Chasing Excellence

In many ways, the 5 Factors of Health are as much a hedge against stress as a pursuit of performance and longevity. We unpack how stress manifests itself in the body and why it’s so important we are aware of it. EXPECT TO LEARN: 📍 How to think about weightlifting as you get older 📍 What you need to recognize as you make progress on losing a lot of weight 📍 Some suggestions for what to do if you find yourself getting sick a lot 📍 How to create balance when working from home 📍 Four books and two podcasts Ben and Patrick have enjoyed lately GET A QUESTION IN THE QUEUE:  Send Patrick a DM with your Five Factors questions!  ABOUT US:  📍 Ben Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CompTrain. Find him on Instagram. 📍 Patrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter and podcaster. Find him on Instagram. [[]---[]] Chasing Excellence is an audience-supported project. To go deeper & to help us do even more, consider:· Subscribing to our newsletter to get our free posts and upgrading to our Chase Club to receive exclusive content.· Grabbing one of our books: Chasing Excellence, Unlocking Potential, or The ABCs of Being Happy & Healthy.· Supporting one of our fantastic show sponsors.

Ben was recently on EC Synkowski’s podcast, The Consistency Project, talking about how CrossFit New England thinks about nutrition challenges. Here’s a segment of that episode where Ben discusses the 3 challenges that the gym currently runs. Click here to listen to their full convo. 📍 Subscribe: Apple Pods: tinyurl.com/3nu78tsh Spotify: tinyurl.com/ekhp3cce YouTube: tinyurl.com/9uktjdfs [[]---[]] Chasing Excellence is an audience-supported project. To go deeper & to help us do even more, consider:· Subscribing to our newsletter to get our free posts and upgrading to our Chase Club to receive exclusive content.· Grabbing one of our books: Chasing Excellence, Unlocking Potential, or The ABCs of Being Happy & Healthy.· Supporting one of our fantastic show sponsors.

Chris Kresser is one of the most respected clinicians and educators in the fields of Functional Medicine and ancestral health and one of Ben’s go-to’s for all things nutrition. He joins us this week to talk about nutrient density, feeding kids, gut health, and a bunch more. EXPECT TO LEARN: 📍 The reasons Chris says eating a clean diet isn’t enough anymore 📍 Why our microbiome is so important to our overall health 📍 The various ways you can get a sense of your own gut health 📍 The benefits of organ meats 📍 Some bad news about chicken Learn more about Chris here. Big thanks to our sponsors this week: Miracle Made | BlueChew GET A QUESTION IN THE QUEUE:  Send Patrick a DM with your Five Factors questions! ABOUT US:  📍 Ben Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CompTrain. Find him on Instagram. 📍 Patrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter and podcaster. Find him on Instagram. [[]---[]] Chasing Excellence is an audience-supported project. To go deeper & to help us do even more, consider:· Subscribing to our newsletter to get our free posts and upgrading to our Chase Club to receive exclusive content.· Grabbing one of our books: Chasing Excellence, Unlocking Potential, or The ABCs of Being Happy & Healthy.· Supporting one of our fantastic show sponsors.

In this Quick Set from a previous episode, Ben shares his experience living with and dealing with dyslexia. For the full episode, search the feed for “What We’re Reading #02.” 📍 Subscribe to the show:  Apple Pods: tinyurl.com/3nu78tsh Spotify: tinyurl.com/ekhp3cce YouTube: tinyurl.com/9uktjdfs [[]---[]] Chasing Excellence is an audience-supported project. To go deeper & to help us do even more, consider:· Subscribing to our newsletter to get our free posts and upgrading to our Chase Club to receive exclusive content.· Grabbing one of our books: Chasing Excellence, Unlocking Potential, or The ABCs of Being Happy & Healthy.· Supporting one of our fantastic show sponsors.

We’re talking about what it means to “trust the process” this week, breaking down the 10 things we all need to keep in mind as we pursue our goals. Also, your questions about breath work, leadership, feeding kids, and more. EXPECT TO LEARN:  📍 Where F45 may fall short in comparison to CrossFit 📍 Why awareness is the most important step of making things better 📍 The reason why Ben switched his breathwork practice 📍 Why leadership is the hardest job in the world 📍 How the steps we take toward a goal matter more than the goal GET A QUESTION IN THE QUEUE:  Send Patrick a DM with your Five Factors questions!  ABOUT US:  📍 Ben Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CompTrain. Find him on Instagram. 📍 Patrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter and podcaster. Find him on Instagram. [[]---[]] Chasing Excellence is an audience-supported project. To go deeper & to help us do even more, consider:· Subscribing to our newsletter to get our free posts and upgrading to our Chase Club to receive exclusive content.· Grabbing one of our books: Chasing Excellence, Unlocking Potential, or The ABCs of Being Happy & Healthy.· Supporting one of our fantastic show sponsors.

How do you define success? What impact do you want to have? What problem are you trying to solve? Just a few of the big questions we’re talking about and through this week. We’re also cooking up a new monthly challenge, so stay tuned til the end! EXPECT TO LEARN: 📍 What “overload” looks like in the gym, and when you should use it 📍 What to consider if you’re not losing the weight you think you should be 📍 The first big goal in getting back from an injury 📍 Why we can always have more compassion and empathy 📍 How to get the universe to nudge you in the right direction Thanks to our sponsors this week: BetterHelp | Miracle Made | BlueChew GET A QUESTION IN THE QUEUE:  Send Patrick a DM with your Five Factors questions!  ABOUT US:  📍 Ben Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CompTrain. Find him on Instagram. 📍 Patrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and creator of Functional Branding. Find him on Instagram. [[]---[]] Chasing Excellence is an audience-supported project. To go deeper & to help us do even more, consider:· Subscribing to our newsletter to get our free posts and upgrading to our Chase Club to receive exclusive content.· Grabbing one of our books: Chasing Excellence, Unlocking Potential, or The ABCs of Being Happy & Healthy.· Supporting one of our fantastic show sponsors.

Friend-of-the-show EC Synkowski joins us this week to answer your questions about training for a 500lb deadlift into a sub-5:00 mile test, back injuries, and whether CrossFitters should try to work out during multi-day fasts. EXPECT TO LEARN: 📍 EC’s woo-woo moment that helped her tackle her long-time back problems 📍 EC’s first big question to ask about fasting 📍 Ben’s prescription for a weak back 📍 What to focus on when selling transformational coaching services 📍 The core memories that got us hooked on CrossFit 10+ years ago Thanks to our sponsors this week: LMNT | UCAN | BlueChew GET A QUESTION IN THE QUEUE:  Send Patrick a DM with your Five Factors questions!  ABOUT US:  📍 Ben Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CompTrain. Find him on Instagram. 📍 Patrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and creator of Functional Branding. Find him on Instagram. [[]---[]] Chasing Excellence is an audience-supported project. To go deeper & to help us do even more, consider:· Subscribing to our newsletter to get our free posts and upgrading to our Chase Club to receive exclusive content.· Grabbing one of our books: Chasing Excellence, Unlocking Potential, or The ABCs of Being Happy & Healthy.· Supporting one of our fantastic show sponsors.

Steven Kotler is expert on flow. He joins us to talk about why it’s important to develop multiple pathways to flow, why our mindset around aging needs a major rewrite, and the surprising correlation to lifelong confidence. EXPECT TO LEARN: 📍 What flow is and why it’s so important 📍 Why dynamic motion training is essential 📍 What it means to “get geezered” 📍 Why stability equals confidence 📍 The protocol for peak performance aging Big thank to our sponsors: Miracle Made | BetterHelp | Blinkist GET A QUESTION IN THE QUEUE:  Send Patrick a DM with your Five Factors questions!  ABOUT US:  📍 Ben Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CompTrain. Find him on Instagram. 📍 Patrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and creator of Functional Branding. Find him on Instagram. [[]---[]] Chasing Excellence is an audience-supported project. To go deeper & to help us do even more, consider:· Subscribing to our newsletter to get our free posts and upgrading to our Chase Club to receive exclusive content.· Grabbing one of our books: Chasing Excellence, Unlocking Potential, or The ABCs of Being Happy & Healthy.· Supporting one of our fantastic show sponsors.

Introducing the CompTrain 3x3, where Ben answers your questions about the pursuit of elite athletic performance and mental toughness. This week, we’ve got 10 questions from the first 6 episodes of that show to give you a taste. Find the show on YouTube Learn more about our sponsors: Blinkist | LMNT EXPECT TO LEARN: 📍 When to know if self-induced pressure is a good thing 📍 How the male/female calorie ratios on the bike or rower were calculated 📍 How to know if you’re a “competitor” 📍 The most important thing to think about when you’re injured 📍 What concurrent training is, and why CompTrain programs that way GET A QUESTION IN THE QUEUE:  Send Patrick a DM with your Five Factors questions! ABOUT US:  📍 Ben Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CompTrain. Find him on Instagram. 📍 Patrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and creator of Functional Branding. Find him on Instagram. [[]---[]] Chasing Excellence is an audience-supported project. To go deeper & to help us do even more, consider:· Subscribing to our newsletter to get our free posts and upgrading to our Chase Club to receive exclusive content.· Grabbing one of our books: Chasing Excellence, Unlocking Potential, or The ABCs of Being Happy & Healthy.· Supporting one of our fantastic show sponsors.

We’re talking about the actions to take (nearly) every day to balance the five factors of health. We’re also answering questions about red light therapy, cutting people out of our lives, and nasal breathing during CrossFit. EXPECT TO LEARN: 📍 The usefulness of nasal breathing during hard CrossFit workouts 📍 Why meditation and breath work are hard habits to stick to 📍 Some tips on eating well while in big cities 📍 Why the people you spend the most time with matter so much 📍 Some recent recommendations for things we’re enjoying This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. GET A QUESTION IN THE QUEUE:  Send Patrick a DM with your Five Factors questions!  ABOUT US:  📍 Ben Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CompTrain. Find him on Instagram. 📍 Patrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and creator of Functional Branding. Find him on Instagram. [[]---[]] Chasing Excellence is an audience-supported project. To go deeper & to help us do even more, consider:· Subscribing to our newsletter to get our free posts and upgrading to our Chase Club to receive exclusive content.· Grabbing one of our books: Chasing Excellence, Unlocking Potential, or The ABCs of Being Happy & Healthy.· Supporting one of our fantastic show sponsors.