The Mindset Advantage

This week on The MiFit Podcast I chat with the winningest coach in CrossFit, Shane Orr. Shane has coached Mat Fraser and his wife, Tia Toomey for a combined 9 CrossFit Games world Championships. Being a coach myself, I was eager to learn everything I could about how he has trained the best athletes in the world and what makes up a winning environment. Topics-Olympic bobsledding -Coaching Styles-Creating a winning environment-Defining, managing, and modeling expectations-Enjoying the moment-Biggest lesson learned in the past yearIf you enjoyed this episode be sure to leave a rating, review and refer to a friend. The MiFit Podcast Store Link: https://shirt-werks-promotionals-inc.printavo.com/merch/the-mifit-podcast-spring-2021/Use code MIFIT15 to save 15% off @beamUse code MIFIT15 to save 15% off @legends

This week on The MiFit Podcast I chat with William B. Irvine. William practices stoicism and is a professor of philosophy at Wright State University. He is a Stoic author of seven books, including The Stoic Challenge and A Guide to the Good Life. William has also written for the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Salon, Time, and BBC. As many people know, I have a passion for all things stoicism and after reading William’s book, I was eager to get him on the show to take a deeper dive. To me, Stoicism is a philosophy of life that can have a drastic impact on your life and in William’s words can be “practiced in a three day weekend.”Topics-How William got started on his stoic path-What does it mean to live a good life?-3 stoic practices to living a stoic life when faced with adversity-How better view setbacks-The Stoic Challenge-What it means to be calm and resilient-How do stoics view failure?-Favorite stoic quotesBuy Williams latest book at https://www.williambirvine.com/booksFollow his website at https://www.williambirvine.com/If you enjoyed this show be sure to leave a rating, review, and refer to a friend, Your feedback and shares on social media energize me and I always love to hear your biggest takeaway from the episode.Enjoy MiFit Podcast discounts at the followingUse Code MIFIT15 for 15% off @beamUse Code MIFIT15 for 15% off @Legends

This week on the MiFit Podcast I’m accompanied by Dr. Stacy Sims. Stacy is a leader in research on differences between men and women in training. She has spent the last decade focusing on how to improve women’s experiences, life, and the correct approach to training, recovery and fueling your body for optional performance. Dr. Sims has an incredible resume including writing the best selling book, ROAR: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology, a Ted Speaker, and a world-class scientist in pursuit to demystifying the misconceptions of the female body. My goal of this interview was to learn, teach, and inspire other coaches in the fitness industry (men and women) to start educating on themselves on the major differences in training both sexes. Admittedly, there are a lot of nuances that I wasn’t familiar with but I am confident that having some of these tips in my coaching toolbox will make me a more rounded coach, life partner, and friend. So, whether you are a female, or coach a female, or are in a relationship with a female, there are tons of great takeaways for you.Topics-Why are woman not getting studied as much as men-At what age do coaches and parents need to start having conversations with their daughters about their cycles and training-How does tracking your cycle play a pivotal role in athletics?-How can females plan ahead if they know their period lands on competition day?-Honest thoughts on birth control-Impacts of high intensity training on men vs woman-How keto and intermittent fasting are not optimal diets for woman-Post workout differences between men and womanFollow Stacy atIG @drstacysimsWebsite https://www.drstacysims.com/about-stacyAnd purchase her book at https://www.amazon.com/ROAR-Fitness-Physiology-Optimum-Performance/dp/1623366860If you enjoyed this episode be sure to leave a rating, review, and refer the show to a friend. Your feedback is very much appreciated and helps the show grow tremendously. Thank you all for the support along this journey. 

This week on The MiFit Podcast I chat with New York Yankees hitting coach, Rachel Balkovec. Rachel has been in professional baseball coaching for 8 years and was the first female to be a full time strength and conditioning coach when she worked for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Astros. Early in her career Rachel had to overcome extreme adversity and discrimination when she was applying for coaching jobs in baseball and even went as far as chaining her name on her resume to prove a point to the teams in the MLB. Rachel works extremely hard on her craft, she’s constantly trying to see the bigger picture in life, and she’s never too good for a job or task that is given to her. In many ways, Rachel has carved a path for woman who want to pursue coaching at the professional sports level and it was an absolute honor to have her on my show. Topics-Rachel’s story changing her name on her resume-Finding your identity outside of your career-What it means to be an extreme personal responsibilitist-How to stand out in a crowded industry-Using love and accountability to get the most out of your athletes-#NotDoneYet-Biggest struggle people are having in their careerFollow Rachel on IG at @rachel.balkovec or check out her website at https://www.rachelbalkovec.com If you enjoyed this show please be sure to leave a rating, review, and refer it to a friend. Your feedback is important to me and often times energizes me to keep putting out top-notch content. Thank you all for tuning in.

This week on the MiFit Podcast I am accompanied by Dr. Caroline Leaf. Dr. Leaf is a communication pathologist and cognitive neuroscientist with a Masters and PhD in Communication Pathology and a BS in Logopaedics, specializing in cognitive and metacognitive neuropsychology. Since the early 1980’s Dr. Caroline has researched the mind-brain connection, the nature of mental health, and the formation of memory. She was one of the first in her field to study how the brain can change with directed mind input. Dr. Caroline is also a best selling author of several books and his very excited about her new book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress, and Toxic Thinking which comes out today! Dr. Leaf’s mission is to make mental health care more affordable, applicable, and accessible worldwide, and to reduce the stigma around mental health. Topics-Where does the passion and motivation come from for Dr. Caroline?-The impact COVID-19 has had on mental health-What is Neuroplasticity?-The lasting affects on identifying someone as depressed or anxious-The Mind-Body-Brain connection-5 Steps of the Neurocycle Purchase Dr. Caroline’s brand new book: https://www.amazon.com/Cleaning-Your-Mental-Mess-Scientifically/dp/0801093457Also follow her onIG @drcarolineleafWebsite https://drleaf.comYouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/DrCarolineLeafTed Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjhANyrKpv8Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cleaning-up-the-mental-mess-with-dr-caroline-leaf/id1334767397If you enjoyed this episode be sure to leave a rating, review, and refer the show to a friend. I love seeing the episodes pop-up on your Instagram stories and it not only makes my day, but also energizes me to continue to put out weekly content. Thank you all for the support

This week on The MiFit Podcast I bring back friend, Marcus Filly. Marcus is a former 6x CrossFit Games athlete and has now shifted his focus to building his business, Revival Strength, and spreading the word about Functional Body Building. Marcus has spent several years in the gym training for a variety of different events whether it be college soccer, the CrossFit Games, the Grid league, and now with functional body building. What I admire most about Marcus is his thoughtfulness towards all things health and fitness related. He takes time to slow things down, reflect on them, and give accurate answers that are applicable for people of all fitness levels. Today’s conversation was one of my favorites and I guarantee you will love it as well!Topics-Take aways from COVID-19 and being shut down-Understanding what it means to train like an athlete-Body Composition Training- where are people going wrong?-Where does conditioning play a role in body composition training?-How to prescribe and perform Aerobic Body Building sessionsFollow Marcus atIG @marcusfillyYouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/marcusfillyWebsite https://revival-strength.comPodcast https://revival-strength.com/podcast/If you enjoyed this episode be sure to leave a rating, review, and share it with a friend. Your feedback is important to me and seeing the shares on Instagram is truly energizing for me. Thank you all for the support. 

-How Jon turned into “The Positive Guy”-Common characteristics of the best coaches -Talk to yourself vs. listen to yourself-Feeding the positive dog-Energy Vampires-Advice to the senior in high school who’s life has been flipped upside down due to COVID-19Follow Jon atIG @jongordon11Website: https://www.jongordon.comNew Book The Garden: https://www.jongordon.com/books/garden/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/JonGordonSelects

This week on The MiFit Podcast I chat with EC Synkowski, owner of OptimizeMe Nutrition and founder of the 800g challenge. EC’s mission is to provide solutions for anyone to improve their weight, health, and overall wellbeing through sustainable diet methods. EC has incredible resume including a BS in biochemical engineering, a first MS in environmental sciences, and a second MS in Nutrition and Functional Medicine. EC is also a Level 4 CrossFit Trainer and worked on the seminar staff from 2011-2017. Synkowski has also accumulated over 600 hours public speaking including being on the Tedx stage in Bolder, Colorado. What I admire most about EC is her ability to break down a complex subject like nutrition into digestible bites for her audience and clients. This chat today is an insightful conversation for all fitness levels to improve their nutritional habits. Topics-The fundamentals of a healthy diet-Quality vs. Quantity-The 800g challenge-Creating buy-in and autonomy for clients-What most people are wasting their time on when it comes to nutrition-Role of sleep and hydration for body composition-Better understanding food labels-#1 frustration with the American diet-Over rated vs. under ratedFollow EC atIG @optimizemenutritionWebsite: https://optimizemenutrition.com/about/Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-consistency-project/id1515808276Ted Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erdk0na5yMIIf you enjoyed this show be sure to leave a rating, review, and refer it to a friend. Thank you so much for listening and spending an hour of your day with The MiFit Podcast.

This week on The MiFit Podcast I bring back friend and mentor, Sam Smith. I recently had the opportunity to travel to Arizona for vacation and had some time to workout at Opex Hq and hangout with Sam. In today’s episode Sam and I took a deeper dive how weightlifting is expressed in the sport of CrossFit and how we as coaches can help our athletes progress weightlifting in such a chaotic sport. If you enjoy learning about the nuances of programming then this episode is for you.Topics-Difference between Weightlifting and CrossFit as a sport-Pre-requisites of building your snatch and clean and jerk-How strong do you need to be?-Using structural balance to determine an athletes needs-Progressing an athlete from a non-fatigued state to fatigued state-Barbell cycling in the sport of CrossFitTo read more of Sam’s content check out these linksIG @coachsamsmithBlog: https://www.thebigdawgs.com/blogThank you leaving rates, reviews, and referring the show to your friends. It means a lot and I love seeing it! 

This week on the show I chat with Human Performance Specialist PJ Nestler. PJ has trained dozens of athletes from the UFC, NFL, NHL, and MLB and he has become a leader in combat sports performance training having worked with over 100 professional fighters. He is currently the Director of Sports Performance for XPT Life where his role entails researching and developing educational curriculums around XPT’s Breathe-Move-Recover pillars and teaching certification programs for coaches and trainers. What I admire most about PJ is his holistic outlook towards training clients. PJ does a phenomenal job looking at the athlete/client through a lifestyle lens and helps to guide them towards living a healthy and active life. Topics-Understanding the XPT lifestyle-Being a curious coach-5 Pillars of health and wellness-The importance of connection-Breath Work-Down regulating post workoutFollow PJIG @coachpjnestlerYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/coconutpete24Website: https://www.xptlife.comIf you enjoyed this show be sure to leave a rating, review, and refer a friend. Your feedback and ratings energize me and help boost our numbers the rankings. Thank you for listening!