Vigor Life Podcast

A lot of the programming that I do these days falls into this category, and it’s essentially what I program for myself and many non-pro athletes I coach (even though the way I coach my pro athletes has so many overlaps, just some minor tweaks) who want to have “the show and the go.” They want to look, feel, perform like an athlete, while not being beat up, getting rid of nagging pains and joint issues, and have the energy and cardio to do everything they want in life. I’ve come to this way of programming through 30 years of training myself, doing that from high school to the pro’s in basketball, and then later working to be the fittest possible and constantly striving for top performance. It’s also from having a 17-year career in coaching, training thousands of clients from every walk of life, elite athletes to everyday people wanting to improve their life through fitness. I’ll be doing more episodes like this on training, coaching and program design, to help you get the most out of your training and coaching clients.

Michael is a restaurateur and chef, entrepreneur, TV host, wellness leader and founder of Kreatures of Habit, an in-your-face lifestyle and wellness brand reimagining how you establish healthy habits in your life. Honoring his 17 years of sobriety by launching his newest venture on August 17th, Michael’s goal with Kreatures of Habit was to create easily accessible nutritional products that are rooted in adopting the positive habits that transformed his life and allowed him to replace alcohol with the nutrition and fitness he needed. Michael channeled his fire for culinary and community by curating and building some of New York City’s beloved restaurants including The Meatball Shop in 2009 with childhood friend Daniel Holzman, which has now grown to five locations across New York City and resulted in the release of The Meatball Shop Cookbook in 2011, co-authored by Michael and released by Ballantine Books. In 2015, he founded SEAMORE’s, a Manhattan restaurant that combines Michael’s love of fishing and culinary expertise, expanding to five locations peppered across New York City. Michael Chernow, who has founded hospitality ventures The Meatball Shop and Seamore’s, appeared on Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay, Kitchen Casino, and Chopped, co-authored cookbooks and landed magazine spreads for his Olympian-like physique, possesses a resume with marathon-like momentum. A poster child for how to live a life well-lived and reach business mogul status, Chernow adopted positive habits that allowed him to replace alcohol with nutrition and fitness and propel his ascent in the New York restaurant scene.

Marc Megna’s path towards becoming the foremost strength and conditioning coach in Miami was paved with obstacles; As a child, Megna was overweight and a target for bullies, dreaming that one day he’d play in the NFL.  During his collegiate football career, Megna became a two-time All-American athlete and was drafted by the New York Jets in 1999. His gridiron career spanned several seasons in the NFL and CFL for the New York Jets, New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Montreal Alouettes. He was coached by NFL greats like Bill Parcels, Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll and Dick Lebeu. In 2007, Marc decided it was time to complete his career as a professional athlete and decided to utilize the knowledge and skills he learned in the NFL to help people improve their quality of life through movement. He settled in Miami where he worked tirelessly to make a name for himself as a fitness trainer, training clients from all walks of life including notable clients like Alex Rodriguez, Gabrielle Anwar, Vernon Davis, Rob Gronkowski, Kevin Spacey and Hollywood Film Director Adam Shankman. Megna also frequently contributes to fitness publications including Men’s Fitness and Bodybuilding.com,and became a recognized fitness model even gracing the cover of Muscle & Fitness Magazine. In 2013, Marc became the co-owner of Anatomy Fitness, a state-of-the-art fitness facility in Miami, Florida. Anatomy Fitness now has 4 fitness facilities including a facility inside the 1 Hotel South Beach. In 2016, Marc launched the Megna Method podcast where he interviews some of the most famous athletes, entrepreneurs, and celebrities in the world. Marc is the subject of the Just A Kid From Fall River documentary film created by Randy West of Monarch Productions. Marc is also the Author of Dream Big Never Quit, which was selected as one of the Best Sports Biographies by Amazon Book Review editor, Jon Wahlgren.

A couple of weeks ago we had the launching of Box n Burn boxing training at Vigor Ground and I was fortunate that Tony Jeffries and Glen Holmes came out to help us launch it, run some sessions and foundations of boxing while also raising thousands of dollars for Alzheimers Association. Tony is the worlds #1 boxing educator, 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist, he competed at the highest possible level as a boxer, winning 7 British titles, several multi-national titles – including a European gold medal, and a total of 106 career fights. Tony has been in the gym nearly every single day since he was ten years old, competing competitively for a total of 17 years. Unfortunately, his boxing career came to an end in 2012, when he was forced to retire as an undefeated professional due to severe hand injuries. Tony co-founded the now world famous Box N Burn gym in 2012 in Los Angeles, CA. Tony travels the world with his team mentoring & instructing fitness professionals and fitness business owners not only how to teach boxing for fitness through the Boxing Fitness Academy, but also how to have success as a gym owner with boxing fitness classes, marketing and business development. Tony’s also built a YouTube channel with millions of followers where he educates people on how to box and get fighting fit.

It was only a matter of time before I had Mike on the show and it was great to catch up with an industry legend and talk about how to become a great coach, getting results for clients while not getting them hurt, and how to build a successful career in fitness while being smart with your finances.  Michael Boyle is one of the foremost experts in the fields of Strength and Conditioning, Functional Training and general fitness. He currently spends his time lecturing, teaching, training and writing. In 1996 Michael co founded Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, one of the first for-profit strength and conditioning companies in the world. Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning exists for one reason: to provide performance enhancement training for athletes of all levels. Athletes trained range from junior high school students to All Stars in almost every major professional sport. Prior to Co- founding Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, Michael served as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Boston University for 15 years, also for the past 25 years he been the Strength and Conditioning Coach for Men’s Ice Hockey at Boston University.  Mike also was the Boston Red Sox strength and conditioning coach in 2013 that won the World Series. In addition to his duties at Boston University and the Red Sox, from 1991-1999 Boyle served as the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. Michael was also the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the 1998 US Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Team, Gold Medalists in Nagano and 2014 Silver medalists in Sochi, and served as a consultant in the development of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michael has been a featured speaker at numerous strength and conditioning and athletic training clinics across the world and has produced 20 instructional videos in the area of strength and conditioning available through M-F Athletic. Michael has also lectured all over the world. In addition, Michael published Functional Training for Sports for Human Kinetics Publishers.

Alan Aragon has over 20 years of success in the fitness field. He earned his Bachelor and Master of Science in Nutrition with top honors. Alan is a continuing education provider for the Commission on Dietetic Registration and National Strength & Conditioning Association. Alan lectures at national and international conferences, and maintains a private practice designing programs for recreational, Olympic, and professional athletes, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Alan is a contributing editor and resident Weight Loss Coach of Men’s Health magazine. His book Girth Control is considered to be one of the most in-depth manuals for improving the body and understanding nutrition for fitness & sports. Alan has co-authored the most-viewed article in the history of the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. Last but not least, Alan writes a monthly research review providing critical analysis and practical application of the latest science on nutrition, training, and supplementation. It’s been a while since Alan and I caught up and it made it that much better as we dove into the principles of nutrition that helps people get leaner, maintain/build lean muscle, get healthier; and do those things for the long term (longevity).

I’m joined by my friend Andrew Coates, who’s a personal trainer, speaker, fitness writer for publications such as Muscle And Fitness, T-Nation, Generation Iron Bar Bend, and many more; and host of the “Lift Free Diet Hard” podcast. Andrew has had a journey of “starting late” as a coach in the industry and yet building a very successful in person coaching business, as well as becoming a sought after writer, speaker and now launching online offerings for his services. We dive into the principles of success for becoming the go to person in your area, the blueprint to building powerful relationships in the industry and becoming a super connector, and the steps to not only Crete great content, but also get paid for it through the medium of writing, speaking, and mentoring.

Jason Brown, a combat veteran, and former box owner is the founder of Box Programming & Jason Brown Coaching, and published Author of "Lower-body Training" via Human Kinetics. Jason has a Masters of Science degree in Exercise Science, is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the NSCA, and is a Certified Special Strengths Coach with Westside Barbell. He regularly writes for T-Nation.com, EliteFTS.com, and serves as a presenter with the National Strength & Conditioning Association. Jason and I finally get to do a show on the Vigor Life Podcast and since we both love the conjugate training model, owned gyms, and do some form of education of coaches nowadays, this conversation was full of insights on best program design principles, insights to succeed as a in person coach or gym owner, or how to develop your brand online. There’s so many nuggets to take away from the conversation with Jason.

I finally got a chance to get Lee on the show as we couldn’t sync up for the Vigor Ground Summit last time because of travel restrictions, as he’s someone that I’ve followed his work and got a lot of value from it. He’s a coach in the real world, training real people from all walks of life, has been doing it for a long time and only continues to get better. He’s also a professor at a university and teaching up and coming students practical programming, building coaching skillets, and sharing how to have success in the industry. To top it off he is also a very prolific writer. Here’s the official bio: Lee Boyce is an internationally known fitness writer and strength coach, and owner of Boyce Training Systems, based in Toronto, Ont. His work is published regularly in many major fitness magazines including Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Esquire, TNATION, Muscle & Fitness, Bodybuilding.com, and Inside Fitness. In 2013, he was named to the Team Jamaica training and treatment staff for the Penn Relays international track meet. Currently Boyce works with clients and athletes for strength, conditioning, and sport performance. Lee and I dive into real world practical applications and lessons to improve as a coach, get clients better results, and have more success in the fitness industry. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: What is a missing link for most coaches that is hindering their success in the industry. Why the rise of social media coaches has hindered some foundational skillsets of a coach. Lee’s crucial reason to start your career training in a big box while also __________ . How to distill high level knowledge into practical lessons that can be applied with clients the next day.  When and when NOT to follow templates and what “formula’s” tell you to do. Massively underutilized strategy - role play scenarios, case studies, and problem solving of yourself and your team. Luka and Lee break down simple strategies to be able to stand out as a coach and get new clients right away. The unconventional approach of getting bette, faster, by hiring other coaches in your area that are better than you. Lee shares 3 things that he’s changed in the last 5 years when it comes to training clients (that he wasn’t doing before). Why you should have different main lifts for each of your clients and how do you determine them. Our insights from lifting for almost 50 years combined, and coaching for 30+ years combined and the advice 20 year olds lifters should take. The main lessons Lee learned from having a devastating knee injury and how he improved and came back stronger, smarter, and better. The crazy insights you’ll get for people that are fit in their 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and beyond. There are 11 components of fitness coaches usually think about, work on, and focus 3-5 of those and why they’re missing the boat to improving their clients results. Why chasing strength is NOT the best choice after a certain period of time. Assessing and filling the buckets people truly need rather than what sounds cool, and why you should be doing unconventional training with your clients. How to improve your communication and the ONE thing Lee advises to do as a coach to build his book of business. The crazy tip that will help you blow up your in person training business. How Lee got into writing, tips to get your article published at bigger sites, and how to position yourself because of your writing. Why crucial conversations are the fastest way to improve how you communicate. The things Lee is studying to improve as a coach and help his clients even more.

While I was in San Francisco speaking at the Vagaro conference, one evening I asked my video guy Tyler to just start recording and I’m gonna do an episode on how to build your fitness business, starting with in-person and adding online coaching strategies as well. We ended up diving in so deep that it ended up being a 2.5 hour episode with a lead up to part 2 that I’ll do sometime in the near future. If you’re a coach or gym owner in the fitness industry and you want to learn how to grow your clientele, whether 1 on 1, semi-private, or groups, this is a blueprint. It goes beyond that though as it also breaks down how to build authority and positioning, becoming the go-to expert, create systems, not just in the gym, but also when it comes to creating content, email marketing, SEO, and much more. I don’t hold back anything, I just run out of time as had to finish the episode since it was 1am and I had to speak again the next day. Dive into the episode and take ACTION on the things taught!