Send us a text I totally screwed myself the other day. I had plans of going to skate right after a 36 hour shift so I could decompress a little before going home. Not only did I omit my regular post-shift routine, but then I irrationally opted out of the skate too. This left me tired, frustrated, apathetic, and not at all prepared to be a good father for a 2 and 4 year old. The job has changed me, and I do not like it. My resiliency is more fragile than I thought and I don't like the idea that I...
Jun 29, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 123
Send us a text Smoke eatin, whisky drinking, leather chewing, mustache havin', hero. The fire service has had an intimate relationship with alcohol and all things considered hardcore since our old friend Benny Franklin. Alcohol is the great common thread between 'brothers' in the fire service and it's also the cause of many a downfall. My relationship with it is unclear, and so is my explanation of it. Thank you for listening, or watching on YouTube and stay tuned for some great guests in the ne...
Jun 20, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 122
Send us a text Have you ever heard of the promise that a program will make you lose fat and build muscle at the same time? How about the marketing that goes into proving that someone is a "Tactical expert" and has the perfect program for you to become the hard charger you've always dreamed of? Or, have you started a program and after a few weeks the progress stopped, the fun was gone, and the honeymoon was over, but you had already been roped into a year long contract? We're hitting those topics...
Jun 15, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 121
Send us a text Curt and I know a lot about a lot, but steroids are not on the list of deeply researched or understood topics. But that doesn't stop us from trying! Get past the first couple of minutes so we can really dazzle you with some answers to listener questions. How can I stay big and broad and still work to improve my cardio and mobility? Well, depending on what you think is "big and broad" you may not be able to get to that 4 hour marathon. But, with a lot of smart work you can be well ...
Jun 08, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 120
Send us a text We're back from our most challenging and trying camping trip yet! The screeching, yelling, constant instigation, and tantrums were over the top and the kids had some bad behavior too. Katie and I sit down for an honest conversation about some difficulties we have as parents and how we're slowly catching on. As a firefighter, my daughters high pitched tantrum gives me the same jolt and reaction as the full still tones and I have a tough time dealing. And yet, we choose to pack up t...
Jun 01, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 119
Send us a text Diets are a commonplace in the fire department. Everyone is looking for the best kept secret to eat the things they want but still lose weight like they could in their 20's. In pursuit of it, we sacrifice our health, performance, and social life and just end up fat again in a year. Today we're taking a different look at diets and dieting. Most importantly the difference between spending your money on someone's diet, versus taking a look at your existing diet that Costco built. BTW...
May 25, 2023•21 min•Season 1Ep. 118
Send us a text Katie and I are on the back patio, mini solo stove going and champagne in hand. We're celebrating some regular stuff and talking about some of it too. Vanderpump, trauma bonding, 24/48 vs 48/96, Post Conference Report, New podcast logos, and her love of criminal minds. If you have a story to tell on the podcast, please fill out this link: https://www.4thshiftfitness.com/guestform If you are looking for a speaker for your conference, I'm back on the market! email me 4thshiftfit@gma...
May 18, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 117
Send us a text Molly Jones is back and giving us a preview of a brand new presentation she will be debuting in South Bend during a First Responder Conferences event on May 15th and 16th. After that she humors my questions with professional answers. Molly works for Advanced Recovery Systems and dedicates a bulk of her time to educating and presenting on behalf of ARS and the IAFF Center of Excellence. Reach out to Molly if you are in need of care or want to learn more about the IAFF Center of Exc...
May 11, 2023•57 min•Season 1Ep. 117
Send us a text Tim Sears takes us on an incredible journey that started 44 years ago as a volunteer fireman, continued at ground zero of the pandemic, and brought him to the Stronger Families organization in retirement. The road was anything but straight and smooth and Tim is an excellent speaker and storyteller. You can find him on IG, Linkedin, or email him at Tim.Sears@strongerfamilies.org pleas also look at the srongerfamilies.com website for information on all of their programs and offering...
May 04, 2023•1 hr 26 min
Send us a text Personal one today as I tell some stories about recent calls that went my way, and one that I'm still working out. VTach with a pulse, a head trauma that needed pacing, and a throwback to a few years ago when I wished I had gone to electrician school. Mindfulness is a practice. Just like yoga or medicine, you just keep working on it and see what days it clicks, and endure the days it doesn't. Support the show Affiliate links: Rescue1CBD Use code TAILBOARD for 15% off Frontline Opt...
Apr 27, 2023•26 min•Season 1Ep. 114
Send us a text Karl is a retired police officer who made some serious life changes following a massive heart attack. After his heart attack he started paying close attention to the way he eats, moves, his relationships, stress, and sleep. Don't be fooled though, as you'll hear in the episode, anything short of his heart attack would not have convinced him to make these adjustments. Karl is presenting at the First Responders Conference in South Bend, Indiana on May 15th and I'll be presenting on ...
Apr 20, 2023•55 min•Season 1Ep. 113
Send us a text Christy Lister is a volunteer for First HELP which is a foundation offering training and support for the families and departments that have suffered a suicide. She is also the host of the Beyond The 1st Response podcast which focuses on bringing first responders, families, and mindset together for serious and humorous conversations on mental health. Christy and I are both presenting at an event put on by 1st Responder Conferences in South Bend, Indiana on may 15-16th and you get a...
Apr 13, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 112
Send us a text Call it Spidey Sense, cynicism, or reality, but there are going to be people in this world that you just can't care to like. In terms of firefighters, we mostly all have a common thread of service, interest, or at least complaint that can bond us together. But there will always be someone that you'd rather not know. Curt and I are sharing some thoughts on the situation. Support the show Affiliate links: Rescue1CBD Use code TAILBOARD for 15% off Frontline Optics use code TAILBOARD ...
Apr 06, 2023•40 min•Season 1Ep. 111
Send us a text In my 38th year I had to re learn the use of inter vs intra. After the episode was finished of course. Training is a staple of the fire service but also approached differently by every department, crew, and individual. Through my career as a firefighter and coach I've seen and made plenty of mistakes but in this episode I share some ways that I've seen work. Support the show Affiliate links: Rescue1CBD Use code TAILBOARD for 15% off Frontline Optics use code TAILBOARD for 15% off ...
Mar 30, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 110
Send us a text Dear Chief, nobody was as surprised as me when I went to go look for the recording that Curt and I had done, and found nothing. So there I was, 3pm, recordingless, and out of time to re-do it. Enter the IG poll to save the day. Not only did I get todays episode topic, but several others for the future. So thank you. Spring4Change is starting in a couple weeks and this episode is a quick look ahead to what you can expect. What I DIDN'T tell you is that it'll take place primarily on...
Mar 23, 2023•18 min•Season 1Ep. 109
Send us a text It's 8:30 pm, I'm 38 years old, Katie is getting over being sick, we have two microphones and 20 minutes worth of steam. Welcome to our kitchen. This one is light on the firefighting, but heavy on the banter. Correction- my socks were from Target. Support the show Affiliate links: Rescue1CBD Use code TAILBOARD for 15% off Frontline Optics use code TAILBOARD for 15% off Fourth Frontier.com Use code FFTailboard for 25% discount on the X2 strap Athletic Brewing- Code TTFP10 Submit to...
Mar 16, 2023•20 min•Season 1Ep. 108
Send us a text Alex Jabr of @EmergencyResilience wants to prepare you for when the patient dies. More specifically, how to stand in front of the patients family and deliver the news. Please enjoy the first 45 minutes of her flawless maneuvering around my ambush-like question asking on random yet pertinent studies, observations, and theories. But DO NOT miss the second 45 mins of this episode. Alex takes us on an incredible journey through her past and how she has expertly tied her personal exper...
Mar 09, 2023•1 hr 28 min•Season 1Ep. 107
Send us a text Monday and Tuesday I attended the AFFI Health and Safety Conference. This was one of the first appearances by the Resiliency Committee that Joe Galli had founded and spoken about on previous episodes. The speakers, content, and experience was excellent and in this episode I do my best to explain why it was so different than any other conference I've been to. If you're an Illinois Firefighter, you're in great hands. Be on the lookout for some big things from the AFFI this year. Tha...
Mar 02, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 106
Send us a text The decision to workout or not when you're sick can be an extremely easy one, or a real hand wringer. But, in this episode I give a couple simple tips and guidelines to keep in mind. We're also talking about a very common theory that suggests you are more prone to sickness and infection following bouts of intense aerobic exercise. This has a strong foothold in the endurance world but there is a large body of evidence to dispute it. Here is a great paper that goes into way more det...
Feb 22, 2023•17 min•Season 1Ep. 105
Send us a text Absent might be a tough label but it also might be uncomfortably true for firefighters and paramedics. Katie and I are in the thick of the nasty with some an almost 2 and almost 4 year old running the house. We've had to drastically alter...everything...in our best attempt to maximize the good times and mitigate the tough. This just scratches the surface of our lives, but it's the most we could muster at 7pm after the daily meltdowns and tantrums, from the kids. Support the show A...
Feb 15, 2023•32 min•Season 1Ep. 104
Send us a text From hockey, to CrossFit Football, to the Firefighter. We have several opportunities to try on some different personalities during our career. In this episode I'm telling a few stories about the hockey days, some lessons learned from Raph Ruiz in the CrossFit Football days, and then tying it together on how we operate as Firefighters. Thank you so much for listening and I'd love to hear from you. Support the show Affiliate links: Rescue1CBD Use code TAILBOARD for 15% off Frontline...
Feb 08, 2023•16 min•Season 1Ep. 103
Send us a text You might be pleasantly surprised that a conversation about diets and their pitfalls starts with DumDums, Butterbeer, and Dairy Queen Mini's. 80/20, Keto, Whole 30, Intermittent Fasting, Buzzword, Fad, Sales Pitch. There are so many options out there and we do our best to narrow down our thoughts on them. But we get sidetracked by the Glycemic Index, Ozempic, Food Poisoning, Seafood Pizza, and Lucky Charms vs Steak. Look for the poll that Curt mentions towards the end, we are gear...
Feb 01, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 102
Send us a text Risky statement here but I don’t think you’ve convinced anyone of anything ever, in your life. But maybe you presented some info and that person was willing to convince themselves. Conversations, arguments, disagreements, debates, and diatribes. Hallmarks of the fire service and some of the most entertaining but horribly useless things in our industry. In this episode I’m talking about what we do wrong when we sit at the table and spin our tales. Things that I’ve done and continue...
Jan 25, 2023•21 min•Season 1Ep. 101
Send us a text Megan is a career Firefighter and Paramedic. She recently submitted her final paper for her masters program on the topics of firefighter fertility issues, pregnancy considerations, return to work, and policy issues. Megan brings a level of diplomacy and understanding to these conversations that we could all learn from. Please share this episode with someone who might need it Support the show Affiliate links: Rescue1CBD Use code TAILBOARD for 15% off Frontline Optics use code TAILB...
Jan 18, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 100
Send us a text Yes We Can! Firefighters are excellent at distilling down complex structures to simple rules and operational tasks. we are even better at taking simple tasks and turning them into rocket surgery requiring weekly meetings. Complexity bias, Neophiles, and the most simple way to adjust any program or activity to meet your goals, bicycle component reviews and coffee brewing strategies. This episode has it all. Keep it simple in 2023 and let's all keep working towards being more capabl...
Jan 11, 2023•26 min•Season 1Ep. 99
Send us a text Welcome to 2023 and we're kicking it off with a multi-topic episode. If you have ever heard the theory that light roast coffee has more caffeine than a dark roast, then hold on to your beans because we have some info to pour over. We also go into the saga that is the Peloton company. From a 50 billion dollar valuation to stocks at less than 10 bucks and firing 5000 people in just a few years. Then, I have a problem. Gratitude just wasn't going well and as normal, it was my fault. ...
Jan 04, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 98
Send us a text This is one of the most listened to, and most reacted to episodes so far. Curt and I sat down about a week after some significant issues were exposed in one of our probationary firefighters and shared some general and specific thoughts on the matter. These conversations are not the most fun thing ever. And they are tough to handle and manage from both sides. But they are much needed and hopefully the result is a more capable and durable workforce. Thank you for listening and being...
Dec 28, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 97
Send us a text One of the most popular episodes to date is this conversation with Matt Mangum. Matt has been a competitive powerlifter, NCAA D1 Strength Coach, Firefighter, and much more. The lessons and stories in this episode are from the front lines, and from hard experience. Matt has done a lot of living and there are a few lifetimes to go. Support the show Affiliate links: Rescue1CBD Use code TAILBOARD for 15% off Frontline Optics use code TAILBOARD for 15% off Fourth Frontier.com Use code ...
Dec 21, 2022•1 hr 48 min•Season 1Ep. 96
Send us a text In the past 2-3 weeks, I've had one of those streaks where seemingly random things that were all on the same parallel thought track kept popping up. Conversations with clients, chats with peers on social media, and listening to a podcast I hadn't seen in my feed for months. What it all comes down to is two things; 1. Thank you to my clients, friends, and supporters. The company, show, and my creativity have you to thank for the opportunity. 2. I can't and won't try to convince you...
Dec 14, 2022•23 min
Send us a text Welcome back for the second portion of our post-workout chat session with my good friend and District 4 VP candidate, Joe Galli. In this episode we're talking more about the DVP role, how Joe has prepared for it, his plans and vision for the future of District 4, a surprise entrance by Nathan, and a possible future video segment modeled after Hot Ones, but with split squats instead of chicken wings. If you are in Illinois and District 4, please reach out to Joe. He wants to come a...
Dec 07, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 95
