The Dad Strength Podcast

Bryan Krahn is a fitness coach and “semi-serious physique athlete.” He has written hundreds of fitness articles for magazines like Men’s Health —and just about anything in the fitness section of your local newsstand. He’s also ghostwritten hundreds of other articles—many with celebrity names attached to them. He knows the fitness industry inside and out—and has a keen eye for bullshit. That’s why...

This episode is an interlude for The Dad Strength Podcast. No guest this week. Just some reflections on time with your (extended) family, the perils of air travel, and the podcast so far. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Follow us on Instagram @thedadstrengthpodcast/ The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network production Title music by Daniel Ross Additional music by Mik...

Andrea Spyros is a speaker, facilitator, and expert in Dr. BJ Fogg’s Behaviour Design methods. She helps people design products, services, and systems that create lasting change. She has also been my partner on many projects relating to the Tiny Habits community In this episode, we discuss internal beliefs about motivation and identity and how to more accurately assess—and design for your motivati...

Dr. Marc Bubbs is a naturopathic doctor and performance nutritionist. He is the Director of Performance Nutrition for Canada Basketball and consultant performance nutritionist for a portfolio of professional and Olympic athletes. He is also the author of Peak: The New Science of Athletic Performance That Is Revolutionizing Sports and   Peak 40: The New Science of Mid-Life Health for a Leaner, Stro...

Alfie Kohn is a speaker and the author of 15 books on behaviour, education, and parenting. He is an outspoken critic of the value of competition and rewards—and draws deeply from research on motivation. In this episode, we unpack a lot of the common strategies that parents and teachers use to motivate or shape behaviour. We discuss how to move away from strategies that reduce our kids’ intrinsic m...

Morgan Campbell is an award-winning journalist who writes for New York Times Sports and is the first Senior Contributor to CBC Sports. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Literary Review of Canada, and the Best Canadian Sports Writing anthology. He’s also working on his first book—due out sometime in 2023. In this episode, Morgan and I discuss the paradoxes and politics of doing...

James Fell is the author of three books, including On This Day In History, Sh!t Went Down. He has written for the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Time Magazine, The Guardian , and others. His daily column, Sweary History reaches millions of readers monthly. In this episode, we discuss ADHD, hitting success in your 50s, and putting your politics up front and centre. Links Facebook Subscribe...

This special edition of The Dad Strength Podcast is the final episode of the first season. Here, host Geoff Girvitz reflects on the past 19 episodes and what it’s like to get traction on a personal project of this scale. He also discusses the gap between understanding presence and practicing and provides you with a quick rundown of guests and topics. The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Netwo...

Carmen Bott is a coach and university lecturer. She has a Master's Degree in Exercise Science and is an expert in training Combative & Repeat-Sprint Team Sport Athletes. She’s had years of working with Canada’s top athletes—most notable top wrestlers. She’s published The Wrestler's Edge and a textbook called Exercise Programming Science and Practice . Her knowledge is world-class. In this epis...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have chiselled abs? Or otherwise wonder what life would be like if you were fitter? Or richer? Or more of whatever it is media tells us we’re supposed to be? Me either. But I know a guy who’s willing to admit to doing so. Not just admit it; write about it and put his internal life on public display. Graham Isador is a writer in Toronto. His work has...

Christian Cameron can swing a two-handed sword, spin a yarn, and pitch a tent. He has published over 40 novels over the past two decades—of (mostly) historical fiction and fantasy. He has an incredible knowledge of history and fighting in antiquity. Cameron’s detail and practical understanding are bolstered by both his scholarly interests and reenacting. He is a former American intelligence office...

Chris Duffin is a serial entrepreneur, an author, an inventor, engineer. He has demonstrated unparalleled feats of strength and incredible business acumen. In this episode, we dig into his childhood, his role as a dad, and learn about his incredible resilience. Links Book Kabuki Strength Media The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network production Title music by Daniel Ross

Dr. Mike T. Nelson is a high-performance consultant, an academic, and the host of the Flex Diet Podcast . He has a PhD is in exercise physiology and a master’s degree in biomechanics. More than anything, he is able to marry high-level knowledge with practical insight and action. In this episode, we discuss the legendary “fat-burning zone” and how to avoid common mistakes in approaching scientific...

Todd Hargrove is the author of A Guide to Better Movement and Playing With Movement . He is a reformed lawyer who found his calling after dealing with chronic pain. Todd is trained in the Feldenkrias Method. He is frequently called upon as an expert in pain and movement. He’s also a father of two daughters. In this episode, Todd and I discuss movement, the pitfalls of early specialization for youn...

Robbie Bent’s entrepreneurial journey is legendary. His career began with private equity and hedge-funds. But he was chasing the wrong kind of recognition and success. By his mid-20s he was struggling with addiction and a failing startup. After crashing completely, he reset his life. Meditation, psychedelic medicine, and other inner-work changed things completely. Meanwhile, he began working full-...

Michael Bauman is an entrepreneur enoughness coach. He uses helps entrepreneurs struggling with isolation and insufficiency connect to their purpose and to the people who matter most. In this discussion, we talk about parenting, the psychology of change, and the art and science of being enough. Website Podcast Instagram LinkedIn The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network production Title mu...

This one for you—and the women in your life. Amanda Thebe is an author certified personal trainer, and a leader in menopause advocacy and education. She also wrote the Amazon best-selling book, Menopocalypse: How I Learned to Thrive During Menopause and How You Can Too! . In this episode, we explore what we need to know about menopause and peri-menopause as tuned-in partners. Website Instagram You...

This episode of The Dad Strength Podcast takes you through over a century of physical culture. We look at what trends have faded and what have re-emerged. We also dig into why our default settings for strength training look the way they do. Conor Heffernan, Ph. D., is Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at the University of Texas at Austin, where he works at t...

In this episode, we speak with Ryan Andrews, author of Swole Planet, about meeting our own health and fitness goals while still thinking about the planet as a whole. Ryan is a systems thinker, former nutrition expert, and activist. He is also a verifiably good human and someone who has walked the walk—from competitive bodybuilding to volunteering. Folks in the worlds of muscle, strength, or perfor...

Mike Boyle is a true OG in the world of strength and conditioning. He has headed up strength and conditioning for multiple teams—including the Boston Bruins (1991-1995); the US Women’s Ice Hockey Team (gold in 1998 and 2018, silver in 2014); for a World Championship season with the Boston Red Sox; and for 12 years with the Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey Team. He was the head Strength and Condi...

James Heathers has a strong academic and applied background—all of which center around collecting and interpreting signals bio-signals. His PhD was on heart rate variability—at a time before most people had heard of it. His post-doctorate work continued in this vein—focusing on bio-signals and meta-science research. Now, as the Chief Scientific Officer for Cipher Skin , he helps elite athletes and...

Julie Bogart is the author of Raising Critical Thinkers and Publisher's Weekly Best-Selling book *The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life. She is a seasoned writer, editor, and educator with a Master's in theology from Xavier University. Her Brave Writer and Brave Learner programs have helped educate over 100,000 students. She is also the host of the Brave Write...

In 2007, Robin Black had a drug-induced seizure—the accumulation of a decade of hard rock and roll living. Something had to change. And it did. By the summer of the next year, he was stepping into a cage for his first professional fight.   There is nobody who’s walked a path quite like Robin Black. From glam rocker to pro fighter to MMA analyst. He has shaped his career into something meaningful,...

Paul Taras Wolkowinski is a page out of traditional physical culture. For almost a decade, he has been travelling the world—learning and teaching the arts of Indian club and mace swinging.  In that time, he has decoded Victorian-era manuals, built his own teaching methods, and become a true emissary for these (almost) lost arts. He has taught workshops in South Korea, USA, United Kingdom, Finland,...

Dr. Thomas Verny is a psychiatrist and researcher who recently published the book, The Embodied Mind. Here, he looks at the borders we’ve created between our brains and bodies—and asks just how real they are. This well-researched review of over 500 academic papers shows the interplay between our brains and our guts, hearts, and DNA. Along the way, he makes a compelling argument that things like de...