Steven Kotler is the author of 13 books, including "The Rise of Superman." His newest book, "The Art of Impossible" is a deep dive into how to achieve peak performance, and is out now.Learn more about Steven and the Flow Research CollectiveFind us on Social: Ben | PatrickAbout the ShowChasing Excellence is dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, inside the gym and out. New episodes every Tuesday.About BenBen Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CFNE and CompTrain.About PatrickPatrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and brand coach to gym owners & entrepreneurs.

Chasing Excellence

Steven Kotler on Accomplishing the Impossible

We're always getting questions about the books, movies, and podcasts we've enjoyed lately - so this week we're doing a 3x3 to help fill your bookshelves, Netflix queues, & Spotify playlists. All links are in the show notes!Find us on Social: Ben | PatrickResources Mentioned:01:45 - Original episode03:00 - Solve for Happy03:30 - Book of Joy05:30 - Inside Out05:50 - Soul06:10 - How Bad Do You Want It?09:30 - Unshakeable14:50 - Art of Impossible17:20 - The Practice18:20 - War of Art18:25 - Turning Pro18:40 - The Almanack of Naval Ravikant20:15 - Kiss the Ground21:30 - The Social Dilemma22:45 - Wonder27:15 - WorkLife podcast29:00 - Masters of Scale podcast32:38 - Recode Decode podcast33:35 - On Purpose podcast35:25 - Tim Ferriss podcast35:45 - Unlocking Us podcast36:45 - Consistency Project podcastAbout the ShowChasing Excellence is dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, inside the gym and out. New episodes every Tuesday.About BenBen Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CFNE and CompTrain.About PatrickPatrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and brand coach to gym owners & entrepreneurs.

More Books, Movies, & Podcast Recommendations

Is the advice to "just do what makes you happy" a bad strategy? That's what we're talking about today, diving into what creates fulfillment, why we have to be careful about always opting for "fun," and loving the process.Find us on Social: Ben | PatrickAbout the ShowChasing Excellence is dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, inside the gym and out. New episodes every Tuesday.About BenBen Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CFNE and CompTrain.About PatrickPatrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and brand coach to gym owners & entrepreneurs.

Don't Chase Happiness

The 2:00 Drill is back this week, answering your questions about discipline and consistency, why I no longer do certain movements in my training, and my advice for how to work with and lead "sled dogs."Find us on Social: Ben | PatrickJump to:01:35 - I have a question on discipline and consistency. I have good intentions, however I get distracted and my intentions aren’t reflected by my actions. I get excited about things I want to accomplish, I may be consistent with it for a week or a month, but then I tend to fall off the track and the whole thing makes me feel a failure05:00 - What would you say to athletes who only post their scores when they have a top score for the day?07:28 - I’m 12 years old. I have been doing CrossFit on and off for about 4 years. I play football, Olympic lift and can do all the CrossFit moments like muscle ups and stuff. What advice do you have for someone my age using CrossFit to preform in other sports and in life?09:20 - Why have you chosen to no longer include those movement in your workouts?14:35 - Would love to hear your take on getting a sick and physically limited person into the gym. Someone in my life, in their 50’s is severely impeded in movement and functionality (has a severed tendon in one shoulder and was told they either need two full knee reconstructions or spend the rest of their life in a wheelchair). This person also suffers from recurring Barmah Forrest disease as well as chronic fatigue. They get in and work as hard as they can when they can, but it takes it’s toll and sometimes they have to stay in bed for a week or more to recover. Being an avid CrossFiter myself, I believe that some form of functional movement could hold the key to higher quality of life and this person has asked me to help them in this regard, but I don’t know what to suggest.20:00 - Is it better to have been in a significant calorie deficit (1,000+ deficit) for the day or to hit your maintenance calories with lower quality food?22:25 - You always talk about not leader-boarding, but at the same time you recommend “posting results to comments” or writing them on a whiteboard. How do these two go together?23:45 - Why do CrossFit competitors wear a weight belt during metcons, especially when they are training at light/medium weight at high reps? Seems like they should wear a belt as little as possible to continue to build core stability.25:30 - Why are sit-ups programmed so often in CompTrain? So few programs use them, I’m curious the team’s reasoning.27:10 - As a coach (or leader or manager, etc), how do you get your "sled dogs", be they athletes or employees, to pace themselves and trust you to make the best long term decisions? I know from experience this is harder with younger athletes and employees, especially. Or even more relevant for right now, how do you get your team to buy into long term goals during the pandemic with all the current distractions?33:15 - Do coaches ever feel like they are being hypocritical if they aren't practicing what they preach? At the moment my nutrition is less than optimal. I'm training regularly but feel pressure to be perfect. I was wondering if other coaches ever get stuck in this rut? How do I short circuit this thinking?37:15 - How do I increase my coaching confidence without overwhelming myself by taking on too much too quickly?42:00 - I would love to hear you and Ben’s thoughts regarding diversifying the CrossFit space.About the ShowChasing Excellence is dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, inside the gym and out. New episodes every Tuesday.About BenBen Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CFNE and CompTrain.About PatrickPatrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and brand coach to gym owners & entrepreneurs.

Advice to a 12-Year-Old CrossFitter (2:00 Drill #22)

We're testing out a new (fun?) show format this week called 10 Questions. Patrick and I share our answers to a handful of random questions, including popular things that are annoying and the most underrated CrossFit athletes.Find us on Social: Ben | PatrickJump to a Question:02:10 - What is something popular now that annoys you?04:30 - What pro athlete from outside CrossFit would you want to coach?08:45 - What is the craziest, most outrageous thing you want to achieve?17:20 - If you could go on a 4 hour drive with any CF Flow Master, who would you choose?19:40 - If you had a HUD (head’s up display) that showed three stats about any person you looked at, what three stats would you want it to show?26:20 - Who is the most underrated CF Games athlete currently competing? How about ever?32:30 - What’s the most boring sport, and what would you do to make it more exciting?37:30 - What’s legal now, but probably won’t be in 25 years?39:20 - What was the biggest realization you’ve recently had about yourself?47:15 - What male & female CF Games athlete would you choose to be on your zombie apocalypse team?About the ShowChasing Excellence is dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, inside the gym and out. New episodes every Tuesday.About BenBen Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CFNE and CompTrain.About PatrickPatrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and brand coach to gym owners & entrepreneurs.

What's the Big Thing You're Chasing? (10 ?s #01)

Do you need to develop a killer instinct to get to the top of your chosen sport or profession? That's what we're talking about today, diving into my hierarchy of mindset and the 80/20 rule for tapping into the dark side.Find us on Social: Ben | PatrickAbout the ShowChasing Excellence is dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, inside the gym & out. New episodes every Monday.About BenBen Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CFNE and CompTrain.About PatrickPatrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and brand coach to gym owners & entrepreneurs.

The Hierarchy of Mindset

In this month's rendition of the 3x3, I'm tackling not obvious things to do before opening a gym, lead more effectively, and ways to develop more of a growth mindset.Find us on Social: Ben | PatrickJump to:02:00 - 3 not obvious or counter-intuitive things to do before opening a gym17:35 - 3 not obvious or counter-intuitive strategies to lead more effectively38:05 - 3 not obvious or counter-intuitive ways to become growth-mindedAbout the ShowChasing Excellence is dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, inside the gym & out. New episodes every Monday.About BenBen Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CFNE and CompTrain.About PatrickPatrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and brand coach to gym owners & entrepreneurs.

Opening Gyms, Leadership Skills, & Mindset Hacks

Back at the 2:00 Drill this week, answering your questions about the importance of heart rate, how to work with clients who aren't bought in, how Katrin overcame her back injury, and lots more.Find us on Social: Ben | PatrickAbout the ShowChasing Excellence is dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, inside the gym & out. New episodes every Tuesday.About BenBen Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CFNE and CompTrain.About PatrickPatrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and brand coach to gym owners & entrepreneurs.

Back to Training After COVID (2:00 Drill #21)

This week, I'm breaking down the five traits all coaches need to strengthen to be effective: enthusiasm, curiosity, empathy, confidence, and subject matter expertise.Find us on Social: Ben | PatrickAbout the ShowChasing Excellence is dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, inside the gym & out. New episodes every Tuesday.About BenBen Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CFNE and CompTrain.About PatrickPatrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and brand coach to gym owners & entrepreneurs.

5 Characteristics of an Effective Coach

We're back at our 3x3 this week, talking self-fulfilling prophecies that don't serve us, ways to enter into difficult conversations, and the lessons I've learned the hard way.Find us on Social: Ben | PatrickJump to:01:25 - 3 self-fulfilling prophesies that aren’t serving us05:20 - 3 ways to start a difficult conversation17:10 - 3 lessons you learned the hard wayAbout the ShowChasing Excellence is dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, inside the gym & out. New episodes every Monday.About BenBen Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CFNE and CompTrain.About PatrickPatrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and brand coach to gym owners & entrepreneurs.

Telling Stories, Hard Conversations, & Life Lessons

What would I do if granted the ability to design and implement a high school health curriculum? That's the hypothetical we're talking about today, covering the different ways I'd introduce the Five Factors to the students.Find us on Social: Ben | PatrickAbout the ShowChasing Excellence is dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, inside the gym and out. New episodes every Tuesdays.About BenBen Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CFNE and CompTrain.About PatrickPatrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and brand coach to gym owners & entrepreneurs.

Designing a High School Health Curriculum

We're home from the 2020 CrossFit Games and have lots of thoughts, hope for the future, and work to do. Here's my recap of our time out in Aromas.Find us on Social: Ben | PatrickAbout the ShowChasing Excellence is dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, inside the gym & out. New episodes every Tuesday.About BenBen Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CFNE and CompTrain.About PatrickPatrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and brand coach to gym owners & entrepreneurs.

Reflections on the 2020 CrossFit Games

Author James Clear joins us this week to talk about opportunity costs, why reading is such a valuable habit, and why entrepreneurship is such a powerful engine of personal growth.Find us on Social: James | Ben | PatrickMore from James hereAbout the ShowChasing Excellence is dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, inside the gym & out. New episodes every Monday.About BenBen Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CFNE and CompTrain.About PatrickPatrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and brand coach to gym owners & entrepreneurs.

James Clear on Working Backwards From Magic

We're jumping back into your questions this week, covering things like training for the CrossFit Games as a teen, how to warm-up for an early-morning workout, and the advice I hear all the time that I think is bad.Find us on Social: Ben | PatrickJump to:01:50 - I feel like I've lost my mental game. I used to be able to push through anything but lately I've been super fragile and defensive. What are some ways I can fix my mental and we can train together without fear of falling out?05:20 - What is the most valuable lesson you have learned from fitness? How do you apply that lessons to your day to day life?08:30 - What is meant by “smashing the body?” Should we avoid those workouts that leave you lying on the floor, questioning why did I do this? I personally love those I feel I learn and grow, but trying to strike a good balance.13:15 - What is the best type of exercise the day after a cheat meal? Does one exercise or type of workout prove better than the other when it comes to working out the day after eating poorly ?15:30 - How important is cooling down after a CrossFit workout?17:40 - I’m 15 years old and this is the 3rd year I’ve been doing CrossFit. My goal is to go at the CrossFit Games. My gym organizes only 2 CrossFit teens classes per week and I feel frustrated because I want to improve my skills at CrossFit and I think that only 2 classes per week aren’t enough. So I started running 3 times per week, doing yoga 2 or 3 times per week and doing squat therapy everyday. I’m also using every source such as podcasts or books to learn even more about CrossFit and I’m really paying attention on my recovery, sleep and nutrition. Am I’m doing right? Is that something else that I can do to improve my CrossFit performance?20:30 - If I want to get my morning workout in, what’s a good way to quickly get my body moving well right after waking up? I often feel stiff and like I’m just not neurologically ready for explosive movement, even after a pre-workout drink. I usually have less than an hour before I have to get to work and would like to make the most of it on those early mornings.22:45 - I am a 17 year old CrossFit athlete that loves the sport. Obviously there are already some phenoms in this sport and I will continue to put in the work regardless but will the kids at the top now continue to be the dominating in, say, 10 years?27:50 - You’ve mention that elite athletes are not necessarily on the same gently sloping trajectory at a distant horizon of health that other CrossFitters are on. I was hoping you could talk more about the risks of the way elites train that might not end them up at the same distant horizon.32:00 - I have a small group class of 6-8 athletes, pretty consistently the same people. Recently there has been a change and suddenly a couple of people in the group have become quite competitive around scores, weights used, etc, and are accusing others of miscounting or are lowering their own standards around range of motion to score higher. It’s bothering a few of my more scaled members who are trying to keep their workouts to themselves. How would you advise addressing this?37:45 - I’m a member and a coach at a gym who’s owner is absent. I mean both mentally and physically absent. Very little care in programming, very bad communication, inconsistent leadership, etc. It might seem easy to say, “Well just leave,” but I feel like this is complicated. I do not want to enable this behavior, but I’ve been at this gym for five and a half years. I feel these members need people that care about them and put in effort because it is not coming from the top. Aside from simply leaving, is there any advice for coaches in a situation where their gym owner’s effort is lacking? If this behavior was being exhibited by my boss in my professional career, I would leave. But for some reason I have a hard time cutting ties in this scenario.40:40 - We are transitioning to 2 coaches per class and are discussing how to best split the class between the 2 coaches. How do you best split the class between 2 coaches? Do you have a senior and junior coach? Is 1 person taking the lead? Do you split the class just in half?42:33 - To steal from Tim Ferriss, "what's the advise you hear all the time, however is garbage or not recommend. Best bad advice."About the ShowChasing Excellence is dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, inside the gym & out. New episodes every Monday.About BenBen Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CFNE and CompTrain.About PatrickPatrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and brand coach to gym owners & entrepreneurs.

The Best Workout After a Cheat Day (2:00 Drill #20)

Reflecting on the last six months of being in lockdown, today we're talking about being a realist, what to do when we're surrounded by negativity, and balancing being in the moment and anticipating the future.Find us on Social: Ben | PatrickAbout the ShowChasing Excellence is dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, inside the gym & out. New episodes every Monday.About BenBen Bergeron is a best-selling author, coach to 7 CrossFit Games champions, and founder of CFNE and CompTrain.About PatrickPatrick Cummings is a long-time CrossFitter, podcaster, and brand coach to gym owners & entrepreneurs.

Lessons from Six Months of Lockdown

Chasing Excellence is a show dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, both inside the gym & out. On each episode, we'll deep dive on various aspects of being an athlete & maximizing your potential.

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Chasing Excellence

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