

Chasing Excellence
Ben Bergeron & Patrick Cummings
Looking to build more than just physical fitness? Join Ben Bergeron and Patrick Cummings as they explore how daily practices create the foundation for lasting peace of mind. Through practical frameworks and honest conversations, discover how deep health unlocks the freedom to chase what truly matters. Learn the five essential factors - training, eating, thinking, sleeping, and connecting - that transform fleeting moments of clarity into a life of sustained fulfillment. If you're ready to move beyond quick fixes and build peace of mind, this is your guide.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 28, 2023 • 24min
Quick Set: The Difference Between Busy and Overwhelmed
Why is it so easy to get so busy? In this clip from a longer conversation Patrick had with the Digital Barbell podcast, he talks about some of the strategies he’s implemented to stay busy without getting overwhelmed. You can listen to the full conversation here. 📍 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Apr 25, 2023 • 55min
Essential Behaviors to Build Durability, w/ the Starretts
Kelly and Juliet Starrett are world-class trainers and longtime leaders in the CrossFit space. They join us this week to talk about their newest book, Built to Move, which is a masterclass for all of us who want to continue to kick ass into our 90s. EXPECT TO LEARN: 📍 Why Kelly and Juliet wanted to write Built to Move 📍 What the 10 out of 10 Club is (and why we should want to get in it) 📍 How the book can be used as a roadmap for both coaches and athletes 📍 What “rewilding” the body means and why it’s important 📍 Why the aim of our health should be greater durability Thanks to our sponsors this week: LMNT | Ice Barrel 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Apr 21, 2023 • 10min
Quick Set: Take Ultimate Responsibility
In this clip from a longer episode from 2019, Ben and Patrick talk about responsibility, focus, and the need for all of us to better pay attention to the few things inside our control. Watch the full episode here. 📍 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Apr 18, 2023 • 1h 9min
Improve Your Adaptability
How can we increase the skill of adaptability? That’s the listener question we’re talking through this week, hitting on the reality of change, the role our ego and attitude plays, and what we can learn from Sesame Street. EXPECT TO LEARN: 📍 How to incorporate training for a half-marathon into CrossFit 📍 If there should be an upper limit on daily protein powder intake 📍 The shift in routine Ben has made to prioritize more sleep 📍 What to say to someone who complains too much 📍 The new 30-day challenge we’re kicking off Thank you to our sponsors this week: Timeline Nutrition | LandKind 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Apr 14, 2023 • 20min
Quick Set: Stimulus → Thought → Emotion → Feeling
Here’s a clip from a conversation Ben had recently with Bryan from the Young & Alive Company. They talk about focus, distraction, the voice in our heads, and what we can learn from the Navy SEALs. Watch the full conversation here. 📍 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

4 snips
Apr 11, 2023 • 1h 14min
The Three Key Priorities, w/ Jon Gilson
How do you set priorities when so many things feel important? That’s our question; we’ve got our friend Jon Gilson here to help answer it. Also, your questions about Zone 2 training, doing work we don’t hate, and outgrowing friends. Learn more about Optimal Agency here. Thanks to our sponsors this week: LMNT | Caldera+Lab | UCAN EXPECT TO LEARN: 📍 What Zone 2 training is and whether CrossFitters need to prioritize it 📍 What to think about when balancing financial security and interesting work 📍 Why it’s important to consider your friend group over the course of a decade 📍 The problem with the Rocks analogy we so often hear 📍 Why Ben thinks we should all be using kitchen scissors more often 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Apr 7, 2023 • 10min
Quick Set: Here Comes the Health Revolution
Here’s a clip from a conversation Ben had recently with James Geering of the Behind the Shield podcast. They chat about how to get the conversation moving in the right direction as it relates to health, manufactured stress, and how to be influential. Click here for the full episode. 📍 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Apr 4, 2023 • 45min
Why We Prioritize the 5 Factors
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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mar 31, 2023 • 9min
Quick Set: Our 3 Nutrition Challenges
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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mar 28, 2023 • 1h 7min
The Problem of Nutrient Deficiency, w/ Chris Kresser
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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.


