EPP: Group Training & What Physical Preparedness Looks LIke

Ariana Scalfo and Mike Thompson sit down to discuss their personal experiences training with, around, and sometimes despite, their chronic conditions. How do they handle being disabled sometimes, and only in specific ways? How do they (try) to avoid flares, and what do those flares look like? How do these conditions affect their mental health and identity, especially as coaches? When is it appropriate to "fight through," and when fighting through it is the worst idea? Is there any way to tell which option is best during a flare of symptoms?  In what unique ways does the hybrid methodology of programming assist athletes with increased recovery needs and/or higher sensitivities to certain stressors? Mike Thompson has Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) Ariana Scalfo has Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, POTS, MCAS, endometriosis, ME/CFS, and PEM  **nothing discussed during this podcast is meant to replace recommendations from your medical provider. ***FND and hEDS +associated comorbidities have an incalculable variety of severities and expressions in each individual diagnosed with them, and this podcast is not meant to represent the lived experiences or symptom profiles of anyone other than Ariana and Mike. While this podcast can offer insight into what individuals living with chronic conditions experience day-to-day, Ariana and Mike's accounts should be treated as n=1 and nothing discussed within this podcast is meant to serve as a medical resource.  

"Life is a Thanksgiving meal. Some things are on boil, some things are simmering on the back burner, and this changes all night long." - Anthony D'Orazio or Gandalf, depending on who you ask Join Anthony D'Orazio, Justin Jones, and Mike Thompson as they discuss what it's like to encounter a busy period in your life. How to quantify "busy," how to select training priorities and use available time and recovery to the best effect, and how to stay mentally engaged when your brain is stretched thinner than butter scraped over too much bread.    

Join Director of Coaching Ariana Scalfo as she chats with new CHP coaches Mike Thompson and Justin Jones about men's mental health and how it plays out in lifestyle, health, and ability/motivation to train. Mike and Justin are relatively new fathers, and they discuss with Ariana (a new mother) the loneliness and pressure that comes with fatherhood, and the dangers of depression, and lack of clearly defined paternal support during that time.  [tw: discussion about depression, anxiety, mentions of suicide, body dysmorphia] Dealing with interalized shame; are men's health issues framed more as "their own fault" (insufficient preparedness, "toxic masculinity") vs the fault of external factors as women's are typically framed? Is the messaging "fix yourself" instead of "get help" even when help is available? What major life changes were the catalyst for realizing you needed more help? Do you see the same trends with clients? Body image issues, steroids, and body image issues and dysmorphia in male athletes - steroid abuse and "bigorexia" The pressures of being a new dad - "I need to lock in," not being a burden, pressure to provide, pressure to be more present and contradicting demands. Lack of resources for fathers. Fitness, the pursuit of health, and self efficacy; rebuilding your sense of self efficacy and self control after major life changes The concept of "Spoons" in chronic illness and how it applies to autoregulation in training Lifting less than ever, training infrequently as ever, and setting PRs - scuse me what Redefining a win, and hitting 90% instead of 98% is still a really good training day, the power of showing up and giving it time. The dangers of over-identifying with "daily" performance metrics (weight moved, speed traveled, distance traveled) What are some lifestyle changes you'd recommend for someone going through an indentity-shift and struggling with their training in ways they never did before?  'Filing cabinet mentality' - the benefits and the downsides What's the biggest benefit or takeaway you've experienced by hiring a coach, bringing on a mentor, or reaching out to a friend? You can follow Mike on Instagram at @mjttraining You can follow Justin on Instagram at @justinsjones You can follow Complete Human Performance at @completehumanperformance Questions about coaching or consultations from Mike or Justin? Contact them directly or email [email protected] to be connected.

 Clay Foster has been a part of Complete Human Performance for years, and has been doing the hybrid thing for even longer. He won The Crucible Pro Men's Division in 2024, he's competed in the Hybricon Games (2023), and is registered for Rally in the Valley 2025 to name a few things. A coach himself, Clay's training has run the gamut from bodybuilding to CrossFit to 100-milers, and he's excited to spend 2025 enjoying his hard-earned fitness. Listen in and follow Clay on Instagram at @clayfostfitness

Pete Nelson is the founder of SISU Lifestyle, a Northeast-Ohio company specializing in handcrafted saunas and contrast bath technology. He joins us on the CHP Podcast as a long-time user of our Strength + 50k and Marathon templates (most notably, winning the inaugural Antarctica 50k) and brings with him boatloads of wisdom.  Too much to summarize, dive in with Pete and learn about what keeps him focused, how he prioritizes as a father of 2 young children and devoted husband, and what he's most excited about in 2025. Notable timestamps: 00:00:00 - Intro to Pete Nelson 00:01:07 - Hell on Hogsback Endurance Race Series & Charity Race 00:03:15 - More about dad & SISU Lifestyle 00:09:00 - Partnerships and giving to Veterans in 2025 00:11:30 - Pete's athletic journey (basketball, military, crossfit, running, ultramarathons) 00:18:30 - The journey and the process.  00:19:20 - Being the kind of person who will train for a 100-miler 00:23:30 - Unsung heroes  00:27:00 - The magic of delegating 00:30:00 - It's not meant to be easy 00:30:54 - The best stories are the most screwed up plans 00:32:00 - How does Pete use his sauna? Various protocols 00:40:00 - Using sauna to mentally challenge yourself 00:42:14 - The Running Man Sauna challenge 00:43:40 - Struggling next to a friend 00:48:30 - "Training doulas" 00:49:26 - Closing comments from Pete, the 5 Pillar Man Follow Pete on Instagram at @petenelsoniii  Follow SISU Sauna @sisu_sauna https://sisulifestyle.com @hellonhogsback 

Ariana, Alex, and Trevor try to work out how they'd rate the relative importance of 20 training priorities, from 1-20 (1=most important, 20=least important). In this hour they manage to discuss roughly 10, so expect a second episode for sure. The theme of today is "It Depends." The 20 "Commonly Discussed Priorities" are as follows (and in no particular order, trust me): Individualised coaching, NEAT, Structured training, General nutrition, Intra workout nutrition, Sleep, Training periodization, Training volume, Training specificity, Extra recovery (cold plunges, saunas, thera guns, etc), Body work (self or massages), Stretching and mobility, Mental grit, Consistency, Training Intensity, Training environment, Equipment, Data acquisition tools (smart watches, power meters, etc), Basic supplements (creatine, stimulants, protein), Specific supplements (fat burners, beta alanine, testosterone boosters). Discussed at length were: Extra Recovery, Sleep, Intra Workout Nutrition, Mental Grit, Consistency, Training Environment, General Nutrition, and Training Specificity/Volume/Intensity as a "blob" rather than truly separate entities. I know. Thankfully for you, we all had very different opinions!  Keep your eyes open for episode 2.

Join Ariana as she chats with Matt Stevens, race director of Rally in the Valley, an incredibly fun and exciting hybrid competition held in Hurricane, WV every year since 2023. Matt is also the Head Judge at Hybricon Games, held at the end of October, and brings his rich military experience and experience as an athlete and gym owner (ShotFire Fitness) to the table for each event he's involved in. Learn about what it takes to host a multi-day hybrid competition (a lot), how many people it takes to put one together, the need for strong sponsors in the hybrid space, and a recap of 2024. Teasers for 2025, Geiger Training Camp 2025 (1 spot left as of recording)  The importance of training in groups, especially for often solo hybrid athletes - training as a competitor, etc Learning from mistakes, learning from failure Designing a competition without a qualifier, with room for every athlete of every level (truly). What does it take? Reach Matt at his Rally In the Valley IG: https://www.instagram.com/rallywestvirginia/ GET ON THE WAIT LIST for 2025:  https://pr.fit/event/rally2025 Visit Shot Fire Fitness if you're in West Virginia: https://shotfirefitness.com/   As always, like, subscribe, and share! 

With the safeties off.   Ariana and Alex discuss what he meant by "hybrid" the first time, how it's evolved (for better or for worse), what they think it means and who it refers to (and doesn't), which hybrid athletes they believe embody the spirit of hybrid the most, and why hybrid events are still heavily endurance (but getting better). @completehumanperformance @alex.viada 

Join Ariana Scalfo and Alex Viada as they do their first ever (???!! but first of many) podcasts of them just talking to each other about stuff they're doing, planning, building, and why they're excited about all of it. How did an offhand idea about deep-diving into Space Marines/metahuman supersoldiers train turn into a 100+ page protocol? And why are we turning it into a group training program? What does that look like?  Largely just gabbing about what "hybrid" is, what it means to them, and what programming would look like for complete physical preparedness (not just "general". cpp?). @alex.viada @running_peaches

Coach Trevor Tartaglia takes the reigns of the CHP Podcast to chat with Alex Viada about the utility of TSS Scores (TrainingPeaks) and other "fatigue/stress" tracking algorithms for hybrid athletes. How they work, the pros, the cons, and how coaches can fully utilize these metrics (or similar) all included, as well as coaching insights from them both.  Discussed:  What workouts are Trevor and Alex doing, and enjoying lately? How can athletes use TSS for strength workouts, if at all? What metrics can you use to overcome cons of TSS, as a mixed-sport athlete? Does TSS even have value for a hybrid athlete? Is it worth using? More about what TSS is, how it's calculated, and how to use it (if you want to) Various tangents Follow Trevor and Alex on Instagram