Mark Sisson is the founder of the popular health blog, Mark’s Daily Apple, godfather to the Primal food and lifestyle movement, and the New York Times Bestselling author of The Keto Reset Diet. Mark is the author of numerous other books as well, including The Primal Blueprint, which was credited with turbocharging the growth of the primal/paleo movement back in 2009. After spending three decades researching and educating folks on why food is the key component to achieving and maintaining optimal wellness, Mark launched Primal Kitchen, a real-food company that creates Primal/paleo, keto, and Whole30-friendly kitchen staples.   For more info on Mark, check out Mark's Daily Apple, his Books, or follow him on Instagram.   ***This episode was recorded on a particularly raucous day at San Francisco CrossFit, so please excuse all the weights dropping and exuberant convos happening in the background.***

We are so excited to kick off this season with Gabby Reece who is a legend on and off the court. Not only is she a Pro Beach Volleyball World Champion, but she is also a New York Times best selling author, model, actress, Nike’s first female spokeswoman, TV host, and leader in the world of health and wellness. Gabby is an avid proponent of empowering people to take responsibility for their own health and together with her husband, surfing legend, Laird Hamilton, she founded XPT – Extreme Performance Training. Gabby has become a role model to women worldwide in achieving peak fitness, good health, and overall well-being for themselves and their entire family.   For more info on Gabby, check out XPT or follow her on Instagram.

Season 5 of The Ready State Podcast is here and it is all about AGING and LONGEVITY. Aging is a universal experience and yet we often feel powerless to its effects. We want to dig into this subject and learn about all the environmental and lifestyle factors that contribute to how we age, how long we live, and our quality of life as we age. Is it all about genetics? Or can we make a positive impact on how we age and increase longevity by making more educated choices? How does life, health, and sport change as we age? What actionable advice can we implement right now?   We rounded up some friends that are not letting age define them. We check in to see what nutrition, sleep, and exercise look like for those that seem to have this aging thing down. People from Gabby Reece to Mark Sisson and Erwan Le Corre. Join us and get a little insight and some actionable advice so we can push further and redefine what health and performance look like on the back half of this journey we call life.

Chris Spealler competed as an individual in 7 CrossFit Games, is an Affiliate Owner, and is an all around great human and fan favorite. Chris collected top 10 finishes at the Games in 2007, 2008, and 2010, and the “Spirit of the Games” award in 2010. He has numerous podium finishes in regionals and opens as well as his 3rd place finish at the 2007 Games. Chris has been teaching at a variety of competitions and seminars since 2007 and is currently sharing his knowledge and experience developing and programming for Icon Athlete. We talk to Chris about early CrossFit, The Games, and his "we're all in this together" mentality. It was an absolute pleasure to wrap up this season of The Ready State with Chris!   For more info on Chris, check out CrossFit Park City and Icon Athlete or follow him on Instagram.

John Welbourn is CEO of Power Athlete and Fuse Move, as well as the creator of the online training phenomena, Johnnie WOD. He is a 9 year veteran of the NFL and was a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999-2003, the Kansas City Chiefs from 2004-2007, and appeared in 3 NFC Championship games. In 2008, he played with the New England Patriots until an injury ended his season early with him retiring in 2009. Over the course of his career, John has started over 100 games and has 10 play-off appearances. After retiring from the NFL, John got involved with CrossFit and eventually developed the CrossFit Football program, but we’ll let him explain how that all went down. John has worked with the MLB, NFL, NHL, Olympic athletes as well as the Military, and he currently travels the world lecturing on performance and nutrition for Power Athlete.   For more info on John, check out Power Athlete, Johnnie WOD, and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Dave Werner co-founded the first ever CrossFit affiliate. Dave is a Navy SEAL veteran, a highly experienced strength coach, founder of moveSKILL.com, and a long time leader in the fitness industry. He authored the Athletic Skill Levels© in 2006, a tool for gauging general fitness, which is now used by athletes and gyms all over the world. MoveSKILL.com, is an online resource for people seeking improved general fitness and helping them reach the strength and conditioning goals described by the Athletic Skill Levels. Before joining the U.S. Navy at age 17, Dave grew up wrestling, working on farms, and playing the cello in Oklahoma and Oregon. We talk to Dave about the earliest days of CrossFit, how affiliation came to be, and even hear the origin of the first named workout.

Brian Mackenzie was involved with CrossFit from the very beginning as the SME of CrossFit Endurance. He is an expert in the development and application of custom protocols to optimize human health and performance. His work harnesses and integrates respiratory, movement, strength and endurance-based training approaches to elicit unprecedented positive results. His protocols have been used to accelerate and raise both mental and physical performance in world-class Olympic and professional athletes, top executives, and operators, as well as to improve the health for people suffering from various chronic illnesses. Everyday people have also used Brian’s tools to reduce pathologic stress and to vastly heighten their mental and physical well being and performance. He has gone on to be the Founder & Creative Director of Power Speed Endurance, and the Co-Founder & President of the Health and Human Performance Foundation. We talk about everything from early CrossFit days, to how his methodology has evolved, to his sourdough bread baking practice.   For more info on Brian, follow him on Instagram and Twitter, and check out PSE and follow them on Instagram.

Mike Minium started coaching when he was only 14, coaching adults and kids in tennis. He played competitive tennis through college, but never strayed too far from coaching, eventually focusing on general strength and conditioning. He discovered CrossFit in 2003, and was amazed at the impact it had on his fitness. He immediately got certified to coach and opened the very first CrossFit gym in the Bay Area. Mike has now expanded the CrossFit Oakland family to three locations. In this episode, we hear how Mike got started with CrossFit and discuss the importance of using CrossFit to improve athletic performance outside of the gym.   For more info on Mike, check out CrossFit Oakland or follow them on Facebook.

Annie Sakamoto was one of the first women to take up CrossFit and she went on to become a trainer, affiliate owner, competitor, and one of the most beloved icons of the sport. She was one of the original “Nasty Girls”, pushing the limits of human performance not just for women, but humans in general. She placed in the top 10 three of the four times she competed in the CrossFit Games and was awarded the spirit of the Games award in 2011. Most recently she placed 3rd in the Legends division of the Rogue Invitational. In this episode, Annie runs us through her first experience with CrossFit (and consequently her first case of abdo), her affiliate journey, and what she is up to now.   For more info on Annie, check out CrossFit Santa Cruz Central or follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

Tom Brose took a trip to Santa Cruz in 2005 to check out something called CrossFit. He trained alongside some of the earliest CrossFit legends, and learned directly from CrossFit founder, Greg Glassman. The intensity stunned him and the insights transformed his view of fitness. But what impressed him the most was the community. Tom has kept this in mind running his affiliate, and the people around him gush about what an amazing community of coaches and members he has built. We get to hear how Tom discovered CrossFit, what the early days were like, and how CrossFit DC has evolved over the years.   For more info on Tom, check out CrossFit DC, or follow them on Instagram and Facebook.