Side Quest Podcast

 

The Force Within Us All

We all grew up watching star wars, and for most those childhood memories are fondly remembered. Whether you wanted to be the smooth talking Han Solo, or the Lightsaber wielding Luke Skywalker, it was fun to reenact the movies on the playground.

But now as overworked and stressed out adults, many of us don’t make enough time to return to our love of Star Wars. It’s easy to get overwhelmed in the information age, and lose our way.

Mike Sweetman suggests we should return to those days of imagining we do have force powers. He suggests that using meditation techniques, thought management, and mindful movements such as yoga, can help us train our mind so that we can feel calm, confident, and focused like a Jedi.

During the show Mike shares some of the details about his morning routine to help you feel like a Jedi, the basic’s of how meditation works, how to calm the mind before meditation, and how meditation can help your workout.

During the show Mike Talks about launching his YouTube channel, but at the time of posting this video he has already launched, and you can subscribe here: “Force Within TV.”

You can also download Mike’s morning routine, “3 Steps to Mastering Stress Like a Jedi.”

Connect with Mike social media: Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Remember the force of others is with you, always.

In this episode we discuss:

 

• Bribing kids
• The Force Within
• The importance of mindset and stress relief
• How yoga and meditation help with anxiety/stress/thoughts
• Football in Canada
• Yoga as a morning activity
• Creating a mantra
• Mark Divine
• Box Breathing
• Deep squat breathing
• Rituals for workouts
• How to your focus back while meditating
• Fun Questions
• Star Wars
• Ankle stretches and lifting in socks
• The Kohler Effect
• Write down what’s the most important to you
• Most important time of the day
• Reframing negative thoughts
• Website
• YouTube
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter

The first question that I ask any of my clients is: “Who is your favorite Hero?”

Whether from a movie, comic book, novel, or video game we've all had a fictional, or historical, Hero that we admire.

These mythic Heroes provide hope, guidance, and inspiration in our darkest of times. It's their actions that we look to emulate when we are tested.

Losing weight, starting a business, or finding the courage to speak to that cute guy/girl at the bar, can be clouded with fear, doubt, and uncertainty.

Heroes like Captain America, Wolverine, or Harry Potter have all dealt and overcome doubt, fear, and anxiety in their own journey.

Conquer your doubt and fear by asking yourself, "what would [insert your favorite Hero] do?"

One of my first clients, Sarah, told me that her favorite superhero was Sarah Connor from Terminator.

She admitted that her biggest enemy to her weight loss success was the candy drawer at work. Every day she'd walk by it and be tempted to grab one.

So I asked Sarah how she could use Sarah Connor to help her achieve her goals. And today, I'm going to tell you how your favorite hero can help you achieve your weigh loss, nutrition, or even life goals.

Jordan Grahm, once topped out at over 400-pounds. After the sudden death of his mother as a teen, Jordan gave up on life. He stopped caring about his health, used food as an emotional coping mechanism, and, until a car accident that could have killed him, he ignored everything his doctors told him.

Now, Jordan Grahm is a weight loss specialist, personal and group trainer located in Los Angeles, California. He helps clients from all backgrounds and at all levels of fitness.

He specializes in fat loss and complete body transformations. Losing over 200 pounds, and keeping it off, gives Jordan a unique perspective that helps him and his clients connect. He understands that there's more to this journey than the physical aspects of changing one’s body. There are also the obstacles you face both mentally and emotionally ones as well.

 

In this episode we discuss:

• Bodybuilding.com Expose
• Legends of Wrestling
• Finding his place on the football team
• The day his mom died
• The car accident that saved his life
• Walking his first mile
• Facing his emotional pain
• Why it took an extreme for him to make a change
• Seeing the change in photos
• Fun Questions
• Joining his first powerlifting competition
• His first time on stage as a motivational speaker
• The importance of persistence
• Inside out vs outside in
• Website
• YouTube
• Instagram
• Facebook

After a month away from Coaches Corner, the segment returns to the podcast. And this time, I bring back some of my fellow nerds to talk about how comics, video games, and all the nerdy stuff we love, has helped us succeed during trying times.

Kenneth Rotter from Dumbbells and Dragons and Ches Hall of Live Like You Game, join me and we dive DEEP into the world of habit creation, training, and creating good morning rituals.

We hit it hard and heavy for about 45 minutes, then we jump over for the DLC portion of the podcast and nerd out on Westworld.

Are you getting the DLC? It's free. Doesn't cost you a dime. And you get an extra 10-20 minutes of kick ass content, EXCLUSIVELY, for those who sign-up. Grab the DLC by heading here.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Ken Rotter of Dumbbells and Dragons
• Ches of Live Like You Game
• Starting a podcast
• Training for Tough Mudders
• Connecting training to Spiderman
• How gaming habits can help you succeed
• Resetting your habits
• Making decisions when you’re tired, and why you SHOULDN’T do that
• James Clear
• Setting yourself up for success in the morning
• Morning rituals
• Having a set goal in the morning you have to achieve
• Lessons learned skydiving
• Misinterpreting what people mean on social media

Fallout 3 was my favorite game released on the Xbox 360.

I put in damn near 100 hours of gameplay, including all of the DLC. As I think back to all the hours I put into the game, I realize I skipped over an aspect that would have greatly benefitted my character’s development: resting.

Never once did I rest in a bed while playing Fallout 3.

Resting to recover health seemed really stupid when all I had to do was kill everyone in my path and take items from their lifeless carcasses to heal myself.

However, by not resting, I was actually leaving a ton of experience points on the table.

In Fallout 3, when your character rested for longer than 1 hour, not only were all your limbs repaired and health bar replenished, but you were granted a 10% XP (experience points) bonus for the next 12 hours in the game (that’s hours in the game, not real time).

Pfft, who needs bonus XP and a FREE way to heal your character?

Idiot.

Sadly, when it came to my own sleep in real life, I never took it seriously either.

One of the most important tools you need to pack in your quest for fat loss, muscle gain, or living a more overall healthy life is sleep.

Yet, many of us get less than sufficient sleep and then pound 5 Hour Energy, coffee(s), or Monster/Red Bull all day just to get us to five o’clock.

Sleep Makes You More Awesome (and Sexy)

One study found that young men who slept less than five hours a night had 10-15% less testosterone produced in their bodies. Guys, if you want to burn fat and build muscle you are going to need your T levels in their optimal state, not to mention low T can really affect your overall self-esteem.

Ladies, sleep is just as important for you as well. According to The American Heart Association, heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States.

Women who toss and turn more than men may be more likely to develop hypertension. Constant high blood pressure as experienced with hypertension can lead to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), stroke, and more.

There are other factors that can develop from not getting adequate sleep, which can start a never ending cycle of destruction.

Lack of sleep increases the likelihood of suffering from depression, anxiety, it can increase your hunger levels which can make weight loss harder, and due to impairing our bodies ability to handle glucose it can put all of us, men and women, at a higher risk for type-2 diabetes.

All of these things can cause even more stress, anxiety, and fear and thus push us all further down a dangerous path.

I get it.

We are all “busy”.  We all have responsibilities that take up our time.

I have been there and for far too long left sleep for the weekend or holidays. Getting serious about your sleep though can make your quest for health far easier and provide more value to your overall well-being.

The 7 tips in this episode, will help you get serious about sleep and provide an extra XP boost to your fat loss and life.

7 Tips to Level Up Your Sleep  

 

Carter is an online fitness and weight loss coach who helps others achieve their goals of getting lean—and more importantly—staying healthy for life. What makes Carter unique is his personal experience of overcoming obesity and losing 140+ pounds.

What's more, he's been able to keep it off. Carter writes about and teaches his clients about prioritizing enjoyment over what might seem "optimal". He believes that the only way to be successful in the long run is

Carter writes about and teaches his clients about prioritizing enjoyment over what might seem "optimal". He believes that the only way to be successful in the long run is turn Fitness into an enjoyable and rewarding lifestyle.

 

In this episode we discuss:

Last names and kids in school

His story

Tipping points

Inside out vs outside in approach

Who he looked up to on his journey

Taking pride in what he’s done

Putting in the work

What he learned that he didn’t expect to learn on his journey

Weight loss doesn’t change the way people interact with you

The fear of losing weight/success

Fun questions

Listening to people who disagree with you

Fitness myths he hates

Knowing the basic truths

Programming

Going from one extreme to the other

Website

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

 

There is nothing I love more than answering questions from readers or social media followers.

And every 1st Thursday of the month, I do just that. Community Questions is a chance for me to answer YOUR questions.

They don't have to be fitness related, either. (Though most are.)

So this month, I have four excellent questions come in:

1.  Sunday meal prep routine advice ( godsend for tracking ) and lunch taco recipes

2. Fasted cardio - bro-science or is this a thing?

3. What' the best way to get in shape if you can't afford a gym membership?

4. You just farted in the Gym, what's your next move (both for audible and silent)

Martijn Koevoets was bitten by the iron bug after an embarrassing moment in high school where he couldn't bench the 45lbs bar.

 

Since then Martijn has been building strength and gaining muscle and can now deadlift 3x his bodyweight.

 

Martijn writes for his website, Powerlifting University. But has also been featured on websites like Strengtheory, EliteFTS, JTSStrength, JMAX Fitness, Lift The Bar, Healthy Living Heavy Lifting and more.

 

He also acts as a powerlifting coach with Shredded By Science. An international evidence-based coaching company in the UK.

 

Martijn decided last year that he wanted to get the best in the powerlifting community together in one place. But he didn't want to have to ask people to fly to a destination and spend hundreds, if not thousands, on one event.

 

And thanks to the power of the Internet, Martijn can do this today and you can attend from the comfort of your home or office.

 

This year's summit features over 20 speakers and presenters and will last 8 days. Those speaking at this event include: Dan John, Tim Henriques, Chad Wesley Smith, Former Coach of the Soviet Olympic Team, Boris Sheiko, Layne Norton, and more.

 

Even if you're not a powerlifter, there's a ton of information you can grab from this summit and use in your own training.

 

In this episode we discuss:

 

• Includes former guests: Tim Henriques, Jordan Syatt, Dan John, Greg Nuckols
• How powerlifting helped him improve his life
• Powerlifting vs bodybuilding
• Powerlifting University
• Ray Williams 1005 Pound Squat
• Jennifer Thompson lifts 325 pounds
• Why taking time off is important, even for powerlifters
• The cost of the Online Powerlifting Summit
• Record holders who are speaking at the event
• Fun questions
• How to Drink Whiskey
• The best whiskey he’s tried in the last year
• Who is this summit for?
• FAQ on The Online Powerlifting Summit
• Contact Martijn

 

Texas.

It's a state rich with history, Diverse in its landscape, and filled with a sense of pride that only those from Texas truly understand.

 

Texas was once at the bottom of the ocean. An ancient ocean that separated the eastern United States from the west.

Known as Western Interior Seaway, this ancient sea teemed with animals and fauna. Ancient life that lived, died, sank to the ocean floor, and became the fossil fuels and oil that made Texas famous.

In the last year, I've spend a couple of weeks in Texas and she's taught me something, a valuable lesson that only occurred to me while driving around her picturesque country side.

We all know the cliche: "everything's bigger in Texas." And there's a truth to that cliche.

But a few million years ago, the big Texas sky was nothing more than an ocean. 

As I rode around Texas, traveling from North Texas near the OK border, down to Austin, and then around outlying areas of the state capital, I couldn't help but think about Texas now vs Texas then.

How if a fish had dreamed of touching the sky and made it to the surface, only to realize he still hadn't touched the sky, how would he feel?

Would he feel like a failure?

Would he berate himself for not achieving his goal?

Isn't that we all do anyways?

And with that thought, I recorded this episode about what ancient Texas can teach you about your goals.