The Bench Session

What happens when we start questioning the things we've convinced ourselves we need? In this episode of The Bench Session , I'm joined by Loren Lockman , founder of Tanglewood Wellness Center and Fast to Rise, who has spent decades studying fasting, nutrition, and the human body. But this conversation goes beyond just food and fasting. We talk about Loren's journey, his experiences wor...

Season 3 of The Bench Session starts with a conversation about what happens when surviving your past is only the beginning. I'm joined by Rich Dunning , author of Silence Was My First Language . We talk about the book, but this conversation became much more about the man behind it. Rich opens up about his childhood, the things he learned to do just to survive, becoming a husband and father, bu...

S2 E18 — The Man I’m Trying to Become I've spent a lot of time thinking about the man I want to become. But lately I've been asking myself a different question: Can I become that man without spending the entire journey believing the man I am today isn't good enough? In the Season 2 finale of The Bench Session , I talk about where that question started for me — my fitness journey — and...

Season 2 Episode 17 — Life Happens | Rachel Kerr Schneider Life doesn't always follow the plan. Sometimes it changes slowly, and sometimes everything changes in a single moment. In this episode, I'm joined by Rachel Kerr Schneider for a conversation that ended up going in a lot of different directions — which honestly feels pretty fitting for an episode called Life Happens . We talk about Rachel's...

Season 2 — Episode 16I Don't Want to Hustle Anymore When did doing nothing start feeling like something to feel guilty about? In this episode, I talk about being tired of the constant pressure to hustle, improve, build, create, and turn every minute of the day into something productive. Not because I've lost my ambition or stopped chasing goals—but because I'm starting to question why...

Season 2 — Episode 15 We Didn't Know Shit Either... But We Figured It Out Every generation looks at the one coming up behind them and wonders what the hell happened. In this episode, I compare what life was like for me in my late teens and early twenties to what I see from young adults today. We talk about money, debt, payment plans, DoorDash, living at home, work ethic, technology, social med...

Season 2 – Episode 14What If This Is As Good As It Gets? What if we've been waiting for a version of life that doesn't actually exist? In this episode, I talk about the trap of constantly chasing the next milestone—losing the weight, paying off the debt, getting the promotion, buying the house—while convincing ourselves that life will finally begin once we get there. The truth is, every go...

Season 2 – Episode 13What Am I Supposed To Do With The Time I Have Left? The older I get, the more I realize that time isn't something we can earn back. In this episode, I reflect on my fitness journey, the reality of living with debt and responsibilities, and the pressure so many of us feel to put life on hold until everything is finally "figured out." We spend years telling ourselv...

Season 2 — Episode 12 The Older I Get, The More I Understand When I was younger, I thought being rich meant having a big house, nice cars, and expensive things. But the older I get, the more I realize that appearances can be deceiving. From the outside, someone might look successful, but often it's just a collection of payments, debt, and obligations. In this episode, I talk about how my defin...

Season 2 — Episode 11 I Miss Simpler Times Born in 1987, I’ve had a front row seat to watching the world completely change. In this episode, I reflect on growing up before smartphones, social media, and constant notifications took over everyday life. From cassette tapes and portable CD players to AIM, MySpace, and the early internet days, this is a conversation about how much life, technology, and...

Season 2 — Episode 10 I Hate My Life. Not the People In It. Sometimes the hardest thing to explain is that you don’t hate the people around you… you’re just exhausted by life itself. In this episode, I talk about the quiet burnout that comes with adulthood—the pressure, the routines, the mental exhaustion, and the feeling of becoming disconnected from yourself over time. This is a real conversatio...

Season 2 — Episode 9 I Thought I’d Be Further By Now At some point, we’ve all had this thought… “I should be further along by now.” In this episode, I talk about what it feels like to be putting in the work—showing up, staying consistent, making the right choices—and still feeling like progress is slower than expected. From the mental battle to the frustration with the scale, this is a real conver...

Season 2 — Episode 8 Looking Back: My Life and The Bench Session In this episode, I take a step back and talk about the journey that led me here. From life experiences to the lessons that shaped the way I see the world, this is a more personal session about where I’ve been, what I’ve learned. Sometimes it’s important to pause, look back, and understand the road that brought you here. This episode...

Season 2 — Episode 7 Stop Chasing Happiness. Find Peace Instead. We spend so much time chasing happiness… but nobody really talks about what comes with it. In this episode, we break down why happiness was never meant to last, how every high comes with a low, and why constantly chasing that feeling can leave you stuck in a cycle. We also get into something real— how loving someone can be the best t...

Season 2, Episode 6 — Nobody Knows What They’re Doing When we’re kids, we believe the adults around us have life completely figured out. But as we grow older, we start to realize something surprising: most people are simply learning as they go. In this episode, I talk about the moment that illusion breaks, how adulthood really works, and why realizing that nobody has all the answers can actually b...

Season 2, Episode 5 — Your Body Is Not Your Enemy Body dysmorphia affects far more people than most realize. It’s not just teenagers or women — it can affect athletes, lifters, and people who look completely fit to everyone else. In this episode, I talk about the pressure people feel when looking in the mirror, the constant pursuit of improvement, and how chasing perfection can turn progress into...

Season 2, Episode 4 — Happiness Is a State of Being In this episode, I talk about how happiness isn’t something you chase or achieve at the end of a goal. It’s a state of being. We spend so much time thinking the next accomplishment, the next milestone, or the next chapter will finally make us happy—only to find ourselves wanting more. This is a conversation about what it really means to say “I am...

Season 2, Episode 3 — Nobody Prepares You for the Middle We talk about starting and finishing, but almost nobody talks about the middle — the long stretch where the excitement fades, results haven’t shown up yet, and life keeps demanding everything from you. In this episode, I talk about why the middle feels so hard, why people quit here, and why this quiet phase is where real progress is actually...

Season 2, Episode 2 — You’re Not Unmotivated — You’re Overstimulated Feeling unmotivated doesn’t always mean you’ve lost discipline or drive. In this episode, I break down how constant noise, information, and mental input quietly drain focus and energy. This is a conversation about awareness — recognizing when your mind is overloaded and why giving yourself space can bring clarity back without for...

Season 2, Episode 1 — Nothing Is Wrong With You We’re quick to assume something is wrong when we feel tired, unmotivated, or overwhelmed. In this episode, I slow things down and talk honestly about why that belief is usually false. This isn’t about fixing yourself or finding answers — it’s about awareness, being present, and understanding that feeling off doesn’t mean you’re broken. Season 2 opens...

Episode 20: The Bench Was Never the Point This episode closes the first season of The Bench Session . What started as just a bench — a place to sit and talk — became something more reflective along the way. This isn’t about lessons or conclusions. It’s about awareness, being present, and understanding that failures aren’t endings — they’re moments that shape what comes next. A quiet pause before m...

Episode 19: The Noise We Choose We live in constant noise — podcasts, music, scrolling, talking, distractions. But what happens when it all stops? In this episode, I talk about how silence makes us uncomfortable, why we fill every quiet moment with something, and what that says about how we deal with ourselves. The noise isn’t random — it’s protection. But maybe, just maybe, peace starts in the si...

Episode 18: When My Body Stops Moving, My Mind Goes Loud I’ve noticed something about myself — when I don’t move my body, my mind goes into chaos. I feel restless, irritated, and mentally cluttered. But the moment I work out, everything settles. This episode isn’t about fitness goals or gym obsession — it’s about understanding how movement regulates my mind and restores balance. Sometimes peace is...

Episode 17: Rebuilding the Man When life falls apart, most men think the story is over — but it’s only the beginning. In this episode, I talk about what it really means to rebuild yourself after failure, how to stay grounded during a pivot, and why this season might be shaping you into the strongest version of yourself yet. Brick by brick, day by day… this is how you rebuild the man.

Episode 16: The Pivot Sometimes, doing everything right still doesn’t work out. In this episode, I talk about what happens when your business fails, when the dream doesn’t go as planned, and when you have to pivot — not because you want to, but because you have to. I share my own story of stepping back into a 9-to-5 just to keep the lights on, what that did to my mindset, and how “failure” can act...