Simon Dutton (@kingsleydutton) is an online fitness coach and trainer currently living in Hong Kong. After working in fitness education for a number of years, he has since transitioned back to his roots of helping clients achieving life changing results through fitness. He is the host of The Self Made Podcast and you can learn more about Simon’s coaching at https://madecoaching.com/. Perfectly fitting with the overall theme of this entire podcast, Simon has learned that the most important lessons from the gym often have a greater impact in our life outside of the gym. The recent James Bond movie was a bit of an inspiration to him to focus on building men’s confidence through fitness. *spoiler alert* we did talk about the movie briefly. Building an amazing body and putting in hard work in the gym is almost guaranteed to improve your confidence in yourself, and spill into everything else you do. A large part of the conversation was centered around managing one’s expectations. It’s ok to expect exceptional results, when you put in an exceptional effort, with an exceptional plan. It’s very hard to expect greatness, when your effort and methods don’t match. And it’s not that we all should strive for the best physique in the world. It’s moreso about understanding what it takes to get what we want, and then determining whether or not we are willing to do what it takes. If not, then we adjust the goals accordingly. This is an excellent way to reach your goals, and we touched on these concepts in several different contexts throughout the episode. Simon’s got a term he hates in fitness: “sustainable dieting”. Nothing about dieting (as in, eating in a strict way or in a restrictive caloric deficit) is meant to be sustainable. A diet is meant to achieve the goal of fat loss. Once achieved, the diet should stop, and normal eating patterns are resumed. Now, the caveat, is that “normal eating patterns” doesn’t mean chips, chocolate and constant junk. It can certainly include those things, but within reason. Making things seem easier than they are circles back to managing expectations and setting yourself up for success.  This was a thoroughly enjoyable conversation and I’m sure you’ll find lots of value in this episode. If you do, please share this episode with a friend! Be sure to follow Simon on IG, check out his website, and tune into his podcast as well. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Daniel DeBrocke (@daniel_debrocke) is a coach, athlete, writer, podcaster and newly appointed education coordinator at Kabuki Strength. He began his journey into fitness through the sport of boxing, and has since transitioned into the sport of powerlifting.Many of us rush into making changes in our life. We try to overhaul everything about our lifestyle in an effort to get in shape, and inevitably don’t follow through. Rather than trying to overhaul one’s life, Daniel outlined several examples as to how one might aim at small goals to collect small wins along the way that eventually lead to big wins.This was part of a larger discussion around human behaviour, and how our actions most of the time do make sense based on our past. Often, it’s not even our past history with fitness, but the sum of the past history of our entire life. All of these experiences create the person you are today, and therefore, they are layered in to the decisions we make on a daily basis. Understanding why we do the things we do is a big first step to positively influencing our behaviour.This goes hand in hand with taking responsibility for your actions. The results we get don’t happen by accident, and they are well within our control. Of course there are external factors swaying us in every direction, but ultimately, we must take personal responsibility for our actions.I had a question from social media about sumo versus conventional deadlifting that we also touched on towards the end of the episode. Daniel has written a very in depth article on the exact subject that we referenced, and you can read that here.Be sure to follow Daniel DeBrocke on IG, listen to the Stacked Strength Podcast, and keep up with all of his articles and content through his website, https://www.stackedstrength.com/. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions and feedback are greatly appreciated! If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify. It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Nick Gomez (@coachnick44) is a strength & conditioning coach currently living in Austin, Texas and a coach at Onnit Gym ATX. Originally from Albuquerque, NM, Nick has worked with some of the most successful fighters in MMA, and trained high level athletes from all sports.Avid listeners will recall I visited Onnit in the summer of 2021 (Ep 27), and Nick was the first person I met there. We got along so well and had some great chats those days and finally got around to recording a podcast. Functional training is a word far too often tossed around with no rhyme or reason. Doing stuff that’s weird doesn’t make it functional. Performing impressive lifts or feats of athleticism isn’t functional. SPOILER: doing burpees is not functional. However, there are a whole lot of ways we can train for the functional challenges that life may throw at us, and we covered that throughout the discussion. We spoke a lot about the way that athletes train, and how it’s sometimes misguided. Athletes should train to be good at their sport, not good at lifting weights – unless of course, lifting weights is their sport. Many youth athletes fall into this trap, and the thought process around the role that strength training plays in athletic development needs to evolve. Along these lines, we spoke about several prolific athletes. One of which is Jon Jones, arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time. We discussed the qualities that are present in an athlete like Jon, both in and outside the gym, that make them so great at their sport. Nick and I are also both huge proponents of barefoot training and we both spoke about our experiences with letting your feet work like feet. If there’s one thing you take from this podcast, it should be to spend more time barefoot! To follow along with Nick’s coaching and continued education you can follow him on IG. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

This episode was a Q&A style episode taking questions from you, submitted to me through social media. If you have questions for future episodes, please send me a message on IG @danielyores.The following are the questions covered in today's episode: 1) How/why I got into fitness? What's my why? 2) Is it useful to be slightly neurotic and addicted to a fitness lifestyle? 3) Tips to stay healthy when time is limited. 4) How to ease into a lean bulk if you're afraid of gaining fat? 5) How to care for callouses and not rip your hands? 6) Is 4 cups of coffee per day bad for you? How to negate any negative side effects? This was a fun and enjoyable episode to record, and I hope you enjoy it as well. Reach out to me with more questions you'd like answered for future Q&A episodes! I would greatly appreciate any comments, questions or feedback. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Alena Luciani (@Training2XL) is Strength and Conditioning Coach and educator who works with both athletes in sport, and athletes in life. She played both basketball and lacrosse at Laurier University before progressing into her coaching career, where she has worked with athletes of all sports and all levels. She is also focused on elevating the field of strength and conditioning through her Cueing and Programming clinics for trainers and coaches, which you can find at https://www.training2xl.com/. Coaching is about so much more than barking instructions, writing down exercises, and counting sets and reps – It’s about connecting with people. This is perhaps the least taught, yet most important skill to learn as a coach. Alena learned this through watching her father coach football and connecting with his players on an individual level, as well as learning about body language and human behaviour with her mother. She utilizes this knowledge in her own coaching, as well as passing it along to other coaches. Anyone who seriously played sports knows that it’s difficult to lose your “athlete identity” and find out who you are outside of sport. Similarly, it’s difficult to find your own identity as a coach without simply copying what’s always been done. Alena and I spoke at length about her own journey through this and how it would apply to anyone in any field. We are more than our titles, we are who we are. Alena also has a fantastic system in place to optimize working at home and utilizing her environment to her advantage rather than it being a downfall. From creating separate spaces to the clothes you wear and the routines or habits you follow, you must master your environment. Alena works with people of all walks of life locally in Toronto and the GTA, as well as virtually with humans all over. If you’re a coach, you should definitely check out her Cueing & Programming Clinic. To get in touch and learn more about what she does, check out her website https://www.training2xl.com/ and follow her on IG. I would greatly appreciate any comments, questions or feedback. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

In 2018 Mike Dougherty along with his brother Doug and their mother Suzy started Wild Meadows Farm (@wildmeadowsfarm_ontario). Wild Meadows Farm uses regenerative farming practices to raise beef, pork and chicken using no hormones, antibiotics or GMOs. The farm is located in Conn, Ontario. Regenerative farming is a term that applies to the methods of farming. It involves raising the animals in such a way that would most closely resemble their wild selves. Typically, regenerative refers to the actual land – where the animals are rotated in such a way that allows the land to recover and prosper over time, as opposed to being depleted. However, regenerative also refers to regeneration of the animals allowing them to live better lives, regeneration of those who later eat these animals, regeneration of local economies and a host of widespread benefits. Regenerative farming helps everyone. It’s no secret that there are some issues with our food supply. Grocery stores are filled with more “food products” than actual food. And of that actual food, do we really have any idea what’s in it, and what it’s doing to us? We don’t and we can’t. But simple logic suggests that a healthier animal will produce healthier food. Healthier food produces healthier people, and this is important. Using food to heal us, or to thrive in life is vitally important to each of us. We also talked about the convenience of a modern society, and how most of us are so completely disconnected from our food. Do you have any idea how that fast food order made it to your house? Probably not. With local regenerative farms, you can learn about the process of where food comes from, and how it’s made – to build a relationship with the food, and the farmers who raise it. Wild Meadows Farm also works with several other local farms to deliver all kinds of naturally grown and locally produced products. The farm is located in Conn, Ontario, and is open for you to visit by getting in touch with them. The also deliver to most of Southern Ontario. You can see all Wild Meadows Farm has to offer on their website: https://wildmeadowsfarm.ca/ and follow them on IG as well. I would greatly appreciate any comments, questions or feedback. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Calvin Huynh (@awesomefitnessscience) is a trainer, online fitness and nutrition coach, and writer. He shares in-depth information in a way that is digestible for everyone to read, comprehend and implement on many fitness websites, but his best work is on his own site, https://awesomefitnessscience.com/. Calvin is currently going through a “bulking” phase, where he is working towards building muscle. Bulking is essentially a term used to describe a period of time where one is eating in a caloric surplus, and training in such a way that they will “bulk up” and gain muscle, and a little fat as well. We spoke all about why this would be necessary, who should use it, and the different ways to approach it. We also discussed some different methods of fat loss as well. Typically after a bulk, a person will then start to “cut”. Meaning they are dropping all the excess fat they gained, in order to be leaner, while maintaining all of their new muscle tissue. Naturally, there are several ways to go about this, and the best method is the one that is the best for YOU the individual; there is no one-size-fits-all approach. We discussed some of the different methods and their applications. Finally, we touched on the concept of reverse diets. A reverse diet is something that one might use after a period of dieting in order to eat their way back up to maintenance, in an effort to avoid excess fat gain. While we both agree that it’s not necessary, we discuss some scenarios where it may be useful. Be sure to follow Calvin on IG, YouTube, and TikTok (soon). Most importantly, check out his information on his website, https://awesomefitnessscience.com/ and join his free email list. I would greatly appreciate any comments, questions or feedback. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Can someone please give me some credit for that pun in the title? Come on!!!! Anyways... Episode 49 was about the results of my 6 months of bulking, and so now as I start to cut and lose all the excess body fat I want to take you along with me. This episode is what I will be doing. I want to be very clear with this. Nothing that I am doing is necessarily the only way, the right way, or the best way to do it FOR YOU. Only you know what the best way is for yourself. The goal of this episode is to explain how I'm doing things, why I'm doing things, and take you along with me. I also explained how I would change things for someone else, and how I would change my plan if my circumstances were different. So I hope that you can learn from what I'm doing and find a way to think about what might work best for you and apply it. Not to simply copy me. Because you are not me, and I am not you. If you're looking for coaching, or advice of any kind, I would love to work with you and help you through this process. Part of the value of a coach is figuring out the details for you, and presenting options that you may not have thought of. If you're interested in working together, please send me a message on IG or Twitter. I would greatly appreciate any comments, questions or feedback. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Matthew Bousson (@boussytheboss) is a great friend and mentor of mine newly relocated to San Diego California. He’s accomplished nearly all there is as far as S&C coaching in high level sports having worked with athletes in the UFC, NFL, pro rugby and NCAA. He is also a legit scientist at one point working towards a PhD. We previously recorded an episode last year that has some more background on Coach Boss, which you can find here: Spotify, Apple, Google Podcasts.Matt is now moving on from full time coaching and beginning to work towards a career in architecture. And at the same time, he’s working on #ProjectHeros. The Project Heros mission is to raise funds and awareness for various charities and organizations dedicated to improving health & wellness and to inspire millions around the world to live healthier lifestyles along the way. Matt will be training to compete in the GODZone adventure race in New Zealand in 2023. All the while displaying his own training to get there, and going from being an “off-the-couch ZERO, to an Adventure Athlete HERO” in 12 months. Never being able to totally leave fitness and health in the past, Matt hopes to find ways to use architecture to improve health and wellbeing. Whether it be the way cities are designed, buildings are constructed, or whatever the case may be, he’s looking to make an impact on health using architecture. Throughout the episode we also spoke about some of the behind-the-scenes stuff – both good and bad – related to the world of professional sport and fitness, as well as some insights into the way scientific research is conducted. Many of these things led Matt to deciding to drop his PhD research, and I think you’ll find some of the reasons why rather surprising. To keep up with everything Matthew Bousson has going on, follow him on IG. To check out more details, get involved, and donate to Project Heros, you can check out the website here. I would greatly appreciate any comments, questions or feedback. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Fitness and health goals are always among the most popular of New Years Resolutions. I personally think it's an amazing thing and always will be an advocate to make positive changes. If the New Year is the motivation you need to kick things off, then by all means I'm here for it. However, it's tough to stick to these changes. In my experience, it's often because of the way we approach the goals. They are more like dreams, rather than things we can actually achieve. "I want to get healthy" sounds awesome, but what does that mean? In this episode I went into detail as to how I'd advise you to think about your fitness goals in a way that is most conducive to you being successful. It's not easy, but with some smart planning and thinking it can certainly be done! If you'd like to work with me in 2022 on reaching your fitness goals, please send me a message on Instagram and we'll have a conversation on how we can work together. I would greatly appreciate any comments, questions or feedback. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes. It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss