Former Chief Operating Officer at Striveworks, Eric Ross, and CEO of Apex Path, Ben Allen, discuss optimizing human performance with machine learning operations, well-rounded fitness, stress training in special operations, and building resilience through embracing challenges.

Neurophysiologist Dr. Kate Pate discusses stress management in special operations, rewiring the nervous system through body work, and the physiological impact of stress on injuries and toxins. She also explores psychedelics in therapy, spirituality in healing from moral injury, and her journey from academia to founding a medical devices company.

Former Legionnaire Joel Struthers discusses the French Foreign Legion, including training, pay scale, and filtering out recruits joining for the wrong reasons. He also delves into his transition to a helicopter pilot, experiences in risk mitigation, and his military history book projects, such as 'FinEx.'

Laura is the Lead Performance Instructor at Deep End Fitness in San Diego, a trauma therapist, and a strength coach. She is about to graduate with the Master’s portion of her Ph.D. next month (May 2024) and will continue for two more years to complete her Ph.D. She previously received her Juris Doctorate degree but opted to change career trajectories toward something more fulfilling and service-driven. Laura specializes in Applied Behavioral Neuroscience through a Polyvagal Theory approach and currently leads training sessions on Nervous System Resilience and Regulation for First Responders and Military Personnel in the greater San Diego area. She also probably squats more than you.  Laura's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauragordon__/Deep End Fitness San Diego: https://www.instagram.com/deependsandiego/Deep End Fitness: https://www.deependfitness.com/Timestamps:00:00:22 Intro to Laura Gordon00:01:15 Athletic and Educational Background00:03:12 Deep End Fitness00:06:11 Universal Factors 00:07:31 Nervous System Regulation and Resilience00:11:08 Leveling of Attitudes00:14:19 What Workouts Look Like at Deep End Fitness00:16:00 What Changes Mentally During Training00:18:25 How People Understand Their Body00:22:50 Body Prediction Error00:28:30 Tuning Out The Negative00:32:34 Polyvagal Theory00:34:49 Avoiding Full Immobilization 00:39:50 Ventral Vagal and Dorsal Vagal Systems00:43:09 Healthier Versions of Stress Coping00:44:28 Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning00:47:34  Controlled Stressors 00:49:40 Tools and Cues00:53:49 High Level of Trust While Coaching00:56:48 Behavior Model 00:59:00 Shifting the Course of Lives01:00:46 Managing Burnout01:03:33 Managing Your Recovery 01:08:57 CO2 Tolerance01:11:32 Finding Connection and Community 01:14:43 Best and Worst Advice01:16:58 Learn More about Laura01:17:22 Outro

Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon discusses emotional resilience in SOF selection courses, emphasizing the importance of handling doubts and emotional challenges. The podcast explores the need for a wide range of skills beyond physical fitness, highlighting self-compassion, facing judgement, and embracing emotional growth. It delves into personal anecdotes and strategies for building resilience, navigating self-worth struggles, and preparing mentally and emotionally for high-stress situations.

Dr. Aaron Epstein discusses the Global Surgical and Medical Support Group's work in conflict zones, setting up field hospitals in 72 hours, training local populations, empowering women in healthcare, transferring medical innovations, mitigating drone threats, and lessons learned in battlefield medicine.

Tim Richardt is a Colorado-based Physical Therapist with a passion for rock climbing, trail running, and technical backcountry skiing. Professionally, he's been involved in the physical preparation of military, tactical, and law enforcement personnel since 2010. After finishing his collegiate running career in 2012, he relocated to Denver to pursue his Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Regis University. Since graduating, he has made it a priority to continue to better understand the multifaceted nature of human movement and answer the ultimate question of what makes resilient, robust, and adaptable athletes capable of withstanding competition, selection courses, or whatever life has in store for them.Tim is part of our team at BTE. We’ve worked with him to develop our movement assessment app and bulletproof joint series, which our clients use to get individualized movement drills that help them move better and train harder without injury. He’s also behind our new courses on improving the technical skills of running and rucking so that our clients can handle high training loads without breaking down. Many people struggle through cycles of training hard, getting injured, taking time off, and then starting over and trying to catch up. By integrating regular movement work and some of the concepts that we’ll talk about on this call into your training, you can break this cycle and stay healthy while training consistently. To learn more about Tim or work with him for either in-person physical therapy or online coaching, you can contact him at TimRichardt.com or message him on Instagram.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tim_richardt_dpt/Timestamps:00:00:22 Intro To Tim Richardt00:01:43 SOF Selection00:04:23 Primary Reasons for Shin Splints00:08:30 Cadence 00:10:02 What Your Cadence Should Be00:11:50 Foot Strike00:13:30 Basics for Running Better00:16:03 Ankles, Knees and Hips00:17:02 Useful Running Cues00:18:53 What is ISA?00:21:01 Physiological Profile for Running and Rucking00:23:02 How Should Magnus Train00:25:37 Human Pogo Stick00:27:27 Tissue Elasticity00:31:58 What Was Thoracic Extension Training Missing 00:35:30 Why Did People Think It Worked?00:38:44 Barefoot Running00:40:47 Individual Foot Structure00:42:19 Flat Foot Type00:43:50 When Are Insoles Useful?00:45:53 Moonbounce Shoe Trend 00:48:28 Cushioning In the Floor00:50:12 Improve Foot Posture00:55:30 General Ideal Shoe Characteristics00:58:59 Insole Varieties01:01:44 ITB Syndrome01:05:22 Where Do We Learn More01:06:17 Outro 

Exploring how to regulate the nervous system through managing stress responses, understanding the autonomic nervous system, and balancing sympathetic and parasympathetic branches. Discussing stress inoculation training, strategies for pain and fatigue management, and optimizing stress reactions for improved outcomes and resilience in high-pressure situations

Don Tran is a former special operations Marine, and is the co-founder of Deep End Fitness. Prior to joining the MARSOC, or Marine Special Operations Command, community, Don was a water survival instructor, where he first began learning the skills that he developed over his career and brought to Deep End Fitness. Don was also a JTAC - a Joint Tactical Attack Controller, which is a specialty within US SOCOM that involves the coordination of combat aircraft in close support of ground operations.  He finished his time as a Marine Raider in a leadership role as a team operations chief and spent additional time at 4th Force Reconnaissance Company before leaving active duty in 2018. From there, he shifted full time into his work at Deep End Fitness, where he and his team teach physical fitness and water confidence, integrating the training methods he learned and developed as a maritime special operator. At BTE, we’re big fans of the work that Don and his crew are doing at Deep End Fitness, and we encourage our clients to train at their facilities for in-person coaching on the critical skills in the water that they’ll need to excel in their selection courses. The concepts that they’re teaching have been at the heart of maritime special operations culture for a long time, and it’s great to see those benefits becoming more mainstream and reaching not just other competitive athletes, but people from all walks of life seeking to become more fit while learning to better understand and manage their bodies and stress responses.  Deep End Fitness:www.DeepEndFitness.comhttps://www.instagram.com/deependfitness/Time Stamps:00:00:22 Intro to Don Tran00:01:58 Don's Career Overview00:02:45 Water Survival Instructor00:05:26 Marine Raider00:08:56 Advice For Someone Becoming a Raider00:10:15 Attributes Don Struggled With00:12:51 Selection Courses00:19:47 Underwater Football League00:22:51 Stresses of a Career as a Raider00:24:58 Getting out of the Military00:27:07 Deep End Fitness00:29:23 How to Explain the Concept of DEF00:32:32 MMA Fighters and NFL Players at DEF00:36:10 Training Methodology00:41:01 Manage Baseline Anxiety00:43:33 Fear Vs Anxiety00:44:45 Water: The Great Equalizer00:47:37 Basic Safety Guardrails00:50:01 In-Water Safety00:52:45 Don’t Panic Don’t Drown00:54:42 Firefighters00:55:11 Find Deep End Fitness00:55:50 Outro

Admiral Robert Harward is one of history's most accomplished US Navy SEALs. After graduating from the US Naval Academy, his NSW career began when he graduated with BUD/S class 128 in 1984 and joined SEAL Team Three, where he served as a platoon commander. From there, he screened for NSW Development Group, the US Navy’s tier-one unit, known at the time as SEAL Team Six, where he served as an assault team leader and operations officer. He earned his master’s degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. Then he served as the task group commander during Operation Desert Thunder in Kuwait, the Joint Special Operations Task Force commander for Operation Rugged Nautilus, the deputy commander of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force in Bosnia, the Special Warfare Plans Officer for the Commander of Amphibious Forces in the U.S. Seventh Fleet; USSOCOM Aide-de-Camp to the Commander-in-Chief; then as the Executive Officer of NSW Unit ONE and as the commanding officer of SEAL Team Three.Admiral Harward assumed command of NSW Group One in August of 2001 and deployed to Afghanistan shortly after the 9/11 attacks. He commanded a multi-national task force named Task Force K-Bar and directed special reconnaissance and direct action missions throughout the country.The following year, he deployed to Iraq as the commander of Task Force 561, where he commanded NSW Task Group Central. The forces at his command there included not just all the assets in the Naval Special Warfare but also forces from the Polish GROM, the UK Royal Marines, and the Kuwaiti Navy.In 2003, he left NSW Group One and reported to the Executive Office of the President at the White House, where he served on the National Security Council as the Director of Strategy and Defense Issues.He went to the newly created National Counterterrorism Center in Washington from the White House.Then, he served as the deputy commanding general of JSOC, the Joint Special Operations Command, at Fort Bragg and did several more combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.In 2008, he assumed the role of deputy commander of the United States Joint Forces Command.Finally, in 2011, at the rank of Vice Admiral, he was assigned the role of Deputy Commander of USCENTCOM before retiring in November 2013. After his retirement, Admiral Harward became the chief executive of Lockheed Martin in the UAE.He is currently the executive vice president for International Business and Strategy for Shield AI, an AI-focused Defense Company. In this episode, we talk with Admiral Harward about his career in Naval Special Warfare, his advice for young leaders in the military, and the evolution of warfare as artificial intelligence takes a greater role on the battlefield. Timestamps:00:00:22 Intro to Admiral Bob Harward00:05:03 Younger Career00:10:30 Going Officer or Enlisted00:14:06 Becoming a Good Leader00:15:34 Advice for Aspiring Special Operators  00:21:13 Always be Prepared for War00:23:38 Well-Educated Warriors00:26:46 Comparison of SOF Units Around the World00:30:00 China and the US00:31:33 The Role of A.I.00:34:31 Half of Our Potential00:36:54 Best and Worst Advice 00:39:16 Outro