Escape Your Limits & LIFTS

Frank Zane agreed to this special follow-up episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast to give us even more insight into the life of a Mr Olympia icon. He tells us behind the scenes secrets of the Pumping Iron era, Gold's Gym and working out with Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as how bodybuilders regularly helped each other improve, despite competitive nature. This is the life of a constant creator, improving muscle, music, body and mind. Watch the full episode on YouTube In this two-part episode, Frank Zane returns. His original Escape Your Limits podcast interview has been popular with millions of people on YouTube, social media and blogs across the internet. His insight into maintaining success well into your '70s, proves that we can all stay strong throughout our lives. Frank is still idolised by people all over the world for an incredible approach to life in both mind and body. His honest, logical and spiritual manner has brought levels of focus and success that most can only dream of, through perseverance and physical perfection. There are some great lessons here that have not been covered before by Frank. To see how we can all keep the fitness blues away, we hope you enjoy this second interview with bodybuilding and Mr Olympia legend, Frank Zane. Frank Zane has won all of bodybuilding's major titles including Mr. Olympia (3 Times), Mr. Universe (3 Times), Mr. World and Mr America. Frank is one of the leading experts on bodybuilding and active ageing. He is a world-renowned performance coach and the most highly educated bodybuilding champion. He has been named as one of the "Top 10 Legends of Bodybuilding" and also was awarded "The Best Physique of All Time" by Muscle and Fitness Magazine. Episode highlights Why Frank Zane chose not to play a bigger role in the filming of Pumping Iron with Arnold Schwarzenegger and other bodybuilding greats. How to overcome failure, even when you've failed to the point of your own embarrassment, and how to come back stronger every time. What Frank Zane dreams of, and how he interprets these dreams to influence his own experiences. The origins of Muscle Beach, and why it moved from its original location. Discover the training schedule that Frank Zane and other bodybuilding and Mr Olympia greats worked each week, and why Frank feels that it was too intense in hindsight. The importance of documenting your goals and saying them out loud to teach your brain the secret of winning. How posing is an art form and why many don't appreciate this world of kinetic sculpture, instead thinking it's narcissism. How Frank Zane personally dealt with losing, why perseverance will beat anything, and how important it is to stick to your goals even when you don't achieve them first time around. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Frank Zane...

A sought after mentor, analyst, advisor and consultant, David Minton, director of The Leisure Database Company has seen it all. Through exploring data, research and insight, he knows what it takes for companies and entrepreneurs to thrive, embracing the catalysts of evolution for member benefit. This deep dive into health and wellbeing is a lesson in understanding of the real state of the fitness industry, through data driven information and years of experience. Watch the full episode on YouTube – David Minton has unique insights to share from decades in health and wellbeing as an analyst, advisor, mentor and fitness futurist. A man that knows the importance of finding your target market, his company has spent years helping operators maximise potential, improve strategies and unlock the secrets to growth. Through customer profiling, site analysis, market data and in-depth reports, he can identify fitness industry intelligence trends for investment opportunities or to benefit members and gym goers before even they know what's around the corner. The Leisure Database Company is passionate about leisure market intelligence because David Minton and his team know that an understanding of your target market and customers enables good decision making, better investments, better strategies for success and happier, more loyal customers. All of which lead to a greater competitive advantage! The business seeks to maximise your potential in the leisure market. Providing the best market data, the best site and customer analysis and the best advice to develop your customer potential, it is the leading leisure market intelligence specialist. Episode highlights Discovering developing algorithms and spotting trends in the days before social media and how these have become more intelligent over the years. How, even if you hate a particular subject at school, you can come to appreciate its application later on in life and use those skills every day for something you love. How the fitness industry has benefitted from David's experience with supply and demand in his television background. Insights from the early days of Apple and how these relationships have developed into a longstanding relationship with offerings in the app store. How technology has evolved through television, radio, computing, GPS and more to lead data advancements that bring further insights into behaviour. Why boutiques have become better at offering personalisation and positivity through data use for member messaging, compared to traditional clubs that are often more general and even negative at times. The effect of ageism in the industry and how this can be avoided through understanding what older generations want from a fitness initiative; how the industry is missing the biggest demographic for success. Why public sector fitness spaces are not interested in who's using their gyms, pools or studios, compared to the boutique model, which is incredibly personalised. The importance of brand and consistency, no matter where you are. What are the reasons why the fitness industry struggles with consistency or quality around the world? How the main sources of innovation comes from outside any particular industry, and why this brings the biggest user benefits that changes how we see businesses work. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with David Minton…

Kali Muscle is a master of money and motivation. Whether it's building his body or building a business, he's known for outworking anyone. Turning his life around after a prison sentence, he kicked his PT career off at 24 Hour Fitness before 'making it' as a larger than life YouTube star, inspiring millions and preaching that there's no excuse not to get motivated. Growing up, Kali Muscle was a youth pastor and man of God. At home, he wanted to prove to his mother that he was just as good as his high-flying brother. Through this motivation he became a great student until something horrible happened. His brother committed suicide. As the only man that Kali looked up to, it really affected him. However, despite the family tragedy, Kali he was still incredibly driven. He achieved a scholarship at Fresno as a strong safety in American football, going heads-up against the biggest running backs in the team. Through football, wrestling, or track, Kali would train until nobody else was working, even though he suffered from migraines, sickness and numbness every time he trained hard. Still angry about the death of his brother and out of money, Kali went down the path of robbing people before going on the run from the police. He was handed seven years in San Quentin prison, aged 19-years-old. Following his prison time, Kali started on a journey to become a professional bodybuilder with a job at 24 Hour Fitness, and eventually achieved YouTube, television and film fame. Whether heading up religious groups, prison gangs, or YouTube followings, Kali Muscle has always been in a position of leadership. Here's his story about how he's motivating millions today. With such a back story of positive and negative influences, overcoming all the odds and turning his life around, today Kali Muscle is motivating millions to achieve success in whatever they want to do. On top of his prison stories, workout regimes, and inspiration for anyone to stay on the right path, he spends his time inspiring everyone through daily videos relating to fitness, gaming, cooking and vlogs for his two million YouTube subscribers. His life story is also available in his book – Xcon to Icon: The Kali Muscle Story. Episode highlights - Part one The importance of captivating attention on YouTube with engaging thumbnails and titles to create a real source of income. How it's possible to be a one-man production company online. How even prison gangs have values and structure to their social groups and hierarchy, and how even the most desperate situations offer opportunities for negotiation and understanding. Why you must be aware of your own weaknesses and how to avoid letting them lead you down the wrong path, whether it's because of tragedy, missed career aspirations or anything else. How even crime can be done by the book, and why Kali ensured that he'd be able to cope in the real world business when he came out of prison. How to pivot your career in the most extreme of ways based on your strengths, including how to turn your life around if you're on the wrong path. Why success in anything depends on you doing your homework. Always stay hungry and surround yourself with great examples of whatever you want to be great at. How celebrity and fame may come from just concentrating on being successful and wanting to make enough money to be financially comfortable. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Kali Muscle…

Kali Muscle is a master of money and motivation. Whether it's building his body or building a business, he's known for outworking anyone. Turning his life around after a prison sentence, he kicked his PT career off at 24 Hour Fitness before 'making it' as a larger than life YouTube star, inspiring millions and preaching that there's no excuse not to get motivated. Growing up, Kali Muscle was a youth pastor and man of God. At home, he wanted to prove to his mother that he was just as good as his high-flying brother. Through this motivation he became a great student until something horrible happened. His brother committed suicide. As the only man that Kali looked up to, it really affected him. However, despite the family tragedy, Kali he was still incredibly driven. He achieved a scholarship at Fresno as a strong safety in American football, going heads-up against the biggest running backs in the team. Through football, wrestling, or track, Kali would train until nobody else was working, even though he suffered from migraines, sickness and numbness every time he trained hard. Still angry about the death of his brother and out of money, Kali went down the path of robbing people before going on the run from the police. He was handed seven years in San Quentin prison, aged 19-years-old. Following his prison time, Kali started on a journey to become a professional bodybuilder with a job at 24 Hour Fitness, and eventually achieved YouTube, television and film fame. Whether heading up religious groups, prison gangs, or YouTube followings, Kali Muscle has always been in a position of leadership. Here's his story about how he's motivating millions today. With such a back story of positive and negative influences, overcoming all the odds and turning his life around, today Kali Muscle is motivating millions to achieve success in whatever they want to do. On top of his prison stories, workout regimes, and inspiration for anyone to stay on the right path, he spends his time inspiring everyone through daily videos relating to fitness, gaming, cooking and vlogs for his two million YouTube subscribers. His life story is also available in his book – Xcon to Icon: The Kali Muscle Story. Episode highlights - Part one The importance of captivating attention on YouTube with engaging thumbnails and titles to create a real source of income. How it's possible to be a one-man production company online. How even prison gangs have values and structure to their social groups and hierarchy, and how even the most desperate situations offer opportunities for negotiation and understanding. Why you must be aware of your own weaknesses and how to avoid letting them lead you down the wrong path, whether it's because of tragedy, missed career aspirations or anything else. How even crime can be done by the book, and why Kali ensured that he'd be able to cope in the real world business when he came out of prison. How to pivot your career in the most extreme of ways based on your strengths, including how to turn your life around if you're on the wrong path. Why success in anything depends on you doing your homework. Always stay hungry and surround yourself with great examples of whatever you want to be great at. How celebrity and fame may come from just concentrating on being successful and wanting to make enough money to be financially comfortable. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Kali Muscle…

Bret Contreras, "The Glute Guy", has found a niche and developed business after business in a market where it's hard to be heard. His workouts, training, books, studies and experience have led him to become a gym-owning serial entrepreneur that's kicking ass on Instagram. Whether it's finding your one rep max or performing reps to failure, this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast is a lesson in how to dominate a niche in a crowded market. Watch the full episode on YouTube Bret Contreras' journey on becoming The Glute Guy began as he wanted to develop his own muscles, motivated by insecurity as a youth. He successfully built his body through strength training, but still needed to get his ass in shape. He studied for a PhD in Sports Science from New Zealand to learn the differences between squats and hip thrusts, so that he can find out what works best. As his passion for posteriors grew, he started putting the time in through personal training, community building, blogging and engaging with countless industry professionals and fitness enthusiasts to be the man to go to for all things glutes. Decades later, he's pioneering the benefits of butt-based and lower body workouts through inventions, insight and inspiration on social media. Bret Contreras has been mentioned in 50 published studies, authored multiple books, founded The Glute Lab gym, and continues to be a stand-out voice as the world's foremost expert on glute training. Bret Contreras is responsible for the staple exercise of social media influencers around the world – the hip thrust. He's developed a portfolio of products and has intellectual property behind most of the glute builders on the market. With a social media following of nearly one million, a PhD in Sports Science and as a certified strength and conditioning specialist, The Glute Guy has never stopped pushing to be the best he can be. Founder, author and inventor, Bret knows his niche and has dominated the crowded market to create multiple income streams for a lifetime of success. Episode highlights - Why nobody talked about glutes in bodybuilding circles of yesteryear, and how the tides changed when Bret learned the science. How Instagram raised the profile of glute workouts and why they're important for anyone, regardless of gender. Why women have the voice and men no longer have the same platform on social media when it comes to which exercises work which muscles. Ways that Instagram has rewarded people who interact and engage with their audiences, and why it's important to be accessible instead of putting up barriers of celebrity and charging big money for the smallest of insights. How the perception of personal trainers can be very different compared to their ability and knowledge. Muscle doesn't beat science when it comes to helping others. The vulnerabilities of different business models, as well as why traditional business approaches are very different to the social media How education and consistency is important in anything you do. Always be teaching, always get content out and try to get out of your comfort zone. The difference between your Instagram feed and your Instagram story. It's important to know what to post where. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Bret Contreras…

Six-figure income, some of the most successful guests in the world, education and teaching others lessons he's learned on his own journey… An incredibly successful entrepreneur in his own right, John Lee Dumas can often be found talking to other big names in business such as Tim Ferris, Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuk as part of his Entrepreneurs On Fire podcast. This episode is a lesson in inspiration, helping you to find your big idea and get better at it so you can scale through quality and communication. JLD can help you create the life you've always dreamed of. Watch the full episode on YouTube John Lee Dumas left the US army to start a career in real estate. However, it didn't take long before his passion for podcasts took over. This led the author, podcaster and host of Entrepreneurs On Fire to create an award-winning show with an audience of millions that generates six-figure sums with every episode. Passion, enthusiasm and transparency are the name of the game with John Lee Dumas' podcast – Entrepreneurs On Fire. Interviewing thousands of guests such as Tim Ferris, Lewis Howes, Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuk, JLD unlocks the secrets of their success and shares it with a huge audience. On top of this, he also helps budding entrepreneurs find their big idea and unlock the lifestyle freedom that everyone seeks. Episode highlights : Learn what someone earning six-figures a month would do differently in order to bring even more success after learning from previous mistakes. Why you need to niche down to find your passion before you create content and discover your audience. How much time should you spend on marketing and promotion, compared with other business duties? Hear how John Lee Dumas creates a month's worth of content in six hours to maximise time for other areas of the business. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with John Lee Dumas…

John Romeo has industry experience through 40 years in fitness. In this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast, he talks about the importance of people, customers and employees alike, as well as giving insight on the birth of 24 Hour Fitness and the growth of the Crunch Fitness gym franchise. Watch the full episode on YouTube John Romeo got out of a rat race lifestyle as a Union worker in New York, even though he was having fun. He took up the offer of moving to California with just a week's notice, before heading to Seattle and continuing his journey in the fitness industry. Starting out involved with Captain America's Family Fitness Center, the beginnings of what would evolve into the 24 Hour Fitness empire that we know today, John has seen every level of the industry as it's developed and his experience has increased. Now operating partner for Crunch Fitness and co-owner of Capital Fitness, John Romeo has excelled growth for multiple fitness spaces. He's also worked closely with UFC GYM, driving franchises in San Diego, and he's been active in the rapid expansion of numerous dynamic brands. With 40 years in the industry under his belt, there isn't much this man doesn't know about fitness and scaling a business. This episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast is a lesson in how to get more from any venture. With four decades of experience in the fitness industry, John's insight is second to none. If you've liked the sharing of his knowledge in this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast and would like to contact John for consultancy opportunities, email romeoathome@yahoo.com Consultancy aside, John's main focus is on Crunch Fitness. Some may call "no judgments" a tagline, but for Crunch, it's a way of life. It's the brand's Monday-thru-every-day mantra. An unfiltered philosophy that drives them to create a community and a gym for all. No judgments means room for everyone, regardless of shape, size, age, race, gender or fitness level. No matter your workout of choice, Crunch wants you to feel good while reaching your goals. Join the fun at crunch.com. Episode highlights - Hear about the evolution of 24 Hour Fitness and how the industry giant started out, born from mergers and acquisitions. What working with Mark Mastrov was like in the early days, and how his vision inspired the team and associated groups to take advantage of opportunities. Why it's important to recruit from within a company, and how training, coaching and supervision inspires a brand, culture and a work ethic that's unsurpassed in an employee achieving their potential. How you can prepare employees for future promotion by encouraging them to develop their own teams and pick potential candidates that could replace them. The importance of healthy competition, both in and out of your business, and why you should be talking to other companies in the same market as you. Why you need to spend time with your team and appreciate everything that everyone does. It's easy to forget some departments or positions, but showing appreciation to your employees is just as important as interacting with customers. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with John Romeo…

Jerzy Gregorek has overcome incredible odds to escape from political troubles and alcoholism before coming to America and dedicating his talent in pursuit of changing lives. Through Olympic weightlifting success and implementing these fitness techniques in his own programme, he's improving the mindset of clients and increasing both their physical ability and their happiness. Today, this approach has earned him the attention of the most successful people in the world from his home in Silicon Valley. He's also appeared on podcasts and in books by entrepreneur Tim Ferriss, and he's still going strong over 60 years old. Watch the full episode on YouTube In 1986, Jerzy Gregorek left Poland, together with his wife, as political refugees. Since then, they have both won numerous World Weightlifting Championships, founded the UCLA weightlifting team and coached and transformed hundreds of people. Developing The Happy Body programme in response to their clients wanting to remain youthful, Jerzy is in great shape at 64 years old. This episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast is a history of weightlifting and bodybuilding, personal growth, rolled into improving your mindset regardless of what you're faced with. The Happy Body programme was created by Jerzy and Aniela Gregorek. They explain its purpose below… "The most potentially damaging myth about exercise is that its main purpose is to burn calories. This eliminates any joy associated with the activity, making it obsessive and stressful. In addition to discouraging people from actually exercising, this myth also stifles improvement. "The Happy Body returns joy to the practice of exercise, helping to infuse your body with a sense of dignity. You cannot fall in love with burning calories but you CAN fall in love with exercise, the RIGHT KIND of exercise, properly executed. "Exercise should relieve the stress that is accumulated on a daily basis, rather than add to it. The approach is one of mindfulness, so the mind is focused at any given moment on what the body is doing." Episode highlights - The importance of having a space to get away from your day-to-day stresses. How your mindset is key to weight loss or life changes. You have to enjoy living the life of someone that weighs 120lbs if you want to weigh 120lbs. If you lose weight but still have the mindset of someone that weighs 160lbs, you'll be unhappy and revert back. Why you need to find ways of bringing joy to exercise and stop it being all about calorie burn, whether that's for yourself, clients or members. How business can build from simple working relationships and favours through microprogressions and developments. Why you shouldn't ever hire a trainer that's younger than you, as they won't understand what you're going through. How recovery is made up of transitions built up over years, and why it's never a straightforward story whether it's weight loss, personal growth, alcoholism or anything else. How to master self control and your own reward system, and why your need for instant gratification can affect so many other aspects of your life. Why delayed gratification is the gift of life, and how that's different from purely concentrating on future success. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Jerzy Gregorek…

Humble despite his achievements, the guest on this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast has a passion for performance not only in business, but in sport, community spirit and improving health across the nation. Malcolm McPhail has taken turnover from £3.5 million to a staggering £12 million as group CEO at Life Leisure. Living fitness, he's also competed at an international level in athletics and the award-winning business is changing people's lives for the better time after time. Malcolm McPhail was a PE teacher before immersing himself in the fitness industry on another level. In his own words he's embraced opportunities where, despite not being au fait with how to do a job in the early days, said yes and excelled when faced with any responsibility. His paralleled athletics career saw him become Scottish 400m hurdles champion, and professionally in both the public and private sector he's driven business, playing a key role in the growth of Next Generation Clubs, now merged with David Lloyd Leisure. Winning honors for his physical and professional success, Life Leisure has most recently received the ukactive Uprising Transformational Leadership Award, commending efforts in staff development across the business. Life Leisure runs an extensive mix of sports and leisure facilities, ranging from small community recreation centres to large multi-use state of the art sport and leisure facilities. In addition Life Leisure delivers sporting activities and health programmes of the highest quality to those people who for one reason or another cannot access a local facility. Working to change the lives of the local community through a leisure trust, CEO Malcolm McPhail is increasing activity across the region, making it accessible for anyone to improve their health and fitness. Episode Highlights - Understanding leisure trusts and their relationship with local authorities, and how they're a more financially efficient way of delivering health and fitness in many communities. Why the former days of giving the customers everything whether they wanted it or not can teach us a lot about business approaches today. The difference between motivation and determination, and why one can lead you to disappointment while the other always keeps you on the road to success. Mindset and grit, and how being mentally able to beat the competition no matter what the cost can give you strength in anything from business to athletic performance. How we can work together to get children moving and overcome the obesity epidemic, even through simply using research that has been available since the '80s. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Malcolm McPhail…

Paul Lubicz is a Hollywood trainer that has a passion and purpose to unlock positive personal growth. For the motivation to find faith and trust in yourself, this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast will enable you to flip your mindset to embrace and overcome fear, weakness, and vulnerabilities and learn how to move forward in a powerful and positive way. Paul's client list has included CEOs and celebrities such as Emilia Clarke, Natalie Portman, Rupert Murdoch, as he improves not just anyone's fitness, but their wellbeing and mindset, too. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/xpRztw0vd5U Paul Lubicz grew up in Perth, western Australia. However, around high school he was still uncertain what he wanted to do in life. Adopted by parents that loved and cared for him, he met his biological family, aged 19. Their success influenced him to go into the medical world. Paul started as a manufacturing chemist but was a gym junkie at heart, played Aussie rules football and trained martial arts. It didn't take long before he was studying personal training to embrace his true calling – he graduated top of his class. Paul still worked as a chemist but almost blew himself up in an accident at work, which lead to his a-ha moment to quit and work full time as a personal trainer. After learning his craft, Paul went on a working holiday to London for six months, which turned into 10 years! He got a leg up through training celebrities at Working Title Films before becoming their in-house trainer. He also started writing articles for the Sunday Times, writing books, and making games with Sony PlayStation and Nike – becoming better known in fitness but also getting frustrated, as these jobs weren't teaching people about the things that restrict them in wellbeing. Paul decided to pivot his career into following his passion for promoting how anyone can achieve anything they put their mind to. Today, Paul Lubicz is a Hollywood trainer who has worked on movies such as Marvel's Captain America and The Pirates of the Caribbean series as a consultant for health and wellbeing. For over two decades, his articles, books and insights have been bringing balance to the lives of CEOs and celebrities such as Emilia Clarke, Natalie Portman, Rupert Murdoch, international royalty, and entertainment giants Sony PlayStation. He knows how to get extraordinary results for extraordinary people. All about mindset, spirituality, attitude, Paul wants to find connection with as many people as possible through authenticity and passion, to enable them to go on their own journey and achieve anything. For more information, follow @thewellbeingmanager on Instagram, email Paul@thewellbeingmanager.com for private sessions of visit his new website coming soon at www.thewellbeingmanager.com Episode highlights - How to rise to your potential by embracing the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. Why your perception, of someone or even yourself, can be very different to the person inside. Ways in which you can be strong enough to also be weak and vulnerable. Why happiness over confidence will bring you more success. How you can split your life into having, doing, and being. Passion and purpose will always lead to better performance. Stop concentrating on what other people are doing and do what you enjoy doing the most. The importance of learning your craft and listening to everyone around you when it comes to gaining new skills and contributing your own knowledge. Why it's a positive action saying yes to everything when you're hungry to learn and grow your experience as an entrepreneur. Why branding can drive consumerism through guilt, or it can inspire and embrace the possibility of people achieving their biggest potential. How a pilgrimage, in any form, will prepare you to change your mindset and find your own revelations by being open to change. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Paul Lubicz…