
The Hard Way With Joe De Sena
Learn the Spartan mindset. Founder & CEO of Spartan Race and NY Times best-selling author, travels the globe seeking and answers authors, academics, athletes, adventurers, entrepreneurs, CEOs and thought leaders. It will shift your thinking, make you laugh and and give you the tools you need. He’s on a mission to find the secrets to success in all aspects of life. Not only does Joe interview epic people, he has brought together an amazing panel to break down and analyze every aspect of these interviews. We give you the ultimate blueprint and action steps to assimilating these powerful conversations into your own life.
Latest episodes

Jun 24, 2021 • 24min
Reaching Your Summit - Life Fueled by Fitness Part 5 / DEKA
“And so what do you do from here? Okay, what do you do once you achieve that level of fitness or that goal that you wanted to achieve? And we’ve seen so many people-- this is what frustrates me the most as a long time coach, 30 years of coaching, is that person that reaches that goal, and they QUIT,” says Jarod Cogswell, co-host of the DEKA Series Podcast. Spartan Up Podcast, DEKA Series hosts’ Jarod Cogswell and Yancy Culp reach the summit on the final episode of their five-part series titled “A Life Fueled by Fitness.” During this mini-series, the guys will get you off the roller coaster of fitness, find your purpose and reframe how you think about training. In this episode you’ll learn: The journey to the top of your personal “mountain” that will change the way you live mentally and physically Enjoy the view for a while, BE PROUD OF YOURSELF, and come back down to do the next one What to do after you achieve that goal you had set? The importance of keeping things plugged into your life and being held accountable Reflecting on your last summit to get through the next Connect with Jarod and Yancy on social, and attend a DEKA event: -Jarod’s Social: @jarod_cogswell -Yancys Social: @YancyCulp -Race a DEKA Event: DEKA-FIT SPONSOR This episode of Spartan Up is brought to you by EXOGEN. The EXOGEN ultrasound bone healing system uses low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) to amplify natural bone healing three ways: Stimulation, Activation, and Upregulation. If you or a loved one has a broken bone, talk to your doctor about EXOGEN. To learn more, visit EXOGEN.com SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpShow YouTube: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpYT Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1pYBkk1T684YQg7CmoaAZt FOLLOW SPARTAN UP: Spartan Up on Instagram: @spartanuppodcast Spartan Up on Twitter: @SpartanUpPod CREDITS: Producer: Lake Watters Host: Jarod Cogswell and Yancy Culp Sr Producer: Marion Abrams © 2021 Spartan

Jun 23, 2021 • 27min
Tough Mudder meets Spartan - Joe De Sena and Kyle McLaughlin
We have a massive goal, to rip 100 million people off the couch. We can’t do it alone. You never thought you’d see the day, but the day has come .... the CEO of Spartan and the CEO of Tough Mudder together on a podcast. After the required sparring over who’s in charge of the podcast (is it an episode of Spartan Up or Tough Mudder’s podcast No Excuses?) Kyle Mcluaghlin and Joe De sena come to a compromise. It’s both. In this episode you’ll hear how both companies are determined to help you get back out there and make the most of your life. This episode of Spartan Up is brought to you by the EXOGEN ultrasound bone healing system. EXOGEN is a non-invasive treatment option that can help heal your broken bone in just 20 minutes a day in the comfort of your own home. If you or a loved one has broken a bone, talk to your doctor about EXOGEN. EXOGEN is indicated for the healing of nonunion fractures and for accelerating the healing of certain acute fractures, with no known contraindications. To learn more visit EXOGEN.com LINKS: Spartan Tough Mudder event https://race.spartan.com/en/race/detail/7247/overview Tough Mudder No Excuses Podcast https://toughmudder.com/no-excuses-podcast FOLLOW SPARTAN UP: Spartan Up on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/spartanuppodcast/ Spartan Up on Twitter https://twitter.com/SpartanUpPod CREDITS: Producer – Marion Abrams, Madmotion, llc. Host: Joe De Sena Sefra Alexandra, Johnny Waite & Colonel Nye will be back soon, we miss them! © 2021 Spartan

Jun 19, 2021 • 28min
The Best Nutrition + Strength Formula for Endurance Athletes with Dave Scott / ENDURANCE
“Usually people are reactive because they’ve got an injury and really they should be addressing it beforehand,” says Dave Scott, 6x Ironman World Champion. Spartan Up Endurance Series host, Johnny Waite, talks with Dave about the best formula for nutrition + strength for endurance athletes. In this episode, you’ll learn... -Never skip a strength or mobility workout, even if it means sacrificing a run, bike or swim -What is strength and why it’s important for the endurance athlete -Dave’s current philosophy on nutrition -What foods to avoid when training -You can’t eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want Dave Scott is known as the Roger Bannister of triathlons as the first person to go under 10 hours at Kona. In 1980, Dave Scott went to the island of Oahu to race the third ever Ironman Triathlon. In both 1978 and 1979, there were 15 starters and 12 finishers. After an article on the event appeared in Sports Illustrated in the spring of 1979, the number of entries ballooned up to 108 in 1980, which would be the last year the event was held on Oahu. Dave Scott was an unknown that day in February of 1980, but after ABC’s Wide World of Sports showcased Dave’s journey around the island of Oahu where he led the entire day and broke the existing course record by nearly two hours, that changed pretty quickly. In many sports, the winners from the early years quickly become yesterday’s news as faster athletes bypass the trailblazers. Not Dave Scott. He was the Roger Bannister of triathlon. Over the next 16 years he won five more Ironman World Championship titles, became the first athlete to go under 3:00 hours for the Ironman marathon, then the first to go under 2:55 and the first to go under 2:50. SPONSOR This episode of Spartan Up is brought to you by Brightside. Get anxiety and depression treatment online from licensed psychiatric providers and therapists. Get a free mental health assessment and a $100 credit towards your first month of treatment at Brightside.com/Spartan. SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpShow YouTube: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpYT Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1pYBkk1T684YQg7CmoaAZt FOLLOW SPARTAN UP: Spartan Up on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/spartanuppodcast/ Spartan Up on Twitter https://twitter.com/SpartanUpPod CREDITS: Producer: Ryan Warner Hosts: Johnny Waite Sr Producer: Marion Abrams © 2021 Spartan

Jun 17, 2021 • 30min
Know Your Scoreboard - Fuel your Life with Fitness pt 4 / DEKA
“The large majority of people went through school and never competed in any type of event. Triathlons, Spartan Races, and even the Murph Challenge...those are big barriers to entry. With DEKA Fit, we wanted to remove the barrier of entry and I’m pleased to say that 99% of people who attempt a DEKA race finish, '' says Yancy Culp, co-host of the DEKA Series Podcast. Spartan Up Podcast, DEKA Series hosts’ Jarod Cogswell and Yancy Culp embark on part four of their five-part series titled “A Life Fueled by Fitness.” During this mini-series, the guys will get you off the roller coaster of fitness, find your purpose and reframe how you think about training. In this episode you’ll learn: -Know your scoreboard: focus on the metrics that matter vs the keeping up with the Jones’ mentality -To celebrate progress and wins, and ways to evidence both -How to track performance over the short and long term -Gamification and why you should incorporate this tactic into your regiment Connect with Jarod and Yancy on social, and attend a DEKA event: -Jarod’s Social: @jarod_cogswell -Yancys Social: @YancyCulp -Race a DEKA Event: DEKA-FIT SPONSOR This episode of Spartan Up is brought to you by Brightside. Get anxiety and depression treatment online from licensed psychiatric providers and therapists. Get a free mental health assessment and a $100 credit towards your first month of treatment at Brightside.com/Spartan. SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpShow YouTube: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpYT Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1pYBkk1T684YQg7CmoaAZt FOLLOW SPARTAN UP: Spartan Up on Instagram: @spartanuppodcast Spartan Up on Twitter: @SpartanUpPod CREDITS: Producer: Ryan Warner Host: Jarod Cogswell and Yancy Culp Sr Producer: Marion Abrams © 2021 Spartan

Jun 15, 2021 • 36min
"FREEDOM" with Sebastian Junger & Joe De Sena
Sebastian Junger, author of "The Perfect Storm," "War," and "Tribe" has a new book called "Freedom." There's at least one simple truth about freedom, the more discomfort you'll accept in your life, the more options you have. As Sebastian Junger says: "If you have to take a shower every day, you will never be able to spend the night in the woods. Right? I mean, that's just a loss of voluntary loss of freedom. If you refuse to be hot or cold or hungry or tired or what have you, you really have to live your life in the sort of confines of a modern American lifestyle that is very free in some ways, but also creates a kind of dependency in almost everyone that is the opposite of freedom." SEBASTIAN JUNGER is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE PERFECT STORM, FIRE, A DEATH IN BELMONT, WAR, TRIBE and his newest book, FREEDOM (2021). As an award-winning journalist, a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a special correspondent at ABC News, he has covered major international news stories around the world and has received both a National Magazine Award and a Peabody Award. Junger is also a documentary filmmaker whose debut film "Restrepo," a feature-length documentary (co-directed with Tim Hetherington), was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. This episode of Spartan Up is brought to you by Brightside. Join thousands of Brightside members taking back their lives. Take your free mental health assessment and get up to ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS credit on your first month of treatment at Brightside.com/spartan LINKS: www.sebastianjunger.com or Sebastian Junger on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram FOLLOW SPARTAN UP: Spartan Up on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/spartanuppodcast/ Spartan Up on Twitter https://twitter.com/SpartanUpPod CREDITS: Producer – Marion Abrams, Madmotion, llc. Host: Joe De Sena Sefra Alexandra, Johnny Waite & Colonel Nye will be back soon, we miss them! © 2021 Spartan

Jun 12, 2021 • 6min
A Surprising Trick for Energy Management / COMBAT
“Noise is energy draining and so I used ear plugs to preserve energy,” says Matt Gentry, 2x Olympian and former NCAA champion for Stanford. Spartan Up Combat Series host, Ryan Warner, talks with Matt about a simple tactic he used to preserve energy and reduce performance anxiety. In this episode you’ll learn... -Why you should consider wearing ear plugs at your next competition -Energy preservation and why it’s important for optimal performance -How sound and noise impacts performance anxiety Connect with Matt on social… -Twitter: @gentrywrestling SPONSOR This episode of Spartan Up is brought to you by Exogen. Visit Exogen.com to learn more. SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpShow YouTube: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpYT Google Play: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpPlay FOLLOW US: Spartan Combat: https://www.instagram.com/spartancombat/ Spartan Up on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/spartanuppodcast/ Spartan Up on Twitter https://twitter.com/SpartanUpPod Find out more at https://spartancombat.com/ © 2021 Spartan

Jun 10, 2021 • 19min
Prevent Injuries by Focusing on Mobility with 6x Ironman World Champ Dave Scott / ENDURANCE
“When you combine high intensity strength training with high intensity interval training...that’s magic for your whole physiology and preventing injuries,” says Dave Scott, 6x Ironman World Champion. Spartan Up Endurance Series host, Johnny Waite, talks with Dave about the importance of stretching and mobility training. In this episode you’ll learn… -How mobility is actioned in Dave’s coaching program -How to incorporate carbs into a training regiment -The three areas of mobility triathletes are most likely to neglect -How to get started: Just move period -The one exercise to start with if you’ve never focused on mobility before Dave Scott is known as the Roger Bannister of triathlons as the first person to go under 10 hours at Kona. In 1980, Dave Scott went to the island of Oahu to race the third ever Ironman Triathlon. In both 1978 and 1979, there were 15 starters and 12 finishers. After an article on the event appeared in Sports Illustrated in the spring of 1979, the number of entries ballooned up to 108 in 1980, which would be the last year the event was held on Oahu. Dave Scott was an unknown that day in February of 1980, but after ABC’s Wide World of Sports showcased Dave’s journey around the island of Oahu where he led the entire day and broke the existing course record by nearly two hours, that changed pretty quickly. In many sports, the winners from the early years quickly become yesterday’s news as faster athletes bypass the trailblazers. Not Dave Scott. He was the Roger Bannister of triathlon. Over the next 16 years he won five more Ironman World Championship titles, became the first athlete to go under 3:00 hours for the Ironman marathon, then the first to go under 2:55 and the first to go under 2:50. SPONSOR This episode of Spartan Up is brought to you by Exogen. Visit Exogen.com to learn more. SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpShow YouTube: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpYT Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1pYBkk1T684YQg7CmoaAZt FOLLOW SPARTAN UP: Spartan Up on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/spartanuppodcast/ Spartan Up on Twitter https://twitter.com/SpartanUpPod CREDITS: Producer: Ryan Warner Hosts: Johnny Waite Sr Producer: Marion Abrams © 2021 Spartan

Jun 8, 2021 • 30min
How You Can Build Resilience / Joe De Sena and Nick Morris
A day with Joe De Sena, founder of Spartan Race, is likely to include some physical challenges. When Nick Morris, co-founder of Health Warrior visited Joe that meant a few grueling trips up and down the mountain with a 100lb chain and a companion log. In this episode the two talk a little about how the culture of Wall Street is starting to shift toward better health, and then dig deep into the best tactics to get through tough physical challenges, and their thoughts on building strong resilient athletes. This episode of Spartan Up is brought to you by the EXOGEN ultrasound bone healing system. EXOGEN is a non-invasive treatment option that can help heal your broken bone in just 20 minutes a day in the comfort of your own home. If you or a loved one has broken a bone, talk to your doctor about EXOGEN. EXOGEN is indicated for the healing of nonunion fractures and for accelerating the healing of certain acute fractures, with no known contraindications. To learn more visit EXOGEN.com LINKS: More about the Mount Sparta 24 hour challenge http://peakraces.com/running-races/mt-sparta-24hr-challenge/ FOLLOW SPARTAN UP: Spartan Up on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/spartanuppodcast/ Spartan Up on Twitter https://twitter.com/SpartanUpPod CREDITS: Producer – Marion Abrams, Madmotion, llc. Host: Joe De Sena Sefra Alexandra, Johnny Waite & Colonel Nye will be back soon, we miss them! © 2021 Spartan

Jun 5, 2021 • 25min
Find Your Fitness Tribe / DEKA fitness journey Pt 3 with Jarod and Yancy
“Surround yourself with people who are on the same mission as you are, '' says Jarod Cogswell, co-host of the DEKA Series Podcast. Spartan Up Podcast, DEKA Series hosts’ Jarod Cogswell and Yancy Culp embark on part three of their five-part series titled “A Life Fueled by Fitness.” During this mini-series, the guys will get you off the roller coaster of fitness, find your purpose and reframe how you think about training. In this episode you’ll learn: -The benefits of finding your fitness tribe, such as increasing training consistency or improving accountability -The three levels of attitude (positive, mediocre and negative) and how your attitude impacts your tribe -Where to find your tribe (it doesn’t have to be at the gym) -That the mental and emotional side of training are just as important as the physical side Connect with Jarod and Yancy on social, and attend a DEKA event: -Jarod’s Social: @jarod_cogswell -Yancys Social: @YancyCulp -Race a DEKA Event: DEKA-FIT SPONSOR This episode of Spartan Up is brought to you by Amazfit. Head to Us.Amazfit.Com/Pages/Spartan to save $40 on a custom bundle . Offer valid May 18-May 31. SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpShow YouTube: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpYT Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1pYBkk1T684YQg7CmoaAZt FOLLOW SPARTAN UP: Spartan Up on Instagram: @spartanuppodcast Spartan Up on Twitter: @SpartanUpPod CREDITS: Producer: Ryan Warner Host: Jarod Cogswell and Yancy Culp Sr Producer: Marion Abrams © 2021 Spartan

Jun 3, 2021 • 22min
Hit this Heart Rate Zone When Training with Jonathan Albon / ENDURANCE
“It’s actually been really fun to start coaching, understanding what works for other people and that helps me in my own training,” says Jonathan Albon, 2014 Spartan World Champion, on the transition to coaching while training full-time. Spartan Up Endurance Series host, Johnny Waite, talks with Jonathan about coaching, heart rate zone targeting and how Jonathon gets the most out of his athletes. In this episode you’ll learn… -How to use technology to improve training -How Jonathon defines being over threshold vs under threshold and when you should hit each zone -How to train for a race in the high altitude zones -What heart rate zone Jonathan targets for training More about Jonathan: Jonathan Albon is an all-round athlete who competes in both obstacle course racing and trail running. Current stats include: undefeated OCR World Champion, current Trail World Champion and Ultra Skyrunning World Champion. Jonn has seen much success within both sports - running and OCR - with an appetite for adventure and pushing his limits. Who knows where his sporting pursuits will take him next. Jon is proudly supported by vj sport, ultimate direction & mountain fuel. SPONSOR This episode of Spartan Up is brought to you by Amazfit. Head to Us.Amazfit.Com/Pages/Spartan to save $40 on a custom bundle . Offer valid May 18-May 31. SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpShow YouTube: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpYT Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1pYBkk1T684YQg7CmoaAZt FOLLOW SPARTAN UP: Spartan Up on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/spartanuppodcast/ Spartan Up on Twitter https://twitter.com/SpartanUpPod CREDITS: Producer: Ryan Warner Hosts: Johnny Waite Sr Producer: Marion Abrams © 2021 Spartan
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