Fitness and Movement

Avoiding Burnout and Achieving Peak Performance with Bradley Stulberg: PYP 213

June 5, 2017

Bradley Stulberg and Steve Magness know a lot about burnout. They were up-and-comers in their respective fields – consulting and running – and neither managed to live up to their early promise. Both “burned out,” losing interest, passion, and the performance edge they had honed through years of hard work and deliberate practice.

As they rebuilt their lives, they both gravitated to the field of high performance. Wondering what happened, perhaps, and seeking a way to turn things around for themselves and others.

Josh LaJaunie on Naturally Attainable Quantities: PYP 210

May 16, 2017

On the road from Marshall, Texas to MSY airport in New Orleans, Josh LaJaunie and I tried out a concept that we’ve been playing with for about a year.

Josh came up with it originally (not that no one’s ever thought it before, but he was the first person who articulated it in a way that empowered me to make good decisions based on it).

And the more I applied it, the more it started looking like the Unified Field Theory of How to Be an Authentic Human.

Ed and Amanda Smith on Leadership, Community, and Health: PYP 198

February 20, 2017

Ed and Amanda Smith are the co-founders of Healthfest, a three-day annual event in a small Texas town that’s become an unlikely hub of plant-based nutrition in the United States.

Marshall, Texas, population 27,000, is smack in the middle of the “stroke belt.” Where beef is king, hunting is a rite of passage into manhood, and if it ain’t deep-fried, it ain’t food.

And there, where Ed served as mayor, is where they decided to bring plant-based knowledge and practice.

Bob Cafaro on the Psychology of Beating an Incurable Illness

February 2, 2017

Plant Yourself Podcast guest Bob Cafaro (PYP 153) has just come out with his TEDx talk, “The Psychology of Beating an Incurable Illness.” Enjoy and be inspired:

“I’m not speeding up; they’re all slowing down” with Ellen Jaffe Jones: PYP 194

January 24, 2017

I ran into Ellen Jaffe Jones at the Raleigh NC Vegfest, where she was inspiring young and old to get off their butts and embrace a healthy, active, vegan lifestyle. We had met on Skype for a podcast interview more than three years ago, but this was the first time we had met in person.

And since I’ve become a runner, I badly wanted a copy of her new book, Vegan Fitness For Mortals. As one of the most decorated track and field athletes in the country (and getting more and more competitive as her non-plant-based rivals slow down and quit as their bodies decline), she has a lot to teach me about running well and sustainably.

In Praise of Extremism and Collective Evolution

January 15, 2017

The longer I think about it, the more I’m convinced that health and fulfillment are found in the extremes, not in moderation.

The Old Fart Booth Effect: A Weird Mind Hack that Makes Exercise Easier

January 10, 2017

Look in the mirror. Say your name.

You’ve just activated a section of your brain devoted to YOU.

Now think of some random celebrity. Say their name.

You’ve just activated a totally different section of your brain, this one dedicated to OTHERS.

Now – and here’s where this gets freaky – think of yourself in 20 years.

Which part of your brain just got turned on? The YOU circuit, or the OTHER circuit?

If you’re like most people – pretty much everyone, in fact – you think about your future self as if she or he is a total stranger.

The Simple Practices that Healed His Depression with Dave Wiskowski: PYP 189

December 20, 2016

In 1987, fresh out of college, I took a job as a teaching intern at a fancy prep school in central New Jersey. One of the students who never made it across my radar was a quiet, blonde fifth grade boy named Dave Wiskowski.

In his class photo, he’s not smiling, unlike many of his classmates. He told me that he was struggling with depression at that time, any for many years later. Like many people who find themselves overwhelmed by life and negative emotions, he became adept at self-medicating through food, alcohol, and self-pity.

Becoming Pain-free Like an Animal with Tom Dalonzo-Baker: PYP 182

November 1, 2016

When my right knee started hurting so bad that I couldn’t run, do yoga, squat, or ride a bike, I did all the things I knew how to do.

I got massages. I iced. I rubbed hot and cold ointments into the skin. I visualized. I went to the chiropractor. I stretched.

And nothing worked.

Peak Performance for the Rest of Us with Bradley Stulberg: PYP 180

October 19, 2016

Bradley Stulberg writes about the connections between exercise and human physiology and psychology. He’s interviewed many of the world’s elite athletes, and has synthesized their insights into valuable lessons for the rest of us.

Avoiding Burnout and Achieving Peak Performance with Bradley Stulberg: PYP 213

Josh LaJaunie on Naturally Attainable Quantities: PYP 210

Ed and Amanda Smith on Leadership, Community, and Health: PYP 198

Bob Cafaro on the Psychology of Beating an Incurable Illness

“I’m not speeding up; they’re all slowing down” with Ellen Jaffe Jones: PYP 194

In Praise of Extremism and Collective Evolution

The Old Fart Booth Effect: A Weird Mind Hack that Makes Exercise Easier

The Simple Practices that Healed His Depression with Dave Wiskowski: PYP 189

Becoming Pain-free Like an Animal with Tom Dalonzo-Baker: PYP 182

Peak Performance for the Rest of Us with Bradley Stulberg: PYP 180

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