

The B.rad Podcast
Brad Kearns
Join Brad Kearns, New York Times bestselling author, world #1 ranked masters 60+ high jumper, Speedgolf world record holder, and former world #3 ranked pro triathlete, in pursuing peak performance with passion throughout life. Brad delivers an engaging mix of step-by-step education on important health topics like staying fit, strong and powerful as you age; transforming diet to lose body fat and increase energy; sort through hype and misinformation to make simple, sustainable lifestyle changes; and broaden your perspective beyond a fit body to experience happy relationships, nonstop personal growth, and ultimately sail to 100 with a happy, healthy, long life. Let’s explore beyond shortcuts, hacks, and crushing competition to laugh, have fun, appreciate the journey, and not take ourselves too seriously. It’s time to B.rad!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 21, 2018 • 59min
Gitta Sivander: Brad’s Class Clown Epiphanies Along with Parenting Insights
I stay true to his mission on the Get Over Yourself podcast and record the stuff that happens after the stop button is usually pushed on a formal show. Sure enough, Gitta and I kept rolling after wrapping up our previously published show. After a few minutes, sensing the momentum, I reflexively pushed the record button again and away we went. I explain how at the end of the first show, I experienced an epiphany about why I was alternatively a painfully shy teenager in normal social settings, but a brazen class clown inside the confines of the classroom. I could pop off with abandon, perhaps emboldened by the notion that the teacher would eventually reign me in. However, I could never close any deals outside of the classroom, which required being more authentic and vulnerable than I was capable of at that age. Gitta delivers some winning tips about how to overcome adolescent shyness; alas, 35 years too late for me, but whatever. The discussion flows with a shout out to film and television star Robin Wright (whom I reparteé’d with at high school high jump practices), my epic quip in 8th grade sex education class that launched my career as class clown, and how I decided to transform my personality with a snap of the fingers upon leaving for college. Parenting is the next topic tackled head on, particularly the disturbing trend of helicopter parenting and over pressurized childhoods. Compare and contrast with Gitta’s German and Swedish cultural influences, where kids are less sheltered, less pressured, and given more responsibility and accountability (you won’t believe what Gitta allowed her kid to do in the kitchen when he was 18 months old!) Gitta explains how she attempts to reconcile personal and cultural values with the guilt and pressure elicited by prevailing parenting and cultural values in the affluent Marin County scene (former hood of Robin Wright, yo.) I mention the fabulous New York Times article that instantly transformed my attitude about parenting, and that he thinks about every single day since: How Not To Talk To Your Kids—The Inverse Power of Praise. This piece, which we will discuss further in future shows, honored the revolutionary work of Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, promoter of the growth mindset over the fixed mindset. With your kids, praise the effort, not the character attributes. The provocative suggestion is offered that you might never want to tell your child, “I’m proud of you.” OMG, horrors! Instead, consider reframing to say, “You should be proud of yourself,” so the kid can own their own accomplishments instead of become a show pony for parent amusement and cocktail party fodder. Gitta speculates that we have most influence over our children when they are ages 0-6. After that, we have much less than we might think. Plug into this unplugged show and see what you think!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-get-over-yourself-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 18, 2018 • 1h 25min
Gitta Sivander: Dynamic Expression Communication Tips
Gitta is an expert on dynamic expression, the integration of various modalities to improve your communication skills, including integrated physical therapy, yoga, dance, neurolinguistic programming (NLP), Somatic Movement and Laban Movement Analysis. Gitta will discuss her PACE approach to improving not just your public speaking, but your overall communication skills in any setting. Yeah, including dating, job interviews, managing others, or being a partner or a parent. PACE stands for Presence, Authenticity, Confidence, and Expression. We’ll also talk about introverts and extroverts, and common misconceptions around these characteristics. Learning more about somatic movement, the blending of mind and body communication, and how Gitta’s term “body communication” is more useful than the more common term, body language.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-get-over-yourself-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 11, 2018 • 1h 20min
Dave Rossi: Overcoming Fear and Anxiety With Values and Vision
Dave Rossi is a motivational speaker, retreat leader, and personal, business, and achievement coach. I spoke at one of Dave’s leadership retreats and saw something special in his message and the passion and intensity with which he delivered it, so I caught up with Dave at the swanky panky Courtside Athletic Club in San Jose, CA. Dave brings his A-game to the podcast with some fabulous insights on leadership, peak performance and overcoming fear and anxiety. “Fear is like a giant App on your phone, running in the background and using up battery life.” Don’t live like this any longer! Dave will help you address and process your issues, reprogram self-limiting beliefs, and understand that stress, pressure, fear, anxiety and the like are choices that you have the power to change. Even though the recording session got busted up a few times at the noisy health club, Dave kept bringing the heat and delivering valuable insights. Take some notes, take this stuff to heart, and execute the objectives. Learn more about Dave and his amazing journey of personal transformation that led him to this calling at DaveRossiGlobal.com.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-get-over-yourself-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 7, 2018 • 39min
Peak Performance Without Suffering (Breather Episode with Brad)
Start HIRTing instead of HIITing - this show will transform your approach to training. Let’s call this a long Breather show to honor the message that you should take longer breathers during your high intensity training sessions. This show is appropriate for all fitness enthusiasts, because we have widespread training protocols that are fatiguing and destructive at the cellular level. Thanks to Craig Marker at StrongFirst.com for the inspiration and detailed quotable material that formed the foundation of this show. It’s time to evolve from the dated and misappropriated HIIT training (High Intensity Interval Training) concept to HIRT (High Intensity Repeat Training.) Essentially, you want to focus on shorter sprints that will stimulate maximum fitness benefits before generating too much cellular damage and ammonia toxicity that can compromise your fat reduction goals. You also want to allow I talk about a recent breakthrough in my fitness performance and recovery where I do fewer sprints, rest longer between efforts, and have better results. I also tone down my ambitious high intensity workouts that last too long and overstimulate stress hormones in favor of what Dr. Phil Maffetone calls “slow weights.” Here, I do spontaneous efforts of only a single set of a single exercise. For example, I invested in a hexagonal deadlift bar, which sits in my backyard and gets some action several times a day to the tune of 6 reps and I drop the bar and go about my business. I also have StretchCordz hanging from a pullup bar in my recording studio, which I will hit a couple/few times per day for single set efforts. If you add this up over a year’s time, I will obtain fabulous strength benefits but avoid the overstress consequnces of heavy duty workouts as I exist here in the 50+ age group. The conversation gets a little sciency, as I wanted to attempt to explain the cellular damage that occurs when you try to sprint for longer than 10 seconds. This stuff was detailed beautifully in Craig Marker’s HIIT vs HIRT article. Another insight from Marker is that, "Your feelings don’t matter! That is, your subjective feeling of the effectiveness of a workout is not as important as what science tells us is important to building an impressive base of endurance and changing your body composition.” Marker explains that people love to do exhausting HIIT workouts, end lying in a pool of sweat on the floor and bathe in the cocktail of endorphin hormones that deliver that drug-line painkilling sensation. The problem is we tend to eat more food and become lazier throughout the day as a consequence of our high stress workouts. Please enjoy this show and don’t learn the hard way like I did that you should not feel sore and tired after hard workouts over and over for years and years. Go harder, go shorter, rest longer, and forget the grueling ethos that many group workouts promote. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-get-over-yourself-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 4, 2018 • 1h 42min
Martin Brauns: Retired Silicon Valley CEO and Evolved Leader
Martin is the retired CEO of Interwoven, Inc. and all around peak performer striving to balance his natural competitive intensity with an evolved perspective. At Interwoven, Martin presided over a classic dotcom startup sensation, taking the web content management software company from the basement to a successful public offering at breakneck speed, riding the wave to a $6 billion valuation at one point, and then having to abruptly shift gears to weather the economic collapse and keep the entity thriving. Interwoven was later acquired by a larger enterprise and technically still exists today—probably a one in 100 success story in the world of high flying software startups. Martin is an understated guy quick to bestow credit to others. He avoids the spotlight and the silly excess consumption seen with many of his ilk. Only with coaxing from me did he dispense some of his fabulous leadership and peak performance insights that can help you understand how he got to the top of the most competitive economic environment on the planet by being kind, generous, open-minded, and leading a healthy, fit, and balanced lifestyle. You’ll hear how Martin worked his way through college, reached for and thrived in jobs that were above his qualifications, and managed the disparate challenges of growing Interwoven at record pace and then quickly having to tighten the reins and get lean ‘n mean. While Martin followed the classic script of striking Silicon Valley gold and retiring to the top of the hill before reaching 50, the story takes some surprising twists and turns toward the end. As he (literally) sailed off into the sunset, Martin relates how his competitive drive got the better of him and led to disillusionment in the face of a great competitive victory. He was compelled to slow down, get off his boat, get over himself, and reflect more carefully on what it means to win in whatever game of life you are playing. Martin may suggest that he is “old news” in the age of Facebook and Google tech hotshots, but his valuable insights may get you to think differently about your role as a leader, your career aspirations, and constantly assessing and reassessing your priorities. There are so many cool tidbits in this show, including how Lance Armstrong himself (at the height of his fame in pre-scandal Tour de France legend mode), was “intimidated” when he first met Martin, how Martin likes to hire people with an “owner, not renter” mentality, the mandatory best practices and stratification for email, telephone/voicemail, and in-person communications in the workplace, how young aspirants might best put some time in with bigger operations and avoid startup fever, how we best pace ourselves instead of romanticizing workaholism. “Be suspicious of heroism,” Martin says. Enjoy this show and pull down some memorable insights to be the best you can be in all of your competitive pursuits.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-get-over-yourself-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 30, 2018 • 27min
Longcuts to a Longer Life, Part 2 (Breather Episode with Brad)
Welcome to part two breather show; Long Cuts to a Longer Life. Getting your diet and exercise routine dialed is certainly an essential entry point to leading a long, healthy, happy life. But it’s only a portion of the big picture. Sleep is arguably more important than any other lifestyle practice, because if its compromised than other bets are off. In hectic, high-tech modern life, our stress management skills are in higher demand than any other time in the history of humanity. Finally, relationships are what make the world go round, but we often neglect them in favor of tangible objectives like filling our plate with healthy food, filling our logbook with impressive workouts, and filling our bank account with money. With sleep, the biggest objective is to minimize artificial light and digital stimulation after dark. This interferes with your circadian rhythm where you are programmed to slow down, wind down, release melatonin and get sleepy in the hours after dark. It’s also important to create a quiet, cool, clutter free, dark sleeping environment. With stress management, our main objective today is to manage our use of technology so it doesn’t overwhelm our lives. Give your off button a good workout every single day, your health depends on it. Suffering from FOMO—Fear Of Missing Out? Don’t worry, you’re not that important (unless you’re my sister delivering babies at night, then you can leave your phone on. Otherwise, power down!)Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-get-over-yourself-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 27, 2018 • 1h 25min
Ben Greenfield: Cutting Edge Peak Performance and Longevity
Ben Greenfield is gonna rock your world. No one, and I mean no one, is out as far on the cutting edge as this guy! Ben’s deep deep immersion into bio-hacking, peak performance, and health optimization is enough to make your head spin. At times, he may seem over the top to the average citizen trying to cover the basic health objectives and then get enough sleep, but those who follow Greenfield quickly come to understand that the trail he is blazing is for not just our education, but also amusement and inspiration. He is like the George Plimpton of bio-hacking, submitting his body to science for our edification. Get a load of his bio to get you in the proper frame of mind for the show: “Ben is a biohacker, human body and brain performance coach, ex-bodybuilder, Ironman triathlete, professional Spartan athlete, anti-aging consultant, speaker and author of the New York Times Bestseller, Beyond Training: Mastering Endurance, Health and Life. Ben is an extremely knowledgeable and serious scholar of health science, but I really love his lighthearted side where he makes goofball selfie videos and gives his followers unfiltered access to the way he and his family life daily life. He touts so many cutting edge products and strategies you are going to want to pick and choose stuff to try out, but if nothing else, Ben will get you thinking and reflecting about how close to your personal A game you are getting each day—especially because today, we are leading lives of unprecedented ease, luxury, and convenience. Of course, there are all kinds of disastrous consequences to leading our soft modern lives, and sometimes we forget about simple, fun changes you can make to optimize your daily routine. Take some notes about the amazingly adventurous and productive typical day of Ben’s, and you will get pumped up to tackle new challenges. Enjoy some more background about Ben, and check out his blog and podcast at BenGreenfieldFitness.com. He has recently started a grand endeavor called GetKion.com that features his custom designed nutritional and health products. In 2008, Ben was voted as NSCA’s Personal Trainer of the year, in 2013 and 2014 was named by Greatist as one of the top 100 Most Influential People In Health And Fitness, and Ben's articles, podcast and videos reach over a million unique views each month. Ben resides in Spokane, WA with his wife and twin boys. With nearly two decades of experience working as a strength and conditioning coach, exercise physiologist and biomechanist, Ben is also the man responsible for maximizing performance, recovery, fat loss, digestion, brain, sleep and hormone optimization for CEO’s, ultra-endurance competitors, and a wide variety of professional athletes, including poker champions, tennis players, motocross competitors, the NFL, the NHL, the UFC and beyond. Using his vast knowledge of science and research, in-the-trenches experience, and unique set of cutting-edge brain and body biohacking techniques, Ben cuts through the clutter, confusion and snake oil and instead delivers total human optimization in the fastest, cleanest and safest way possible. Let’s roll!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-get-over-yourself-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 23, 2018 • 18min
Longcuts to a Longer Life, Part 1 (Breather Episode with Brad)
Are you tired of hearing the terms “hacks” and “shortcuts” when it comes to healthy living? So am I! Leading a healthy, balanced life is inherently enjoyable. Sometimes the best things in life take extra time. For example, preparing a fresh, home cooked meal. These Longcuts are related to diet and exercise. These tips are simple, common sense and easy to implement into daily life. Eat only clean, colorful, nutritious foods. Ditch toxic modern foods like sugars, grains and refined vegetable oils. Make mealtimes calm, relaxed, and unhurried. Eat in a maximum window of 12 hours (e.g. 8am to 8pm). Strive to ditch carb dependency and trend toward becoming fat- and keto-adapted. With exercise, it seems like increasing general everyday movement is becoming the number one priority, arguably more important that actual workouts! Honor the Primal Blueprint philosophy of moving frequently at a slow pace, lifting heavy things, and sprinting once in a while. Brief, intense workouts optimize hormones and stimulate fitness improvement. It’s critical to avoid anything resembling a chronic exercise pattern. This is a huge and common mistake for everyone from elite athletes and novices. Also realize that the harder you train, the harder you have to recover. Stay tuned for an important Part 2 of Longcuts, relating to sleep, stress management and relationships.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-get-over-yourself-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 20, 2018 • 1h 38min
Dr. Kelly Starrett: Mobility King
Kelly is one of the great thought leaders on the planet earth. In person, he is the funniest and most dynamic presenter you will ever see. When he wowed guests at our PrimalCon retreats, he had people alternatively in stitches and absolutely captivated by his breakthrough approach to mobility, flexibility, and correct human functional movement for all activities. Kelly, aka K-Starr, is a physical therapist, former elite level whitewater kayak athlete, proprietor of San Francisco CrossFit, creator of the popular MobilityWOD.com website, and author of Becoming a Supple Leopard—perhaps the most comprehensive volume on mobility, flexibility, functionality, healing and prevention for athletic folks ever in the history of the world. Visit MobilityWOD.com to get a free 10-day dose of Kelly and his highly engaging, informal, and humorous style with which he conveys his unique and effective approach. Via his books and MobilityWOD videos, you can get everything you need to heal lifelong injuries and dysfunction quickly, and improve your performance dramatically by optimizing technique and minimizing injury risk. Kelly has basically created an entire new language and colorful vocabulary relating to warm up, injury prevention, rehabilitation, and improving fitness technique and general function. Terminology like “flossing,” “bashing,” “tacking,” and “mobilizing” relate to creative use of implements like foam rollers, golf balls, long rubber “voodoo floss” straps, and (his favorite) lacrosse balls in an aggressive and focused manner to increase blood flow, improve range of motion, and facilitate healing in muscles and connective tissue. Once your mobility improves, you then have a fighting chance at exhibiting correct functional movement during exercise and daily life (e.g., running with a balanced center of gravity over your feet and an efficient dorsiflexion of the foot on each stride), such that you won’t be doomed to a lifetime of repeating injuries, both acute and overuse. While Kelly was classically trained as a doctor of physical therapy, but this stuff is leaps and bounds beyond anything you’ve seen before. If you standing at the cutting edge of fitness and performance, you will bump into Kelly for sure. I relate on the podcast intro the single sentence he uttered to me on a phone call that helped me cure my long-starting and treatment resistance case of tennis elbow (tennis elbow caused by excessive golf!). If you search your podcast app for Kelly Starrett, you will get an abundance of content options for Kelly going off on his area of expertise. Tune into one of the shows and get a megadose of awesome. What’s great about our conversation is I wound this man up in the back room of SF Crossfit and he went off on a beautiful theme of simplicity and simple strategy to live a healthy, balanced life. We get so wrapped up in the details and sophistication of modern health practices that we forget how tech addiction and unconscious lazy habits can trash the best laid plans and the most motivated Type A peak performers. Kelly’s show will trip you out and will inspire you to relax, slow down, take a baby step in the right direction each day, and make some simple changes to daily habits that will make success and compliance easier and easier. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-get-over-yourself-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 16, 2018 • 19min
Fixing College & Pro Sports (Brad and Isaac Rochell) (Breather Episode with Brad)
After my interview with LA Chargers defensive end and all-around thoughtful guy Isaac Rochell, we keep talking about how college and pro sports can improve the way they conduct business and treat athletes. I propose numerous innovations I would make as a professional team owner, such as giving each player a free driver, chef, bodyguard and massage therapist. After all, these guys are each multimillion-dollar economic entities individually, so they should be cared for as such by the team. On the flip side, Isaac explains the importance of athletes investing in their own health and well being—not just to sustain a productive career for as long as possible, but also to support long-term health after retirement. Isaac then hangs up the phone to go make a healthy meal and do some yoga, and I go off further on the topic of fixing pro sports. First (sorry Isaac), we probably should phase out tackle football and replace it with soccer. Football is a magnificent athletic spectacle, and a tremendous growth experience for players working hard to contribute to a team effort. I also think the players are pushed too hard to play too many games. This is driven by money and disregarding player health and longevity. Recall a few years back how coach Greg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs stood up to the ridiculousness of the NBA schedule by benching star players who weren’t injured. This is against the rules, drew a big fine to the Spurs, and the coach said “whatever” because he wants to win in the playoffs. You’ll be shocked at the crazy reason why NBA teams fly their private jets all night, trashing the players’ sleep cycles. And the disparate types of NBA athletes—some incredibly committed to training/recovery/healthy living (aka Kobe Bryant and LeBron James), some pretty much there, and some pretty much just coasting along on talent and blowing lots of Benjamin’s leading the high life. Are you one of those people who think athletes are paid too much? Think again, as we learn some free market realities from economics 101. I share the top-secret sage advice that I dispensed to Lance Armstrong that was brilliant at the time, but came back to bite him in the bust and cost big legal fees years later. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-get-over-yourself-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.