To what extent is “canceling” someone in 2021 just a way to take someone off the board? Does intent matter? And can people really be educated/rehabilitated? We take a look at the recent scandal around former Raiders’ head coach/GM John Gruden’s emails and his hurried resignation. We kick it off with a discussion history of using nonsense words in music, and we’re led down the rabbit hole on a site with the Myers Briggs personality profiles of celebrities. Listener resources: September by Earth W...
Oct 14, 2021•59 min•Ep. 150
Welcome to another short Friday episode of the show we’re now calling “Topic Thunder with the Gossip Boyz” (subject to change). In this episode, we discuss not so much whether organic food is better but whether we should pay any attention to “influencers” on either side of the issue. We’re joined on the panel by Dean Saddoris of Caffeine and Kilos, and our gym manager, Kyle Castro. You can find Dean on Instagram @deansaddoris.ck, and at caffeineandkilos.com. Kyle’s at @kyle.castroo. You can chec...
Oct 08, 2021•11 min
Dipping back into a kind of causal series we’ve been doing about common words are phrases that we use all the time, but we may not entirely understand: Do you really want someone to “break a leg?” Does “getting the upper hand” have anything to do with a knob? Why is a “master of none” sometimes a good thing? Does “sleep tight” have anything with cutting your guest some slack? Is “close but no cigar” somehow about carnivals? Is there slapping involved with being “brand spanking new?” We kick off ...
Oct 06, 2021•51 min
Welcome to another short Friday episode of the panel discussion segment we’re now calling “Topic Thunder with the Gossip Boyz” (subject to change). In this episode, we take on the “No Fap” trend which has guys (and maybe girls?) give up masturbation in order to gain more focus, get stronger, etc. We’re joined on the panel by Dean Saddoris of Caffeine and Kilos, and our gym manager, Kyle Castro. You can find Dean on Instagram @deansaddoris.ck, and at caffeineandkilos.com. Kyle’s at @kyle.castroo....
Oct 01, 2021•12 min
Hey, powerlifting-specific content! We asked one of our gym members who had just competed in his first meet, the USAPL California State Championships, to talk about the experience. We also share our personal experiences and best practices. What should your last week of training look like? Do you need a handler? How should you warm up? Who do you give your attempts to? What should you eat? How do you keep your concentration during the meet day chaos? You can find Sebastian on Instagram @sebastian...
Sep 30, 2021•53 min
We wanted to share a side project that we’re working on. It’s a panel show that mostly relies on opinions – some outrageous, some insightful, and some just well…funny. All packed into roughly ten minutes. We’re joined on the panel by Dean Saddoris of Caffeine and Kilos, and our gym manager, Kyle Castro. You can find Dean on Instagram @deansaddoris.ck, and at caffeineandkilos.com. Kyle’s at @kyle.castroo. In this episode, we discuss to what extent people workout to attracted attention from the op...
Sep 24, 2021•11 min
We spend a couple of episodes talking about a couple of high profile (in their sports) transgender athletes through the lens of documentaries about their lives: “Transformer” about the life of powerlifter/bodybuilder Janae Kroczaleski, and “Untold: Caitlyn Jenner” about the 1976 US Olympic Decathlon gold medal winner. Most people did not know either was transgender when they were at the peak of their careers and they were held up as heroic male icons. In part two, we discuss the impact their gen...
Sep 22, 2021•49 min
We spend a couple of episodes talking about a couple of high profile (in their sports) transgender athletes through the lens of documentaries about their lives: “Transformer” about the life of powerlifter/bodybuilder Janae Kroczaleski, and “Untold: Caitlyn Jenner” about the 1976 US Olympic Decathlon gold medal winner. Most people did not know either was transgender when they were at the peak of their careers and they were held up as heroic male icons. In part one, we focused mostly on contrastin...
Sep 16, 2021•46 min
Humans seek heroes. They probably always have, but is this a good thing? And who qualifies as a hero? Can you be considered a hero just because of your job title? Does performing a heroic act make someone a hero? Do heroes have to be perfect people in all aspects of their lives? Where should we draw the line between being inspired by heroes and patterning our lives after them? Mike kicks off the episode with observations on the unnecessary stigma surrounding “kid foods” like chicken nuggets. Lis...
Sep 10, 2021•57 min
Discussion about the book, "The Power of Now" and other approaches that help people with anxiety live in the moment. Viewer questions include our funniest gym moments, whether carb cycling is worthwhile, and making progress on the bench. We also talk about some of the nuances of conjugate programs versus progressive overload. We kick it off with the news that Usain Bolt has dropped an album. Check out our gym (Third Street Barbell) at ThirdStreetBarbell.com and subscribe for updates about our ap...
Sep 04, 2021•55 min
This is a conversation about the limits and challenges of monetizing a presence on social platforms. Last week the OnlyFans platform announced an end to explicit content. This week that decision was reversed. Since many personalities and creators in fitness rely on social platforms to make money – yes, even through sexually explicit content on sites like OnlyFans– we thought it was worthwhile to take a look at the ethics and policies involved. We close it out with get well wishes for Bill Philli...
Aug 26, 2021•42 min•Ep. 140
The 2021 Netflix documentary “Untold: Malice in the Palace” unpacks some overlooked elements of a riot that broke out during an Indiana Pacers/Detroit Pistons in November 2004. The careers of Pacers’ Jermaine O’Neal, Reggie Miller, Stephen Jackson, and Ron Artest (Metta World Peace) were all impacted in the aftermath. All but Miller received suspensions…and he chose to retire at the end of the season (his 18th}. Many involved in the melee also faced criminal charges. All of this coming after the...
Aug 19, 2021•1 hr 1 min
The 2020 Netflix documentary “Athlete A” details the scandal that nearly destroyed USA gymnastics. Team doctor Larry Nassar sexually violated young women gymnasts for decades before a shocking number came forward to tell their stories of abuse – so many that the story could no longer be ignored or covered up. Some of the top names of Olympics past were among the victims. After Simone Biles, perhaps the greatest US gymnast of all time had to bow out of several events after having revealed that sh...
Aug 13, 2021•1 hr 1 min
After a brief, unplanned break last week, we’re back to follow up on another of the words/phrases that people say all the time but not everyone understands. Nearly all the social media and streaming platforms we all encounter daily run on “recommendation algorithms that control what we see. We break down what we know about how they (probably) work, and how they can make or break creators on every platform. What the hell happened to fitness and lifting videos on YouTube in 2019 anyway. Check out ...
Aug 11, 2021•27 min
Since we like to tackle one health- or mental health-related issue every month -- and since we’ve developed an interest in words and phrases people use but don’t necessarily understand – we decided to look into the definition of the word “sociopath.” We took a trip through an online questionnaire to learn which traits are associated with being a sociopath, and discussed whether we felt any of those traits applied to us. You can check out the checklist we used and follow along with us here. Here’...
Jul 29, 2021•51 min
With the postponed 2020 Olympics finally opening in Tokyo, we decided to take a look at the 2016 documentary about eight-time Olympic Gold medal Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt. The film offers a behind-the-scenes look at (some of) his training and preparation, as well as (some of) his life outside of training and competition. Dean Saddoris of Caffeine and Kilos joins us in our review and reaction to this film. You can find Dean on Instagram @deansaddoris.ck, and at caffeineandkilos.com. Check out...
Jul 22, 2021•1 hr
We asked the question, “People say (word or phrase) all the time, but I don’t know what it means. From training terms like “spread the floor” to slang like “no cap” to old school sayings like “getting down to brass tacks” we search for some definitive…uh…definitions. We kick it off with a discussion of small talk boundaries. Check out our new gym (Third Street Barbell) at ThirdStreetBarbell.com and subscribe for updates about our apparel line at 3sb.co! Local memberships and international fresh ...
Jul 14, 2021•58 min
Head to 3sb.co for our once-a-year blowout sale! Episode notes: As the time nears for the pandemic-postponed Olympic Games to commence in Japan, we dive into the issue of the rules around international competitions. Should smoking pot get you suspended when athletes using hormones are allowed to compete? Are these things even related? We offer our opinions on these topics, somewhat through the lens of our earlier review of the documentary, “Icarus,” and we’re faced with the question…what is fair...
Jul 08, 2021•50 min
Head to 3sb.co for our once-a-year blowout sale! The 2021 documentary, WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn, presents what seems like an age-old story. A “charismatic” leader paints a rosy picture of a money-making plan that seemingly can’t fail, and people – even the ones who should know better – fall for it hook, line, and sinker. WeWork is a co-working space provider that pitched what many thought would be a transformative, and all-inclusive, gamechanger. Even without a...
Jun 28, 2021•1 hr 15 min
The 2021 Netflix documentary, Seaspiracy, is a bit of a Trojan horse. It’s (so very) earnestly concerned with the many disconnected threats to life in Earth’s oceans, but it ends up in a far different place with a far different message. Is this slickly produced -- and highly-rated – film just a tract for a radical diet change like the other documentaries (Cowspiracy and What the Health) from the same producers? You can find Dean on Instagram @deansaddoris.ck, and at caffeineandkilos.com. Check o...
Jun 23, 2021•59 min
Mike brings a “hot take Tuesday” issue to the table. Is how you do one thing really how you do everything? Other questions include whether we’re getting any World’s Strongest Man visitors? Do we have hobbies outside the gym? What’s our gym equipment wish list? What surprised us most about the process of starting a business? Finally, we discuss where we think the fitness industry is in its business cycle. Other than some contraction among some large gym chains, are there other pockets of the indu...
Jun 17, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 130
We all see instances of what many people categorize as “fat shaming” both in conversation and on social media. What’s the real intent of these comments? Is it meant to hurt or help? Do people ever make permanent, positive behavioral changes because they have been shamed? And are fit people similar targets for shaming because they’re too focused on maintaining their appearance? It is worse for women than for men? It was great having powerlifter and coach Kelly Lenahan us for this discussion. We w...
Jun 09, 2021•1 hr 8 min
The 2004 Morgan Spurlock documentary, “Super Size Me” posited that fast food – and a sedentary lifestyle – caused America’s growing obesity epidemic. Spurlock spent 30 days eating food from McDonald’s three meals a day for 30 days, and cut his normal exercise to zero to “prove” the ill effects of these choices. Dean Saddoris of Caffeine and Kilos joins us for this episode. Mike and Dean had seen the film years ago and watched again recently. Jim had not seen it before. How much of it is still be...
Jun 03, 2021•1 hr 21 min
Nick Scopoletti returns to the show -- this time with fellow standup Beau McDowell, and their life coach, retired comic Lisa Lampanelli. Their podcast “Losers with a Dream” features conversations between Nick and Beau about their struggles toward comedy success…and just becoming better people. Then, Lisa weighs in with both life tips and comedy advice. Their show stresses the importance of working toward better mental health as a part of an overall strategy for success. We asked them to discuss ...
May 27, 2021•52 min
We shifted the schedule around a little in anticipation of some special guests for next week’s show. This week, we address some comments and questions from social media. Is there a particular way that we’re totally wrong for our jobs? What was the easiest part of the project of building our gym? How much of the accomplishment was driven by just showing up? And finally, do keto and heavy lifting go together? Subscribe for updates about our new gym (Third Street Barbell) and apparel line at 3sb.co...
May 19, 2021•56 min
This month’s media review and react episode is centered on the documentary “Icarus.” Dean Saddoris joins us to discuss this Oscar-winning 2017 documentary. This episode definitely contains spoilers. Filmmaker and cyclist Bryan Fogel made himself a guinea pig to learn if steroids would dramatically improve his race performance – and maybe more importantly, whether he could do it without being detected like Lance Armstrong. He ends up in the middle of a WADA and International Olympic Committee inv...
May 12, 2021•1 hr 31 min
A special edition episode. UFC Hall of Famer, and fellow Sacramento gym owner, Urijah Faber joins us. We talk about how sports fit into the hierarchy of human needs, the growth of combat sports in the past several years…and the power of excuses. He also explains how The Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act helps top boxers earn bigger purses than top MMA fighters. Tussana Martdee also joins us to offer perspectives from her background in Muay Thai. You can find Urijah on Instagram at @urijahfaber and ...
May 06, 2021•1 hr
April’s Q and A episode kicks off with an unplanned behind-the-scenes discussion where we explore the question of sponsored athletes/ambassadors. What do brands like ours really expect to get from sponsoring athletes? How much influence do they really have and how would you measure it? What the difference between awareness advertising and direct response advertising with “promo codes?” How would we decide the best fit? Having been on both sides of this question leads us into a lively discussion....
Apr 28, 2021•56 min
Bart Kwan is a man with a HUGE platform, so his thoughts on creativity, culture, and social media influence are well…influential. In our second episode with Bart, we broke down these issues, as well as some related questions: Is everyone born creative? Does high-quality production undercut authenticity? Where should the moral line be for influencers in promoting products and ideas? You can find Bart on Instagram @bartkwan, at barbellbrigade.com, and on YouTube. Subscribe for updates about our ne...
Apr 21, 2021•50 min
Inside the Massenomics gym in Western Northeast South Dakota, an ever-vigilant DVD player spins a copy of the circa 2007 documentary “Power Unlimited” around the clock. Who better to have on deck for a look back at that film than the owners of that very gym? We were excited to have Tommy DeFea and Tanner Baird join us for the crossover event nobody knew they needed: What was their reaction the first time they saw the film, and how did they get their DVD copy? What scene in the film gets us the m...
Apr 14, 2021•1 hr 25 min
