Train For A Great Life
A Great Life doesn't happen by accident.
I'll share my own experiences, thoughts on training, mindset, life and how to build a great life of your own.
Train For A Great Life
John Welz: Diesel Day
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Introduction and New Fatherhood
Speaker 1Yeah , hello , welcome back to another episode of Train for a Great Life . I've got my first repeat guest , actually Mr John Wells . So yeah , high honor this is . I want to talk to you very specifically about something you did recently . We kind of touched on it . We were talking maybe two , almost two months ago or something around there . Um , so anyway , we'll , we'll lead in with that . You did a thing called diesel day that I just want to hear all about . Um , you know you're a couple weeks removed from it , but I'm sure the , the stories are still very vivid in your mind . Um , and you're also a new dad . So congratulations on that . And um , let's , let's start with the dad stuff . Just tell me a little bit about your experience so far , and then we'll jump over to diesel day oh , it's been amazing .
Speaker 2It's like as soon as it happened . It's almost like you forget everything before it and just a whole new life starts and know , of course there's chaos and there's unknowns and there's juggling different scenarios every single week , cause it's ever changing . But I swear to God , like if you're sitting there and then he throws you a smile like all is good in the world , right , but it's so cool to just have a whole new venture in life with this little human and just thinking about , like , who he's going to be and everything like that .
Speaker 2So it's been it's been awesome these last seven weeks .
Speaker 1Man , wait until you start to like get glimpses of who he's going to be . It's so cool yeah it's crazy .
Speaker 2I sit there , I sit there with them in my arms and I'm like dude , you're not going to fit here forever . This is crazy .
Speaker 1Yeah , I mean we just sent Leonardo on the bus for junior kindergarten . We're two weeks in . That's wild . It is yeah , yeah . And Calvin's going to be seven months tomorrow and I was just having a laugh this morning like laces over in our kitchen and leonardo's I don't know , he's running around just a little chaos before school and uh , I don't like it's so funny because every phase like we've been through it all with leonardo but you just kind of like it all seems new again . Um , and he's just lying on the floor and I don't know how he makes these sounds , but he's just like like he sounds like . He sounds like he's like two year old and trying to be like a monster . Like the sounds that come out of him . They're deep and it's amazing it's just hilarious .
Speaker 1I'm looking over , I'm like she's , she's gonna be such a boy mom . Well , it is already , but like my God , it's just gonna . There's , there's a way more to come . Yeah , I love it . I love it . Um , happy , happy baby . Like , how's he doing that way ? Is he he ? He got oh my God , yeah they're like they're like are you sleeping Like the , the , the normal stuff ?
Speaker 2Yeah , and then you give somebody a good answer and they just don't accept it and they're like no , you just wait , you just wait . Yeah , no , he actually he PR to sleep this week . Uh , it's still not perfect , but it's getting longer . Um , he really only gets like crazy fussy when he's hungry . So , yeah , clearly he's just like me and everything else , all is good . He's like lifting his head now and everything , and it's just like such a joy . And he comes to the gym , doesn't mind that's really seven weeks yeah , loves the gym .
Speaker 2Got a strong little dude there . Oh yeah , oh yeah , mom , mom worked out up until the day . Yeah , so I guarantee you she gave him some of her athletic ability .
Speaker 1Just feeding that cool , well , hey , uh , I know that . So , so this whole diesel day thing , like it was kind of a a thing for you to do before fatherhood , am I right ? Yeah , 100 okay , so tell me , tell me a bit about more , about like , just that , I mean , wherever your mind goes . Then we'll get into the specifics of like , what it all was .
The Decision to Do Diesel Day
Speaker 2Yeah . So you know , every so often I like to challenge myself and I think we're very much the same on this because we've talked about it before and it's not so much like oh , I want to go do this thing and train for it , it's just like no , no , no , no , like I want to try to find my breaking point . But that's what I like to do every so often . So there's no specific training that needs to be done for these things . It's just find the thing , set the target , go and do it and try to up the ante every time that you go and do something new so that you move that line in the sand . So a friend of mine had done Diesel Day , probably about a year before me , because we were at Two Brain Summit and I met Tosh there when he did his speech . Yeah , he spoke toward the end .
Speaker 2Yeah . So I went up to him . I go I'm going to see you within a year because I really want to do this thing . And you know we hit it off and he's like all right , brother , I'll see you then . And you know he's been in the CrossFit space for a while . I followed him . I love his philosophy on things . It's very simple , it's very straight to the point and it's just , it's , it's no bullshit .
Speaker 2So as that started to unfold , court ended up getting pregnant . So we started to go down that road and , um , I was looking at it I believe it was in may and it was something that I wanted to do . I knew it was something that I wanted to do . Now it had a little bit of a deeper meaning because I wanted to do it before I was going to be a dad . That was like the last challenge that I wanted to do before we opened up that new chapter .
Speaker 2So I remember I was sitting on the couch with court and I was like court , uh , you can say no , but there's this thing that I want to do . It's the last thing that I want to do before the little guy's born . It's on 4th of July , so I'm going to be leaving 4th of July to go to Colorado and do this thing and also it's going to be like three weeks before your due date . So the last little caveat I was like there is a transferable deposit so if shit doesn't go the right way , like I can do it at a later date , if I put the deposit down . And you know she's always supported me in everything that I do and she's like if you want to do this , go do it A hundred percent . There's no , no questions asked .
Speaker 1So I didn't even go to the to the that January meetup last year with our due date in March and we knew he was going to be early .
Speaker 2but yeah , yeah , yeah , so it's weird , yeah , like a little roll of the dice there . Oh , dude , like the couple weeks leading up to it I was asking non-stop , was like how's everything feeling , how we doing , all right . Then we get to the week of , and you know , she's like I think it's going to be totally fine and I'm like all right , so we're doing this thing like it's happening , like we're going back to it . Yeah , yeah , so uh , paid for it . Um , we comes , I get all my gear together , basically flew up to uh Denver with a backpack , a sleeping bag and a little camp pillow , and from there , uh , he picked us up in Boulder .
Speaker 2So I took an Uber all the way to Boulder , which is where his ranch is . So he picked us up at this meeting spot . I did it with three other dudes that I didn't know , but the cool part about it is , if you sign up for something that is 24 hours straight of just fitness and moving , the people that you're doing with you know it's just a different caliber , like it takes a certain type of bullshit type people too yeah , it takes a certain type of person to sign up for something like that .
Speaker 2Um , so , essentially , like what the whole thing is , before I get into the details is uh , he runs this program , it's called diesel day , and it's with this , uh , philosophy , or this framework that he developed to handle yourself through challenging times and just keep your mind right when things get hard so that you can keep pushing forward and not let what he calls the mind's mind start to creep in . Is , you know , we always have this dialogue in our head and we can communicate with our mind , but then our mind also has a mind that communicates with it , that seeks comfort and safety and stuff like that . So when you get into a hard situation and you're doing something very challenging , that's where you start to get those negotiations in your brain that seem very logical , where it's like I can just I can take a break right now , like that's okay , like I've earned it or I'm gonna die . I need to stop right now . None of which is true . So he does this event , which is 24 hours straight , like there's no rest period in there .
The Diesel Day Framework Explained
Speaker 2You go out to his ranch the night before , you sit around a campfire and he goes through the framework which is checking in with your left hand . So , essentially , as you break it down , each finger represents something a little bit different , reminding yourself that you know you're good , you're not going to die , you know what are the circumstances that you can control and what can't you control . The middle finger is basically the things that pop up that are irrelevant , that you can ignore . Basically , the F ? You finger , the ring finger , is the commitment that your motivators , internal and external . So it could be , you know , something like your favorite song blasting on the radio . Or it could be like for me , my unborn son , that was lingering into the future in my mind , and then your pinky is just the small things . It's like , you know , I'm in the middle of Colorado , it's beautiful out here , I'm in the mountains , remind yourself of that stuff . So you go through that and in depth , you talk about it for like two hours around the campfire and really just like hone in on it and feed you lots of calories , great food , getting you ready for this event , and then go to bed .
Speaker 2Good night's sleep , lazy , wake up , lazy breakfast , and then somewhere around like 9 , 9.30 Colorado time , you start the 24 hours . And he has just a road timer . It's just 24-hour countdown , that's it . So it has different pieces . So you're on a machine , you're doing some body weight movements push-ups , pull-ups , burpees , whatever it might be and then you're essentially on a trail carrying a plate for two hours and it was six , four hour blocks that we just went straight through and you would alternate through which movements that you were doing and the whole thing was just for max reps and like , if you needed to eat , they would bring you a snack . They had a whole snack table . If you needed to spit out your gum , they would put their hand out and take your gum for you to not get you off track of what you were doing .
Speaker 2So it was like it just was nonstopstop .
Speaker 2Um , so you know , as you go into it , usually the whole first day is fine , like you're just doing a long workout , and then where the magic happens truly is like when you're in the middle of the night in the middle of the woods carrying nothing but a plate on your torn up bra , back and shoulder and you just have to get from point A to point B .
Speaker 2And when you drop that plate you get some real good time to listen to what's going on in your head about reasons why you can't pick that thing back up and keep going or why you have to put it back down . And that was honestly the changing point for me where I really saw the value . Because in the middle of the night , by myself , you know the hardest thing that I've ever done to date . I'm exhausted , I got blisters on my feet , my back is torn up , I'm sweaty , I'm filthy , hungry , tired . The whole nine yards and it's like well you know , I still got to make it to 9.30 the next day , like I got to make it to the finish line and get this plate back .
Speaker 1I have a feeling it's very intentional , not coincidence at all . The start time , yeah , like that that . Uh , I I've always wanted to do kind of something through the night and I've done , I mean , I've done some some long stuff , some tough stuff like this , but it's never . It's never . I've never gone through the night with anything , um , multiple days , you know , with that , that , the one hike and whatnot . But I'm sure that's just a different feeling .
Speaker 2Yeah , and like everything that I'm quiet . So , yeah , everything that I've done in the past , even things that were through the night , were just pure fitness related . So it was like , oh , you know , we ran a relay race where I had to run 10 miles in the middle of the night , but then it was over , right , it was just an hour point , physically and mentally and , like I said before , if you're looking for that breaking point , there's a pretty good chance you're going to find it right there . So you know , I just remember being in the middle of the woods and I would check in with my left hand .
Speaker 2Like , honestly , every time I pick up the plate I could probably carry it for 50 to a hundred feet and then drop it back down . It was just slow , it was sluggish , but every single time I remember there were checkpoints that I would have to get to . So , like there was this log , it's like I just got to get to the log . I would sit on the log and I just remind myself and I picture in my head my unborn son at the finish line , cheering me on and waiting for me dude yeah , and then I would do that all like when I go there in my mind sometimes that like I , I don't know , I picture my son watching me , whatever .
Speaker 1If I'm like kind of , if I'm like super high and feeling great with a workout , or if I'm like , oh , you know , like I got , I just feel like shit right now and like I need to summon something like I can . I can hear him being like that's my dad , that's my dad yeah , that's exactly it was .
Speaker 2It was on repeat in my head and like if you were just a random person walking through the woods , you would have heard me talking to myself .
Speaker 1You would have thought I was , in that case , absolutely so it it got me interesting , yeah it's interesting like hearing because I obviously I haven't done this , I wasn't there Hearing you say , like you know , carrying the plate 50 to 100 feet and then putting it down and picking it up , like obviously you can't just carry this thing forever , right ? Like I mean , if there was a real consequence to putting it down , then you're gonna humans are unbelievable you're gonna figure out what to do , but like just having to say , hey , we're gonna go for 24 hours , like obviously you're gonna , you're gonna figure out sort of like those , those intervals . Um , when you said that it made me think of a workout , and this is it's . It's it's similar but different . Like it's it's within such a small time domain , but there I remember it so , so , like vividly , and it's the most defeated I've ever felt in a workout . Um , it was in , it was before we opened our gym . It was we were back at the old one , um in 2011 at some point , and it was just me and lace , and it was late at night . It was , you know , we had keys to the gym and and everything , and it was like 20 , 30 , 20 , 30 , like that was the rep scheme back and forth . It was like , okay , 20 , whatever , it's a bunch of movements like it's probably eight , seven , eight , nine movements , something like that , like chest bar pull-ups , overhead squats , kettlebell swings , just like a bunch of stuff .
Speaker 1And then the last part of the workout was 400 meter pinch grip , plate carry and , yeah , and the women use 25 pounds and the men use 45 pounds , and I ended up using the high temps , like the ones that are like thick , oh yeah , like even now , like when I , when I , I , I this comes back to me often when I'm in the gym and I'm like we're squatting and I carry a set of plates over . I'm like remember that pinch grab and I grab on . I'm like , oh , my god , this is not even easy to walk 50 feet from here to the where I am at at the rig . Uh , yeah , and so what happened was like you know , we were , we were , we were both , this was competing era and everything . Like we were both quite fit .
Speaker 1Um , I , I would say I had some more experience on her back then , and so I get , I get there first . Uh , to the plate carry , and I think this is like november in canada , so it's , it was cold , it was like there was snow on the ground , it was slushy . There was like slushy puddles and stuff out there . Um , and I get out there and I was just like I just need to . I had no idea what was coming , like you know . And so I go out , I get there maybe 30 seconds ahead of her and I just grabbed these plates and a room and I I might've got a hundred meters in in one go , like I , I was just like I really went for it , yeah . And then , uh , I mean yada , yada , yada , she proceeded to beat me by about 15 minutes , like like , like this wasn't a like , just absolutely I had I don't know at what point it hit , maybe 200 meters .
Speaker 1I remember we were out to a turnaround and back and you just can't do it anymore . Like I don't have massive hands , like I can carry the things but , um , that's always going to be something that's going to be difficult . But then , like you pick them up and you like I got to the point where I'm picking them up and I'm trying to get five feet , ten feet at a time , and you drop them and then they fall and then they flip into a slushy puddle and your hands are freezing and they just don't work anymore and I'm like it's the most I've ever watched . Just be like fuck this and just quit . But but I didn't . But it just takes you like when , when you're sort of up against this thing , that you just like I don't even . How do I do this ?
Speaker 2Yeah , there was a . There was one lap that I did where I dropped the plate and it actually rolled down the trail , oh no , and like it happened to hit a tree . It took a good chunk out of this tree too , but the tree stopped it . Or else , like if you drop the plate , you have to go get it .
Speaker 1Right , and you mean like down and up , like down off the side of it . Yeah , oh my God , yeah .
Speaker 2And like the way that it was portrayed to us too , is you had the option so you could take the plate or you could leave the plate . If you took the plate , you got more points . If you didn't take the plate , it was less points . Right , but the way that the plate was described was not just a 55 pound plate . It was the weight of all of the shit that you'll have to bear in life on a daily basis . Regardless of who you are , what the circumstances are , you're always going to have the weight of things that you're going to have to carry and you're just simply going to have to carry them , regardless of what's going on . So , like you get four dudes that signed up for a 24 hour thing and paid for it , it's like you're damn right , we're going to pick up that plate .
Speaker 1Like I'm not going to put it down . That is intended here . And very , very like symbolic oh , absolutely .
Speaker 2And I think like when you first start , the loop was maybe about a thousand meters , um , and like you get pretty much like halfway , put it down
Finding Breaking Points in the Night
Speaker 2for a second , pick it back up , and then you make it to the finish line and , like I said , in the middle of the night , once things start to add up , you get to the witching hour . It was like 50 to a hundred feet at best before I had to put it back down . And then you're like , okay , I put it down , I'm ready to pick it back up . And then I would find myself just looking at it for another 20 seconds and like that was also a lesson , and I was like why am I just standing here looking at it for another 20 seconds ?
Speaker 2Like the weight's not going to change , I'm not going to get less tired , my back's not going to get less bloody and raw from holding this thing on the back , the trail's not going to get shorter , it's not going to get lighter . And like this was part of the framework too is like you can't control any of these things . The only thing that I can control in that circumstance was picking the plate back up and just simply making it as far as I could possibly make it and then putting it down again . That was it , and it's like I don't need to hold on to it for any crazy amount of time . I just simply need to go as far as I can physically go and then repeat again and again , and again and again .
Speaker 1You mentioned like a point system . What . What was that Like ? What was the relevance to the points , or was there any ? Or was it just like another little motivator ?
Speaker 2It was the motivator . Like , same reason , we have scores in CrossFit . You get four dudes going through 24 hours and you see the scoreboard updated every hour . Like you're gonna do anything , but yeah , you're gonna do some extra shit . Cool , yeah , um , yeah . So then the sun comes up and all of a sudden you get this burst of energy because , like , you get that feeling like you're almost at the finish line , you're almost there , but you're not . It's like another four to six hours or so , but it is easier coming out of the middle of the night into the morning . Like you just get this sense of I don't know , like this energy boost , like this second wind .
Speaker 1I had that happen . I don't know if I've told the story on here , I believe . Yeah , I did the Masogi podcast that I did with Rob Wilson we're just talking about long stuff and I ran a . There was a . There was a race that I was signed up for . I was kind of prepping to do an Ironman back in like 2019 2020 . I was kind of prepping to do an Ironman back in like 2019 , 2020 . And there was a 30K road race that was happening it's like at the end of March in 2020 .
Speaker 1And then COVID hit and obviously like the race didn't happen or anything . But I was like you know what , like I've been doing a bit of running , like I'm going to go out on the day of Like I just decided , I think maybe the night before or something like that . It wasn't a plan and I was like I'm gonna run the route but I'm gonna , I'm gonna run my first marathon . And it was like really eerie , because this was like two weeks in to like all the shutdowns and they didn't know what was going on . I ran by a hospital and I remember getting like really emotional , like I don't know what's going on in there right now and um and , and it was just quiet , like there was nobody anywhere . Like I did a huge loop . It's called around the bay , so you run around this Hamilton bay and then you run it all the way back through , like downtown Hamilton . There's like nobody around and , um , you just it's . It's such a shorter time frame , I mean , it wasn't that short . It took me god , what did it take me ? Um , or four and a half , over four and a half hours , um , but it was there .
Speaker 1Was these , the , the , the cycles that you go through , the phases that you go through , right . So , like this , the through the night phase , like that you go through the phases that you go through Right . So , like this , the through the night phase , like I was actually pretty decent , almost through like 30 K , like I was , you know , 10 K an hour , like , which was , for that type of distance , great for me . The longer it goes , the I'm not going to do great . And then from like 31 to 38 was just horrible , like everything , the body shutting down , something . My calf started cramping on me , um , the weather got worse and you know the paces dropped off the face of the map and then around it was I . I got to the beach path , so , which is kind of starting to get closer to where where I live , um , but the sun came out , I'm by the water , I can start to hear the birds , like you , just notice everything and I and I imagine that's very similar to like daybreak right after the after the night yeah , 100 .
Speaker 2And I think that there's value in that too , because I've done quite a few different things and I feel like knowing what you're going into , your body is going to experience those same things , just based solely on the duration of what you're doing . Right , because , like , I've run half marathons and I felt it in the last three miles , I've done 20 mile races where I felt it in the last three miles , and then you take a huge extreme and I did a 24 hour non-stop fitness event and it's like you feel it in the last eight hours and I guarantee you , if it was 36 hours , it would be the same same thing .
Speaker 2I think your body understands the task at hand , especially , you know totally , yeah , if you're , if you're that type of person that you know , like there was no making me quit this event , like I would have literally just fallen down on the trail , you like impossible find you out there , yeah , that's it , and and so like , with that mindset like , yeah , you're gonna go through it , and I think you're going to experience that feeling at different stages , mentally preparing for whatever the duration is , and then , as you start to come to the finish line , your body's like , oh , we're almost there , and then it just gets the second wind . But I think it speaks volumes to what the body's truly capable of right and how much the mind plays a role in that .
Speaker 1Yeah , so I actually experienced that too . With when the heck was it ? Maybe a year and a half ago ? Have you ever done a fast ?
Speaker 2No , I get too hungry .
Speaker 1Well , I mean , that's just dumb . No , so I get too hungry , I just well , I mean , so I I was uh sort of like in and around people that were doing it and I was like you know , I'm curious , like you know , I know there's I've heard read about the benefits of like autophagy , where , like you get into this phase where , like your , your cells start kind of shedding the waste and like the harmful stuff that's like whatever cancer causing and that stuff . So I was like you know what , I've never done it , let's , let's just do it . It was kind of the same idea and I did a 24 hour fast and it wasn't , it wasn't that bad Right , like I , you know , it wasn't that bad right , but I set my mind to do it .
Speaker 1I knew I'm not going to eat until that time hits and it was honestly quite easy until about two hours before the end , and I think it's the exact same thing . It's like you start to think about the comfort again and now it's like , oh , I don't have that . And then now you're just in this kind of out of congruence of where you are and where you want to be and where your mind actually is . Maybe it's , I mean , the mind's mind thing that you talked about . Maybe it's some of that starting to creep in , that's what I was gonna say .
Speaker 2I think that's exactly what it is , because when you get into these moments , regardless of what it is , at a certain point you're going to remember what the comfort and the safety feels like normally and you're just going to be in the complete opposite circumstance of that . And that's why it's important , like the first thing on the left hand is the thumb . It's like thumbs up , I'm good . Like say it as loud as you need to out loud , like I'm good , remind yourself that you're good , you're still breathing , you're still alive , you're not going to die . Like like it's okay and you can silence that mind's mind from tricking you into thinking that you do need safety and comfort in that moment yeah , yeah , yeah , I like it .
Speaker 1Uh , where , where my mind goes a little bit with this of like , like what if you don't have that ? Um , have you ever read the book man's search for meaning , victor frankl ? I don't have that . Have you ever read the book Man's Search for Meaning ?
Speaker 2Victor Frankel ?
Speaker 1I don't think so it's about surviving concentration camps and it was a while back that I went through it . But basically the thing that would get people through was having some sort of hope , like what's afterward , and but never having that comfort like I . We're talking completely different realm of experience than than what either of us are talking about here . Um , yeah , you know , with like torture and death and everything like like really dark um , but but it's interesting is that from I mean from the mouth of the horse , right like it's it is , the mind is , as soon as you lose hope of something , to you know that you have family to go to after this is all over . If it ever ends like when you lose that , that's sort of when people would would break .
Speaker 2Yeah , I heavy , I swear . Like the mind is , is way more powerful than I think we give it credit for and it controls so much . And when you can put yourself into these circumstances and that's why I love like fitness and endurance and doing these types of things is because you , in a controlled atmosphere , put yourself into these situations where you can knowingly listen to what's going on and then you are better . It's almost like learning a different language , like , oh , I , I now understand the language , that my mind speaks a little bit better and you know whatever holds you back in life or whatever those circumstances might be that prevent people from moving forward , like you can understand that language a little bit better and be like no , no , no , no , logic says that I can keep going , so I'm just going to keep doing that . And then you just you train your mind to be a little bit more resilient going through these things and hell , I've used it so many times since that day and I will tell you to . One of the other biggest realizations that I had coming out of this thing was you've heard , you know you're the some of the people you surround yourself with , right . This took on a whole different meaning after this thing , because there's another side of it now that I've realized . So if you're in a group of five people and you are the bottom of the totem pole , you will excel to the level of people in that group . You will get better right . However , if you're at the top of the totem pole in that group , you will start to fall to the level of the mediocrity .
Speaker 2And he had mentioned this when we were going in like the middle of the thing , I think , just as nightfall was happening , and I didn't get this reflection until later . But there were two circumstances that I remember very vividly . And when I went to get on the runner for my hour before that I think I was like the last person to get on it and people before me had walked on the runner at a fast pace . Maybe they would jog a little bit , but then they would walk runner at a fast pace . Maybe they would jog a little bit , but then they would walk , jog a little bit , then they would walk , just keep it going . So , immediately when I got on the runner , I walked . It was the middle of the night , I was just walking at a fast pace consistently for the whole hour and I didn't realize until after . The only reason that I did that was because somebody else gave me permission to walk . I saw it happen and I was like , oh well , they walked , I'll walk , and it was just this subconscious thing that happened , yep .
Speaker 1And then do a little bit , but I bet you don't start with it Exactly .
Speaker 2If everybody had ran , I would have been bottom of the totem pole and I would have got on the thing and I would have ran right . Now , the other circumstance flip it I was on the echo bike for an hour and I started to
Permissions and Group Dynamics
Speaker 2take my feet off , put them on the pegs , push with the hands , switch back and forth , and as soon as I did that , the kid next to me started to do it . Otherwise he wouldn't have done it if I didn't give permission to do that . So both ends of the spectrum , I gave permission and someone else gave me permission . And then , you know , coming out of that , I reflected on it .
Speaker 2I remember I was at dinner by myself , right after I had gotten dropped off and left , and I was like that's crazy , because in life , you know , you always look to surround yourself with people that you want to embody , and it makes sense . But at some point you're going to excel to a level where you need to find a new group of people where you're bottom of the totem pole again , otherwise your growth will stop . And then just keep going , keep going , start to find people that are a little bit better at what you're looking to do . They're a little bit smarter . It's not going to be the same group for the rest of your life , because you're going to get better and you're going to need to seek out new groups , new , new people to surround yourself with .
Speaker 2So that was one of my biggest takeaways from from the whole thing . And then also , just like we were talking about before , is like the mind is controllable . You just need to put yourself in circumstances where you can learn how it speaks , and I've used it . You know , having a newborn and screaming , crying . You're exhausted , you can't sue them whatsoever and it's like I've closed my eyes and I've just been like I'm good , like this is what we signed up for , we love it . It's amazing . This is just a challenging time and it's not . It's going to end , it's going to be over .
Speaker 1Yeah , here's a question Do you think doing it's maybe like a two-part question ? Do you think doing it's maybe like a two-part question ? How long do you think doing something like this sort of lasts with you Like , is it life-changing ? Is it something that can be life-changing but you have to like kind of you have to kind of keep sharpening the ax ? Is it something that just changes you , you know , or do you have to kind of keep going at it ?
Speaker 2No , it's like fitness , I think so . Like it's very profound , like the weeks following , very strong , and then , if you don't continue to put yourself in those circumstances , that fitness of your mind starts to get a little bit weaker circumstances , that fitness of your mind starts to get a little bit weaker , and that's why I like to do them every so often , to then go back into that moment , because you know the whole point of your mind's mind is to seek comfort and safety . So if you don't exercise that piece of it , or exercise your piece to acknowledge that that muscle is going to get weaker and it's going to get yeah , yeah yeah , at your feet , and then you go to use it , but it's like you can tap into it , but it ain't as strong as it was .
Speaker 1Yep , exactly right . Yeah , I had a feeling what the answer was going to be , but like , hey , this is about your , your story , right ? Like you don't . You don't own your fitness , you rent it , and I don't think you own your resilience either . You , you have to kind of keep sharpening that ax and and and .
Speaker 2That was yeah , and like , think about , in life you know , as business owners , entrepreneurs , husbands , fathers like it doesn't have to come in the form of physical challenge , like face challenges every single day . Your mind's mind is going to tell you that the world is falling apart and that you suck , and you know it's not ever going to get better and you know you should just seek out that comfort , or you can learn to recognize that and you can learn to put your best foot forward in those circumstances and literally just pick up the plate and move 50 more feet . So it comes in . When you're , when you've been made aware of that circumstance in the physical attribute , it starts to become present in every other aspect of your life not physical , and you're like , ah , this is a metaphor for everything .
Speaker 1Yeah , you know , what's funny is like that , that , how , like that , I had thoughts that like , well , it wasn't . They didn't wake me up . Our little guy is he ? Uh , he's up in the night a few times , he , he , uh , he's been a little under the weather the last day or two , so it got him a little like kids , kids , talon , all . But like he , he woke us up .
Speaker 1But then my mind started I don't why , why it went there . I'm like , come on , man , right now it's like the middle of the night , but it's like that's what we're gonna get you . And it was like I , I , it gets me every now . And then it's like the whole , like we've been a crossfit gym since day one and I'm like you know , is , are people still seeking that out ? The same way , like I have data and like you know , some of our the , the amount of leads and signups , are a little bit down this year from from past years . Our gym is still wicked strong . Like there's that's . That's not what I'm questioning , but I'm just like , yeah , you know , and it just gets me thinking like , should we be branching out into this other thing ?
Speaker 1And this is the , and then , and then , like your , your mind , your mind's mind , starts seeking . It's like well , how about a worst case scenario ? It's like what if it all ? What if it all goes to shit ? And like what if you just need to get another job ? Like , if I can I just go to sleep right now ? Right , like , like what have we not built enough proof ?
Speaker 1And and like of this , you know , what's funny is that , um , I was on a call yesterday , um , and we were talking about stoicism and and there was a story of a , uh , a chef that started a restaurant and um , worked his way all the way up , got awarded a Michelin star right which is super high honor , very rare and then got a two star and then got a three star .
Speaker 1And then there was one year they got downgraded from a three star to a two star and the chef killed himself . Oh , my God , yeah , and and the whole thing was like where we that is , this is a very sort of extreme example of this but like you're what ? That's just , that's just a thing that you do , right , and sometimes we can be wildly passionate about these things and attach so much meaning to them . But like that's your job , that's your business , that's your vocation , whatever it is and like how happy were you when you got to the two-star , but it's the fall back . That is like that can be really hard mentally and just I mean yeah you have to , you have to like it's .
Speaker 1It's almost like if you could document how happy you were and , like you know , read it's like the letter to yourself . You know , um , and and obviously this is something that this guy was not not able to to overcome yeah , it's .
Speaker 2It happens too often like I'm guilty , 100 right . Like same thing this year , like with the gym and things will fall back a little bit , but knowing that they'll come back up . But you attach all of that meaning to who you are as a human being and I've been trying to do a lot of work in terms of like no , like I'm a dad , I'm a husband , like if everything went to shit , like I'd still have what I have at home . And what I have at home is amazing . So it's not easy , it's the most important and it's challenging every single day , because every time a circumstance like that happens it's going to affect you . Like you're not going to ever just graduate and not have that affect you ever . No , no , but the more work that you can do towards it and understand , like , where those thoughts are coming from the better you can , you can navigate them coming from , the better you can , you can navigate them .
Speaker 1Yeah , and what's funny is I actually like my mind actually did it went to that because I I liked the story so much . I was like you know what , I'm gonna pass this along as like on a you know a quick pass that I do like you know , if just a five minute thing , and like I'll talk about this . But I went to it in the middle of the night and I was like okay , just quiet the mind , okay , like just it's time to go to
The Mind's Mind and Mental Resilience
Speaker 1sleep , back to sleep . Just you're not I don't know where these thoughts came from . You're not super in control of them right now . Like it's just kind of spiraling and like you know , I'm sure everyone has them in one way or another . And but it did , it did help kind of quiet things , because I wasn't up for too too long after that .
Speaker 2Yeah , and honestly I feel for the people that never learned to listen and acknowledge that dialogue from the mind's mind , because , like , if you don't know , that's a thing that you can learn to understand a little bit better . Like you're always victim to that cycle happening in your brain and if you don't give yourself permission to turn it off .
Speaker 1it feels so true when it's happening . Yeah , it's like someone in your head is speaking the truth to you .
Speaker 2It's like no yeah no , like it's , your brain can think whatever it wants to . It has its own way of thinking . You just don't have to acknowledge every single one . That's where your reasoning comes in and be like okay , I hear you , but I'm just not going to acknowledge it right now yeah , the other one .
Speaker 1I might have brought this up another time , whether with with you or not , but like in the early , early days of the gym , like when , when we started to go through some of the first struggles , where that thought I'd have this like thought that okay , it all goes away , gym's done . It makes me laugh of how silly it is that I would get a job in a cardboard box factory . Why ? Why that ? It's like I think my mind just went to the most like unskilled , monotonous . I don't even know what that job would be , but like it just went to this like just throw the most unfulfilling . Like anybody do it whatever job , and like that's not , that's not the all of the alternative one .
Speaker 1And like I don't know , For whatever reason our brain goes there .
Speaker 2It's crazy . It's crazy , but that's where it goes , the most absolutely ridiculous thing that you could think of . And then you believe it . That's the thing is you believe it for a split second .
Speaker 1Yeah , I wonder if maybe too , it wanted it to be so painful . It's like you don't want that .
Speaker 2Right .
Speaker 1And then like figure it out yeah , you know you have this window to maybe figure it out and , like you know , that was around the time was like well , you could ask for help . Yeah , you know .
Speaker 2Yeah , try to seek out some help with this too , right ? Yeah , that's always hard , the first time too . Hell yeah man yeah .
Speaker 1Is this the type of thing like , would you ? Would you do it again , is it so ? Is it the type of thing that you could do again ? Or is it like , is it kind of a one and done and then you seek out something else ?
Speaker 2I think it would have to be different , like I would do it again for sure , but I don't think I get the same value out of it . So , like he does , he does things like diesel day two , which is I think it's 36 hours and it's like a little bit different structure , which is , I think it's 36 hours and it's like a little bit different structure . But like it doesn't have to be like always upping the ante on the duration of it . Like you know , it could be just something that is more physically demanding or you know , whatever it might be , yeah , but yeah , I think when you do do it , you have to like you can only run a half marathon so many times before you know how it's going to feel , right , yeah , and then you lose it .
Speaker 1It's not the hardest thing you've done anymore , right . And then like when you you know it and especially if you like train for it and stuff right .
Speaker 2Yeah for it and stuff right . Yeah , I mean , you're trying to up the ante on on how well you understand your mind and how you can control it in these circumstances . You have to find the circumstances where your brain is going to tell you to quit , yeah , and that's not going to happen in something that you know that you've already completed yeah , yeah , I feel I feel the itch for one of these things .
Speaker 1Um , I mean , I'm training I'm training for a high rocks right now , which is not that , but it's like I know it's going to be a big , hard effort and like I actually have been doing a bit of running the last couple of weeks , um , prepping for it , but , um , the I , I , so the the I . To this day , the hardest thing that that four-day hike that I did the first time , wildly unprepared , um , so we did it . We , we were set out to do it again this year and I didn't really talk about it was a lot of lead up to it and then . So what ended up happening was , um , we , we went out to to do it and we went . You know , there's a couple different places that we could have gone to and we chose like a , basically a non-commissioned park , and it was like , just , you know , middle of nowhere . You know , the route wasn't going to be necessarily as much elevation up and down , though it still had some and it had all the makings for , all the makings for , like you know .
Speaker 1So , we , we got out there and the first lunch , uh , we realized , I realized , um , I forgot one of our gas canisters for our , for our jet boil . Um , there was just a little bit of back and forth . Like one of our guys had like a way lighter pack and I was like it's going in his pack , like right and and like but it's still . I brought the tank and it was my responsibility , wherever it went , to make sure it got there and like , so we , we got out . We're thinking we're out for four days and like we , we were gonna burn through all of our gas in a day and a half . It's like okay , um , like we weren't that far . As like do we turn around ? I was like are you kidding me ? Freaking turn around ? Like you know a few hours in , um , and so , all right , we have to find something to cook in and then like we'll make fire another way , and we actually did .
Speaker 1Lo and behold , we found like a little tin pot which , like that , and that was my job to carry and everything and I we actually ate out of it , the that night . Um , but what happened was the we ran into a a situation I really thought about um ticks which we could have . Like I know I know darren wasn't super happy about turning around . Um , I've never seen anything like it with these . Like we pulled 200 ticks off of us in in 12 hours maybe . Like they were just everywhere , like all over the place , right , and if you're not completely just into , like we'd just be sitting here . It's like okay , uh , oh god , I feel something . You're like you know , pull your pants down . You're like , how the hell did it get onto my hamstring under my clothes ? And oh , there's not one , there's actually four of them right there . Like yeah , that's , that's cool . Um , they just find you and and like they would find you . Know , it was like getting out to , I had to pee in the middle of the night twice and the the first time I just like I said I don't want to go out there . Um , so I just put my arm out and , kind of like , leaned my body out and I came back in and I kind of like you know a little flashlight to have a look . Oh no , there's a couple Like you just couldn't get away from them . And are you going to contract Lyme disease ? Probably not , but if you do , this is not good . This is like life changing . You need treatment very quickly , like the quicker the better .
Speaker 1Um , and so adrian , the other guy was , was . I was pretty adamant . I was like I don't think this is a good idea , guys . Uh , and he was . He was maybe a little bit even more than me . Um , yep , and and I mean darren's , he's hard as nails and you know whether he wanted to turn around or not . He didn't show it at all , but we still got . Like , how far did we go ? We still went about 20K a day On the way back .
Speaker 1So we slept the one night , woke up , came back , I rolled my ankle twice I just have worst ankles in the league and it's gonna happen um , and the second time , like it was down a hill and I went down down like bag landing on me over my head , like yeah , yeah , oh , my god , like okay , I gotta slow down a little bit for , and then it's just you know , they're so torn up that I just kind of keep going . Um , but I could even feel like I I prepped for this thing , like my bag was , I can't remember , maybe 45 pounds and I prepped with , like carrying 70 pounds around for an hour and a half at a time sometimes , and like , yeah , I don't know , I was just so underprepared the other time that it just you know , I think it's going to be hard to replicate that one , just in everything that happened .
Speaker 2We did see it . I think it's the unknown . It's the unknown that takes you there , and
Hiking Challenges and Tick Encounters
Speaker 2a big piece of the left hand is the middle finger . And it's like all right , if you feel like you have a hot spot on your foot when you're running or you know , in your circumstance ticks or we forgot our gas right , and it's like okay , in the beginning your mind is going to start to tell you that this is a really big deal . It's like all that hotspot on your foot is going to turn into a blister . You're not going to be able to run anymore yada y anymore , yada yada .
Speaker 2But usually it's just in your mind , because then you take your sock off and there's nothing there . So , yeah , you just say f you , f you . You keep saying f ? You and chances are it goes away . Right , goes away , goes away , comes back . F you , goes away , comes back , f you and then like finally you get to a certain point where you know this is the point where we want to push the limit , but we also don't want to be stupid , right ? It's the same thing like if you're in a workout and you feel a twinge or something . It's like I can fight through it or you're gonna not work out for the next three weeks if you're stupid and you keep going . So it's important to acknowledge , like like what is actually in fact true , but don't give it the time right out of the gate because it in fact might not be true . So , like in your circumstance , like yeah , you pushed it , there were a shitload of ticks , there's Lyme disease lurking around the corner , like that's something that's life changing potentially .
Speaker 1It's like all right we said F you to this circumstance . Enough , yeah , it's still , it's like all right . We said f you to this circumstance . Enough , yeah , it's still . It's just . It was supposed to be this , like , uh , we're gonna do this thing again . We know , no one really got what they , what they kind of came for out of it . What's interesting is , like I don't know if it was just the area that we went to or whatever , um , but uh , I wonder the route that we took as well , like the year before , we did like a huge loop right and like what , if you , what , if you get into the circumstance halfway through the loop , well , whether you turn around or whether you keep going , it's the same shit . Right , with this , we were doing an out and back and so kind of , at any point , you can choose that . Okay , we're going to go a little shorter and just turn around . Um , yeah , you know it's , it's just those , it's the comfort of , of , like you can do it . You know what if we were out there ? You know you , just , you figure it out , you're gonna figure it out . You know what if we had to spend three nights out there ? You're vigilant with this stuff , you know , I brought back , I found probably a dozen ticks over the next day or two .
Speaker 1When I got back , it was , like you know , some of them in the house like crawling on the floor just like . Oh , my god , like , how did I thought I got them all ? Like they . When I say everywhere , they were everywhere , that's wild . Yeah , that it's so silly , though , whatever , that's , the friggin story from this year wasn't even that hard , which is cool , though , because it was . It was like 40k , however many hours a day , our pace is better . It was really rugged terrain like it , so it was non-commissioned . There was like a bunch of storms that had happened and there was just downed trees everywhere , like it was . It was like , yeah , bushwhacking way more than the other . The other one was , but anyway , that's whatever .
Speaker 1My point was like I'm itching for something because I didn't get it from that heck yeah yeah , yeah , um , yeah , man , um , anything else , anything else about the , the day of or any like this , maybe the send-off to people of like fine , like you know , it doesn't have to be something that's like why , like , I think the point is like something that's going to challenge you . It , the hardest thing you've ever done , is the hardest thing you've ever done .
Speaker 2So , whether that's go run a 10k and try not to stop and like you're going to be hating the last half hour of that , or are you going to go 24 hours through the middle of the night , like you did , like there's levels to it yeah , and like I want it to be for the majority of people , because something that I deal with you deal with every day with people in our gym and it's like okay , just because I traveled to Colorado to do this 24 hour thing , like that's just who I am . Like I don't know , maybe I have a screw loose or something , but like that's what I need to do to find that for myself . Loose or something , but like that's what I need to do to find that for myself . But , like you know , consider the circumstance of you know you have two young kids and you're trying to find time to exercise for yourself and you just keep saying I don't have time , I don't have time , I don't have time .
Speaker 2Or you know you don't have time to go on a date night with your significant other or you know you don't have time to you know , make the change or start working on the side hustle that you want to do .
Speaker 2You just keep giving yourself excuses and it's like , yeah , listen , that's your mind's mind telling you that you can't do it because it's seeking comfort . And it's like if you really , really wanted to , you could find 10 , 15 , 20 minutes to get the workout in that you need in your basement to you know , go get ice cream with your significant other to get on your computer and start writing a business plan to potentially change your life in the
Small Steps and Daily Practice
Speaker 2future and do that . And it's like you know it doesn't have to be this giant 24-hour fitness thing . It's letting people know that it's your mind that's holding you back in most things . And if you learn to listen to it and just be like no , no , no , I can do it . And if I don't think I can , there's people out there to help you to recognize that you can do it you can become a totally different person with that small pivot in a matter of months .
Speaker 1Yeah , the running thing , prepping for for high rocks right now , like I wasn't . Even two weeks ago I was out , I think it was Sunday morning and I was walking my dog early in the morning and I just had this thought . I was like I haven't run yet . It's in a month . And and last year , like I kind of do this , like I don't love just going out and running , like when I do it , yes , I love it , but like I I just don't do it .
Speaker 1Um , I do a lot of other fitness stuff and it's it's like , you know , you can only do so much , you can't do it all . And uh , and I was like you're gonna be pissed if you show up on that race day . Like I'm fitter , my habits are better , like I should beat last year . It's like you're gonna be pissed at yourself if you show up a little you know this unprepared . And so I've run , I've run , I ran four times last week , I think I've run . It's thursday , I think I've run twice this week already .
Speaker 1Um , nice , and it's just that there is a window , like you know , and it might it might be like , oh , I literally have half an hour from like this thing to this thing . Okay , what can you do ? Lace up your shoes and you go for 18 minutes and that's it . No , that's you . Lace up your shoes , okay , there's your one , one , two minutes . Get your watch ready to go , whatever , put on some shorts . Now you're , you know , your 18 minute run .
Speaker 1You come in at 21 minutes and then you're like , okay , breathe for a minute and and compose , and on to the next thing and and like I think I think where where mine can hold us back to like I'm certainly guilty of this is like I think that I have to just go too hard on all of these runs .
Speaker 1We're like , just just get out there , just put in a little bit of volume , and then , uh , you know , my watch is my garments great at letting me know . This is like , hey , most days I just want you to put in a little bit of volume on your legs and it's actually slower than you think and then , maybe once or twice a week , it's like okay , now we're going to actually like go for it and do what you would consider a workout , yep , right , which then , you know , that feels kind of like a normal day to me , I mean so yeah , me and my wife have worked out just about every single day since the little guy was born and like , telling you , it doesn't look like an hour CrossFit class every single time , but like I've done something .
Speaker 1I see you guys on your security cam with the stroller in there .
Speaker 2Yeah , Sometimes it's like 15 , 20 minutes start to finish , including warm-up , and then right back to doing what we need to do . Sometimes you have more time , but it's the fact and the matter that you're checking the box and doing something and not letting your mind tell you no , you don't have to do that today , You're too tired .
Speaker 1Yeah Well , I think that speaks to earlier what we were talking about of the constant sharpening . To use the analogy of sharpening the , you know you to use the analogy of like sharpening the axe , you're not necessarily chopping down the biggest tree you've ever chopped down every single day , right ? But if you sharpen the axe all the time and you and you , just you use it a little bit , you know you to follow the analogy , I'm going to chop down a little tree . You remember how to swing the thing . And then every now and then you're like , okay , now , now it's , there's the big one .
Speaker 2Bingo .
Speaker 1Bingo . Yeah , oh , man , let's leave it there . That was . That was a cool little analogy . I love it . I love it , man . Great talking with you , man . I appreciate you coming on and doing this .
Speaker 2Yeah , I was excited too . We've been talking about it for a while and , yeah , it's been a couple months removed from it now . So it's been a couple months removed from it now , so it's cool to reflect back on it . Yep , john wells , ladies and gentlemen ,