worrying about the wrong things
• Quest Hero bars
• Getting caught up in the flashy
• Lack of action, not knowledge is keeping you from achieving your goals
• Spinning his wheels
• The tipping point that got his health back on track
• Put up with the suck, then be something he doesn’t want to be
• Getting lucky, and being grateful for not wasting his opportunities
• Wanting things versus making them happen (Carolina Blue Dream)
• 9 Things Out of Diet and Exercise that You Won’t Get
• Telling yourself that you can’t achieve what you want
• Using outliers to validate your issues
• Jordan Peterson and the dragon
• Words we mess up spelling all the time
• Dying unhappy
• Why he struggles to write
• Being a dreamer by nature
• The story of Cain and Abel, and the power of sacrifice
• The x-factor that the most successful clients have that others don’t
• Where you are in life is your fault

This is the audio version of a Facebook Live I did on May 23, 2017.

There are very few people in the fitness industry who get my dick hard every time they write something new. Aadam Ali, is one of those guys. He also happens to be a very close friend and a brother I'd lay my life down for. Well, maybe. But only if he named his first born after me. Or at least his left testicle.

Anyways, Aadam has been a huge influence on my writing and my thinking as well. He's also been on the podcast at least a dozen times now on the Coaches Corner episodes. But this time, I got him solo, one-on-one, and we would have touched tips, but he's in Britain and I'm in NYC.

But here's a little bio about Aadam:

I am a cunt. The supreme cunt of cunts. Call me King Cunt. Cuntzilla of Cuntakistan.

I write things. And people read them. When they don't, I feel bad that they have no personality or sense of humor.

I taught Deadpool everything he knows. Seriously; I'm not fucking kidding—everything.

Oh, and I brood harder than Drake and Bruce Wayne combined. I also draw things. And read those ancient things made of paper called books.

And sometimes, I go onstage for Zayn of One Direction. Because we're brothers. Except, we got separated at birth and he wound up in a band, and I wound up getting wedgies at Uni, so I dropped out, got shredded, and then started helping people look better with their clothes off. But don't send me your pictures, I don't wanna see them. Unless you're fit. And by fit, I mean me.

So enjoy this episode with my brother, Aadam Ali. We talk about:

• Why he’s taken a break from being on social media as much
• Creating long form content
• How’s he’s grown as a writer over the last two years
• Creating the illustrations for his articles
• Not being afraid to try things
• Writing for social media vs blogs
• His perfectionist streak
• Where he struggles to be himself
• His Keto experiment
• Tools in his toolbox
• Patience
• His battle with a short temper
• The struggles of the writing process
• Getting started
• The importance of doing the work
• What he’s taken away from Jordan Peterson’s lectures
• Virtue in suffering
• Pain is the harbinger of truth
• Guardians, Justice League, and more
• The History of the Calorie
• How he helps clients not count calories long term
• There is no normal

Peter Baker is a Tampa personal trainer, thinker, and uber geek. But he's also a competitive powerlifter and submission grappler. Oh, and a writer.

Peter trains and writes about the totality of training both himself and others. 

He's written on sites like BioLayne, T-Nation, Roman Fitness Systems, and more. When he's not writing about fitness or butt stuff on Facebook, you'll find Peter snuggling with his dog Bubba, eating donuts, or getting into too much bourbon and answering endless amounts of ridiculous questions on Facebook.

Peter has been on the podcast three times now. His first episode you can find here, he came on as a guest for the Star Wars episode in December, and now he returns.

In this episode we discuss:

• Harry Potter
• Draco Malfoy
• Star Wars
• Rogue One
• Strength vs Hypertrophy
• Butt Stuff

Over the last year or two, the next big buzzword that everyone has started using is protein.

Hundreds of bright colored items in your local grocery store will have phrases or words like this emblazoned on their packaging:

"Protein Packed"

"Now with extra Protein"

"Plus Protein"

Everything from Cheerios to bagels, peanut butter, Kind bars, or buzz foods like Quinoa have bright colored labels designed to grab your attention and convince you that their product comes packed with the mighty power of protein.

How can you claim to be "protein packed" when your product has 8 grams of protein?

That's like a Chinese restaurant telling me that Crab Rangoon are stuffed with crab, when what they really mean is: "we stuffed it with cream cheese and crab flavoring but you'll never know."

In this episode, I discuss a few ways you can sneak extra protein into your day and succeed with your fat loss goals.

In this episode of the podcast, you'll meet my client Draper Harlow. Who answered an email I sent and signed up for online coaching. Then, he crushed his workouts and nutrition and slashed 6% body fat while building over 6 pounds of lean muscle.

Here's a little bit of what Draper had to say about his experience, but listen to the episode for even more.

What was life was like before you signed up with Robbie and took on the Side Quest Fitness Coaching program? What made you decide to jump on board?

I had fallen off the fitness wagon, and had a very difficult time getting back into the saddle. I work a desk job in a food-crazy office, so I was gaining weight and generally pretty unsatisfied with my appearance. I knew I had it in me to get fit, I just needed a push in the right direction. I received an email from Robbie with the cheeky subject line "How to look better naked in 2017" and reached out, eventually signing up for a four month program.

What action steps did you take to makes changes? (nutrition wise, fitness wise, schedule-wise, motivation, etc)

I thought the nutrition side of things was going to be the most difficult, but once I found foods that fit into my macros, I basically just eat the same things every day. Hot sauce and spices have become my best friends.

I schedule workouts in my Google calendar, so I receive notifications ten minutes before each day's workout making it much easier to stick to a fitness schedule.

Outside of the check-in emails, I made myself accountable on social media by sharing my progress. Even if people don't give a shit about my fitness journey and goals (spoiler: 99% of people don't), I still get motivation from sharing the progress I've made.

Outside of your physical transformation, what other areas of your life have been improved or have you noticed and improvement?

I fall asleep faster, and stay asleep, averaging about eight hours per night. I run faster, beating my personal 5K record twice in the past couple of weeks.

My recovery time from activity is much faster.

For example, I went to Orlando for Star Wars Celebration. My group spent half the day at SWOC, and half the day at Universal Studios. My group was exhausted from walking all day, and spoke of sore legs the next day, but I felt great.

What do you like most about online training compared to other things you’ve tried in the past?

Flexibility. I can schedule workouts for when they work for me which is much better for motivation and sticking to the plan.

Lastly, any word of advice for others who might be thinking about improving their health or looking better naked?

Stop eating garbage and move around a little. Gradually move around more and more.

If motivation is an issue, definitely get a coach like Robbie to at least point you in the right direction. It is absolutely worth it.

Mitch Calvert has a degree in communications, is a certified trainer and fat loss coach, and his blog was ranked as one of the top ten fitness blogs by Breaking Muscle in 2013. Once a 240lb line cook in university, Mitch has dedicated more than a decade of his life to fitness and helping men unlock the best bodies of their lives.

Mitch his a husband and father who loves to lift, cook, and at one time, play video games. But now you'll find him coaching clients, writing, or cooking in funky aprons.

For more on Mitch Calvert, you can follow him on social media or click the blue link and head to his site.

In this episode we discuss:

• Cereal
• Manhood
• What drives Mitch
• His days of being an obese gamer playing Everquest 2
• When/why he put down games
• His days as a security guard at Sears
• What it means to him to be a good man
• Men in the media
• And more

Who hasn't had an intense workout where they popped some ibuprofen or some other pain pill to ease the DOMS.

But is it good for you? Are you hurting your gains? Or is it totally okay to pop pills after a workout to ease the discomfort?

In this episode, I dive into a few studies and break down what they say and whether you should or shouldn't take some pain relief after an intense day at the gym.