Life and Fitness With TJ LaFaver - POF80

Ready to go?

Yes, sir.

All right, let's go. What is going on, guys? My name is Bob. You are listening to the Power of Fitness podcast. If today's your first time listening, I want to say welcome. We are a self development and fitness podcast. The purpose of this podcast is to show you how fitness has helped us and show you how fitness can help you as well. Today we got something different. I know you guys love hearing me talk, but today I got a guest on here. We got a special guest. We got my coach, Coach tj. That's right, guys. Even me, guy who preached it all the time. We still have a coach. Got to keep us in check. Gotta help us learn more things. So I wanted to say. What's up, dj?

What's up, Bob, man? Appreciate you having me on here. And one thing I wanted to say that you said there, you know, for everybody, is, you know, the fact that even the best leaders in any industry, you know, they still have a coach. You know, you think of people like Bill Belichick, Mike Krzyzewski, and even leaders in the political world, like, they have mentors, they have people that they can go to because we can always get better. More. More than anything. You know, two heads together is always better than one, right? You can see things from different perspectives and different life experiences, and it's a really good opportunity to always be learning, you know, which. Which is extremely important, because if you're not moving forward, you're moving backwards.

That's true, man. That's true. All right, man. So since I'm doing the video call over a phone, I'm trying to get a little bit different start to the podcast. I did it last episode. I liked it. So what I'm gonna do is I'm hit you with five questions, and I want you to answer them off the top of your head. All right?

Okay.

All right, so question number one. I know you're a football guy, so who is your college football champion this year?

Oh, it's Alabama. Christmas time, baby.

You think they're going to revenge from last year?

Hey, man, I mean, until somebody proves to me otherwise that they're not at least going to make it to the championship, then they've got to be. They've got to be the one you put your money on.

All right, I can't argue with you there. Clemson's going to win again this year, but whatever.

Hey, well, you want to know why Clemson wins? Because Dabo Sweeney is a product of Alabama.

I know he is. He is. Man, they're good. All Right. Question number two. You see, I got my Eagles hat on here, so don't disappoint me with this answer. What is your super bowl matchup and who's your winner?

Dude, to be completely honest, NFL is not something that I follow. Super close, but to just. We could just go Pats and Eagles.

All right, I can't. I can't argue with you there. Tom Brady's the man. All right? Until he.

Again, like, same thing with Alabama. Until somebody proves me that they can stop Tom Brady. Like, you've got to put him in the conversation.

I agree. It's like you hate to pick home, but you know they're going to be there. It's just fact, dude.

I mean, so, I mean, I understand I just picked the Patriots in Alabama, and a lot of people, those are the two teams that they hate. But realistically, I just, you know, I appreciate watching greatness. It's not that I'm a bandwagon fan or anything like that, but when you see people doing things that have never been done before, and it's truly because of the work ethic and the discipline that they have to their craft, like, you have to at least respect that.

Yeah, no, I agree with you. I'm 100% with that as well. All right, back to a little bit more fitness stuff here. Question number three. What is your favorite body part to work out?

Oh, man. Honestly.

I would have to say that I thoroughly enjoy, like, back day just getting a bunch of pulls. Like, not necessarily deadlifting like I do deadlift. It's not one of my favorite exercises, but, man, like lat pull downs, rows pull ups. And then obviously on back day, most people are hitting biceps as well. So it's always, always a good thing to do.

It's not a bad workout. I used to hate it because I had a bad sciatic nerve in my back, but that's just because I didn't stretch enough.

Yeah, there you go.

Now I started stretching and back day. Man, I love the pump you get on back there. 100. All right, man, so now that everybody knows that listens to me, but 75 hard. So you're doing 75 hard as well. Day 74. So what is your go to cheat meal after 75 hard.

So Sunday morning, because tomorrow's Saturday, which is day 75 for me. Gotta finish the day right. Sunday morning I'm gonna wake up and donuts are my thing. And so I'm actually going to go to a Krispy Kreme, wait for the light to turn on, and get 24 to two dozen, fresh off the Glazer donuts. And I'm gonna mow them down. No problem.

That's a good one.

And then I'm gonna have. I'm gonna go to the gym, I'm gonna work out, because that's gonna be us. That's gonna be an awesome workout after.

That, like, bodybuilder pump, where you're just gonna be like, whoa, it's gonna feel good. Yeah, it'll feel good, man.

Then I'm gonna have pizza and beer that night.

But.

Whatever, man. You got to. I didn't enjoy it, right? I'll probably do the same thing tomorrow.

I was supposed to have off, but now I'm working, so my plans got ruined. I was gonna go get a nice Philly cheesesteak and then get, like, some ice cream, but don't work. But whatever. We'll plan it out. Yeah, man.

No, we. We have a local place here that has really good brunch, Billy cheese, and, you know, they. They've got a bunch of different good stuff, and the best, they have bottomless, you know, bloody Marys, mimosas, and then Irish coffee. And I was gonna go there and do that, but we actually have a fundraiser event Sunday afternoon, so I can't exactly go to brunch and get tore up and then go do that.

Yeah, maybe you will. You never know.

All right, man, last question before we get into it. You got one person to spend your last day with. Who is it and why?

It's 100% gonna be my old man. Just because, honestly, from just what. How I've learned, you know, my work ethic, your discipline, sacrifice, and everything like that. Like, my dad is the one that laid the groundwork for me on that, and just how much he sacrificed for me as a kid growing up, you know, put me in the best position possible. Feel for all my different, you know, success in sports. Like, it wouldn't have been possible without him. Obviously, as most kids do or most young men do in their late teens, they start to butt heads with their dad a lot, right?

And.

But once I moved out and went to college, you know, now have, you know, started my career. Like, me and my dad have gotten, you know, very close. Do, you know, a lot of different things together. We don't get to hang out as much as we could, or we, you know, I wish we could, but, you know, I appreciate time with my dad. You'll really. More than I appreciate time with anybody else.

Respect that, man. Good answer. Ready? Get going now. Actual podcast there we go. All right, man. So for those of you guys don't know this, my man TJ here, he is the legionnaire coach at first form, which is actually my coach. And a lot of this stuff I've been bringing to you guys in this podcast, a lot of it is stuff that he has said or stuff that he has taught me. So only feels feeling to have you on the podcast, man.

So, hey, heck yeah, man.

Why don't you give them a little background to yourself of how long you've been in with first form or what actually brought you to First Form?

Yeah, so some people know the full background story and everything, but I actually, you know what, Andy and Chris, who own first form together, they also have some retail stores called Supplement Superstore and they are local to, you know, here in St. Louis, there's a couple in Illinois and southwest Missouri.

But since I grew up about an hour from St. Louis, I had stumbled into, you know, a local retail store or a local supplement superstore. And you know, I was about 15, 16 years old and I was training, you know, I wanted to play college football and I was training my butt off, you know, taking this supplement, that supplement, this protein, that protein. It really had no idea what I was doing and you know, went into S2 money in hand, ready to buy whatever was going to get me, you know, big and be able to play college football.

But the cool thing was when I walked in there, he said, hey man, I'm not, I'm not going to let you buy anything, you know, until we go over your diet like you're, you're not allowed to get anything. He walked me through nutrition plan and he said, the only thing I'll let you get, you know, is this, you know, which was at that time with the post workout stack. So Formula one ignition is like, you can use this because I know you're going to immediately benefit from it. However, nothing else, you know, I'll let you get until you hit your diet for like two weeks. You know, you come back to me in two weeks and you've hit your diet, we can talk about some other things. And so that's what started me on company. I got, I mean it changed the game for me. Like I, at that time I was 15 years old. I was only about a buck 45.

You know, kind of like football, you got bulked up.

And then, so after that summer I actually went up to like 165, you know, and then as then in the off season again, I went from 165 to 185, you know, by working with those guys at S2. And it ultimately set me up to earn my college football scholarship.

And I owe it to them, you know, and then obviously the guys that trained me. But that's kind of what the initial thing that started me with first form was.

So I want to ask you a question about that. So when I first started my fitness industry in here, first thing I want to do, I want to get all the supplements to get me shit for free. And I'm sure a lot of people did that. So I came across first form and I was like, why are all these people asking me all these questions and not just trying to sell me something? And my. My first original thought was, like, there's something more going on here because you don't find people in this industry that are like that. So for me, I thought at first I was like, all right, this is a bunch of bullshit. But it's not. And I try to tell people that now. So did you think like that at first, too? You're like, what is going on here?

No, dude, I was just like, man, just let me buy whatever I want.

This is it. Like, I know I take protein. I get bigger. Like, just let me have it like that new. It doesn't have anything to do with my nutrition. Like, I just want to do. I just want to lift weights, drink protein, and get big. Like, so just let me do that. But really, it only took about a week or two by you know, giving your trust to him. And I remember still to this day, him explaining kind of everything to me. And he was like, here's the deal, man. I can get you to gain weight in the next two weeks, you know, by having you eat McDonald's and you'll drink all this bull crap that's just empty calories. But the truth is, like, is that going to be. He's like, is that going to be quality weight? I'm like, well, no. He goes, okay, or we can take the slow process and do it with high quality food, you know, that I've written down for you here. And a good supplement, and it's going to take longer, but it's going to hang around and it's actually going to benefit you. And then once he kind of drew that picture in my head, he's like, would you rather be 165 in two weeks and then back to 145 when you are. When you can't follow that anymore, or would you rather just be 165 in three months and stay 165. Like, and when he kind of drew that picture for me, I made a big difference.

Hey, I get that, man. That was like the first time you were telling me about like the post workout stack. I'm like, okay, like, I knew a little bit about it because like the bodybuilders used to tell me, like, take your carb after you work out. It was like a Coca cola or honey. Yeah. And then I'm like, well, I always got fat from that. And I didn't realize like the actual process of what needed to be done from it. So I relate to that as well. A lot of people need to understand that they try to get to that finish line right away with no work and it doesn't happen well.

And I think this is, I mean, we could go off on a tangent about this.

But I think it's the misunderstanding that the happiness comes from achieving the goal and the happiness doesn't come from achieving the goal and it comes from the work. It comes from the work that you have to do in the process to achieve that goal. Right? Like that's where the pride and the self belief and all that stuff comes from is tackling those tasks, you know, that you have to do to get better and better every day to really, you know, improve.

Nah, I agree there. That's true. I learned that a lot lately, especially with 75 hard man taught me a lot. So anyway, now you went into this protein store, you got your protein, How'd college go? You made to play college football. So why don't you give a little background on that, man?

Yeah, so I had been playing football Since I was 8 years old, you know, played every single year, was quarterback of my high school team and earned a hat, was, you know, okay enough to earn a scholarship at the Division 2 level. But one thing that did plague me all along was concussions. I had a concussion every year in high school. And you know, I know a lot of people get freaked out about them and they're definitely a cause for concern, but it's not that like anybody didn't, you know, treat me well enough. Like every time I got one, I sat out like all my coaches and the trainers, they did what they're supposed to do, but it was just something that I was susceptible to. And I red shirted my first year. So I've just practiced. And then I earned a starting job as a redshirt freshman.

And then my first game, I just like halfway through the first quarter got absolutely obliterated and got, you Know, another concussion. And I played a little bit and ended up pulling myself from the game. Played like crap, like, don't look at my stats, they're terrible. But I was playing. I played the majority of the game with a concussion, right, but sat out a week, came back week three after a couple series, got my job back, started week four, and then, you know, a week or you know, in the first quarter, got hit again on a, on a touchdown throw. But then I had to sit out365 and came back week four of my sophomore year. Played week four, five, six and seven, and the week or the first play of game seven, just handed the ball off and was standing there and you know, somebody just absolutely cleaned my clock. If you look at my Instagram, I posted it a while back. But yeah, man, that was, that was all she wrote for me for, for college football. It sucked, but it ended up being a blessing in disguise.

Yeah, that's tough. Now you went to Missouri Western State, right? I remember you posted a picture of the jerseys. I was like, dan, they're nice jerseys. Like, oh man, it's a shame you got hurt though, cuz, man. Well, you know what I want to say about that is that you understood like there was more for you out there. A lot of people out there that happened to them, then they just give up on everything. So I'm glad you didn't do that, man.

I mean, here's the thing is like, and this is kind of, you know, one thing that I, like, I need to talk about more is, you know, people have this, this is it. Like this is the only thing, you know, that I have. And you got to realize that like, okay, if, if one door closes, like sometimes another door doesn't open and you got to kick it down, right? And the only way you do that is not by sitting and wallowing in your self pity, is just pick yourself up, dust off it and keep moving forward, one step in front of the other and realize you can do anything. Like it doesn't matter what you feel like you're, this is all I have, or this is the only skill I have, or this is all that I'm good at. They know you can realistically do anything that you want to. You just have to set a goal, reverse engineer the plan, and then attack the plan day in and day out. And you can make whatever you want to, you can materialize it into your life however you want.

That's true, man. So throughout college, man, did you stick with first form or did you still do like different Supplements or how, like, what brought you to being like a certified trainer and all that.

So I. I still use first form when I could afford it on the side. But we did have our supplements provided to us in college from, you know, our strength conditioning coach. But especially in the off season when I was working, I would, you know, I would use first form. But during school year, like, I didn't have time for a job. So, I mean, I didn't have two. Two pennies to rub together. All I had was my meal plan money. That was it. I couldn't spend that at the local supplement store.

But so I would still use those in the off season and as much as I could during the.

During the season and all that. What kind of led me into really straight conditioning is because, you know, once football is over, I wanted a way to still play football or like, proverbially, you know, still be a part of football. And my way to do that was strength conditioning, because I loved the training side. I always was asking my strength conditioning coach, like, hey, why are we doing this? Why are we doing that? You know, can you explain this to me? Can you explain that to me? And, you know, I kind of matured into that and I developed a good relationship with him. He let me just be like a student assistant and was a coach of, like, the freshman and all that and helped with that. And then the next summer, I actually earned an internship at the University of Alabama with their strength conditioning program for football and was there for a summer. And that kind of like spawned my, all right, this is what I want to do, right? And then once I graduated, I got my cscs and got a job at University of South Alabama.

And then, you know, but during all this time, I guess I left a good thing out or an important thing out is I was working at a supplement store that had first form products there. So it was a retail store that had first form products. And that's where I kind of really developed my passion for helping individuals with their, you know, training, nutrition supplementation. But I couldn't let strength conditioning go just because that was my way to be in football still. So I was trying to do both of those things.

And then once I, you know, after a couple seasons of a strength conditioning coach, I was like, this is not what I want to do. And so that's kind of what led me back home, which then led into me being a first form.

I like that, man. Now that's something like I wanted to do, too. Like, I love. I had a lot of injuries, so I couldn't play sports a lot as well, so I can relate to like the aspect of strength and conditioning. Coach. So do you still incorporate that into your workouts?

Oh, yeah. I mean, I like right now. I mean, I just wrote a strength condition or a strength program for our, you know, my Transformation Starts Today app. And so I kind of use that. And whenever I'm doing my own programming, that's generally what I go back to. The only thing I don't do as much of it is the, like, the sprint work and the conditioning that we would do in football. Just because I'm just not, not a huge, huge cardio guy.

I understand that, man. That's the hardest part.

It's like I'm either all or nothing, like, you know, because I did the half iron, man, and so that's all I did when it was that. But it's like trying to do both of them at the same time just kind of sucks.

Yeah, it's hard, man.

I don't know, like, sprint work and stuff is kind of fun because if you do it right, like, you're only going all out for like 10 seconds and you're taking two minutes off. So it's not terrible, but it just, I don't know, I don't really care how fast I am.

It's just a little completely different drain on your body, man. Like when you work out and you do the sprints, it's like two different areas of the spectrum, man. It's hard hitting both.

It's completely different energy systems, you know, and so it is a different type of physical exertion for sure.

Yeah. So now you're at first form, man.

You didn't start off as a legionnaire coach, right? What did you start out as?

So I was within the legionnaire program, but I was more in like the. It's like the onboarding, like, interviewing process, you know, making sure that the people that were kind of applying to the program that we were, you know, making sure that we were bringing on people that were a good fit for us because we, you know, it's not something that is for everybody. Right. So that was my kind of job starting out. I only did that for a few months, you know, and then I progressed into the actual coaching side of things.

That's cool, man. Now you're doing the camera. Exactly. I remember, I do remember your first call. You're like, when you called me the first time you talked to me, you're saying you were new and you had to do like the, the calls with Aaron and them look at you now, make killing them.

Hey, man, I don't know about all that, but I try to do my best.

I mean, the other day, you messed up explaining something they got on you.

But here's the thing is I didn't.

Yeah, I didn't think you did. I was listening. I was listening.

I'm like, I didn't mess it up.

Yeah, I'm like, what? I don't think they were listening to you. I don't think they listen to what you said.

Because the thing is, and I'm sure you get this way sometimes on the podcast is if somebody starts talking, especially if it's like a co host or somebody that you're talking to, you don't have to really listen to them to know what they're saying.

Yeah.

And so all that happened was somebody had made a comment that I had messed something up even though I didn't. Just, like, trying to throw a jab at me, and they ran with it. So it was all good. I'm not worried about it.

They were just trying to get you mad.

Exactly. And it worked at first because I was like, man, maybe I did mess it up.

And I really.

I really hate messing up, especially explaining that stuff.

Okay. But that's what brings me to this point, man. How is it, like, dude, you. You're talking. You're explaining supplements and all this stuff. People, how's it feel to know, like, you're helping hundreds of thousands of people? Like you're helping me?

Oh, man, I don't know about hundreds.

Of thousands, but hundreds and thousands. Sorry. Maybe I'll know. Maybe. Man, you guys are growing. You're growing it, man. So you never know.

Well, I mean, the biggest thing for me is that I'm not. Well, yes, I am concerned with helping hundreds and thousands and millions of people before we're done. Like, that's our goal here at first form, is to flip the fitness industry upside down. But really, when I'm talking, like. Like, if I'm talking to you or I'm talking to somebody at the gym, or I'm talking to somebody on social media or, you know, I'm only concerned with making sure that they understand it right, and that they can be, you know, a positive voice for what we're trying to do, you know, and it's cool, there's no better feel. And then when I can use my passion, which is fitness and nutrition supplementation, to be specific.

To change somebody's life. And so it's really. I don't get too caught up in thinking about the hundreds of thousands of people at one time, or even hundreds of people. It's really just. I'm very grateful just for every single conversation and every single opportunity that I have to teach people something that I know can. Can realistically, you know, affect their life. And then the cool thing is, like, with helping guys like you is I know I help you, and then you go out and help people, you know, and so by kind of the transitive property, if you will, you know, I've helped, you know, 10, 15, 20, 100 more people just by helping you.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, we have the nutrition, not nutrition. The social media calls know a lot. And I have a couple of my life clients that talk to me. They're like, oh, you know how it's shadow band and whatever that is. I try to explain to them, listen, if you're posting something and it's going to help one person, it's good post. And I feel like that's what you're doing. Like when you do those videos, you're not looking at, I'm helping a thousand. That's one. At least one person out of that.

And that's all I can. That's all it matters, you know, because the truth is, is if you try to spread your message across a thousand people, it becomes watered down, you know, but if you focus on, all right, I know that this is going to help that one person. Well, we're all, you know, more alike than we are different. And so if I effectively help one person that is going to, you know, more effectively go down the line then help, you know, people. And it's going to just relate to people better than trying to, you know, relate to a thousand people at once.

Yeah, absolutely. So last podcast, I talked about 75 hard. I did it. I gave like a full rundown of everything that it was telling people that you got to drink a gallon of water a day and you got recorded. You can't just guess it. And I kind of explained to them exactly what it was and what it did for me. So what is like the main thing you took out of doing 75 hard?

So the first thing that I realized about two weeks in was that I was. I mean, can I curse on this?

He said, whatever you fucking want.

Well, that I was really being a bitch. Like, because I think when we were talking about this, you know, off camera, but that where everybody's busy, right? I mean, you work a lot, I work a lot. I mean, I'm always doing something right. And my whole thing was Although I don't have time to work out for an hour and a half. I don't have time to read, I don't have time to do this, I don't have time to do that. But I realized after just, you know, two weeks of making the time and being intentional with it that it had nothing to do with the amount of time that I had. And it had everything to do with my inability to discipline myself in all aspects of life to make the time for it. So it wasn't had anything to do with that halftime, but I just wasn't making it.

And secondly, you know, to that is.

Just how.

Irrelevant our emotions are. You know, in the process of wanting to achieve something, like, it does not matter how you feel. It doesn't at all.

Right?

Like, if you are.

Like everybody said, oh, I don't feel like going to the gym, it doesn't matter. Like, you still have to go. Like, you have this goal. It doesn't matter how you feel. You have to be able to remove your emotions. Oh, I'm stressed out. It doesn't matter. Those emails need to be responded to. If you're stressed out, it doesn't matter. You have to remove that. Like, oh, I feel this way or I feel that way. And I really kind of tapped into that in the 40s and 50s because when I was doing my walk or I was tracking my food, I was reading my pages. Like, it got to the point where I was like, I don't want to do this.

I agree.

You know, and. But it was like, okay, it doesn't matter how I feel about these. Like, I still need to execute.

Absolutely. So my hardest time, I think it was about the 40s. I actually had a bad tooth infection in my mouth. Dude, it was awful. I literally didn't sleep for like three days. Like, because every time I lay down my. I just want to rip my head off. And you know, I'm working still, I'm doing this and that. And people would be like, well, how are you still doing your two workouts? This and that? And I was like, am I gonna give up on my long term goal for this short term pain that's gonna go away? And I feel like a lot of people do that. And I'm like, I'm not gonna do that. And exactly. Like you said, man, it doesn't matter. Yeah, do it. Yeah.

No, and that's the thing is like, you, I don't know, that's. It's something that. It really goes into all aspects of life. And you. And you've experienced this, and that's where the true pride comes from, is doing when you don't want to do it, like, and doing it anyway. Staying up late to read your pages. Staying up late, dude, I mean, how many times you had to stay up late to either eat or drink water.

Dude, like every night.

But like, yeah, right now I'm freaking 290 grams behind on my carbs and.

Gonna have a lot of rest.

Be a long night. So, like, but the thing is, is when you can go to bed knowing that you, you did what you needed to do that day to take a step forward, like, there is a level of pride that comes from that that is, is unattainable. You go through any other avenue.

Yeah. So one thing someone said to me today because I'm, I was actually like, record, I, I, I haven't recorded everything every day because, you know, it's a lot as, like, as long as you're doing it, you know, so people are always like, well, you didn't post your second workout. I'm like, doesn't mean I didn't do it.

So today I was trying to post everything and someone messaged me and they were like, why do you work out twice a day for 75 days? I'm like, listen, it's not about the actual workout. It's about the fact that you, you're willing to do whatever work you have to do on a daily basis to get to where you want to go. It's not the workout, it's what you get out of the workout. I think that's the biggest thing I learned.

And time management. Like, it's the fact that, like, because I mean, something very simple is like, okay, well, what are you gonna do with 75 hards over? Well, maybe you don't do two workouts, right? But now you have proven to yourself that you can take 45 minutes to an hour you're out of your day to improve yourself. And so maybe that's 45 minutes an hour to work on this podcast or your brand or, you know, studying up on nutrition supplementation. Like, you have proven to yourself that you do have the time to do that self development every single day. So, yeah, I mean, it's definitely, it's not about the workout. It's not a physical transformation. Have we both transformed physically? Absolutely. But the mental side and the awakening I think is by far and above, you know, blows the, blows the physical transformation out.

Now I agree. That's one thing I tell people too. They're like, oh, well, am I going to look like you after it? I'm like, no, you might. You're going, you're going to look better if you do the work. But it's all in your brain, man. That's what we talk about a lot on here is like, if you grow your mind, your body's going to follow it. And I've been, after 75 days, I look a lot better, but I feel way better, man, like, because like you said, I know I can do it.

Honestly though, like, and this is a lot of people don't know how to grow their mental game or push themselves mentally, you know, And I think in more cases than not, like, you and I know how to put ourselves under mental stress, right? But that's, I honestly think we've learned it through physical stress, right? Like, I know the times I've grown most mentally was for the half ironman and then through 75 hard, like. So I think for most people, what they need to do is put a physical goal out there and then as they, they chase their body, right, Then they develop the mindset with that. So I think they're honestly one in the same. And that, you know, if you, you're looking good physically, your mental is, is definitely going to be there with it as well.

Yeah, I agree there, man. Absolutely. You know, like you said, we're quote unquote busy. So a lot of days, man, it would be. I'd work from five in the morning, get done at six at night, and I'm like, how the hell am I gonna do all this? And it's like, you gotta do it and I'll do it. Sometimes I'd be walking outside, it'd be pouring, it'd be 10 o' clock at night. I don't wanna do that shit.

But no, like, but truth, truth be told, by the end of it, like I had, I had that, you know, a week ago or so.

And I actually, like, it was the weirdest thing is it was pouring down, right? Like I'm saying, like the street was like flooded almost because it was raining so hard, but it almost like it wasn't even raining.

Yeah, dude. It's because you have to take the rain out of the picture and you have to take of the mental barrier that you're going to build. And that's what it is because you always say too, it's like, if you skip a workout, are you really going to see that much of a difference? Physically, probably not, but mentally you're gonna be like, I should have done that workout. So for Me to, like, do the workout and get the work done. I feel a hundred times better than I did, you know, and that's what I loved about it.

Oh, absolutely. That's. It's just proving to yourself that you can hold yourself accountable, you know? Because the truth be told is if you can't, you know, hold your. You can't keep to your word to yourself, who can you keep your word to?

Yeah. So for me, man, I always been talking about, like, I want to do a powerlifting show. I want to do a bodybuilding show. And my. My biggest problem was not the work that I put in, but it was the, like, macros, because I figured I'm like, oh, I work outside. I can eat whatever I want. I burn what I want, which realistically, I kind of do. But for me, during this challenge, actually tracking what I ate, man. Dude, like, you talk about it a lot in the. The meeting conferences. We do, and it took me a while to get on that board, So I think 75 hard has helped me tremendously in that aspect because I was, like, eating way more carbs than I should have been eating, and I was way lower on my protein than I should have been. Now that I'm actually where I should be, the results are absolutely, like, way better. It's crazy, dude.

I was always on the train of I couldn't get super lean. That just wasn't in my genetics. But I didn't have it. Like. I mean, I followed this diet. I followed, quote, unquote, you know, this diet, that diet. These macros. Those macros. I could never get lean or lean as other people. In all reality, it was one. My inability to be disciplined to the plan for longer than two weeks or really just be disciplined to the plan at all. You know, I was a big believer in, you know, cheat meals and. Oh, you know, I just had a great workout. I gotta get the. You know, I gotta stop my steak and shake and get this trick triple steak, burger and fries, you know, because I gotta put the weight on.

Yeah.

And in all reality, it's like, could I get away with eating that? Yeah. I mean, I would need to track it, right?

And make sure that it follows in lines with at least my calories and protein. But when you're wanting to achieve, you know, one of the more a much leaner physique like you, dude, you got to dial it in, you know, and because your average plans yield average results, you know, and average discipline yields average results. And I mean, that's. I was a walking, talking billboard for that know, before 75 hard. And now that it's like, no matter what, I don't go. You know, I hit my protein. I don't go over my carbs, I don't go over my fats. And, you know, I'm already eating a surplus, but I don't go too high, right? And, you know, I train intensely. And, dude, the. The results, you'll speak for themselves.

It is, man. And not just physically, man. Like, mentally, when you actually are tracking it and you're getting better results, man, you feel so much better. Good. Oh, yeah. You know, we've been posting, like, the transformation post, and also my last post, someone's like, you gotta be on steroids to do that. And I'm like, listen, the difference between me now and me then was discipline. Then I was just eating, like, whatever the hell I want. I was in shape, and then I kind of fell off. Now that I've been tracking it, it was so much easier for me to get back in. And it's like, I feel. Look better. Like you said, if you look better, you feel better, but absolutely. Yeah, man. But get into another thing we talked about off camera this last week. For me, man, it has been. It's been bad. I still did everything, but, like, mentally, I just want to lay down in bed and be like, all right, I'm just gonna fail and start over. I'm done.

Well, it wasn't even for me, like, I wanted to fail and start over. It was like, all right, dude, I get it. Like, I made this far. You know, I get it. But here's the deal. Like, anybody can go 98% of the way. Very few people finish and go 100% of the way. And the difference is in that. In that 2%, you know, and that's where, you know, I think that finishing through, you know, and not letting it fall off and really, you know, refocusing yourself, especially towards the end of the goal, when you see the goal in sight, is where the biggest. You know, I think when you finish today and you wake up tomorrow, it's gonna be very, very rewarding.

Yeah, exactly, man. And like, I always tell my followers, like, let's be real, I'm probably gonna do this tomorrow, too, just because I know, like, the mental result I got from it, you know, I mean, I'm not saying I might work out twice every day for the next. I'm actually. So phase one, I'm not taking much time off. I want to keep myself in that rhythm. But for this weekend, opening football, I'm Taking off, I'll tell you, but I won't go overboard. I won't go overboard.

No, I think I'm not going to officially start phase one.

For probably a month or so. I'm going to probably do some of the things.

But I want to see how it feels to not actually do it all the way, you know what I mean? Like, okay, like where, how quickly does the self belief and the pride and the grit and the confidence go away? You know, from not from, you know, not saying no to a beer or you know, going out to eat and eating whatever you want. Like how quickly, how quickly does that leave? Because that's the thing is like man, you're all that self belief and pride and confidence is directly tied to your ability to like fulfill or be in pursuit of your true potential, you know. And I think that it's going to be interesting to have opened your eyes or our eyes to this through this program and then kind of take some time off and see how quickly that goes away.

I like that you just made me want to take off. A month. Actually, not a month, but actually my birthday is on the 21st, so that's why I want to jump back on. Because I didn't want to go overboard on my birthday because my buddies are having a party and I'm like, yo, it had just happened to fall on my birthday and I'm like, fuck, I gotta be on a program. So I don't like. Yeah, but you know, actually like you just said man, it might actually be more rewarding and more challenging for me not to be on this program to see if I can hold myself back on that day. I think that like you just said, that's what's about man, to see how far you fall off. Cuz you ever see bodybuilders or like the bikini models when they get off their show and then like the next like week they just like blow up because they eat whatever they want. I think that's what I was scared of happening to me. But honestly, like I think my mental game, you probably are too, like it ain't gonna happen.

But never know because I, I keep telling myself I'm gonna go on like a week long bender, but the truth is, is yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna enjoy myself on Sunday. But realistically, you know, I am too much of a control freak to not, you know, feel like I'm in control. And so I mean for the. Honestly back on Monday, you know, I'll be probably eating the same foods, you know, I may not be measuring out my sauces to the grammar like I have been. But, you know, I'll be definitely back on just eating eggs and chicken and rice and, you know, protein nut shakes and oatmeal.

Yeah, I'm with you there, man. It's more like it's a routine now. You've been doing it for two and a half, three months. It's like a routine. It's a routine that benefits, like you got benefit out of it. So it's like there's no problem with you sticking to it. And that's why I was like, let me get back to it because I like how I feel, you know?

Absolutely.

Plus all the reading I've been doing, man, I've been learning a lot more doing reading. Now. I used to, I remember listening to Andy's when he's talking about reading the 10 pages and I'm all like, what is 10 pages gonna do? And I'm like, holy shit, it's done a lot, a lot, man. Cuz I was, I was reading way more than 10 pages a day. But to do it every day, it helped a lot because we're so used to going home, turning on tv, next thing you know, it's four hours later. You know, it's. I haven't turned my TV on.

I think the biggest thing here is that in the, in the fast paced world that we live in today, like, I mean, when you open, when you woke up today, what's the first thing you did?

Drank some water, man.

Well, yeah, that.

And then got on your call. Because I woke up late.

Well, you checked your phone.

Yeah, right.

I think we all do that. That's the very first thing.

We don't take time really anymore. I mean, as a society to invest in ourselves and just really check in with ourselves.

Okay.

Hey, how are you doing? Are you doing what you need to be doing to get where you want to go? I think that's why a lot of people, you know, after 5, 10, 15, 20 years are like, well, what the, what the fuck happened?

Right?

I mean, what I do, I want it to be this, this and that. But it's been 20 years or, you know, even five years and I haven't made any progress. It's like, well, because you never take time to invest in yourself and you'll look at what was going on, you know, and that's why I talk about all the time, like having those weekly audits with yourself, you know, just writing it down like, hey, this is where I wanted to go. This is what I did this last week and does this shit match up or doesn't? You know, if it doesn't, alright, what do I need to do this week, you know, to get myself back on track? Because it's not going to be one thing that gets you from point A to C, you know, you got to knock things down every day and just get a little bit better, you know, and inch your way forward, and inch your way forward. And if you don't pay attention and take time to invest in yourself with things like reading, that's when you have five, 10 years pass and you haven't grown and you haven't made it anywhere closer to where you want to be.

So I think the biggest thing was reading is making sure you are taking time for yourself.

I agree there man. So do you remember when we were in St. Louis and I said to you like, yo, ya, hop on calls with me. And I was like, I'm too busy. Yeah dude, I'll tell you now, the fact that I've been on two calls every week since St. Louis, that alone, even though a lot of them, like I just put the headphones in because I'm working, I listen. But dude, that's invested in myself too and all the people that are out there, man. So that's why I love like every time I'm on there it's like so for me to like when I schedule my podcast, we usually do it at night and I'll be my guy, I'll be like, yo, when are we doing it? And I'll be, hold on, gotta wait for your schedule to come out cuz I want to make sure I'm on that. Now do I have to be on the call? No, probably not. But it helps me a lot. And you know, just what you said there, like you're investing in yourself. So every time I hop on the calls with you, every single episode, you could talk, you could literally talk about the same exact thing every time. And I could take something new out of each one. Just listen to it and it helps.

I think that's a lot of people like, oh well, you know, I've read a bunch of different success or discipline motivation books. It's like, you know, I've got the gist of it, like, no you don't. Like I've read the same book six and seven and eight times over and you learn something different because you got to realize you're at different points in your life. You've had different people come in, you've had different experiences and all of that information you know, applies differently, you know, every time that you hear it. And I think that's where, like, Andy Priscilla is. Your thing with sharpening the axe, right, is doesn't matter how sharp the ax once was, if you use it day in and day out, it'll eventually become dull. And if you don't, every time take time to sharpen it, maybe you are doing the same thing over and over again. You're just sharpening it like it's nothing new, you know, but it makes it a more effective tool for a longer period of time when you take just a little bit of a time to, you know, take care of that.

Absolutely, man. I agree there. I used to think that way people did. I'm like, why would I read this shit? I read it again or why would I have want to call? Because I heard it. And dude, you just learned, like you said, you learn something every time. And hearing like, even like other people, when they chime in, you hear their viewpoint on something, you probably never heard it from someone like that before. So it's getting, like, different viewpoints of people, man. It. I like that as well. It helps me grow. That's why I like having you on the podcast here too, because people hear me talk, they hear me say stuff. You know how it is. People hear you saying it all the time. They're like, he's just speaking what he has. But to have other people that have the same view, just a different perspective, a little bit on it, you know, it's going to help someone out.

Yeah, absolutely. 100%. No, man. I mean, I think the.

The best way I can kind of draw that or paint that picture is, you know, when I was a kid. No, as a kid, you never want to listen to your parents, Right? And so especially, like, my dad was a coach from our baseball team. Anytime he wanted me to get or wanted me to do something differently, he would tell one of my friends dads to tell me, yeah, you know, it could be the exact same information, but just hearing it from a different person, yo, like, clicked with me.

That is true, man. We need to hear different perspectives and people say things for us to act. Because we're stubborn, man. Humans are stubborn.

Oh, yeah.

Like, you were talking about reading and reading and reading over a book. So I. Right now I have a. One of my main goals with fitness is I want to do kids. And up until 75 hard, I never really, like, worked on actually learning about, like, kids fitness because it's completely different. So now, along with the reading the 10 pages of book I've read. I have a certification coming up. I'm pretty sure I could pass the test easily. But I've read this book four times already in the last three months, and man, I'm like, I want to learn everything in it. And like, every time I read it, I'm like, how the hell I missed that? Yeah, it's crazy.

It's. It's because you didn't. Like, there were so much information all at once that you couldn't take all of it in. And so each time, let's say there's four different pieces of information, a paragraph. Each time you read it, you learned the first thing, right? But you were spend so much time you're learning the first thing that when you read the second, third, fourth thing, they didn't click. So then the second time you read through it, the first thing you already know. And so now you read through that, now you can pay attention to the second thing, you know, and so on and so forth. And that's why I think it's important. Important, especially with, you know, certain literature and podcasts and things like that, that you always listen to it more than once.

Yeah, I agree, man. But anyway, man, I don't want to hold you up no more. I appreciate you coming on. I'm gonna re. Probably re. Listen to this 10 times just so I can see what messed up in. But no, seriously, man, I appreciate you coming on. I know you got a lot going on. So for you to take time out to help me and help all these people. Listen, I want to say thank you and maybe down the road we'll get you back on. We'll talk about something you're expert in supplements, something like that.

Expert's little steep, man.

I had to give it to you. I had to give it to you. Ah, dude, seriously. I mean, from the day you started working with me to now, man, like, you have, you've improved yourself as well, a lot. So it's like, I got to step my up. I got.

Dude, that's. That's what it's all about. It is. And that's why I think it's important too, to, to have mentors or coaches that you work with is as you see someone else level up, you know, you're like, all right, man, I gotta, I gotta get going. I gotta get my shit.

It's like, as you're growing, as I'm growing up, I'm like, man, you guys always talk about it, like, surround yourself with people that are like, minded that are leveling up and I used to always think, well, honestly, there's really not a lot of people like me in my area, and it's totally fine if I have people that are further away, because social media now, man, I can see you guys posting stuff, and I'm like, dan, that was a good post. Like, all right, how can I make a post to relate to that, but also, like, broaden, and it's like, it's leveling up, man. It's not a competition. But I'm telling you, like, we're all in it together. Yeah, man. Seeing you improve in what you're doing, it's helped me improve in what I'm doing. And likewise, man, it's helped me dial in of what I actually want to do, because I think that's another thing 75 Hard has taught me, is that a lot of people out there, we. We might work hard, but are we working hard for the right reasons for where we want to go? And 75 hard taught me that. It's taught me to work towards what I want. And like you said in the beginning, it's you versus you. So it's helped a lot. So.

Yeah, man. Well, likewise, brother. I appreciate you. Give me an opportunity to talk. Like I was telling you earlier, dude, I'm always more than happy to. To talk because.

You know, I have a lot of. A lot of stuff going on in my brain, so it's fun to kind of get some of that stuff out every once in a while.

Absolutely, man. I appreciate you coming on as always, man. Appreciate you. And I'm sure we'll probably talk again, so.

Yeah, brother. I appreciate you, man.

I'll let you know when this airs, man.

All right, bro.

Sam.