The Masters Athlete Survival Guide
We explore thriving as an athlete after 40. Each episode, we’ll dive into tips, hacks, and inspiring stories from seasoned athletes and our personal experience. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a competitive pro, this podcast is your playbook for staying fit, strong, and motivated
The Masters Athlete Survival Guide
Cutting Through Fitness Noise After 40
We unpack why a Masters Athlete Survival Guide matters and map out a smarter path for training after 40. Between laughs and whiskey tastings, we outline recovery-first programming, mindset tools, and realistic goals that survive busy lives.
• why training after 40 needs a new guide
• injury prevention and strategic recovery
• filtering bad advice and AI-fueled fitness noise
• six pillars: recovery, life integration, progressive adaptation, technical skill, personalized programming, mind-body balance
• sustainable goal setting and milestones
• dealing with setbacks and getting back on plan
• upcoming guests on mindset and mobility
• listener homework to shape future topics
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New episodes come out every other Thursday!
Welcome to the Masters of Athletes Rival Company, where we explore the secrets to thriving in sports after 40. I'm John Catalinus, and along with Scott Fike, we'll dive into training tips, nutrition hacks, and inspiring stories from seasoned athletes who defy age limits. Whether you're a weekend warrior or a competitive pro, this podcast is your playbook for staying fit, strong, and motivated. Let's get started. And we are back. Back in black. I'm actually wearing sort of tan. Yeah. But what's the band? Oh, I'm wearing an ACDC t-shirt.
SPEAKER_00:That took you a minute. Jesus, John's getting old. Oh, 14 days. Yes. For those of you who don't know, John does an annual yearly countdown.
SPEAKER_02:No, no, no. Let's let's let's let's call a spade a spade. So a hundred days out, I acknowledge my birthday's coming. Then it's 60 30. There's some random ones in there if I find something silly. And then we usually back off until about now, two weeks out. I'm not buying your bullshit. That's true. And I put wonderful birthday suggestions on uh on my social media. You know what's funny though?
SPEAKER_00:I can remember many years ago, and and we've told the story on here a couple of times, how one of our dear friends, Tim Malally. Are all your friends dear friends? Like you you use they could be moose friends. You use a lot of deer friends, or maybe rabbit friends? Maybe rabbit friends. Rabbit friends. Okay, rabbit friends. Duck season. Rabbit season. Duck season. Sorry. All right. I digress greatly. Our rabbit friend, Tim Millaly. I know him. Bought you a like what five or ten pound bag of marshmallows.
SPEAKER_02:You want me, you want me to go get it?
SPEAKER_00:No, I still have it.
SPEAKER_02:I do not. I own, I think I forget it. I think it's six pounds, which is a ridiculous amount of marshmallows, by the way. Six pounds cereal marshmallows. Yeah, basically, you know, we're not sponsored by Lucky Charms either. They're Lucky Charms marshmallows. And I have six pounds of them. And I'm actually now at the point in my old food hoarding, which I do apparently, I'm afraid to open that bag. Because it's it is a few years old. I don't know what a few year old marshmallows do. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So why do I bring this up? I don't know. Because we do know that two weeks from today is what? Uh Christmas? No, that was two weeks from yesterday. Oh. Two weeks from today's your birthday. It is.
SPEAKER_02:That's very true.
SPEAKER_00:And since I was running out of things to buy you, this year I actually went online and I found a 10-pound bag of Cheetos.
SPEAKER_02:Is that really true?
SPEAKER_00:Even at 10 pounds, they're not a sponsor. Yeah. And I am not getting them for you.
SPEAKER_02:Does that really exist? Yes, it did. Wow. I did, you know, I've fallen down that rabbit hole before. The the large lots of weird food. Like you can buy a ridiculous amount of uncooked ramen noodles. Oh, yeah. Like an unlike a ridiculous amount. And I would just like to say to all our subscriber, um, we're you are so lucky to receive subscriber. Yeah, this this idiotic information. Sorry. We we we're having a rough, we're looking forward to the holiday. We're having a rough month.
SPEAKER_00:It's been a rough month. Yeah. So yes, we did something once before where you weren't supposed to tell anybody about that. I'm not. I was going in a different direction. Never mind. You went there.
SPEAKER_02:Never mind.
SPEAKER_00:So uh as we uh God, it's gotta be several months ago now. We talked about the subscription that Gene got me for, I think it was Christmas actually, the one for from Flavor, where every couple of months they'll send me a full-size bottle and then little tasters. Yeah, well, we haven't done a taster in a while. That's true. So I figured it's a taster kind of Friday. It's definitely a taster kind of Friday. Yeah. So it was either these or we play pickleball while trying to talk. So I figured these.
SPEAKER_02:I don't think you could run and well, I don't think you could run, but I don't think you could move and I don't think you could move and talk.
SPEAKER_00:I can run, but it's usually when I'm carrying very heavy things. Oh, and not for very far. Not for very far. Well, faster than a lot of people. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:All right, so I should be nicer to the guy with bourbon slash whiskey in his hand. Is this a bourbon or a whiskey? They're all whiskeys. Oh, they're all whiskeys. So tell us about this, Scott. No, I'm gonna pass it to you because I have the cheater. Oh. You gotta tell me at least the name of it, or do I even not know that? Bottle A. Oh, bottle A. And we're reaching, and we're reaching, and I got it.
unknown:Wow.
SPEAKER_02:We've got to put stairs in the studio or something. Scott is desperately trying not to hit his head on the microphone. Which I did earlier. Which sounded amazing. We could be fully artists. Bottle A. Here you go, Pete. Bottle A.
SPEAKER_01:What's the slantcha? Is that a thing?
SPEAKER_00:That's Irish.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, okay. You got any other ones?
SPEAKER_00:Probabst. There you go. That's German.
SPEAKER_02:I took a reasonable mouthful and um not super hot. Oh, very uh peaty slash smoky. Kind of a fan. I like the the peaty slash smoky kind of stuff. Um yeah, that's mostly the taste. I don't hate it. What's up? What is it?
SPEAKER_00:This is 40% by volume. Okay. It's called Kunhai Earth. Sure. It is a Taiwanese whiskey. As as one drinks. Yes. Sure. And you are spot on. It is the largest notes are peat.
SPEAKER_02:Look at that. I'm a little concerned where they get the peat in Taiwan, and if it's elephant-based, we might have an issue. Because I think I see an elephant picture on here. You probably do, and it probably is. Oh, yum. Well, you know, I've burned worse things. That's for sure. Are there more? There's three of them. Oh, there's three of them. Yes.
SPEAKER_00:I don't hate this. But does it good because you're keeping it in here? I'm not taking an open bottle back to the house. Oh, we'll just have to drink it afterward.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, sir. Oh. Scott's nosing. Scott's sipping. That was a little more than a sip. Oh. John is stretching. John has bottle B in hand. Okay, Scott. Um, you have the cheat seat cheat. I do, though. I'm like, what's your opinion? Your opinion's cheating. All right. Um smells like whiskey. That's always a good thing. Um that's gotta be a good noise on like you're driving in your car, listen to this podcast, and all you hear it's great. Uh kind of lame. Flat, not particularly uh, not much of a burn. Maybe a little I'll I'll get all nerd. Maybe a little vanilla, maybe a little oak, but really not. It must be young. It tastes young. How's that?
SPEAKER_00:Well, you were right with the oak. Okay. The largest tone is wood. There is some vanilla. That's what she said. Yeah. No, she didn't. There is some vanilla in it. There's dried fruit. The major fruit is tangerine. There's just a little bit of smoke. This is Kunhai Sky.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, so we're is this another Taiwanese whiskey? It's another Taiwanese whiskey. Oh. Ladies and gentlemen, spoiler alert, I think Bottle C has quite the possibility of being.
SPEAKER_00:And I honestly, folks, didn't know I opened it once I got here tonight. You opened it?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, like this. Oh, I thought you opened it and like we're drinking in a parking lot or something. Oh god, I wish. Did you did you say hi to Joe, the security guard at uh Aurora Studios parking lot? Joe just waves me in. Oh. I talked to him. You better talk to him again. I guess I better talk to him. Scott Sipping. Again, he can't give us his opinion because he knows, or at least he knows what the thing is. All right. Bottle C. This is not actually the point of this podcast, but you know. It isn't. But you guys just after the week we've had. Yeah, he just can't have to deal with it. Sorry, folks. I made that noise again. Umter. Equally as meh. Uh wood. All the crap ones. Wood vanilla. I feel like there's I I would make if I were actually like a whatever the I don't actually know what the whiskey term for like Somalier is, but I would make up some fruit. Like this has pomelo overtones. I made that up. Are you serious? No.
SPEAKER_00:Why? Yes. No. No? No. Alright. So this one is oak sweet vanilla. Not regular, but sweet. Caramel or caramel, however you decide to say it. How do you say that? Caramel. Yeah, me too. A smidge of banana. That's what she said. To you over and over and over. Stone fruit, ripe cherry, floral overtones, and truffle.
SPEAKER_02:Oh. Ladies and gentlemen, don't you believe that you could write every one of those reviews and just throw words like that out? Because I feel like most whiskeys have like, oh, it's got stone fruit notes, which I'm assuming is peach and what else? What else has those kind of.
SPEAKER_00:I don't know. Those kinds of nose. Maybe. So, yes, you were right. This is our third and final Taiwanese whiskey. Yeah. Kunhai Sun. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Ladies and gentlemen, if you see a Taiwanese whiskey, unless you're into the peaty one, I would move on to colder climbs. Yeah. I I wouldn't. Yeah. Not a fan of Taiwanese whiskey. I mean, I'm sure I could drink it by the bottle if I needed to. I've been known to be.
SPEAKER_00:Are you ready for my shocked face? Because you're not going to get it. Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:Alright, so John. Yes, sir. Now that we've indulged ourselves a little bit and bored our one subscriber. Yeah. Poor guy. Yeah. I thought it was a woman. Two subscribers. Two subscribers. Okay. So now that we've done this and we've sort of helped ourselves get over the trauma week. Oh, there we go. There's the dollar. There's the dollar. Had to get in early, folks. Alright. So what did you want to talk about today?
SPEAKER_02:Well, so you know, end of the year you get kind of reflective, right? So I'm reflecting. And I I was thinking this, and I don't know how to form it. Maybe you can help me through it, but doubtful. Probably not. We we have this Master's Athlete survival guide, right? Yes. So, you know, kind of like you know, the big questions of the world, you know, like why are we here? Why is there evil in the world? Why is there a master's athlete survival guide? Why is it necessary? Why is it needed? I'm sorry, did you ask why is there evil in the world? I did. I I'm into the big questions these days. What are you, cant? Did you notice the silence as I both as I did? He had to make sure he heard me correctly. No, I heard him correctly. I was just, I just, you know, every now and then I can force that inner 14-year-old down. That's why there's evil in the world, John. Oh, no, I'm not forcing an external 14-year-old down. That's just wrong. I know.
SPEAKER_00:All right, so take all of that and put it in one question.
SPEAKER_01:Didn't I ask the final question?
SPEAKER_02:You did, but you had way too much bullshit in there. Okay. Scott, why did we feel it's necessary to have the Masters Athlete survival guide?
SPEAKER_00:Is that my question? That's your question. Okay. So I think it's because Masters athletes need or do better with some sort of a guide because their body needs to work smarter. They need more individualized training that prioritizes strategic recovery, manages sort of the cumulative stresses not only of the outside, but of our aging joints, and balances complex life demands like career, family, along with fitness, longevity, preventing injury, and promoting performance gains. Wow, that's a lot to unpack there, Scottness. All right.
SPEAKER_02:So you see, I have thought of this stuff. I guess. All right. So first and foremost, remember John.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. I'm a doctor.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I guess. But that that felt very dissert dissertative. Is that a word? Like dissertative? Dissertative? Is that the what would the verb of doing preventing your your dissertation be? Pain. Um agony, torture.
SPEAKER_00:Fair enough. I can go on. Fair enough. Fair enough. Fair enough. Alright, go ahead. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, no, no, no. The the first thought I had is the the smarter part. And and we are not the smarter aspect of this podcast at all, but we've drug kicking and screaming some guests in. Because I don't know about you, but when I'm out in the wild talking to people about still being an athlete and they're still trying to be an athlete, people are confused. People don't know what to believe, not to believe. People have opinions. Uh I until recently hung on to a lot of things that I think I learned in I don't know, 1987.
SPEAKER_00:I was really hoping you're gonna say 84 so I could hit the Orwell the Orwell reference. The what reference? George Orwell. Okay, just checking.
SPEAKER_02:This this this is another off the rail masterpiece podcast. Yeah. No, sorry, folks. But like so we just we just did the and go back and listen to it later, not now. Uh the YouTube podcast, where yeah, we're talking about how people gather information and what the good and bad is out there. For those that don't do that, you you can be working with like I read it in the Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding in 1984.
SPEAKER_00:Or I mean everybody talks about the ilks of social media and how they sort of they'll I saw it on social media, it must be true. Well, yeah, if you think that like Al Gore invented the internet, he did. Folks, please stay tuned. We're gonna have a discussion off-air for a moment. Okay, but I mean Yeah, I get you. I I was flipping through, and you know, they say that Facebook is now being taken over by boomers and Gen X and and whatnot. So like people our age and maybe a little bit younger. So you look at these things, and I've gotten to the point now, John, where I don't trust even the things I know that are mechanically possible by the human body. Because everything is so AI integrated. Oh my god. And and yes, you know, my wife Jean said to me, 'Show they're supposed to put a label on it if it's AI. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that happened. Exactly. You know, like I have a full head of hair, right, and bullshit.
SPEAKER_02:And strippers really don't love you and want to be with you forever. They don't? Ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna have to have another conversation.
SPEAKER_00:All right, all kidding aside. I think that's part of the issue that masters athletes have to deal with. You know, yes, we grew up in an era where the majority of our information came from maybe a PE coach, books, books, or a trainer or books that you got. And in John's case, you know, I'm looking over to the antique collection that we have here at Aurora Studios, and I do see the encyclopedia of bodybuilding sitting over there as long, or as well as his muscle and fitness subscriptions for what looks like 10 years. Rachel McLish. I remember her. Yeah, I do.
SPEAKER_02:Very attractive and Kiana Tom.
SPEAKER_00:Very, very well developed. Yes. Uh Corey Everson. Corey Everson. Yeah. She's still out there on social media putting her stuff out. But I mean, these are the people that when they do their stuff and they're doing their things. Well, I do this many sets of this many repetitions of this much weight. Well, that's what they're telling you. Yep. You don't get hypertrophy to get, you know, that muscular development and the ballooning of muscles, that sort of blood gorge that you see in bodybuilders by doing those massive numbers of weight with lower repetitions.
SPEAKER_02:Not to mention uh I mean, looking back, was any of that true? Was that ghostwritten by like because I mean the magazines kind of owned those people a little bit, right? 100%. What was to keep them from saying, hey, Corey Everson, this is your workout that we're telling everybody?
SPEAKER_00:Well, we have a friend, Dan Murphy from Highland, yeah, who wrote for Wrestling Magazine. Oh, that's right. And he said he was paid by the word, and he would write stories about this person or that person or whatnot. And when you talk to him at Highland Games, he would give you some of those stories for real. Oh, not the stuff that was written. Yeah. Because it, I mean, let's face it, what's the purpose of a magazine? To make money. Yeah. Oh, that's true. So they're gonna do those types of things.
SPEAKER_02:So is that why Dan always says things like and it was a very, very, very, very, very long time ago. Like, is he like word-centric now to try to do we owe him money for listening to him?
SPEAKER_00:I don't know, but I bought him enough beers over the years, so I I think we're covered.
SPEAKER_02:Is there such a thing as enough beers? Yeah, yeah, I rush my case. Your Honor, I rush my case. All right. No, but see, here's another thing to be a little more serious. Uh, if you think about the arc of a of an athlete that started as masters, all right. So you're a child of the 80s. You you got it from books, you got it from friends, you just went into a gym and did the Nautilus machines, whatever. Because that's they either had free weights or Nautilus machines. So you come back at 40, the the world has changed. Uh so much is different. There's there's a lot more science, uh, things like the the you know the eastern block is is a lot more accessible, so you're getting Soviet training and and German training, German overload methods, yeah. All that stuff all the all the wider, yeah, digital wider stuff. Yeah, all that stuff is leaked out into the universe, and you're a little lost. So, what does one do now is you look on the internet and hey Google, yeah. And honestly, I I I don't know. Ten years ago, I think the internet was kind of believable. I mean, back in the early days of Facebook where you'd like friend request everybody you've ever heard of.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I think the thing now is John, it's how many people are you influencing? Because once you get to a certain number, you can actually make money off of these things by not selling, but getting people to view your stuff. I mean, we've got some people that we've competed with that that's all they're doing.
SPEAKER_02:Yep. I and that's where I was headed is like today's information is 19 steps to get bigger biceps. You won't believe number seven, right? Like I mean, that's a wait until the end. Yeah. Oh yeah, and wait till the end for the super secret secret. Yeah. So I I don't know. I I guess one of the reasons for the guide was just to give some reality checks, right?
SPEAKER_00:You know, Eddie Hall. World's strongest man, social media influencer now.
SPEAKER_02:Way more than an athlete. Oh, yeah, 100% more. He does stupid things that I don't necessarily need to watch.
SPEAKER_00:Right. But he had a phrase that he used to say when he was competing. Okay. I need more chocolate. No, it was I need more food. Oh. But there was another phrase he used to say. Okay. Back up your bullshit. Oh. That's true. And I think that's where the guide, you know, when you and I first talked about this went. How do we cut through the bullshit and bring people on who have real world experience that can help those athletes that are either a, you know, back in college I could, or back in high school I could, or they're just starting. Or, you know, as you've talked about, all joking aside, with pickleball, people who are in their 60s, 70s, and 80s that are still playing quite competitively. Yep. And, you know, living their lives. They're not on the couch. Eating Geos. Not a sponsor. Thank you. I set that up so hard for you. I'm proud of you. Thanks. So I think that's where we were trying to go with a lot of this. As I go back to uh to some of the research that I did. You did research? I actually did research with this. I came up with six sort of topics or points that a guide can help with.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you're gonna read them to us now? I am sorry. I'm gonna read them in a very dull and teacher-like voice, like the guy from uh Ferris Bueller, who was an economist, if I remember correctly, Ben something.
SPEAKER_00:Bueller.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Bueller. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:It was like that lady in Colorado when we ordered lunch that day. Am I not remembering the lady in Colorado we were at lunch one day?
SPEAKER_00:The uh the barbecue food truck outside the shop.
SPEAKER_02:Oh yeah, yeah. Outside the show. That's right.
SPEAKER_00:All right. So here are the things that I thought injury prevention and recovery. You know, we've talked a lot about that and particularly more the recovery side. We talked a little bit about injury with Doc. Um life integration, really. That how do you mix and balance? Oh, and you know, some of the guests that we've had on talked about, I didn't know because there was that chunk of my life where if I worked out once every couple of weeks, I was lucky because the kids had something or something broke down or whatever.
SPEAKER_02:Um progressive adaptation, this idea of knowing how to scale exercises versus grinds versus you know grip exercise and the things I think if we're gonna serve people in 2026, I think we've got to do more of that because there's about 11,000 ways to skin that cat. And I think that's something we look more at.
SPEAKER_00:I agree with you there. Technical skill refinement. Oh, getting somebody who can help, and this this sort of loops in with another one, which is the personalized programming. Getting somebody who doesn't give you those cookie-cutter like programs?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I could sell a program, I could I could be on the internet in an hour selling programs.
SPEAKER_00:I think that's one of the things that I really love about the trainer I work with. He might give similar programs because, like my brother does strongman out of the gym. Okay, and he'll give Timmy and I similar programs, but the order of the exercises.
SPEAKER_02:So, did Richard Simmons give you like a lot of workouts before he passed, or are you just rehashing old ones?
SPEAKER_00:Hi, Tony. I think John would like to talk to you. But you know, it's and it's the weights, the the repetitions, and really sort of because of the injuries that I have and those types of things, how to work around them. And then I think the biggest one, and we've hit on this a few times, is mind-body balance. How to, you know, what is the mental acuity of what you're trying to do and figure out how it fits in with the stresses of your life and the when and the where.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I'm I'm I'm definitely want to investigate the mental side more in future episodes too, because I'm not positive it can overcome a lot of shortcomings physically, but it feels like it can overcome a lot of shortcomings physically, not that shortcoming physically. I've learned to live with that. Thank you. You're welcome, folks. If you could have seen his face, he was like giggling like a seven-year-old, like, oh you have a little weenie.
SPEAKER_00:All right, but in all seriousness, I know what you're saying, and it's learning, you know, in we joked around about it, but learning to live with the shortcomings you have and how does it impact your training? Do you need to, as you and I have done in you know, the the half dozen or so years that we've worked out together, pivoting to things that are more appropriate for what your body can now physically do?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and the other thing I think I've learned from these 40 episodes or however episodes we have right now, um 312. Yeah. The the the people that really are are happy within their sport pursuit are really competing against themselves. They are not, you know, it it's not I mean, you know, thief is the you know comparison is the thief of joy. Sorry, I had to get all my words in my head to her together for a second. Um no, I think the people we've had on the the people we compete with, they're not competing against us, which makes me angry because they still beat me. But they're really just trying to put their best version out. But John, I guess the question is are they beating you or are you beating yourself? See, that's what I want to that's exactly what I want to look at in the future. And I'd let the any 14-year-old version of me not comment on that, Scott, because I am an adult. That's not what Karen says. I know.
SPEAKER_00:All right. I know we're we're sort of playing around a lot here tonight. Yeah, I'm sorry, live with us.
SPEAKER_02:We're we we've had a week, a month. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I guess in my mind, we have beat up metaphorically, realistically, the concept of injury and working around injury and sort of how to progressively, you know, go back to the Joe Weeder principle of progressive overload. We've talked about that and we've really gone from the very basics of it, just get off the couch and walk for five minutes, then you know, then ten minutes, then pick up uh a sandbag and and move around with it or whatever. We've talked about those sort of progressive processes. But we haven't explored how even if those micro movements are going to cause injury. What can you do? Because some of it can relate to, and this sort of ties into where you and I have talked about in past shows, we want to go, but the mental side of it. How much can the mental side of it go past it? How far are you willing to push yourself mentally? I mean, in competition when you're competing against other people, we talk about that 10% rule. You know, if you're really balls out pushing yourself hard, maybe 15%. You know, if you don't care if you get injured, hell damn, we might even get to 20%. Hell damn. Hell damn. There was a comment in there. Make sure you remember that comment. I mean, yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_02:So, but we live in an era of David Goggins. Oh god. And I think that I think that's the best of times and the worst of times because it it's it's great. It's great to read his book, it's great to watch some of his videos. It's it's great to watch him just not accept pain and failure. That's awesome. It's cool, it's expiring.
SPEAKER_00:I think it's unrealistic. Well, I just read the one book that he did, and I don't remember the title of it. He said, My first hundred mile marathon. Yeah. He said, After I was done, my wife found me in the hotel room. I was literally on the floor shaking, crying, soiling myself, you know, the skin sloughing off of my feet. Yeah, I remember. I'm sorry. I push myself, folks. I know John pushes himself with some of these things, and competition brings it even more so. But as a masters athlete, I don't know that that's where we want to go. I like my flesh non-sloughed. Yeah. I think what we need to examine is what's the mental side of we talk about the endorphin rush, okay? I know if I've missed workouts and you sort of get in that mental, oh, I don't have the energy, you know, I just worked 14 hours, whatever. But you go out and you work out, and then I know that all the time, and and I felt it again last night because I did a solid heavy workout last night. And after it was done, yes, physically you feel the muscles are drained, it's hard to walk from the compound, you know, in. But mentally the endorphins in my head are just up in the clouds, and you feel good.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. I will here, I will defend the rest of us. I don't get that. I don't get that endorphin thing. I don't, it just hurts more. But I guess I have to go the mental route of I've just done something good for my future self.
SPEAKER_00:And I think that's what I've done. I think that's the endorphin to me. Okay. Is the all right, I wasn't shout out to Mark, a jack wagon sitting on gross, yeah, on the couch watching TV, you know, drinking brown brown liquid, not Taiwanese, not Taiwanese whiskey, you know, having a bourbon or something, and at the end of the day, you go to bed and it's like I should have done something. Yeah. So to me, I think it's do I feel good mentally? Yes. And I think some of it is altruistic in the sense that I know that it's going to help me. The knees won't hurt as much when I'm walking, you know, the joints won't be as stiff, the pants, the the shirt will all fit better. You know, some of us don't order a lady's schmedium like John does to make itself look good.
SPEAKER_02:You know, I got you got it, you gotta show it. You know, and to you ain't got it to translate from your muttonhead power building strongman crap. My mutton head? Yeah, I went with muttonhead. I'm a doctor. Not a real doctor. I don't know shit. Um I I think that can be translated. I think you can cut and paste any activity there. You come home from work and you go to the Y and you swim.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, yeah, 100%.
SPEAKER_02:I just I don't want to pigeonhole us as oh, those are those two guys that lift rocks.
SPEAKER_00:No, and that's not where I was going with that. My choice is is weightlifting. Your body, your body, your choice?
SPEAKER_02:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:I'm letting you go on that one. I am all over the place. I am letting you go on that one.
SPEAKER_02:I apologize.
SPEAKER_00:You know, yeah, I think one of the things we need to examine this coming year. And folks, if you know somebody that's a specialist in any of these areas, please reach out to us on Instagram. Give us their name. If it's you, let us know. We're more than happy to bring you onto the show.
SPEAKER_02:Or if you know someone that makes Cheetos, what brand makes Cheetos? Cheeto brand. Is it Cheetos? I think it was Cheetos. Yes. If you know Chester Cheetah, please. We would love, we would love to interview him.
SPEAKER_00:I think one of the things I'd like to look at this year, whether it's I mean, we had Danny LeBresh on a month and a half ago, two months ago, something like that. And we talked a little bit about his training, you know, as he works with younger athletes and then he works in two with older athletes. We just had Adrian on, Adrian Wilson, what I think that was our last, our last podcast. I think that's two ago. Two ago, okay, that just went out. And we talked with her and we talked with Denny about this idea of what's the difference between younger and older athletes. But I think I want to examine more that 35 to 65 group and the sort of gradient mentality of progressive overload and how we we sort of that journey isn't always a straight line.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, that's true. I never, you know, it's funny, I never thought of that, but it that's absolutely true. Um and Facebook memories don't help that at all because I'll look back at something and I'm like, oh no, I was bigger and stronger. Oh, when did that happen? That was what 70 pounds ago. Yeah, this is a hundred pounds ago in 15 years.
SPEAKER_00:Gross. But I mean, I think those are the things that I'd like to examine a little bit. I'd like to get more. We we've talked to a few different people about dietetics. I'd like to revisit that on the back side of the recovery process.
SPEAKER_02:If we were a real podcast at this point, we'd say, hey folks, comment anything that you'd love to hear, and we'll certainly try to find an expert in that field because unless it's about not being a real doctor or being awesome, we don't know anything about uh I'm the awesome part. You're not the doctor part. What an ass I know, right? I I also am one of the the at least the room's leading experts on Taiwanese whiskeys. So I don't know. I knew what was in them.
SPEAKER_00:Good point. Um, you know, we talked with Candace when right before she was about to do, I think, her 24-hour marriage.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, that yeah, that ridiculous thing.
SPEAKER_00:I'd like to get her back on, and I'd like to like interview her with her mindful coach.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Because I think that mental side of it, we talk a lot about the get off the couch, that type of thing. Candace brought up that she works with somebody that gives her this concept of no, you're not gonna say this. This is what you're going to say. You're not allowed to say this because we are too programmed into that defeatist mentality with what we do. You are either a showboat as I look across Aurora Studios and see John, or you are an incredibly humble person as I look in a mirror and see myself, says non humbly, says the guy who brought a mirror with him. But I think that's we see a lot of that, and I think social media brings that out in people.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, but I I think you know what? That that's a good thing, because I think mindset is a a life skill for sure. That even you know, if you take anything away from the silliness that we tend to record, that might be a really big part of the toolkit. Is because mindset doesn't isn't just athletics, mindset is like like I am really, really capable of thinking through exactly how a meeting is gonna go and it's gonna go horribly, and it puts me in a bad mood even though it's a week away and I don't know anything. Like suddenly I'm a mind reader. But you know it's two weeks away. What? Your birthday. Oh, yeah. I forgot. I know. How weird.
SPEAKER_00:Well, we talk about mindset and we talk about that sort of positiveness that people, some people exude all the time. We have a guest coming up, and I'm just trying to line up the exact time. Dr. Anthony Ty Wilson, who I introduced you to last year. Yeah, I'm not Ty. Ty is uh a PhD, so he's a doctor just like me. Real doctor, nice just like me. Nice. Um, uh Dean uh at a college. Okay. Uh is a Mooy TIE fighter.
SPEAKER_02:Wait, are you saying he's Thai fighter? Are you saying that? Oh my god, never thought of that. That's awesome. I am so excited. I'm so excited. You're gonna share that with him right now.
SPEAKER_00:I might wear a whole stormtrooper outfit. Yeah, go ahead. Yeah, exactly. All right, sorry. Uh Mooie TIE Fighter uh does yoga, does a lot of stretching type of stuff. He was in a car accident back in August of this year. That I think honestly, I mean, he was truly lucky to survive. Wow, but I think a lot of it was just how healthy he was. So I think all of these things sort of fit into it. And Ty is in his 40s.
SPEAKER_02:There's a call, there's a cautionary tale be in shape or die.
SPEAKER_00:I'm sorry I didn't need to laugh so loud into the microphones. Oh, yeah, you did. But I he is one of those people that when you talk to Ty, the first thing you know, you say, Hey, how you doing? His line is life is good. Yeah, you know, and like he'll tell his students at the college, he'll say, No excuses, man. Hashtag no excuses. Uh you're gonna do this shit. When you walk into his office, because his office is next to mine, he'll have like these red post-it notes up there that his student athletes will come in, and those are their affirmations that they have said they're going to do. Oh, so I think you know, he is one of those people that I work with that is just phenomenal with this, and he's got the right mental mindset. That's awesome. And I think when we have our conversation with him, it's gonna be really, really eye-opening.
SPEAKER_02:That's cool, because I suck at that.
SPEAKER_00:I'm gonna agree and disagree with you.
SPEAKER_02:No, I suck at that. Let's not I think so. You go ahead, you talk you talk about Ty's office. So if you've ever been into like a corporate office back in the day where they have those motivational posters of like guys shaking hands, eagle for the wall. So for a while, I don't know if it still exists. There was a brand called Demotivators, and I had this huge poster on my wall, and it was the ocean, and there was a big ocean liner sinking. And the quote underneath it said, Fuck it, you're gonna go down. No, it said, take a step back and realize your only place on earth may to be a warning for others. I was like, I don't know, that sounds like I love that. Yeah, so that was my thing for a long time. I took it down though, because I believe in myself.
SPEAKER_00:You should bring that to the gym. You gotta find it and put it up in the gym.
SPEAKER_02:It's around somewhere. It is.
SPEAKER_00:You know, we joke a lot, and I think that's one of your true gifts, is that you know how to pick things apart to help other people see where to make improvements, and you won't let people bullshit because I mean I've tried it so I'm really because I'm really good at myself. Yes, I tried it so many times, and you're like, knock it off. That's my job. I know, you know. I mean, and it was funny because I was training the one time and you weren't there for a Sunday because you blew us off. Shots fired, and uh Ryan Chi looks at me and says, Come on, John. Oh, I was wasting time of like look at that.
SPEAKER_02:I like oh shit, I'm getting called out by someone else now, but you got called out by like uh the newest OFG, yeah. But I mean, I feel like I'm a stereotype now. So this is what I've done to myself.
SPEAKER_00:I'm lazy and look for excuses, and you're masochistic with this crap that you come up with. Yeah, that too. All right, so we've talked about why to have a guide. Yep. You know, it sort of helps separate the the wheat from the chaff, so to speak.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And we've talked about some of the things that we want to get. We know we want to get more mindfulness in here, we want to get more positive mentality. Uh, how can we sort of impart that? I I really I told you I want to get into that gradiated progressive overload and how it sort of fits people. What are the things that you want to see us cover in the next year?
SPEAKER_02:This is how my mind works. Do you know the I really don't want to know. I think it's the Brady Bunch saying Sunshine Day. There's a story. No, the think I'll go for a walk outside now. Is that some or the partridge? I don't know, but all I know that when you got all positive, that's where my head went. I'm sorry. It's okay. Um I am dealing with a little bit of a nagging back injury. I would like to just I would like to deal with that. Yeah. Thanks, Candace. On this doll, show her Candace hurts you. Yeah, stupid strong man, and then jump in the car for five hours. Although we did get pie. We got pie, and we had a great podcast for that one. Yes, we so and we had pie. Um I even had pie. Yeah, so I think I mean we say it more than I think I believe it sometimes on this, is the Wait, so you're lying? Maybe a little bit. What do you do when you fall down? Like you got off the couch, you trip, you fall down. It's easier to get back on the couch where it's comfy than to dust yourself off and go. It's not how hard you get hit. It's how hard you get up after you get hit. I feel like we're gonna get sued by Sylvester Stallone, as we should, because that was sad. That was a bad rocky person. Although, you know, was it? Because I understood where you were going with it. It it was because you understood what I said. Yeah, I guess. So yeah, so I think it's that perseverance. Uh I think I think we should explore some perseverance because again, you know, it tends to drift in what we know. So, right, it tends to drift in a strong man and lifting stuff and highland and track and field and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah gym stuff. But and pickleball. God bless pickleball. Uh, you know, that could be a life lesson too, right? Like I have one question though before you go on.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:You used a four-syllable world. You need like a world? World. Yeah, do you need like ice for your brain or something?
SPEAKER_02:What word was that? I missed it.
SPEAKER_00:Perseverance. Oh, look at that. Yeah, you know, I save them up. Anyway, go ahead. All right. So I like that. I like the thought of you fell down. Yeah. What do you do? Because then bullshit, you get up. Well, no kidding.
SPEAKER_02:Thanks, Einstein. Yeah, but I think that glues people, you know, quote unquote, back to the couch. Like I I finally got off the couch. I went to the gym. I got after it like I did when I was 20. Oh my god, every muscle in my body wants to fall off. I am going back on the couch. I am not doing that again.
SPEAKER_00:Gargle with baking soda because it pulls all the lactic acid and it forces it out your body. You don't want to know how. You made that up, didn't you?
SPEAKER_02:No, I didn't. Is that real? No, not the not the elimination part, but the baking soda actually helps with recovery.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, it just pulled the lactic acid because it's a base of the acid.
SPEAKER_02:Ladies and gentlemen, I will be doing some research this evening.
SPEAKER_00:Says the scientist over there. The non-scientist brings this up. Oh, it's very exciting. All right, so there's one thing. What else do you want to know?
SPEAKER_02:Uh what else do I need to know? There's no want anymore. It's need. Um I think I don't need to know this, but I think I need just said there's no more want. No, but I I need to hold myself to a to a competition schedule. Or I I think I need to map out a year. I know a great competition in June. Where's that? It's in Iowa. Oh, yeah, I'm not. Ladies and gentlemen, this just in John Catalinus, although qualified for nationals in Strongman, will not be attending. Yes, he will. I'm still working on it. And it's Iowa. Dude, is it expensive to get there?
SPEAKER_00:I have no idea.
SPEAKER_02:I haven't booked travel yet. Well, I was just thinking, shouldn't they put it like well, Vegas? We're looking like August-ish for Iceland. Oh.
SPEAKER_00:We know we've got something in Iceland.
SPEAKER_02:So yeah, there's that. Yeah, so I think I think getting a schedule like milestones. Okay. Milestones. And they don't have to be grandiose months away. I mean, they can be bi-weekly milestones.
SPEAKER_00:Well, here's one for you. Oh. January 3rd, Tony is holding a powerlifting event at the gym. You need spotters? I can spot. I can spot with the best of them. No, he needs athletes. Yeah, I'm not. Powerlifting. If you can't be an athlete, why are we doing powerlifting? Being athletics. That's a thing happening? Yeah, really. That's cool. He actually came to me and said, Do you mind? I'm like, dude, you're on the board. Yeah, go ahead. That's cool. You gonna buy a monolift? That ain't happening. That's like 1600 bucks.
SPEAKER_02:Ah, Jim's so cheap.
SPEAKER_00:Whatever. Okay, so we need to start looking at you know, we started this whole journey, what, a little over a year ago, maybe a year and a half ago, with the concept of goal setting. Yep. Maybe we need to get back to it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. See, I that I guess that's a biggie, right? Like just because you check the box doesn't mean it's checked forever.
SPEAKER_00:No, I think you have to re-examine that box. What else do you want to know?
SPEAKER_02:I don't know. I don't know. We're just, you know, again, my inner 14-year-old stood up and I just asked him to sit back down. The adults are talking. No, I think I'm good. I don't I don't know. I I'm it's it's a weird space at the end of the year. You know, you you get reflective as to what you said you were gonna accomplish versus what you were gonna accomplish, which you definitely are gonna. I mean, maybe we should do we should do a an episode from like a gym on January 2nd or something like that. Because have you done that? That's been in a gym on January 2nd? It is filled with such hope. So much hope.
SPEAKER_00:You're asking me if I've been in a gym. Oh, I don't know. Have you seen you? 200 feet behind my house.
SPEAKER_02:No, that's what I meant. Have you been in a real gym, like a like a commercial gym?
SPEAKER_00:Or a licensed commercial gym? Oh my god. Yes. Okay, so it to John's point and all the gym memes that you say you see up there, they're coming. Yeah. Because everybody sets that January 1st, I'm gonna get in shape. I'm going to this, I'm going to this. And everybody always sets those grandiose, lofty goals. I think we need to re-examine what goals are. Yeah. Because the people who are in the gym every week, week after week, year after year, we hate January, February. Because it's full three times over. We love to see people, we love to see people starting stuff, but you know they're done in a month. I'd rather see people, yeah. I'd rather see people stick with it. I would rather have to reorganize my schedule because the gym's so full. Yep. Or whatever. But that's the problem that we're seeing. Set those goals, damn kids. I think it's the damn kids. Set the goals realistically and then move. But you're right. Make them realistic.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think we're gonna have to go through the episode list. All right, ladies and gentlemen, here's what here's your homework for this episode. Listen to every episode we've ever done.
SPEAKER_00:By next week.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. No, seriously. Listen and comment because I think like a lot of the things, especially things we did early, like we should probably go back to posturology.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I know Mike would love to talk to you.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think we should go back now that now that I've understood it a little more and we've applied it a little bit.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah, I think we should go back to some of that stuff. Here's the question. Okay. Do we know the way to San Jose?
SPEAKER_01:La la la la la la la la la.
SPEAKER_00:Are those Taiwanese whiskey vials empty?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, look at it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I think we go down to Mike's place in Ohio. Oh, a remote. And run a remote session. Have him there, put us through because he does a thorough like test process. Oh, really? For I get tested. You know, and I've been tested before. We know. Run, you know, talk with some of his athletes because he works with a lot of different athletes out of his gym.
SPEAKER_02:That might be interesting. Although, again, you know how I was earlier singing the Partridge Family or the Brady Bunch. The Brady family, Partridge Bunch. When you said remote, you know what I pictured in my head? What's sitting in my lap? Les Nessman on Thanksgiving. Remote from the parking lot of I don't know. I just watched that not too long ago. The turkey drop. And you know what, kids, if you if you don't get that reference, you probably are listening to the wrong podcast. You should probably change it to some true crime something. Amen. Amen.
SPEAKER_00:Must stop. I think we've sort of beat it up. We we've we identified some of the thoughts where we'd like to go. We talked about some people we want to bring back. And we've asked our three listeners. I think we I think we picked up another one out in the Faroe Islands.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, to the Faroe Islands person, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You know, I think we're asking you folks, you know, we do get some comments every now and then on the podcast, and you know, we get some thoughts that get thrown at us on Instagram. We're truly asking you, what are some things that you're maybe seeing in your journey, whether it's towards the beginning, towards the end, whether you're smack dab in the middle of it, what are some things that you'd like us to talk about? If you got some thoughts, please throw them our way.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Yeah. And someday we'll make money from this, and I can insert You Are Not Alone by Michael Jackson, like underneath as you were saying that, because it would have been super dramatic and cool. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm still Scott. I'm still John. Bye. Bye. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post it on your social media, or leave a review. To catch all the latest from us, you can follow us on Instagram at Masters Athlete Survival Guide. Thanks again. Now get off our lawn, you damn kids.