Chasing Excellence
Ben Bergeron & Patrick Cummings
Most people aren't stuck because they lack information. They're stuck because they know what to do and can't quite do it consistently. The slow drift keeps winning.Chasing Excellence is for people who are already trying — working out, eating well, staying positive — but find themselves in the one-good-week, one-bad-week cycle.Ben Bergeron, Patrick Cummings, and a crew of authors, thinkers, and doers explore the five factors of health — how we eat, move, think, connect, and rest — and what it actually takes to crowd out the drift and build the life you keep almost living.New episodes every Monday and Thursday.Beyond the podcast: the Chase Club brings together a crew for daily lessons, monthly challenges, and the real work of crowding out the drift. The ChaseTracker app helps you track the Five Factors daily.
Episodes
Mentioned books
25 snips
May 11, 2026 • 1h 4min
Raise | How to Build Emotional Immunity in Your Kids (w/ Jenna Cain)
Jenna Cain, a pediatric physical therapist and Level 3 Enlifted coach who helps parents and teachers build nervous-system regulation, discusses building emotional immunity in children. She explores why adult regulation sets the tone, practical movement and breath practices, soft-talk and questions over answers, mindset as story, and playful tools teachers and parents can use daily.
May 7, 2026 • 1h 9min
Purpose Effect | Ryan Rivard on the Climb From Overdose to Everest
Ryan Rivard, recovery advocate and Everest summiter who rebuilt his life after homelessness and addiction. He shares gratitude practices, the Dodec 12-dimension system for aligned achievement, why the summit is not the point, and practical steps for lasting transformation. Short, tough, and uplifting takes on limits, service, and choosing the next challenge.
23 snips
May 4, 2026 • 29min
How to Adjust the 5 Factors of Health at 40, 50, 60, and Beyond
Practical advice on how training, nutrition, sleep, mindset, and social connection should shift at 40, 50, 60 and beyond. Strength and power work remain vital and can be regained at any age. Recovery, lower maximal intensity, and protein needs change over time. Emotional regulation often improves, while social ties strongly predict long-term health. Intentional habits beat passive drift.
52 snips
Apr 30, 2026 • 27min
Chase Challenge | Stop Letting Your Triggers Run Your Life
A 21-day trigger challenge built around five pillars: identify what knocks you off center, speed up recovery, choose response over reaction, learn regulation tools, and practice self-compassion. Daily five-minute reflections and practical tasks like measuring recovery time and rehearsing intended responses make the work concrete. Options include an app, club, or a simple DIY notebook approach.
33 snips
Apr 27, 2026 • 1h 11min
Forever Fit | 6 Training Principles for a Yes-to-Anything Life
They unpack six core training principles for lifelong fitness and practical durability. Topics include balancing strength, conditioning, and mobility for real-world capability. They cover consistent, repeatable training rhythms, pacing strategies versus ego, and how to prioritize foundational work before accessories. The conversation centers on training that stacks over time to enable a yes-to-anything life.
21 snips
Apr 23, 2026 • 31min
5x5 | Reading for Recall Over Ego & Letting Flow Happen at Home
Short takes on shifting people toward a growth mindset by praising effort over fixed traits. A clear Fragmented → Focused → Flow framework and why letting go creates presence at home. A simple distillation process for turning complex ideas into usable frameworks. A practical 'nugget' method for reading and listening that boosts recall through repetition and active capture.
Apr 20, 2026 • 50min
Raise | Of the 272 Emotions, Most Parents Only Know 12 (w/ D. Earl Johnston)
Doug Earl Johnston, author of Choosing Emotions and creator of the Emotionary, catalogs hundreds of emotion words to expand how we name feelings. He discusses why most adults know only a dozen emotions. Short, practical segments cover choosing responses over reacting, teaching precise emotional vocabulary to kids, and simple tools like pausing, naming, and reframing.
8 snips
Apr 16, 2026 • 22min
The One Thing You're Actually Hiring a Coach For
They unpack a real coaching dilemma where the plan was to take six days off and why that can be the right move. The conversation focuses on why perspective and trust matter more than programming. They highlight experimentation versus judgment and how identity and recovery shape training decisions.
12 snips
Apr 13, 2026 • 52min
Be Selfless So You Can Become Fearless (w/ Jim Murphy)
Jim Murphy, author and performance coach who trains elite athletes in presence and humility, explores how self-centeredness fuels fear. He discusses the affluenza of possessions and status, the PALMS drivers, the ego’s comparing habits, practical ego check-ins, the Monkey Mind/Critic/Trickster trio, and daily practices that cultivate presence, sacrificial love, and true aliveness.
21 snips
Apr 7, 2026 • 2h 44min
9 Distractions Quietly Keeping You From Health, Happiness, & A Heart on Fire
They unpack nine hidden distractions that derail health, happiness, and purpose. Topics include quick-fix health fads, social and algorithmic influences, and perfectionism. They explore idols like money and prestige, internal traps of ego and self-doubt, and how busyness and comfort-seeking numb meaning. The episode ends with practical ways to notice narratives and reconnect with passion.
