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Primal Foundations Podcast
Welcome to the Primal Foundations Podcast! We will dive into what I believe are the 4 essential foundations you need to live a healthy lifestyle.
Strength , Nutrition , Movement , and Recovery.
Get ready to dive into discussions that will guide you on your transformative journey to unlocking your path to optimal health.
Don't miss out on the latest episodes – subscribe now to the Primal Foundations Podcast.
Primal Foundations Podcast
Bonus Episode: #3 Let's Talk Strength Podcast
Bonus Episode!!!!
In this episode of Let’s Talk Strength, we kick off the year by diving into the classic theme of New Year’s resolutions. Together, we unpack why so many people struggle to stick to their goals and offer actionable advice to make 2025 the year of lasting change.
We’ll explore effective training protocols, including rep counts and strategies to maximize progress in the gym. On the nutrition front, we tackle common challenges, like finding balance and overcoming the mental blocks that often derail even the best intentions.
Whether you’re starting fresh or looking to refine your approach, this episode is packed with insights to help you set realistic goals, stay consistent, and build a mindset for success. Tune in for practical tips, motivational stories, and plenty of laughs as we help you make "New Year, New Me" more than just a catchphrase—let’s make it a lifestyle!
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Hosts:
@tony_primalfoundations
@ngeorgeson
@nathanbanuelos_
PRIMAL FOUNDATIONS PODCAST-
Instagram: @Tony_PrimalFoundations
Website: Primalfoundations.com
The Strength Kollective:
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And welcome to another episode of the let's Talk Strength podcast, where we discuss programming, share coaching insights and dive into all things strength training. I'm Tony Pascola, and today we have Nate Benuelos and Nikki Jorgensen on the podcast and we're back in the studio.
Speaker 2:We're back, we're back.
Speaker 1:We're live Tom in the back as well. So since last time, we just wanted to kind of kick it off with some updates and things that are going on. So if you want to start, nate what's been new?
Speaker 3:Yeah we ended last time and I just gave a little announcement about like Third Coast, kettlebell and just all things going on with Third Coast. But we are officially in a new location. We're in Chicago, strength Logan Square and running classes now monthly. So it's been. It was awesome. You guys both came. I hope it was fun right, yeah it was a good time.
Speaker 3:It was awesome having you both, but yeah, we have classes just going. We're going to be the first Sunday of every month, so just going to try to stick to that cadence and hopefully we can see some amazing Chicagoland folks come out and hang out with us.
Speaker 1:So yeah, it's, it's. Uh, you guys are typically on the beach. We used to be on the beach, so now it's actually like indoors for now. Um, and it's crazy, in Chicago it's 50 degrees outside, which is nuts but a little spoiled.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we're very spoiled for.
Speaker 1:December, and then Nikki. What about you? What's been new since the last podcast?
Speaker 2:Well we. I ended the last podcast with announcing that I am moving to Europe T minus one week from tomorrow.
Speaker 3:So there was a lot crazy, absolutely crazy.
Speaker 2:So there's been a lot going on the last couple of months leading up to this point. My app launched and business is going fully online, so really excited for you. But now I'm getting a little FOMO. I'm getting a little starting to get FOMO. So I'll definitely miss a lot of things here and obviously everything in person, but big leap, both personally and professionally. But I'm I'm pumped.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we were talking kind of off camera like oh well, we're going to visit Lisbon now, so which is fine by us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so hopefully Lisbon 2025 or 2026 retreat all things bells, food and adventure, so stay tuned for that one.
Speaker 1:Stay tuned.
Speaker 3:Let's go.
Speaker 1:Uh, and then on my end I just uh hosting some kettlebell classes at uh Chicago strength, the river North location, and also some classes in the West loop at all emotion. So, and I'm actually doing varying away from the kettlebell and we're doing a barbell class coming up, so it's's gonna be pretty sweet, so I need it. Yeah, sfl sfl yeah so you definitely need it. Nate's sfl. I'll be possibly instructing or sorry, no, I'm not instructing. I am assisting assisting uh either sfl or sfg at the dome this year.
Speaker 1:Oh my god, that's so fun, that's awesome but today we want to kind of talk about you know we get this all the time and now, like we're gonna kind of move this into some like holiday, new year stuff, but uh, like workout routines of what do you do on the day-to-day, like what's your routine, because I know we all get the question, um, but nicky started the last podcast off nate, I'm gonna throw it to you this time Like what, when people ask you like oh, what's your workout routine? Like what's? Like the response you usually give?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so, um, I think right now my routine is kind of changing, uh like every quarter I'd say, but right now, um, it's pretty lax, especially with the holidays. There's a lot, a lot of stress during this time of year. So I do want to acknowledge, like you know, this time of year you're, you're interacting with a lot of people um year end stuff, uh, you know, work, business, school, um, that kind of thing. But, um, right now I'm kind of like like slowing down, so I'm like tearing down my workouts. I'm only like strength training, like three days a week right now, um, and then a couple of days of cardio, uh, and then I'm practicing swimming. So so, just, uh, yeah, like you know, I wanted to mix up cardio and do something different. Um, so, uh, I wasn't always a strong swimmer, so just picking that up and and and and learning swimming, this, uh, this, uh holiday, so, um, but yeah, three days strength, three days cardio.
Speaker 2:Nice, yeah, what about you, Nikki? Funny you asked Tony. There's really been lack thereof in terms of movement. That's because I'm going through a huge life transition right now and so I'm someone kind of like Nate. Usually my training differs quarter to quarter. I'm a very seasonal person in that way and obviously it depends on the goal. But definitely for the last month, since there has been a lot going on, it's been kind of full recovery mode and trying to move as much as I possibly can. But then I lean into nutrition, water, sleep. I mean, I've been sleeping. My sleep has never been better just because, like Nate, I've just been tapering off of training, both in intensity and frequencies. So usually at this time of year maybe two times a week just to stay pain free, but for the next two weeks I'm actually taking off completely.
Speaker 1:Nice, nice. Yeah, just the holidays and the, the stress, and I think that's like this is the time of the year especially. I've had conversations with you guys like this. Past two months have been like a lot of work, a lot of a lot of stress with work and just a lot of different things happening. So I only like work out three days a week and like that is my, my only routine right now is monday or tuesday.
Speaker 1:I will um squat, that's it. Barbell squat I will, because I can knock that out in like 40 minutes, warm up 40 minutes and then I'll go into. Like tuesday will be like a push, like bench press, and then friday or saturday will be a deadlift and pull-ups and like that's it. That's all I've been doing. And then if I could fit in a workshop or something like that and it's not what I would like, I'm just kind of cramming it in, but that's all I can kind of give right now at this time of the year with things going on Family and I agree with you guys, it's like it's okay, it's not what we kind of want in our training, but if it's all we can give at that time, like that's okay. And you're kind of talking about like this demand versus like this capacity. And when you guys go through these changes, what are some things that you think about you know diving into like a new program or you Nate, you're saying you were on the quarter system, kind of yeah.
Speaker 3:So I think, even right now, um, you know, it was just power one day a week, like I'm training some sort of power speed drills. I'll even do like a sprint workout, like that'll be my, my one day, that's it, um, and then I'm doing like a push and pull, like the other two days. Um, but like just having those three things right now, keeping my rhythm, and, uh, what's cool about it is you, you start to realize you really don't need that much, like once you have kind of achieved, you know, a certain base. So, um, it's, it's nice to kind of like taper back to your off, especially like from the summer. We're moving so much, like I'm moving so much, like walking and being outside and running, and then you go and then the. You know, life happens in winter. It gets, it gets busy, at least in Chicago, where we're at um Christmas, all that, or holidays, and you want to, you need to slow down, you need to like taper that back a little bit. So, yeah, it's the program.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I pulled some of my cardiovascular work out and I think that we were on a Zoom call and I was telling Nikki about this. It was pretty funny. So I played—I'm an avid badminton player. I love badminton and anytime you guys want to go I'm down and we were playing badminton and some friends came into town and we played for two hours and normally, like I have a gas tank but I haven't been like sprinting or like this much cardio in like two months and I was just on the side like I was like we would play winter stays on.
Speaker 1:I was like so glad to lose because I like went three in a row and I'm like I gotta get off this court. But but I know like running was always like a good base for me and and I had that in the bank and I feel I can slowly get back to that. But like that's one thing where I know it's lacking. I acknowledge it and I know like, okay, as I'm getting out of this holiday season, getting into the new year, like that's going to be a focus of mine is like getting back to, you know, occasional snatch tests, uh, going on long runs. You know different types of like sprints on, like a, like an assault treadmill that has no, no motor, just going and getting back to doing those things. But what about you, nikki, after the move and everything else, are you looking to? You know, looking ahead?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I'm really looking forward to it. I think taking and that's the thing is like I always anticipate taking that time off towards the end of the year because it's just build up and build up and build up and I think everybody feels it, I think everybody's, you know, again trying to meet those demands constantly without really realizing that you just don't have the capacity to do that. And that's okay, it's the end of the year, take some time off, you know, lean into other things that, um, maybe haven't really been in your regimen, something like sprinting or something that doesn't take as much central nervous system demand and I know that's definitely true for me because I can feel that. So again it's shifting.
Speaker 2:I went back to um a beginner kettlebell program because my central nervous system just was is not prepared for the kind of demand that I was doing months previous. So I really enjoy this time to actually lean in to like our conditioning or cardiovascular work that I haven't really focused on in the last couple of months. So I'm really getting excited again more all things kettlebell. So I'll get into my more intermediate advanced once my kettlebells actually get to the apartment. That is on my to-do list is somehow getting all these kettlebells up to our third floor, lisbon apartment.
Speaker 1:So I think once it gets there.
Speaker 3:How does that work?
Speaker 1:I don't know we're going to find out. Okay, have you? You? Have you gotten them yet?
Speaker 2:no, not yet okay so I'm really excited about it and uh, and you know I'll belong to a gym in the area as well, but I think I'm really looking forward going back back to bells nice, back to bells, because I've been barbell most of this year nice and throwing a hot take on this whole thing.
Speaker 1:New Year's resolutions what are our thoughts and do you have any?
Speaker 3:I do.
Speaker 1:All right yeah.
Speaker 3:I want to press the 48 kg this year, 48 kilo press.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, I want to get that.
Speaker 3:At least, I don't think I'll be able to get maybe Beast Tamer, but my goal probably I'll start ramping that up after SFL is to grab the 48 kg press. I need to get it Nice, it's driving me crazy.
Speaker 1:What do you think about New Year's resolutions as a whole, Like as a general, like as clients come up?
Speaker 3:New Year, New Me yeah, okay, I didn't know we were taking that approach. Okay, yeah, okay, I didn't know we were taking that approach, okay, yeah.
Speaker 3:I was like oh, like me, yeah, and you, I want to know you, no, yeah, yeah, new year's resolutions I think I think they're healthy, you know, I think it's, it's an awesome thing. But I also don't think you should. If you have a, a goal that you've been working on or have have had, you shouldn't, like you know, throw that away or get rid of it and restart from ground zero. You know, and I'm going to try to uh re reconstruct this whole thing, this whole process of of health and wellness, like that journey. So, um, yeah, no, I mean, new year's resolution is great. Just keep them, uh, in that like smart category, like you know, make them attainable, make them fun. Uh, in that like smart category, like you know, make them attainable, make them fun uh, make them measurable.
Speaker 1:You know that kind of thing.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, what about you, nikki? Um, personally, I feel like it doesn't really affect me too much. To me, it's same thing different day. Um, I have goals throughout the year and I think we I think we have the skills and knowledge of knowing how to approach it and tackle it. But I think, for others, in any capacity, I fully support the New Year's resolutions because it just gives people the opportunity to reflect and reassess, and if a new year is what triggers that for people, then so be it. I obviously would love for people to do that, you know, maybe multiple times a year, and maybe not limit themselves to waiting or having this come around every single year. But again, if it gets them assessing or looking at the upcoming year and identifying priorities and maybe what they value, then you know I'm all for it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Do you have any new year resolutions? Or because you've mentioned this multiple times, like that, you're very seasonal and it's. Is it always the same things in the season typically?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I do it at the beginning of every quarter. So Todd Baumgardner he has been one of my friends and mentors a very long time and he actually did a workshop on how to goal set. You know there's a skill set to it and he approached it very differently than what I've heard from other coaches and mentors. And that's the one I just really took to, because it's not just about training, it's about life. You know you're understanding your columns and categories as your personal, your professional, your financial, your spiritual, just growth across the board. And then he really coaches you through how to write it down, how to assess it, how to brain dump, how to revisit and I've just gotten myself to kind of revisit it every quarter.
Speaker 2:And understanding, you know, this is still important to me. We're on track to do this, or you know I did write this down but this isn't. You know, I'm discovering this isn't really a priority for me right now. So it's just kind of for me. It's actually the quarterly that gets me into that almost resolution goal setting mode and I think for us we program in 12 week blocks ish for the most part, and so my mind works every 12 weeks, not annually For the most part, and so my mind works every 12 weeks, not annually.
Speaker 1:Okay, I used to be like New Year's resolutions are bullshit. I used to be like just do the thing all year and you're going to be fine. I'm kind of like On social media it drives me crazy.
Speaker 2:You won't find me on social media throughout the New Year because it's so overwhelming to me. I'm like, yes, I know it's a new year, like we go through this every year 2025, this is my year, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And like you were saying, nate too, like it gets people, you know this jumping off point. It gives them like, oh, here's my start date, I'm going to get after it. I always see the people that fizzle out, that after it, I always, I always see the people that fizzle out. That's my biggest thing. That's like you just jump it in the gym. You know this is a we're trainers right. It is a money grab time of the year. Like you're going to be selling programs, you're going to get people in. Um, you're right. I mean, if I could go back, I would put money into planet fitness.
Speaker 3:A hundred percent, especially this time of year. Cause they?
Speaker 1:because they people it's like 13 bucks a month, like you show up, great, if you don't, whatever. And then if you don't show up, it's a 13 charge and somebody's like I'll go next month because it's only 13. Yeah, but times that by a million people yeah we could be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we'd have our own podcast studio yeah yeah for sure, but like, but again, it's just like one of those things where it fizzles out, it's like this new thing, but I I'm like I'm gripping with it. I'm just like, yes, I'm like, for me, I want to like really work on some body comp stuff, which I never really was like. That was never a new year's resolution for me, but now I'm like you know what this year I want to get like into like the 12 15 category for body fat for me and like lean up a little bit and where it's just been like strength training for me as a lot. So, um, but going into that, I know January 15th like I'm not gonna make that much of a change, like January to February, march not going to be huge, it's going to be like incremental as the year goes on. It's just to see.
Speaker 2:Well, and to me, I think resolutions in the beginning of the year and you know people, you know goal setting, and then we know that more than half are going to fizzle out, just statistically, that's exhausting to me. I think there's something about it. For me that is just exhausting because it's like that every year and it's just like this really exhausting cycle of people getting so hyped and then it just fizzles out by February or March. So to me it's just like a very exhausting time.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I want to say one more thing on this is I? People come into the new year and they're like, yeah, I'm gonna start working out for the for the first time in years. Right, like my best advice and my greatest piece of advice is just start, start small and just just slowly like build it up over time you know, just start small.
Speaker 3:Like just, you know, don't, don't go into the gym and and crush yourself. You crush yourself, you're gonna get, you're gonna fizzle out faster. Like to to both your point, both your guys' point Just start small. You know, strength train maybe once or twice a week, hit the bike once a week. You know, keep the, keep the program achievable and build that over time. I think that's way, way more powerful and that hopefully will reduce, like that burnout. Yeah Right, and it's easier to build off of something that's oh, I can go to the gym and do you know some bench press or, or you know some kettlebell swings, or I can go walk on the treadmill, or I can go ride a bike and do it for 20, 30 minutes. That's achievable. You can build that up. You have something to like, build that foundation over time. So I just start small. You know, make it, make it a um, make it a habit of just showing up and and get into the gym and make it, make it easy, make it easy for yourself.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, making it, making it fun, making it tangible. And I think the big thing that we want to talk about today, too, is like setting up your environment for success and what that looks different for other people like your environment might be like I need to find the right gym. I have to find the right gym with the right people with the right attitude. Um, it could be like I need to set up my home for this because I can't get to the gym because I'm a mom, I'm a, I have whatever kind of a job. So how do you guys structure either your environment or think about environment when it comes to, like, physical fitness and I already know you, nate, have an awesome. We always talk about it. You have an awesome home gym. Yeah, it's pretty sweet.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I, you know, to start there, I would say environment is, is the home gym Like, in my opinion, is just just to have some weights, something that can be. It doesn't have to be kettlebells, it can be, it can be dumbbells, it can be bands. It can be just an area or a space that you've created in your home that you know it's, it's, it's clean, it's, it's safe. There's no like, there's no obstructions on the floor. You can get to that spot every single day and be like I can train here. It's comfortable, you know it's. It's. That's part of the environment Doesn't have to be the weights there. You know you buy the weights. You now you have add-ons.
Speaker 3:But yes, the kettlebell gym at home is is amazing. It just increases your chances of staying, staying healthy, you know, staying, staying on the on the wagon, um, so, yeah, you know, but that's, that's a good start, um, but also, you know, obviously, finding a, a, a nice gym, is just, is just fantastic. There's so many amazing communities, at least in the Chicagoland area, I know, you know you can reach out to any of us and I'm sure we'd be happy to tell you the five or six I know off the top of my head. So if you're looking for like an awesome like gyms, or if you're looking for like good resources on people, that's another. That's a huge thing as well, because people don't know where or who to talk to. You know, I've seen a lot of coaches give like really bunk advice in the beginning to people you know, so you got to be careful with that when we're talking about setting up environment.
Speaker 1:I used to be the over the counter or behind the counter guy at export back in the day. I would work the midnight to midnight to. I think it was like six or seven, no are you kidding oh? Yeah, I was that shift, and can you tell people what export is? Oh yeah, so export is a 24. Is there no more left?
Speaker 2:No, there is.
Speaker 1:I think there's some.
Speaker 2:There's one on your Whole Foods and Ravenswood.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I thought there was.
Speaker 2:Really, isn't that an export?
Speaker 1:Nate's trying to kill export.
Speaker 2:They're still with us.
Speaker 3:There's one, piper's Alley, yeah there's still growing up, just closed recently. Okay, so I'm okay. I'm sorry for the not throwing misinformation. Love the export.
Speaker 1:I mean, it's a great gym if you're starting out. But what kind of made me think of it is when you said, like people are giving kind of like crazy advice to you know, people coming in new year's. It's a money grab. People are coming in and it's all this excitement. They're discounting packages or getting people in the door. Right, get in the door. But I remember I had to actually take a class to be a behind the counter person. We had to go to this one facility, take this class.
Speaker 1:They're like this is how much like protein powder you need to sell. Like it wasn't even about training. It was like this is how much this needs to sell for, this is how much. And even about training, it was like this is how much this didn't need to sell for, this is how much. And it's like and your um paycheck was based upon like how much you actually sold. And if you didn't sell enough, you got kind of not reprimanded. But like you kind of got in trouble for that and you're like why aren't you selling enough? I didn't have to worry about that because I was the midnight to 7 am and nobody was coming in. Man, I'm gonna be straight up. I like worked out, did my homework, I tanned like you know it was great for me, like, yeah, it was awesome. My friends would come in yeah.
Speaker 1:Come in 24 hour gym and it was great. But that's the big thing is like people get so bogged down with like going to a gym and then they're just like hounding you with like you need this, you need that, you need that. It's just super overcomplicated. Need this, you need that, you need that. It's just super overcomplicated. Like my thing. What I tell people is like find a community that you really like. You know CrossFit isn't for everybody, but some people love the variety of CrossFit, like in the community.
Speaker 1:In the community. That's the big pull is like you get good at a lot of different things. If you're not the type of person that likes to stay with something for a long period of time, then maybe CrossFit's for you. But if it's like I want to do, like powerlifting or strength training or Olympic lifting, like that's, that's like only this big of a wheelhouse and you do that all the time. So if you're going to get bored with that, go to something else.
Speaker 2:Well, and I'm going to say it, I'm going to tell the people a gym doesn't matter unless you have a program.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I know plenty of people that belong to Soho House, that belong to some of the biggest, most expensive gyms in the city, and they don't go.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So to me, you're welcome to sign up for a gym, but unless you have some sort of strategy, plan, programming, not much will happen. And that's where people feel really overwhelmed. If it's not the community that they're looking for, if there's nothing really pulling them there, or they don't know the real purpose of what they're doing there, a gym isn't worth much in my opinion. So I think that's where people get stuck. Is that the intentions are there, right? The intentions are great. They're signing up for a gym, they're trying to make improvements and changes, but then, or even if they have a home gym, they might buy things for that home gym. But we also know people that don't touch that stuff. It's in the back of their closet, and that's because if you don't know how to utilize this properly with a plan, it doesn't mean anything. It's just a bunch of iron.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So if I can tell anybody to do something is to get on a program or find a coach in whatever capacity that suits you is to get on a program or find a coach in whatever capacity that suits you. You know, obviously that differs for people, people's finances and what they're looking for and what kind of accountability they're looking for as well. But if I can tell anybody is to take the time to actually understand what it is that you're doing, or have some have a coach explain it to you. If this is what you're after, this is how we're going to go about doing it, and that in and of itself it self breeds purpose. And to me that's what gets people, that's what gets us moving right.
Speaker 2:Working out in terms of and we get those all the time is oh man, you're so disciplined. How do you, how do you have the motivation to work out? It's like, well, I mean, sometimes I don't, I don't, I don't feel like doing stuff, but it's, it's there, I know it's going to make me feel better and I have a program. So for me I don't know if it's necessarily environment, but very rarely do I not have a program to refer to, because that program, I know, gives me purpose. So even if I dedicate 20 or 30 minutes, it is going towards whatever it is.
Speaker 1:I'm working towards yeah, and being like the life of a trainer too and you've mentioned this before of like sneaking in workouts throughout your day and getting those in. What does that typically look like? It's like snacks with snacks. What do you?
Speaker 2:mean so literally just food. No, sometimes, yeah, no, that's what I call it is just like little snacks here and there. So if I have a really busy day, this is something I used to do all the time when we were running dozens of sessions throughout the day and then truly did not have the energy or time to fit in an hour workout. I mean this is when I was pulling seven or eight sessions a day. In between each session I I would try and leave 15 minute gaps, whether it was to eat or do 10 deadlift, five pushup, five pull up or just 10 deadlift, like if I, at the end of the day, could get 50 to 80 kettlebell deadlifts in that's. I mean there, it is better than nothing, that's a hundred percent better than nothing.
Speaker 2:You know, I and that's what I mean like just snacking about the day, training snacks, it's, it's, it accumulates To me, things accumulate and some people just get so worried like, oh my God, I didn't work out last week, I didn't work out today. They get so hyper, fixated on that particular day or even that week and I'm like it doesn't it doesn't matter, nothing's going to happen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's if. If we can accumulate your average of how much you worked out this month, yesterday doesn't matter, don't worry about it, start again tomorrow. So I think that is kind of the outlook I have when it comes to training, especially if people feel like they don't have the time or energy to do so. It's more of a mental thing, it's a mental shift to get people to understand that in their head it's either 60 minutes or nothing, it's at the gym or nothing, or it's at this specific time in the day or nothing, and it just doesn't have to be like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a good point, because when clients are paying for a session or a workout class, it's 60 minutes typically, or roughly around there. Like it doesn't have to always be 60 minutes. It could be less than, it could be more than, but they have that, that framework, or I got to be sweaty. It's got to be 60 minutes plus in order for me to actually like quote, unquote. I worked out, but do you find yourself Nate like squeezing stuff in in between?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I and my one strategy to that and like another another. Yeah, I guess view of this is I have these. Things are called pocket workouts. I just like I don't know if I coined that or if that's just something that I saw once. Nate coined it.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I don't know if I coined that or if that's just something that I saw once. Nate coined it. Yeah, I'll coin it. Um, but I have these workouts. It's mostly stuff that I started with, especially in the kettlebell thing. So, like you know, 100 swings, 10 get-ups, like it's super simple workout. It may not be the quote-unquote perfect for where I'm at right now, whatever, but it's one of my favorites, it's. It's the greatest like beginner program. You know, like for me at least for the kettlebell, and I still reference that to this day.
Speaker 3:If I'm like short on time, I need, you know I only have a 20 minute window, 30 minute window. Let's just do swings and get ups. It doesn't have to be crazy heavy, but at least I did something for the day for me, mentally, for spiritual health, you know, um. So I think you know those. Like referencing finding some pocket workouts and if you need some you can like check I'm sure, like all of our Instagrams you can check. You know the internet. You can just find something very, very simple and stick to it. Even if it's like a five by five, you can do five squats, five reps. You know that's a pocket where it's super simple, but you know you can reference that instead of, um, doing nothing for the day, you know, just to just to hit something, um, but uh, yeah, and then you know little little things throughout the day and, uh, making sure that you're getting your, your movement in. You know, like just walks, and um, you know, take your dog for a walk, I don't know. So just just keep moving.
Speaker 1:So yeah, yeah, and kind of like, I think, grabbing a weight throughout the day and and moving it again. If you work at home or if you have a setup where, like like I work in a school, so like, if I can, if nobody's using the weight room, I can just like leave some stuff out and I can just, in between classes, go there and whatever, which is great. My schedule is like always changing because I'm on block schedules, but I will leave. I have kettlebells there. They're mine. I brought them to the school just for this purpose. That's awesome.
Speaker 1:I literally have like double 24s all the way to a 48 kilo. Now, none of the they think they can use it, but none of the high schoolers are really going to use a 48. That's for me. Schoolers are really gonna use the 48. That's for me. Um, but I'll go in and do some get ups, yep, and some single arm swings. Oh, I'm good like and that's in the, and that it's not checking off the bot, it is checking off the box. But it's also like you're walking away with this. I I'm. I'm continuously putting movement and strength training into my day that's right and whatever it looks like.
Speaker 1:It looks like and just being consistent as much as you can and we talked about that word consistent and what it means and how it means different to people but for me it's like, if I can make sure that I'm intentionally looking towards, how am I going to fit this in for the day? That's good life. I've done so much. You were just saying earlier, like you have, you've accumulated so much over this month. What is one day? It's nothing? Yeah, it's not that you accumulate so much over a year yeah what's what's a week off well, and those are skill-based things.
Speaker 2:Right, we're talking skill based movements. So when you take something like the swing or the get up that supports your training, whatever it is that you're doing, it goes into your grip strength, it goes into your overhead stability and strength, your power. Movements play into your deadlifts. Those are all skill-based things that aid and support probably anything else that you're doing outside of there. Versus no offense, walking on a treadmill, which is great. We want the steps, we want the walking and if that's what you have time to do, absolutely do it. But when you are dipping into those skill based things, that will play into other parts of your training.
Speaker 1:And I think what people don't realize they can do as well, like this grease, the groove method of you know doing whatever, picking like a handful of movements to do throughout the day, you know, with maybe a lighter weight, because, because, like you can't just grab the heaviest weight and go in between, like your work calls, you got to probably grab a little bit lighter, but it could be manageable and trackable, like if you there's something that you're going to do repeatedly, like okay, I'm going to start with those um hundred swings, but see the timing on it right, then you can maybe chase the clock a little bit and get that timing down. Now, if you're crushing it, maybe I got to buy a bigger bow and now I'm going to swing that. Do my get-ups with that and you can track that way. Pull-ups, like body weight movements, push-ups.
Speaker 1:I used to work in a pizzeria. I worked all over the place. Guys, I used to work in a pizzeria. You're gonna eat pizza and I was getting thick, I was getting hefty and my dream yeah, it's your dream, until it happens and you're just like, there's just so much I don't know.
Speaker 3:He had a 32 kg kettlebell in the back room. This is before kettlebells.
Speaker 1:Okay, I wish I did. Um, but we would do push-ups, like when the when the customers were like I get like this lull after the lunch rush or whatever, and then me, the cooks, and like anybody working the front, we'd just be knocking out push-ups, like literally push-ups, body weight squats and like that's it, because that's all you can do. In the picture we didn't have a pull-up bar or whatever. Um, but I, surprisingly, at the end, towards the end of the summer, I'm like I'm looking a little bit beefier in my in my shirt, like I feel pretty strong, but we fit it in and we would start tracking it and like seeing who could do the most at one time. And then you just get a bunch of dudes in there just like shouting at each other like one more, one more. Uh, it's great, but it's a weird way to like keep all of us engaged and also we can track it. We can see and like people were getting up to like 50 push-ups, which was awesome yeah, and and like back to your point.
Speaker 3:So I don't know how much this ties into environmental, but I just would also like to kill the notion that your workouts don't have to be an hour long. They don't like my, some of my favorite workouts are literally 10 to 25 minutes long. Um, rarely I'll crack an hour like strength training or like doing anything you know it's. They don't have. There's that imaginary one hour thing. It's, it's not, it doesn't, it doesn't really.
Speaker 2:I get that frequency too, though, is that I've definitely had clients who were working out five to seven times a week yeah, so when I say I work, I work out like three times a week, like what yes like, yeah, and that doesn't mean I don't, I don't move other days of the week, let me preface.
Speaker 2:But it's mind-blowing that you don't need that type of frequency either. And even if you have that type of frequency, it's about you know, waiving your intensity in that way. But going back to, in terms of tracking progress. What's also interesting, which kind of ties in with resolutions? I don't think people also consider a year being a very brief period of time. So for me a year is a drop in the bucket, especially when it comes to goals. So at the beginning of the year and I'd be interested to know if you guys do anything with your clients, but I test my clients dead hang.
Speaker 2:At the beginning of the year, and I'd be interested to know if you guys do anything with your clients, but I test my clients dead hang at the beginning of the year whenever they start training, and then I'll tell them we'll test it again at the end of the year and they're like end of the year. I'm like yeah, it's a year.
Speaker 3:It's a year worth of work of progress. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2:And when we get to that year, the first thing that we always say is like man, that went by really fast. And then they get really excited because nine times out of 10, they far exceed their original dead hang time. Sometimes we'll do max pushups, but dead hang for sure.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, what I've been doing lately with my clients I will send them like a, like a a little bit of an update of where they're at, and then I'll put some percentages of like how much they've improved with certain things.
Speaker 3:So you know like you see, hey, you started here with squats and then we're here now. That's like a 20% increase in your squat capacity or strength or volume, whatever it is Right. But if you can start to see those numbers, you start to realize just those little wins every single day. They accumulate to such amazing success, right?
Speaker 1:So uh, yeah, and tracking is managing and being able to see those things virtually in real time, and I love uh cause you use train heroic too as well. You have it in heroic.
Speaker 3:And then I'm I just love google, like excel, like spreadsheets. I just for me I love it. I know some people don't, nobody nobody noticed this, but I did.
Speaker 1:I didn't say nothing, but he was making his um. You were saying like if statements, like nested if statements last podcast and he said it and I was like this. I was like yeah, that's my, yeah, that's, that's my tech.
Speaker 3:Anybody that knows excel.
Speaker 1:You know what we're talking about. Yes, uh yeah. But getting to see like the, the trainer road is really nice, that the, the printouts I have people on programs and the printouts are really easy and they can see how much like load that they're actually moving when in session and it's that, oh my gosh. There's that instant feedback, which is really great. But also this what I want to get into is like when people are starting out rep ranges and I have my own kind of thoughts about this. But do you guys have any suggestions or kind of like these brackets of like beginners really need to be in this area. Intermediate events need to be here. I don't know if you guys have those brackets, nikki.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I do, yeah, go ahead, and it's to me it's very painfully simple.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Especially when someone's first starting out. I mean maybe four exercises max, yeah, three to four, sets of eight to 12.
Speaker 3:that's pretty much it.
Speaker 2:Um, if you can do 20 reps, it's too light. If you're losing it at rep six, too heavy. That's, that's pretty much it. You can go pretty far between those sets and rep ranges, especially when you're learning. Then it's about quality. We're just focusing on quality.
Speaker 1:Three to four sets of eight to twelve why do you keep it at the little bit of what is kind of known as a higher rep range for the beginner, just more?
Speaker 2:strength endurance, just more strength endurance versus really pushing in load.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Now, that is for a standard strength and conditioning program. I would probably do something a little differently if I had someone in full kettlebell mode, but I would say standard three to four, sets eight to twelve, and that's also how I was coached in terms of standard strength and conditioning. Um, it's not how we would do things with athletes, but I would say for general population that's my go-to. I just keep it really simple for them.
Speaker 1:I wrote, wrote down here three, three sets of eight to 10, like right in that, like sweet spot. I feel like putting the lower rep counts on people One. You don't want to put that intensity on them too much because they're just not ready for it, like you were saying Um, but it just gives them. The more reps they can do at that lighter weight, the better they're going to get at it. Right, you know, we got to make sure that the movement is um, is crisp and at the tempo looks great and really also teach clients stop signs of like when that form is breaking, which is the hardest to me. It's very hard, especially if, like it's a, it's a client that feels like, oh, I need to push to grow, yeah, it's like, well, you're gonna get hurt, like this, if the form goes, don't just muscle through it like, rack it, yeah, rack it if you're, if you can't talk anymore, like during the set because you're breathing too hard, that's a stop sign. Uh, if the form goes, it looks wonky. Stop sign.
Speaker 2:If the tempo has drastically changed, put it down like it's just too much I always I have to laugh sometimes and again it's it's kind of that need to push people think that in order for it to work they need to struggle, and I get a lot of the time if we're coming off a set. Um, you know I, I can definitely do more. I can do more.
Speaker 2:I'm like great cool yeah great, we're not going to just feel good, just just just walk away feeling like you have a little bit more in the tank, you know yeah and also getting them to understand. I really like my clients to build week to week versus always set to set as well. So if you get through that first week, all is good and great, just just feel good about the week.
Speaker 2:There's plenty of time and opportunity to push week to week three. There's going to be a time and a place for that, but that's not how we do every single workout.
Speaker 3:What about you, nate? Yeah, I mean, the most difficult thing is to figure all the all of this out. Even in the beginning, like to your, to your point, you know, and Nikki, to your point, like, just, you know, throwing and giving them those rep ranges, it's, it's always, it's a, it's a challenge to figure that out, and that's where I think there's a lot of learning. In that, though, for the student, for the client, like you have to realize, like, oh, like I'm not supposed to be dead after 10 reps or I'm not supposed to be unable to move after five heavy reps, you know, like, so it's, it's, there's a, there's a push and pull there and it takes a little bit, I think it even to I'd, I'd even be happy to say it takes like, it takes about like a good month of working with somebody to really figure out, like, where their capacities are To gauge them.
Speaker 3:Yeah, to gauge them. Cause, in the way I kind of visualize it is, we have these, uh, like these dials, like we have these dials and you and you have to know, like those dials can, you can turn them up pretty easily. If, like, I have a client's like oh, you know, you're, you're not pushing me hard enough. It's like well, we could do that, but it wouldn't be fun for you to keep doing that every single session and it also is not going to benefit you long-term, it won't. You know. Every now and then it can push you through like a, like a small, like a, like a harder workout. But, again, you have to really learn to achieve those. You have to, you have to, you have to achieve those. So, um, I definitely start higher rep ranges, lower intensity, lower loads, lower intensities, uh, even body weight, like eight to ten reps.
Speaker 3:I a lot of isometrics like just holding like you'd be surprised how hard it is for a lot of folks who are just getting into. This is like planks are hard.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Pushups are hard, pull-ups are hard. These, these things are like if. If I start throwing these at you, it's like I'm trying to build your, your foundation up, you know before.
Speaker 3:It's not hard to make something hard oh no, it's not hard to make something hard, that's exactly right.
Speaker 3:Do it like this. But yeah, no, so just working at those ranges and then finding you have to just learn to find and look out for those and I guess I'm really speaking to sounds like I'm speaking to coaches, but like you have to really look to like find those gauges. And then also for the student, the client, you also have to be kind of open and willing to learn that about yourself as well. Like and that's part of going to finding a great good coach is like they're going to find that for you with you. And then the fun part is is like when you're like, oh, yeah, I'm starting to get, I'm like this is starting to become achievable, and then you're like, yeah, I actually want to get good at this, like I want to start, I want to start to get good at and get strong with a, with a squat, essentially, or with a press. So I want to get strong. Then we can start to lean into more fun goals.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you just got me thinking like the way you were saying about the dial. Yeah, I have, I see this all the time because I coach sports too and I see it all the time and like strength and conditioning coaches like that get a youth program or high school or college. The one thing that I hate when I see it is like they have like a down and back for the whole team and they give them a time frame Like everybody's got to go down and back to the basketball court three times and it's whatever the time is 45 seconds, right. So what happens is like you're gonna get two things that happen. One, the best athletes right, they might go all out in the first one, but then they realize how much buffer they have. So they know like, okay, if I just coast, I'm going to make it each time right, so that's one. So it's already set them up for like kind of send themselves their own self up for failure because they're not actually getting a lot out of the actual down and backs, whatever that how many you do? Then the opposite end is the slowest kids on the team are having a miserable time. Yeah, so you're not getting the best out of your best player and you are crushing the kids that are like on the lower end of the you know, speed, talent, whatever it may be, and now nobody is like achieving anything and I and I hate that, I'm like I.
Speaker 1:There's a guy he's a basketball coach at Parkland in Illinois it's like down South and he used to do this one cool drill he used to strap a heart rate mountainers to all of his basketball players when they came in from offseason and so they were allowed to. They had so many down and backs. If you get all of your down and backs done, you can leave. However, you have to be in zone two or zone one before you can take off again. So within the first practice back, he'll have them go and do their down and backs or whatever. And the kids like, oh shoot, I can leave this when I want as long as I get this done. So the best athletes are gunning it, going back, recovered, going the kids that needed the recovery time to complete it and actually do it properly, like they took more time because that's what they needed, right, and then the coach actually got to figure out who was in shape and who was not in shape. So who are you going to put in the game? Like you might have be, you might have one of the fastest kids on the team, but they might not be in shape and they can't recover quickly. Like, do you want him or them like playing basketball when they're like gassing and that's when they make all these mistakes, but like knowing when to like turn it for people but make it so that it's effective.
Speaker 1:Um, and also one to take it back, because time to me, like in gym sometimes, time is like the most abused variable. Like the time is great. Um, reps too. Like, too. Like it's like let's do a hundred reps of whatever. Okay, like like we do a hundred swings, right, and if we, we can probably do a hundred swings and we break it up. If we don't break it up, the, the last 70 are going to be like Jesus Christ, what are we doing? Yeah, maybe not the last 70, maybe the last 50, but uh, they're not going to look great. So I think like reps could be a bad variable of abuse. Time is like your people abuse those things so much. Yeah, but I did, I did want to get it, I took a left turn, but no, it's good.
Speaker 3:Like that's a good. That's a good take, though, because, again, like, if we're speaking, if you're speaking to like coaches, and it's good for us to to hear this because, like, again, not not everybody has the you know experience of coaching youth athletes. Yeah, yeah, or may want to in the future so it's important.
Speaker 1:I mean, I was the kid in the. At the end you didn't make the time I really was too.
Speaker 3:I told you guys, I can't jump, none of that. That was all high school like everyone's. Like I'm telling you people be laughing, like it's crazy.
Speaker 1:I I love um because I feel like this can work for intermediate advance and beginners is I don't know, do you guys use ladders, a lot like for your trainings?
Speaker 1:oh yeah I love ladders I think it's the greatest thing, yeah, um, and it's. And it's really hard for clients to kind of wrap the head around because they, they only know, like all right, you're gonna do 10 sets, or sorry, 10, uh, 10 reps, right. And then you're gonna do 10 sets, or sorry, 10, uh, 10 reps, right, and you're gonna do three sets or whatever it may be, um, a five by five, they, they like can wrap their head around that. But when I say like okay, your first sets, you're gonna do a set of two, a set of three and then another set of two, and they're like what I'm like, yeah, instead two, set of three, set of two, uh, and then we build what I'm like, yeah, set of two, set of three, set of two. And then we build, and anybody that I put on a program, it works like magic. It's amazing. I stole it from like Fabio, like Built Strong, like all that Soviet Union ladders and whatever. Like I totally use that and I steal all of their math all the time because I'm terrible at math. But this is what I do for myself and for even clients Like I'll put them on ladders and I'll get them something that's like 75 or the one rep max or kind of figure that out, and we'll do like okay, you're going to do three sets of 2, 3, 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, 3, 2.
Speaker 1:So well, that's nine sets total, but three chunks of the ladder. And then the next week that they come in and they're like all right, we're going to do two, three, three across the board and see where we're at. And then depending and this is where you have to teach the client of like how, like what are you feeling? Right, you feel good doing it during it, like I have to use the coach's eye, like is the form breaking down, but like the weight stays the same, and then we go into, like now we get to two, three, five for the first big set, and then, if we do two, three and then like we can't get five, then it's two, three, three, then two, three, three again, and then you keep going until you get two, three, five across the board.
Speaker 1:Now, all of that this could take weeks, weeks, right, but the weight hasn't changed yet, the intensity hasn't changed, the effort has changed, but that intensity hasn't changed. And then you'll get all those two, three, fives and then you're like all right, cool, now we're gonna go five by five. The weight still hasn't changed. So now the effort is going to be even higher, the intensity is the same and now the volume is even lower. And then you see, like you just see like these huge, like progressions, and I look at like intermediate can definitely use ladders, advanced for sure. Um, like beginners, I don't think rep ranges work for strength training with weights, but if you're doing body weight movements, this is what I, that's what I would use it a hundred percent like a pull up or a push up right.
Speaker 1:Easy. If somebody cannot do 10 pushups and you're like, okay, I'm programming 10 pushups, you stop and then get you know, do the rest, yeah, and do it's like if you could do a two, three, five, right, that's, that's 10 total. And if you do two, you know they can get at least five right, so you can do two. You know they're going to be perfect, they're going to be really good. And then you can do three. Right, you warmed up the nervous system a little bit, you're ready. You hit your three, great. Then you hit your five. Three of them might be great, two of them might suck, but like it's still, we're practicing. But then you go back down to two and so now you know you just did five, or maybe you did four, I can get two. So mentally you know you can do it, yep, and you're recovered and it keeps this recovery buffer going and make sure that all the movement are of quality, right, all the lifts are quality, quality, right, all the lifts are quality. I love ladders.
Speaker 2:I just literally obviously most of my clients do too. I love it.
Speaker 3:And I just want to say, Tony, you did a really good job of explaining that. So, it's hard. It's hard to explain it to people too, you know. But yeah, I'm sorry, go ahead, nikki.
Speaker 2:No, that was. I mean once, once, especially um a few of my ladies especially going into kettlebells. Once they finally are able to get a couple of pull-ups under their belts, like especially in those two, threes fives, I mean it's great. Yeah, push-ups too, it's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think body weight.
Speaker 2:And again, really simple.
Speaker 1:Body weight for the beginners.
Speaker 2:Really simple, really efficient.
Speaker 1:Yep, and advanced is in those intermediates. I think that the hard thing is the weight. The weight's not changing right, but that's okay, yeah, that's okay, um. And then to step to like that step of um when you cycle up to have your weight, yep, and I do it all the time. I never will put fives on the sides, never like if I'm jumping up at the minimum is 10 and 10, like I need to own that weight, no, I'm good at it. And then make a bigger jump. I've, I've put in, I've put 40 pounds addition on some kids barbells before, like what, and I'm like, yeah, you've been doing this program very long. We have a lot of volume, we're gonna bring the volume down, but we're I'm putting 40 pounds on and and they're like holy crap. And then, sure enough, it's going up.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But, but yeah, moving into New Year's, all the stuff we kind of talked about, and I think the biggest piece is like making sure that this is a part of your lifestyle, making sure that you're strength training, getting movement in and all this.
Speaker 1:The other aspect is the nutrition piece and we've kind of like talked back and forth and we were actually lucky enough to go to Nikki's seminar which was amazing by the way, I want to get into the nutrition piece because, again, this is something that people need to tackle in this upcoming new year and that's they're going to be exploring tons of different options. I really like you did like this pyramid kind of analogy of different sections, if you want to talk about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I try and make nutrition painfully simple and I refer to the pyramid because it's something that everyone can understand. And the pyramid is the bottom part. The biggest part is mindset, then nutrition and then training. And as simple as that is and as much as people can understand it, they tend to reverse. They tend to start at the top and try and work their way down, and this is where people just have a lot of trouble.
Speaker 2:And when you have someone that's always gone reverse, then to start them and bring them down to the base, which is mindset, it's just really difficult. It's a difficult process, almost fighting themselves in the butt without realizing it, without realizing that their mindset is getting in the way, without realizing that nutrition is something that they might need to hire someone, they might need some help in terms of tackling something that they feel like they should know. So why isn't it working? Training, to me, is the easy part, and I say that in terms of most people that we train, appreciate or like movement. It's something that's already in their regimen for the most part Obviously not everybody. But you know what? We get people going to SoulCycle. They're taking classes or they belong to a gym. They have movement or training in some capacity in their life, and it's the nutrition and mindset component that tends to really nip people in the butt or not realizing that there's some barriers that they need to maybe address in order to get to where they want to be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I, I just ran into this whole problem not problem, I should say. But this, you know, when we talk about like and people have are very like polar opposites on a lot of different topics and there's a lot of dogma around you name it. There's dogma around it like especially nutrition. I mean I've said in the last podcast I'm like, I'm unapologetically carnivorous, like I just I've adopted a carnivore diet and I was vegan for a couple of years, ran into a bunch of like health issues and it actually helped me out a lot. And everybody's different and maybe people won't agree with me, but I mean I've spent time on my individual podcast of like talking to individuals and getting the information out, because it's something that helped me and my relationship with food is a big piece of it.
Speaker 1:And, um, you know, when I was younger, I was just really heavy set and I like I've literally spent my like grade school years like overweight, all the way to like right before high school, and then I found sports, athletics working out, but then the nutrition piece is the one thing that was off. I trained, I did all these things, but my new nutrition, like the relationship with food, I didn't really understand it and, um, a lot of comfort food, a lot of, you know, just lifestyle. Italian family like we're, just you can never eat enough like it's.
Speaker 3:it's a ridiculous thing, but like when I I mean I can relate yeah, so can I and uh, like finding carnivore and getting that.
Speaker 1:That's like the big piece for me is like the relationship with food and like why am I eating? I'm eating for like function in my body. Um, and I'll get a lot of stuff from um coach I interviewed him a couple times, coach bronson. He has a book called uh, body confident and a bunch of the things in this book is talks about like, um, you know, concept versus rules, like follow the concepts and not rules. So my concept is like I'm gonna eat animal protein, fat, um, I I feel great on the diet, all this stuff. But then at uh, what do you call it? Christmas eve, I had like cheese on my plate and my cousin was like you could eat that. What I was like yeah, man, I can eat this, I can eat it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, whatever, like, I can eat whatever I want, like if I want and people like freak out.
Speaker 1:And this is where it gets like this super polarizing thing of like I, I just want to eat really good food that I feel like nourishes me and that I feel good on um, and to me that's it. And if I want to dip my toe into like having some christmas cookies that my aunt made, like I can have that it's okay. It's okay. And people get so like it's all or nothing yeah, it's all or nothing, incredible.
Speaker 2:Well, and going back to the dial analogy that you used, I actually wrote a blog a very long time ago of people who understand that life and most things are meant to be in a dial versus a flip switch. Okay, when you have someone that works as a flip switch, these types of things are going to be really, really challenging, and that's just another way of saying what you just said of like rules versus understanding a concept and understanding that we, as coaches, like we have no rules, why, and and we we talked about this, which- is super funny because I'm an adult, and the coolest thing about being an adult is that I can do whatever I want.
Speaker 2:And it's almost like people forget that, and sometimes even people work with me. They think they're entering into this partnership. Well, it's a partnership to me and that's something that needs to be explained, because that's not how they're walking into it. They think that I'm going to set rules for them to follow, and that's not how this works. I want you in the driver's seat, and Tony and I were talking and I said I think you should share your journey of being solely a carnivore, because I'm for that. I'm for whatever it is that works for you.
Speaker 2:And that's my job. My job is not to give you a set of rules. It's to try and figure out what's going to work, and nutrition is a lot of trial and error. I'm not here to sit here and say that I have the answer for you. We got to figure it out Because if you don't have the answers, I don't know why you think I'm going to.
Speaker 2:I need to better understand your day-to-day life. Like I comb through their day, what do you do from the second you wake up to what you do when you go to bed, cause I don't have any context. I can't help you, I don't know. I don't know how to help you and guess what? That has nothing to do with food. That has nothing to do with food and that's usually. We actually find a lot of things just from doing that exercise of like what is your routine? Where do you spend your time? Are you at work? Are you at home? Do you have children? Everything I need to understand. So we don't even initially talk about food. We need to better understand your relationship with it and what your day-to-day looks like.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and so much of everything we're saying right now, it just it bleeds back into again fitness. It bleeds back into career. It bleeds back. It's like you have to understand the concepts first and then go from there. And one thing that I got a big, like a big takeaway from your workshop was a backend systems. So I've been like saying that to myself this like you know, nikki was like Nikki was talking about backend systems. Can you, can you like a lot like tell everybody about it, cause you explained it so well, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um, I really appreciate your. Your your pumped, Um, yeah. So backend systems are ultimately what's going to support you in your life. Simply put, and a lot of the time, people cannot live their lives efficiently or be able to improve their health because of the lack of the back-end system. So a lot of people will use certain things such as I'm lazy, I don't have time, all the things that we've heard and I want to say you know what? Let's, let's let that go.
Speaker 2:What are your back end systems like? Meaning your stress management? Do we have hobbies? How much sleep are we getting? I mean, these are all things that are here to set you up for success.
Speaker 2:So if someone lacks in those back end systems, then how can we expect anything? We should have zero expectations then, especially when it comes to training because or what we put in our mouths. So if someone is and I have a great example because I work with a lot of moms as well and their backend systems are pretty tough, especially when you have littles I mean just really fighting for sleep, time management is really hard. I think a running theme that I have with people is the lack of problem solving, really just understanding what your day looks like, and maybe it's not what you want, but can we meet halfway in some capacity? So moms are a great example because they, you know, have some rough back end systems when, when you have littles but there's so much that can be done, but they use a lot of that terminology. But I'm like you're also getting four hours of sleep, I don't know how we can expect to make good decisions I. I would have a hard time making good decisions even without children if I was running on four hours of sleep on a consistent basis.
Speaker 2:Or when they, when we figure out that they're working in an environment like we were talking about before they a lot of people use the word chaos. I'm in a very chaotic environment. I'm like how can we get you out of there? Maybe not permanently, I understand. Maybe that's somewhere you need to be one or two times a week, but then they say they're there three or four times a week. Is there a way we can try and remove you from the space that you call chaos, because that doesn't set us up to make good decisions. So, again, it's working in those backend systems where we can, because then I just don't know where the expectations are. It just doesn't make any sense. Our backend systems determine our outcome.
Speaker 3:Yeah, any sense our back-end systems determine our outcome. Yeah, yep, yeah, with food, though, um, the one of the biggest game changers for me was journaling. Like journaling and it came down like I I, I used to cope so much with food because it was one of my ways that I would deal with stress. Yeah, like it's. It's a, I think, for a lot of us, especially like American culture, like we have so much good food everywhere and good or bad, you know, like calories, plus or minus, like we can get into that. But point is is like I would cope with food all the time.
Speaker 3:So what I did was I just started journaling and writing down exactly what I was eating every single day, and I mean I didn't like write the calories or anything, but like just look at it from like a logistical standpoint and you just you're like I can I can probably do better than this and like like replace this with something that I can eat. That's better for me, and that's what I've did over time. And a lot like, like, a lot like training, like how we have like those small wins and like you get those small workouts, those small things. It's the same thing like start with breakfast, like, or like start with one of the one of the you know main uh meal times. Like start with one of those establish it and like stick to it for a little while.
Speaker 2:Like I eat the same breakfast every single day well, and it's like's so awesome that you did that, because you yourself, even without someone like me, you could probably look at it and kind of see the writing on the wall right.
Speaker 2:And see what's going on, patterns that are not working for you understanding, like where you might be able to add some improvement. So, honestly, if I could tell anyone anything in terms of starting somewhere, it's just journaling Just write down for a couple of days what it is you're actually eating, and a lot of the time I think people can figure it out for themselves for sure, because a lot most people are doing a decent job.
Speaker 3:I think we just need direction. You need direction. You also need a little bit of education on like okay, you know, I just try to eat as much whole, like whole, like real food, as possible. That that that I think we can all agree on. That is like, try to cook at home as much as possible. Try to know exactly the ingredients that you're putting into your body Like it's your body, so you want to be put it. You don't. Do you want to fill up your race car with like trash or do you want to fill up your race car with like some fire ass gas, you know, like I don't know what to say.
Speaker 3:Like you want to, but you want to, you want to fill it up with the right ingredients, you know. So just think about it like that we only have one body, one temple. So like, just take care of it in the best way possible and like, take ownership of that, because nobody can put food in your mouth except for yourself. Like that simple. That's like some other like brain explosion concepts, but again, like you know it, just start with, maybe start small, start with journaling, start with one meal that you can, that you like, and then, you know, build from there and if you do need help, I'm sure, like all three of us like, we have like different, we may have like different approaches, but they're not really different, they're all. They all kind of come back to the same thing. So if you do need help or you do need anything, just I'm sure you can reach out to these two. These two are amazing at it, though.
Speaker 1:I'm not the I don. This is probably like not the best thing to put in the podcast, but anybody that books like a 30 minute consult for like food or whatever, like I never talk to anybody Put it in the podcast.
Speaker 3:Yeah, put it in the podcast now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, you guys, but no, I really like to be honest like if you're contacting me for programming whatever one-on-one sessions, whatever maybe workshops, like yeah, I want to get paid for my time. But if it's like nutrition and you want to have like a 30-minute phone call with me, like sometimes we don't get to the root of something on like a zoom and I'm like let's schedule something else I'll have the consultation yeah, yeah, yeah, like you can learn and figure out actually so much, and it's free information.
Speaker 2:It's free information yeah always tell people just sign up for a consult, because even if you don't move forward with me which is perfectly fine or 30 minutes with tony, like you'll actually walk away from that call with that much more clarity yeah, it's just so important what it's so important. I'm like just at least, yeah, at least just do the consultation minimum and this is like.
Speaker 1:And if they're like, I'm like, oh, let's go to something next week. Well, how much. I'm like, just don't worry about it. Like just we can get on. Like just tell me how you're doing next week, whatever. And like that's where I'm at with nutrition, because it's so like people can get behind working out. But like if, if it's nutrition wise, okay, like you don't have to. Well, let me say it this way, like I don't have to lift weights today and the next day and the next day to live. I got to eat, though, like I got to eat.
Speaker 1:So now I got to make these decisions every single day and this is very taxing for people and they want you know. If they don't understand, they're going to grab convenience or whatever. And then they get so far down the line of I feel like crap, like this is my normal. Now this is where I'm at. There's nothing I can do about it.
Speaker 2:Even from a performance or, by definition, more advanced space. I know a lot of people who will tell me like no, I, I eat pretty well. I'm like okay, great One. I don't know what that means to write to you.
Speaker 3:It mean it's totally.
Speaker 2:Um, you know that varies from the person my eating well might be different from what you think is eating well, sure so sometimes when people say that it's like first, I don't really know what that means. But if you feel like you got it like, that's all you. But my point is is that I also want people to understand that you can eat well, it doesn't mean you're eating for your goals.
Speaker 2:And that's a lot of. What I do is to get people to understand you might be doing a great job in terms of your energy, your day-to-day. You're sitting down, you're chewing your food, maybe you cook at home, and that's great. But if you're looking for something more, that's what we call kind of like leveling up right, just in terms of education, and a lot of people don't know how to do that. It's a skill-based thing as well. So it's hard for me to have people have expectations and they're like well, why isn't this working? I eat pretty well, I exercise, I'm like you're doing great, but we may not be eating according to what we're actually wanting.
Speaker 3:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:So that's a big component of it as well, and I cannot tell you how much a little goes a long way. I had a client for years. She did not care about physique. She had a very high stress job and working out really was just for her mental health and she loved working out. She loves working out. She's come a long way in the past couple of years and what's really wild is that she ultimately got where she wanted to be, both in physique and in performance, by dialing back intensity.
Speaker 2:So dialing back more strength training, less soul cycle, not seven days a week, five days a week and eating breakfast and magic like magic and everybody works at their own pace and I respect that some people move faster than others, and that's okay, but truly by recovering more and getting her to finally eat breakfast. There it is there. It was Boom Boom. Yep, it was wild.
Speaker 1:And you're right, Everybody's going to work at their own pace and everybody's going to have this like it's also on the client and the person. It's a lot of self-exploration and you're going to have to do these things and give it the time it needs. Because the one thing I hate seeing is like when people jump around too much, it's just like getting strange. We keep coming to straight string. If I'm jumping around with different modalities every, you know, every week, I'm not going to get anywhere. But if I'm going to, if I'm going to try something out, if it works, okay, I'm gonna keep going with it. I'm going to give it the due diligence. But there's a lot of diets Like it will work, like you're going to have to shift some things every once in a while. If your goals change, you're going to have to shift some things. So, giving things time that it's due for you to find this result or maybe it's not working. That's the result. It's not working. Okay, Now I can change.
Speaker 2:And that's also great. I want people to understand when you figure out what doesn't work, you didn't waste any time. Now you know that that's just not something that works for you, so we don't need to try that again. We move on to something else.
Speaker 3:That's right. That's right, but like to bridge this concept again, I just want to say this is why I love strength training so much Because and just exercise in general and being on a program is like you see so much benefit from training. Like if you actually get on a program, you'd be surprised how strong you actually are. Like it's insane. Like I get people on a program for one month, like on an actual program for one month, they have incredible success. You can say the same thing. The same concept applies right back into everything else, and into food, into into life, into career, and the point I'm trying to say is like, when you're actually on a system and you have good backend systems and you have a good process and a good program, you're going to see amazing success. And you have to seek that education, though, and you have to be curious and you have to be okay with, like, not always having the answer and not knowing what it is. It's all part of that journey.
Speaker 2:So it's so interesting and I love that you said that. I love that you finished with that, because to me that goes straight back to the bottom of the pyramid. So we talk about this the three of us in in the capacity that we're talking about it now but how many people have that? How many people have that mindset?
Speaker 3:Not enough, not enough, right yeah.
Speaker 2:And they're in lies, and not everyone. You know. I have someone always remind me that not everyone loves training. It's like I forget that sometimes because I love food, I love training, but that's the relationship I have with it and I think I forget sometimes that some people may not approach it the same way or maybe it's something that they have to develop. That all goes back to mindset. So, like we have this, we have this drive for it, this passion for it, this relationship with it, and sometimes I forget.
Speaker 2:You know, obviously not a whole lot of people have that. So we see things as being really simple, and why wouldn't it be? All these things make us feel good and they really aid our growth, both personally and professionally. But not everybody has that. So it always goes back to mindset, especially when it comes to training and nutrition. People know that they need this in their lives in some capacity. Training and nutrition people know that they need this in their lives in some capacity. But the biggest shift that has to happen is their mindset. And I don't know about you guys, but that's actually what makes up most conversations in my sessions For sure.
Speaker 2:And I told Tony like we'll talk nutrition, but what I think you guys can talk about as coaches, as we all can, are the back end conversations that happen. I'm like man, I wish I had a megaphone for this conversation right now.
Speaker 3:So everybody could hear this with my client's permission, of course, but it's just.
Speaker 2:It's things that I wish people could hear all the time, because this is what, to me, this is what my job actually is. People don't understand how much mindset shifting happens between myself and my client, to the point where these people change completely over the course of years. And it's wild, and some people don't. I've had people that haven't either, and that's okay, but it boils down to that. I think the mindset, for me, is just the hardest part.
Speaker 1:And in the last podcast we talked about like setbacks of like having injuries, you know.
Speaker 2:Oh man, that's hard.
Speaker 1:But the setback of like falling off of a nutrition plan or cheating, right, you know, those are the conversations and we've had all these conversations about, like the language you use around those types of things and the way it makes you feel. You know, I was guilty of this when I was like younger for sure. Like if I would binge, eat whatever, and I mean the next days I would just feel like absolute trash. I would just like be so upset with myself. Or if I'm going on a diet and I'm like quote unquote diet and I'm like trying to eat healthy in my younger years, and then I like accidentally slip off, well, now it's done, it's over with. Like I cheated, so therefore I might as well keep cheating because I can't do it anymore.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we did talk about this. Like, yeah, that language, um, that people use puts them in a certain place where it just makes it significantly harder, like falling off the wagon or hopping back on the wagon or something with a wagon anyway a train wagon yeah you know, um, and that in and of itself like just makes it harder. I'm like there's no wagon, there's no train, there's no hopping off or on, it just is what it is you're on your own path.
Speaker 2:Um, so I think little things like that already. It's. It's just so unusual how much you hear that, and we actually had an example that was super funny. Um, like being in a grocery store this has happened to me a couple of times. I'll like bump into my clients. They're like don't look at my cart, I don't care.
Speaker 3:It's okay.
Speaker 2:It's cool.
Speaker 3:Let me get some of your cookies.
Speaker 2:Walking into the gym and like coaches are having loba pastry and they're like, oh my God, she's here. I'm like, first of all, I don't care. Second of all, why didn't you get me one Like this? You know, it's that thought of how you see me or how you see food, and I'm like, well, don't look at my card either. I don't know. Like it's just one of those things where I think people are going to feel so judged or criticized, and it's not you know, you can eat whatever you want to eat, I don't, it's fine.
Speaker 2:But again, it's that language or that initial reaction that I just find really interesting.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You said you're like, you're like I'm not trying to make rules for you, like I'm not trying to tell you what you can and can't do. Um, you know, we are finished professionals. We want to, we, we want to look the part right, we want to. I had cookies that my aunt made, like regatta cookies they were awesome, Like I was like and I had probably more than I should have.
Speaker 1:I had a stomachache the next day, but I'm like that happened, it is what it is. I indulged in that, that one treat that my aunt never really makes, and I'm like this is great. And I just the next day, I just put my foot forward, I don't get down on myself.
Speaker 2:Well, one of the things that is really trippy to me this is getting extremely psychological, but this is why nutrition is really difficult is that when people react that way, what that tells me is that they actually make more rules in their head than I'm out to. But they can abide by their own rules. They just don't want to abide by mine. And what's funny is is that I think I give people so much freedom that it makes them uncomfortable.
Speaker 3:This is. This is deep, nikki. No, this is good, this is great.
Speaker 2:This is what I'm saying. This is what nutrition actually is. Now people think that they're going to walk into my door and think that we're going to sit and talk about food, and of course that's part of it. That's always going to be part of it. That's just a part of education. But what's interesting is that we can't talk about that until we understand this. Yes, because this is what's actually getting in the way here, and this is true for people that do not want to track their food, because they think it's oh my God, there's so many rules and you know it's they actively don't want to do it. There's too much structure. I feel like I'm going to get addicted to it. I'm like that tells me that you are probably more restrictive in here than what this is actually going to do to you.
Speaker 3:What it is.
Speaker 2:Right, it is Right. And so for people that really need that massive control, people that think that I'm going to give them rules because it goes against their own, people that are really uncomfortable with the amount of freedom that I give them, and so sometimes nutrition can just be really scary for people in that way. And then, going back to pace, some people have to go at their own pace, and if I'm getting so much resistance to that point, then we're just not ready for it yet. Yeah, like that's really common, really, really common. So I think people just have their own little demon up here of, like, what they think they can and cannot do, and that's actually the struggle that I have the most is like getting that voice out, just let go, or like somehow getting them to listen to a different part of themselves, and a lot of that is that inner dialogue.
Speaker 2:It's wild, it's really wild.
Speaker 1:Nate, do you feel that you like now that've, like you know, you're in the fitness space and you've kind of moved around your nutrition a little bit? Do you feel like you're still in the point where, like, you have this food freedom or it's still like it's challenging here on out?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I used to struggle with this a lot because you know I'd start to think about, oh, how you're going to let you know if I, if I were going on a trip, for example. You know, I just I spent two weeks in Asia and, uh, my old self would have probably like really fought, like to eat whatever or do whatever I wanted when I was there. Um, because I've worked so hard to get here or to get to feel a certain way or to look a certain way. But in the last few years I've I've really let go of that. I've really like worked my butt off to in my, in my own head not not physically, but in my own head to just let go of like, hey, when, when it's time to relax during the year, relax when, when life happens, life is going to happen, like these, these things are going to come, like life is seasonal, right? So, um, it's okay that if you're not eating a perfect way for a few weeks, like you will figure it out again, like you will have the time in the place that also tells me like how present someone is as well.
Speaker 3:I know we're getting deep here, but you know it's it's like just enjoy that time, enjoy that space, enjoy the food, enjoy whatever it is, and it's okay to like indulge, it's okay to like do these things. It's like you know, we, we put these, like these bars in our head and you can't get out of them. Well, it's, it's gonna it's gonna restrict you and may like stop you from doing things that you only have the opportunity to do once you know, or to feel, or to eat food one time or wherever you're going the opportunity to do once you know, or to feel or to eat food one time, or wherever you're going. So, um, yeah, just really like I, I I've worked um very, really hard in the last few years just to kind of say like, hey, just if you go anywhere, just do it, eat what you want.
Speaker 1:Uh, you know, but you, you worked at that, though, like that's that's a big thing to tackle and some people like have to be. Some people can be moderators and they can do the moderation and some people for a while need to be abstainers for a little bit until they get those things under control. And you got to kind of I mean, I had to be a absolute like abstainer for certain things, like for all, like a whole year, like I was just eating like ribeyes and eggs, so like that was pretty much it Like I was just eating like ribeyes and eggs, like that was pretty much it Very, very little to no alcohol and like no sweets whatsoever.
Speaker 1:What have you? Until I got like my health and like my relationship with food under control. That's when I was like, okay, I'm going to explore and try these things. Oh my God, like I went to Japan and I like had pizza in Japan. It was so fr?
Speaker 1:freaking good and I told everybody that it's better pizza than Italy. And they're like what are you crazy? But I'm like I could have missed out on that If I was like I'm, this is my diet, I have to follow this, this is whatever. Um, and I would have missed out on some amazing things. But again, like you said, like you worked at that and you got there. And if it's like this, ever going wave again, we're getting deep right. We're getting this like wave of life and you're riding it and you just sometimes that pulls you in one way or the other. But, um, we're all on that ride.
Speaker 2:oh, go ahead no, I was just gonna say I appreciate you guys sharing that, because I think it's really important for people to know that. I think we all have that in some capacity and, no matter what like, we all have our little things and, you know, inner dialogue in our head that come from somewhere, whether we're coaches or not, I think everybody has something in some capacity.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I agree. And just the last thing is, you know, we all have like this, this relationship with food, and it's it's again, again, like a process. This is something that you work at, you work at to improve it, you work at to figure out, like what works and what doesn't, and just to kind of hammer hammer that home. It's like it's a journey. It's a journey to like really figure out like what works for you and like how and what makes you feel good at the end of the day yeah, 100.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know we're getting to our wrap-ups here, but you know one, it was great to get all three of us together. I know, Nikki, you're leaving.
Speaker 2:I know.
Speaker 1:But you know, I know it's not a goodbye, it's see you soon.
Speaker 2:I'll be back.
Speaker 1:We'll see you soon. Definitely, we're going to be trying to make our way out to Lisbon. Yes, go out there.
Speaker 3:So, excited.
Speaker 1:Yes, Tom you down.
Speaker 3:Tom Podcast in Lisbon.
Speaker 1:Tom's got a guy, he's got a guy, chicago podcast Got a guy. Anything upcoming I mean obviously the move and everything, anything upcoming for you that you're looking forward to, maybe into this new year.
Speaker 2:You know it's been.
Speaker 2:Really. I'm really trying to save some space to do a lot of reflection and I'm really just looking forward to experiencing what life and wellness will actually look like for me in a completely different country that has completely different everything than we do here, and I'm really looking forward to the balance of my personal and professional life. I'm someone who loves my job more than anything and it's a big part of me, but I didn't want it to be all of me, and so I'm really looking forward to just this experience for myself, personally and professionally, and what it's going to look like and how it's going to move on the other side. So a lot of exploration, a lot of fun, a lot more quality time and a lot more time for myself in terms of training. You know training.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I'm so business owner that I forget how much that I just want to be a coach and how much I just love training and movement and how much you know I love. You know what I do and I want to do more of that. So I know that's a loaded answer, but I think there's a lot coming down the pipeline for me.
Speaker 2:So I just want to be able to take it all in and life is just going to look really different and I'm looking forward to that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean the way you said is like we got, like we have one of like the most amazing jobs in the world.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I truly believe that yeah, yeah A hundred percent.
Speaker 3:I'm so thankful to do it every single day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what about you? Nate Anything?
Speaker 3:Yeah, just uh. Third. Uh, like I said, started the podcast but uh, we got third coast kettlebell classes. Um, I plan to, like you know, rip this guy off during the. Yeah, just to show the do it, do it take, it take it off, uh, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, at least one time.
Speaker 3:You got a zoom, look at it. You got some zoom here. Hold on, let's see there you go. And we got the colors and everything. So these are actually chicago colors. So, like we might me and I, the designer, uh, shout out heather um, we, uh, she actually pulled these off chicago's website and it's legal to use them. It's, yeah, it's legal to use them. We, we made sure.
Speaker 1:So there's six point stars, not five point stars. Get it right, people.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh yeah uh, but, uh, we got class. We got classes. Um, they're gonna just be a ton of fun. We're gonna start to uh tier, to like uh, you know, teach a bit more during them. Um, I don't want to go like super coach, teach heavy in those classes. I want them to be fun, but we will like introduce concepts. So, if you're looking to have uh meet an awesome group, um, come out to a really kick-ass location and just have a blast working out like, just just come through, come through, we have our first class. Well, it might be this might drop past it, but we have our first class of the year, january 5th. So, looking, looking forward to it, I'm excited and I'm excited.
Speaker 3:And then I got a one other thing. I got my online programming. It's, it's actually, it's going to come along really well this year. I got some really fun plans for it thing. I got my online programming. It's a it's actually it's going to come along really well this year. I got some really fun plans for it. And I got I got a new program starting in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1:So yeah, awesome, yeah, same same old same old for me. Man Just got some workshops, kind of about workshops, but coming through tomorrow, yeah, tomorrow, um, coming through tomorrow, yeah tomorrow. Chicago Strength, the River North location, but kind of geared like you're saying, like more classes and I feel like a little bit of teaching, but like we're going to it's not just like a traditional workshop, we're going to get working and leave a little sweaty and feel pretty good, love it.
Speaker 1:And then just keep. I've taken time off of podcasting as I'm in the podcast but my own personal podcast, but reaching out after the new year to get some new people on and I have like some people lined up right now that I'm super excited to talk to and get on and just I think network too, I mean just networking with people and in training and looking into the new year is just yeah, just revitalized.
Speaker 2:I guess I feel good going into 2025 yes, yeah, sweet, I hope to do some live classes, so hop on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's do it. What's the time difference?
Speaker 2:uh, they are six hours ahead, so you know noon 6 pm.
Speaker 1:Yep lunch grease the groove during lunch. You know we're getting after it, cool all right, well, thank you for everybody that's listening. Please like, share, follow all of our pages and, and, and send this to anybody that you guys think might enjoy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, appreciate you guys. Thank you, yeah, thank you. All right, yep.