Episodes
This podcast originally aired in October 2022 but recent texts with Ian about music and dogs and life reminded me of how good this is and that it merits re-release. Since the original broadcast Ian, who is an underwater cinematographer, has worked on "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny", "Shogun", "Wednesday" (a Tim Burton offering) and "Last Breath", which premiers in February 2025. Ian and I have spent a good amount of time working on a documentary together and perhaps in the next...
Published 10/20/24
Mark sits with Bill McConnell to discuss, well, everything, starting with a quick exchange about the benefits of voluntary discomfort, moving into pre-Clovis arrowheads and onto evolving out of a wrestling mentality with regards to fitness into an appreciation of training for specific goals. In this case, for Bill, fitness supports his journey as a primitive survivalist, a condition that cannot be accurately pursued in a Globo-Gym. And that's the last time we talk about fitness because Bill's...
Published 09/17/24
This is a reboot of Episode 20, recorded in 2018 with my dear friend, Brian Enos. He published a new book on July 17th, 2024 so I figured it would be a nice means of sharing some of the history of the NonProphet podcast (formerly known as The Dissect Podcast) and helping listeners understand why they might very well be interested in the new book titled, "Practical Living". You may learn a bit more about the book by surfing to the Journal section of the NonProphet site. In the first mobile...
Published 07/24/24
Mark and Carl Kuschke discuss the preparation for an endurance event which was quite outside Carl's normal training focus and activity. He was recruited into a college tennis program but quickly realized going pro wasn't in his future so after graduating he entered the workforce and his training occurred mostly in the gym where he finally put on some muscle because the tennis training volume decreased. We discuss the concept of functional fitness, what functionality means, how to navigate the...
Published 07/09/24
When I signed a copy of Extreme Alpinism for Pete in 1999 I wrote, "The moment of terror is the beginning of life. Be scared." I signed the book to a reputation—to hearsay—instead of signing it to the actual man. Years later, having become friends, he reminded me of the inscription. The phrase was my response to hearing a story of him bolting routes in Hyalite Canyon, sacrilege to me at the time; reducing risk to pursue purely technical difficulty and permanently altering the resource by...
Published 06/13/24
Kelly Halpin is an artist, adventurer, and child of nature. Her love of the outdoors and running in the mountains is infectious. She recently sat down with Michael and Trevor Thompson to discuss her ultra exploits at the Running Up For Air event in SLC, UT — in which she won and set the female record. She also discusses her most recent challenge at The Barkley Marathons. She has incredible insight into what endurance can do for you when it is more than pinning a number or collecting FKTs. Her...
Published 05/15/24
Mark sits down with Raymond Ansotegui to learn about sheep, cows, Basque culture and bullfighting (and there's not a red cape in sight). We discuss the philosophical side of moving energy and keeping the flow, the somatotypes and psychological make-up required by the job. These are farm boys, ranch kids, good athletes who understand the movement of the animal and also have a particular temperament; maybe not the guy being cheered but the guy being thanked for the protecting the guy being...
Published 04/24/24
Michael and Kegan sit down to talk about physiology and the gulf that language builds between knowing and understanding. They go deep into new thoughts on strength training and how much of what we have done might of worked but is also wrong, “all models are wrong, some are useful.” They bring up relevant topics such as the disconnect between performing exercises versus establishing a training stimulus. They ask questions about the common cultural assumption that “bad” technique causes injury....
Published 03/25/24
What can I say about Daniel Strauss other than I admire him. And it isn’t his accolades and successes in jiujitsu (though there are many) or is it his impressive physical strength, that should be studied. Nor is it his ability to think differently in such a homogenized world. It’s because of his curiosity and his zeal for living. He embodies a practice and insight that is rare these days. In October, I flew to Mallorca Spain to participate in a week-long BJJ festival. The level and sheer...
Published 03/06/24
Jack is a legend in the climbing world, a man I looked up to when I started climbing and still do today. His obsession with the Alaska Range produced first ascents of the Isis Face on Denali, the Diamond Arête on Mount Hunter, the Viper Ridge on Mount Foraker, and Mount Barille’s Cobra Pillar, he made the first ascent of the Elevator Shaft on Mount Johnson, the north face of Thunder Mountain, and several new routes on the Mount Huntington massif. Shifting attention to the Yukon, he made the...
Published 02/15/24
The idea must be poisoned before the activity itself can become toxic. It is precisely the misunderstanding of what the term "fitness" means that leads many away from the true, original concept and towards the quick fix, the momentary, and ultimately, the detrimental. Michael and Kegan kick off by discussing the common practice of sacrificing health for wealth, and later trying to use the wealth to u****k what was done to earn it. The youthful notion of invincibility makes all manner of...
Published 01/22/24
Joe Notebaert is originally from Phoenix Arizona, USA. He received his black belt from Cesar Lima and signed by Roger Gracie in 2017 after 9 1/2 years of training at the Roger Gracie Academy in London, UK. Joe is a 2X World Champion winning gold at purple and brown belt in the masters featherweight category in 2013 and 2017. He also won gold in the European Championships in Gi in 2013, and No-GI in 2012 at purple belt featherweight. Michael sat down with Joe during the Mallorca BJJ and Yoga...
Published 01/13/24
Kegan and Lucas join Michael to discuss what is wrong with fitness culture and how to think about changing it. This conversation starts on the topic of training consistency and how folks maintain it, which requires them to define consistent training. This quickly presents the conundrum that negative feedback slows or stops consistency, that positive feedback is needed to maintain consistency, and one must train consistently in order to 'cause' positive feedback. And to train consistently one...
Published 12/24/23
Roger Gracie is a 10x IBJJF world champion. More notably, he is widely regarded as the GOAT of competitive jiujitsu in the gi. His dominant style is subtle and simple but the way he has claimed so many victories is based on technical precision and an understanding of the details to a degree that baffles anyone who has pursued the sport. Michael was reintroduced to BJJ by Roger while working on a motion picture in London in the summer of 2016. They met up in Mallorca, Spain for a 5-day BJJ...
Published 12/12/23
Back in 2018 Nate Pack, who at the time was the "Undisputed King of The Airdyne" joined us for a conversation (Ep. 53) and this is the Intro we wrote for that episode:"The guys speak with Nate Pack about capacity and tolerance, about the engine and its gas tank, and get down in the weeds about numbers, which is no surprise as Nate holds a PhD in bio-engineering and is a self-described “smart guy”. He also has a high degree of mastery in extensive effort. During the conversation they divulge...
Published 11/28/23
Michael and Kegan sit down with Nate Pack to discuss this year's annual Space Race, which occurs on New Years Eve. Previous editions include a 24-hour Assault Bike challenge in teams of three (580 miles was the final 'winning' score), 12-hour Dante's Triathlon (ski, row, bike 50-40-30-20-10 calories repeated in teams fo 3 or 4 depending on total weight of the team), and a 6-hour 40/400 AMRAP (40 calories plus 400m run) done solo. Continuing to cut total time by 50% would obviously lead to a...
Published 11/11/23
Nahko is a singer/songwriter — a musician — who truly journeys between genres and manages to reinvent his style with each successive expression. He sits down with Michael and returning guest, Adam St. Simons in the middle of their North American tour to discuss the creative process, his humble beginnings of farm work, and how great trials are often opportunities to make great music. Nahko can be found here (https://www.instagram.com/nahkobear/?hl=en) and his tour dates here...
Published 11/03/23
Michael and Kegan discuss the general frustration with people who believe they are training Zone 2 but aren't. Aerobic foundation-building sessions that are programmed by the ignorant perpetuate the lack of results and such failure is masked by cheerleading. They bemoan the “influencer” propagation that simply being on a bike or exercise equipment is Z2, and also clarify that training endurance is not an afterthought or something that you get from by merely redescribing your s****y efforts as...
Published 10/18/23
Michael and Kegan reflect on the origin of the “Fitness is F*cked” theme, confirming that it was, and still is a criticism of an industry, how it has evolved from a position reserved for ranting, and how they can shift it to improve the industry without becoming a shill or charlatan. They also discuss the common practice of gyms adopting new and popular affiliations as opposed to making their own system based on effective practice. It matches the common fitness enthusiast’s habit of changing...
Published 10/03/23
Mark and Michael sit down for a an old school rant that begins with Michael asking the very serious question, "Did government, Illuminati, secret society light up Burning Man with ebola so that they could off all of the people who might be able to make psychedelics legal?"Clearly, this is a very serious conversation, wherein we discuss camping, capitalism, bartering and freedom (as it relates to the presence and function of the tent city that pops up in front of the NonProphet Event Center...
Published 09/26/23
We wanted a way to address shorter topics, and sub=categories dealing with fitness specifically. So welcome into the rotation, The Fitness Is F****d Podcast by NonProphet.In this first episode Michael and Kegan discuss some of the inherent traps of becoming a strength coach, how we let clients—who do not know—dictate training, especially with strength training, and how it is often a road to nowhere. After rereading some of the original Russian literature on strength and power in light of...
Published 08/26/23
This was originally recorded in 2019 and appeared as Episode 67, when this was sill The Dissect Podcast. Currently we are deep in print, digital, and construction projects that prevent us recording with the frequency we once insisted upon. However, ...
Published 08/15/23
George Briones is a former Recon Marine (2007-2011) and Recon Instructor. He worked as the Director of Training and Programming at SOFLETE for eight years, holds a BASc in Sport Psychology and is currently studying to earn a MA in English language and literature. He coaches and educates a variety of athletes across a wide range of disciplines, from traditional strength and conditioning, and Olympic lifting to ultra endurance, combat sports, and preparation for military operational readiness,...
Published 08/03/23
We first released this podcast in September 2019. I've been thinking about reposting it since we ran into West and Kami Taylor at the Tactical Games in St. George where Erin and Cinnamon and Michael were competing. West was far more fit in March 2022 than when we first met, happier, vibrant, and spoke excitedly about his obsession with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the nagging injuries that always come up when practicing hard. It was wonderful to see them and to be reminded of how they climbed up...
Published 07/17/23