The Next Level Guy Show

Today's guest is Mike Greenfield.

He is the Founder of Pro Home Cooks, where you can join over 2.5 Million home cooks on YouTube, Mike has been on a mission to spread his passion for home cooking through educational and entertaining digital food content. Through his Youtube channel, he inspires people to overcome their fears of the kitchen and take back the art of cooking.

Mike believes that cooking is an intrinsic part of life, but unfortunately, it has lost a lot of its value in our current culture. By creating a stronger cooking foundation in your life, you will be able to provide for the people you love, live a healthier lifestyle, and connect more deeply to yourself.

With engaging video content and an educational platform, Mike spreads his message of empowerment in the kitchen and is growing a global movement of pro-home cooks.

In this interview, we discuss:

• Cooking Hacks
• Leveling up food
• The equipment you need to start
• The use of Spices and Herbs
• Meal Prepping
• And so much more!

Here are some key points that I would advise you to concentrate on

• A quick intro on who Mike is!
• Mike's mission is to encourage and inspire you to cook more.
• Where did his love for cooking come from?
• Mike left his comfort zone and it changed his life - what could happen to you if you left your comfort zone more? You need to put life overwork more!
• Look at your life, look at what you enjoy - you can make a career out of your passions.
• We all have to eat, but cooking can be made with skill, into art - it doesn't need to be basic, you can level up your cooking in so many ways!
• Has his lack of formal training allowed him to be more extensive and open in his cooking journey?
• Fear of cooking gets passed down by the formal training methods - we think cooking has to be a certain way, or we need to have certain skills to cook certain things which aren't true when we are home cooking.
• How can we encourage more men to cook?
• Cooking and food can be an expression of you, it can be fun and enjoyable.
• What is a simple step you can do to be more confident and cook more?
• Cooking is a set of skills that help you mold ingredients together to create your own masterpieces, it is not hard rules that cannot be broken.
• Where do Mike's presenting skills come from? How does his passion for food make him a natural educator?
• Food can be enjoyable, it doesn't just need to fill a hole!
• Are there key items that all men need to start cooking?
• To encourage others, it is a better method to encourage them to cook and enjoy food and discover their way into a cuisine type - rather than set requirements of what they own.
• Are there key skills that you should learn when you start to level up your cooking? Once you learn the skills, you can swap out the ingredients and transfer the cuisines to success.
• Are there fail-safe methods for cooking and why do you need to be able to make mistakes to learn?
• Mike's top tips on meal prepping and weekly meal plans.
• You can level up your food by prepping elements rather than just meals!
• His tips on becoming more adventurous foods - how can we work with fishmongers, butchers, farmers markets?
• How you can start cooking different kinds of cuisines the easiest?
• How can you level up your sides to make meals even better?
• Does Mike think we can go too far with cooking and food?
• Are there beginner spices and herbs that we should have in our kitchen to take dishes to the next level?
• Why air fryers can change your outlook on food?
• How did Mike deal with the change of direction in the channel's identity, after his brother left the channel?
• As you grow as a person, your interests and focus will change, this is natural, and although scary, can be an amazing transformation in your life. Feel the fear and leave the comfort zone, you don't know how it will change your life!
• How has becoming a father changed his outlook on food and his channel?
• What videos would Mike want you to start with on his channel?
• What does Mike want you to take from the interview?
• How can you connect with Mike?

Today's guest is Rob Biernacki.

Rob is Head instructor of Island Top Team, creator of Submission Formula, BJJ Formula, Modern Leg Lock Formula, purveyor of the Rob Biernacki Online Academy, a master of conceptual jiu-jitsu and occasional masters competitor.

This is round two with Rob. (Please see episode #117 for part one). We join this one in pre-interview chat, and we kept chatting about great stuff, so we hit record and went into it. That's why there is no formal intros at the start. This one is more a chat than a normal interview, and Rob is fantastic throughout!

In this interview, we discuss:

• Key insights to BJJ competing
• How to prepare physically and technically for competing.
• Why you don't need more cardio to be a better competitor in most situations.
• How you can strengthen your mindset for competitions.
• A key rubric to focus on in your BJJ development.
• And so much more!

Here are some key points that I would advise you to concentrate on

• Competing as BJJ hobbyist vs being a BJJ athlete.
• Why in-house competitions are maybe the best approach to learning about competing and overcoming the nerves. It lets you compete for the first time eliminating the normal nerves associated with training.
• The different kinds of competitions that you can compete in as part of BJJ.
• There are a wide range of competitions, with different goals, pressures, rule sets etc, allowing a lot of variety for each practitioner to compete in a competition that is suitable for them.
• People can lose confidence in their ability on the mats by competing in the wrong style of competition and coming up against professional athletes.
• Why it is silly to compare others' successes against your own, as different competitions attract a different number of competitors.
• Competing is a separate skill to learn in BJJ, like all other aspects of BJJ, competing is its own sub-set of BJJ.
• Your skills in the gym are not an indicator of how your skills will be available to you when you compete, as the nerves and adrenaline is flowing. You need to learn to be skillful at competing.
• You need to know your true skill level and competition experience to pick your most suitable competition options.
• Using competitions to judge your current progress in your BJJ skills is not a good idea.
• You should always prep for your competition. Think of competing like a soldier getting ready for battle, you wouldn't just walk into a war zone, why would you expect a BJJ competition to be any different.
• Working under pressure can hinder your BJJ performance if it is not something you are used to.
• Are Shark Tanks and simulating competition matches a good indicator for prepping for competition.
• Mental strength and resilience training can be a great boost as part of your competition prep.
• Using your first few competitions as an experiment, as you learn the skill of competing, and learning how to amend your approach for the next one, is a good approach to go, to remove the weight of expectation and ego from your shoulders.
• How can you change a negative mindset to competing and lack of belief in your own abilities. Why you need to find a purpose outside of the winning and the losing side of things.
• What helped Rob take the pressure off himself when he competed? The pressure doesn't go, you need to find a way to use the pressure as a positive. You will feel the fear anyway, use it as a way to get excited to compete.
• How to setup your physical prep for your first competitions? Prep for your competition by doing BJJ. Don't expect to do weights, extra cardio etc in addition to normal training, as a BJJ hobbyist.
• Competing in BJJ is extremely tiring but needing more cardio is rarely true - you just need to compete more.
• How you can use conceptual BJJ to increase your chance of success in competitions and how conceptual BJJ can assist coach calls to their students during rolls?
• Are there common faults that Rob sees with how new competitors approach their tactical game for competitions?
• Why you need guard retention to compete!
• How should you use YouTube and BJJ instructional programs in your competition prep?
• Your instructor should influence you,your teammates too. You should not be a carbon copy of another BJJ competitor.
• Don't be a technique collector at white-belt and when and why you should look outside your coach and school, to better your game with various additional sources of information.
• How can you monitor your progression in your competition ability and prep? Rob identifies a key rubric that you should focus on when training and prepping for competitions and beyond.
• What should your goals be for your first few competitions?

Today's guest is Rob Biernacki.

Rob is Head instructor of Island Top Team, creator of Submission Formula, BJJ Formula, Modern Leg Lock Formula, purveyor of the Rob Biernacki Online Academy, a master of conceptual jiu-jitsu and occasional masters competitor.

In this interview, we discuss:

• Conceptual BJJ
• The use of Mini-battles to develop your skills and chances to improve.
• How each area of BJJ can be singled out and worked on by following a 'Blue to Brown' progression path.
• How you can improve your BJJ ability as a performer faster?
• The use of the scientific method in learning
• And so much more!

To find out more about Rob, you can follow his BJJ academy website https://islandtopteam.com/ follow Island Top Team on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, as well as BJJConcepts.com, and now let's get to the interview.

Here are some key points that I would advise you to concentrate on

• Who is Rob
• An overview of BJJ concepts
• BJJ is a sport that is only recently beginning to evolve in the coaching and understanding of the skill development of the sport compared to other modern day sports which are more considerably more advanced.
• If you don't have good alignment, you will not be able to advance far, you can be punished and unable to move into positions to use the moves that you have memorised.
• An understanding of basic physics can really help your BJJ.
• BJJ is not a collection of moves, it is a collection of MOVEMENTS!
• Once you understand the concepts of BJJ, you can modify the position, the levers, the frames etc to sweep etc without needing to know every sweep, throw etc.
• Inertia is the most powerful force in human affairs.
• Why are the ideas of concepts not universally taught to all BJJ practitioners?
• Most BJJ coaches are people who have trained in BJJ and training others with a business model rather than an excelling at the sport model.
• You can switch the view of an opponent to a skeleton frame, and levers to use, spaces to put wedges into etc.
• The better Jiu-Jitsu will always win.
• Depersonalise your BJJ, its not a slight on you, the better Jiu-Jitsu will always win.
• Rob's mission is to help people understand BJJ on a more elevated level, so a beginner can start to understand BJJ conceptually the same as a Black belt would.
• Play your BJJ game in a series of mini-battles eg battle for the grips, battle to sweep them and so on.
• The use of mini-battles allows you to have some level of success in your training and sparring, and although you may not beat your opponent, you can gain confidence in winning some incremental battles.
• You will always improve if you show up to training to develop your skills rather than showing up to training to win every sparring round or challenge.
• You need to lose your ego to truly be a beginner and learn open and honest.
• How can we use the concepts when we are drilling or training (even in gyms that will not allow you to deviate from their training style)?
• Anyone can travel to Rob's gym and train there for a free week (as part of his visitor programme, contact him beforehand and can stay in a room there). Please check this is still possible before planning, by contacting Rob for more information.
• Stop thinking of every roll as a war. Use intelligent and focused training, use every roll to experience as much movement and trial as possible to learn and develop yourself.
• How can we develop our skills off the mats, during COVID lockdowns etc?
• The importance of watching high-level competition matches.
• Every part of BJJ is a skill that you can isolate and train on, to help excel the overall art.
• How should we work on developing our game using a 'Blue belt to Brown belt' stepping stone approach on each skill area.
• Learn from everyone, avoid being locked down into one brand or set of teaching of BJJ. Train with the big guys, the fast guys, the new guys and the technical ones too. You can learn from them all.
• How can we use the concepts to learn new movements and consume instructionals and use them on a deeper level?
• BJJ is unique in combat sports for allowing you a high level of self-expression in your game.
• How reading really helped Rob grow as a person.
• Treat BJJ as a series of experiments and learn from each one as you progress, to build a better understanding.
• What he learnt about himself and life from the fire at his academy?
• How the scientific method has really helped Rob in his life.
• What does Rob want people to take from this interview?

Today’s guest is Rick Ellis.

Rick Ellis has had an eclectic career as a musician, audio engineer, visual designer, programmer, and software entrepreneur. Somewhere along the way he discovered Jiu-Jitsu and became obsessed with this fascinating and transformative art. Rick would go on to earn a blackbelt under legendary instructor Roy Dean, and he currently runs Third Way Jiu Jitsu in Wyoming.

In this interview, we discuss:

• How to train as an older athlete
• Why everyone needs to train BJJ
• How to adapt BJJ as you age to be a more effective practitioner
• And so much more

Here are some key points that I would advise you to concentrate on

• You are never too late to start BJJ, you just need to adapt your game to suit your strengths and lessen your weaknesses.
• BJJ is a sport where you learn self-defense, improve your fitness and can make lifelong friends.
• BJJ is mainstream in modern society, you have many options of clubs etc to join, you should feel safe, secure and confident in your professor. If you aren't happy, vote with your feet and find an academy that works better for you.
• Why does Rick think older men should take part in BJJ?
• Some martial arts only train patterns, without resistance, so you never train for effectiveness, you train for memory, and never know your skills can work when needed.
• BJJ is suitable for older athletes as the training is less intense and flexible to allow older athletes to train intensively but recover more efficiently compared to martial arts that have more focus on striking..
• You can adapt BJJ to suit your physical reality as you age. You can be effective regardless of your physical limitations.
• Older athletes can focus more on sensitivity, timing and pre-positioning yourself with structures that give you a mechanical advantage over your training partner.
• How should an older athlete approach starting BJJ?
• An understanding of how the human body works can help an older athlete control and lock down an opponent and reduce the need to match a younger opponents speed, strength etc.
• Rick's BJJ philosophy is less about imposing my athletic will against an opponent and more about how to use techniques, timing, etc.
• Tips on how to be an efficient grappler.
• There are constantly changing windows of opportunity to take advantage of someone, in terms of a loose limb, their gravity being compromised etc. Effective grapplers work on noticing these windows and actioning on them as they become available.
• If you re thinking about the move, you are probably too late, you need to work on feeling the moment, finding the open window of opportunity, and take it.
• The biggest challenge to all athletes is the suppression of the ego.
• It's a fallacy to believe that if you didn't get the tap, you didn't progress.
• It's ok to take a round off, to know your limits. You don't need to prove anything to anyone. Leave the ego at the door!
• You are only in competition with yourself, no one else. We all develop at different rates, stay on our own path, don't try and follow someone else's path.
• You must train BJJ to develop your ability to perform effectively and physically at BJJ. Don't rush your journey towards this if you are an older athlete.
• Consider why you do BJJ.
• Rick has a fantastic 'Triangle of Energy' that all older athletes need to consider when planning their training.
• Best recovery methods for an older athlete. Sleep and good nutrition are your foundation for effective recovery!
• The need to warm up slow as an older athlete, to keep your motor running!
• You can't train at 100% all the time. You need to push yourself mentally and physically at times BUT you also need to know when you need to take your foot off the gas, and lower the intensity of training.
• Aim for lower intensity, at a moderate volume with a higher frequency of training each week as an older athlete to avoid over-training etc.
• How can we truly believe in our own ability and find our own inner confidence?
• It is common to feel you are not worthy of your new belt, use the fear as motivation juice to work on, push yourself and hit that next level in your development.
• How to recover from an injury, overcome the fear of returning to the mats, and being effective at training again.
• How has starting his own school, and training with his son, changed him as a person?
• Rick's opinion on obtaining belts by skill demos and grading days vs time-served belts being awarded.
• What should an older person do off the mats to be an effective BJJ grappler (a hobbyist vs as an athlete).
• What does Rick put his longevity in training at such a high level down to?
• BJJ is one of the greatest combinations of physical and mental challenges, a combination of both in one sport. It is a human chess match. The challenge of overcoming your opponent by exploiting their weaknesses and neutralizing their strengths is one of the biggest joys from training in BJJ.
• How has Rick managed the transition from athlete to father, to businessman, to husband, and everything else in between?
• How does Rick want the evolution of his brand to be?
• What is Rick's proudest achievement?
• What Rick wants you to take from the podcast and why you need to commit to BJJ for a year to see how it can change your life.
• How you can train with Rick and connect with him on social media

Today's guest is Blaine Anderson!

Blaine is a dating coach for men. She specializes in helping guys build confidence, learn to authentically market themselves, and attract amazing partners fast. You can find her on Instagram at @datingbyblaine or her website datingbyblaine.com.

In this interview, we discuss:

• The 5 E's to Dating Success
• How to use technology to find people you want to date
• How to build systems in your life to meet the people you want in your life
• How you should view rejection
• Dating Red Flags
• How her masterclass could change your life and so much more!

Here are some key points that I would advise you to concentrate on

• How has she noticed dating change over the last ten years?
• How technology has had a large impact on dating.
• Has she noticed key problems that men worldwide have when it comes to dating?
• Men do not know how to market themselves, to communicate to others about what makes them great partners for women.
• Stop selling yourself to women, stop seeking validation from them!
• Passion is sexy! Women are attracted to you when you are being passionate about whatever you love!
• Women want to join a fun life, not be your entire life
• What are Blaine's key 5 E's to dating?
• What are signs that you need a dating coach
• Does pick-up work?
• Women notice when you are not being an authenticate person, and they can spot when you are not being true to yourself.
• How do you build an attractive social life and build chances to meet new people?
• How do you overcome the fear of going out and trying new things to meet new people?
• It is ok to be nervous! If you want new experiences, you need to step out of your comfort zone!
• Rejection is part of life! Being rejected by someone isn't a life or death situation, you have just found one person you are not connected to, and are closer to finding people that you will be connected with!
• How can you build systems to meet women in your everyday life?
• Stop pressurizing yourself with unrealistic expectations, remove the burden of asking for numbers etc - go in with the only goal of meeting new people.
• How can you rediscover your confidence and love yourself again after a divorce, pandemic etc?
• Why would you want to do what Clooney would do?!
• How to deal with social anxiety?
• Practise chatting and flirting with everyone in your life, so it is natural when it comes to actually speaking to the ones you wish to date and attract
• How do we switch the mindset of feeling nervous to approach someone to actually feeling excited about it?
• You are not going to be everyone's cup of tea, 98% of people will not be interested, but the 2% will change your life!
• Blaine's fantastic advice for how to deal with rejection when you approach people!
• How should we approach people?
• How the situation affects how you should approach someone you are interested in?
• Why do you need to think of yourself as a prize and not just accept whoever is interested in you?
• What are dating red flags that you need to watch out for
• How do relationship dynamics change as we age in terms of what we want out of life and in our partners?
• You need to trust your gut on if they are right for you or not
• How can you gauge if someone is interested in your or not?
• How do we avoid putting someone on a pedestal and stop projecting futures with people when there isn't one
• How you should use technology to meet new people and obtain dates
• The 3 key things you need on your dating profile!
• You need to be unique on your dating profile. You need to seem like a real person, an attractive, passionate person.
• Women care far more on how you make them feel compared to how you look on whether the attraction is there ... or stays.
• How do you keep the spark alive when in a relationship?
• How to learn from your past relationships.
• How can Blaine help you by coaching you.
• Why you need to sign up for Blaine's Masterclass right now!

Today’s guest is Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum

Over 40 years ago, a lone scientist began exploring this critical, but neglected, inhabitant of the human body. Born and raised in Lebanon, Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum is Director of the Center for Medical Mycology at Case Western Reserve University, one of the top 25 medical research universities in the United States (according to US News & World Report).

He began his scientific journey in England, studying Candida, a species of fungi that, when allowed to grow uncontrolled, can cause Candidiasis, an infection that afflicts millions of people worldwide.

This provoked his curiosity about the whole area of fungal microorganisms in the human body. Through the next four decades of research, he discovered that while there was a massive rise in studies of bacteria, fungus was largely ignored. One reason is that fungal organisms tend to be highly unstable, making them extremely difficult to study.

For the longest time, Dr. Ghannoum’s work was known only to a minority within the scientific community. While many have heard of Candida, few people have any idea of the critical role that fungus plays in human health.

Through his research, Dr. Ghannoum established that fungal organisms constitute an essential part of the microbiome. In fact, in 2010, Dr. Ghannoum was the first scientist to identify over 100 native species of fungi in the oral cavity.

Like with bacteria, there are good fungi as well as bad fungi. And just as it was startling to discover that we need positive bacteria in our guts, most people today are shocked to learn that their health depends on flourishing colonies of helpful fungi.

In this interview, we discuss his story, factors affecting our gut health, the key role of fungi, lifestyle hacks you can make, the connection between the gut and the brain and so much more. And now, lets get to the interview.

His highlights include:

• 40+ Years of experience
• 100+ Native species of fungi in the oral cavity first discovered by Dr. G
• 460+ Peer-reviewed papers authored by Dr. G
• 24,800 Citations of Dr. G in scientific papers

Here are some key points that I would advise you to concentrate on

• Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum is Director of Medical Mycology at Case Western Reserve University.
• What inspired Dr. Ghannoum to research fungi.
• BIOHM’s personalized microbiome testing kits and probiotic supplements are built upon Dr. Ghannoum’s breakthrough discovery that bad bacteria and bad fungus work together to create digestive imbalance. A balanced gut means a stronger immune system and BIOHM wants to help people maintain better gut health so they can get back to doing the things they love safely and confidently.
• Whats his opinion of the current understanding of gut health.
• Not all microbes in the gut are 'bad' and need to be eliminated. You need a healthy balance, an increase in the 'bad' will lead to digestion and health issues.
• Are there identifying markers for bad gut health?
• Dysbiosis is a condition when the gut bacteria become imbalanced. As a result, a wide range of digestive disturbance symptoms occurs, including diarrhea, cramping, constipation, bloating, and indigestion.
• Why do we crave sugary and unhealthy foods?
• Does our parent's diet affect the diet we will have?
• You do not need to eliminate all unhealthy items in your diet, you can still treat yourself but for 'moderation is the way', you can enjoy your treats but not an everyday occurrence.
• Where do we source our particular micro-organisms from - are we born with it or is it created by the environment?
• Focusing on being too healthy can be a bad thing. Play outside, let your kids get dirty etc. You need a mix of bacteria and microbes that comes from different sources. You can actually make yourself sick by being too healthy in your approach.
• Does the location of our birth, or our parent's heritage or culture, dictate the types of food we eat?
• An improvement in your diet can change your microbiome, and which in turn will help will benefit issues such as your sleeping and weight.
• How quickly a change in your health can happen by a change in your gut health?
• You should see an improvement in your gut health in about 3-4 weeks as you improve your gut health.
• Should the gut be more acidic or alkaline?
• What is digestive plaque and biofilms?
• What methods can you use to self-identify problems in your diet and gut health?
• Are we overusing antibiotics and disinfectants?
• How do pets and other environmental factors affect us?
• How should we adapt our food choices after listening to the interview?
• Why you should up the range of colors in your vegetables?
• What are good things to have in your kitchen to improve your diet quickly?
• Why you should be cooking more?
• Does walking after eating help our gut health?
• Purchase Garlic, ginger, turmeric, apple cider vinegar, berries for your stocks.
• Some lifestyle choices you should make.
• Are the gut and the mind connected? Does our diet and gut health affect our mind and mental health?
• How Biohm can test your gut health and improve your way of life?
• How your fecal matter can give a snapshot of your true health?
• What does he want people to take from the interview?
• How can you follow and contact the guest?

Today’s guest is Coach Tom Davey, from the Grappling Academy.

Coach Tom began coaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as early as 2006. He has been fascinated by grappling for close to 20 years. Coach Tom spends his days devoted to furthering his art by teaching and studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu full time from dusk til dawn! As a college graduate with high academic credentials, Coach Tom continues his commitment to excellence by teaching Jiu-Jitsu to students worldwide.

With a unique ability to teach techniques with a high level of detail in an easy-to-understand manner, Coach Tom's goal is to spread the knowledge of Jiu-Jitsu to all corners of the globe and help as many people as possible experience the wonder of 'The Gentle Art'.

Coach Tom Davey is the South Australian head for BJJ Australasia under 5th-degree black belt John Will and holds a black belt under 8th-degree coral belt Carlos Machado.

In this interview, we discuss the topics of BJJ, competing, and why it might be the best thing you ever do.

Here are some key points that I would advise you to concentrate on

• Not everyone needs to compete, it is entirely up to the person whether to compete or not or if you are just trying for the fitness and/or self-defense side of things.
• Competition is a great way to discover where your skills currently are, what you need to work on, and where your strengths lie.
• Is there a mindset shift needed to go from a BJJ hobbyist to a BJJ athlete and competitor?
• Tom sees competing as one of the best powerful self-development tools he has experienced.
• By competing, you are embracing the risk of danger and challenge, and it will teach you to feel comfortable in that situation.
• Competing will help you improve mentally as well as physically.
• What advice would Tom give to those who are unable to train right now due to the Coronavirus situation?
• The benefits of training dummies
• The reps needed to truly learn the movement pattern
• What he would advise you to do away from BJJ when you can't train
• How can people overcome the fear of competing in BJJ?
• When you lose, you still learn and gain a lot from the experience. You learn the lesson that your fears are BS, that no one will think less of you for losing, true friends will be proud of you for competing.
• When competing, the benefits he received from competing, helped shift his mindset, and a knock-on effect was a change in how he rolled which brought about more success for him.
• You will feel the fear regardless, fear will never go away. Knowing it will never go away, instead think about what it is trying to tell you, acknowledge the feelings, welcome them, listen to the message, and move forward. You will find your level of fear is reduced a little more each time.
• Regardless of the results, you will learn about yourself at each tournament. Forget about the outcome of the match and instead look at the outcome within yourself for trying it.
• Advice for an older grappler competing who wishes to start competing.
• The voice inside your head needs to be controlled, ignored or changed etc. The voice is not you, you are not your thoughts. Identify internal dialogue and separate it from what reality is.
• Fear of competing is all in your own head.
• Has Tom found any methods for dealing with anxiety before his competitions?
• How do we discover our style of game and BJJ?
• Why do the top performers tend not to check the brackets of their competitions and rarely look who they are competing against?
• Similarities in the top performers and their approach to BJJ
• How should BJJ change from training to working towards a competition?
• How a training camp should be set up and what should be the ultimate aim of the camp?
• What advice he would give to those who train with a strict curriculum?
• Learning moves vs learning concepts?
• The role of diet in a BJJ athlete and their performance
• The lure of PED and other drugs
• What is a competition typically like (the day of)
• What true confidence is and how competing in BJJ helps you achieve that
• How to look at loss and the fear of losing
• Tom's inspiration for competing
• A pupil that has inspired him
• The importance of BJJ for kids
• "The very thing you are avoiding is the very thing that will give you what you think it will take away from you"
• How did Covid-19 affect him as a businessman
• BJJ and mental health
• His thoughts on the current pandemic
• What he wants you to take from the interview

Today's guest is: Viola Brand

Who are they: More commonly known as violalovescycling.

Viola is 26 years old, a former competitive athlete in artistic cycling from 2000-2020, and was a member of the German national team from 2010 on. She won the silver medal at the UCI indoor cycling world championships in 2019, 2017, 2016 as well as winning the European championship in 2018, 2012. In February 2020 she retired from competitive artistic cycling to focus more on showcasing the sport of artistic cycling and building her brand, where she presents artistic cycling in a casual way in combination with fitness, health, and lifestyle. as well as completing her University course - a Master of Science in clinical nutrition at the University of Hohenheim in Germany.

In this interview, we discuss her story, training regime, learning tricks, mindset training, dealing with fear and fame and so much more.

*Please ignore my quarantine weight gain and terrible haircut!

Here are some key points that I would advise you to concentrate on

• Viola does artistic cycling, which is a way of dancing and gymnastics on the bike, a mixture of the three.
• How did she get started in artistic cycling? Would she have gone into the sport if there was not a family connection with her brother?
• Why does she think she has been so successful?
• Viola puts her success down ot her level of patience, and the repeated drilling of the moves until she could complete these actions without conscious thought.
• "Success does not come overnight, you need to work for it"
• How is the sport set up and funded for artistic cyclists when they represent their national team
• Young athletes need to ensure that they are competing in their sport for the love of the sport as unfortunately there is little funding available for athletes until they reach a high level.
• She has appeared on the Ellen Show! - Click here to view this on YouTube
• How has she managed to juggle her university work, along with her training, social media, making videos etc?
• Scheduling has allowed Viola to juggle her many responsibilities. A list of jobs without deadlines are dreams, when you put a timeframe to them, they become goals. Set up a calendar and block out times to train, times to study, work on your projects. Once organized, don't try and change too much, simply follow the schedule, make it a habit as Viola did, and readjust slightly as you need to. Viola is a great example of someone juggling many demands and showing it can be done. Get to it!
• How is artistic cycling setup - is there a regular season, how are the competitions organized etc?
• How does she go from conceptualizing a trick to making it part of her act and art? How does she learn her tricks?
• The real method of success is the work that is put in practicing and working hard in the background, away from the lights and the crowds. When you compete, true training should allow you to simply react to your training. You will have pushed yourself in training over and above the requirements of your training, so when you come to actually compete, it is easy to go on autopilot.
• Do not afraid to fail and be hurt. You will fail, it will go wrong and you will not master all skills in the first few days, months or even years. Put in the hard work until you have the confidence and belief in your skills. Rep until you master.
• What sort of gym regime does she use?
• How has she learned to recover from bad falls and injuries and not let them stop her from getting back into training and putting herself into dangerous positions.
• What mindset and mentality work does she do eg visualization, journalling, etc?
• Viola has a great approach to dealing with her emotions and feelings - and identifying and naming them. This helps to remove their power over you, and you can deal with the feeling rather than the overpowering emotions all at once, and when dealt with, it loses its power over you.
• You will always feel fear, it will never go away. So instead of running from it, name your fear, speak to your fear, accept it is part of you and use it to power you rather than hinder you. It is a feeling to keep you safe, not to hurt you, so give it a name, say you welcome it, and want it to be part of the activity, and Viola found it really helps reduce the fear you are experiencing.
• Don't let your biggest opponent be between your ears, stop fighting your brain and make it work for you.
• After all her success, what keeps her motivated and pushing herself daily?
• Her struggles with her retirement, and not achieving her World Championship dreams.
• How is dealing with the fame and spotlight, that her social media and appearance on Ellen created? How has she changed since she started her channel and built such a following?
• Does she have a normal day or morning ritual etc?
• How does she constructing her routines for the events she does?
• Does her creative cycling side allow her to balance her student data-driven side to harmonize in her life?
• What does she want the evolution of her brand to be?

Today's guest is: Trent Ward

Who are they: Trent Ward is the founder and CEO of FORME Life.

Trent Ward is the co-founder and CEO of FORME Life. He realized first-hand that a busy lifestyle makes it challenging to get to the gym, and so in the middle of a successful finance career, he shifted focus to develop the most complete at-home fitness studio he could conceive. After more than four years, and teaming with virtuosos in every aspect of product and brand development. including renowned designer Yves Béhar, and legendary personal trainer, Harley Pasternak, the Studio was released.

Each day, FORME Life can deliver a personalized workout based on the user's preferences and current fitness journey. Aided by machine learning and AI, the Full Studio can suggest the correct resistance level for a given strength exercise and dynamically adjusts as the user's performance changes. FORME Life leverages its stereoscopic cameras and advanced technology in human-centric computer vision to provide accurate guidance on form and technique. When turned on, the display features a huge variety of live and on-demand personal training sessions to suit individual needs with a user-friendly touchscreen experience complete with voice control. When turned off, FORME Life is a sleek mirror that blends effortlessly into the rest of the home.

In this interview, we discuss: how the idea came about, the journey to creation, how to source the team you need, artificial intelligence, tips on how to make your own product and so much more.

Here are some key points that I would advise you to concentrate on

• Trent is CEO of FormeLife.
• Fitness can be convenient and accessible for all. Life can throw up a number of barriers to stop you from participating in sport, such as late-night working, travel delays, etc.
• Coronavirus has exposed our reliance on attending another physical location to work out and when travel restrictions are in place, we are forced to reevaluate how to work out in our own home and the benefits to our lifestyle that can bring.
• Why did they decide to look at a functional and aesthetic mode of accessory over a standard style of fitness equipment?
• How is his partnership with industrial designer Yves Béharwork, and who is responsible for which side of the project?
• Yves thinks about the human using the project over just considering the functionality of the project.
• How did they overcome the fear of starting a business?
• Trent went to a person who is knowledgeable about the industry and asked for feedback. Leave your ego at the door, be open to the knowledge of others and incorporate their teachings into the project direction or potential stoppage.
• Thinking about starting your own business? The success of Trent's project is the way it eliminates a human problem of shortness of time and accessibility of equipment. What problems in our lives could your project eliminate? How could you make our lives better?
• You do not need to do everything yourself. You can team up with people in the industry to help you make the product, improve its look, etc, etc. You can bring the idea and the money, and find suitable teams and companies to support your work.
• Did they use focus groups or other market research methods?
• What choices did they make with regards to the style and pricing of the equipment?
• Trent sells on value rather than price. A one-off initial payment might be worth more value to you than a subscription to the gym or an inferior product when you consider the time spent traveling, replacing broken equipment as it's badly made, spending on something you don't use as it cant fit into your life.
• How did they plan out the various training modules and equipment offered on their product? How did they plan the functionality for release and potential changes as the fitness industry changes over time?
• The planning they put into the artificial intelligence that was built for the product.
• Trent's team asked for feedback from people on their fitness and any potential roadblocks to them using their product. Instead of taking criticisms or no's to the heart, be open to their viewpoint - ask your customers, what would they require to purchase? What could be better, what would they be open to. Be open to change and project readjustment, as feedback may take you to a greater level of success than you ever thought possible.
• Different user types will need a different style of use, a different feedback method or intensity level, etc. With some planning and open feedback requests, you can merge different styles and appeal to a large customer base.
• Will there be an option to connect to a larger community from your unit?
• How did he source the people he required for the teams to manufacture the units, create the AI, work the offices etc.
• What does he want the evolution of 'The Studio' to be?
• Problems they encountered during the design, build, and marketing ... and the fixes they found to help.
• What is his definition of success with this product?
• What has he learned from this project to create the ultimate fitness product?
• "It's surprising how much of success is just showing up and keep pushing"
• Why did they decide to go with 'Forme' rather than 'Form' - are they worried about potential issues relating to the name?
• How can you find more information, connect with Trent and Forme Life?

Today's guest is six times CrossFit Games athlete and three-time Fittest American Female Kari Pearce!

During the last five years, Kari has competed in CrossFit all around the world and represented the United States of America in 2016 and 2017 at the CrossFit Invitational.

She was sporty through childhood, beginning gymnastics at 3 and training and competing for 18 years, building an extensive knowledge base, and now teaches athletes the gymnastics side of CrossFit. Having her extensive background, she enjoys sharing her knowledge with others.

Kari was on the Varsity Gymnastics team at the University of Michigan where her team won 4 Big Ten Championships. She earned her degree in Movement Science from the School of Kinesiology and was three-time Academic All-Big Ten.

In addition to being a full-time athlete, she has developed PowerAbs, which is a core program thousands of people are doing. It incorporates many of the things she learned in her 18 years of gymnastics and through her education to get people stronger and better-looking midsections.

In this interview, we discuss her story, Cross-Fit, how she develops her skills set and mental toughness, her fantastic product PowerAbs, competing at the Cross-Fit games, the factors that have helped her to be so successful and so much more.

Here are some key points that I would advise you to concentrate on

• Who is Kari Pearce
• Would she have entered Cross-Fit if she had not come from a sporty family?
• What was she like during her childhood?
• Kari is a great example of a child whose parents who encouraged their children to take part in sports and offered options and letting them find their own way. You can't force your kids down a path, but kids will greatly remember parents who encouraged them and let them find their own path and support them along it to the level they wish to go.
• Where does he competitive edge come from?
• What would she say the appeal of Cross-Fit is?
• The variety of cross-fit and the various intensities are a great appeal to a lot of participants. Many enjoy the variety and conflicting demands they can take part in a session, and with different WODs released regularly, it is difficult to become bored with the variety offered.
• The advice she would give to someone who is looking to start Cross-Fit.
• Look for a gym that offers a foundational beginner class to learn the basic movements when you start.
• Focus on learning the fundamental movements before you increase the movement. Do not rush your progression, ensure you can rep with great form for each rep, before you increase the weight. Failure to do so will mean you will plateau and then need to go back to relearn before you can go forward.
• How to leave the ego at the door and work on learning the variety of movements and not just focus on your strengths?
• How did she go from doing Cross-Fit workouts to a Cross-Fit athlete?
• Why does she think she has been so successful?
• Actions are more important than words - you will make time for what is important to you in your life. Pick the goals you want to achieve, not what others wish for you. Once you know what you want from life, cancel the time-wasting behaviors and habits and work towards achieving them ... as Kari did with her training.
• Rest days are vital to recovery both physically and mentally. Do not try to work out every day, especially as a beginner. Ease yourself in and ensure you have time to recover and pamper yourself (massages, salt baths, good food, good sleep etc) built into your routines.
• What does her training schedules look like?
• How do you build up the frequency, duration, and intensity of her training, to work towards competing and develop her skills etc?
• The importance of kids taking part in sports.
• Why she is only given her training programming until the day of the session?
• What has she found helps avoid technical breakdown and sloppy reps when she is tired and working high rep schemes?
• A good coach can be the item you need most when you start, he can save you from yourself and remove the other thinking, the jumping around programs or only focusing on your strengths - a good coach removes the thinking, and lets you rep and workout and have a better chance of success by removing the additional noise you don't need to focus on.
• When training skill work, ensure you can rep as close to perfect each time as you go. As Kari said, make sure the first movement is correct as if it isn't the second movement won't be, and so on. Don't train to failure but practice keeping the form right and increasing the reps as you can maintain form.
• What does she think about when she is performing the gymnastics movements and lifting the weights?
• How has she built up mental toughness to ensure she can compete at the highest level, against the world's fittest people, and endure more work to beat the others.
• Visualization training has really helped Kari in her training preparation.
• Top performers become comfortable in the uncomfortable.
• You need to push yourself more in training more compared to the competition. You need to push yourself in training to the point where at the competition you can just go into auto-pilot and let your training take you to success.
• "No growth comes from being in the comfort zone"
• Be willing to listen to feedback from coaches and others. Kari puts her ability to listen to feedback so high on the list of reasons why she is so successful. Others can spot reasons that you are struggling, plateauing and not progressing. Be willing to listen to criticism and feedback. Consider all options and opinions and use what works and bypass what doesn't.
• How does she deal with bad training sessions?
• Don't rush back after injuries. As Kari says 'you need to get healthy before you can get back and train again. Rushing back from injury can make things worse. Listen to your body, take time to heal and recover and you can come back stronger and a better athlete.
• Cross-Fit can be modified to allow you to work around injuries or complete movements to the level that your health and body will allow.
• An area that Kari has worked on that has improved her performance.
• How she utilizes a way of focusing on sections to avoid letting bad events or incidents ruin her training or competition.
• How does her training change as she works to and performs at the Cross-Fit Games?
• Recovery and diet methods to recover from training and from day-to-days during competition.
• What was the inspiration for PowerAbs
• The importance of training your abs to improve your sporting performance.
• Why is there such a great community and bond within Cross-Fit gyms and the wider Cross-Fit performers? Cross-Fit is a fantastic sport to take up to meet like-minded and friendly people.
• What does she want those listening to take from the interview?