excellence, actually

Latest Episodes:

019 - VO2 Max and Other Things You Don't Need To Know Mar 07, 2024

Show notes

Health and fitness is in a weird place these days. On one hand, there’s a lack of foundational health literacy in society (as evidenced by a recent Exercise I.Q. Quiz in The New York Times that left us with more answers than questions: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/02/27/well/move/fitness-workout.html). On the other hand, we’re overloaded with fancy-sounding jargon that can leave even high-level exercise enthusiasts feeling like they need to do and learn more. Today, Steve, Brad, and Clay unpack how we got here and how we can get back to a more reasonable, attainable, and sustainable idea of wellness. Plus, the guys discuss a high-stakes hypothetical: Would you take part in a race against a person selected at random from the U.S. population, where the stakes are as follows: you win, you take home $1 million; you lose, you die? And listen to the end of the show to learn how to make the easiest $20 of your life.

If you are enjoying FAREWELL, the best way you can support us so that we can keep doing what we're doing is to leave a review or share the show with a friend. Thanks!

Got a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email clay.growtheq@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503

Find Brad, Steve, and Clay on Instagram: @bradstulberg, @stevemagness, and @clayskipper

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

018 - The Coach Up: (How to) Fly Into the Danger Zone Mar 04, 2024

Show notes

"You need to feel like a pot of water on the stove that's just about to start boiling over," says Molly Seidel, in describing what it feels like to run the marathon pace that won her the bronze at the last Olympics. "You just hold it there, right on that line." This is as draining mentally as it is physically, she says. In fact, Seidel says so much of what holds athletes back is their brain telling them to pull back because their going into the danger zone. The antidote? Learning how to be with discomfort. So, on today's Coach Up, Clay revisits a conversation with Molly Seidel, where she gives insight into how she trained her brain to willingly go into the danger zone where it's uncomfortable and "learning to stay mentally strong when it just sucks." It's a skill we all need not just for our workouts, but for our lives.

If you are enjoying FAREWELL, the best way you can support us so that we can keep doing what we're doing is to leave a review or share the show with a friend. Thanks!

Got a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email clay.growtheq@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503

Find Brad, Steve, and Clay on Instagram: @bradstulberg, @stevemagness, and @clayskipper

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

017 - Rethinking Toughness with Ironman World Champion Chelsea Sodaro Feb 29, 2024

Show notes

In October 2022, many people witnessed triathlete Chelsea Sodaro, in her first time running the race, become the first American woman to win the Ironman World Championship in Kona. What they didn't see was that, in the months leading up to the race, she was learning how to balance motherhood and training, and struggling with intense OCD and anxiety. Today's episode is about that: the things we don't see. Because, in the world of performance, a lot of the focus goes to success and achievement—and not so much the difficulties high-performers are working through to accomplish those successes and achievements. We celebrate the "toughness" and not so much the vulnerability. But today, Chelsea goes deep not just on the things you might expect to hear from an Ironman World Champion - how she thinks about setting goals, the mantras she writes on her mirror, what her pain cave is like - but on the pains and mental health struggles that an Ironman World Champ might just as easily keep in the dark. By doing so, she shows what real toughness looks like.

If you are enjoying FAREWELL, the best way you can support us so that we can keep doing what we're doing is to leave a review or share the show with a friend. Thanks!

Got a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email clay.growtheq@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503

Find Brad, Steve, and Clay on Instagram: @bradstulberg, @stevemagness, and @clayskipper

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

016 - The Coach Up: Getting Started When You Don't Want to Get Started Feb 26, 2024

Show notes

"You probably grew up with motivation being super important: 'Think positive. Get hyped. Find inspiration. Ride your bliss,'" says Brad Stulberg, on this week's Coach Up. "And that's great—except for the 98 percent of days where you're not super hyped and motivated." On those days, when you need a little extra oomph, you might want to use a psychological tool known as behavioral activation, which Brad details on today's episode. Plus: how to know when you have the type of fatigue that will respond to rest, and when you have fatigue that will respond to action.

If you are enjoying FAREWELL, the best way you can support us so that we can keep doing what we're doing is to leave a review or share the show with a friend. Thanks!

Got a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email clay.growtheq@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503

Find Brad, Steve, and Clay on Instagram: @bradstulberg, @stevemagness, and @clayskipper

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

015 - How to Be Productive in a World of Infinite Noise Feb 22, 2024

Show notes

Do you ever feel like you've got too much to do and not enough time to do it? Welcome to one of the enduring sensations of existing and working in a very noisy world . (We feel it, too.) On today's roundtable, Brad, Steve, and Clay discuss how we got here, why the sense of task overwhelm is a particularly modern affliction, and the strategies they use to deal with it, like prioritizing, doing good enough work, and understanding what's truly urgent (versus what just seems urgent).

If you are enjoying FAREWELL, the best way you can support us so that we can keep doing what we're doing is to leave a review or share the show with a friend. Thanks!

Got a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email clay.growtheq@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503

Find Brad, Steve, and Clay on Instagram: @bradstulberg, @stevemagness, and @clayskipper

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

014 - The Coach Up: Why Bad Days Matter More Than Good Days Feb 19, 2024

Show notes

"The sky's the limit." "Shoot for the stars." When it comes to success, we often think in terms of being our absolute best. On today's episode of The Coach Up, Brad Stulberg explains why, if you want to get better, you should focus on your bad and average days—not the good or great ones.

Listen and subscribe to FAREWELL now!

Got a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email clay.growtheq@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503

Find Brad, Steve, and Clay on Instagram: @bradstulberg, @stevemagness, and @clayskipper

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

013 - Knowing How to "Winter" Is a Year Round Skill (with Katherine May) Feb 15, 2024

Show notes

Let’s be honest: Winter ain't always fun! It’s cold, dark, icy, and often sticks around far longer than we want it to. Even if you’ve moved somewhere warm as a way to permanently escape the frosty months, well, there are winters there, too; times when you or someone you love gets sick, you go through a break-up, or you lose a job. “Everybody winters at one time or another,” writes Katherine May, in her book Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. May says that instead of “imagining that it’s possible for life to be one eternal summer,” we ought to approach our winters, meteorological and metaphorical, the same way we approach our workouts, our diets, even our spiritual life—as a practice, one that involves a great deal of rest, recovery, and stillness, and an appreciation that the true nature of time is cyclical, not linear. In fact, says May, it’s the practice of wintering that provides a much-needed antidote to a growth- and progress-obsessed culture that is go-go-go and leaves so many of us burnt out, stressed, overwhelmed, and tired all the time. If you're somebody who struggles to slow down, rest, and recover—or you're just somebody who wants to know how to do those things better—this episode’s for you.

Listen and subscribe to FAREWELL now!

Got a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email clay.growtheq@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

012 - The Coach Up: A Magness Masterclass on Feedback Feb 12, 2024

Show notes

Growth comes from facing weaknesses, and we learn about those weaknesses from getting feedback. But feedback has a way of raising our defenses. Which means helping others grow by giving feedback—or growing ourselves, by taking feedback—is fraught with challenges. Luckily, Steve Magness's countless years as both an athlete and a coach have earned him some insights into the practice of delivering (and receiving) criticism. On this episode of The Coach Up, he gives you a primer: how to give it, what he thinks about the insult sandwich, and even ways of making feedback resonate with someone whose big ego might be getting in the way.

Listen and subscribe to FAREWELL now!

Got a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email clay.growtheq@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503

Find Brad, Steve, and Clay on Instagram: @bradstulberg, @stevemagness, and @clayskipper

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

011 - Is Our Happiness Obsession Making Us... Unhappy? Feb 08, 2024

Show notes

We've always been a country obsessed with happiness. It was, quite literally, built into the promise of America (right there with life and liberty). But maybe you've noticed: the market for happiness content is absolutely booming, which suggests that there's a rather large market of unhappy people out there. It's almost as if our obsession with happiness is inversely correlated to our actual happiness. Why might that be? Steve, Brad, and Clay discuss, unpacking different ideas of happiness (eudaemonic vs. hedonic), how satisfaction changes over time, what the science says about when you can expect to be your happiest, and why it might be helpful to think of happiness as being like a thunderstorm.

Listen and subscribe to FAREWELL now!

Got a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email clay.growtheq@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

010 - The Coach Up: We're Talking About Practice(s)! Feb 05, 2024

Show notes

When it comes to thinking about how to design your days, weeks, and months, to get done everything you want to get done, we often think in terms of goals and routines. In the long-term, goals give you a North Star to aim towards; in the shorter term, routines help you knock out the tasks you need to do on a daily basis. Sometimes that works great. But sometimes it doesn't. We can feel too loosely connected to a goal that's far away—or too rigidly attached to a routine that, when it gets disrupted, throws off our whole day. So, on today's episode, Brad presents another way of thinking about how to get it all done.

Listen and subscribe to FAREWELL now!

Got a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email clay.growtheq@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503

Find Brad, Steve, and Clay on Instagram: @bradstulberg, @stevemagness, and @clayskipper

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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