Uncharted Performance

Season 5 of Uncharted Performance is here! Let’s kick things off with an 8-time CrossFit Games athlete, 2008 winner, and owner of NCFit, Jason Khalipa. If you’re looking for inspiration, a dose of positivity as well as a no-BS perspective on life’s challenges, this is the interview for you! Jason explains how he is able to stay focused and avoid distractions in his many endeavors while staying true to his 3 macro priorities: family, fitness and business (hint: step #1 would be to determine those priorities and values). We discussed his successes and challenges, self-development lessons and how to reach whatever true potential means for each of us!

This week is a special treat: a bonus episode right in time for the Arnold Sports festival! Mark Cannella, head coach and president of Columbus Weightlifting and chairman of the Arnold Classic weightlifting competition, joins us for a look inside his coaching career, including mistakes, highlights and what keeps him coming back to it every day. We discussed the growth of the sport of weightlifting, in popularity as well as technique and coaching development, what separates good coaches from poor ones, and how Mark is able to find the metaphorical common language with athletes all across the globe in his seminars and classes. The Arnold Sports festival will be held on March 2nd through the 6th this year.

This week on Uncharted Performance we’re lucky to bring you another wonderful guest, Jud Logan. Jud is the head track and field coach at Ashland University, former 4-time Olympian, master’s athlete, and a treasure trove of stories and wisdom based on his varied athletic experience. He walks us through his early sports career, the “light giver”, how he found his calling and going to the Olympic Games four times to represent the United States. We also get a taste of his current coaching style, what methods and metrics he chooses and follows, and that certain something that he looks for in his athletes to succeed.

Episode 39 of Uncharted performance brings you Joel Woods, creator of CLE Muscle Lab. His approach to fixing bad movement patterns, strengthening weaknesses and simply helping people of all levels of fitness move better is called Muscle Activation Technique (MAT) and its pretty refreshing in the world of same old tired physical therapy routines. We’ll discuss how MAT works, in what order we should progress to avoid injury and develop optimal “fitness”, as well as how to keep your body physically resilient well into old age while still having fun and being active. Joel wants us all to stay strong and be able to exercise for life, not the other way around. Hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did!

This week on Uncharted Performance episode 38 we are joined by TJ Slomka, owner of Old School Iron Gym. As we mention in the podcast, OSI is one of those gyms that you have to visit (as some of our previous guests have) to see for yourself the array of every imaginable piece of equipment that one would need to develop strength, particularly for powerlifters or bodybuilders. Not to mention that TJ is simply a cool guy to hang out with. We'll cover some entrepreneurial topic such as working as a single owner or with a partner and how to keep clients and customers happy, engaged and becoming better. This advice will apply even if you don’t own a gym. So tune in and learn some things!

Thanks for joining us for episode 37(b) of Uncharted Performance! This is part II of our talk with Toby Jurging of SPC Strength and Conditioning. As promised, this one focuses on the more “technical” aspects of exercise and training so if you love math, this one is for you (just kidding, we won’t ask you to do any complicated calculations here)! What you will learn is how to be able to effectively critique any program or a given workout of the day to make sure it will be effective as well as safe. This episode is a bit more of a watch and learn but no worries, you’ll get all the concepts by listening too. So what’s Toby’s mantra? There is always a plan, it's progressive, and it accounts for a lot of “intricate things” that make up human movement. Enjoy!

Part I of episode 37 of Uncharted Performance features Toby Jurging of SPC Strength and Conditioning. In this first and shorter portion of the full interview, we focus on the “soft” aspects of exercise such as how to take care of yourself properly so you can keep rocking out at the gym and what should really count as success in your movement practice. Toby is a seasoned professional; so what’s his take on it? Some TLC on a regular basis will do you good! Keep your eyes peeled for part II where Toby really breaks down the more technical aspects of training, including a little lesson in repetition/set/rest analysis and how to critically review any program.

We’re going "beyond the back” in episode 36 of Uncharted Performance this week. Our guest is Chad Teague, doctor of chiropractic, and owner of CODE CHIRO. Dr. Teague is interested in all aspects of performance, from refining your squat technique to improving digestive and neurological health. This interview is peppered with good advice to correct imbalances in exercise so you can not only feel better but do better in your movement practice. A few things we found particularly interesting from our talk: to use or not to use a lifting belt, benefits of improving thoracic mobility as well as using your feet properly during a squat to maximize force. We also got proof that breathing is more difficult than you think if you do it correctly (because, honestly, how many times have you thought about breathing today?). Enjoy and see you next week! 

Ready to become bulletproof? Today, in episode 35 of Uncharted Performance our guest is Matt Stevens, a physical therapist and owner of Pure Physio. Matt spills the beans on what leads to common injuries, how they happen and what we should do to fully recover.  The self-professed goal of his practice is to help patients and athletes become more bulletproof in any physical endeavor, not just exercise.  Matt’s main focus echoes what we’ve already discussed with other guests this season: you have to address weakness early on or it will grow into an impediment (We’re sensing a theme here!). But remember, knowledge is power so tune in to this week’s episode so you don’t miss out!

It’s a family affair this week on Episode 34 of Uncharted Performance!  We are talking with Beth Anne and Ralph Lazaro of RALABALA. This duo definitely brings energy and positivity, and are sharing their story of health and body image transformation through better nutrition, right approach to goals, and challenging their bodies physically and mentally on a daily basis. Beth Anne and Ralph are a true power couple who have figured out how to help each other succeed and are eager to share that advice with others. Beyond that, Ralph emphasized the importance of dreaming like we’re kids and Beth Anne believes in the strength of the community to help each of us grow and flourish

Episode 33 of Uncharted Performance is a special “treat”, champagne not included (watch the video on YouTube)! We caught up with Brandon Morrison of Lift Big Eat Big to dig into what makes Brandon tick, physically and mentally. There is absolutely more to this gent than meets the eye. He shares his experiences with dyscalculia and non-verbal learning disorder and how it impacts his daily life and coaching but, most importantly, how he found a way to manage it. We also didn’t shy away from grilling Brandon on his best tips about gaining strength, especially in how it relates and translates to the Strongman events. We even got wilderness survival tips from Brandon! So don’t miss this one and enjoy!

Part 2 of the Strength Summit (Episode 32) is here! Tom Rini of Black Flag Athletics, Lindsey Nelson of Crossfit Distinction, and Mark Valenti of Blind Dog Gym return to dive right back into all things strength. Unlike the previous episode where we discussed the psychological and psycho-social approaches to developing strength, today is all about breaking down successful training programs and learning how we can implement them to help achieve our goals. Topics discussed include specific models of training, such as the conjugate method, how each of our panelists structures his/her own programming as well as how to troubleshoot plateaus. All three coaches have experiences in different fields of training but one thing they agree on is that while many programs work, the key to developing individual strength is to find what works for you.

Welcome to Season 4, Everyone! The Season of Strength. We’ve done something different for the premiere of this season and we hope you enjoy it. In this episode, Tom Rini of Blag Flag Athletics, Mark Valenti of Blind Dog Gym and Linsdey Nelson of Crossfit Distinction are going to discuss, as you probably guessed from the title, developing strength. We’ve given our guests a bit more freedom to explore the subject this time with minimal guidance and each of them has a very unique perspective on the topic. Strength is a composite of mental and physical attributes which Tom, Mark, and Lindsey will break down for us. A few things we’ll emphasize in this episode are the importance of the mental game, how to achieve the optimal mindset as well as how to choose the right environment for your goals, both inside and outside of the gym. Don’t miss Part 2 of the Strength Summit next week where we’ll break down the more technical approaches to strength development.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to leave your professional career behind to pursue your dreams, look no further than this episode of Uncharted Performance. Nick White, our guest this week, left a career in law to open Tremont Athletic Club. We dive right in to learn about how Nick took the leap to entrepreneurship, leaving behind a steady and secure paycheck from his law firm. Nick shares with us his initial fears, what steps he took to make his business grow, how he works daily to keep his team and clients engaged and continually developing to become better versions of themselves. The main theme of this interview is that what often stops us from dreaming big is the fear of losing what we have now, the perceived security of it. Nick’s answer to that is what should truly scare us is missing out and giving up on what we could achieve by taking that first step.

Let's keep exploring the topic of nutrition this week on Uncharted Performance.  Brigid Titgemeier from the BeingBrigid is our guest this week to teach us a thing or two about why putting good foods in our bodies pays off. Brigid is a dietician with a special focus on functional medicine (we’ll be discussing what that’s all about, too!).  Brigid shares her story of conquering a rare disease by eliminating foods she was sensitive to and incorporating in more whole foods.  Digestive health is often the missing link that can help many of us achieve optimal well-being. Brigid's blog is full of appetizing meal ideas and we’ll get to find out how she comes up with them.  Want to learn what’s on Brigid’s grocery shopping list? Find out in the interview!  

Get ready to learn everything you wanted to know about supplements but were afraid to ask. In this episode of Uncharted Performance, Nicole Gould of Vital Choice, a registered dietitian, is here to shed some light on what supplements we should be using and which ones to stay away from.  Nicole teaches us what to look for in picking good quality products, how to decipher the not so good ingredients on the label and what doses of common vitamins are appropriate to take.  Of course, we had to discuss major players in the sports nutrition game, such as protein and creatine, but you will also find out how to battle one of the biggest obstacles to achieving overall health (hint: the SAD diet is a big contributing factor).  Last but not least, we want to emphasize the importance of educating yourself to make the best choices! Enjoy!

This week Uncharted Performance talks to Ben Koenigsberg, owner of Rain City Fit in Seattle, Washington. In this episode, we are continuing the theme of conquering psychological and emotional obstacles. Our guest today is a great example of what happens when you take (calculated) risks in an aspiration to achieve your biggest goals even when you don’t have the perfect plan of how to get there. Entrepreneurship and fitness have helped Ben overcome longstanding drug addiction through self-transformation. He realized that what he had to lose by starting a new chapter in life was nothing compared to what he would gain. What can we learn from Ben? Don’t be consumed by paralysis by analysis, start doing something towards your goal right now.

In Episode 26, our guest is Jeff Sokol of Sokol Strong, a StrongFirst Girya Team Lead and FMS certified coach from Seattle, WA. His mission is simply stated but no less inspiring: to build a stronger, healthier, and happier human race, and we touch on each of those elements in this interview.  Find out when to use a barbell versus a kettlebell, where to start in kettlebell practice to stay safe, how to progress and what essential movement we should be adding to our arsenal. While Jeff is very passionate about kettlebell training, a large part of the interview is focused on how that training has helped him heal from depression. Most of us can relate to Jeff’s journey in some way, so please share his message and we hope you enjoy this episode!

Welcome to Episode 25 with Kate Spinner (Rawlings) of Coca CrossFit! Kate is a treasure trove of honesty, vulnerability and amazing strength.  She shares the ups and downs of her journey and perseverance throughout it all, from completing in the Crossfit Games, significant injuries, struggles with substance abuse, to loss of a child.  In addition to being a former CrossFit Games athlete, a coach, a mother and a business owner, Kate is the founder of a great non-profit, I Am Stronger.  Its goal is to help girls and young women to take ownership of their lives and develop confidence by providing access to and clothing for physical training. She stresses the underlying message of the importance of being open, finding and connecting with a community and reaching out to find help.

Thanks for joining us for Episode 24! Cory Moore of CTown CrossFit is our guest today and he brings his incredible energy to get us motivated and headed in the positive direction.  He wants to inspire the world by taking us through his journey from humble beginnings to being a bar athlete, to CrossFit, to competing in Olympic Weightlifting and to now being a coach.  Cory shares his best recommendations and tips about being an athlete and a coach, competing and getting your mindset right for all that life demands of us.  We’ll discuss the essentials such as finding a good support system and what venturing out of your comfort zone can do for you.  Last but not least, Cory stresses the importance of building a good foundation by developing strength with the basic movements for many repetitions first before attempting to scale up.  Enjoy!