50% Facts

So, whether or not it’s a Christmas movie, Die Hard definitely happens at Christmas. Is it the original action-adventure hostage film? We can’t think of an earlier one. Beyond that, Bruce Willis would never have become a movie star without it. Why is it that the person who sees the situation the most clearly is the one no one wants to listen to?   Dean Saddoris   @deansaddoris.ck joins us again fo...

Continuing our festival of films set at Christmas, but not about Christmas, we take a critical look at Iron Man 3. Is this the best Iron Man flick – even though Tony Stark doesn’t spend much time in the suit? How hot is Pepper when she’s hardly wearing anything?   Dean Saddoris   @deansaddoris.ck joins us again for this one.   Join our Discord for free at goodcompanydiscord.com!   Check out our gy...

We’re heading into the holiday season, and with that always comes a couple of things: travel and holiday movies. Because of the first thing, we’re diving into the second thing. We’ve got another “film festival” of movies set during the holiday season, but may not be considered holiday movies.   First up, the second Tim Burton Batman film, “Batman Returns,” starring Micheal Keaton. Does it hold up?...

Plastic was supposed to be inert, right? I mean, it wasn’t supposed to be able to cause real problems for humans, except maybe the whole issue of disposing of them. But plastics are a lot more complicated than that, and microplastics, tiny little fragments of plastic material, are apparently everywhere. And there’s not as inert as we hoped. Are they messing with our hormones? Making us fat? Squash...

Why are there so many federations? Is it just because people can’t get along? Without getting too far down in the details of each incident, you must ask, “Why is there nearly always some kind of drama within federations?” No one really knows, but it’s possible to take some guesses. Is there any hope for unified federations in powerlifting, or is there too much friction?   Listener resources:   Red...

We wrap up our kickass movie series by discussing things that are kickass, or could be, in the real world. Join our Discord for free at goodcompanydiscord.com! Check out our gym (Third Street Barbell) at ThirdStreetBarbell.com https://www.thirdstreetbarbell.com/ and subscribe for updates about our apparel line at goodcompanyapparel.com https://3sb.co/! Local memberships and international fresh fit...

It was the end for Wolverine and Professor X. At least it was supposed to be. Instead, it’s one of the most realistic movies ever made about...mutants with superpowers. High fructose corn syrup has killed off most of the other mutants, and the government is trying to make their own – to become trained assassins. And Wolverine has a daughter?   Dean Saddoris   @deansaddoris.ck joins us again for th...

The moral of this film could be as simple as “Never kill a retired hitman’s dog.” In The Matrix, Keanu Reeves helped change the sci-fi action genre. In this one, he helps entirely redefine the revenge action genre. With a fighting style borrowed from imports like “The Raid” and some imaginative world-building, John Wick is a film you can’t look away from – though sometimes you may want to.   Dean...

All this month, we’re watching (some of us for the first time) some kickass flicks! Following up last week’s look at The Terminator (1981), we dig into its first sequel. This time Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a good guy, and this film has non-stop action. We largely discuss the impact this chapter of the Terminator saga had on films that followed and popular culture.   Huge Arnold fan Dean Saddoris...

All this month, we’re watching (some of us for the first time) some kickass flicks! First up, the movie that cemented Arnold Schwarzenegger as a bankable Hollywood star and launched a multi-billion dollar film and TV franchise.   Does the mid-to-low-budget horror flick stand the test of time? What did 1984 vintage special effects look like? How appropriate was it for Arnold to play an emotionless...

When we recorded this, the leaked IPF with “tips” about coaching women hadn’t surfaced yet, but we did get to talk about other bad behavior and unforced errors. Diddy had 700 dildoes, Vince McMahon may have manipulated women and men into compromising situations, and Andy Frisella publicly and disturbingly hated on women cops. Do you have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episode...

Sometimes, we need to take a minute to look at what people outside of powerlifting think about the sport. We take a look at a powerlifting quiz published by a fitness site. Some questions were easy, and others…a bit harder even for us.   We kick it off by looking at the P. Diddy situation and Mike’s internet skirmishes over his loathing of 35 lb. plates. Do you have a question for one of our Frida...

We were saddened to learn of the accidental death over the weekend of Kim Tran AKA Kim Valentine. We discussed some of her accomplishments on the platform and the role she played in bringing women and Asian lifters into the sport. Kim was a guest on our previous podcast 9 years ago. You can watch that episode here: https://youtu.be/oKz4tBIQdGU?si=RyITUYZ6vfoQFe5O In lighter discussion, we list the...

You probably think that pulling sumo is the biggest variation between deadlifts, but there are many more. It can even be challenging to tell the conditions of a particular lift, let alone compare them. Is it wrong to “game” the system to get a deadlift record?   Similarly, should major sports all-star teams have standards – beyond just being a popularity contest? Join our Discord for free at goodc...

Understandably, the fallout from the death of CrossFit Games athlete Lazar Đukić is far from over. We discuss some posts and articles about the private meetings held at the Games concerning whether to continue and the demands made by the Professional Fitness Athletes Association in the days after the Games.   Is there a difference between fault and responsibility? Should athletes be more proactive...

Zoomers are making gyms the “third space” of their generation. We see it in our gym, but it’s happening everywhere. How are gyms that have been designed to accommodate far fewer members than they’ve sold memberships to going to cope?   To kick things off, Mike calls out the motives of “influencers” in the fitness space.   Listener resources: https://fortune.com/well/article/gym-use-increase-pandem...

The unthinkable happened. CrossFit lost an athlete during the games. Without having all the answers yet about exactly what happened when Lazar Đukić drowned, clearly sufficient safety measures were not in place. Athletes have been complaining for years about safety issues. Is there a lack of funding? A lack of qualified volunteers? Are volunteers really the way to go? If CrossFit would be nowhere...

We talk through a couple of the actual Olympic incidents and controversies. Who knew that pole vault and volleyball would draw focus? Which Olympic entity decides if a convicted rapist gets to compete on the Olympic stage?   We also share information about the increased incidence of colorectal cancer in younger people after Dr. Jimmy Bagley shared his diagnosis. Jim also gives a health update.   D...

Last week, we talked a little about public figures who have committed terrible acts, been “canceled,” and then somehow rehabilitated their public images. Apologies – sometimes heartfelt, sometimes performative – have been given and somehow the public starts to move on. If you’re the injured party, either in a public situation or a private one, do you really have to accept an apology and forgive? T...

We’re back in the studio together after several weeks away.   We talk about the importance of South Sudan’s near victory over the US in a warmup Olympic basketball and admire the commitment of Luol Deng (and our friend, Jacob Ross) to the effort to improve conditions in the country.    We discuss the value of maintaining your individuality rather than adopting the persona of any group. Unless you...

Well, maybe not precisely “death” matches, but can we build a brand new, fun, competitive sport from existing sports and fitness elements? Dean Saddoris ( @deansaddoris.ck ) joined us for this exercise/thought experiment.  Sebastian Brambila (@sebastian_brambila ) joined and ran the board.   Do you have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Share it with us on social media...

Thirty-nine years after Rocky, and nine years after the last Rocky sequel, director Ryan Coogler served up a continuation/reboot of the Rocky story. This time, Balboa is not the center of the action. He reluctantly takes on the task of training Apollo Creed’s unknown love child, Adonis. Did he know about this kid before he was killed in the ring? (We never found out.) Does this kid possess the ski...

You don’t have to be wearing a pair of American flag boxing shorts to get that Rocky is a 4th of July flick (Even though it’s set in February and was released in December.) Why was Creed wearing those shorts anyway? (It was a Bicentennial gimmick.)   How did this film set the template for a thousand Cinderella sports movies to come, and launched one of the most successful franchises in movie histo...

Most of our friends in the industry who have trained both high-level athletes and gen pop clients don’t have the depth of experience of our guest, Jacob Ross.   We asked him of this take on the question, “What should I do to get started as a personal trainer?” Jacob shares how he got started and the things he did along the way to continue to improve.   You can (and should) find Jacob on IG (@jacob...

It’s been way, way too long since we connected here with our good buddy, Jacob Ross. He’s headed to Paris with the South Sudan Olympic Basketball team for the 2024 Olympics. We chat about how that all came together, his work with the NGO Matter, what it’s like opening a gym with Tom Kallas, and why he’s training like a bodybuilder now.   You can (and should) find Jacob on IG (@jacob.w.ross ) and @...