The Excellence Cartel

Today we invited Steven Pressfield, author of Turning Pro and A Man At Arms to talk about how the professional stays professional, and the inner struggles that she or he may feel at times, unbeknownst to their audience.  To turn pro often means to walk a lonely path, spending 10,000 hours honing one's craft. Where do you find balance? How do you prevent a loss of self? How do you determine in...

Episode 83: The Difference in Dieting Women  Sonia Spil, coach and owner of Body Lab Seattle joined us today for a round table discussion on the ins and outs of dieting gen pop and competitor females.  We discuss mindset considerations, timeline, and various strategies for training, cardio, and supplementation in relation to hormones.  Women's bodies are not more fragile than men's...

Episode 82: From Passion To Profession   Today we were joined by Whitney Wiser, business owner, coach, and founder of the Nashville Fit Show, a female-only fitness competition that's one of its kind.  Whitney reveals her shocking past involving an incident which would change her life forever, and how her recovery from the event built tenacity and resilience - traits which eventually prop...

Episode 81: Anthony Spada, coach and owner of Symbiote Strength joins us today and shares his personal and professional story of overcoming personal demons and breaking into one of the toughest industries to succeed in as an online fitness coach at the young age of 23.   We talk business, knowledge sharing, and what the future holds, according to Anthony - a positive excitement for unlimited...

Episode 80: All Things Team Mihaly   Today we sat down with Justin Mihaly, owner of Team Mihaly and host of the Grow or Die podcast to talk about the business of fitness.   "The higher you go, the harder it gets" - Justin lets on about social currency and his journey so far as a bodybuilder, coach, and owner of various businesses. 🏆 THE EXCELLENCE CARTEL 🏆 Follow us on Instagram: scoob...

Episode 79: Reverse Dieting with Laurin Conlin   Today we had Laurin Conlin, head coach and owner of Team Loco Fit back on our show to discuss the various frameworks, strategies, and applications of reverse dieting.   Reverse dieting is often thought of as it relates to how to eat post-show, but the concept of reverse dieting is much more robust and has applications in many areas of coac...

Episode 78: Pro Level Thyroid   Today we were joined by Dr. Sean Golden to discuss the in-depth science behind thyroid hormones, hypothyroid, and Hashimoto's, and how other systems of the body relate to and affect the thyroid.   What lab tests to run? How does anemia and iron intake relate to the thyroid? Should dairy be removed for Hashimoto's clients? The answers may surprise you. &nbs...

Episode 77: How Coaches Can Fail Their Clients   Today the guys from the Every Calorie Counts podcast took the reins on our podcast and we had a round table discussion about the ways coaches can fail their clients or themselves.   Coaching is a tough business.  For every coach who creates an Instagram account there are 10 who quit due to burnout or lack of income. There are an infin...

Episode 76: Growing a Coaching Mindset  Today we sat down with Matthew Park, business coach and owner of Trainer Revenue Multiplier to discuss the business of coaching and how he helps coaches like ourselves grow in terms of reach and retention.  We discuss sales funnels, nurturing leads, and client management systems. Jason got stuck in the snow trying to travel so Jeff and Jeffrey take...

Episode 75: SIBO with Austin Stout   With Jeffrey Su out of commission this week we reached into the depths of the Ohio wilderness and pulled Austin Stout onto the show to talk about Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, aka SIBO.   What is it? What are the root causes? Su has spoken about SIBO many times and was grateful to have a rest this week.    Austin gives us his fresh...

Episode 75: All Things Contest Prep Today we answer twelve questions revolving around successful preparation for a show. From mindset, relationships, nutrition, cardio, and travel - we cover some of the biggest issues and considerations you'll run into when competing. 🏆 THE EXCELLENCE CARTEL 🏆 Follow us on Instagram: scoobyprep1_ifbbpro - Jason Theobald firstcalloutfitness - Jeffrey Su jeffunbre...

Episode 73: Terrence Ruffin  Today we had the honor and privilege of having Mr. Olympia Classic Physique runner up Terrence Ruffin on the show to talk bodybuilding, business, and what his journey has been like so far.  At 27 years old, Terrence has accomplished more than most can dream in this sport. What's next for him in bodybuilding and business? What did he have to do to place top tw...

Episode 72: Let's Talk About Sex! Today we invited Sonia Spil, coach and owner of Body Lab Seattle to talk about the intersection between masturbation, relationships, sex, and self care. We discuss ways to understand your emotional and physical states through self pleasure and how that can translate to a healthier, more satisfying sex life with your partners. 🏆 THE EXCELLENCE CARTEL 🏆 Follow us...

Episode 71: Lab Work Review We talk about lab work often and how the external won't change without the internal in place, so today we decided to run though what we would look at on a set of labs. Using a sample and anonymous set of client labs we discuss which areas we focus on, what appropriate ranges should be, and how to fix. 🏆 THE EXCELLENCE CARTEL 🏆 Follow us on Instagram: scoobyprep1_ifbbp...

Episode 70: Year In Review 2020... where to even begin? This was a year of challenges to health and to business, for everyone. Today we took a walk back in time to discuss the lessons we learned as individuals and business owners during the covid-19 pandemic. 🏆 THE EXCELLENCE CARTEL 🏆 Follow us on Instagram: scoobyprep1_ifbbpro - Jason Theobald firstcalloutfitness - Jeffrey Su jeffunbreakablebla...

Episode 69: The Law of Attraction Sal Frisella, President of 1st Phorm joined us again today to talk about the law of attraction, and how it has contributed to his personal values and business growth. Being true to yourself, focusing only on the problems within your control, and visualizing a life you want down to the details - are the fundamentals of attracting the people, places, events, and thi...

Episode 67: Body Image Today we decided to open up about a subject many people struggle with but few wish to discuss: body image issues. It's more prevalent than you may think, and despite what social media may portray, chances are if you have a body, you have body image issues. But it's okay, we have them too. We discuss five main groups or ways body image issues can arise: while feeding up for h...

Episode 66: Milos Sarcev! It's not every day you get to sit down with a bodybuilding legend, and a brilliant one at that - Milos Sarcev joined us today on the cartel to discuss insulin, gh, and nutrition around the training window. Enjoy this bonus episode and enjoy your time with family and friends next week. We thank you all for your interest and support. 🏆 THE EXCELLENCE CARTEL 🏆 Follow us on...

Episode 65: The Costs of Doing Business Today we invited Jason Phillips back onto the cartel to join us in sharing our stories and struggles as coaches and business owners. While most people think about strategy, revenue, and operations when it comes to business, few think about or are willing to talk about emotional availability, inadequacy, and the desire to be so good at what you do that you’re...

Episode 64: Adrenals with Lacey Dunn Today we were joined by Lacey Dunn, owner of UpliftFitNutrition, registered dietitian, and author of "The Women's Guide to Hormonal Harmony" to chat about stress and the adrenal glands. Lacey breaks down the causes and effects of hyperadrenalism and hypoadrenalism, and we each share our approaches to troubleshoot. While we've talked about cortisol and the adren...

Episode 63: All Things HRT & TRT Today we discuss the ins and outs of hormone replacement therapy for both men and women and why or why not someone would consider going the route of supplementing or replacing their hormones. We discuss testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone for both sexes and the considerations of each hormone and in relation to each other. 🏆 THE EXCELLENCE CARTEL 🏆 Follow...

Episode 62: Coaching to Scale There are many obstacles and problems a business faces in the start up and early growth phases. Getting people to buy your product or service is the main goal and problem most businesses owners face. But what if your growth exceeds your original expectations and now too many people want your product or service? This is the problem known as "scalability". Can you conti...

Episode 61: 0-120 Real Quick with Michael Lustgarten Today we invited Dr. Michael Lustgarten onto our show to discuss his novel quest to live to 120 years old by biohacking his body and blood markers and managing correlations between nutrition and his unique biology. Dr. Lustgarten realizes how intense his journey may sound to the average listener but imparts some applicable and humble advice - we...

Episode 60: Why We Get Sick Today we had Benjamin Bikman, PhD and author of Why We Get Sick on the show to discuss insulin resistance, which he believes to be the root of all human sickness. This episode is packed full of applicable scientific insight related to the menstrual cycle, PCOS, type 2 diabetes, and coaching clients of varying phenotypes. The medical and scientific communities are still...

Today we had the privilege of having Sal Frisella, president of supplement juggernaut 1st Phorm on the show to discuss how he creates impact in the fitness and supplement industries. He describes seeing a fork in the road as a result of breaking his leg and how choices he made took him through various sales jobs which weren't his passion to finally meeting two individuals who touched him in a way...