Barbell Shrugged - Barbell Shrugged  — The Meathead Hippie w/ Emily Schromm  — 341

Episode Date: September 26, 2018

Emily Schromm is a self-proclaimed meathead hippie, host of Meathead Hippie podcast, a personal trainer, CrossFit coach and Nutritional Therapy Practitioner based out of Denver, Colorado. From MTV Cha...llenge winner to Women's Health Magazine's Next Fitness Star and entrepreneur, Emily's journey of self-discovery has led her to a full time career in helping others.   Struggling her whole life with body image, gut issues, and acne, nutrition and fitness has completely turned her life around. Primarily running her 21 Day EmFit Challenge online, she works with clients in Denver and around the world to change the food on their plate in order to feel their absolute best.   In this episode, we dive into travel workouts, struggles and triumphs opening a new gym, creating the EmPack backpack, women’s strength and health, fighting your way to the top of the fitness Industry, and more.   Enjoy! - Doug and Anders ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Show notes at: http://www.shruggedcollective.com/bbs_schromm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please support our partners! @organifi - www.organifi.com/shrugged to save 20% @thrivemarket - www.thrivemarket.com/shrugged for a free 30 days trial and $60 in free groceries @OMAX - www.tryomax.com/shrugged and get a box FREE with your first purchase @foursigmatic - www.foursigmatic.com/shrugged  to save 15% on your first purchase @vuori - www.vuoriclothing.com “SHRUGGED25” to save 25% storewide ► Subscribe to Barbell Shrugged's Channel Here ► Subscribe to Shrugged Collective's Channel Here http://bit.ly/BarbellShruggedSubscribe 📲 🎧 Listen to the audio version on the Apple Podcast App or Stitcher for Android Here- http://bit.ly/BarbellShruggedApple http://bit.ly/BarbellShruggedStitcher Shrugged Collective is a network of fitness, health and performance shows that help people achieve their physical and mental health goals.  Usually in the gym, but outside as well. In 2012 they posted their first Barbell Shrugged podcast and have been putting out weekly free videos and podcasts ever since. Along the way we've created successful online coaching programs including The Shrugged Strength Challenge, The Muscle Gain Challenge, FLIGHT, Barbell Shredded, and Barbell Bikini. We're also dedicated to helping affiliate gym owners grow their businesses and better serve their members by providing owners tools and resources like the Barbell Business Podcast. Find Shrugged Collective and their flagship show Barbell Shrugged here: SUBSCRIBE ON ITUNES ► http://bit.ly/ShruggedCollectiveiTunes WEBSITE ► https://www.ShruggedCollective.com INSTAGRAM ► https://instagram.com/shruggedcollective FACEBOOK ► https://facebook.com/barbellshruggedpodcast TWITTER ► http://twitter.com/barbellshrugged

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Shrugged family, we are back. We're hanging out with Emily Schramm this week. Emily's such a gangster. She has what seems to be on Instagram like 35 businesses going on and she just opened her gym in downtown Denver, Platform Strength. So if you are in Denver, make sure you get over.
Starting point is 00:00:19 Check out her brand new gym. It looks gorgeous. I've kind of been watching her grow it through Instagram stories for the past couple months. Man, she's put a ton of time, energy, effort. It looks like the struggle is real, that gym owner life. I have been there and built multiple of these things and it is not an easy chore to be building gyms, running other businesses at the same time, and just I feel like being Emily Schramm by herself is enough of a task to keep all the things going that she has going on in her life. Really enjoyed hanging out with her. This is another one of the shows that we did in Austin,
Starting point is 00:01:00 Texas at Paleo FX, and I think you're going to love it. We even get to go back into the files and make some really cool jokes about the real world and the real world challenges, which I've always been a huge fan of, especially killing it in college when there's nothing to do and all you have is free time and you get to really dig into
Starting point is 00:01:22 the nothingness that is reality TV. Really excited to do the show. It was great meeting her and I think you're going to really enjoy everything that's going on in her life right now. I want to thank our sponsors for today's episode. Four Sigmatic, my lifesaver at the moment. You guys have heard me talk about them several times on the podcast. I interviewed the founder, Taro, who actually pioneered the medicinal mushroom craze that is
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Starting point is 00:02:23 So before I forget, Four Sigmatic is offering Shrugged listeners 15% off your first purchase. Just go to foursigmatic.com slash shrugged today to take advantage of this incredible savings. That is F-O-U-R-S-I-G-M-A-T-I-C dot com slash shrugged. You better know how to spell shrugged for 15% off the entire site. Right now, I've been starting my mornings off with mushroom coffee with Lion's Mane,
Starting point is 00:02:52 which supports immunity, productivity, focus, and creativity. Fun fact, Lion's Mane was actually used by the Buddhist monks. They know everything to help them focus during meditation. So I found that drinking this in the morning right before heading to the gym is extremely effective the lion's mane exponentially boosts my endurance making my workouts feel easier i wish that was uh easy was like the real thing working out's always hard it also helps me with memory so i can retain particular exercises quicker it overall just puts me in a more concentrated mindset while also increasing my metabolism. With the caffeine, highly, highly recommended.
Starting point is 00:03:32 This one, I recommend this one for all athletes. What I personally love about Four Sigmatic Coffee is that it is made with 100% Arabica coffee beans. And it actually tastes like real coffee, not mushrooms. I mix mine with almond milk, add some cinnamon, it with the four sigmatic frother it's the perfect combination the four sigmatic frother is actually really gangster if you don't have one of those you should definitely get one my wife uses it all the time to mix the teas and the coffees and all the things beautiful little froth super creamy rich in consistency and soothing to drink So if you haven't tried the mushroom trend yet,
Starting point is 00:04:06 you're really missing out. Four Sigmatic makes it super easy to get started and find out exactly what you need. Once you go to their site, you can easily filter by drink type and then the benefits you're looking for, such as productivity, energy, chill, and immunity. They actually just released a new mushroom matcha latte
Starting point is 00:04:24 with ceremonial grade matcha mixed with coconut milk. Really awesome for supporting blood sugar balance and gut health. So I highly suggest you go to Four Sigmatic. Trust me, this is a game changer. Once you try it, you'll never go back to regular coffee. Remember, go to foursigmatic.com slash shrug to get 15% off their entire site. That is four, F-O-U-R, Sigmatic, S-I-G-M-A-T-I-C.com slash shrug to take advantage of this offer. foursigmatic.com slash shrug to get 15% off now. Also want to thank our good friends over at Organifi. Look, we talk a lot about this superfood thing,
Starting point is 00:05:05 but we're going to really dig into it. So the three big pieces over at Organifi that they are working on with their green jink, right? Detox, immunity, burning fat. Detox your body with real superfood science. Superfoods have more nutrition packed into smaller spaces than regular foods. They work syneristically that means they make each other stronger and with the right combination they make your body goals a reality use a proprietary method of gently
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Starting point is 00:06:20 You're going to save 20% off store-wide. Once again, that's Organifi.com forward slash shrugged. Save 20% using the coupon code shrugged. You're going to save 20% off store wide. Once again, that's Organifi.com forward slash shrugged. Save 20% using the coupon code shrugged. Now get into the show. This show is going to be awesome. You're going to laugh. I'm Anders Varner. Welcome to Barbell Shrugged. I'm Anders Varner. Hanging out with Doug Larson. And the sweet sound over here is Miss Viviana Smith. Hi.
Starting point is 00:07:16 We're at Paleo FX in Austin, Texas. Life is good. We just did some tarot card reading. I'm a dog. I don't even know what that means, but we're going to find out a little bit later what I'm supposed to be looking for. We are joined today by Emily Schramm. It would be ridiculous to try and label you in anything because you own gems. You've got backpacks that are super cool.
Starting point is 00:07:37 The black backpack. Black on black. Black on black. What's the rest of that song? I don't even know. I think people only know that. That's it. Black on black. Black on black. Impact. I don't even know. I think people only know that. That's it. Black on black.
Starting point is 00:07:47 Black on black. Impact. I don't know. Welcome to the show. Thank you. It's wonderful to be here. It's been a minute, right? It has.
Starting point is 00:07:53 You were on the show probably four years ago. A lot has changed. Four or five years ago. Yeah. Much has changed. Yes. Much has changed. You're speaking this weekend, right?
Starting point is 00:08:04 I am. Yeah. I had a great talk yesterday about cortisol dysfunction in the gym. I saw that. I want to talk about that on the show. It was really good. I think a need for it because we all have some sort of cortisol dysfunction. And I remember being here four years ago and I asked about that. So what happens when I'm trying to get strong in the gym but I have cortisol dysfunction or I have any sort of adrenal pattern that's just not optimal. And the answer was very subpar. So it was my journey the last four years to perfect it and figure out a way to like help people.
Starting point is 00:08:35 Cause most people think I have adrenal issues. I can't work out. And I just refuse to think that's the answer. I know why you're so awesome because we have to dig right into that right off the bat. Usually it takes a minute before people are like, okay, we're going to talk about real shit. So let's go cortisol. Tell us about it. Well, cortisol, we all have it and it's a stress hormone, but everyone thinks of it as being something that's bad. And I think it's something that we have to have. So if we have any rhythm of it being too in excess or having too little, our body feels it. So it should be highest in the morning and slowly decrease throughout the day. And that's why we sleep well, or that's why we get tired
Starting point is 00:09:10 because when cortisol is decreased, then melatonin can be produced. And so we start to get sleepy. We start to wind down and I see all the time, like either one, I can't, my mind's racing and I can't calm down and I have a really hard time getting into bed or getting the sleep that I need or two, I wake up and I just feel like death. It takes me cups and cups of coffee. Yep. This coffee has one million grams of caffeine in it. Yes, it does.
Starting point is 00:09:33 And I'm sipping on it. And so this is, I mean, I've worked at Starbucks. My first job was a coffee shop. So I was six years a barista. I could have six shots of espresso just to wake up. So I think I automatically started the cycle. Then I started CrossFit. Then I started, it's so great for cortisol levels. And then I started my second business and my body just totally crashed. So, yeah, so it was just kind of, you know, you're used to a certain number of things on your plate, but there's always something that tips it
Starting point is 00:10:01 over the scale. So people are like, yeah, I can operate. I'm crazy busy. I'm crazy stressed. And then all of a sudden it just tanks. And so this is when hyper cortisol, so excess cortisol becomes too little. And we have that hard time getting out of bed. So if cortisol is too low, what is the optimal thing to do in the gym? Because most people will say, don't work out. You have to heal cortisol before you can get into the gym. And I do think there's something, there is truth to that. You can't, I think anaerobic exercise is the worst thing to do when you have cortisol dysfunction, but there are ways to help because for me, there was no other option. I'm not going to just not work out. And I probably did the stupid thing. This was about three and a half years ago. And I just was like, well, if I can't do anaerobic exercise, cause I clearly feel
Starting point is 00:10:41 like crap. So headaches after you work out are shaky, which I see a lot for athletes. It was like, well, let's do Smolov. So I spent like 10 weeks doing a Smolov program. But it was awesome because it was actually giving my body a break in some ways because I was competing in CrossFit. Doing Smolov is the answer to taking a break. You are a train wreck. I know I was.
Starting point is 00:11:08 That's unbelievable. I was. I was definitely a train wreck, but I had to pick something. So I found, obviously, like my biggest thing is with athletes with SI pain or deactivated glutes, we all know how to activate glutes, and you can't work out without glutes firing. But no matter what I was doing, with my adrenals off, my glutes and you can't work out without glutes firing but no matter what i was doing with my adrenals off my glutes wouldn't fire so that's a big piece of how do you work
Starting point is 00:11:30 on getting your glutes to fire and your adrenals in a place that you can maintain small love you can do a squat program or you can deadlift without hurting yourself because for the first time ever your glutes are doing their job right so you mentioned a couple of like symptoms of potentially having some type of cortisol dysfunction, say headaches after your workout, maybe a little shaky. I'd imagine there's many different things that could lead to a headache or many different things that might make you a little shaky after a workout. Something as simple as having low blood sugar
Starting point is 00:11:56 you haven't eaten that day could cause something like that. How would you know if it was cortisol dysfunction or adrenal fatigue that's contributing to that? You get simple blood tests or? So with cortisol you can test it a few different ways. I think the most common is salivary, but the most efficient or the most comprehensive is Dutch. So it's a urine test that you can check your cortisol levels throughout the day. So it's an expensive-ish test. So I think it's something that's really for people that want to also test their hormones and see how long the problem's
Starting point is 00:12:22 been going on. But the people that come to me are really like, I've been crushing the gym and my muscle definition is going away. Like I should be seeing some results. And then now I'm starting to gain weight in my mid area. This is like the telltale sign of cortisol. So it's usually a weight loss, weight plateau issue for my athletes. And then I start to see the symptoms of okay we are crashing and burning after these workouts you're pushing it really hard because that's the thing is you you see more weight gain so then let's work out harder let's eat less and you might do it intuitively or not but it's just one of those things that pushes you more into the problem of we got some cortisol issues that are not going to be healed this way have you looked into Paula Quinn's bow signature
Starting point is 00:13:03 stuff yes I'm talking about a little bit yes yeah. Yeah. Give me more. Um, I don't know all the details, but more or less he, he has probably decades worth of, of blood tests and decades worth of, of body fat measurements. And he's done all these correlations to, if you have high cortisol, then you tend to store belly fat. If you have high insulin, you tend to store love handles. I don't know if those are right, but like if you have, if you have high insulin, you tend to store love handles. I don't know if those are right. But, like, if you have a certain hormone, body fat is stored in a certain place. And he has maybe a dozen or more of those things. Those checkpoints. I don't know all the details.
Starting point is 00:13:32 But when you said high cortisol and belly fat, I was wondering if you were following that in some capacity. No, I mean, he has the seminars, right? So they. I'm not sure all of his current seminars. But you can definitely find it online. Yeah, I think that's what I was looking at. I will. I don't know for sure.
Starting point is 00:13:45 I know with insulin, we all have insulin issues. And I especially see this with CrossFit athletes is that when they drink, even if they have like 50 grams of carbs, they get so tired after they eat. And I was so fascinated by it because I was like, why is there insulin issues with athletes? Because their carbohydrates aren't low enough for them to induce insulin resistance, which sometimes happens with keto people. And I found out that I actually, your cell is so damaged so much with CrossFit that you have, you lose your ability of insulin, like insulin receptors stop doing their job. I thought that was fascinating. I was like, you could eat the best thing, but you can work out so hard, you can damage your insulin receptors. That's a problem.
Starting point is 00:14:23 That was a big eye opener for me. So we have this model with CrossFit you mentioned a couple times, and it's this constantly varied functional movements done at high intensity. And in 11-ish years of doing this CrossFit thing, it's like, ah! I've always just thought, especially towards the end of doing it, like can't we change that model to like appropriate levels of intensity which is way broader and harder to scale and not as sexy and it's not as cool but what does that look like for you in your training now because i think high intensity everything every single day like one of the things we're getting to as just a general
Starting point is 00:14:58 understanding is high intensity every day is very it's not conducive to long-term success so what is appropriate levels of intensity look like to you yeah i think it's not conducive to long-term success. So what does appropriate levels of intensity look like to you? Yeah, I think it's listening to my body for the first time in my life. I'm always going to have an athlete mentality and that's why CrossFit has such a draw because originally it was accessible. The workouts that you see that they did in the games how many years ago we could do right now. So I think it's really interesting because it started off as, okay, former athletes get that competitiveness out, be a part of it. You can drive yourself a little bit further, but still somewhat get at an elite level that you might've missed out on. Cause I think most CrossFit athletes are just former competitive college athletes, right?
Starting point is 00:15:39 Weight lifters. Then we were like, oh, you want to weight lift with me against me cool let's go totally i'm in i'm in i'll battle you in back squat today best workout ever i'm gonna put it online and everyone's gonna see it but that but that's obviously had a huge divide because as people get better it's more it's less and less accessible but the general population i don't think realizes that like they still are aiming to hit those levels that they just don't know to say no to. So I think that for me, it's really like one, the adrenal issues that I had with the SI pain and the shift in my squat. And then really understanding that my recovery and my results came from healing inside out was like, wow, if I don't get my shit together inside, I'm going to keep perpetuating this outcome. And it's it's gonna make me look worse and feel worse yeah how long does it take because i'm very much on the
Starting point is 00:16:29 same journey and understanding that this fitness thing used to be about the external like what am i squatting what am i what's my fran time what is this what is that like how do i stack up against everybody but now i look at it of how am i like serving my body how am i connecting with my body how am i able to come in and do the best thing for me what does that journey look like for you and just endless injuries what is it what is it god it's the process but it's still a journey right yes it's every day it's every day because i think for me it's the the one thing especially snatches especially cleaning jerks that's the one thing where I cannot think of anything else in my life and it's really hard for me to not go too far because when you are busy when you have businesses when all you do
Starting point is 00:17:17 every single day is check emails and make sure things do the things that need to be done in order for myself to get paid the gym is the only way for me to not think about it. And the faster I go or the, with someone next to me, if Doug and I are doing it, the less likely I am to think about my phone and my emails and all the things that I have to do that day because he, he just distracted me. And I think there's just such power in that. So I do love working out with people, but I also have to like tone it back as much as I can. So I do a check-in. I sometimes check my urine. I swear to God to see if there's protein in it to know if I'm under-recovered. And if I am, then I... What's that look like? It's easy. It's like you can get
Starting point is 00:17:55 them on Amazon for like 15 bucks, a huge pack of 150, and you just pee on a little piece of paper and it tells you, are you recovered? Are you actually hydrated? And that is a huge indicator of how much I'm going to sweat and how much I'm going to push it in the gym. And then I get to the gym and if I'm not dialed in after eight minutes, I have this eight minute rule. Cause I'm obsessed with the number eight. If eight minutes, you know how you start, you start moving and you're like, at first you're like, this sucks. I don't want to be here. I don't want to do it. But after eight minutes, you're usually dialed in and you're like, Oh, this feels pretty good. I'll stay around. But at eight minutes, if I i'm like this is getting worse and what they talked about it on the panel a little bit yesterday is if it sometimes goes the other way and you feel
Starting point is 00:18:31 like i'm really still pushing through this workout then i foam roll and i go home and that's been a really tough thing for me to learn but the alternatives actually that have helped are really really really hot baths and saunas. I have a little sauna in my house. See, I'm creepy. I just met you 20 minutes ago. Sauna every damn day. I know you sauna every day. Every damn day.
Starting point is 00:18:51 God, that's so creepy. So it's good because I'm hot and I feel like I'm doing something. And I know I'm doing something because of all the benefits of being excessively hot for your brain. I've had a lot, a lot of concussions. So I really care about my brain first. And I can tell when it's, if I'm not dialed in after eight minutes, I just call it a day. So I didn't expect you just now to say brain specifically. What are the benefits for heat?
Starting point is 00:19:15 Well, it's so fun. Rhonda Patrick, who we all know, I think she's just incredible because she kind of dialed this in. Yeah. And Wim Hof has been an awesome, or Aaron, what's his full name? Shoot, it's not Wim Hof. The breathing guy. It's Wim Hof.
Starting point is 00:19:29 It's Wim Hof. Is that his name? Is that his actual name? I thought it was his method. Wim Hof method. Oh, okay. Got it. For sure.
Starting point is 00:19:36 He's all about cold exposure. Yeah. But I hate cold. I mean, I know it has the benefits. So I dug into Rhonda Patrick and just having that release of that protein that really just helps your brain live longer and your mitochondria be produced more. Near infrared, especially that red light, it's shown within 30 minutes of exposure. Like sometimes I'm like five inches away from my head with the red light. You know, correct.
Starting point is 00:19:58 I'm sure somebody will say you should absolutely not do that. But it's shown to lower anxiety and depression just with 30 minutes of exposure a day with people with really severe depression and anxiety. So I'm just like, you know, I have all the boxes checked, like a gene testing, all the things, especially on top of that concussions. If I don't take care of my brain, I'm going to run into a problem in 20 years. Do you know how much the red light is different than just going and standing in the sun? Like if depressed people spent more time in the sun, would they also potentially get that? Yeah, I think that's more serotonin related.
Starting point is 00:20:29 So vitamin D is connected to your serotonin levels. And I love vitamin D for so many different reasons, especially with cortisol issues. If you have no exposure to sun, you can't sleep as well. So having that increased D level. But near infrared, the red light specifically stimulates ATP production in a way that I don't think sunshine can do. So you said you had started this journey, you know, four years ago to kind of finding yourself internally and then dealing with it externally. What was your tipping point? If you can, you know, think four years back, what was, what-up call, you know, that said, hey, I got to stop?
Starting point is 00:21:06 Well, the wake-up call was trying to compete at a CrossFit competition with, like, adrenal supplementation in my pocket. Because I was like, I mean, I'm like, this is a problem. What am I doing? In your pocket? I swear to God. Wait, hold on. How does this, how is this, what's in, is this like a vial? No, no, no. You know know, like those Reebok shorts.
Starting point is 00:21:28 They have like a little key spot. They still do. You don't have to talk about it. The only person I hang out with that wears girls' pants is Colton. The key thing is still there. He knows about the key pocket. I love it. And I just, I remember finishing it.
Starting point is 00:21:44 I was like one, I didn't even see it as a problem. was like i gotta get through this last day of competing and then i just took a whole week to recover i was like i feel like death i'm not doing my emails this just is what is what what am i trying to prove like coming to myself and being like why did i just do this why am i trying to be this person when i'm clearly my body saying don't do it so it was a very come to Jesus moment of like let's just let's heal and see what that looks like and I think that was my tipping point for sure you recently did a I listened to the show you and you mentioned it a little bit the genetic testing and because of your show I also have a friend that lives in Denver that is doing the exact same program that you did and he calls me all the time and it's like this long drawn out conversation. It happens
Starting point is 00:22:31 to be really freaking interesting though, of how people are able to get in, check out what's going on. And then from everything you put into your body, they find the deficiencies. Where did you find out about this whole thing? You were literally the first person that I even introduced me to what was going on. It's so awesome. So everyone knows 23andMe is kind of the standard test. And I had done 23andMe before August of 2017. And in August of 2017, they changed their testing. And so now I was like, well, what do I do?
Starting point is 00:23:01 Because I have all this amazing information. I plugged it into a software that this guy, Alex Swanson created. And that's who I interviewed. Nutrition genome is what is what it was called. So he takes your 23andMe data, plugs it into the software, and it shows you food based and supplement based and lifestyle protocols to work with your genetic kind of epigenetics. Like what are you, what is your tendency based on your genetics? And so I had heard of it through this amazing lady named Sarah Morgan who worked with Alex Swanson. She actually just launched this Buddies in My Belly. It's a kid's book with little plush dolls that represent probiotic chains
Starting point is 00:23:37 that affect specific neurotransmitters. So people with GABA issues or anxiety issues usually have a hard time with bifidium. So that's the probiotic they should get. So it's like a super cool. So she introduced me to Alex Swanson and the genetic testing is incredible, especially athletes. I learned like some cool stuff about athleticism. The most important thing for me to learn was the way I handle inflammation. It's just not good. I don't do a good job with it, which is why if there's a lot of it, my body starts to shut down.
Starting point is 00:24:07 And that probably, were you able to see any correlation between the result on the test and maybe some of the cortisol stuff you were dealing with back way back? No, I think that was all self-perpetuated. No sleep, over-training, multiple businesses. Extra pre-workout, two a days. I think that was all me i mean there was a lot like i got this crazy this is the craziest story but i actually got a piece of pulled pork stuck into my tooth for like a long time that caused a bacterial infection so like that was delicious yes it was horrible yes it really was it was like bacon you just betrayed me what's a long time let me down
Starting point is 00:24:44 how did floss not find this piece of pulled pork well no my dentist wouldn't believe me because i It really was. It was like bacon. You just betrayed me. What's a long time? Let me down. How did floss not find this piece of pulled pork? Well, no, my dentist wouldn't believe me because I was like, there is something. It was like unflossable. It was almost to my bone. That's how bad it was. Did you have like a callus on your tongue? Because anytime something gets in your teeth, you're like digging with your tongue. No, no, no.
Starting point is 00:25:00 I think I just didn't even know it was there. It just was there. And then it started. And then you started to feel it. And then I was like, oh, shit. What is this just didn't even know it was there. It just was there. And then it started. And then I was like, oh, shit, what is this? There's a thing growing in here. Get it out. It took her like a good ten minutes to believe me. It was like, just get it out.
Starting point is 00:25:16 We actually interviewed Paul Cech, and there was like an entire piece of what he was talking about. He was like, your jaw makes such a difference. He was like, has anybody ever gotten a sesame seed stuck in their tooth and everyone's like yes what's going on he's like well that'll just mess your whole world up from your axis to like your pelvis and it was like all right paul check let me just get the thing out of here yeah like the water real life i'm a big believer in the water pick the water picks are amazing if you don't have this i was recently told to get one.
Starting point is 00:25:45 Are they as good as that? On Amazon, $20. I have one to travel with, and I have one at home. They are life-changing. You'll never have to floss again. I just hate flossing, and you just. It's just water pressure? Just water pressure. Yeah, it's just like a little dentist machine.
Starting point is 00:25:57 When I had braces, I had one to get all the things. No more pork. No more pork. Yeah, pulled pork makes me terrified. So what changes have you made though? Because of that genetic testing, like that, that's been a really interesting process for watching my buddy go through because the gut health thing is so wild and it digs into that. It does. It's really cool. So for me, the, I mean, I love supplements. I'm a big believer
Starting point is 00:26:19 in supplements. Like I really do have 10 pounds of stuff here, a supplement. So I just kind of dialed in what my, especially liver and my detox pathways needed glutathione. Um, I really think turmeric, if I don't have it, I just wake up like a groggy asshole. Uh, it's just like a lot of little things where I was like, okay, if I stay away from the foods I'm eating, increase my intake of beets and extra greens, which I try to do anyway. What can I do to help with my methylation? So it was really adding in or making sure that my B vitamin had enough folate and MTHF. And then I also add glutathione and it just helps my body get rid of any inflammation that it has a little bit easier. Have you noticed any difference in the gym? Oh, it's game changer.
Starting point is 00:27:01 Well, the gym's not open yet. So that's the best part is, like, the stress of getting to the gym. Like, I mean, I shouldn't be able to do – if it wasn't for the supplements I take and the way I ate and the things that I said no to, I think I wouldn't be able to do the five things that I'm doing. What's going on with your gym? You're opening right now. Yeah, so we're opening right now.
Starting point is 00:27:19 What are you doing here? I've opened a couple gyms. There is no way I would be here, chaos going back i would be here chaos yeah we're far away from it so we still haven't even started the build out but we'll hopefully open in july in a rhino area in denver which i'm so stoked about it's my favorite area uh and i think for right now it's really it's so cool because i started off online like six seven years ago worked backwards where usually most people start in a brick and mortar and then it builds up to online or whatever it is but it's been fun to have the m fit challenge have these
Starting point is 00:27:51 impacts um have these teas and now i'm like i want a home i need a place for these to come together and so it's half tea bar half strength training it's gonna be dope i can't wait for you to visit everyone i know that does stuff online eventually is like, I need to have a physical location. This is just not doing it for me. My house is both is dope though. Yeah, it is. It is. I'm very lucky and I'm very grateful for it, but I'm really ready to be out of my house office. So what's the vision for the gym? Is it a unique spot that is unlike any other gym in town? Like what does that look like? Well, I would, yeah, I wouldn't create anything unless it was, you know, something different. And so it's a 24-7 access strength and conditioning hybrid gym. So for me, I want a place where I can Olympic lift and I can also do some triceps,
Starting point is 00:28:34 skull crushers and not feel judged. And I really, really am excited because it's platform-based. So those Olympics, full squat rack platforms, and then bodybuilding on the other side. So group classes, but really just a home for people that have a program, want a program, but also don't really, we're just sick of pushing it too hard. I've had a really hard time post CrossFit competing to figure out where I fit. And so I'm going to create it. It's really cool. We get to go around and clearly see a lot of gyms. And when I opened my gym, it was, like, pure CrossFit, as hardcore as we can get. And then now when we go and visit some of these places, I'm like, man, it would have been really cool if there was, like, just some bodybuilders in the corner, like, getting after it. Place for everybody.
Starting point is 00:29:18 It would be really cool, yeah, if there was, like, some of these, like, movers over in the corner doing handstands and like everyone could just see what's going on. Yeah. Or some moms on a, on a spin bike, you know, like what, what speaks to you? Yeah,
Starting point is 00:29:30 totally. Find that common ground between everybody. There's so many burnout CrossFit athletes that still want to do some CrossFit ish things. And then like really like the second half of the workout is like all bodybuilding. I think you're really riding the front of that wave right now. The functional bodybuilding thing is coming in really strong.
Starting point is 00:29:45 Everyone's ready for it. If you have a gym that's niched down to that crowd in a big city, I think you'll smash. Thank you. I appreciate it. I hope I smash. I just think it was really, and it was honestly out of this adrenal thing. Like what do I do that's good for my body that I don't continue to burn myself out?
Starting point is 00:30:01 I have to run my businesses hopefully really well and also maintain my fitness level. And so I think especially business owners, how do you balance that line? And the way you do it is by the way you, what's your output? What's your exercise look like? Because if you push it a little too hard in the gym, you're going to feel it when you're trying to answer emails and trying to get creative for the next challenge or the next thing you need to launch. Right on. We're going to take a break. I want to get into the meathead hippie when we get back.
Starting point is 00:30:28 We're supposed to be hanging out with you all the time. I'm only somewhat hurt by this. Meathead hippie when we get back. Truck fam, hope you're enjoying hanging out with Emily Strong. She's such a gangster. Want to thank Omax Health. Want to discuss Omega-3s for a minute
Starting point is 00:30:49 because Omax-3 Ultra Pure, the purest Omega-3 supplement on the market. They wanted to sponsor the podcast. In case you're unaware, Omega-3s have been touted as one of the most, one of the healthiest supplements. But many have questioned whether this fact is too good to be
Starting point is 00:31:05 true. So you guys know that I do my homework on every potential sponsor on this podcast. And after talking to Omax 3 and trying their supplements, they are definitely a must try. Before I forget, make sure to visit tryomax.com forward slash shrug to get a box for free. Again, that's tryomax.com forward slash shrug for a free box. Over 75% of Americans do not get enough omega-3s in their diet and you're probably one of them. So let me tell you why they are so important to your health. Number one, they alleviate joint pain and muscle soreness. You probably have a lot of that because you do the fitnesses really hard. Yep, you've got joint pain and muscle soreness. Omega-3s make you feel your best, especially post-workout.
Starting point is 00:31:53 They can also improve focus and memory, boost cardiovascular health, and more. You're also probably wondering, what else makes Omax-3 different from other supplements on the market? I love them because no fish oil burps. Those are so gross. You don't need that. You've probably seen some of these supplements at the store, but many of the top sellers simply don't contain enough omega-3s to give you results. Omax 3 Ultra Pure is almost 94% pure omega-3 fatty acids. It's the purest concentration on the market. They have a patented EPA to DHA ratio of 4 to 1, specifically engineered for inflammation and joint pain.
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Starting point is 00:33:25 Can't beat that price, huh? For free. That's tryomax, T-R-Y-O-M-A-X dot com slash shrugged to get your free box of Omax 3, T-R-Y-O-M-A-X dot com forward slash shrugged. Do it. Also want to thank, oh, yo, Vi viore clothes i'm currently wearing them right now i'm holding my 12 month old i'm wearing these gangster viore joggers that are so comfortable
Starting point is 00:33:55 i wore them on the plane yesterday i'm wearing them today i'm gonna wear them in some pictures later because then when you see my pictures on Instagram You will double tap them because you're like damn that kid looks good in those of your pants They're super comfortable. I Love them they fit well, which never happens when you go and buy these nice-looking clothes designs are great It does not look or feel like traditional athletic gear they actually have clothes that fit our gigantic rear ends because we squat too much in the gym they're perfect for working out activities hiking I'm about
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Starting point is 00:35:58 how c-l-o-t-h-i-n-g.com and enter the code shrugged25 at checkout to get 25% off your purchase. Once again, vioreclothing.com. V-U-O-R-I-C-L-O-T-H-I-N-G dot com. And use shrugged25 at checkout. Yo, team, go get the clothes. Go get the coffees. go get the fish oils, get after it. Back to Emily Schramm. Well played. Well played. Welcome back. Thanks. Sorry, that's Colton. He's the man. He is the vibe creator. Anytime something happens,
Starting point is 00:36:41 Colton comes in. It's like the perfect song to cool the mood. He's in charge of the vibe. Very chameleon of you. Very, very chameleon. Meathead Hippie. What's up? I really dig the podcast. It's so awesome.
Starting point is 00:36:53 Thank you. You have such a really cool take on just everything you're doing because I know you come from the strength and conditioning background. And then along this journey, I feel like we're on the same page here. Right? I feel like we're on the same page here, right? Well, I think it leads. Every time you're just on the journey, you always start out pushing the external. And then all of a sudden, you realize you have to kind of have a little bit more of a conversation with yourself. But what kind of started it? What's the goal with the podcast? With me and Hippie, I think it's really I just need to be stimulated.
Starting point is 00:37:21 So I was online for, well, I am online until this gym opens. I don't do any one-on-ones. And I think I had this huge hole missing in my own life where I feed off of other people. And when I did a personal training session or when I coached a class, like I walked away feeling like on top of the world and I was missing that so much. And so I just wanted to start having good conversations with really awesome people. So that's how it started is it fed me in a way that I thought it was just a way to put out more content. And then it turned into like, this is my therapy. This is incredible. So for me, it's really just, you know, I love, I love lifting weights. I love it so much. But I also think the other side of me of herbal teas and spirit animal cards. And if you know all the palo santo i mean
Starting point is 00:38:07 i'm pretty hippie i take a lot of you're in denver i'm in denver i take a lot of flower essences so hold on back up you just uh what flower essences tell me about it what am i what am i missing how about that not what is it what am i missing this? This is so cool. So flower essences, I didn't even believe them until I started doing muscle testing on people. And when I became a nutritional therapy practitioner, I wanted to care about adrenals and gut health. I wanted to master it. But I really wanted to go through this technique that taught people how to muscle test and see, you know, physically what's the change in your organ affecting what muscle, which is why glutes, adrenals, that whole talk, that's how it started happening. So anyway, when, what you can do is if somebody can't open up, which means they cannot get into an energetic place where you can muscle test them well,
Starting point is 00:38:54 one of the only things that will work is if I just put flower essences on their tongue. So an immediate response, relax them, let them let go. And really what it is, it's a flower and you sit it into the mother it's called mother so it's just mountain spring water this is crazy i'm sorry you put the flower in the water the sun sit you have to have it in direct sunlight for at least four hours and then it's diluted and distilled in alcohol just like a tincture and so each flower like chestnut or i mean it really is bach flower is the guy that mastered this. So Dr. Bach, actually, I don't even know if he was a doctor.
Starting point is 00:39:28 Hippie Bach, we'll call him Hippie Bach. And he has these huge line of flower essences, but it's really just combinations of things that help you with your specific needs that are energetic. So like for me, I have a tendency to not let things go. Like somebody honks at me, I'm like, what did I do? Why did I do that? And I just, you kind of hold on to it. And when you're more and more stressed, you hold on to those little things go. Like somebody honks at me, I'm like, what did I do? Why did I do that? And I just, you kind of hold on to it.
Starting point is 00:39:46 And when you're more and more stressed, you hold on to those little things even more because they bother you in a way that if you were open, it wouldn't. And so I think a lot of humans have that issue is like, okay, I can't relax, but then I can't, everything's happening to my life and I can't relax and it just perpetuates it. So flower essences are just a very simple way to get somebody back into their body and it's shown it's never going to be scientific and so people always say it's placebo but it is shown to release energies like if you can take them consistently for up to two weeks four times a day energy patterns that you've had your whole life yeah can start to go away who cares if it's
Starting point is 00:40:19 placebo when i go to the sweet yoga class and the little yin master comes over and she's like, how about some reiki? And she rubs her hands together and places them near my forehead. I'm like, no problem. This is radical. I'm meditating. You just did some weird witch doctor stuff. I don't even care. I should show you just my purse. Do you guys
Starting point is 00:40:39 want to see this? This is so ridiculous. Get this on YouTube. Here we go. This is like what I carry. So first I have my Palo Santo. You guys have seen this, right? We burn this. You burn this. This is so ridiculous. Get this on YouTube. Here we go. First I have my Palo Santo. You guys have seen this, right? You burn this. What's really cool with Palo Santo, it's called Hollywood. It's just like sage. You can burn it and instead of clearing,
Starting point is 00:40:55 it grounds you. It's really good for grounding. If it doesn't burn, it means the Palo Santo did not die naturally. Someone did a really not good thing to that tree. Have you been accepted by any Native American tribes as like a medicine doctor over here? No, I think in another life I want to be a shaman. This is one of my favorite things.
Starting point is 00:41:14 You could do it in this life if you really wanted to. You guys have seen this, right? No. The pendulum? What? So my mom introduced me to this. Maybe I get it from my mom. I mean, my mom's a pretty she's a she's a
Starting point is 00:41:25 little bit of a witch in like a really good way in a good way in a good way so this is a pendulum so it just sees energy so it says if energy is more masculine or feminine or if you're having a hard time with a decision it says yes or no it's super hippie i'm gonna shut the purse there we're gonna do the pendulum afterwards i want to know okay cool okay so wait did you give yourself this name or were people friends of yours like referring to you as the fucking meathead hippie and you were like oh that's my boyfriend we were trying to he was like someone was trying to explain me and he was like no i don't i don't think that's it i think she's just a meathead hippie i was like that's the best that's my podcast that's what we're gonna call my podcast
Starting point is 00:42:02 so it was my boyfriend but it's perfect you still identify as a meathead oh god we went far down the hippie track so i get the hippie piece the meathead piece you still feel like that's you yes every i mean i'm i'm in the gym and when i'm in the gym it is all i care about and all i all i need to do so i think bicep curls squats deadlifts i i'm i follow conjugate methods so i'm a huge fan of all of the strength training that comes with that um i'm ready to open a gym because it's just i can't really do what i want to do at the place i'm at right now do you follow a program still yeah i do cool yeah is that stressful no it's necessary it's one structure in my life that i
Starting point is 00:42:42 have to have if i there's times where i don't want to program and I know that going into the gym. Maybe I had too many meetings and too much structure that day. If that's the case, then I just want to move my body. But if I don't have structure that day and it's just me making things happen, I'm creating, I'm like, how do I design this and how do I make this? If I'm in my head too creative, I come to the gym and I want something to be on paper. It's interesting. At this point, it's really challenging for me to be on any program just because it's like, oh, no, now I have to hit a number.
Starting point is 00:43:15 Well, that program was written well before my morning exploded. So if I could just show up, that would be awesome. Yes, there's definitely days I shift. Adjustment. You have things going on. When you show up, that would be awesome. Yes. There's definitely days I shit. Adjustments. You have things going on. When you show up, it's like, God, maybe I'll just pick up a dumbbell today and see if that puts things in a better place. Eight-minute rule.
Starting point is 00:43:35 Yeah. Eight minutes. I like that, actually. I'm going to steal that. You're going to draw a tarot card one of these days. It's just going to have a big eight on it. You're going to be like, what does it mean? Maybe I already have. I think it's inside gonna have a big eight on it you're gonna be like what does it mean maybe i already
Starting point is 00:43:45 have i think it's inside this dog one um are you so when you coach online are you what are you doing any personal programming for people yeah so i have like eight programs right now uh busy b burn and build so some are very specific for the mpac and so six-week strength training programs on the go uh burn is more of my hypertrophy based program that keeps cardio and endurance higher and build is my strength program which follows the conjugate method so me and my uh gym co he's my head coach at my gym will be the head coach at my gym when it happens is really awesome at integrating just rehab technique and also strength training in a way that even I forget about like, Oh yeah, lateral moves. Forgot to do that. CrossFit does one thing,
Starting point is 00:44:31 you know? So it's been really good to have him with the programming. So I have different eyes. And then I can incorporate, I've been taking from like MSU has a really awesome experimental Olympic lifting program. So I've been following that. So Olympic lifting, I find other people's programs, but for the program that like, I know exactly what I need to work on. And it's usually three times pooling and one time pushing. So it's just trying to find a balance of a lot of health in that too. Yeah. How have you, or rather have you combined weight lifting with conjugate and like, and if so, how do you do you do that yeah and it's hard because you have to be smart of not pushing it too much because you i mean the max effort upper body lower body dynamic effort upper lower if i put too much in between those days my max is horrible so
Starting point is 00:45:16 i really think that it's i try to do it on the days of the max effort upper and max effort lower and then if i am not recovered the next day, then I move on. So I'm always like, okay, well, I did too many snatches yesterday. But if I had to pick and choose, like if I want to just lift something, I don't ever just go to deadlifts.
Starting point is 00:45:36 I'm always going to air to Olympic lifting. That's always kind of my go-to. And I think it's the opposite for most people because they don't have to think about it. But I just love, I mean, I have a couple of meets that I'm signing up for this end of this year and i just think olympic lifting has changed my life like i never thought i would love it and i'm forever grateful to crossfit for introducing me to it because it's good it's just the best it's great it is i mean you just
Starting point is 00:46:00 can't you can't perfect it yeah i'm obsessed with the fact that it's going to be different every single lift. Yeah. Dude, Olympic lifting is like, even now, I just am at a point where I just, I feel like I can do it, and then I'll, like, watch the video, and I'm like, man, we still have a long way to go, and you're, what, eight, nine, ten years into it, and it's like stuff's never going to get better. Ever.
Starting point is 00:46:21 Just always on this fun journey. Yeah. Where you're lifting at a gym right now, though, that you can't really do this Olympic lifting thing. You can't drop things. Which is so fun. Which is really safe. Really, really safe.
Starting point is 00:46:32 Let's lower one rep backs to our shoulders. That's really smart. I know. So it's interesting because it's a guy's bar. It's at just a general Colorado athletic club. They're great. I mean, they have a sauna, and they have three platforms that I fight for every day. One-stop shop. Yeah. So it's been great to fill
Starting point is 00:46:48 in this whole, this transition stage until the gym opens. But what's interesting is not having chalk, not having a guy's bar, and then also having people just stare at you like you're a nut job have put you, you have to, it's just a, it it's even it's like a challenge that i actually appreciate in a way that i think it's actually helping me improve in ways that i wouldn't if i was just on my own with chalk with a female bar like all the distractions are gone i don't have to focus quite as much and when you create your own gym i think that one of the things that really drew me to crossfit was like i need or when i opened my gym was like i need to create a space where i can train the way that I want to train.
Starting point is 00:47:26 Like being in a 24-hour fitness, yeah, I could probably go and do muscle-ups or I could go and do whatever I needed to do. But why does that guy have to stare at me like I'm a Looney Tune? Get him out of here. He's messing with my game. He's staring at me. I just want to work hard. Get away from me.
Starting point is 00:47:42 And the headphone thing. Yeah. The headphones are an issue because you can't Olympic lift with headphones. And then the music is horrible. So now, yeah, you really can't. Focus is off. When you catch a front squat and you have the, like, iPhone thing and it cuts the music out, you're like, no, no, no, no, no. I needed that.
Starting point is 00:47:57 Yeah. I needed that. I know. But now when you, so now that this CrossFit thing has become a little bit more mainstream and everybody understands a little bit of Olympic lifting, imagine if you're, like, in a 24-hour fitness and you, like, start doing some, like, primal flow movement pieces and now, like, you're crawling. What are you doing over there? So it's super cool when you go to build your own gym to be able to have these pieces in there
Starting point is 00:48:21 where people can, like, explore explore movement explore what's interesting to them um i man i i always just think i'm like man if i was to redo this gym thing it would look so radically different from six seven years ago because all that stuff's really interesting and giving people a home to just express themselves is really like kind of at the heart of owning a gym like come in here and like let's give you a home where you can be the best you. Yeah. Do you ever go over to Awaken Gymnastics in Denver? Oh, man, it's been on my list for a minute.
Starting point is 00:48:52 It's not that far from my house. It looks amazing. I'm one of those people, though, that I have a hard time picking excess hobbies. Like if I – so I started jiu-jitsu. If I do not give this much time to jujitsu i had to quit it i had i couldn't because i'm an obsessive personality so if i go i know awaken gymnastics is gonna awaken the gymnastic person in me and i'm gonna want to master it in some way so i have just like picked and chosen my hobbies for this year because I can't do it all.
Starting point is 00:49:25 And I just get frustrated if I can't do it all. So I'm not a dabbler. I can't just go to one class. I have to go to all the classes and become more perfect at it. I'm just a nut job like that. But it's on the list. Is that when you're backing off of jiu-jitsu then? Did you scratch that one?
Starting point is 00:49:39 Yes, I had to because I was – I mean, I did it to train for one of the MTV shows that I did. And it was great. But when I came back, I was like, I can't commit to this. Because I want to, I would want to compete. Like, this is all or nothing. So, I pick Olympic weightlifting or I pick jiu-jitsu. I can't figure out a way to do both. So, I figured out, for me, it's Olympic weightlifting this year.
Starting point is 00:49:58 So glad you mentioned the MTV thing. Do you just smash people on that show? Like. Yeah. I feel like so. Anytime a competition comes up, I just always kind of assume, like if I'm 1% more aggressive and care 1% more than everyone else in the room, there's a really good chance you're going to be at the top.
Starting point is 00:50:21 But you've trained that intensity so much, and then all of a sudden you show up and it's like game time, let's go. No one else is in that head space of like, no, no, no, no. Wherever you're at, I guarantee you I can one-up just a little bit. I'm here to play just a little bit more than you are. You said that really well. I appreciate that. You have to monitor it because you don't want to be like three degrees higher. No, just a little bit.
Starting point is 00:50:42 Because all of a sudden now you're an asshole. Yep. That's a fine line. I just want you to know when we look at each other i'm going to kick your ass but i'm going to be friendly about it in the interview after i'll give you a butt slap afterwards right we'll be friends go get a drink after just know i'm the alpha here yep it's it's uh how often are you still doing that so i did the last one because it was a charity challenge so i was able to raise money for Girls Inc. So those are the only ones I'll do if I do another one is these little charity spinoffs that they have.
Starting point is 00:51:11 Which is good because you can still have your laptop and your phone. But if you don't do the spinoffs, you really disappear for two months. And it's just not a real... You must have the time to do that, right? Yeah. Sometimes. Sometimes you want that. But it's not going to happen anytime soon.
Starting point is 00:51:26 That's a fun little adventure, though. I feel like those challenges have – okay, I'm about to talk about MTV. Here we go. I have spent a few Sunday afternoons with a hangover watching these shows, like an extreme amount of them in college. But I love them because as you watch them, the training of the people has actually gotten better. And someone that loves strength and conditioning.
Starting point is 00:51:49 When I see the level of athleticism on those shows, and then all of a sudden there's a couple people. I don't want to say their names because then it's too much of my dorkiness. But you can see the people that start training. And then CrossFit showed up. And then you really started seeing some people that showed up in good shape. How many people on those shows? because that's like your real competition now you're not doing the CrossFit thing, how many people are actually training like behind the scenes in a really way? Like it's a professional thing like, oh, I got to go on the challenge and try and win 50 grand. They definitely do it. What's ironic is they actually start training
Starting point is 00:52:21 more when they're there. So they're like, oh, now I got to get my shit together. Oh, you've already beat them then. Yeah, so you're good. You've already beat them. Yeah, there's only a couple people. You should totally go and be like, oh, this is really good. Like really poor squats, jack their knees up. Oh, my God.
Starting point is 00:52:33 Yeah. No, this is great. I'm a professional. No way. No, I love it because I get to show, you know, a lot of them, especially the females, they really haven't been exposed to any sort of strength training. That's not fair. I know.
Starting point is 00:52:45 Well, it's good because one, I get to teach them about it. And then I'm like, well, this is why. Because you'll be better at these challenges if you do this. If you show up, I'm still going to kick your ass. But I'm still 1%. I love it. I'm actually super out of the loop. I don't even know what these challenges are.
Starting point is 00:53:01 What are you even doing? Doug Larson, how in the world did you get through college? I've never sat and watched MTV for a whole day. challenges so what happened and honestly i hadn't seen real world before i got on it so i like binge watched right before so it's real world which is like the first reality tv show and then they take members from that show now Now they have all types of members. And you do like a survivor type show. So you compete. So you try to figure out who is the best of the best. But it's strategy. It's like big brother meets survivor.
Starting point is 00:53:33 Okay. That's kind of what it is. It's a really good way when you're trying not to do any homework in college to polish off an entire afternoon of just nothing positive going into your brain but being wildly entertained yeah i don't think so what was the real key to doing that like it was it certainly isn't all physical there's a huge psychological component to it i would imagine um but tell me about that like what what was your strategy what worked what didn't work well for me honestly this is so long ago So this is like nine years ago when I was on the first real world.
Starting point is 00:54:07 And I just needed to get the fuck out of Missouri. So I like had, I had nowhere to go. I was stuck in Missouri on a path of being a veterinarian, which I was realizing that that was the last thing I wanted to do for the rest of my life. But I had wanted to be that since I was three. So I was like, what do I do with my life? So I was like in a really dark place. So when they offered to do that, it was kind of just a way for me to get
Starting point is 00:54:28 out of Missouri, which turned into a way for me to start seeing the country and actually start seeing the world. So we went to Prague and Iceland and Dominican Republic. And we've been, I think Thailand was the last one that I did. So it's just, it was fun because it was unique. And then it also triggered a competitive side of me that I didn't know I had. Like I thought it was competitive, but I didn't realize how like, I'm like do or die. I mean, what you've said is so real, like the competitiveness that it triggered in me, I became very addicted to. So that's actually how I got into CrossFit competing because it felt very similar to competing three, two, one, I'm about to wrestle you and the winner stays and the loser goes home.
Starting point is 00:55:06 Like those situations that I became really drawn to because I just wanted to know really what am I capable of? I had never tested myself enough in different ways. Like I don't know what my body can do. I'm not, I've never been a collegiate athlete. I never was an elite athlete, but I am an athlete and I want to see what I'm capable of. And this makes me so nervous. Like I would be, I still get, my heart rate starts increasing thinking about it because it's like, you just have this moment of like you black out and you just got to go. And those types of moments, whether you're competing in CrossFit or whether you're on a challenge, I just, I had to see who, I had to see what I could do, what Emily showed up.
Starting point is 00:55:46 And I just love that. I really, so I just, honestly, I didn't have any strategy. I'm like the nice one on the show. So I just kind of would be like, yeah, let's wrestle. The nice one that's 1% more aggressive than everyone else. How much of this stuff kind of, like you have a gym. You've got this impact business. You just launched another Kickstarter. You probably have 19 other
Starting point is 00:56:05 things going on that i'm just not aware of right now and tarot cards that people can find and feel good about their life and all kinds of beautiful things sage in your purse or what paulo santo i have a really good friend named paulo paula santos so every time i'm like who she's in there she's probably got good energy a lot of the stuff when you find your competitiveness does that transfer over into your business world and like how how do you manage all of the things that are going on in your life right now well it was a good mental shift for me to say okay i'm stopping this competing crossfit which i never was a great cross i mean i was decent i could win like areas you won regionals yeah you were good
Starting point is 00:56:45 in my local competitions but I never and I would do it just was an interesting combo because I was like I'm never gonna get dissatisfied with my level of crossfit because I'm just I'm not gonna train that hard are you doing this uh when did I start I guess it was 2014 15 16 oh yeah 13 40 yeah it was one regional switch from so I like missed it by a year, I think. So it was just a really interesting process of me like, okay, I'm trying to do it all. I'm trying to, it was when I launched the MPAC on Kickstarter, the first Kickstarter in 2016. And then really just saying, okay, how do I channel this competitiveness?
Starting point is 00:57:19 Because all I know is how to physically be competitive. And so I just decided, well, what can I do with these businesses? And I love creating and I love creating product, which I didn't have the chance to do with online training. Yes, you can create meal plans and videos and content, but it was like a consumer packaged good. Like tea versus a workout was like an addiction to me. So how can I be the best in the tea business?
Starting point is 00:57:43 How can I be the best in functional movement business? How can I be the best in functional movement on the go? You know, those kinds of things is where I pushed it. And it was nice because I couldn't do both. I couldn't also be the best at the Kickstarter campaigns and at the social media that's needed to make a product do well and also train at the level that I was doing. And so I was like, this is dumb. let go of this and so I definitely transferred my I transferred energy into that. Awesome what's the story behind the pack like how did you get into that? Yeah so I was actually watching the CrossFit games and I didn't have a way to work out so I took a suitcase and I stuffed it with everything I could and started squatting and then I realized there needs to be a way for me to have a backpack or carry-on bag
Starting point is 00:58:23 that turns into a weight training bag really quickly. So it uses water as weight. And so that was the first concept in 2016, launched on Kickstarter. We raised like $208,000. It was amazing. And it was kind of like the propelling of this is me being a business owner. This is me being an entrepreneur. And it's just been wonderful to have all these.
Starting point is 00:58:43 It's basically the world is your gym kind of concept. Like work out where can where you are barefoot in the grass get out of the gym that was a huge piece of healing from adrenals is just being in the sunshine and caring less about the weight on the bar and more about my movement in nature and that was really healing for me and then it turned into okay i own a backpack. So I have a patent pending on the straps. And so it's a really unique concept of take the straps off when you want it to be a workout bag or keep the straps on. Use it as a rucksack or just use it as your go-to backpack. So we launched our second Kickstarter, which is we have like three days left. And we were funded within four hours.
Starting point is 00:59:19 Yay! It's incredible. Look at you, savage. 1%. 1% cooler than everyone. So it was good. So now it's fun because I actually have a company, not just a backpack. So it's really cool to have a hydration reservoir holder.
Starting point is 00:59:34 Not camelback because it's copyright. So it's a hydration reservoir holder. You can do trail running with it. It's like my Murph bag, like a weighted vest, but also just a nice hiking adventure pack. Do you have a bunch of spinoffs kind of in the pipeline? Yes, I have too many in the pipeline. But it's fun because at first it was, you know, I want to be a weight training bag. I want to be a fitness company. But now I'm like, I am a backpack nerd. Like I want to make really good backpacks. And the X factor of,
Starting point is 01:00:02 if you want, you can work out with it whenever you can but if you can't you have a really good backpack that's going to be with you with for all your backpack i feel bad about my backpack theory i was just curious about it's a good story don't feel bad yeah t-shirts and backpacks yeah what you do people want you they're going to find you right they want to give you stuff black on black um what what's going on with the the second kickstarter yeah so uh it's finished i guess no no like what what what's the difference between the second Kickstarter? Yeah, so it's finished, I guess. No, no, no. But what's the difference between the first one and the second one?
Starting point is 01:00:28 Just fundraising? Are you guys producing more bags? Different product. It's a new product. Yep. So it's a smaller compact version. So this bag holds four reservoirs if you want. I sell it with two.
Starting point is 01:00:39 This bag that's on Kickstarter right now, the MPAC Nomad, it holds the hydration reservoir and one weighted reservoir. So you can use it just for like small single arm stuff, but also running. So it gets to at max capacity 22 pounds versus 60 pounds on that one. Awesome. One thing I do kind of want to come back to just a little bit is like your voice in the fitness industry has, I mean, you have a really cool platform that you've created.
Starting point is 01:01:03 Who are the majority of your clients and what are their goals in working with you? Well, that's a good question. I think my favorite thing to hear is when people come to me and say, I just want to be strong. I feel like I did a good job. You know, and if when I hear that, I'm like, yes, I'm doing it right. Because you never know. You put content out there and you're just like, this is me.
Starting point is 01:01:23 You hope someone's looking at it but to have the shift when i first started and especially doing the women's health stuff that i did it was like how do i get skinny how do i get abs how do i cut my belly fat and then it's shifting to how do i just be strong how do i feel good in my body and how do i you know have, like that confidence that you have. And it was, and it is strength training that does that. So, um, that's the clientele that I want to attract because I, I care so much more about how they feel, how they sleep, their energy every day and their perception of themselves. I mean, I just want everyone to look in the mirror and just fucking love what they see. It took me a long time to get to that point. And it's always
Starting point is 01:02:03 a journey. It's never like an end all be all-all some days are good some days are bad but to really have that moment of oh my god I'm a badass like everyone should experience that and like so it takes a long time but that's the clientele that I feel like I've been lucky enough to to have how do you feel about this little voice not even little it's a large voice but uh what comes with kind of the personal growth and building not just these products but the brand and kind of becoming a really cool face of women's fitness yeah i appreciate that uh it's like i'm a fan i'm not female i just want to hang out with you uh i think it's interesting because uh you know instead of you i've just been myself you know this is me and this these are the things I produce. But at the end of the day, I have become a brand.
Starting point is 01:02:48 So it's interesting to always navigate this identity with brand and growth and not see the growth of my business or lack of growth of my business as something that's a personal fault. And so monitoring that is always a very tough battle of like, I have to put myself out there more for my business. And then being like, but if it doesn't do well, then I am the person that's... So many cool things. Go for it. When you change, what happens to the brand? Because I've gone through a lot of this process. And in owning a gym and it being called CrossFit PB and it has to
Starting point is 01:03:26 be so CrossFit-y and then all of a sudden breaking up with that or like that brand is no longer represents what's going on and you've gone through so many of these transitions yourself. So what happens to the brand when you become more meathead or more hippie? What are some of those middle principles that you're guiding people through well i think the process of the transition is the most important piece so the reason i've never felt like stuck in that situation and i think maybe advice for anybody that might see or foresee that happening to them or that transition happening is talking them through each step that got you to that point so when when you feel like, oh, I feel stuck, maybe it's the CrossFit thing, right?
Starting point is 01:04:07 So like I'm a CrossFit gym, but I also just want to do some effing bicep curls. Then I experience, I show them like why am I doing bicep curls? I feel like a badass. My muscles look great. And it's okay to want to care about what your body looks like and not perform like. And so just talking them through that, I think, and being really organic. And, you know, my biggest thing with social media is that sometimes people use it as a way
Starting point is 01:04:29 to validate who they are. So they show their weakest moments and pretend like it's them getting through it. But it's really them looking at validation through the crowd that they have. I think it happens with influencers all the time. I don't know if that makes sense. So I think the biggest thing is
Starting point is 01:04:44 if you are trying to share something, just make sure you're in a good place. You've already gotten through that journey. You already know where you're going. And then that piece is going to resonate with your followers way more than something that's like, oh, I should post about self-love or I should post about X, Y, Z. Just don't do it because people will see right through it yeah i think the best part about you is that your internal success totally shows with all your external success which a lot of times from women you know we see all these external things but people that we're looking at are pretending that their internal is all set and ready to go but you totally are on that platform where i looking at you believe that your internal success helps and give me, of course. And so,
Starting point is 01:05:25 you know, as being a female, seeing that I believe in, like believe in you as a person in your internal, cause I know that's what's producing everything externally. So that's really cool to see. Damn. Thanks.
Starting point is 01:05:38 Right. Where can people find you and all these cool things that you have going on? No. So emilychrom.com is probably probably the best. That's the hub. That's the hub. Although I don't have my tea company on there. So teas, tarot cards, herbalelement.com. Get them on there, girl.
Starting point is 01:05:50 I know I need to get them on there. Shit. But that's where you can see the MPAC. That's where you can see I have a body awareness project on skin for people that struggle with acne. I have a lot of crazy things going on. Do you just have an idea and say something cool and you're like, I need a patch? Yep.
Starting point is 01:06:07 I love it. I do. The world is my gym. I didn't even know these were laying right here. I got them for you. Colton, you can patch that shirt up you have on with this thing now. Cover that nipple. Cover that nip, bro.
Starting point is 01:06:22 The last thing, for any entrepreneur, anybody that's creative or has ideas in their head, it just gets better when you trust yourself. I mean, the way I eat, the supplements I take, if you just go with it, I mean, the ball will never stop rolling. Right. I think people really struggle with that trusting themselves thing. And I think if more people just jumped, said something will happen on the other side if I just take this first step. And then that first step, usually someone's going to catch you. It's scary as shit.
Starting point is 01:06:52 But if people just started to practice taking that leap a little bit at a time, they're going to find that they trust themselves. They're able to do it more often. You've got to build the plane while you're flying it. Right. Yeah. Jump, jump, and have the parachute in your back pocket. EmilyShrom.com. EmilyShrom.com.
Starting point is 01:07:10 At Emily Shrom on all the things. Viv, tell us about you. Find me, alohapokeco.com or Viviana Smith on Instagram. Doug Larson. Viv has like 15 restaurants she's putting together right now. Literally. How you have time to be on this show right now is I will never understand. I love poking.
Starting point is 01:07:28 And she's a gangster. And everything you were just saying is probably her life about sleeping three hours, working out too hard, being too athletic, all the good things. We'd be friends. Yeah, definitely. We are now friends. You just bonded us. We're going to put you two right here.
Starting point is 01:07:44 We are very, very, very similar. Great to meet you. Great to meet you as well. Doug Larson. I have three kids and two companies, and I'm like, man, Viv is really busy. I got nothing going on. I just, like, have nothing to do over here. You can find me on Instagram at Douglas E. Larson and everything.
Starting point is 01:08:01 Barbell, shrugged and shrugged collective. Make sure you follow Mr. Fitzpico behind the camera over here. We're going to post a picture of that shirt he has on. He's been torturing me with it for the last three days. You look like you're nine. You can find me at Anders Varner. Make sure you get into the Shrugged Collective. Five shows a week coming out.
Starting point is 01:08:22 Make sure you like, subscribe. Find us on iTunes. Find us on YouTube. Coolest conversations in all of strength and conditioning. Most importantly, we're going to be here every Wednesday in your ear on the way to work. Come and hang out with us. We'll see you next week. Shrug fam, hope you guys enjoyed the show.
Starting point is 01:08:39 Emily Schramm, what a gangster. Go visit her platform strength in downtown Denver. That's her brand new dream and i'll bet she'll even let you read a tarot card with her i can't remember what mine was but man tarot cards in the middle of podcasting you can't go wrong um i want to thank our friends over to organifi make sure you get over to organifi.com forward slash shrugged. Save 20% storewide using coupon code shrugged. Four Sigmatic, all the delicious functional mushrooms and all the delicious magical elixirs.
Starting point is 01:09:14 Four Sigmatic.com forward slash shrugged. Save 15% storewide. F-O-U-R-S-I-G-M-A-T-I-C.com forward slash shrugged. 15% storewide. Viore clothing. V-U- clothing i'll spell it c l o t h i n g dot com use coupon code shrugged to save 25 storewide and omax three omega three omax three fish oils ultra pure tryomax.com forward slash shrugged. You're going to get a free 14 days full or free box of fish oil pills. We're going to see you guys on Saturday.
Starting point is 01:09:56 Let's get after it.

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