Day 24: Podcasts

                Whether I’m driving, running, lifting weights, or meal prepping, chances are I’m listening to a podcast. For me, podcasts are a great substitute for music or radio, as they are endlessly fascinating, & you can listen to some of the best & brightest minds that your chosen field has to offer, on demand.

                I currently use an app called ‘Podcast Addict’ as I find it user friendly & easy to update, however iTunes works as well. Yesterday I happened to stumble across my listening stats, & I found that so far in 2017 I have spent nearly 11 days (280 hours) listening to podcasts. That is a lot of podcasts!

Below I discuss 5 of my favourite podcasts as well as a recent episode that pertains to fitness.

Joe Rogan Experience:

The JRE is the catalyst that started me on my podcast-binge over 8 years ago. Over these 8 years, I have never gone more than a couple of weeks without listening to an episode of the JRE. Even in periods when I’m not actively listening, I still automatically update the feed to make sure I don’t miss any of my favourite guests like Joey Diaz or Dr. Rhonda Patrick. I have taken so many useful tips & habits away from the Joe Rogan Experience, that I documented 7 of these habits in a recent blog post.

                Describing the JRE is difficult because the different episodes vary so much. On his site, the podcast is described as ‘a long form conversation hosted by comedian, UFC colour commentator, & actor Joe Rogan with friends & guests that have included comedians, actors, musicians, MMA instructors & commentators, authors, artists, & porn stars.’

                Perhaps my favourite aspect of the podcast is Joe’s ability to ‘dig in’ with guests & get them to open up more than they regularly would. In traditional radio, conversations are interrupted by advertisements or are so short that guests feel as though they need to get their talking points in, or cover their agenda, so no real conversation takes place. On the JRE, the podcasts often span 3 to 4 hours of uninterrupted conversation, so there is plenty of time to dive deep into conversation. Additionally, with over 2,600 hours (128 days (!)) of practice, Joe has become a master conversationalist & excellent question-asker with an intuitive sense of what his guests will find fascinating. 

                In terms of recent episodes to dive into, my favourite over the past few months was episode #921 with former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, where they have an inspirational & fascinating discussion about how Cruz has overcome his recent rash of injuries coupled with losing his UFC title. If MMA isn’t your thing, I would recommend episode #919 with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson where the two discuss black holes & the universe at whole in a 2-hour podcast that will blow your mind. If you’re just looking to laugh, I recommend episode #909 with fellow comedian Bill Burr in what is a laugh out loud 2 hours of debauchery. Lastly, most related to fitness, episode #901 with Dr. Rhonda Patrick includes a very interesting conversation on intermittent fasting & sauna use which lead me to adopt these two habits.  

                One disclaimer is that not every episode is going to be for everyone. This is just the reality of a podcast whose guests have varied from astrophysicists to porn stars, so I recommend scrolling through the 900+ episodes to find a guest that resonates with you, & start from there.  

Tim Ferriss Experiment:

Similarly to the Joe Rogan Experience, I have been listening to the Tim Ferriss Experiment since it’s inception in 2014. A secondary favourite, I have heard the Tim Ferriss Experiment described as the ‘intellectual Joe Rogan Experience.’ Where Joe has on guests with wide-ranging intellects & backgrounds, Tim interviews highly-successful guests which tend to have some link to his background in Silicon Valley. Where Joe uses a lot of humour in his episodes & the episodes often take on the type of conversation you may overhear at a bar, Tim’s episodes are more parallel to traditional interviews where he focuses on distilling the tricks, tips & habits that have helped his guests to become successful, with minor moments of self-deprecating humour mixed in.

Tim describes the show as deconstructing world-class performers from eclectic areas (investing, chess, pro sports, etc.), digging deep to find the tools, tactics, & tricks that listeners can use.’ Unlike the Joe Rogan Experience, the episodes tend to be a little more structured in that Tim has set questions that he asks most guests, however similarly to the JRE, Tim does not disrupt his episodes with ads & has a strong ability to ask engaging follow-up questions that allow his guests to open up.

In terms of recent podcasts, my favourite of 2017 has bee one that I originally skipped due to the flashy title, Episode #217: The One-Minute Workout. The interview takes place with Dr. Martin Gibala, a professor at McMaster University in Ontario where he discusses the health benefits of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). I have since adopted HIIT & am seeing fantastic results.

Tim’s 200 episodes & over 300 hours of podcasting culminated in his book ‘Tool of Titans’ which is what led me to pursue this journey to the Spartan Race. In the book, he condenses his interviews with his hundreds of guests over the past 3 years which culminated into an incredibly influential book, from which I took many habits that I documented in a recent blog post.

 

Found My Fitness:

The Found my Fitness podcast features Dr. Rhonda Patrick, a Ph. D in biomedical science & expert on nutritional health, speaking with fellow health professionals regarding the latest news & trends in the sphere of health & fitness. Although the podcast tends to get a little technical at times, it contains extremely valuable information, & Rhonda does a good job at breaking down the information for the laymen. The podcast frequently provides easy-to-implement tips for improving health & longevity.

The podcast describes itself as ‘Promoting strategies to increase health span, well-being, cognitive & physical performance through deeper understandings of biology.’ Rhonda is very keen on increasing life-span, limiting cell damage & reducing the risk of cancer. Each episode packs a heavy information punch, but only comes out on average once per month, so you have plenty of time to digest & cross-reference the information that is provided.  

One of my favourite podcasts to come out recently by Rhonda was episode was a short episode titled ‘On Depression & Its Underlying Causes.’ In this episode, Rhonda discusses an alternative view of depression which suggests that it may be strongly linked to diet & gut biome. The podcast is only 15 minutes long, but like most of her work, Rhonda cuts straight to the point & delivers great information in this short episode.

Spartan Up:

                A new podcast that I have recently added to my rotation, the Spartan Up podcast, features Spartan Race founder Joe De Sena speaking with leaders in the health & fitness community about topics ranging from motivation, to the power of thinking, to building successful habits. As a bonus, each episode also includes an actionable exercise tip.

                The official description states that ‘Spartan Race founder & CEO Joe De Sena travels the glove seeking the secrets to success from authors, academics, athletes, adventurers, CEO’s & thought leaders. This will shift your thinking, make you laugh & give you the tools you need. He’s on a mission to find success in all aspects of life. Not only does Joe interview epic people, he has brought together an amazing panel to break down & analyze every aspect of these interviews. We give you the ultimate blueprint & action steps to assimilating these powerful conversations into your own life.

                Although I am only a few episodes into this podcast, I can already tell that it is going to become an enduring staple in my podcast diet as I continue on my journey to the Spartan Race.

                Podcasts are a valuable resource for me as they can be motivating, inspiring, re-assuring, & entertaining all at the same time. Each of these podcasts allow me to learn while being entertained, & each have the ability to take my mind off of my stressful day or a strenuous workout. I highly encourage you to test out an episode of the podcasts above, or discover a different podcast that resonates with you.

100 Day Spartan