The Freedom Project

Today on the Limitless Athlete Podcast, you’ll be listening to a conversation between 25x powerlifting world record holder, Stefi Cohen, and myself, Tom Foxley. One huge topic we cover is the difficult balance of femininity and the masculine parts of athleticism. This one goes deep and we dive into appearance and social pressure to look like everyone else. Stefi is an incredible human. She is one of those rare breeds who seemingly excels in multiple areas of life. Plus, she's a lovely human being. Stefi is a 25x world record holding powerlifter and the first woman in the history of the sport to deadlift 4.4 times her bodyweight. She recently took a break from the platform and transitioned to professional boxing (1-0-1). She is also a doctor of physical therapy and exercise physiologist who is passionate about education and bringing her audience a "no B.S." evidence-based view of all things training and nutrition through her company, HYBRID Performance Method. Stefi is also the co-author of Back in Motion with Dr. Ian Kaplan and co-host of the HYBRID Unlimited podcast. The main topic of conversation: how a beneficial mindset is often found between two oppositional factors: Hard work and self-compassion Professionalism and relaxing Masculinity and femininity Force and passivity Recovery and work It’s a balancing act that we must seek to maintain. We also discuss: Self-doubt and how to deal with it Trusting the process Those moments of discovery which are uncomfortable Never loving powerlifting Femininity in a “masculine” sport, and identity challenges around that.  

Today on The Debrief, Coach Tom discusses Hunter McIntyre's appearance on the Limitless Athlete Podcast. The point in question is "when are you working too hard, and when are you not working hard enough?"

Today on the Limitless Athlete Podcast, you'll be listening to a conversation between myself and Hunter McIntyre. Hunter is an elite, multisport athlete with an incredible background. He holds the world record in the workout Murph, has competed at The CrossFit Game, and is a world class Obstacle Course Racer. We discuss Hunter's journey from drug and alcohol abuse to one of the fittest athletes on earth. The turning point in his journey lies in committing himself to a deeper purpose and discards a self-centred worldview. This is where each of our path to growth begins: ownership. We also discuss: Standing out as a kid Self-binding strategies Learning to love hard work Staying mentally tough A surprising book recommendation Aiming at a flow state Why he's so controversial

Today, Rachel and Tom dive into finding deeper meaning behind your goals & why that's' important to athletes.

Special Forces veteran, and GORUCK founder, Jason McCarthy joins Tom on today's episode. Jason has created a brilliant community around the pursuit of the most simple but effective exercise there is: carrying large loads a long way. Call it rucking, yomping, or tabbing, it works. Plus, it had hugely beneficial effects on your mindset too. This is just part of what Jason and Tom explore in this episode. They also discuss Jason's life as a Green Beret and his transition out of the military, the benefits of suffering, and the massively inspiring Chad workout as well as the charitable effort behind it.

Today on The Debrief, Coaches Tom and Rachel discuss their own mental health struggles within CrossFit and training. They talk eating disorders, anxiety, and more besides.

Today, Tom speaks to Niki Brazier, about a variety of mental health challenges. In particular, they touch on postnatal anxiety, body image challenges, and intrusive thoughts. Niki is a familiar face to most in the world of CrossFit as she's a reporter at The CrossFit Games and is a regular guest on many shows and podcasts. There's value in this show even if giving birth isn't in your immediate agenda because mental health affects us all. What I love about how Niki talks is how honest and open she is, but without an ounce of shame or victimhood. We also discuss journaling practises, body image and share weird compulsive tendencies.

Today on The Debrief - partner episode of the Limitless Athlete Podcast - Tom & Rachel guide you in how to stop compulsive thoughts and actions. It's vital you can get out of those mental ruts that cause you to plateau your growth. In this episode, you can expect to learn: Why you perform numbing behaviours What activities will help you mentally recover Building mindfulness in being an athlete How to stop leaderboarding  

Today on the Limitless Athlete Podcast, Coach Tom speaks to psychiatrist and author, Dr. Anna Lembke, about the role of dopamine and how to stop it ruining your progress as an athlete. There's two main topics of conversation here: leaderboarding, and phone addiction. These are the two forms of addiction which form the greatest destructive habits to athletes like yourself. Dopamine is an extremely powerful neurotransmitter and plays a huge role in addictive behaviours and emotional patterns. Questions we'll answer: Why are you addicted to the leaderboard even though it makes you feel crap? How do you learn to put your phone down? What role does dopamine play in your mental health?

Today on the Debrief, Coaches Rachel and Tom will be dropping tips on how to improve your mood, energy and drive through mindset training. They'll help you from both a mindset and a physical perspective to stop having to drag yourself to the gym. They'll be drawing on the episode they recorded with Richard Aceves of StrongFit and Movement Ayahuasca. If you want to listen to that episode, that will prep you for this episode, but you can listen to this individually too. Questions Tom and Rachel will answer include: What kind of rest is good and bad for your recovery? How can you reserve energy? How do you stop making decisions which drain your energy?