Beyond Fit

One of the reasons I am a so passionate about health & fitness is all the ways it impacts your life beyond the immediate, measurable physical benefits. Here I explain why I'd workout and eat healthy even if I was the last person on earth! Mentioned: https://www.mindpumpmedia.com/ Episode 112: The Importance of Having a Vision

“When your vision is powerful enough everything else falls into place: how you live your life, your workouts, what friends you choose to hang out with, how you eat, what you do for fun.” -Arnold Schwarzenegger

Today I thought I'd do a random show on a few topics that have been on my mind. I hope you enjoy this new style of episode! Mentioned: https://legionathletics.com/cut-or-bulk/ https://alanaragon.com/

Is your glass half full or half empty? Do you see the yellow car? Learn about the power of optimism and searching for the positive in this episode.

In this episode I delve into how I am currently going about training my mind and body. I am always working on improving and refining habits as well as setting goals in order to learn and grow physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Mentioned: Episode 105: David Allen creator of Getting Things Done Episode 104- 5 Minute Fit Tip: 2 Ways to Build Your Network Episode 100: 5 Minute Fit Tip...

To take care of others you must be selfish in helping yourself first. This may sound like a bold, even egocentric claim, but I believe selfishness is at the root of altruism for reasons I explain here. Mentioned: Episode 107: Matt McLeod Returns!

This week I was again joined by my friend Matt. We talked about a lot of different topics including: 1:32- Getting the most out of fitness when priorities change (Automated Fitness). 14:48- How not to fall victim to paralysis by analysis 29:51- Disagreeing and understanding. 35:10- What winning a bodybuilding show taught Matt. 48:42- Big rocks and small rocks. Mentioned: https://nav.al/ https://wa...

For my May book review, I choose to read The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz.  This book both confirmed my way of thinking and added to it some useful tools! A quote from Tim Ferriss (who recommends this book) that I was reminded of a few times while reading: "It's lonely at the top. Ninety-nine percent of people in the world are convinced they are incapable of achieving gre...

David Allen is one of the world's foremost thinkers on productivity, having devoted almost 40 years professionally to the topic as well as a lifetime of refining Getting Things Done in his personal life. I'm so grateful to David for sharing some time with me on the show! Our conversation was wide ranging (a reflection of the person David is). We talked about how to handle small things on your mind...

I know this topic sounds a little dull or click-baity, but I think it's super important and it's something I've been focused on lately! Here I talk about networking mostly in the context of my own life and goals but I think you will find the advice valuable however you decide to apply it.

Cody "Boom Boom" McBroom is a fitness coach and someone I've gotten to know from interacting on Instagram. You may know his of his Tailored Performance Coaching! ( https://tailoredcoachingmethod.com/ ) On this podcast we discussed many different variables around workout volume including: what it is, how it's applied, relevant variables like adherence/sustainability, trash volume, and more! 2:29 Wh...

Here I talk about two common mistakes one may make with diet, that, interestingly are often seen as acceptable or even positive for health.

Recently I decided to go through a fat loss period. As I've talked about before, I still go through phases of cutting and bulking on a semi regular basis. I was especially focused on what lessons I could glean from this period beyond the normal fat loss tips like step goals, voluminous foods, limiting liquid calories, and things like that. (All very useful tips by the way!) Here I share 10 fat los...

Here I talk about my weekly review which takes the form of a check list. The important part of this to me is that it helps me to see that my day to day life is on course with my higher priorities and values. This review also allows a set time for monotonous, yet important, tasks that need to be done weekly.

I'm always talking about routines & habits in some form. They truly make us who we are and what we want to become! Habits are what keep us healthy mentally, physically, emotionally, and in healthy relationships. Today I shared my own habits, covering: why and how I do what I do, cultivating stillness & clarity, avoiding the business trap, building confidence, manifesting positivity, and mu...

Here are my top 5 takeaways from Naval Ravikant's How to Get Rich (Without Getting Lucky) Tweet Storm turned podcast (and blog). Naval is a former tech entrepreneur and founder of https://angel.co/ (Angel List). He now spends his time focused on what I might describe as lifestyle optimization, philosophy, and happiness. Check out my most recent Instagram post for more! (@JakeParker. Fit) The Origi...

Steven Pressfield may be best known for his book "The War of Art" in which he discusses how a force called the Resistance can keep us from our goals and how to overcome it. It would be extremely limiting, however, to only mention this project in Steve's career as he has authored over 20 books as well as working as a screen writer. An interesting element is his story is that it took him many years...

I fell off the wagon with these book reviews lately, but with new systems in place I plan to get back to doing these once a month! Getting Things Done by David Allen is much more than a productivity book, it is all about helping us become our best selves by way of defining and realizing our goals. Included topics from the book I discuss- having a "mind like water", how David defines "work" and "pr...

Like many of us, Alan has been able to train less frequently lately, this started when he and his wife had a baby. Congrats Alan! This led to Alan getting lean and facing the fact that his numbers on the barbell can no longer be as high. Alan's YouTube, Instagram, and Website: https://www.youtube.com/alanthrall https://www.instagram.com/untamedstrength/ http://www.trainuntamed.com/ Timestamps: 1:2...

As you may have seen if you follow me on social media, this week I recorded a podcast with one of my idols and role models, Steven Pressfield. Steven has written over 20 books, one of his most famous, and my favorite of his, is The War of Art in which Steven talks about the battle against Resistance. As Steven is a writer, much of the way he communicates is through the lens of a creative but his s...

On today's episode I was fortunate to be joined by professional natural bodybuilder, adjunct professor at the University of Tampa, and coach Chris Barakat! This conversation was a blast, Chris and I hit it off right away! We talked about the nuts and bolts of training and nutrition, the staples of and pitfalls of macro tracking/meal planning, and ended with some thoughts about habits specifically...

One thing I've learned in taking my health and physique to the next level is that it isn't about "working hard" but rather working SMART. You can beat yourself into the ground with diet and exercise but if there's no thought behind it, it won't be effective. Similarly, if you don't enjoy your exercise and diet you will have a hard time sustaining it. These days more and more we are hit with the hu...

My friend Nick Krantz joined me for this episode. It's his third time on the show, grateful for you Nick! Nick is a big, strong guy but recently a recurring concussion sidelined him from training, and largely from life! Find out how he made the best out of a bad situation (something we're all trying to do right now!) We spoke about positive habits, making good choices, and how/why to think deeply...

We all know people in our lives who have benefitted from certain diets. I myself am often asked what diet I'm on or follow. In this episode I explain why diets work (2 main components) and the rationale behind dieting. I also make the case for why you shouldn't diet but rather find a lifestyle of eating that is sustainable for you!

My friend Mason Woodruff joined Beyond Fit for a second time recently. In this episode we spent the first half talking about "motivation porn" and how a focused period in your life of self-improvement and lifestyle optimization can impact you. We also discussed Mason's reading habits now vs. in the past and taking action on all the information you're acquiring from podcasts, books, etc, and caught...