This week on The MiFit Podcast I interview COO of Opex Fitness, Carl Hardwick. Carl has dedicated his life to health and fitness. From his teen years, Carl lived at the gym. A 3-time All-Conference football player at Saint Mary’s University where he earned a B.S., Carl was driven by his passion to become the most effective coach possible. This led the former U.S. Army veteran to buddy up with world-renowned strength coach Charles Poliquin to complete the PICP and then to complete his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS).

While running the Army fitness program for his battalion and a stint in Afghanistan, Carl was introduced to OPEX Founder James FitzGerald. Sold by the OPEX individual program design approach, Carl went on to open multiple OPEX-licensed gyms before accepting his position as CEO. Today, Carl is an integral part of the growing OPEX engine that is using the OPEX Coaching Certificate Program (CCP) to change the face of fitness by professionalizing the fitness coach.

Topics

-Common mistakes online coach’s make

-Prioritizing what clients need most and helping them find an appropriate goal(s)

-What is health?

-How to program for health and sustainability 

-Making training fun and conducive to your daily function

You can follow Carl at the following links

IG @hardwickcarl

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCgDGih2kSp0A6W_0cVYuaQ

Website https://opexfit.com

If you loved this episode be sure to share it with a friend and leave a rating and review on your preferred podcast platform

This week on the MiFit Podcast I interview Don Saladino. Don is a top level fitness expert and owner of Drive495 in New York. Don is always a few steps ahead of the traditional fitness trends and is in high demand as a personal trainer for professional athletes, golfers, and celebrities. His client roster includes the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Billy Crudup, Morgan Hoffman, Keegan Bradley, Ryan Gosling, Hugh Jackman, Calvin Klein, and dozens more. Saladino has also been featured and publications such as Cosmopolitan magazine, Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Met Rx, and Muscle & Fitness. 

If you are a coach looking to growing your business, help your clients transform their bodies, and learn how to make training fun, this episode is for you.

Topics

-Getting an actor/actress Hollywood ready

-Mindset observations from elite actors/actresses to average fitness enthusiasts

-Training with a functional approach first

-Performance vs. physique training

-Creating resiliency with your clients

You can follow Don at the following links

Website https://www.donsaladino.com

Instagram @donsaladino

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCycnUPS4U9tdrN3ejGCm61g

If you loved this episode be sure to share it with a friend and leave a rating on iTunes. Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mi-fit-podcast/id1420211275

This week I welcome back MDV to The MiFit Podcast. Last week’s episode just wasn’t enough and we wanted to keep giving more valuable content to the listeners. This week we primarily focused on the X’s and the O’s of programming for your gym and how to run a successful in-house competition. 

You can follow what Matt’s up to at the following links

IG @ mdv_nc

Website https://nc.fit

Podcast “The Business of Fitness Podcast”

This week on The MiFit Podcast I interview CrossFit O.G, Matt Dellavalle, widely known as MDV. Matt started his coaching career back in 2010 with CrossFit New England. After competing at the CrossFit Games on team CFNE, Matt began coaching at Reebok CrossFit One, and then joined the CrossFit seminar staff. Currently, MDV is the CFO at NC Fit where he works alongside Jason Khalipa in northern California. Matt has been in the coaching game for over a decade and has learned a lot along the way. As a person who enjoys coaching and programming as much as I do, it was refreshing to hear from somebody who has been in my shoes and understand some of the ins and the outs of my job in the gym. If you are a coach, gym owner, or a fan of CrossFit, you will love this conversation.

Topics

-Lessons learned from being surrounded by some of the best coaches in the country

-4 ways to create an excellent member experience

-Should you score your workouts?

You can follow what Matt’s up to at the following links

IG @ mdv_nc

Website https://nc.fit

Podcast “The Business of Fitness Podcast”

If you enjoyed today’s episode be sure to share it with a friend and leave a rating on iTunes. Thanks for the support!

This week on The MiFit Podcast I interview Jacob Hutton. Jacob is a former division 1 football player, college strength coach, and CrossFit Games athlete. Jacob has recently found a passion in being an entrepreneur and helping businesses grow to their maximum potential. This guy has spend thousands of hours in the gym and has learned a ton along the way.

During his career as a CrossFit athlete, Jacob put up some jaw dropping numbers in the weight room and on the track. Benching over 400 pounds, running a sub 5:30 mile, and being able to do the splits are just a few things that make Jacob a specimen. If you love talking about strength training, finding the right program, and learning how to improve your diet for muscle gain, then this episode is for you.

Topics

-The process of getting to be a college strength coach

-Common misconceptions about strength development

-How to get stronger at a CF gym

-How to add significant weight to your bench press and deadlift

-Do’s and Don’t for running 6 week challenges at your gym

You can follow Jacob at these links:

IG @jacobhutton

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7HQ61sWvpoxA7eK-1P9icg

Website https://www.fitnessculture.com and https://myfithive.com

If you loved this episode be sure to share it with a friend and leave a rating and review on iTunes. 

This week on The MiFit Podcast I chat with Dawn Fletcher, owner of The Mentality WOD. Dawn has coached more than a dozen CrossFit Games athletes and has helped many other driven individuals to championships, podiums, and elite competitions over the past 14+ years. Dawn is a CrossFit Level 3 trainer, certified strength and conditioning specialist with a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology and a specialization in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Dawn is a very passionate individual who loves helping others achieve excellence in their pursuits. 

Topics

-Dawn’s background and her intro to Mindset Coaching

-Creating a better mindset starts with having awareness

-How to create clarity

-Aligning your values, goals, and daily habits 

-Using language to improve your mindset

You can follow Dawn and everything she is up to at the following links

IG @mentality_wod and @dawnmfletcher

Website mentality wod

If you enjoyed this episode be sure to leave a rating a review on iTunes

This week on The MiFit Podcast I interview powerlifting legend, Mark Bell. Mark is one of the strongest men to compete in the sport of powerlifting. During his career, Mark squatted 1,080 pounds, bench pressed 854 pounds, and deadlifted 766 pounds. Mark spent time training at world famous gym Westside Barbell with legendary coach Louie Simmons. Following a successful powerlifting career, Mark dabbled into body building and also found a new passion in entrepreneurship. Mark is very well known for inventing The Sling Shot, a device used to assist in maintaining proper bench press form. Mark now has an entire business line of sleeves and wraps for powerlifters. 

Topics

-Reactions to the Netflix hit Westside vs. The World

-Lessons learned while training at Westside Barbell

-Most proud moment of his career

-Powerlifting vs. Body Building

-How to break through a strength plateau 

Mark has tons of content for people to follow, check him out at the following links

IG @marksmellybell

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT4h7JebxFzSplk6zn0tAdA

Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXEj4RFUC44sHoBLvi4G1XA

Website: https://markbellslingshot.com/pages/who-is-mark-bell

If you enjoyed this episode be sure to leave a rating and review on iTunes. Thanks for stopping by and we will see you next Tuesday for another episode on The MiFit Podcast.

This week on The MiFit Podcast I interview Opex CEO, Jim Crowell. Before Jim started working at Opex, he spent five years as a hedge fund trader and also opened and built two micro gyms in Pittsburgh. Jim has a passion for fitness and helping coaches and gyms bring in more revenue, use principles and systems, and create an environment they can be most successful in. Jim has a very good heart beat on where the fitness industry is now and where it’s heading. In today’s conversation we chatted about a multiple of ways for gym owners and personal trainers to get ahead of the curve and come out of the COVID-19 crisis stronger than they were before the pandemic. 

Topics

-Crossover lessons from hedge fund trading to growing a fitness business

-How to better view marketing and use social media to attract the right client

-Finding your identity as a gym

-Applicable ways for gym owners and personal trainers to come out stronger after the pandemic 

-Sticking to principles to help grow your business

You can follow Jim on social media 

IG @crowelljim

Email [email protected]

If you found value in this episode please consider leaving a rating and review on iTunes. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the show!

This week on The MiFit Podcast I chat with breathing and endurance guru, Brian Mackenzie. Brian MacKenzie is an expert in the development and application of custom protocols to optimize human health and performance. His work harnesses and integrates respiratory, movement, strength and endurance-based training approaches to elicit unprecedented positive results. His protocols have been used to accelerate and raise both mental and physical performance in world-class Olympic and professional athletes, top executives, and operators, as well as to improve the health for people suffering from various chronic illnesses. Everyday people have also used Brian’s tools to reduce pathologic stress and to vastly heighten their mental and physical well being and performance. 

Topics of discussion

-Deep dive into breath work

-Nasal breathing

-Why heart rate training isn’t the end all be all

-Basic practices to improve your Co2 tolerance

-Shut your mouth and breath principle

Brian’s team over at Power Speed Endurance have been gracious enough to offer a free 1 month subscription to the PSE breathing programming. Use code: MiFitPSE

Follow Brian 

Instagram: @_brianmackenzie

Website: https://powerspeedendurance.com/coaches/brian-mackenzie/

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Speed-ENDURANCE-Skill-Based-Endurance-ebook/dp/B00A89ITZG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3GK5KZHFB12E0&dchild=1&keywords=power+speed+endurance&qid=1590536920&sprefix=power+speed+%2Caps%2C268&sr=8-1

If you loved this episode be sure to leave a rating and review on your preferred podcast platform. Thanks and enjoy the show!

It’s been one year of podcasts at The MiFit Podcast and we are here to celebrate. First, if you like free stuff, go give my friends at Ascent Protein a follow on Instagram AND leave a rating for the MiFit Podcast on iTunes. I will pick my favorite review before episode 73 comes out and you will be the winner of a free bag of protein and shaker cup. Today’s episode is a reflection of 1 year of podcasting as well as the things i’ve learned along the way and some of the most memorable conversations I have had with my guests.

It was very challenging to pick the most memorable conversations that i’ve had over the last year. There have been SO many! However, I chose some clips from the following episodes

Episode 37 with @jameshobart

Episode 55 with @christmassabbott

Episode 50 with @marcusfilly

Episode 41 with @justinsua

Episode 25 with @adeecazayoux

This show has come a long ways since its inception and I am so excited to see what the next year looks like. Enjoy today’s thoughts, reflections, and throwbacks.