The Hard Way With Joe De Sena

Get your notebook out, because today, Joe is going to geek out with functional medicine clinician price wild from Blue Scorpion venom and Spartan t to vitamin D and akinesia Bryce shares evidence-based tips and information that are part biohack part nutrition, and art plain old biology.   Bryce Wylde BSc (hons), DHMHS is a functional medicine clinician at P3 Health in Toronto with over 20 years se...

"Everyone is chasing happiness. Screw happiness. Fulfillment...checks all the boxes including happiness," says Matthias, Super Frenchie, Giraud.   Spartan Up Podcast DEKA Series hosts' Jarod Cogswell and Yancy Culp talk with Matthias about the ethos to fulfillment. In this episode you'll learn: -Why is fulfillment the ultimate form of realization? -What would Matthias say to people who aren't maxi...

"That feeling of uncertainty - the feeling of not knowing if you're capable to finish the race - is a gift," says Charlie Engle, when speaking about his criteria for an adventure. At this point in Charlie's career, he's actively seeking adventures where completion is in doubt from the very start of the race.   Spartan Up Endurance Series host Johnny Waite talks with Charlie about the criteria he u...

What are the essential attributes you need to succeed? On a Spartan course, as an athlete or an entrepreneur?  Rich Diviney served over 20 years as a Navy SEAL Officer. His new book "The Attributes" defines the key qualities, how to assess them,  and how to develop them. In a career spanning over twenty years, Rich completed more than thirteen overseas deployments—eleven of which were to Iraq and...

"It was hard being the only girl on the team but I thought, because you don't want me here, I'm going to stick it out just to make you mad," says Victoria Francis, 2x member of the USA Women's Wrestling Team.   SpartanUp Combat Series host Ryan Warner talks with Victoria about her journey of overcoming the resistance from her youth coach to now being one of the top female wrestlers in the world at...

Spartans believe in readiness.  Life will throw your curveballs, and you will need to be mentally, physically and emotionally strong, resilient and ready.  Our guest, psychologist Dr. Lara Pence, has a passion for teaching us to strengthen our emotional resilience.  In this episode, she talks about the 5 tools you should pack in your mindset readiness kit, and how to develop the tools you don't ye...

"Basically I saw a lack of competition at the same level as on the male side. I saw a lot of my female friends backing away from competitive races and I thought it was a shame, so I decided I wanted to sponsor a women's team," says Nicole Mericle, 2019 Spartan World Champion.    Spartan Up Endurance Series host Johnny Waite talks with Nicole about women in OCR and how we as a collective can encour...

"The first thing I thought was...you're not dying today," says Matthias, Super Frenchie, Giraud when remembering an epic ski-BASE jump on the North face of Matterhorn with one ski.  Spartan Up Podcast, DEKA Series hosts' Jarod Cogswell and Yancy Culp talk with Matthias about how to conquer fear and live an intentional life. In this episode you'll learn:  -The origin story for Matthias' famous Eige...

"The addict part of me is the best part of me," says Charlie Engle, ultrarunning legend.  Charlie speaks to how ultrarunning provided an outlet to channel his inner-addiction.   SpartanUp Endurance Series host Johnny Waite talks with Charlie about sobriety and fellowship, and how ultrarunning ties the two together. In this episode you'll learn:    -Why Charlie feels that his 'addict part' is the b...

Training for mindset is just as important as training for strength.  But how do you get started?  Today Joe De Sena (founder and CEO of Spartan) talks with Gene Zannetti who created the Z-Winning Mindset program.  The insights in this episode will help you start a daily mindset "workout," whether you are looking to progress as an athlete, professional, student or other areas of performance. "Every...

"You can sit there and wallor about it 'like I almost died.' Or, you can be the person who says 'how can I use this to make myself better?" That's the question Jay Jackson asked after he was held at gunpoint for nearly 90 minutes.     SpartanUp Combat Series host Ryan Warner talks with Jay about the harrowing experience that changed his life: when Jay was in college, he was held at gunpoint for ne...

"I always tell my team, I never leave anyone on the mountain," says Michael Taylor, founder of Spartan Spades.   SpartanUp Endurance Series host Johnny Waite talks with Michael about how to start a Spartan team and the benefits of doing so. In this episode you'll learn…   -The origin story of Spartan Spades -How Michael encourages non-Spartan racers to sign-up for their first race -How to start a...

How much sugar should you be eating?  Why is it so hard to stop once you start?  How have we evolved to crave it and what can you do about it? Spartan founder and CEO Joe De Sena talks to Sarah Wilson. Sarah Wilson is a former journalist and TV presenter, author and activist. She wrote the New York Times bestsellers "I Quit Sugar" and "First, We Make the Beast Beautiful" and she is the author of a...

The Freemans have a family mantra. It reads "I'm smart. I'm strong. I'm beautiful. I can do anything." Parents David and Mechelle crafted the mantra for their kids, one of the many topics we cover in today's SpartanUp DEKA Series episode where hosts Jarod Cogswell and Yancy Culp talk with the Freeman's about… -Mechelle's journey to leaving her job to train full-time for the Olympics -The moment Da...

"My neighborhood ranks lowest (in terms of health markers) across the state, and the nation. We have some of the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the country," says Michael Taylor.    SpartanUp Endurance Series host Johnny Waite talks with Michael about his quest to improve the health of his neighborhood through Spartan Races. In this episode, you'll learn…   -How Michael found Spartan Rac...

Starting a craft brewery for non-alcoholic beers was was an idea that came to Bill Shufelt when he saw the huge improvements in his own life when he removed alcohol. He talks with Spartan Founder Joe De Sena and Spartan Up Co-Host Johnnie Waite about the cultural shifts he's seeing in the US and Canada around alcohol consumption. "Sober," he says, "is an outdated word." Many people are reducing th...

"Wrestling will change your life," says head wrestling coach Mike Palazzo, who has created a wrestling dynasty at Lake Highland Prep (Florida).     SpartanUp Combat Series host Ryan Warner and Joe De Sena interview Mike to learn how - within 10 years - he took a program on the brink of oblivion and turned Lake Highland Prep High School into a national powerhouse.  In this episode you'll learn...  ...

"I just can't see investing in a business where the product is a stick with a cord," an investor told Pete Holman.  Today, that stick with a cord is sold across the globe and is known as the TRX Rip Trainer.     SpartanUp DEKA series host Jarod Cogswell talks with Pete about some of his biggest failures - both athletically and professionally. In this episode, you'll learn…   -What athletic failure...

Imagine: You're not in the shape you should be. You've of lost your direction. You've hit a low. That was Lindsay Dare Shoop. Eight years later, she was taking home gold at the Olympics on the US Rowing Team.  Today she tells Joe De Sena, founder & Ceo of Spartan,  how she made that transformation and all the things she learned in the process that make up her book, "Better Great Than Never." "I di...

"It's okay if they see you as the underdog, but don't believe that you are the underdog," says former NFL pro JJ Birden. Birden played in 9 NFL seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons from 1988 to 1996. Spartan Up DEKA series hosts Jarod Cogswell and Yancy Culp interview JJ Birden to help the listener learn:    -How to sustain success after the 'highlight' after your life -Why it's...

"If you want to be an athlete when you're 90, you have to keep mixing up your workouts," says Lisa Smith-Batchen, endurance athlete and guest on this week's Endurance Series episode.    SpartanUp Endurance Series host Johnny Waite talks with Lisa about how she uses cross-training to stay excited about working out.  In this episode you'll learn:   -Why Lisa ran 100 miles while pulling a tire? -How...

Steven Pressfield, author of "Gates of Fire" about the original Spartans, and the classics "The Warrior Ethos" and "The War of Art" joins Joe De Sena on the Spartan Up podcast today. How will you keep driving forward in 2021? And what can we learn from the ancient Spartans about success and drive?   If you've heard the terms "going pro" or "resistance" in the context of athletic, creative, mental...

"I was fired, my car exploded, and closed on a new house in a week's time", says Wade Burgess, Chief Revenue Officer at Rev. Com   SpartanUp Combat Series host Ryan Warner talks with Burgess about that life-changing week. In this episode you'll learn:   -How to stay positive during your a job change -3 tips for achieving long-term happiness and satisfaction in your career -Advice for fitness lover...

  How do you live life with no regrets? Tune into this episode with fitness inventor and export Pete Holman, who joins SpartanUp DEKA series hosts' Jarod Cogswell and Yancy Culp, to share tactical advice on how to 'leave it all on the table.'  In this you'll learn...   -What question you should ask yourself on your deathbed -About Pete's inspiration for the TRX Rip Trainer -How you can create some...

Need some motivation as we walk into 2021?  This is the episode for you. Fitness icon Clark Bartram and Joe De Sena share their favorite tactics for getting going and keeping going even when you don't feel like it. Clark says "I'm gonna let the cat out of the bag, I'm a fitness guy, I've made a living off of being in fitness. I don't like to exercise. I don't, I don't get up every morning, go, yay...