[00:00:00] Anthony: Hey there, my friend, it's Dr. Anthony Balduzzi, and I want to welcome you back to another episode here on the Fit Father Project Podcast. Today we're joined by one of our very own Fit Father veterans, James Van Verth. This guy has been around the FFP for five years, and honestly, it was a cool experience for me to meet him.

[00:00:32] For five years, I've seen him make posts and have an incredible journey. And James is a very humble guy, so he wouldn't say this about him, but it's the benefit that I get to host this podcast to say what I want. Uh, when James came on a couple years ago, he made a really incredible transformation. He wasn't overly heavy and he didn't have a ton of weight to lose, but he stripped off a layer of fat and basically revealed one of the most epic six pack abs that we saw around [00:01:00] the Brotherhood.

[00:01:00] In a long time, and, and James has inspired a lot of people because of the level of fitness he's been able to achieve right now in his late sixties. He's 67 at the time of recording this, so he started the FFP in his early sixties and now he's just strong. He's fit, he's mobile, he does handstands, he does outdoor primal movement.

[00:01:20] He obviously incorporates our fit father workouts and now into his retirement, he's just able to enjoy his body to go backpack and, and just have a really beautiful life with his family. And this conversation is great because we get to hear the perspective of a veteran who's not only achieved a high level of fitness in his own way, uh, but also shares the different stages of the journey, the things that work for him in early stages versus now.

[00:01:44] And there's a big emphasis that he puts on mobility. And obviously our fit father workouts are really great for increasing your mobility. We're doing the foundational motions with swings, squats, overhead pressing, and pulling. Uh, but hopefully if you listen to this conversation all the way through, James is going to inspire you to [00:02:00] try some other kinds of mobility like the primal movement he does.

[00:02:03] Like bear crawls, spider walks, frog jumps, and other stuff that enables him to feel young, to keep his joints young, and to continue to progress his strength outside of just straight up heavy lifting. Cause James has done it all. He's done the FF30X series. He's done some OSM work and now he's here on his own cool hybrid plan.

[00:02:21] So I'm super proud to be hosting this conversation with one of our five year veterans and a guy that has inspired so many and still continues to be inspired by so many of you. That's exactly what he says. So without further ado, let's get into today's conversation with fit father, James Van Verth. All right, James, welcome officially to the fit father project podcast, my friend.

[00:02:40] I'm so happy you're here.

[00:02:42] James: Thank you. It's great to be here.

[00:02:44] Anthony: And I gotta say before I ask you for the typical intro stuff. I feel like this particular conversation has been a long time in the making. I mean, we hear the idea of throwing around that there's FFP veterans around there. And in my book, you are certainly one of them.

[00:02:58] You've been a guy that's been in [00:03:00] our brotherhood for many years. Um, and I actually want to know how many years you've been on the program. Cause I think that'll give some guys some context. So please introduce yourself, your name, your age, where you're from. Anything you'd like to share about your family and work and how long you've been on the program.

[00:03:16] James: Okay. Yeah. James Van Verth, uh, 67 years old. I live in Aptos, California, which is near Santa Cruz, California. It's, uh, been almost five years that I've been in the program now, and it's just been a wonderful transformative experience for me. Uh, I have a 19 year old son who I just dropped off down at, uh, UC Irvine in Southern California.

[00:03:42] And a lovely wife and, uh, we love to go on adventures in our little camper van with our little dog. So we'll be doing that soon, in fact, but, uh, my life is good. I'm very grateful, very blessed to be in the program, to be [00:04:00] here, to finally meet you live and, uh, in person, even if virtually, Dr. A.

[00:04:07] Anthony: That's so cool.

[00:04:07] And I, I feel like the feeling is certainly mutual. And I mean, for those who don't know you and haven't seen some of your posts and photos, cause maybe there are newer members, like you made a splash back in the day, man, and I'll tell you this through our team, like we have like our own internal. Like team chat.

[00:04:23] And I remember it was maybe a couple of years ago when you start coming through the program and really getting your fitness on point and you peel back that layer of fat and you revealed these truly exquisite and Epic abs that became kind of famous across the brotherhood. And, um, and I, and I thank you for that.

[00:04:38] And I thank you for that in the sense of like, I know you were just doing your thing and getting a healthy lifestyle, but it's really important for us to see. Models of guys who really like look and you can tell feel in great physical condition to inspire us. And I know you've certainly inspired me, um, because it's not just that you're fit.

[00:04:55] You also have a lot of great mobility and you do a lot of outdoor adventures as well. And it's correct [00:05:00] in saying that you are, you're in retirement now.

[00:05:03] James: Yeah. And I think that that's really partly what helps spur me on this journey was that I retired a little over five years ago. And at the time, I didn't feel like I'd been taking very good care of myself.

[00:05:15] I've been working in high tech, hunched over a computer for many years. And so I decided in retirement, I really wanted to focus a little bit on fitness and getting to where I needed to be. And for me, you know, it wasn't as much as I know many of the brothers want to lose a hundred pounds. And that wasn't me.

[00:05:33] I got up as high as 180 pounds at one time. And for me, that felt very heavy and clunky. Uh, so I had already started losing some weight when I stumbled upon the fit father project. But what I was always lacking, what I've really been lacking most of my life is a program, something that I could follow, a fitness program that encompassed both the, you know, the nutrition plan as well as an exercise plan.

[00:05:58] And of course, [00:06:00] having the community of brothers has just been awesome. But, uh, given that it's been five years now in retirement, my goals have changed a little bit over time. I went from, you know, wanting to get bigger and stronger to wanting to become leaner and, uh, stronger, more fit, more mobile, being able to do the things I love to do, like.

[00:06:21] Rock climbing and backpacking.

[00:06:23] Anthony: Yeah. And now I'm going to ask you, we're going to, I want to approach your journey and understanding it from a couple of different lenses. I mean, certainly I want to hear about what it was like in the early stages of you getting on the program, but I also want to hear about what the evolution has been like, you know, difference between being on FFP for one year and now.

[00:06:42] What FFP looks like for you at five years is probably, uh, just a hodgepodge of stuff you've learned, stuff you've made your own, but take us back to the beginning phase of your journey. Like, what did you change dramatically in your life? Was it like an overhaul of the nutrition? Obviously things like the apex were [00:07:00] probably pretty new, but what, what really stands out in your mind about how FFP changed you in the early phases of getting up on going on this program?

[00:07:09] Well,

[00:07:09] James: all of those things that you mentioned, I mean, the nutrition plan was new for me and, uh, I had always tried to be somewhat conscious of, uh, good eating, but it was really nice to have the nutrition plan broken down and I followed it very strictly in the beginning. What did

[00:07:27] Anthony: you do? Like, what worked specifically for you, the routine you kind of dialed in?

[00:07:31] James: As far as nutrition, well, of course, the perfect plate was a big thing, you know, looking at the right amount of protein and carb and healthy fats, so made some changes to the diet and, uh, also incorporated supplements. The protein shake I thought was really important for me, uh, to make sure I was getting enough protein, but also to be able to be in a proper place either before or

[00:07:58] Anthony: after my [00:08:00] workouts.

[00:08:00] Yeah. And what kind of exercise, like were you doing, were you rock climbing when you started the program or like, was this like a lifelong thing that you you've been doing?

[00:08:11] James: Yeah, for, well, for 10 years, I started when, when my son was nine, he wanted to go rock climbing and that really spurred it. We both really got into it and it was something that we could do together.

[00:08:21] So he continues to rock climb. He's much better than me, but I've progressed a lot and I'm happy with where I am in rock climbing. So I was, uh, doing that as part of my exercise program, but I wasn't doing anything like a strict routine that, uh, you know, apex 10, like most people, it kicked my butt in the beginning.

[00:08:45] And then moving on to Monroe and Double Trouble and all of the subsequent phases of FFP30X before I went into OSM. It was really, uh, amazing how sticking to a program, [00:09:00] as much as it sometimes hurt. And I didn't want to do it, but I was seeing the gains. I was seeing, you know, the weight going away, the fat going down, the strength increasing.

[00:09:10] It was a really transformative. Yeah.

[00:09:12] Anthony: And probably fair to say, I'm not making an assumption, but I feel like it's true and you can correct me if it's not. That being in the job in the industry you're in high tech computer hunched over probably thinking about a lot of things, you know, probably having a lot of like busy ness and systems that you're always working on.

[00:09:31] It was probably nice just to have this health area of your life. Handled in the sense that you could just show up and follow through and execute and then see the results. It's not like another thing you needed to manage in that sense.

[00:09:42] James: Yeah. And I feel extremely grateful in that respect, because for people who are stressed out with their job and their life and their family, I empathize in not having the time.

[00:09:54] To devote to doing a regular workouts. And that's where, again, you [00:10:00] know, the, the apex 10, if you could carve out 40 minutes, three times a week, then you could start doing that plan. But for me, it really helped just to be able to have more time, less stress and more focus on, on myself. You know, a lot of my focus had been on.

[00:10:17] earning and making sure I was providing for family and others. So it allowed me in retirement to have a little bit more self focus and that's helped a lot. I wish everybody was in that position. I realized they're not, but, uh, hopefully at some point people will be able to, uh, have that more relaxed

[00:10:35] Anthony: approach.

[00:10:36] Yeah, I totally agree. And even before that experience is relaxed, like you said, it's still very practical. Like people can still carve out 90 to 120 minutes a week. For some exercise and you get a big ROI from that. I want to like, I want to, we want you to reflect back on if there's, if you feel like there's distinct stages in your journey, like from the, over the past five years or so, do [00:11:00] you feel like there's chunks of time that feel like they have a certain theme to them?

[00:11:05] Like starting intermediate, advanced, um, and maybe I'm fishing a little bit, but I just, when I reflect on my life and the way I've trained, I definitely have distinct periods of basically my understandings and my approaches. So I want to ask you kind of from like a more veteran perspective of doing this for over, you know, half a decade, which is kind of cool to say at this point, like, are there distinct stages, you know, and, and, uh, and how would you describe the journey, uh, up to this point in that, in that respect?

[00:11:32] James: I would say that my path was somewhat circuitous in that, you know, I started off kind of looking at, uh, fishing around YouTube to try to find ideas. And so I initially stumbled into yoga and then a high intensity interval training form of yoga. And then I found the fit father project project and uh, eventually You know, that led me to other areas like, uh, more mobility and body weight [00:12:00] training and primal movement.

[00:12:02] And so I, I think there have been these phases. I keep coming back to fit father in part because the community is awesome and I just love getting inspiration. From seeing what other people are doing, you know, posting before pictures to me, it's like, wow, that takes courage and it takes dedication to be able to jump on the bandwagon.

[00:12:21] So I continue to draw that inspiration, but I went from following a strict fit father project program. To more of incorporating things that felt right to me, like movement and mobility and body weight, uh, exercises. So now it's more of a blend of those things. So I would say, if anything, that's the path that I follow is to become, to take from the awesome gurus that are out there in hopes of becoming my own guru by listening to myself and pushing myself in the areas that I really want to excel.

[00:12:58] Anthony: That's beautifully said. And it [00:13:00] reminds me of that Bruce Lee quote, like take what is useful, discard what is not. And I, and I think that's also, it, it, it really parallels these learning trajectories that we do have where when we're in any kind of, you know, let's just say it's university, technical school, or even learning health and fitness, there's this.

[00:13:15] There's a point to be very structured and to follow things and you get the benefit from someone's methodology, but you also get to extract the wisdom of what works and eventually you get the privilege of being in a position where you're at, where you can kind of combine it all and you have this hybrid plan that really fits you.

[00:13:30] So what does the day in your life look like in terms of incorporating some of the mobility? Cause you've mentioned that a lot more than other guys and being a rock climber, being someone that wants to be outside and, and you want to not just be strong, but have great joint function. Like what do you now do?

[00:13:44] for mobility. What have you learned about mobility? How does that fit into your life on a daily basis?

[00:13:51] James: Yeah, mobility has just been amazing. And I mentioned primal movement or animal movement. And I stumbled upon one [00:14:00] of the gurus named Ido for sure. And, uh, and there are many others like him that are out there and they start teaching things like you know, animal movement.

[00:14:10] So crawling around like a bear or a spider, uh, doing certain movements that have names and other things that just feel right. And part of it was around, uh, I mentioned earlier, you know, the calisthenics or the body weight training, but being able to do things like hand balancing exercises where I can now easily do handstands and hold a handstand.

[00:14:34] And, and then, you know, wanting to do new things like being able to do a bar muscle up or a ring muscle up and pistol squats, things that, you know, you inspired me to look at trying that I thought I'd never be able to do so little by little, you know, by pushing myself and I continue to have goals, you know, I'd love to be able to balance on one hand instead of two.

[00:14:56] And that seems like a huge stretch, but I keep trying. [00:15:00] So my daily mobility starts off with just. I'm going to start by just crawling around because I get up and I feel stiff and I need to get the synovial fluids moving in my joints. So I start by just crawling because it feels good and it's very gentle.

[00:15:15] Does

[00:15:15] Anthony: that look like a bear crawl specifically or what does that mean for you, the crawling? It, it, it

[00:15:19] James: may be the bear crawl or it may just be, I'm standing in my space here in this room that's nice soft carpet where I can, uh, you know, move and it's not unlike yoga, but instead of holding poses, it's more of a continual movement and flexing legs and arms and shoulders and back.

[00:15:41] And

[00:15:41] Anthony: yeah, I love that. And I think a couple of things I'm taking from that, not just in the fact that primal movement is something that people listen to this might want to look into. Um, but just also the fact that it gives you this. Long runway for future engagement, future challenges, and [00:16:00] pushing yourself in a sustainable way.

[00:16:02] Like let's face it at a certain point, like if your goal is to continuously lift another 50 or a hundred pounds on your deadlift and you're pushing late sixties, like you are, that's might not be as realistic or as beneficial as. Hey, I'm pretty sure you can be just as you're going to make improvements in your calisthenic strength over the next several years over what you're doing now.

[00:16:22] And that's something that's like very achievable, joint friendly, and it's fun. And it's different. And, and I don't know, I think when you start crawling around, like an animal doing bear crawls, frog jumps, a frame stuff, like whatever it is, it seems like that, that kind of concept, when you get into that, it also coincides with like, typically you're spending more time outside.

[00:16:43] And typically you're getting a little more connected to this like natural way of living, which tends to bring you peace. Like there's something around this linchpin of like moving your body in a natural way, getting connected with a natural life that tends to make people happier. Has that been a part of your experience?

[00:16:57] James: Uh, you, I mean, you're hitting the nail [00:17:00] on the head for me. Like when I take my dog to a nearby park, there's a nice grassy field where she loves to chase the tennis ball and I'm crawling around. And part of me is wondering, and I hope people don't think I look too crazy out here, crawling and jumping and rolling and doing handstands and, uh, and things like that.

[00:17:20] But a part of me is like, you know, I don't care. And occasionally somebody will come over and say, Hey, that's really cool. What is that that you're doing? And I'll tell them a little bit about, you know, my journey and, uh, it's, uh, hopefully inspiring some people, but to your earlier point, you know, the, the continuing to try to push my limits with lifting heavier and heavier, it was taking a toll.

[00:17:42] I was feeling, you know, my lower back. pain, uh, and I, I really didn't want to, uh, exacerbate things. So a more gentle approach to, you know, crawling and jumping and rolling and hanging, those types of things, uh, they feel very gentle and I can [00:18:00] use body weight or supplement it as I often do with dumbbells.

[00:18:04] And uh, it, uh, I think is something that we can continue to do. As we age and need to be more conscious of maybe putting strains on our, uh, joints and muscles and bones. And I think the approach, and I still listen to the videos that you put out, and many of them are talking about the same thing. How as we age, we can do things with, uh, deadlift because it's easier on our back.

[00:18:32] So I continue to draw knowledge, wisdom, and. And inspiration from the things that you're teaching.

[00:18:39] Anthony: That's awesome. I absolutely love that. And I think that when we feel really alive, like life has this expansionary energy, like our youth has this expansionary energy, there's the promise of finding a partner, getting a career, building something, figuring out your purpose.

[00:18:57] And then I think when we get into the midlife, you get into this [00:19:00] groove oftentimes, and that groove can be a little bit like stagnation. And then towards the end of life, a lot of people tend to like wither and have an energy that's more contracting, things are starting to break down. And I love how just this whole concept, and I can definitely feel like just how your life energy is now this whole primal movement in this idea is still giving you this expansionary energy into this openness that you have in this back part of your life.

[00:19:23] So there's a lot of like deeper forces working here is what I'm trying to like make sure that people recognize that it's more than just. Movement. This is about like your life energy and expressing that in a way that feels helps you feel great. And that's awesome.

[00:19:38] James: Yeah, I think you're right. I see a lot of people who are my age and older and they seem to have resigned themselves to slowing down.

[00:19:48] And I'm holding on to this vision of, you know, I'm 67 now, but I see myself 30 years from now, still moving and jumping and running and crawling and [00:20:00] hanging and doing maybe not quite as crazy as I am now, but I still see that, uh, You know, that mobility isn't going away. I don't want it to, because I think when we stop moving, that's when we really start the end of life.

[00:20:15] It

[00:20:16] Anthony: is. We lose our mobility. We lose our, our like, and that's the fundamental human body, right? It's designed to have motion built into it. Our joints move us. We ambulate is the first thing we try to figure out how to do as kids. And the second that stops, like the whole system loses. And quite frankly, our joints typically feel worse when we get stiff and we don't move as much.

[00:20:34] The right kinds of motions are fantastic for that. I want to ask you about some, maybe some, any non scale victories across the way that you remember any stories, um, or anything that comes to mind over the past several years of this journey, stuff that you maybe even astonished yourself at doing, whether it's conquering a fit father workout or how your friends and family have responded to see you go through this change.

[00:20:56] Any non scale victories that come to mind? [00:21:00]

[00:21:00] James: Well, uh, you know, a couple come to mind. One is, you know, just, uh, the younger guys that approached me either at the climbing gym. Or just out at the beach when I have my shirt off and they comment on how strong and how fit I look. And maybe it's because I'm doing handstands or muscle ups or something like that, that seemed to impress people, which is really not my goal.

[00:21:23] To be honest, I'd rather do those things with nobody around, but if somebody sees and they're kind enough to say something that feels pretty good to me. So I take that as a real victory. And then the other is the other that comes to mind immediately is just, you know, my love of getting out in the wilderness and the fact that I'm still going out there and, uh, I'm not as strong as I was 10 years ago when I was carrying heavier backpacks and going longer distances.

[00:21:55] But I still feel pretty good and I still run into a lot of people [00:22:00] back there. I tend to solo hike a lot in the wilderness and, uh, I run into people that, uh, you know, comment how it's great to see somebody back there with a fairly light pack and going long distances, long distances, uh, cross countries. So those are to me.

[00:22:18] The things that, uh, are, you know, they, they feel good. So I, without, you know, blowing up my ego too much, I, I do enjoy hearing from others that, uh, they think I'm doing a good job.

[00:22:30] Anthony: Hey, it's Dr. Ray. I want to quickly pause this episode to thank you for listening to this fit father podcast. I am just blown away at how amazing this podcast has become.

[00:22:40] I had no idea when I started FFP around 10 years ago that it would grow into such an impactful mission. And I want to let you know that I am so grateful to be connected to you in this lifetime. And on behalf of me and my entire team, we are so grateful to be in your life, helping you get and stay healthier for your family.

[00:22:56] That's what I want to share. Just some gratitude from my heart to yours. [00:23:00] Let's get back to today's episode. What's really striking me in this conversation is I'm just seeing these parallels between. Like the stuff that I used to love doing as a kid and the stuff that you love doing right now and I'm sure stuff That you used to love doing as a kid to like getting outside riding a bike running and playing maybe climbing trees And and now you're just doing all these hobbies now in your late 60s and continuing to do that And I haven't met too many people that don't feel great getting out into The wilderness and just exploring nature, oftentimes being by yourself and pushing yourself.

[00:23:33] So I'm inspired by that. I love that you have that as a big part of your life. What's it been like for your wife to see you on this journey? Um, and, and what's her health and fitness journey been like over the past five years?

[00:23:48] James: Well, I think in some ways, uh, the changes that I've made have been a little bit intimidating for her.

[00:23:55] She was in the early phases. She was a little alarmed by [00:24:00] how focused I was on making changes to diet and exercise. So it, uh, her journey has been a little bit different. You know, fortunately she's in good health and we enjoy. Uh, doing our adventures together when we go off in our camper van, but she's not as into, uh, going into the wilderness backpacking, so that's not her thing.

[00:24:24] She's not a rock climber. She's not going to join me there, but I think we've reached a really nice, uh, equilibrium now. She understands what I'm doing and I think she's supportive of, uh, well, I know she's supportive. Uh, she's not following the same path, but, uh, that's okay. I'm glad that, you know, I have my things and she has her things and then we have our things and that works well for us.

[00:24:48] Anthony: Really well said that equilibrium of understanding. It's something that probably just took her time to process, to see you in the pocket long enough. Right? It's not a fad that this is actually super meaningful to James [00:25:00] that this is actually good and he's not judging me or pushing it on me. You know, so I love that.

[00:25:05] And that's, I think that's pretty essential for the long term happiness and success. Have there been periods over the last five years where you've fallen off? Like, has an injury set you back? Have there been periods of, like, stress or something like that? Like, I want to talk about that, because I feel like it's inevitable, even when you're on your game, that something happens, and then you have to gain this meta skill of getting back on track.

[00:25:26] So, let's talk about that.

[00:25:29] James: Yeah, that's a great question, and my initial thought was, well, no. And then you mentioned injury and yeah, two years ago I had a, a fall at the climbing gym where I broke my left foot and, uh, that took me out of doing a lot of things. I had to wear a boot for three months and, uh, It really impacted the strength in my left leg and it took a while to recover from that.

[00:25:57] So the injury thing is something that I think [00:26:00] about. I don't want that to happen again. I'm being more cautious. I think as I get older, it seems like it takes longer to bounce back and heal from those types of things. And, uh, then the other thing I think I did just start to see, you know, as I was doing my own thing and becoming a little more lackadaisical, I was starting to put on some weight and some fat and not a lot, you know, I may get, I think I got up to like 157 pounds, uh, where I like to be more like 150.

[00:26:30] And so I said, I'm going to go back. I'm gonna go back and I'm going to start on apex 10 again. And, uh, it was great because it just, that a little bit of focus of jumping back into a routine. Yeah. And following the plan, it just got me right back into it. So I think there is that if you start to fall away, my suggestion is, you know, go back to the basics and start again when you need

[00:26:54] Anthony: to.

[00:26:55] I love that. And I think that's important for people to understand the trajectory. And I, I do that [00:27:00] the same myself, having done this health stuff, like with intensity for decades now, it's literally. Always, sometimes there's periods where you come back to the basic structure that got you started, and there's a season to get back to the simple fundamentals, to do the apexes, to get more structure on nutrition, and then those periods guide you back, and then there's other periods where you're just cruising with creativity, doing a bunch of different stuff, and like, that's the journey, and that's definitely what I intend and want for people of how they use the Fifth Father Project and community is to be able to come back to these things seasonally as Thanks.

[00:27:34] As things ebb and flow. Um, what is some advice that you have for some guys who are starting out? Some newbies on the program. Um, and let's say even for guys who maybe has started a similar time to you that are in their sixties.

[00:27:49] James: Well, I'd say, you know, if you're getting started with the program, try to really exercise your discipline [00:28:00] muscle and follow the program.

[00:28:02] Uh, you know, the meal plan is critical if you're trying to lose weight. Nutrition and the right amounts and the right things. critical. And then, you know, following the workout routines, those are the basics. And of course, rely on the community. And those are really the three pillars I see that for me made FFP so successful.

[00:28:24] The community was just great. Anytime I needed inspiration, I could go there and I could see the things that people who were younger, older, bigger, smaller. The things that they were doing and, uh, or the challenges that they were facing or the fact that they'd fallen off the wagon and come back and jumped on again and started again, those things just gave me so much inspiration.

[00:28:45] Uh, so I relied on the community

[00:28:47] Anthony: a lot. I think that word, and I think that word, I just want to pause on that because the word inspire, I, I'm not going to pretend like I know the exact Latin, but I think it's like inspirare, like it's to like, to breathe [00:29:00] in. The, the shared energy or experience of another being like, man, that has power, like even for a guy like you, who's like probably in better shape than many of the people you're being inspired by, like, that's not the point.

[00:29:13] The point is you're getting inspiration from how they're approaching their life and their challenges. And like. That's, it's not about where you are in your destination relative to someone else, but just the fact that you see another human in their genuine goodness and like value showing up. And like, that's a well that will continue to fill us for the rest of our lives.

[00:29:31] So I'm, it's really cool to hear that you're continuing to draw inspiration, even from the guys before pictures, their heroism of them showing up and doing that. Like, it's really cool to say that.

[00:29:41] James: Yeah. I mean, just, uh, within the last couple of days I saw somebody's before picture and I just said, Well, I'm inspired by your courage and honesty in posting this.

[00:29:51] Thank you for posting it and good luck. Welcome to the team. So you're right. Those are the kinds of things that inspire me.

[00:29:58] Anthony: That's cool. All [00:30:00] right. So a little different. Um, what's one thing you do? With your family, a tradition or something that's important to you that the, that you do, you know, is there anything that like you guys hold sacred as a family, especially as your son is kind of moving into this interesting phase where he's becoming an adult, launching himself.

[00:30:18] Are there traditions that you hold dear as a family or some values?

[00:30:23] James: Well, I think that getting together with family is the big tradition. You know, every year we go back to Michigan. Where my wife and her five siblings grew up. And every year we get together with my family, my five siblings, uh, who also, we grew up in the Midwest, but we'll typically go different places and get together.

[00:30:47] So those are traditions that we hold sacred. And we, we both feel very blessed to that. And we come from these, uh, family of six kids with parents who were married forever [00:31:00] and they're. Still all, uh, you know, the parents are falling away, of course, now, as we get older, but, uh, there's one left. She's 95, my wife's mom, and, uh, all the siblings are close.

[00:31:12] You know, we've never had any estrangement on either side, and we all like each other, and we love getting together. That's cool. So we feel fortunate, because not all families are that way, especially when you get into the, you know, six kids on each side. So for us, that's something that, uh, is sacred that we love and we'll continue to do at least once a year with her family.

[00:31:33] And once a year with my family, and sometimes more often. Getting together and just relaxing, enjoying maybe falling off the, uh, the strict diet a little bit for a day or two, but then knowing it's okay. And being able to get back

[00:31:47] Anthony: to it. That's great. And I want to ask you is your, is your extended family that you just described your siblings, your wife, siblings, how many of them are health conscious or how many of them, if you get their percentage or a number, but like how many of them are, [00:32:00] would you say in good health and in focus?

[00:32:02] Maybe not to the extent you are, but in the general direction.

[00:32:06] James: Well, I think all of the siblings are health conscious and in fairly good health with the exception of I have a younger brother and unfortunately, you know, he struggled with a lot of issues over the years, including, you know, bipolar and, uh, obesity.

[00:32:22] and diabetes. So he's not in a great place physically. He's a great guy. He's a smart guy. He's a funny guy, but he's had some real challenges in life. And I've, uh, I've always tried to encourage him, you know, take little steps to do things, to become more healthy through nutrition and exercise. But it's hard.

[00:32:43] You know, I empathize. I don't know what it's like to be in that mindset where you have mental issues and medications that are really impacting your life.

[00:32:52] Anthony: Yeah. And I guess that's kind of where I wanted to lead you anyways, is like, how do you think you end up being a positive role model to people? [00:33:00] Like, how do you pass on?

[00:33:03] Some of these things onto your close friends and family that you found so sacred and beneficial like what's the process? Is it do you actually directly share? Is it merely just living and embodying these things? Do you even do you try do you not try? I think people are probably interested when they start to see results They want everyone like you got to check this out, but like that doesn't always work.

[00:33:24] So what's the what's your process and approach for that?

[00:33:28] James: You're absolutely right. It doesn't always work. So I try not to push very hard on those things. I try to lead by example, and I will share things like I've shared with family members how transformative intermittent fasting has been. And I said, you know, here's something you might want to think about if you're interested in losing weight or improving your Strength and fitness, you know, something you can start very easily with a, you know, 12, 12 kind of intermittent fasting.

[00:33:59] [00:34:00] And one of my sisters in particular just totally embraced it and then it was amazing. She did drop weight and she loves it. So it's something that I approach gently because I don't want to feel like I'm pushing. My son, on the other hand, you know, he sees what I've done. He sees the transformation in the last five years and He's just amazed and he's wanting to follow in that path in terms of gaining strength and mobility.

[00:34:26] So he's just, you know, looking at the changes that he's seen. Another big one for me, of course, was, uh, alcohol was a real problem for me. In the years leading up to my retirement, a way that I escaped and dealt with stress was to drink way too much, and it's just completely gone the other direction to where I was looking at my log today and saying, Oh, the last time I had a drink was two weeks ago, and, uh, you know, it's not like something I even think about anymore.

[00:34:56] I log it every day along with my weight, my alcohol [00:35:00] consumption. But, uh, it was something that I just made up my mind. I can't continue down this path of poor health. And, uh, alcohol was a horrible thing for me. So I had to get that under control. And I'm glad I did.

[00:35:16] Anthony: You brought up a number of things. And I, for the last few minutes of this conversation, I do want to I want to talk about those things.

[00:35:22] I want to talk about how you track and log things, because I know you did some subtle mentions, but I think that'd be interesting for all of us to know too, I do want to hear a little more about the alcohol and have a discussion about the, just the nature of us using stress outlets and escape. Sometimes alcohol is a very common one.

[00:35:39] And then before we get to those two questions, I had this, just this image popped in my mind when you were talking about how to help your friends and family. I just had this image of a, of a good natured. Farmer who's got a smile on his face and he's running around the fields and he's just throwing seeds everywhere Just good seeds of like seed that could sprout but he's [00:36:00] just giving good seeds and throwing water But he keeps on walking on and he's not stressing about whether or not any given seed takes But he just is is on the process of just sharing the goodness and giving nourishment and sometimes it'll take sometimes it won't and when It does it's glorious because it's not the farmers Work itself.

[00:36:17] That was the taking. It was that the seed met the fertile soil at that right time. And the whole process just happened. So I think there was just a analogy that came to mind, but let's talk about tracking a little bit. How has tracking been a big part of your journey? Like, were you always journaling? What kind of things do you actually write down?

[00:36:33] Do you write down workouts? Do you write down weight? Are you using a physical log book, something on the computer? Please tell us more about

[00:36:38] James: that. Yeah. It's changed a lot. I never did journaling when I was younger, when I was working. So that kind of started when I got on the fit father project, or that actually started before that, that I started logging drinks when I realized I needed to cut back on alcohol.

[00:36:55] So you started tracking

[00:36:55] Anthony: that. Got

[00:36:56] James: it. Just using for me and Excel spreadsheet, [00:37:00] because it's something that I've always had access to. But it goes back, you know, over five years ago when I started logging my drinks and then when I started on fit father project, I also started logging my weight daily. I just first thing in the morning, I'd get up, get on the scale.

[00:37:15] So I'm checking it the same time every day. And, uh, I also was logging all of my workouts. And then anything unusual that, uh, I was putting in the log, things like, uh, vacations or, you know, times when I might be getting off the program a little bit. And, uh, but for me, it was primarily looking at, uh, you know, a number of alcoholic beverages and weight in addition to the, uh, You know, in the early days, I was being very strict about, uh, you know, if I was on the FFP 30x phase one, day one, I made a note and I was also logging, you know, what was the weight of dumbbells that I was using and what was the time.

[00:37:58] That it took me to complete [00:38:00] and it was very helpful in the early days, you know, seeing those little gains, like, okay, I've cut the time or I've increased the weight and the time went back up, but then it came down. So it was just fun to be able to go back and look at the progress that I made in addition to looking in the mirror and going, yeah, it looked like I'm getting leaner and stronger and that felt good too.

[00:38:19] Anthony: I want to, I want to bring something up because I think it's so true when you give yourself the benefit of logging a couple of those like key data points, like the numbers, the weight number. The, the drink number, it could be someone who could be their food number. It could be the weight, the dumbbells number, all of that stuff.

[00:38:34] Well, I think what you're actually doing is you're taking these experiences that we have in our mind, like the experience in our mind, and you're concretizing it into physical space that can be reviewed. So you're honestly like making a print, like a, like a print of what you're doing into a. A trackable reviewable, but also more concretized thing.

[00:38:54] And I think what that does is it helps retrain your psychology. It taps into these deep motivational [00:39:00] circuits. It gives you the sense that you're on a journey and it makes it a lot more tangible. And I think in those early stages that really helped shift your mindset tremendously. And what I'm also kind of hearing, maybe I'm listening between the lines is like that amount of tracking is probably not as.

[00:39:16] needed for you at this point. Like, I don't know if you're ding, I did, I woke up this morning, he did five bear crawls and a couple of frog jumps, like to that extent anymore, but maybe there would have been a time where that level of precision would have been useful, but you earn yourself to have a little less.

[00:39:31] A little more flow with your tracking. So how does your tracking look like now? And is that true? What I said at all?

[00:39:37] James: Very true. Yes. Much simplified now to where I'm really just tracking my weight and my number of drinks in addition to anything that's unusual, like when I'm going on vacation. So I can look back and see if there was a correlation between, uh, my drink up.

[00:39:54] uptick there, but that's because we were with family and, uh, that makes sense. That's [00:40:00] what happened at that point. And my weight might've increased as well. So otherwise it's pretty simple, but you're right. In the early days, it was, I was much more focused on really wanting to understand what I was doing and, and the direction that I was headed.

[00:40:17] Anthony: Nice. Well, this was like informative in many deep ways and certainly inspiring for me. I want to end on two questions and one is, James, what does it mean to you now to be a fit father?

[00:40:34] James: Wow. Uh, you know, it takes me back to the original days and the mission statement. You know, why, why do you want to do this? The why? And it was all about You know, it wasn't just about me. It was, I wanted to be stronger and I wanted to be more mobile and flexible. But I want to be there for my wife and my son and my family and [00:41:00] friends to be able to help them, take care of them when they need it and still be able to, you know, lift heavy things when I need to if it's gonna be So to me, being a fit father means just continuing to stay on this path and holding onto that vision of growing old with strength and mobility.

[00:41:23] Anthony: Yeah, that's beautiful. And very, very clear through line for this conversation. And my final question is, do you have any shout outs for anyone on our team or even in the brotherhood, who's had some big impacts on you that you'd like to share in conclusion here?

[00:41:37] James: Oh, yeah, I'd love to, you know, give a shout out to Ben, who's just been amazing and I don't correspond with him like I used to in the early days, but being able to post questions and get quick responses to them.

[00:41:52] Cat on your team has also been really great. Fun to work with. And, uh, Trina was great in setting up [00:42:00] this podcast. You have continued to just be responsive and awesome in many ways. In terms of the brothers, I look at, you know, Lee is somebody who we recently did a joint podcast. He's been one of my big heroes, a guy that dropped over a hundred pounds and has sustained it.

[00:42:20] I mean, to me, that makes my accomplishments seem pretty modest. And Shane is another guy that's been around as long as I have, and just his ability to be supportive and weigh in, uh, with the other brothers, whether they're struggling to offer advice or support. So those are the folks that come to mind off the top of my head.

[00:42:43] Anthony: That's beautiful. And I want to thank you for being one of our five year veterans and for finally saying yes to come on a podcast. Like this is really cool moment for me to have you here. And it kind of feels like in some way, I don't know, like a celebratory, a good, a good way to celebrate this [00:43:00] beautiful journey that you have had.

[00:43:02] And I'm excited to see how we can continue to support you and create into the future. And, um, I actually think that that is probably going to be through the addition of more of these fun mobility programs. You've really inspired me. I think this is something we could add a lot more into the brotherhood and probably it's more of this primal flow.

[00:43:18] So I think you're going to help change the direction of some bonus programs coming up just by being you James. So thank you for your inspiration, my friend. And it was a, it was a blessing to me to be able to speak with you today. Awesome. Thank

[00:43:30] James: you. The pleasure was mine.