Join us for an enlightening conversation with Zack Height, a remarkable individual who has embarked on a transformative journey, transitioning from competitive sports and CrossFit to a more holistic approach to fitness centered around hand balancing and mobility work. In this episode, we delve into Zack's compelling story, exploring his shift from traditional athletic pursuits to a profound focus on body awareness, work ethic, and the joy of continuous learning. Zacks IG: @zackheight ••••• EPISO...
May 24, 2023•1 hr 5 min
In this captivating episode, we dive deep into the inspiring journey of Brian Chontosh, a remarkable individual who exemplifies the qualities of leadership, compassion, and resilience. Join us as we explore Brian's incredible experiences, from his exceptional military career to his recent triumph in a grueling transatlantic rowing race. As a highly decorated Marine Corps officer, Brian Chontosh has demonstrated unwavering leadership skills in the face of adversity. Drawing upon his wealth of kno...
May 17, 2023•1 hr 9 min
We are taking it back to another movement focused episode. This time, we are discussing one of the newest movements introduced at the CrossFit Games this past year: The Wall Facing Strict Handstand Push Up. We talk about good technique surrounding the movement as well as how to build a solid foundation here. Dave Durante also throws out there what he believes would be the ideal competition standard for this specific movement. Most importantly, Dave stresses why this movement is important to prac...
May 10, 2023•48 min
Welcome to this episode of our podcast, where we sit down with CrossFit Games Athlete Arielle Loewen, an accomplished athlete and mother who shares her unique perspective on competition, training, and identity. Arielle shares how having a child has changed her approach to competition, highlighting the importance of balance and perspective in her training. As a former gymnast, she also draws on her experience and shares how that contributes to her athletic success, both physically and mentally. B...
Apr 26, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Welcome to this episode of our podcast, where we sit down with Grant McCartney, also known as "The Island Ninja". Grant is a professional athlete and one of the most popular competitors on the hit TV show "American Ninja Warrior." In this conversation, Grant talks about his career on the show, his journey to becoming "The Island Ninja," and the discipline and focus required to excel in this highly demanding sport. He also shares his family background, describing the love and support he received ...
Apr 19, 2023•1 hr 2 min
Welcome to this episode of the podcast, where we have a very special guest - Yuval Ayalon, better know in the world of hand balancing as: Yuval on Hands. Yuval has had a fascinating career trajectory, having transitioned from being a collegiate gymnast to a performer in the circus and eventually to a hand balancing coach. In this episode, we dive deep into his journey and explore his insights and experiences. Yuval speaks about the importance of finding efficiency within movement and how its a p...
Apr 12, 2023•1 hr 14 min
On this weeks podcast we welcome CrossFit Games Athlete Emily Rolfe. Emily's athletic journey began in gymnastics, and she shares with us how her background in the sport has shaped her approach to training and competition. In this episode, we delve into the importance of mental toughness in sports and how Emily has honed her mental strength to overcome challenges both inside and outside the gym. As someone who works in the medical field, Emily's schedule can sometimes require her to switch from ...
Apr 05, 2023•59 min
In this episode, we have the pleasure of sitting down with Jamie Simmonds, one of top CrossFit athletes since 2016. Jamie shares her journey from her early days as a gymnast and rugby player, to her decision to pursue CrossFit and her eventual move to the Middle East to continue competing. We discuss what it means to be a female athlete in sport, and how CrossFit is leading the way to level that playing field. She also talks about her experiences competing as both an individual and team athlete,...
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr 2 min
On this episode, we have two special guests: Kelly and Juliet Starrett, a power couple who are passionate about fitness and entrepreneurship. Kelly is a renowned physical therapist and author of the bestselling book "Becoming a Supple Leopard," while Juliet is a lawyer turned entrepreneur who co-founded San Francisco CrossFit and MobilityWOD. Together, Kelly and Juliet have been on a mission to revolutionize the way people think about health and wellness. They are the founders of The Ready State...
Mar 22, 2023•1 hr 13 min
On today's episode we talk about the nuances surrounding the Press to Handstand. Higher level gymnastic movements are finding their way into competitive CrossFit settings, most recently having a version of the Press to Handstand at the 2022 CrossFit Games. Dave takes a moment to discuss some of the common challenges athletes have with attempting this movement, as well as some go to progressions and starting points that people are going to want to listen to. Halfway through the episode we have th...
Mar 15, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Kristin Holte is an 8 time CrossFit Games Athlete, who has had multiple top 5 finishes at the Games, as well as 4 top 3 finishes in the Open, including winning the World Wide Open outright in 2021. Her list of athletic accolades goes on, which we discuss briefly in this episode, but one of the more interesting aspects of what has come out of her storied career is he mental resiliency. Kristin just released her first book: "3,2,1 Go", where she talks about many of her mental training techniques t...
Mar 08, 2023•1 hr 2 min
It’s the final week of the Open and it’s a burner! Chad Vaughn and Chris Hinshaw join Dave Durante to break down and strategize 23.3. Chris talks transitions and proper pacing on what’s going to be a sprint of a workout for most athletes. Don’t hold your breath! Breathing is your friend - especially on the double unders. Chad breaks down how to approach the snatches in regards to your max. Squat snatches, anyone? Not a bad idea. And to wrap up with gymnastics, Dave talks about the new handstand ...
Mar 02, 2023•49 min
Running in the Open!? Add that to burpees and thrusters and you've got a workout that any athlete is sure to LOOOOVE. This week's episode Dave Durante and Jordan Samuel welcome multi-time Games Athlete Margaux Alvarez on to react to 23.2A&B, and break down how best to approach both parts of this workout. ••••• Check out the release of the new, rebranded and improved Power Monkey Training App! DOWNLOAD IT HERE! http://www.powermonkeytraining.com In it you will find personalized assessment bas...
Feb 23, 2023•31 min
The CrossFit Open is here! On this episode of the podcast we’ve got Dave Durante, Jason Leydon, and Jordan Samuel reacting to and giving their thoughts on 23.1. They break down this repeat workout not seen since 2014 and talk strategy of how to best approach this test of fitness. ••••• Check out the release of the new, rebranded and improved Power Monkey Training App! DOWNLOAD IT HERE! http://www.powermonkeytraining.com In it you will find personalized assessment based programs to help you: Deve...
Feb 16, 2023•36 min
We are so grateful to have Carl on this weeks podcast. Carl was one of the coaches early on in CrossFit that were really trying to help educate people on proper gymnastics movement. But Carl took it a step further and really dove into how to take artistic gymnastics and mold portions of that to what would serve a CrossFitter best. Carl has a clear passion for helping people to reach for and achieve their best, whether it's through his gymnastics coaching, his New York Times best selling book "Fr...
Feb 08, 2023•1 hr 6 min
We are excited to have had Don Faul, the new CEO of CrossFit on the podcast this week. Don's passion for CrossFit and what good he believes the training methodology can bring to the world is evident throughout this conversation. Without question, his background in various leadership roles throughout his career will be massive benefit to CrossFit and its growth, and not just for the sport side of the brand. Don spoke at length about CrossFits focus to work harder to prop up and support the affili...
Feb 01, 2023•59 min
Today we are discussing the Kipping Ring Muscle-Up. More specifically we will be speaking about some common cue's that we hear out in the world in regard to this movement that miss the mark. These are cues we hear often, and most likely had a good concept behind them initially, but ultimately do not tend to lead to good and efficient movement. In place of them we will be discussing what we feel are better alternative cues to use with your athletes. Reference Videos: How to perfect your Ring Musc...
Jan 25, 2023•48 min
Chris Spealler is known as one of the OG's of the CrossFit Games. At 5'5" and 145 lbs, he did things in competition that spectators and other athletes couldn't help but be inspired by. He is also a L4 coach and a former L1 staff member. Chris owns CrossFit Park City in Utah and offers online programming (link below). A good portion of our conversation with Chris circled around the idea of CrossFit as a sport vs a training methodology. He had some unique perspectives here that, as a former 7 time...
Jan 18, 2023•1 hr 6 min
With Wodapalooza about to go down this week, we decided to have CrossFit Analyst: Brian Friend on the podcast to talk about his predictions for this event and what to be on the look out for. Even though all of the events within the competition have not been announced yet, Brian DOES have knowledge of all the events, so his predictions are well informed. He had a lot of interesting perspectives about the individual and team events and who to keep an eye on. This was a fun conversation, and we can...
Jan 11, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Today we welcome our friend Angela Gargano to the show. Angela has a long history of athletics, beginning with D1 Collegiate Gymnastics, moving into fitness competitions, and even competing multiple times as an America Ninja Warrior athlete, before moving on to a full time role as a coach helping and inspiring women reach for and achieve their best in terms of fitness and wellness. Angela shares candidly what it was like to battle multiple knee injuries and how they helped shaped the trajectory ...
Jan 04, 2023•1 hr 4 min
CJ Martin is one of the truly original G's on the CrossFit scene, having started in 2006 and quickly transitioning into coaching and then owning what would become one of the most successful and recognized CrossFit gyms in the world: CrossFit Invictus. We go through what was effectively CJ's "Origin Story" and how the many years of coaching CrossFit Games athletes have given him a unique perspective, not just on programming and running a gym, but on what should and should NOT be part of a young t...
Dec 21, 2022•1 hr 10 min
This week we welcome multiple time CrossFit Games Athlete and former Professional Hockey player Adrian Mundwiler onto the show. Adrian is an absolute specimen out of Europe who has been dominating the European competition seen. But what we found most enjoyable to chat about with him about was his view on training and more specifically the coach/athlete relationship and what is most important there. Adrian is an incredibly cerebral athlete who journals after every competition and attacks his weak...
Dec 14, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Its surprising how long it took us into the life of this podcast before we invited today guest on. Vanessa McCoy is a long standing member of the Power Monkey team, and is without question the most well rounded athlete on our team. Having competed extensively in both gymnastic AND weightlifting, Vanessa brings a unique perspective to the team. Outside of competed nationally and having lived and trained at the Olympic Training Center, Vanessa is a former CrossFit gym owner as well as gymnastic cl...
Dec 06, 2022•1 hr
On a special episode of the Power Monkey Podcast today, we have the trio of Dave Durante, Chad Vaughn, and Chris Hinshaw discussing the specifics surrounding their creation: Capacity WOD. Capacity WOD is a program designed to supplement your current program in small bite sized chunks. Specifically, this protocol is designed to help athletes improve their ability to recover during and after a workout so that they can increase their overall capacity to do work. Dave, Chris, and Chad have been test...
Nov 30, 2022•47 min
We had the pleasure of speaking with CrossFit Games Athlete James Sprague on this episode of the podcast. James is a young athlete, having competed in the teen division at the Games multiple times. However, what we found most impressive about James is how mature the mental side of his athleticism is. We spoke at length about James ability to masterfully strategize a workout to win in competition (as witness by his most recent appearance at the Zelos Games), as well as how mentally strong he is w...
Nov 23, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Our first episode with James a few weeks ago lead to a number of follow up conversations and messages from our listeners. So we decided to have him back on for a follow up discussion. After more than 3 decades of total emersion in the high intensity fitness landscape, James has some controversial insights and takeaways that we discuss with him. Underneath it all, he believes, is the lack of awareness this sort of long term competitive training can have on your physical and cognitive ability as y...
Nov 16, 2022•1 hr 17 min
This weeks guest is multi-time CrossFit Games Athlete and Podium finisher, Brent Fikowski. One of the most interesting portions of our conversation, among many, with Brent occurred when we dove into the subject of the "Professional Functional Athlete Association", which Brent is a key contributor for. Essentially Brent, and others, have taken it upon themselves to be a voice for their fellow athletes to help create a safer, more fair, and agreeable experience, both in and out of competition. The...
Nov 09, 2022•1 hr 15 min
We had the pleasure of speaking with Brute Strength coach Matt Torres on this weeks episode. We were also lucky enough to have Matt attend our most recent Power Monkey Camp in the woods of Tennessee, where we got our first chance to really get to know how great of a human he is. Matt is the coach of a handful of the top CrossFit Games athletes out there, including Dallin Pepper, Danielle Brandon, Emma Carey, and others. Matt has a very deliberate and unique approach when it comes to coaching his...
Nov 02, 2022•1 hr 1 min
This weeks guest is James Fitzgerald, known by many within the CrossFit world as OPT, the founder of OPEX Fitness. James was the very first person to win the CrossFit Games back in 2007, and he has built quite a business since then. OPEX has an impressive string of affiliates throughout the world, and has been a source of fitness and programming excellence ever since. On this episode we speak with James about not only his history, but also about where he sees his business going in the future. He...
Oct 26, 2022•1 hr 11 min
Today's guest is a special one as we welcome our good friend Victor Assaf on to the show. Victor is an adaptive athlete who has competed at the CrossFit Games. On this episode we are incredible grateful to Victor for sharing with us his story. Victors journey is one that began as a competitor and was then sidetracked for many years due to an accident that left him without the use of his right arm. Ultimately Victor would discover that this accident was in many ways a blessing that would save him...
Oct 19, 2022•1 hr 1 min
