The Breaking Muscle Podcast

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Fairness in Sport and the Highest Peaks in the World with Nick Symmonds May 07, 2018

Show notes

What makes sport compelling to watch? What drives us to compete against each other? I would argue that we come back to watch the same sports over and over again because of the thrill of the unknown. Until the moment the runners cross the finish line or the clock runs out, anything can happen, and often does. The critical element that preserves this tension is the presumption of fairness. We want a fair fight, where all competitors have a legitimate shot to prove themselves worthy of the victor's trophy.

This is the fundamental purpose of governing bodies in sport. Their charge is to create a system of rules that guarantee, to the greatest possible extent, a level playing field for all participants. But as we've seen time and time again, the corrupting influences of money, power, and international politics cause many sporting organizations to forget their duty to the athletes and fans. Instead, they use their positions to enrich themselves and advance their agendas.

This seems to be the case with the latest controversy surrounding track and field. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) seems powerless or uninterested in curbing the rampant use of performance enhancing drugs, but intensely interested in enforcing their conception of the feminine ideal. Most recently, they crafted a set of rules that appear to be directly targeted at South African middle-distance champion Caster Semenya.

Returning to the show this week to weigh in on the situation is Nick Symmonds, 2-time Olympian, entrepreneur, and outspoken advocate for the rights of athletes. He and I dive into the principles behind the IAAF controversy, including what a level playing field should look like. We also discuss his recent retirement from professional running, and how his next adventures will take him to the top of the world seven times over.

Fight Strength NSFW: Treating Athletes with Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy Apr 29, 2018

Show notes

On an all-new edition of Fight Strength NSFW, the show takes a turn into the world of medicine, as it focuses on a treatment that is growing in popularity across the world. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy has become a legitimate option for surgery, for many professional athletes and fitness enthusiasts. This week, Florida's NovaGenix clinic co-founder Tim Bruce joins the show to talk about this unique treatment.

With Phil Daru unavailable as he prepares for an upcoming seminar, regular co-host Jason Burgos had the pleasure of bringing on MMA striking coach Dr. Paul Gavoni as his guest co-host. It was a fitting choice, as Gavoni is the man who introduced Burgos and Daru, laying the groundwork for what would be a podcasting partnership. Burgos and Gavoni got to question the aforementioned Bruce about the work NovaGenix does with its various PRP therapy clients.

The second-degree black belt spoke on why he chose to develop NovaGenix with fellow founder Andy Stock, and the impetus for adding PRP therapy to the various treatments offered at the clinic. Bruce then talked about how the process plays out -- from evaluation to recovery -- why studies on PRP can vary in results, and he told stories on many of the MMA fighters and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners that have used PRP for their injuries.

Along with interviewing Bruce, a new segment called "In the Corner with Dr. Gloves" was introduced. The segment featured Burgos asking Gavoni questions related to MMA and striking techniques.

Fight Strength NSFW: Dr. Andreo Spina Apr 22, 2018

Show notes

Fight Strength NSFW is once again on Breaking Muscle. On this edition of the fighting and fitness-themed podcast, hosts Jason Burgos and Phil Daru speak with Dr. Andreo Spina. The creator of some very influential techniques in the world functional movement.

Spina -- a black belt in Kempo karate and a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu -- talked about the techniques that have been taking the training industry by storm. Those are his functional range (FR) release system, the functional range conditioning (FRC) mobility development system and the Kinstretch method of movement. Many of these various systems are used by some of the biggest professional sports organizations in the country. Including the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Astros, New York Rangers, Portland Trailblazers, Seattle Mariners and the New York Rangers.

There are many true-believers of Dr. Spina's systems. One being co-host Phil Daru, who is certified in FRC and plans to get a similar certification in Kinstretch. The trio talked about how Dr. Spina developed his systems, their purposes, and the lessons he tries to convey to guests at the multitude of seminars he conducts on the subject.

Dr. Spina also talked about his thoughts on the differences between true mobility and flexibility, the components of the extracellular matrix and his concept of BioFlow. It was an in-depth interview, where this talented individual divulged many of his feelings and opinions on how to get the human body to be as effective as possible.

Along with talking to Dr. Spina, Daru spoke on the plethora of seminars he has coming up in the next few months. Then the two hosts conversed on the thrilling victory for Daru's close friend and client, Dustin Poirier, at UFC Glendale this past weekend.

The Essential Tools for Athletic Success with Kyle Flynn Mar 26, 2018

Show notes

In the most basic sense, a tool is a small thing you use to create a large effect. The most profound tools are simple and unglamorous but require a high degree of skill to wield effectively. This is just as true in a carpenter's workshop as it is in the gym, but we don't spend nearly as much time talking about those tools as we do the finer points of mechanics and technique.

Kyle Flynn wants to change that, and his Athlete's Toolbox series for Breaking Muscle aims to make you a better fitness craftsman. Kyle is a Level 3 CrossFit Coach and Certified Trainer at Old Line CrossFit in Millersville, Maryland. He sat down with me to unpack what it means to have an unbeatable mind, the topic of his first column. We also chat about how he keeps his athletes engaged within a highly varied programming model, how Old Line has worked to manage growth while maintaining class quality, and how they create opportunities for the gym's culture to knit itself into a cohesive community.

Old Line is a gym that is unafraid to try stuff, and Kyle details some of their successes, like their ChickFit and RuckFit programs, along with a few ideas that didn't pan out as well. Through it all, Kyle has discovered that people don't stick with a gym for the brilliant programming or the string of PRs, as much as for the value of the relationships they find there. With that in mind, he and his staff work from the first day with any athlete to develop mutual trust, respect, and understanding.

The Most Important Team in America with Zack Armstrong Mar 19, 2018

Show notes

This week's episode is a special one for me, because I get to talk about an issue that is deeply personal. It's easy to become jaded by statistics, but the 22 veterans a day who take their own life is one number that has touched me personally. When there's a name and a face that you once knew behind a number, it takes on a deeper significance; all the more when it's a former brother in arms.

It's not good enough for us to shove our hands in our pockets and sadly shake our heads. This is not a problem that will be solved by throwing more money at it. There needs to be concrete, immediate, and personal action.

Team Red White and Blue has stepped into that gap. Their mission is "to enrich the lives of America's veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity." If you've seen a bunch of eagle-emblazoned, flag waving crazies at your local 5k, that's Team RWB. But behind their unabashed patriotism and almost impossible friendliness is a group with a very serious purpose. They're using the best tools available to fight back against the tidal wave of veteran disengagement, depression, and suicide, by fostering camaraderie, purpose, and mental and physical health.

Zack Armstrong is the Director of Programs for Team RWB, and he sat down with me to dig into how they take action every day, all around the world, to create authentic, positive connections between veterans and civilians alike. He details the philosophy and core values that they deploy through their cadre of Eagle Leaders, who then become engines of positive change in their local communities. We discuss how they've managed their exponential growth while preserving their culture, and how their leadership development programs focus on providing the skills and practice needed to engage veterans in empathetic, authentic relationships.

How to Not Eat Like an Idiot with Alex Maclin Mar 12, 2018

Show notes

The gap between what we know and what we do is perhaps largest when it comes to what we put on our plate. Compared to nutrition, putting in the work in the gym every day is easy. Part of what makes eating right so difficult is the cultural mindset we've developed about food and our relationship to it. Food plays into our emotions, accompanies our social events, and occupies a place in our psychology as deep and intimate as religion.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle people face when trying to eat in accordance with their goals is America's love affair with the diet. As far back as the 1920s, everybody from government agencies to snake oil salesmen have taken their turn on the soapbox, preaching to you that you should follow one diet plan or another to lose weight, look better, and perform at your peak. But every diet fails for the same reason: it doesn't create a lifestyle that you can follow for the rest of your life.

That's what Alex Maclin wants to change. In his years of experience with the likes of Travis Mash and the Barbell Shrugged crew, he figured out that moving a barbell was the easy part. Moving your mind to a sustainable nutrition philosophy was much harder. He's recently struck out on his own to provide personalized nutrition coaching for anybody who wants to get out of the yo-yo cycle of dieting, and into a sustainable practice.

Alex and I chat about how he starts his coaching process with building trust and asking the right questions. He explains that while his strategy includes talking about food, it's really about empowering the whole person. He has learned the value of creating early wins to create positive momentum, and that creating change isn't about telling people what to do. It's about helping people realize what they really want, what it will take to get there, and then giving them the tools and knowledge to keep doing it for a lifetime.

The Fundamentals of Building a Community with Doug McClintock and Jon Wolery Mar 05, 2018

Show notes

For our 50th episode, we've seized on the opportunity to do something pretty special and bring you a joint episode with another new podcast, The Gravel Lot. We've talked a lot on the show over the past several months about the positive effects of fitness on our communities, and this week I get to talk to a couple of guys who have real world experience in helping to make it happen.

Doug McClintock and Jon Wolery are with the Cincinnati Off-Road Alliance (CORA), which is the local chapter of the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA). CORA has built something pretty special in and around their city, that is a case study in intentional, effective community development. We compare notes on the different paths our IMBA chapters have taken over the past several years, and detail some of the challenges we face together.

We cover how communities are built around a unifying struggle, and how not everybody has to agree, or even get along, for the group to be cohesive and productive. We talk about how to harness passion, create buy-in, and create connections to the organizations around us to become part of a rising tide. The result is a fun and candid conversation that contains lessons for members of any community that wants to see their tribe grow and succeed. It was also a chance for me to play the opposite role as a guest on their show, and talk about some of the successes and failures I've seen as a volunteer and race director for my IMBA chapter.

A Unified Theory of Human Movement with Kevin Moore Feb 26, 2018

Show notes

A common thread among those who have changed the way we think about fitness and movement is that they were dissatisfied with the answers given by existing systems. With so many different exercise methods and scientific explanations out there, you'd think we had cracked the riddle of how to make people strong, capable, and healthy. But if that were the case, we wouldn't have so many people still struggling to move well, avoid injury, and improve their fitness.

Kevin Moore is among those striving for a better answer. His explorations of biomechanics, Pilates, and dance clashed with the rigid structures imposed by a lab environment, so he struck out to create his own system to explain and improve human movement. The result is the Reembody Method, a modality that combines physics, evolutionary biology, neurology, and fundamental psychology.

Kevin sat down with me to explain how his frustration with the lack of imagination in the health and wellness community drove him to seek out the most useful elements of a variety of different approaches. He unpacks what side dominance really means, and how a sense of environmental safety can unlock movement potential in any situation. When the brain perceives a threat, he explains, it reorganizes itself in a way that may not be conducive to performance, and may even create pain to avoid uncertainty.

It's About the Athletes First with Jess Pilling Feb 19, 2018

Show notes

When you're on the road as much as I tend to be, finding someplace to work out becomes part of your travel planning. I do my homework as best I can, to find out about the facility, the programming, and the level of coaching I might expect for my drop-in dollars. Still, my experiences as a visitor in gyms across the country tend to follow a bell curve; most of the time, they're just "pretty good." On rare occasions, I'll leave a gym feeling happy that I never have to go there again.

Rarer still is the drop-in experience that leaves me seriously considering packing up the house and moving to another state, just so I can go to that gym more. But that was exactly the feeling I had after spending a week training, laughing, and being embraced by the community at Max Oxygen CrossFit Downtown in lovely Des Moines, Iowa.

Yep, you read that right. Iowa.

What I experienced at Max Oxygen was everything positive you read about CrossFit gyms. The coaching was on point, the programming was thoughtful, the facility was top-notch, and the community felt like a family reunion, even though I'd never met anybody there previously. What I observed that week was a clear example of a gym being run right, so I had to sit down with their Director of Operations, Jess Pilling, to find out how they do it.

Jess is young as a coach, but possesses a professionalism and a passion for her craft that surpasses most coaches who have been in the industry for decades. That fire has lit the torch for her other coaches as well, and permeates the whole culture at the box. Exactly how fast does Jess burn? She recently became Iowa's second female CrossFit Level 3 Certified Trainer, just two and a half years after first getting her L1.

She and I cover how her staff works to actively sculpt and cultivate their culture from the top down, their unique plans for the Open this year, and how they've prepared their athletes at all levels to have the best experience possible. She explains the direct approach she uses with new and prospective athletes to dispel their misconceptions about CrossFit, and how her education and experience as a mental health professional has shaped her coaching.

Training the Way Nature Intended with Danny Clark of MovNat Feb 12, 2018

Show notes

Most modern training programs are variations on the same scientific themes. You take a human body, and measure its capacity. Then you subject it to repeated, measurable stresses, rest, recover, repeat. After a sufficient duration of this pattern, you test the body again, and if the program was effective, you have a quantifiable improvement.

This is a great way to do science, but is it the best way to build capability? Will your back squat translate to escaping a burning building? Will your 5k time keep you from falling down the stairs? The only honest answer is "maybe." And no honest coach would assert that their specific strength and conditioning programs will develop your entire range of human capability and capacity. So what does "fitness" really mean, if we're only going to target a percentage of what your body was built to do?

The functional fitness movement has been an effort to answer that question, but it still relies on largely the same tools. A perfectly flat gym floor, perfectly symmetrical weights, smooth, constant-diameter bars, and repeated, measurable stresses. While it looks different at first glance, functional fitness falls into many of the same old traps.

Danny Clark is the performance director for MovNat, a comprehensive training system whose core philosophy is that if you want to develop the most capable humans, you should regularly engage the broadest possible range of their capability. To do that, says Danny, you need to get out of the gym humans built, and into the gym that nature has always provided.

He sat down with me to discuss MovNat's origins in evolutionary history and the advent of physical culture in France in the early 1900s. We discuss the costs of the rapid advance of technology on our physical utility, and how true movement competence comes from engaging our natural environment. He explains how his martial arts experience informed his thoughts about movement quality, and how his frustration with the inability of typical gym exercises to address the complex needs of his clients led him to a beach in Mexico. Last, we cover some easy and practical ways to incorporate natural movement into your existing fitness practice.

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