Barbell Shrugged - Barbell Shrugged — Let’s Not Be Perfect w/ Emily Abbott — 313

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's everybody's time of year to basically compare themselves and to get external validation for all the work they've been doing for a year. And then you start to question yourself, and a lot of people go crazy. Even when I have a poor performance, I can feel that stuff bubbling up to the surface, like, you're not good enough, you didn't fucking work hard enough, you should be beating this bitch. There's always somebody like one rep in front of you.

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Starting point is 00:01:59 to feel better. All you got to do Organifi.com back, backslash shrugged. Save 20%. Go do it now. Welcome to Barbell Shrugged. I'm Anders Varner. That's Doug Larson, Adam von Rothfelder. Our boy Colton is on the cam. Mr. Fitzpiet, look at this. I got female joggers on today. If it's inappropriate on the YouTubes, you're going to have to deal with it today.

Starting point is 00:02:20 Waste up only, Colton. Waste up. Don't show that package. Keep the camera high. Keep the camera high today. Waste up only. Don't show that package. Keep the camera high. Actually, I can't stop staring at your bulge now. I know, right? It really accentuates.

Starting point is 00:02:34 It's been a big topic today. We were doing some decline bench press before we got involved. More to come on Instagram later. We have to blur that out. Once or twice a month, a good Globo gym, good pump set is key. With female joggers on. They used to be called capris, and now they're joggers, which makes them cool. Yep, totally.

Starting point is 00:02:53 We used to have men's and women's clothes, too, and now we don't, I guess. Not anymore. Adrogynous wear. Male skirts now. Yeah. Jaden Smith's, I mean, wearing them all the time. They must be cool, I guess. You guys should switch tops for the second half.

Starting point is 00:03:06 Yeah. This one actually looks super good on you. And I actually really like that. Right. I just cut off the sleeves. You know what's great is on Friday night when we were watching you work out. So we're joined today, Emily Abbott. She's a savage.

Starting point is 00:03:17 Four-time team athlete. Eighth fittest woman in the world. 2015. 2015. That's a good year. Super fitness that year. Yeah. We were at Friday Night good year. Super fitness that year. Yeah. We were at Friday Night Lights in Invictus Friday night.

Starting point is 00:03:29 Yeah. Three days ago. That works. Watching 18.4. Watching 18.4. And it was the first time I had ever seen you do the fitness thing. What a savage. Oh, thanks, dude.

Starting point is 00:03:39 What a savage. I appreciate that. Yeah. When did this whole CrossFit thing thing or was CrossFit the first fitness thing or where did this come in? Like most CrossFit girls, I was like, you know, kind of multi-sport athlete in high school. And then I went and played basketball in college or university in Canada and we won a couple of national championships. So that was like really where a lot of my like mental development happened because i had this like insane french canadian coach uh named chantal valet so she like really

Starting point is 00:04:09 like pushed her name you know she'd be like on the line um but uh yeah so i i really learned a lot about like mental toughness there was very like military-esque and it really like formed who i was uh like who I am today um but yeah so I did the whole basketball thing then I traveled for a while um I was in Indonesia I got dengue fever so I got like super fucking sick lost like 30 pounds and then as soon as I started to get healthy I was like okay I have to fucking like I gotta do something with my fitness you know like I gotta do something with like all this fire and energy um i had been already introduced to crossfit at that time so uh you know i've been kind of doing it all my travels i remember like waking up in paris in an airbnb like waking up super early

Starting point is 00:04:55 so i could do like you know like a little wad in my room you know so i was just like okay this is stupid like why am i traveling and trying to just like drink and eat and like be kind of like this like Dharma Bums like Jack Kerouac character when like really I need to be like this you know outboard motor so I like moved back to Calgary back to Canada uh you know I started just training I was like I can make the fucking gains and yeah I you know back then, 2013, 2014, the Canada West region was pretty weak. So I was just like this really strong chick. And I was just like, okay. And then made it to the games. And, yeah, then I've been to the games ever since.

Starting point is 00:05:34 So it's kind of just been swept up in this whole. How do you say that? I've just been back ever since. I'm just passing over. They just sent me an invite. Castro thinks I'm cool. Probably not, but that's all right. You happen to make this whole CrossFit thing look fun, though.

Starting point is 00:05:50 The majority of people that I see at the games, when I go to their little Instagram account or I read about their lives or I see a video, I'm like, I don't want that. Nope, way too hard. Endless pain. You actually enjoy yourself, though, potentially. It looks like you have a lot of fun in your life. I do.

Starting point is 00:06:03 I was just talking about that with, um, I was on a, uh, the other, another podcast, brute strength podcast. And I was talking about this a lot. Like the, the reason I fucking started this is because it gets me in my stokes, right? Like competing in front of thousands of people, like just doing fitness. Like, I love that. I fucking love that. So it's like that, I guess I was like, initially when I started CrossFit, I was chasing highs really. And so then I found though, when you're like two structure, when you're two in the gym all the time, like everyone feels this, it's just like, fuck, like this isn't what I want to do. Right. Um, so I really have to offset that with like getting outside and like rock climbing, surfing,

Starting point is 00:06:45 snowboarding, uh, you know, go doing some crazy shit because that is my stoke. Like that is my high. So, um, yeah, I have to have fun. I mean, I, I'll say you were very relaxed before going into that. I mean, the fact that me and you had a conversation for 15 minutes, you're like, Oh, I should probably go warm up. And I was like, yeah. I mean, I even commented, I was like, if I had a fight coming up minutes you're like oh i should probably go warm up and i was like yeah i mean i even commented i was like if i had a fight coming up i wouldn't have been talking to anybody all day and you're out here having a conversation with a guy that you're like i think

Starting point is 00:07:14 i saw you on a hill running you know and i'm like yeah yeah yeah so i mean it was really cool then to see you go out there and tear it up well thanks like i mean don't get me wrong though like i am neurotic just like the rest of them like i, I do greatly care about what I do. But I also have to balance that with, like, fuck it. Like, let's go run up a mountain instead of, like, run on the track or be on the airdyne, right? Like, I have to. I have to. Or else I just, like, because that's, like, the juice of life.

Starting point is 00:07:38 That's the real shit, right? Like, the stuff in the gym, that's just, you know, preparedness for like, like, you know, the whole CrossFit mandate. Um, so yeah, I think it's, I care about it greatly. And if I was at regionals, maybe it'd be different. I'd be like, but I also think having that like a looseness and like relaxed attitude helps you perform better. So, well, as well, if you've been to the games four times in a row, is it like just kind of assumed that you're going to make it to regionals? So you're not like super stressed out about the open and the same with someone else who's never been to regionals never been to the games might be

Starting point is 00:08:09 yeah the open is like a total mind fuck because it's like people it's it's everybody's time of year to basically compare themselves and to get like external validation for all the like work they've been doing for a year yeah and then And then you start to question yourself, and a lot of people go crazy. Like, you know, even when I have a poor performance, I'm like, I can feel, like, that stuff bubbling up to the surface. Like, you're not good enough. Like, you didn't fucking work hard enough. Like, you should be beating this bitch.

Starting point is 00:08:37 But really, it's just like... There's always somebody, like, one rep in front of you. You're like, I couldn't have done one more push-up. And then you just get so hung up on that. One thing they do that's beautiful in the Open is like, your score never goes up. It's like, oh, I'm like 100th right now. And then like Monday night comes around.

Starting point is 00:08:56 It's like, how did I go so far? How did that happen? Couldn't it have gone up a little bit, like one or two spots? But no, they don't give that to you. Yeah, they don't. They don't don't give that to you. Yeah. Yeah. They don't. They don't want to give that to you.

Starting point is 00:09:07 Yeah. There it is. You got to go back and redo crap. How has the Open gone for you this year? Really good. Like I actually got mallet finger. How's that? For climbing?

Starting point is 00:09:17 No. Isn't that where it's like? Just wait. It's like, so it's a, you rupture, I ruptured the extensor tendon on my finger. And so like you can't, yeah. So Dirk Nowitzki, you know know like basketball players often have that yeah so it's just a and i did that uh taking off a pair of pants too fast so it's like i was like yeah is there a backstory to this my own pair of pants all right my own pair I wish it was somebody else. I hate these pants. Like prisons.

Starting point is 00:09:50 So that only gave me further validation. I'm like, okay, so if I hurt myself taking off a pair of pants, like undressing like an old woman, I should do more crazy shit. Because obviously the world is telling me, like, it's just a pant, you know, undressing, unfortunate injury. You get hurt anywhere. Anyway, so I couldn't grip shit for a while. But that was like someone telling me the universe telling me like you got to fucking run girl like you got to run a ton so i just ran i did a ton of squats and i was just hoping that my gymnastic skills would hold up so and they have so the open's been like super cool

Starting point is 00:10:20 um and it's always always i find this year especially the the tests are a great learning experience and i can definitely like use that uh information to you know basically all i'm gonna do is handstand holds and handstand walks and running for regionals that's it are you always that optimistic like you get an injury and you're like oh hell yeah now i can go work on all this other stuff that i don't maybe do as much as i should as i should have yeah instead of getting down on yourself that you're gonna like fall behind on the thing that it's affecting of course it's stress like it's like i'm not again i'm not gonna sit here and be like oh yeah i'm like always so like level-headed i'm not like there'll be times where i'm like in my room like motherfucker like screaming like why the fuck and you know all

Starting point is 00:11:01 those things but then i'm like okay i pick myself back up and like fuck it let's just like see what happens and i always think like the worst thing that could happen is that okay yeah i don't fucking make i don't make it or i don't something doesn't work out there's like a thousand other things i could put my energy into so i just i'm choosing to do this right now because i'm like super passionate about it but yeah i don't know it's just like i mean we're all gonna fucking die so it's like i can create any kind of reality i want so you just went right to the end yeah yeah yeah i like that though let's not talk about dying white lights flashing so hold on it's the end of the road before we get into creating our own realities the the first step into that is usually this mindfulness piece that we mentioned in the pre-show we were talking about, but where, where is this kind of,

Starting point is 00:11:46 nobody ever just finds mindfulness. It usually comes from, holy shit, I'm fried. I'm burnout. I have no idea where my life's going right now. Did we have one of those moments? I think I'm,

Starting point is 00:11:57 I constantly have one of those moments. Like I think I have an existential crisis like every other week. I'm not even kidding you. Like, and I'm someone I mean I guess other people can relate like over analytical over critical um you I constantly my mom calls me like an angster I just like sit there and like oy vey you know like um but I also think that's what makes me like somewhat successful too um we'll see uh so I think the biggest moment I can think of is that like I grew up in a very

Starting point is 00:12:28 like I had an awesome upbringing um you know my dad we grew up on a ranch my dad like always like kicked our ass we always had to do crazy shit he was a little bit of a nut too my mom's a nut um and then I got to university and I was just like, I had no accountability. And I was just like everyone else. I was kind of like blame everyone else kind of thing. And then that coach, Chantel Vallee, really, she gave me like an Eckhart Tolle book. And I started reading about ego. And I was just like at first really pissed off. And then I was like, oh, yeah, like it's all on me.

Starting point is 00:13:00 Like it's nobody else. Which book was it? The Power Now? If it wasn't The Power Now, it was like creating a collective i forget what the freaking title is it's all right but it's i think it's uh i was after power of now got it either way i just like really figured out it's like yeah it's down to me like nobody else gives a shit like it's nobody else's problem like it's always like i can be responsible for my shit so that was like a super powerful moment and since then i've had like a lot of growth from that so

Starting point is 00:13:31 i'd say that was like the epicenter of the growth to like start think like basically not being tied up in my emotions my thoughts being in that observer behind it yeah so have you read jaco's book extreme extreme ownership i haven't no you totally should read that book like it. Have you read Jocko's book, Extreme Ownership? I haven't, no. Dude, you totally should read that book. It's essentially everything you just said. You could extrapolate what it's about from the title pretty easily, but it's just like everything is your fault,

Starting point is 00:13:54 everything is your responsibility. Don't worry about anyone else. Only focus on yourself. You are in control of your own life, and if you're blaming other people, then it's your own issues that are causing you to blame other people. Yes, exactly. I definitely need to read something like that i read something maybe like the female version of that it's called pussy by regina thomas hour you have attention we're all interested now that was the first time that didn't come across my

Starting point is 00:14:21 audible suggested read somehow i I don't know. I don't know. Okay, if you want to understand women more, for sure read this. Yeah. Especially if you ever, like, if you have daughters or whatever, like, fuck, this is such a good book. But so I think a lot of times, and I don't want to be, like, oh, female, male, but, like, Jocko's this big, you know, Navy SEAL dude, right? Like, for me, like, yeah, I love that, but it's like, I'm also, I'm not a big high-T Navy SEAL dude. Right.

Starting point is 00:14:48 So I read, so I started, I picked up this pussy book on recommendation from, like, this hippie friend I have, and it's kind of like the female version of that. So she's like, basically, being a female, like, growing up in this world, being a female, it's like, it fucking sucks. Because it's like, everyone says you're too emotional.

Starting point is 00:15:04 Everyone says, like, you can't be this, you this you can't be that like you're just too all the time you're too this you're too that whatever so basically and then you get bummed out with your own sex because women are also just in the sexual marketplace just looking for security they're looking for money they're looking for right because that's evolutionary like we have to do that right in order to have the best offspring in order to have protection so it's kind of like a bummer being a woman sometimes and then so i've read this pussy book because like as much as i want to be like jocko there's gonna be times like i'm a hormonal woman like there's times when i'm just like yeah i have to be like, fuck the world and like stay inside and like nest.

Starting point is 00:15:45 That's just part of it. And that to me was like a total failure. Like, I'm like, okay, why is this happening? So then I read this pussy book and basically she's like, no, we got to like take back like, or like love our pussy again. Love our body again. Like it was, the pussy was the metaphor for like the female like the female as she is it's pretty fucking incredible we've been taught that it isn't so it's like getting back to like loving your vagina loving your hormonal system loving your menstrual cycle like

Starting point is 00:16:17 it's all good and if you if you can learn how to tap into that and learn how to tap into those like certain processes you can become like this really powerful woman without losing being a woman yeah all right when you look at kind of the fitness industry uh just as a whole like i actually find this to be like a super interesting conversation because i have some friends that are like very into the women's empowerment and i'm like high five i wish i fucking understood what you were talking about because like i don't get it um where do we us bros where do we fall short like what are we missing and is it on is it like a male female thing or is it just about women just being powerful as hell and saying screw you we're just gonna do us i think first i'd like to

Starting point is 00:17:04 preface this though that like i think men are fucking amazing like men can like go out there like you're you're also fed a lot of like paradigms and bullshit that you have to measure up to but like and i think men a lot of times do like i think men are incredible i think women though especially with this whole like female empowerment movement we've started to blame others right like oh it's it's the patriarchy it's this it's that and it's like okay you're not taking ownership you're not taking ownership of like your own shit there's a lot of behaviors i have in like my life that i'm like holy shit like this is i can't do this like why am i acting like this you know like so it's like it's not only like being aware but it's also sometimes overriding your, that nature, that inherent nature that we have. So as much as I,

Starting point is 00:17:50 I, I don't think bros are falling short. I just think it's a lack of awareness. And I think that there's like, we have to totally honor like the divine masculine. Cause it's fucking incredible, right? Like knowing your value as a man and like being confident that you could you know like go approach any woman and like totally change her world through that confidence and then women on the other side knowing your value knowing that like you're so much more than of course just your outward appearance that you can cultivate like this inner power and totally like love your pussy you can be sensual like it's okay to fucking cry it's okay to like have to you know be in the bathtub listen to Enya and eating a grilled cheese like that's okay right like I wish that was more male too all theory

Starting point is 00:18:37 so descriptive I just made that up yeah I've done it a couple of times. But like, that's okay. And I think that so many times, I think women, they are told to be successful in this world. We have to be very masculine. Even in CrossFit, you have to be this tough chick, tough guy, you know?

Starting point is 00:19:01 And I think I tried to drive into that so much that I completely shut off my feminine side. And so now I've been kind of like waking up in this. I've had this whole transformative experience where I'm like, oh, yeah, like I'm like this woman. And it's cool to be a woman, you know, like I have this like pleasure center with like 8000 nerve endings. Rules the world. Right? It is. If everyone just understood that that rules the world.

Starting point is 00:19:26 The world would be a better place but it rules the world but we can't have that without like this amazing like phallus as well right so it's like it's I don't think we should denigrate each other it's like no let's there's just shitty they're shitty men and they're shitty women but then there's also fucking awesome men and fucking awesome women so let's like keep heading in that direction let's create better people you know and and through this uh rediscovery of like your feminine energy right have you noticed even your training uh in a sense like improve where instead of trying to attack it in this like masculine sense where you're you know where's like, you're able to like step back and be like, you know, and like, like pull it back in just a little bit and like go deep, like diaphragmatic.

Starting point is 00:20:11 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, where it's like you like let go of the aggression a little bit, you tap into the love or whatever it is. Totally. And then all of a sudden that weight becomes lighter or that next round is a little light, is a little easier because it's just less of this tension and more of this, you know, emotion and flow.

Starting point is 00:20:29 Yeah, flow for sure. And I think, you know, workouts do provide like some kind of emotional release. Like I remember like one time I've been doing this threshold running. So I was just like running a shit ton. And like my heart rate was like at 180. And I'm just like, you know, that shit your pants feeling. And like the initial thing that came up was like fuck you and then I was like oh why is that happening like that's a very like masculine response like I'm gonna fight fight fight fight

Starting point is 00:20:54 instead of like okay if I take some breaths I can like stay on top of this I can ride it out I can flow with it so yeah definitely like but I have had to learn to switch on my masculine or if people don't like masculine your left brain right right right right whatever you want to say it doesn't matter but it's just like so a lot of times yeah i'm like in my right brain like embodiment movement like just chilling being a little girl and then like as soon as like let's say 18.1 came up i like got to the corner like before the gym and I was like, okay, masculine time. I actually watched an MMA pump-up video. There we go. With the cowboy guy.

Starting point is 00:21:29 Calve Cerrone. Donald Cerrone. Yeah, and he was talking about what he goes through before a fight. I was just like, all right, masculine time. So I switch it on. My gait even changes. I turn into this Terminator walk. And I'm like, okay.

Starting point is 00:21:41 Swag. Ready to head kick somebody. Yeah, exactly. I'm not a weak ass like bitch here like whatever but then i can switch that back off to be like okay i am i am the soft like female like i love to be held you know i need to be nurtured i need to nurture so yeah it's cool to be able to now tap into like turning that on and turning that off yeah that's one of the coolest things about kind of digging into the mindfulness world is like recognizing the ego, recognizing that that's

Starting point is 00:22:08 like driving you, but still leading from a place of cooperation almost, or like vulnerability and like recognizing like, Hey, this isn't just about me, but I have to use me to better everyone around us. Um, have you noticed any of that just in the way people surround or who you surround yourself with in your training? We've talked to a few people that, you know, they started their careers and they're in this hyper-alpha aggressive state, and then they realize, like, injuries and their burnout, and then all of a sudden their next training camp is a bunch of people

Starting point is 00:22:43 that are, like, worried about their feelings, and they're talking to people in a much more vulnerable way and all of a sudden they're extending their career they're having much better fights have you noticed the people that are around you are much more supportive is that yeah definitely actually so I was like you know over training a ton like grinding myself into the ground and getting mad when I wasn't like able to recover and I switched to these different, Jen and Dave Swagger in Calgary. And they're basically like totally shifted the conversation of training. They're like, when was the last time you like hung out with your family and like chilled out? And I was like, Oh, that's a priority. Like, yeah, if it's not, your priorities are fucked up. I'm like, Oh,

Starting point is 00:23:23 okay. Yeah. I'm like, Oh yeah. I want to go cross country fucked up i'm like oh okay yeah i'm like oh yeah i want to go cross-country skiing like do it go for it you know like so they really um switch that whole conversation that whole uh dialogue like let's go do fun shit so that you can come in here refresh and like hit it hard and if you're not feeling it you're not feeling it you're wise enough to know you and that's you know tapping into that inner guidance the yeses and the no's so that that's fun shit that can also be really really fucking hard though yeah like cross-country skiing yeah that's in disguise if you wanted to exactly right but really fun really fun yeah you're getting outside you're you know getting healed by mother nature yeah i remember uh i remember our coach would every once in a while in the in the fighting world he'd like

Starting point is 00:24:03 hey it's a pool day. We're going to have fun. And then it's like, you have to get eight of those 10-pound dumbbells off the ground on top of the pool with one breath. And I'm like, this is no longer fun. This was a disguise. I'm going to die. Yeah, exactly. I'm going to die.

Starting point is 00:24:20 Way to hide this one. It's incredible. But then you felt like super cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah for sure because then you and your friends are like high-fiving each other and your teammates and it's no longer about like who had the best time that day it's something that's not even really tangible to what you're doing right which is a nice way to kind of check out of it but yet still get the the volume or the work or the frequency that you need to stay conditioned and also maybe even actively recover or some sense. Yeah, totally. And I,

Starting point is 00:24:45 I do try it. Like since I moved down to San Diego, I mean, what a conducive environment to train, especially CrossFit, but people here are always doing something somewhere. It's so awesome. Why we had to break out onto the roof here.

Starting point is 00:24:57 That's right. Vitamin D in our lives. You just need to take off those lady joggers. Sun on the old ham. She wants you to do these pantsless. Come on, bro. Dude. Barbell shrug pantsless coming at you.

Starting point is 00:25:11 Honestly, let's get weird. Hey, let's get weird. If there's a day I'm going to wear women's clothes, it's today. That's right. Yes. Right. Talking to the pussy powerhouse. You don't give a shit.

Starting point is 00:25:21 Yeah. Talking to the psychedelic gypsy queen. Hold on a second. Hold on a second. Hold on a second. We're going to take a quick break. When we get back, we've got to talk about that. Psychedelic gypsy fitness. That's right.

Starting point is 00:25:32 If that's not a teaser. We'll see you guys after the break. Hey there, ladies and gentlemen. This is Doug Larson, longtime co-host of this show, Barbell Strug. And if you've been a fan for any period of time, then you've likely wondered at one point or another how you can directly connect with us to get advice on training, nutrition, and recovery. And since expanding like crazy since the launch of the Shrug Collective Network, we've launched a private Shrug Collective Facebook group to give you easy access to myself, my longtime business partner, Mike Bledsoe, current Barbell Shrug co-host, Anders Varner, world-class muscle physiologist, Andy Galpin, who hosts the Body of Knowledge, as well as a sometimes on occasion Barbell Shrug co-host, as well as our other hosts, guests of the show, and hundreds of other coaches, athletes, and shrug fans.

Starting point is 00:26:10 So if you're looking for a community of like-minded, passionate, motivated people who love training just as much as you do and are eager to share their knowledge with you and you want to do the same for them, then this community is perfect for you. It's not $100 a month like many other groups out there, but instead it's actually super, super cheap. It's only a small monthly investment of $11 per month. You get unlimited access to some of the brightest minds in the world of strength and conditioning. If you're interested, go to shrugcollective.com slash Facebook for more information. Again, that's shrugcollective.com slash Facebook. Thanks for listening and enjoy the show. There are only like eight people. It's cool. You'll never find out. Welcome back to Barbell Shrugs. We are here with Emily Abbott. Before we get into the psychedelic

Starting point is 00:26:47 gypsy fitness, I want to talk a little bit about the CrossFit Games and what does CrossFit Games 1, CrossFit Games 4, and finishing 8th in the world is pretty badass. Thanks, yeah. What is CrossFit Games 1? Are you still in California

Starting point is 00:27:01 when that happens? Did you start out in the California region? No, Calgary, so canada west so that would have been the same now and now it's yeah all the same so it's kind of cool like i came down here and they're like oh yeah we're opening up the the region so it's like sweet same shit stay here yeah whatever so uh when did you move to san diego uh i've been here on and off since august don't tell the government it's a secret nobody watches the show don't worry we Don't tell the government. It's a secret. Nobody watches the show. Don't worry.

Starting point is 00:27:26 We don't let the government listen to these. I can guarantee you, if there's one thing I'm sure of, Donald Trump is not watching Barbell Shrugged. Are you sure? I don't know a lot. Working on his fitness. That long red tie is not a three-minute fran, I promise you. He's going to tweet something at you.

Starting point is 00:27:42 I hope so. I hope he does. Ball on my macros. You're watching Barbells for Life. Why do three trillion people watch this show? Trump's up there. Where did psychedelic gypsy fitness come from? So I met this guy.

Starting point is 00:27:58 It's usually where it starts. Oh, great story to start with this. Another guy. So I moved down here for my now uh fiance and he's a fucking weird guy like super out there um kind of like that half the appeal yes totally all the appeals just to be clear is this the guy on your psychedelic gypsy fitness videos yes okay cool yeah he's a weird guy and i like him scrampy you would fucking love yeah yeah scrampy i was like who's scrampy so we were just like uh you know hang around um and somebody suggested like hey man like you guys

Starting point is 00:28:30 have like you do a lot of fun stuff like you guys should just you know put it up there on youtube so we're like yeah that would be really fun um he's a kind of a creative type like learned how to cut edit film bought a nice camera and uh so we're like what should we call it um at first we're like obtuse angles like i don't know just like throwing out all this stupid stuff and then we're like psychedelic gypsy fit it just kind of like formulated when we were just like laying in bed one night and yeah so we're just like we're we just i don't know what the fuck we're doing we actually have no plan at all um but we're just like making stuff and so like whatever we talk about we're like okay yeah let's make this into a little video and like do stupid shit um so it's just like a fun side project exactly yeah it's like really nothing

Starting point is 00:29:14 other than just like we're having fun we're being creative and we wanna we both wanna like he's someone an advocate for like yeah men are fucking awesome let's like make men realize how fucking awesome they are and i want to like do the same with women like yeah women are super powerful let's make women feel really good let's make them like wake up a little bit let's unplug a little bit you know not again saying that i'm like a morpheus like you know red pill blue pill type of person but i just i guess we're just having fun and we have some ideas and like anybody on youtube we're just throwing it up there. So yeah. Yeah. It looks like, although you think you don't have a direction, I felt like I was watching it and I was getting a very clear message. Oh, good. That's such good feedback. I mean, it was, I mean, it was artistically done. I mean,

Starting point is 00:29:59 for anybody who's, you know, for the, for the hundreds of millions that are listening at home, you know, you check out the, check out psychedelic Gypsy Fitness and it's you jumping around doing karate and, you know, doing some stuff, but then all of a sudden you're talking about emotional healing. You know, and you are giving information and there is a direction. And I think, like, definitely something I want to, like, portray is that, like, we are so imperfect. And it's, like, a lot of times, like, all I see on, of course, we all, it's like a lot of times like all i see on of course we all it's this thing that everybody's been saying we we see that it's just we see so much perfection

Starting point is 00:30:31 and it's like no let's see like some fucked up shit like the real shit you know like we live in a shitty studio in mission bay like let's fucking show that it's disgusting. Like, you know, I don't live in a nice place or like I don't, my, I have acne, you know, like my hair is like greasy a lot of the times. Like let's not be perfect because like, I feel like that to me, like I love seeing imperfection in other people. That's like the opposite of what's happening with the rest of the world right now. It's like you have this like false life that's portrayed on Instagram about how great you are and what you want people to think about you and everything's perfect all the time but then you're kind of swinging the

Starting point is 00:31:06 other direction like hey that's not actually reality like someone sees you on the games and must think like this girl has her life totally completely put together it's like she probably lives in like a beautiful spot like everything is perfect she has no worries no problems and you're trying to like portray that you know who you really are behind the scenes so to speak yeah yeah i guess so and like i think a lot of times people are living in kind of like we're putting a lid on like emotional life a lot like we're stifled let's get more weird like let's do weird shit let's bust out of that shell um especially from a female standpoint right like we want to be like perfect and like this thing for everybody we want

Starting point is 00:31:41 to make everyone happy but it's like no you're not going to. And once the, like the quicker you realize that, like the more happy you're going to be. And I think fitness, especially the fitness world, it's like, you see these perfect females, like perfect poses,

Starting point is 00:31:55 like really lean body mass. And it's like, it's just, I don't know how sustainable that is. Like, you know, I don't know. I just think that we just need more realness and uh and people

Starting point is 00:32:07 to wake up a little bit more become almost self-aware i guess i think you have an interesting insight too because you hang out at the top levels of these things and you hang out with these people and you see them trying to hold on to this thing that everyone else sees them as and you know underneath when you see them behind the scenes that it's probably pretty sloppy. It's not exactly what they're putting out to the world. And it gives you a really interesting perspective when you're able to see what the best in the world are doing, be one of the best in the world, and still know that it's like the duck in water. We all look pretty on top and we're just figuring shit out underneath.

Starting point is 00:32:44 Oh, man. We're all fucked up, man. we're just like disintegrated children you know like we're just yeah we're all babies still just a little larger bigger microphones that's right i could see you as a little boy uh you're looking at it yeah you could go ask my wife totally and see that's super cool and i think that's uh that's relatable and like that to me is going to make the world like a cooler place to be in when people have more outlets to just be whatever the fuck they want to be and that feels good to them yeah i mean what you just said to anders i i can see you as a little boy that's actually something that you know like buddha and buddhism kind of speaks of is like the idea of looking at someone as a child and like seeing their seeing

Starting point is 00:33:25 their these beautiful qualities within them instead of trying to be this perfect thing yeah like that's going through this moment of suffering and yeah and i like um i have a lot of moments of like complete inadequacy like you know i just turned 29 i'm like what am i doing with my life i don't have like a stable career i I don't have like, you know, I don't have this. I don't have an empire built. I don't have a great idea. I just am like this thing. But then I'm like, I realized I don't need,

Starting point is 00:33:53 I don't need more. The world doesn't need more accolades, accomplishments, successes. It just needs people who are fucking comfortable with themselves and like happy to be in their own bodies. Like I don't, maybe that's not my path in the world is to be like i i did a b c and d like who's watching my life right like i don't know so it's like i kind of just had this realization it's like the only thing i can do is just be like super loving and like give unconditional love and like take care of my own shit clean up my

Starting point is 00:34:23 own bedroom first so it's like yeah like none of that matters so it's like that's where the freedom lies because it's like i can literally create whatever i want and whatever i put like my passion and energy into i can manifest that and that's the power of pussy baby yeah and here you are eighth in the world and uh crossfit yeah exactly three manifest this manifestation come true yeah Yeah, yeah, for sure. So yeah, so psychedelic gypsy fitness, I guess just kind of like an extension of that. But where are you in the journey on your own? Like you we talked about the mindfulness side of it. We've created the psychedelic gypsy, like, there's kind of this progression, and you don't have to have an answer. But when you think of Emilyily abbott what does that kind of encapsulate now like where where do you think you are kind of in this journey of finding exactly what this vessel or this body is for in your brain and how you affect other people man that's a really good

Starting point is 00:35:17 question and how do i answer that i and i always kind of think back to alan watts that like uh philosopher he says like trying to define yourself as like trying to bite your own teeth. And it's like, I don't really know what to tell you because it's just like, I'm, I feel like I'm always onto something. Like I'm figuring things out like every day. I'm not always happy. I'm actually like, you know, existential crisis mode a lot, but like I'm evolving and I don't know what

Starting point is 00:35:45 that exactly means yet but I I did have a realization it's like a lot of times I'm trying to like tell everybody else like they're like oh what'd you get your degree in oh well I got an English degree oh the eyes glaze over like because I thought I was going to go to law school or something like that right so I try to like feed into their thing but really it's like oh my god like whatever i do again like going back to that like whatever i'm passionate about like i'm gonna make it happen like i can make that happen so yeah i don't know what that is yet um i'm right now probably some badass fitness yeah it's kind of where you pay attention to and i think that that's more like to understanding the journey is like the focus and understanding where your intentions lie like you don't have to know an answer yeah but the things we pay attention to and the things that we focus on

Starting point is 00:36:33 tend to manifest into something that is really important to us and I think that's one reason we're all standing here and talking to you is because you found this way to kind of get your message out in a very interesting way um and whether or not you know where you are you're there yeah like you're living it yeah right i mean like so the words that are coming out of you right now that is the place you are in like although you can't explain it like you are it right right i mean you're you're balancing you know a new relationship you moved here from a new place you know like your your fourth you know year, going for year number five and all that. For anyone, that's a huge undertaking. Entering a whole new space, living in a new state, finding this relationship and how all these other pieces come together.

Starting point is 00:37:20 You don't know how that worked until you're here and you're looking back there. You're like, Oh yeah. All those things. It's like, everything looks like this zig and zag until you look in the back or look behind you. And you're like,

Starting point is 00:37:31 Oh, that was just a straight line. All those people just lined up. Yep. Yeah. I guess like, I guess my biggest fear though is like, what if it all amounts to nothing?

Starting point is 00:37:40 Oh, it's that's, you just tell the story better than everyone else and you got it. I think it's kind of guaranteed though. That's like, like i feel like in my life like once i realized that life is essentially meaningless like in a positive way that i was at more peace like thing once i realized that things don't matter as much as i think they do it's all it's all quote unquote in my head then i was just more chill with not being attached to any particular outcome right but i find that so this is where i have trouble because like,

Starting point is 00:38:05 I want to enjoy it, like be present and enjoy like every moment in life. But then the world is telling me, be ambitious, work hard, like get down, get dirty,

Starting point is 00:38:14 like grind, grind, grind, mustard sandwiches, you know, like that kind of shit. So, but you're doing it.

Starting point is 00:38:20 You just, but I eat so well. No, I mean, it doesn't have to be awful in order for it to matter. I think the thing is about the authenticity and finding out what your message is to the world. And you get to share it with a couple hundred thousand people today. I don't know.

Starting point is 00:38:36 That workout looked pretty awful to me. I was watching this going, do you see her? What's going on here? Because it's my first time seeing something like that. First Friday Night Lights ever. First Friday Night Lights ever. First CrossFit real hardcore competition. See, and I'm just, Jesus.

Starting point is 00:38:53 These people are insanely fit. You worked hard. I mean, you are grinding. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, recognize that. You didn't know you were coming for the answers today. Yeah. I have a very curious question know you were coming for the answers today. I have a very curious question that's going to change the direction of this a little bit. What are some of your lifetime bucket list items?

Starting point is 00:39:12 What do you want to do big picture over the next couple decades? Live in an RV full time, boondock, and meet some weird people. Go nomading, that type of thing? Yeah, I think so. Like being aading? That type of thing? Yeah. Yeah. I think so. Like being a gypsy. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:39:28 Yeah. For sure. Living that lifestyle. Filming it. Just without the train jumping. Putting it on YouTube. Just without the train jumping. What else? Lifetime bucket list.

Starting point is 00:39:38 So definitely live in an RV. You know, all of a sudden I turned 29 and my ovaries started screaming at me. So like, shit. Yeah. Have a fucking baby, I guess, you know, all of a sudden I turned 29 and my ovaries started screaming at me. So like, shit, have a fucking baby, I guess, you know, that is one of the powers. The RV thing seems easiest to do before the baby. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:39:53 I think I could do it. I think I can do it all. Yeah. You totally could do the same. Anything is possible. It's definitely possible. You know, like just have a couple of babies strapped to me and like fixing the RV. I can see it.

Starting point is 00:40:03 So what's the appeal for doing the RV thing? So I definitely, I read Let My People Go Surfing. Killer book. Yeah. Patagonia story for people out there. Go read that. Yeah, Yvonne Chouinard. And then I also, you know, again, this is like a series of transformative things.

Starting point is 00:40:21 I watched like 180 Degrees south uh that documentary with yvonne schwinard um and then i uh i was just reading all these things it's like fuck the more you own like the more you're a slave to it and i just completely and then also the man i met like we're like we just want to go full minimalist like and he is he like literally has one pair of jeans and like a pair of like mushroom boots we call them and like that's it and i'm like man that's so like there's so something so freeing about that so i was like i have too much stuff and it's like and i was getting sent all this shit like through crossfit like more workout stuff more more shoes more this and i'm like god like i don't like that's not what i want i want like two pairs of pants and like so like

Starting point is 00:41:04 some shoes i mean obviously i have more than that but it's like that's what what i want i want like two pairs of pants and like so like some shoes i mean obviously i have more than that but it's like that's what i really want to go after yeah and i want to try out this rv thing because it's like why the fuck not we're going to die right like there's this i can create anything i want um you know kind of like this nihilistic optimism so yeah it's like why the fuck not you know you're searching for freedom and adventure it sounds like yeah there you go yeah just to be like this gypsy who's like into fitness and stuff i guess so um and then have a psychedelic journey as well so uh yeah that's definitely on the bucket list so is that is that something that would likely happen after you decide to to not compete

Starting point is 00:41:42 in crossfit anymore no we're at we're like i we've looked at like 30 rvs over the past like couple months and we're only we're doing like month to month leases because like we're we know it's gonna come like it's gonna happen we're gonna find the rv you're manifesting it yes exactly so uh i mean even if it happened before regionals like fuck it let's let's do it let's figure it out um just on trancation until the games that's cool yeah exactly you should uh check out there's a instagram talula on the run and it's a crossfit coach and his wife that were both coaches at deuce and they recently took their two children sold everything and are now traveling the country in rv and living out of this rv yeah and uh they look so damn happy.

Starting point is 00:42:26 Yeah. You know what I mean? I pay tons of money for rent. I have two kids. And, you know, sometimes I'm like, damn, I wish I had less shit. Yeah. You know, and I have some people in my life that have, like, done this 33 things where, like, you only own 33 things. Right.

Starting point is 00:42:40 And it's like every personal item is narrowed down to one of the 33 most important important things in your life right right and the simplicity that came from that it was uh i mean it ended up manifesting into riches for most people that i've talked to that right because they didn't need these physicals and then like these material things and like abundances came and i guess yeah and it's also that awareness of like we're all really just like trying to get dopamine hits right so it's like buying stuff it feeds that right so when you stop doing that you it like frees up time to like do a bunch of other stuff like read more and meditate more like you know do fun shit so i'm not saying like and again i don't want to be preachy because i think everyone has to live their own life we're all on like different paths of our evolution but uh that's just something that really appeals to me well if you're preaching if you're preaching you're believing right like it's not really coming from

Starting point is 00:43:28 a place of like talking down to someone like what you're doing is wrong but you just believe in something so powerful that you're you're compelled to say yeah it just makes i guess the most sense to me to like just not have a bunch of shit when you look at physical training like when you're in the gym training now um that's one piece of it but where do you think the majority of your attention or like what you focus on the most is it training outside the gym the mental space the kind of the behavioral practices of being successful in the gym like how i feel like that creating that space is one of the thing one thing that athletes um especially in the CrossFit world,

Starting point is 00:44:05 when they're in there eight hours a day or whatever it is, six hours a day, they really miss out on is just the ability to downregulate and get the hell out of there. Is that a big piece of your training now? Yeah, for sure. And the more I have been involved in the CrossFit world, the more I realize that everyone in it is pretty fucked up. In a good way, right?

Starting point is 00:44:23 Because obviously they got drawn to this for a reason like just like i did yeah and so but it's cool because through crossfit i've been able to like completely transform myself like mentally and realize that like yeah um i was really just trying to find like this inner peace or like this little girl inside of me and like completely nurture her because i had been ignoring it for so long and like so as much as like crossfit is amazing but it does attract a certain kind of dark passenger person who's got like a lot of like weird shit going on right like like the ego you're speaking of yeah like because you know psychopaths and heroes are on the same genetic branch right so it's like that's what happens we get connected like we get drawn to this because it's brutal shit like really brutal like i was like slamming down on my neck and then like driving up on handstand push-ups on 18.4 and it's super fun

Starting point is 00:45:14 but yeah it's like it's brutal shit so um i think and i hope what crossfit can do for a lot of like women especially is like open them up to realize like oh yeah there's some there's something beyond this like I can I can basically form a like a greater mental you know strength beyond CrossFit not just in the pain but also in the opposite of that in the pleasure and like the relaxing the taking more rest you know you evolve as an athlete you evolve as a person through that crossfit experience so i think like i have learned like man i can rest way more and i can chill way more i can meditate way more and not that i do every day because i usually forget but it's just like i'm trying so hard but like just giving i'm so close to perfect you could just sit

Starting point is 00:46:06 still just a little little more still yeah so i think it's just like that uh that relaxation and not being so stressed out because nothing really matters right like but also at that same time i'm not like a i'm not i haven't hit top five so i don't know what the sacrifices are. Do you want to win the games? Yeah, is that important to you? I mean, probably deep down, yeah. Ego-driven, yes, that'd be fucking awesome. I would love to just be able to smash it. But probably at this point, realistically, I'm 29.

Starting point is 00:46:39 My ovaries are already screaming. I'm kind of loving what I do. I love every day. I'm super grateful loving what i do i love like every day i'm super grateful for what i do so if i can still have fun and be near the top realistically like yeah i'm i'm happy with that i think one of the most important things is just realizing we're on a journey yeah right there you go yeah where can people find you? They can find me on Psychedelic Gypsy Fitness or Abbott the Red. That's my channel.

Starting point is 00:47:09 Abbott the Red on Instagram. And I think I'm on Twitter, Abotsky439. Where else? Oh, I have a website and I actually blog a little bit here and there. I think just my mom reads it. Actually, she may not even read it. She read the first two. Mom, if you're listening to this, please read it.

Starting point is 00:47:29 I think I wrote about pussy, and she's probably just like, oh. And I'm done. It's abbottthered.com. Very cool. Adam. Anders. What's up, bro? Where can people find you?

Starting point is 00:47:40 Yeah, man. Check me out on at vonrothfelder on Instagram, or check out strongcoffeecompany.com or at strongcoffeecompany on Instagram. Your lattes are delicious. Delicious. We had four of them this morning before we got our pull-down. Can't wait to try one. Right.

Starting point is 00:47:57 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I never get sick of hearing that. You can check me out, Doug Larson. I am Douglas E. Larson on Instagram. You can check me out, Doug Larson. I am Douglas E. Larson on Instagram. You can check me out wearing women's joggers. They're capris, bro, because they're pulled up.

Starting point is 00:48:15 That was my pose for those of you on YouTube. At Anders Varner, come to shrugged.thelowbackfix.com. $20 off your first program. Get healthy. Move better. Strength training, physical therapy, all the good stuff. Make sure you download, subscribe on iTunes, subscribe on YouTube at BarbellStrikePodcast. Get into the comments.

Starting point is 00:48:35 Leave a nice comment. If not, she's going to come hang out with you, and she's going to beat the crap out of you on some fitness. So leave a nice comment. Be friendly. We'll see you guys next week. Thanks for making it all the way to the end of the show. If you liked the show, which I know you did, please go share it on Facebook, Instagram,

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Barbell Shrugged - Barbell Shrugged — Let’s Not Be Perfect w/ Emily Abbott — 313

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