Optimal Performance

Episode #139 of the OPP gives you a front row seat to the amazing speakers at the Success Live Conference run by Success Magazine. The event featured some of the world's leading speakers, writers, scientists and innovators - Peter Diamandis, Dr. Daniel Amen, Jocko Willinck, Brendon Burchard, Keith Ferrazi, Mel Robbins, Tom Bilyeu Les Brown, and John Gray, just to name a few... This episode of the OPP is the edited and distilled version of my notes - given you all of the major bullet points, quotes, and takeaways from every speaker. From start to finish, this episode is packed with 63 gems along with the 5-6 themes that seemed to permeate the weekend, regardless of who was speaking. #LiveOptimal

Today's episode of the OPP features straight-shooting Texas-based holistic doctor, Stephen Lewis who specializes in chronic fatigue syndrome, thyroid issues and heavy metal detoxification. On this episode, we talk about why US chicken farmers won't eat their own chickens (you shouldn't either), how heavy metal get into our bodies, disrupt hormonal function and health and what you can do about, as well as other strategies to detoxify our bodies and help optimize our health and energy levels. Dr. lewis shares some of his favorite vitamins, minerals, and herbs for detoxification, hormone optimization, cancer-fighting, and energy metabolism. We cover: Differences in US vs European health and obesity levels Why chicken farmers won't eat their own chickens Heavy metal detoxification - arsenic, lead, mercury… Why grumpy polar bears are indicative of global toxic loads Cadmium and men's prostate health "Detoxify or Die" Why 6-week detoxes suck and what you need to do to turn on your natural detoxification pathways Top causes and indicators of chronic fatigue - and what you can do about it Vitamin B5 for stress, and the power of Selenium and Ashwaganda Cancer and hypo-methylation Is magnolia bark the next super supplement? Road rage in the US vs other other countries Why finding peace is so powerful for our health

Find out why the world's top neuroscientists believe this "groundbreaking" device can reduce body fat and change our set points without any changes to diet or exercise. Neurovalens CEO Dr. Jason McKeown (trained under V.S. Ramachandran) has created a groundbreaking technology that uses vestibular stimulation to "biohack" the hypothalamus, the portion of our brain that serves as the control center for the hormones that regulate weight, appetite and body composition. On the show we talk about: Discover how the hypothalamus controls body fat levels and appetite Learn how neurovestibular stimulation works Why our bodies are prepared to store fat than to burn fat (HINT: our ancestors were more likely to starve to death than overeat on a regular basis Can MODIUS really help us lower this "set point"? And do it without changing our diet or exercise? If it's real, then it can withstand criticism and if it crumbles to criticism it wasn't real Do they see benefit other than the superficial body fat reduction? And what can they say without upsetting the FDA? If this device works by replicating motion, why not walk or play flag football - something that is actually a motion, rather than stimulating it? (This Jason's ultimate goal, but he sees MODIUS as a bridge for millions.) The paradigm shifting study done by NASA in the 60's What you build your self-esteem around matters (Tom's advice) Why it's good to be open to being wrong The Obesity Epidemic in the US has reached an all time high, with every state's population being > 20-25% obese, some states as high as 35-40%. MODIUS may be a life changing tool for millions of people who struggle to reduce fat.

This episode of the OPP is for everyone who was ever told they were too short, too slow, or not good enough. Told he was too short for years, Govert Viergever ignored the doubters, honed his craft, created an opportunity for himself and capitalized, earning himself a spot on the Dutch Olympic team for the 2016 Rio Games. After a 5th place finish, he and teammates have their sights set on gold in 2020 and today, Govert is on the OPP explaining how biohacking and functional medicine have fueled his success. Focused and determined to succeed, Govert explains how he's using neurofeedback, cold and hot thermogenesis, keto dieting in his training program and he shares the secrets to behind his training, recovery, mindset and more: Chasing your dreams despite the doubters and obstacles How Govert plans his training to develop both aerobic (power) and anaerobic (endurance) capacities Find out how he cycles his carbs and use the ketogenic diet to support these training goals The difference between having a condition, and being a condition - "I may have a splinter" but that doesn't mean "I am a splinter" Tackle the problems you can measure Tracking HRV, sleep, and using the Oura Ring Goal setting and staying focused for a 4-year training cycle from 1 Olympic Games to the next

Our guest this week is leading digestive health expert, Dr. Michael Murray. Dr. Murray has authored more than 30 books on natural approaches to health and optimization. On today's episode we explore digestive health and dispel common misconceptions regarding heartburn medications, enzymes, probiotics and the public's perception of the term "natural". A few of the common digestive health questions we address: Digestive Enzymes vs. Probiotics (When and Why to use each) Why you should avoid the class of heartburn medications known as Proton Pump Inhibitors (like Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid, etc) Discover the natural alternatives to these drugs Why the public links "natural" with "not scientific" Learn why Ginger and Licorice should be staples in your pantry Why the "therapeutic dose" matters in the food vs. supplement debate How certain drugs get on the market before researchers fully understand their impact and what it takes to eventually pull them once we know they're harmful If you enjoy this episode, you can get more gut health information in Dr. Murray's FREE online Digestive Health Summit 9/9-9/17

"Success leaves footprints" is one of the rules I live by. It's one of the most powerful truths I know of, and it's extremely applicable to today's episode of the OPP featuring 2-time Olympian Peter Shmock. Peter is in the Oregon University Track Hall Of Fame. He was on the same track team as Steve Prefontaine (the Steve McQueen of running), was mentored and coached by the legendary Bill Bowerman - the same Bill Bowerman who invented the waffle outsole running shoe and helped Phil Knight found a little running shoe company called...NIKE! Aside from his Olympic, Oregon, and Nike connections, Peter has coached a wide range of elite performers, from professional baseball players (Seattle Mariners for 11 years) to professional dancers in the Pacific Northwest Ballet. To say he knows a thing or two about excellence and longevity is an understatement. His new book, The Way of The Life Athlete lays it all out, but I take you inside his brain for an inside look at the common traits shared by some of the world's most successful people - in sport, business, and life. Amid great storytelling, here are few of the key lessons Peter shares in this episode: Find a proven method, trust it and follow it with remarkable consistency. Mentors can be game-changers, but you must be open to learning The most successful people are lifetime learners Flow like water & be adaptable - life will inevitably throw you curveballs and chaos Get the details and the rest of Peter's sagely wisdom on this killer episode of the OPP.

Increasing strength and boosting brain power with Dr. Birk. From physical movement to mental performance, the Central Nervous System governs everything we do. On today's episode of the OPP, Dr. Ruminder Birk explains how we can optimize physical, mental, and emotional performance by "biohacking" our nervous system. Owner of Atlantis Chiropractic, Dr. Birk has an intimate knowledge of the nervous system and he brings his holistic, wellness based approach to the show as we discuss: How the Central Nervous System is first to develop Neural pathways controls movement and cognition The Windsor Autopsy Studies - failed attempts to dispel chiropractic claims that spine health impacts organ function What the research says about chiropractic adjustments increasing physical performance (6-16% boost from single adjustment) Old school Strongman secrets to increase neural drive for increased strength How low-level laser therapy, vibration plates, inversion and other biohacks can help us optimize nervous system function How chronic sympathetic activation (aka, stress) impacts hormones, sleep, energy, organs and what you can do about it Why "firefighters put out fires - but don't build houses" Biohacking and optimizing neurotransmitters for optimal mental performance

Beyond Blue Light: Why Technology is Killing Our Eyes Daniel Georgiev is a Bulgarian programmer who created Iris, special software designed to protect our eyes from the harmful effects of increased screen time. If you're an OPP listener, you're no stranger to blue light and it's impact on our hormones and sleep. But our increased screen time is killing our eyes for more reasons than blue light. In fact, Daniel says blue light is the least of concerns when it comes to overall eye health. We cover: the problem with blue blocking glasses and screens pulse waves from LED screens (flicker rate) optimal brightness why Kindle screens are "healthier" color inversion why glossy screens cause "double images" eye-friendly fonts blink detection and eye movement how taking more breaks with the 20-20-20 rule can help mitigate eye strain Daniel's technology to help color blind people experience more color Screen usage may be required, but there are ways to minimize it's harmful effects and Daniel shares numerous helpful tips and explains how his $10 Iris software can help us "hack" our screen usage. (think f.lux but better) On the blog: get Daniel's Top 4 Tips to Hack Your Computer Screen: 1. Use the 20-20-20 Rule 2. Avoid LEDs or Control Flicker Rate 3. Matte > Gloss 4. Use Eye-Friendly Fonts

East meets West in this week's OPP featuring Scott Dolly, owner of Evolution Human Performance and Rehabilitation. With an education that spans Physics, Biology, Qi Gong, Yoga, Mediation and more, Scott marries the best of Eastern and Western philosophies into his practice which he focuses on the the Neural Patterns in the Biomechanics of Movement, Scraping & Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) and Alignment. After he assessed, analyzed, scraped, poked and prodded on me for several hours, Scott and I sat down in his Winchester, VA facility to talk about : Why normal and average are misused terms Tuning a human like a guitar: energy, vibrations resonance frequencies and the musical notes that correspond to each of the 7 chakras Proper motor sequencing in the biomechanics of movement: from cerebellum to motor cortex to the muscles that fire Why foam rolling is a good "warmup" for IASTM & soft tissue mobilization What the heck is scraping? Self-diagnosing your anterior pelvic (if you don't know what it is, you probably have it) Why stretching doesn't always work: you cant remove a knot from rope by pulling on the rope Why stability is more important than strength Why a tool is only as good as the person using it Open-chain vs closed-chain movements Biohacks to accelerate healing (from a man who is 6 weeks out of an Achilles rupture) Why Evolution Human Performance and Rehabilitation has performance enhancing blue lights in the facility Big thanks to Scott for opening his facility and his mind to us. This is a truly insightful podcast and one I'm sure you'll enjoy.

"Few observers have truly internalized the implications of the fact that the rate of change itself is accelerating." - Ray Kurzweil, founder at Singularity U The future is coming faster than we think. Don't be a passive passenger. Think for yourself, think ahead and ask questions - don't follow blindly. Today's guest on the OPP is Hannes Sjob, the Chief Disruption Officer at Epicenter Stockholm and a faculty member at Singularity University. Hannes takes us on a fascinating glimpse into the future of wearable - and implantable - technologies, Artificial Intelligence and the intersection of BioTech with biohacking, health and Big Data. What's coming? What does it mean? What can we do with it? On the positive side, we could see the democratization of medicine - a revolutionary shift in the way we proactively protect our health with real-time biofeedback from heart rates (already happening) to hormone levels along with suggestions for course corrections. Are we really 2-5 years away from grain-of-rice-sized implants that could change the way medical systems operate and treat patients - especially important in rural and undeveloped areas where the nearest doctors are hundreds of miles away. Conversely, on the futuristic Sci-Fi, skeptical side, there are serious questions that we need to ask (and answer) about tracking and monitoring - do we trust the people who have this data? Who will access to it and what can they do with it? What are the real Big Data concerns? Can we encrypt certain information? (yes) Technology is accelerating faster than most of us realize, and while it has tremendous potential upside, we need to have these conversations now while we still have the opportunity to curate the future we want for ourselves. We won't have all the answers today, but we certainly need to start asking the right questions. Enjoy this show with Hannes and let us know your thoughts on Implants, AI, and the future of biohacking.