FOUNDER ATHLETE BRIEFING
A guy in a t-shirt ruined his week
A founder told me something on a call recently. He was watching a show with his boys. There was a guy on screen wearing a t-shirt and jeans. He looked great. You could just see he had his shit together. Then he thought to himself, "What the fuck am I doing?" It planted a seed he couldn't ignore. He's 44. Built a company. Pivoted the business, leads a team, moves fast on everything. "I don't feel that my body is what it should be," he said. "It's not representing your vision," I added. "Yeah....
He finally said it. He hates working out.
He finally said it. He hates working out. Same cut. Same bulk. Same injury. Same reset. Construction company founder. Told me this on our first call last week. He'd been running a 500-calorie deficit while doing jiu-jitsu twice a week and training for a Spartan race. His lifting program was competing with the sports that actually mattered to him. So he was depleted. Under-fueled. Getting hurt. The cut never fully landed. The bulk just made him fat. I could see on his face he didn't want to...
He lost 20 lbs. Then he asked the real question.
A client is about 70% through the program. Down 20 lbs. Went to a three-day conference, ate protein in his room while everyone else grazed the buffet spread. Came back lighter than when he left. He's locked in. And then last week, he asked me: "What does maintenance look like? What shifts when I hit the number?" This is the question that separates the men who keep it from the men who lose it all back. Because most guys never ask it. They hit the goal, exhale, and drift back to where they...
Shame is great kindling
Have you ever experienced body shame? A shitty comment by a class bully who desperately looked for approval by demeaning others? A snarky remark from a mean hot girl that peaked in high school? Or a family member with their signature backhanded compliment? No matter what it was, you know what this shit can do to your psyche. This is what led me into this space - my own insecurities. I was an athletic kid. Pretty good at any sport I touched. But, a bit too fluffy and too self-conscious to take...
Your weight loss goal is making you fat
The switch Six months in, he sent me this. He lost 34 lbs. That's not what he's telling me about. He came to me with a history. Keto. 75 Hard. An online program with a 12-week deadline. A group of guys from his hometown - all out of shape, all hoping that doing it together would fix what they couldn't fix alone. It didn't. He always had a number in his head. "I'm going to lose X lbs by X date." Set it. Miss it. Beat himself up. Reset. Every time he fell short, the story got a little louder:...
What if cardio was always the point?
This little nugget here holds the truth to a true physical and mental transformation. A few weeks before, this gentleman asked me if a short run would interfere with his strength workout. I don't blame him. The fitness space is full of these types of messages. "Stop endless cardio!" "Cardio makes you weak!" "Cardio will eat your muscle!" The question is - what if you were born to be a fucking endurance athlete? What if it was the only sport that made you feel IT? Should you stop cardio to...
Darkness
I was driving there afraid I'd realize I hate myself. The 2 days leading up to this trip, I couldn't get off the fucking toilet. The prospect of sitting in complete darkness for 3 days with nothing but my own thoughts scared the shit out of me. Two main thoughts were: "What if I realize I need to leave my wife so she can be with someone who can truly appreciate her?" (I can't stand the thought of forcing the woman I love to be with a man with no direction in life.) "What if it turns out I...
The problem with understanding calories
How would you respond here? "Yep, that's correct," right? That's what I would have said when I was starting out in this business. Because the math works. But the physiology and psychology don't. Let me explain. The problem with understanding calories Let's say you've found out - through experimentation - that your maintenance calories sit at 2,500. In reality, it's more of a range that shifts with activity level, but for this example, let's say it's a static 2,500. Simple. Take away 500 and...
Why habits fail
Everyone talks about building habits when you're trying to lose weight. It's backwards. Try establishing rock-solid habits while you're in a deficit - away from the food that used to give you comfort and stress relief. Good luck. You're not in the best physical state. Which means you're not in the best mental state. You're not emotionally neutral about trying new behaviors. You're fighting your own biology. Here's what actually works. Build the habits first. Before the deficit. Go-to protein...
He lost the weight. Then lost his mind.
Matt did three years of keto. Then two years of carnivore. Read the books, followed the gurus, did what Paul Saladino told him to do. It worked. Got down to 182. Felt mentally clear. This was it - the thing that finally clicked. Then the cracks started showing. He wanted to run again. Former endurance athlete, mid-40s. Missed that feeling. But every time he tried, he'd hit a wall around mile two. "It was like a struggle bus. Not enough fuel in the tank." No runner's high. Just grinding...