Vigor Life Podcast

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!

Joel Jamieson is widely considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on strength and conditioning for combat sports, having trained many of the sports best athletes since 2004. He is the author of the bestselling book Ultimate MMA Conditioning and is a contributing writer to several top magazines and a frequent guest speaker at conferences and seminars all over the world. Joel has worked with and consulted extensively for teams and organizations ranging from Navy SEALS to Life Time Fitness and his Bioforce HRV system was used by teams in the NFL, NBA, MLS, NCAA, and more (now called “Morpheus). He is best known for an individualized approach that is both based on solid science and yet practical to apply. Joel created 8weeksout.com in 2009 to help clear up the misinformation and confusion surrounding energy systems. Since then, the site has become one of the authorities on strength, conditioning, and performance. Joel is one of my closes friends and a person I spend a lot of time geeking out on the science of training, longevity, health, and also business. Since he’s also one of the worlds foremost conditioning and metabolic optimization specialists, I’ve had him back on the show for the 3rd and, and he never fails to deliver top notch insights, practical application, and some big “aha” moments that will help you upgrade your performance, health, longevity, and overall results. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: What is “metabolism” and the 3 biggest myths around it. Why the idea that if you just burn more calories, you’ll lose more weight is wrong, we dive into the research of Herman Pontzer you must understand.  Fascinating research showing people with higher metabolism aren’t necessarily leaner than people with lower metabolisms, why this is and how it applies to you. How calorie restriction leads to longevity, and whether you should be under eating. The difference of optimizing for longevity vs. optimizing for performance, do you have to give up one for the other. One of the rarely talked about reasons of why we lose muscle as we age, and what we can learn from it. The power of mitochondria and why it’s something you MUST understand and develop (and the ways to do it). The TTENNS approach to improving every facet of your longevity with specific examples. Strength training and walking Is NOT enough if you want to optimize your health and longevity. What is metabolic flexibility, its benefits, and how to apply it in both training and nutrition.  What’s “zone 2” and why is it now becoming popular, the benefits of it, and the myths surrounded by it.  Why metabolic work requires more frequency but not as much intensity (aka, you’re not doing enough cardio!). Why Joel think metabolic work comes first, then strength and how Cardio will NOT affect your strength, muscle, and performance in a negative way. How to ice baths, sauna’s, float tanks, etc. affect longevity and where do they come into play. The future of individualized supplementation and therapeutics in improving health and longevity.  And much, much more! LINKS AND RESOURCES: 8 Weeks Out  www.8weeksout.com Morpheus www.TrainWithMorpheus.com Book: Burn - New Research Really Blows The Lid Off How We Really Burn Calories, Stay Healthy, and Lose Weight   Vigor Ground Fitness and Performance Gym www.VigorGroundFitness.com Vigor Life Podcast (iTunes) Luka Hocevar YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ29YcBh-g6onRujX3wD_XA?view_as=subscriber Luka Hocevar Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lukahocevar/

This is a comeback episode for the Vigor Life Podcast and I couldn’t be more excited to bring it back and share my own knowledge, experience and insights again, as well as bring on the best guests to educate, entertain, and inspire. This first episode I sat down with Dr. Michael Mash of Barbell Rehab, as well as our partners Zach and Mitch from HIDEF Physical Therapy. We were hosting Michael for the Barbell Certification at Vigor Ground this weekend with over 40 attendees. Barbell Rehab was created by Dr. Michael Mash, Physical Therapist and Barbell Coaching Expert to help fitness and rehab professionals improve their management of clients with pain or mobility limitations. He received his Doctor of Physical Therapy in 2016 from Duquesne University and his Bachelor of Science in Biology from Saint Vincent College in 2014. In this episode we go over training limitations for clients and how to adjust for them, biggest issues we see when it comes to coaching, and then we dig deep into the power of communication when it comes to results, collaboration of coaches and physical therapists, the future of integration with training and PT facilities, and much more. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: => What are the biggest reasons people beat up their joints when they train and how does that need to improve. => Why the devil is in the dosage and one of the MAIN reasons for injuries and nagging pains. => What are the obstacles when it comes to rehab and physical therapy, of getting someone back to high performance rather than just out of pain. => The art of finding the right variation for the client is a superpower. => How to increase your value as a coach by collaborating with physical therapists. => Learning the skillset of eliminating “threat” with clients that had injuries and are afraid of certain patterns. => Why you should listen to “whispers” of your body so they don’t become “screams.” => The future of physical therapy is proactive and not reactive, and the integration of training and PT in any business. => Changing the fear of physical therapists loading their clients when they are rehabbing and coming back to action. => How to use trust, communication, and safety to improve your clients performance - with specific examples. => Why sales and marketing will make you a much better coach and physical therapist. = > How ONE set can cause a big psychological adaptation for your clients, do this! => The “Hospitality Reflex” in personal training and physical therapy and why it’s what the top 1% do. => How to build trust as a trainer or PT and not only face to face, but also through social media, organically, in your community to build a referral machine. => Why you MUST hunt for feedback with your business, and constantly strive to improve. LINKS AND RESOURCES: Barbell Rehab https://barbellrehab.com/ HIDEF Physical Therapy https://www.hidefpt.com/ Vigor Ground Fitness and Performance Gym www.VigorGroundFitness.com Vigor Life Podcast (iTunes) h Luka Hocevar YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ29YcBh-g6onRujX3wD_XA?view_as=subscriber Luka Hocevar Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lukahocevar/