One Push-Up at a Time: A Power Lifter's Path to Sobriety

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Hey, what's up?

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It's the Fitmentist Podcast.

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I'm Jeremy, Nose Act Today.

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Here we talk about all kinds of stuff regarding our depression, our anxiety, our mental
health struggles, our life struggles, our just getting through the day to day struggles

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and all the fucked up weird things we do to try to manage them and the normal everyday
things we do to try to manage them.

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Today we're talking with Ben Navarez.

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He is the host of the Ben Thinking podcast.

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We're going to talk to him in a minute.

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He's on a wellness journey of his own, a sobriety journey of his own, recovering from a
bit of addiction, I think it's safe to say.

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And he is a former Team USA power lifter.

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So the dude knows a thing or two about getting through some heavy shit, literally and
figuratively.

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And he helps other folks.

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with their journeys to get a little better as well.

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So we're to talk to him about really a lot of things.

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We're going to talk to him about crazy shit like heat shock proteins, which is a term I'd
never even heard of before this conversation and how they're beneficial to your health and

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wellness goals.

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But we're also going to talk about the things we talk about on this show, the tiny little
things you need to do every single day to get better and better toward whatever kind of a

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life it is you're actually trying to live instead of this fucked up mess of a one you find
yourself in now.

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And this is timely.

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just I'm home now.

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I just got back from my weekly cold plunge with my cold plunging group.

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We go every Sunday here in the lake nearby where I live.

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Cold as shit.

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Seven point one degrees Fahrenheit.

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So, you know, or sorry, seven point seven point one degrees Celsius, not Fahrenheit and
Fahrenheit.

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That's really fucking cold for those of you in the US.

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But in that lake today with the group, I found myself asked the question that I get asked
a lot because I tend to be one of the first ones in.

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I tend to be one of the first ones to plunge all the way in and swim around no matter how
cold the water is.

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And many of my friends there will say, how do you do this?

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And then they're reminded, yeah, you've been doing this a long time.

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And so, you know, we spend about 20 minutes in this really, really cold water, which, you
know, if you've never done that before and you stick your little pinky toe in the water

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for the first time, holy shit, it's cold.

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You're not going in there.

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That's fucking nuts.

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Why would you do something like that?

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Are you an idiot?

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Well, it turns out as you build up and get used to it, it's actually really good for you
and feels really good.

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But they're baffled.

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Frequently about my ability to move around so freely in the water and I'm not like I'm not
bright I'm not trying to brag about this isn't that this is not something to brag about

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But it's the lesson here that they I think take from seeing me do that in the lesson I'm
reminded of when I have these conversations with them is that years ago when I first

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started doing this I could not do this it took step by step day by day the little Efforts
to get a little bit better at it spending, you know 20 seconds in a cold shower 30 seconds

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in a cold shower a minute

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then going in up to my knees in a local lake where it wasn't quite as cold as it is now,
to eventually attending an online Wim Hof retreat to learn from the master himself, to

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having my kids dump shovels of snow on me in the front yard to build up the tolerance and
the ability to stay in the water for a really long time to receive the maximum benefit

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from it that I do.

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All that to say,

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It started with those little steps in the beginning that build up over time and accumulate
to the point where 20 minutes went by and today we stayed in for 21 accidentally because

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nobody was really keeping time and it just felt really good.

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So it's just, you know, it just proves the point over and over again that those little
steps we take to build up the endurance and the ability to do these hard things.

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It's worth that little effort every day that you don't necessarily see the results of
every day.

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It's the six months later.

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It's the year later when you look back and go, man, you know, this is that's where I
started.

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Look how far I've come.

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I'm in such a better place.

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The same is true for my guest.

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name is Ben Navarez.

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He is the host of the Ben Thinking podcast.

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He has taken a lot of small steps to improve his life as well.

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A lot of them started from a place of just trying to find himself, trying to find a little
piece between his ears.

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And he found that in the gym.

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And that led to competing with Team USA, being a power lifter.

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Dude can lift some heavy shit.

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He is a strong dude.

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So I'm excited to share his journey with you because it's another reminder for those of us
that need them over and over again.

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that you just have to put in the work, you got to do the reps, you got to do the little
things every day to get to where you're trying to go.

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Because it won't happen overnight.

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It's you're not going to just strike gold all of a sudden, it's going to be digging and
digging until one day you break through and find that gold.

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And along the way, the journey becomes about becoming that person in your in your mind
before you achieve the goal deciding I am the kind of person who and doing the kinds of

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things that that person would do to become who they are.

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And once you make that identity shift in your mind, once you decide that's the kind of
person you want to be, it's so much easier to become them because you see the path, you

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see the kinds of things they would do and you just do them.

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And then again, you look back a few months later, a couple of years later and realize I
actually became that person.

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So that's what's coming up today along with some clear steps for those of you that are
struggling with whether it's addiction or mental health, wherever you are in your

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transformation, we're gonna help you get there step by step with this conversation.

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So here now, my conversation with the host of the Bend Thinking podcast, Ben Davanes.

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am, so tell me a little bit about how you got to where you are.

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I have been on a hell of a journey, I would say.

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It's been a hell of a, I don't know, 15, 10, 15 years, getting to the point where I'm
finally now sober and living a much healthier life than I think I have in the past in some

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respects, but still at the same time, still on the journey of trying to live a balanced
life and like managing the business and.

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So I initially started my mental health journey and fitness journey really because it was
the only place I felt like I could be Ben.

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didn't have my favorite home life in the world all the time.

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Even though there's definitely worse stuff out there, I had a hard time being at home.

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And so the place that I felt where I could be the most of Ben was gonna be

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at the gym.

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And so I was that kid where coaches would come in at like nine o'clock at night and be
like, Hey, Ben, I need to go home.

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Like I need you to leave or you know what?

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Just, just stay here.

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It's fine.

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leave through the back.

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I'm going to turn on the alarm.

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Like, okay.

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I was probably, I probably got like super probably like 15.

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15.

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Wow.

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So this is like the commercial gym.

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This wasn't the gym at school.

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wow.

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So yeah, so they're definitely like, get out of here.

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I've already put in my 16 hours today.

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Exactly.

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We had a little bit different of a campus in terms of like athletics where maybe it may be
not different.

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I'm from South Texas and we didn't like 90 % of our population is underneath the poverty
line.

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So we all had free food and like not a lot of people could even get to school.

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So a lot of our coaches served that role where they would pick up kids to bring them to
morning practice.

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So you'd always like, it was so cool.

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Like some of the best coaches that changed my life and probably a lot of kids lives
forever.

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Yeah.

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I started, you we would start school at 7 a.m.

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We had to be there for, you know, not mandatory mandatory practice and for football.

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And then I ended up leaving football and I got really aggressive into just lifting weights
because that's just where my love was.

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And I would do a workout in the morning, eat, you know, the free breakfast we had, go to
school.

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And then as soon as the day ended, I would find myself in the gym until, you know, until I
was kicked out.

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Yeah, you mentioned getting sober when when did that?

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When did that present itself?

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When when when was substance abuse a thing for you?

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Yeah.

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and I didn't really realize it.

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It was, seems so, I don't know, normal.

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Like I got my first surgery when I think I was a sophomore in high school and it was my
shoulder.

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I my labrum from football and which ended up, I got a second surgery like six months later
on my, on my knee, I tore a piece of my ACL and my meniscus.

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And so I got a medial meniscus, just, you know, they tore out a piece of it and, or cut
out a piece of it for rehab.

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And I was given hydrocodone and it said on the bottle, you know, two every four hours and
or whatever it was.

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And so every four hours or whatever the prescription was, I took my pills and I got to the
end of them and my mom asked me, it's like, Hey, we're like, where are the, where are the

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stuff at?

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And I was like, I finished them.

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It's like, what do mean you finished them?

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It just followed the prescription, but

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Realistically, it was like, well, if it says four hours, I don't really want to start
feeling pain that time.

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It takes 45 minutes to kick in.

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Let me go ahead and just like get it a little bit early.

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and so I'd start, you know, I take those two every two, two and a half hours.

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and then my next surgery came in and it was automatically into the next batch of pills.

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And still a kid had hydrocodone, had them at school.

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My parents were working.

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They were like, we'll take them with you, you know, use them as you need.

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you're in pain.

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So.

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you know, be responsible.

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And I thought it was being responsible, but damn, are opioids addicting?

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I mean, there's a real problem there.

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And when I finished those, I started, and I've never said this out loud, I've never told
my parents this, and so I would go to the medicine cabinet and I knew we had codeine in

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there for, know, cough syrup.

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We had a lot of it.

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You use it for a little bit and then we'd get prescriptions over and over and over again.

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So I'd go in there night and was like, I'm having a really hard time to go to sleep.

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And that's how it started.

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I like, I'm just going to go to, you I need, I need some help going to sleep.

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And I know that makes me sleepy.

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So let me just take that.

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And then it was like strategic at a wait till 11 o'clock.

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I'm, am I really having a hard time to go to sleep?

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Or am I even really trying to go to sleep?

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Go to the cabinet, take myself a couple of swigs, make sure that there was enough that
nobody would recognize.

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And then, you know, do that as often as I could until I realized, okay, this bottle is
getting a little bit low.

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Let me move on to the next bottle.

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And so it definitely started in high school and it just continued to progress.

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I smoked, you know, started smoking weed and then after it was weed and it was like pretty
much like the next week it was anything I can get my hands on.

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It was wild.

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Not okay.

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No, the opioids are crazy.

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I had a somewhat similar situation where, you know, I'd been drinking for a long time just
because everyone does.

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It's, it's, it's weirder not to drink than it is to drink.

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Right.

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So, I've been doing that a long time.

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I still don't think I was ever fully addicted, but it was certainly a coping mechanism
for, you know, feelings and, you know, reality and all the things.

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But when, I was in a bike crash a few years ago,

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broken collarbone, lots of pain, and so they gave me an oxy.

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And I took it for a few days and was like, wow, I need to never be near this, because this
feels incredible.

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so intentionally it was like, take these away.

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I'm going to get addicted to these if I keep taking them.

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And what was interesting is for me,

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getting off of that after a few days of like that euphoric feeling, I just was like, wow,
well, if I can do that, what else can I take away?

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Because so often we try to add things to our lives to improve them, but sometimes we get
to let them go.

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And so for me, that turned into like, what would life be like without antidepressants?

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What would life be like without alcohol?

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What would life be like without?

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And so I just kind of started stripping things away.

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And it was so interesting how all these medications or the way I was using them as
medications were really causing me more

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and by removing them is when I really started to find peace and started to get really
curious about, well, wow, what else can I do to feel even better?

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What a positive outlook on the experience.

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Well, the fact that you can be in the middle of it and still say, this isn't going to be
for me, I need to not do this, is a testament to some willpower, or at least some

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self-awareness.

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Because it does feel so good.

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And you're just like, well, that's what the prescription says.

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Well, that's not the best thing.

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Yeah.

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But no.

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So then, yeah, so you're in it, you're taking everything you can find and trying to just,
I imagine numb some pain, numb some things that you were experiencing.

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What made you decide this isn't for me anymore?

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man, it got real bad.

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And so I just, remember sitting in my house, my heart rate was about 180 beats per minute.

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I was literally lying down.

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and I'd already been in the hospital in the past for other, other things.

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And I was like, I don't know that I'm going to make it.

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Like, I think that this is the one that did it for me.

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And what was this worth it for?

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And why did like, I have all these dreams and I'm going to go out because of my stupidity.

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Like.

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What am I doing with myself?

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And if it wasn't for like the cold air outside, then I don't know if I would have been
able to make it out.

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Like I just walked outside.

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My heart rate was climbing and climbing more more nauseous, walked outside and it just
like hit me with this like really cold breeze of air.

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And I, my heart rate immediately came down and I was like, okay, that was it.

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If there's a God and this is your sign,

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this is your sign Ben, listen, actually listen this time.

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And so I stopped taking any like any recreational hard drugs, if you will.

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And then I and then it stopped for a little while and then I started to drink.

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And then I just saw like the life like I was gaining weight.

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00:13:12,158 --> 00:13:13,085
I was frustrated.

210
00:13:13,085 --> 00:13:16,780
I was probably my my emotions were constantly up and down.

211
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Very much so like this this hard, aggressive, like pendulum high highs, low lows.

212
00:13:21,610 --> 00:13:29,835
And it was hurting the people around me at the end of the day and it hurt me right like
not just them but like internally I was struggling as well even though I thought I wasn't

213
00:13:29,835 --> 00:13:39,959
but at some point where you're drinking, know four or five things at night just to like
Just to feel it enough then like getting the ones that are you know, the highest ABV But

214
00:13:39,959 --> 00:13:48,985
the late least cost like hey, man, like you're really like pushing some boundaries here
again And so I ended up having to quit alcohol

215
00:13:48,985 --> 00:13:52,850
And so now entirely sober for the last like eight to nine months now.

216
00:13:52,850 --> 00:13:53,100
nice.

217
00:13:53,100 --> 00:13:53,450
Congrats.

218
00:13:53,450 --> 00:14:00,582
That's amazing that I don't know that that people who don't struggle with it will ever be
able to understand how hard it is.

219
00:14:00,823 --> 00:14:02,171
Particularly those first two years.

220
00:14:02,171 --> 00:14:04,654
I mean, like I said, I don't think I ever had like a full addiction.

221
00:14:04,654 --> 00:14:08,465
come from a long line of addicts, but I don't think I was ever fully in it.

222
00:14:08,465 --> 00:14:14,916
But getting off of it, and you know, even using it as a coping mechanism, the

223
00:14:15,010 --> 00:14:17,512
the how much of your identity is wrapped up in it.

224
00:14:17,512 --> 00:14:21,054
I mean, for me, driving by a brewery, it was like, we should pop in there.

225
00:14:21,054 --> 00:14:23,795
That looks like a cool that that's a cool thing to go do.

226
00:14:23,795 --> 00:14:26,676
And so you go and you have a couple of beers and you drive down the road.

227
00:14:26,676 --> 00:14:27,896
That one looks cool, too.

228
00:14:27,896 --> 00:14:29,197
Let's check that out.

229
00:14:29,197 --> 00:14:31,099
Like it just becomes like this lifestyle.

230
00:14:31,099 --> 00:14:38,743
And if you are using it because it was a stressful day, let's have a glass of wine or
seven or a couple of beers or whatever it's going to be.

231
00:14:38,743 --> 00:14:41,084
When you start having to deal.

232
00:14:41,255 --> 00:14:44,960
with those feelings and all of the stuff you've probably been running from since you were
nine.

233
00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:58,667
The horror show that opens up in your head of how much pain you carry becomes very
apparent and it gets harder and harder for a while.

234
00:14:58,930 --> 00:15:04,845
to just accept it and live with it without the ease of how can I just make this go away
quickly?

235
00:15:04,845 --> 00:15:14,142
So I know for me, it took probably a solid two years before I was like, okay, I can
function in the world like a normal person with all of the feelings and pain that come

236
00:15:14,142 --> 00:15:15,034
with that experience.

237
00:15:15,034 --> 00:15:16,855
Has it been a challenging eight months?

238
00:15:16,855 --> 00:15:20,278
I imagine you have a support system that you're using some sort of sponsor or something.

239
00:15:20,278 --> 00:15:21,599
How's that going?

240
00:15:22,139 --> 00:15:22,680
Really?

241
00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:23,625
Just cold turkey.

242
00:15:23,625 --> 00:15:24,415
cold turkey, man.

243
00:15:24,415 --> 00:15:26,605
I went to AA once or twice.

244
00:15:26,605 --> 00:15:28,567
I've been to AA multiple times in my life.

245
00:15:28,567 --> 00:15:34,599
Kind of like I've tried this thing, but I'm like, you know, I sit around the table and I'm
like, am I really, I'm not one of these guys.

246
00:15:34,599 --> 00:15:37,920
I'm, you know, like I'm successful.

247
00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:44,001
Like I have a business, I have my master's degree, I have an undergraduate degree, I have
published research.

248
00:15:44,001 --> 00:15:46,642
Like I'm successful.

249
00:15:46,701 --> 00:15:50,442
And so I went to another one here and I'm located in Vegas and the same thing.

250
00:15:50,442 --> 00:15:53,556
was like, nah, that's not, that's not me.

251
00:15:53,556 --> 00:15:57,238
And he's like, well, if it's not going to be you, you have a problem.

252
00:15:57,238 --> 00:15:58,359
You got to choose something.

253
00:15:58,359 --> 00:16:04,323
Either you're going to do this yourself and really live, be, hold that identity true to
who you are.

254
00:16:04,323 --> 00:16:05,414
If that's not you, that's not you.

255
00:16:05,414 --> 00:16:06,064
Great.

256
00:16:06,064 --> 00:16:06,664
Show it.

257
00:16:06,664 --> 00:16:08,005
Prove it to yourself.

258
00:16:08,265 --> 00:16:11,667
If it is you and you need that support, then go.

259
00:16:11,767 --> 00:16:15,639
And so I went once, got a book, never read the book.

260
00:16:16,133 --> 00:16:18,095
and just have stayed sober since.

261
00:16:18,095 --> 00:16:28,619
It's been challenging for sure, and it's nice to know that it's both good to know and hard
to know that it takes two years to finally get back to normal functioning, kind of.

262
00:16:28,980 --> 00:16:36,764
I see it more now in the way, I think that yes, it can be painful, but at the same time,
there's such a clarity that comes with being more sober.

263
00:16:36,764 --> 00:16:38,681
And I think sometimes it's frustrating.

264
00:16:38,681 --> 00:16:51,348
because I wonder like what was I doing for the last 10 years of just constant drinking and
drug use to now like really leaning into, like I'm reading more, I'm in like exercise

265
00:16:51,348 --> 00:16:56,312
science is my jam, that's my masters, that's kind of the whole place that I kind of live
in.

266
00:16:56,312 --> 00:17:03,004
But like I'm reading more about corporate finance and how do I run a business and like
reading more about exercise physiology, more research.

267
00:17:03,004 --> 00:17:12,259
And it feels good to get back to these places not only where I can not just I'm feel
motivated to read them but also where I can really understand them again and I think that

268
00:17:12,259 --> 00:17:21,355
we forget how much dampening is going on inside of our brain whenever we're constantly
abusing anything like it can be you know, can be a drug it can be alcohol and it can be

269
00:17:21,355 --> 00:17:26,322
you know, I'm eating too many donuts or sugar or whatever right like social media

270
00:17:26,322 --> 00:17:29,135
into that and that dopamine fix that's constant.

271
00:17:29,135 --> 00:17:35,766
Yeah, it's been eye-opening and hard at times and it definitely like sometimes I'm like,
man, I really wish I went like I could have a drink.

272
00:17:35,766 --> 00:17:38,543
I do have a lot of non-alcoholic cocktails in the house now.

273
00:17:38,543 --> 00:17:44,274
I've got all these like subscriptions and I have like tequila that's not really tequila
and all, you know, all this stuff.

274
00:17:44,274 --> 00:17:47,135
So it's still kind of fun, but it became such a part of my identity.

275
00:17:47,135 --> 00:17:50,657
Like I went to parties and I was the guy who brought good cocktails.

276
00:17:50,657 --> 00:17:52,567
Like you want to learn something about gin.

277
00:17:52,567 --> 00:17:55,472
Like I'll tell you exactly where that gin is from, how it was made.

278
00:17:55,472 --> 00:18:00,775
the family that's behind it, where Jen originally came from at the very beginning of
history.

279
00:18:00,871 --> 00:18:12,588
I just became obsessed with the history, the creation of cocktails themselves and like
Sazerac Hotel, like let's go to Sazerac Bar, let's go there and have a drink because what

280
00:18:12,588 --> 00:18:15,126
an iconic place, it's changed culture.

281
00:18:15,327 --> 00:18:18,549
So I think there's still very cool pieces of it.

282
00:18:18,549 --> 00:18:20,592
It's just, maybe, you know.

283
00:18:20,592 --> 00:18:23,301
it's not who you are, it's maybe something that you do.

284
00:18:23,301 --> 00:18:27,569
And if it's something that you can do, you make it about who you are, maybe it's not for
you.

285
00:18:27,569 --> 00:18:30,180
Yeah, I know for me, it was very much a part of my identity.

286
00:18:30,180 --> 00:18:36,902
I literally, I had a different podcast that was largely about getting hammered and talking
about all the ridiculous things that had happened since the last time I recorded and

287
00:18:36,902 --> 00:18:38,474
usually because of too much drinking.

288
00:18:38,474 --> 00:18:43,295
and then I was a regular guest on a show that was all about tasting and talking about
beer.

289
00:18:43,295 --> 00:18:48,157
And when I suddenly, you know, had to tell both shows like, Hey, this isn't me anymore.

290
00:18:48,321 --> 00:18:51,893
I had to like, and I'm still, think, to some degree, trying to figure out who I am now,
right?

291
00:18:51,893 --> 00:18:56,124
Like who is this person who is a complete 180 from, who that person was.

292
00:18:56,124 --> 00:18:56,875
It's, it's crazy.

293
00:18:56,875 --> 00:19:00,397
The things that we, that we use to identify ourselves even to ourselves.

294
00:19:00,397 --> 00:19:09,211
and I think maybe you're finding, or maybe you've known all along that, that now this
bend, the one you found in the gym, is a different identity and one that's maybe a little

295
00:19:09,211 --> 00:19:10,472
bit easier to live with.

296
00:19:10,688 --> 00:19:20,593
I think that leaning into, think I had a transition even inside the gym where this like,
there's kind of a constant change where I went from the guy who was just trying to like

297
00:19:20,593 --> 00:19:24,714
get into a safe place and wanted to be better and like really have some self-improvement.

298
00:19:24,714 --> 00:19:26,324
I wasn't the strongest kid in the gym.

299
00:19:26,324 --> 00:19:28,676
Out of anything, I was probably one of the weakest people in the gym.

300
00:19:28,676 --> 00:19:36,679
And I kind of envied other people that like had the opportunity to like, that could afford
to be on the sports team as you know, the little league.

301
00:19:36,679 --> 00:19:37,840
We just didn't have the time for it.

302
00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:38,661
My parents didn't have the time for it.

303
00:19:38,661 --> 00:19:39,903
They didn't have the extra cash for it.

304
00:19:39,903 --> 00:19:44,557
And so I was envious to some degree and I wanted to be really good at something.

305
00:19:44,557 --> 00:19:46,129
I wanted something to be mine.

306
00:19:46,129 --> 00:19:50,212
And it was almost where I made it so much mine that it was weird and lame.

307
00:19:50,212 --> 00:19:52,864
We're not studying exercise physiology in high school.

308
00:19:52,864 --> 00:19:54,475
You're studying biology.

309
00:19:54,475 --> 00:19:57,579
And I'm over here talking about acting and myosin and how they work.

310
00:19:57,579 --> 00:19:59,402
And people are like, dude, you're fucking weird.

311
00:19:59,402 --> 00:20:05,969
So it was a coping mechanism to take ownership of a part of my own, cut my own piece of
the pie for myself.

312
00:20:05,969 --> 00:20:10,513
And then it became, I started competing for Team USA, so I ended up representing Team USA.

313
00:20:10,513 --> 00:20:15,937
As soon as I graduated high school, I went to Hungary, and I was able to compete on the
international platform.

314
00:20:15,937 --> 00:20:19,461
And then I was a power lifter, and that was it.

315
00:20:19,461 --> 00:20:23,745
And then I retired in 2017, went to Worlds, got a couple gold medals.

316
00:20:23,745 --> 00:20:27,068
And I was like, all right, I think I'm out of powerlifting for now.

317
00:20:27,068 --> 00:20:31,193
My significant other time was also in the world of powerlifting.

318
00:20:31,193 --> 00:20:33,596
was a national level athlete and she quit.

319
00:20:33,596 --> 00:20:36,018
And so I was like, all right, well, I guess I'm kind of be done.

320
00:20:36,018 --> 00:20:37,409
Maybe I'll come back to it in another time.

321
00:20:37,409 --> 00:20:40,743
And I didn't know who I was anymore.

322
00:20:40,743 --> 00:20:49,261
It went from this guy who wanted to cut a piece of his own pie to being very successful in
this thing to now I've been a powerlifter to everybody.

323
00:20:49,595 --> 00:20:53,236
to myself, to everyone around me for a while now.

324
00:20:53,236 --> 00:20:55,166
And am I an athlete?

325
00:20:55,166 --> 00:20:56,246
Am I still a power lifter?

326
00:20:56,246 --> 00:20:57,136
Am I a student?

327
00:20:57,136 --> 00:20:58,316
who's Ben?

328
00:20:58,316 --> 00:21:04,978
And then now, after that journey, then now I've realized, I'm an exercise scientist, I'm a
teacher, I'm an educator.

329
00:21:04,978 --> 00:21:14,766
And so what can I do, what's inside my brain and the experiences that I've had in this
space, how can I help other people as well kind of just understand fitness a little bit?

330
00:21:14,766 --> 00:21:19,514
bit better, make it easier, because it's more complicated than I think people want to make
it to be.

331
00:21:20,216 --> 00:21:25,625
And I guess there's complex pieces to it, but if you want to apply it, there's a simple
way to do it.

332
00:21:25,641 --> 00:21:29,201
Let's talk about that because I know like I'm, I'm, I'm no power lifter.

333
00:21:29,201 --> 00:21:39,161
I'm, I'm a guy who, I don't even necessarily have goals in the gym of, you know, bro, I
want to bench whatever I go to the gym every day, literally because of what it does to my

334
00:21:39,161 --> 00:21:44,782
brain and allows me to live with, live with myself a little better, where, where I used to
use alcohol to quiet those voices.

335
00:21:44,782 --> 00:21:47,562
Now I find that, you know, tired muscles, quiet the dark voices.

336
00:21:47,562 --> 00:21:54,829
And that's why I'm lifting heavy things in the gym every day or going for a long hike or
just doing something to get my brain out and get out of my

337
00:21:54,829 --> 00:21:55,691
head basically.

338
00:21:55,691 --> 00:22:05,716
And I think it took years of failure of trying to go giving up not seeing results you all
the same reasons everybody quits after a couple of weeks.

339
00:22:05,716 --> 00:22:08,987
before I finally found like, wow, there's clarity in sticking with this.

340
00:22:08,987 --> 00:22:18,721
There's there's accomplishment and confidence that comes with I did a hard thing today,
like just these really basic things that are what get me in there every day.

341
00:22:18,721 --> 00:22:28,045
So to that guy who's, you know, maybe a few years behind both of us who's on the couch
still using drugs or alcohol or whatever to deal with their pain.

342
00:22:28,045 --> 00:22:31,807
And they're thinking like, I got to try something and it seems to work for these guys.

343
00:22:31,807 --> 00:22:33,107
Where do they start?

344
00:22:33,699 --> 00:22:35,620
It's gonna suck 1000%.

345
00:22:35,620 --> 00:22:39,462
There's no if, ands, or buts about it.

346
00:22:39,462 --> 00:22:40,833
It's not gonna feel good as that drink.

347
00:22:40,833 --> 00:22:44,745
It's not gonna feel good as that drug immediately.

348
00:22:45,065 --> 00:22:48,567
On the long term, it'll be the best thing you've ever done with your life.

349
00:22:48,567 --> 00:22:53,030
So it can really be as simple as getting up and going outside.

350
00:22:53,030 --> 00:22:58,793
And it can be, just, you literally just open the door, you walk outside, you look around,
you get some sunlight, you walk back inside.

351
00:22:58,793 --> 00:23:00,094
It can start there.

352
00:23:00,094 --> 00:23:00,975
Like it's crazy.

353
00:23:00,975 --> 00:23:02,756
Right now you're listening to this.

354
00:23:02,906 --> 00:23:04,236
Do 10 pushups.

355
00:23:04,296 --> 00:23:05,297
What the hell?

356
00:23:05,297 --> 00:23:08,177
Like even if they're shitty pushups, who cares?

357
00:23:08,177 --> 00:23:09,258
Did you move?

358
00:23:09,258 --> 00:23:10,418
Do two.

359
00:23:11,458 --> 00:23:12,539
Exactly, yeah.

360
00:23:12,539 --> 00:23:13,890
Do one, one at a time.

361
00:23:13,890 --> 00:23:15,440
Add one a day.

362
00:23:16,101 --> 00:23:16,841
anything.

363
00:23:16,841 --> 00:23:25,857
It can be that simple where you don't need to, like this idea that I'm gonna bench this
amount of weight is sure if you really wanna be like a pretty hardcore gym rat, you can

364
00:23:25,857 --> 00:23:26,867
make these kind of goals.

365
00:23:26,867 --> 00:23:29,466
But like you're saying, like your goal is like,

366
00:23:29,466 --> 00:23:34,837
You do have a goal, and the goal is mental clarity and mental health, which it's a
fantastic thing for.

367
00:23:34,837 --> 00:23:43,155
I'm reading about heat shock proteins right now and how the heat shock proteins will help
unfold or unfold misfolded proteins in order to make them more functional.

368
00:23:43,155 --> 00:23:46,579
And then it also decreases the amount of aggregate proteins that are around.

369
00:23:46,579 --> 00:23:50,863
So then ultimately what's happening is it reduces your chance for Alzheimer's and
dementia.

370
00:23:50,863 --> 00:23:54,094
So let's take that out of the lab and put that in my living room.

371
00:23:54,094 --> 00:23:55,920
What does heat shock there, what does that look like?

372
00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:57,081
How do I do that at home?

373
00:23:57,081 --> 00:23:57,452
Yeah.

374
00:23:57,452 --> 00:23:59,724
The easiest way is a HIIT style workout.

375
00:23:59,724 --> 00:24:09,812
So let's say in every minute on the minute you can do, every two minutes on the minute you
can do, you're sitting down right now, even just heating up your body a little bit will go

376
00:24:09,812 --> 00:24:10,374
a long way.

377
00:24:10,374 --> 00:24:17,610
So again, that one push up at a time, those five push ups at a time, that is creating
these heat shock proteins inside of your body.

378
00:24:17,610 --> 00:24:18,921
And so you're just heating up.

379
00:24:18,921 --> 00:24:19,831
That's all it is.

380
00:24:19,831 --> 00:24:23,326
So going outside and going for a walk, boom, heat shock protein.

381
00:24:23,326 --> 00:24:23,687
Done.

382
00:24:23,687 --> 00:24:24,988
Improving your mental health.

383
00:24:24,988 --> 00:24:26,029
Immediately.

384
00:24:26,029 --> 00:24:31,433
it's not like, you might not feel it immediately, but long term you're gonna feel that for
sure.

385
00:24:31,853 --> 00:24:36,198
So that's probably the easiest way to like, just get up, start moving around, ask for
help.

386
00:24:36,198 --> 00:24:38,640
That's also a beautiful way, get a buddy, right?

387
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:46,367
Like somebody who is in your community that maybe is working out pretty consistently, or
is also struggling, and you're like, bro, let's both go back to the other thing.

388
00:24:46,367 --> 00:24:47,570
I like to look up.

389
00:24:47,570 --> 00:24:49,624
That's usually like my thought process.

390
00:24:49,624 --> 00:24:56,890
If somebody else is doing something better than me, then I'm to find them and just ask
like, do you mind if I just like shadow you at the gym for a day?

391
00:24:56,890 --> 00:24:58,139
Like, I don't want to do anything.

392
00:24:58,139 --> 00:24:59,702
I can just go and show up.

393
00:24:59,702 --> 00:25:01,514
And that's a win, you know?

394
00:25:01,555 --> 00:25:09,973
I've told, I've told this story before, but literally when, when I started what has now
been the most consistent time in the gym, I literally, I started by like, I live in a

395
00:25:09,973 --> 00:25:11,074
community where I walked to the gym.

396
00:25:11,074 --> 00:25:15,627
It's five minutes away, but I was like, just go and open the door.

397
00:25:15,928 --> 00:25:17,479
Like you don't even don't, don't lift a thing.

398
00:25:17,479 --> 00:25:20,627
Just literally like the process of just going there.

399
00:25:20,627 --> 00:25:25,642
That's the hardest part of any workout you're gonna do is getting out your front door and
in the front door of wherever you're going.

400
00:25:25,642 --> 00:25:26,963
And so I did that for like a few days.

401
00:25:26,963 --> 00:25:28,745
And then finally I was like, okay, this is stupid.

402
00:25:28,745 --> 00:25:32,809
I'm here, just go lift something, spend 10 minutes, get on the treadmill, do something.

403
00:25:32,809 --> 00:25:40,957
And it was very much that one push up a day of like baby steps until, okay, now I need to
ask somebody, I wanna actually do something a little bit more useful and come up with a

404
00:25:40,957 --> 00:25:41,268
plan.

405
00:25:41,268 --> 00:25:43,579
And now I have a plan and I do that every day.

406
00:25:43,625 --> 00:25:52,279
It is just it's just these baby steps and I think people get really overwhelmed Especially
if they are escaping into social media and if their feed is anything about fitness This is

407
00:25:52,279 --> 00:25:58,506
the only way to lift and this is the only way to curl and this is the if you don't if
you're not benching it this way Then you're just wasting your time.

408
00:25:58,506 --> 00:26:08,954
I don't I mean that may be true You know the answer to that better than I do but I know
that for me doing it badly every day is a hundred percent better than the zero I was doing

409
00:26:08,954 --> 00:26:10,294
before I started

410
00:26:10,398 --> 00:26:11,838
think that's a factual statement.

411
00:26:11,838 --> 00:26:13,689
depends on what, like, depends on where you're at.

412
00:26:13,689 --> 00:26:21,239
Like, if you're gonna expect yourself to walk into the gym and be one of these social
media influencers, then you're gonna come up losing every single time.

413
00:26:21,239 --> 00:26:22,600
But remember where you're at.

414
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:24,281
Like, when was the last time you went to the gym?

415
00:26:24,281 --> 00:26:25,621
Let's say it's been years, right?

416
00:26:25,621 --> 00:26:28,861
A lot of times, it's been years since you've been in the gym.

417
00:26:28,881 --> 00:26:31,041
So then you do a shitty bench.

418
00:26:31,041 --> 00:26:32,801
You do a shitty curl.

419
00:26:32,801 --> 00:26:33,501
So what?

420
00:26:33,501 --> 00:26:35,041
Like, you're gonna get better.

421
00:26:35,041 --> 00:26:38,479
And then you're get like, man, kinda, like, internally,

422
00:26:38,479 --> 00:26:40,730
The addict will be like, I want to get better at this.

423
00:26:40,730 --> 00:26:42,531
Like I hate being bad at this.

424
00:26:42,531 --> 00:26:46,674
And like, like, I'm seeing some, like, especially early on, you're to have newbie gains.

425
00:26:46,835 --> 00:26:51,176
Lean into those newbie gains, like appreciate them for as long as you can.

426
00:26:51,176 --> 00:26:52,817
So you do 10 curls a day.

427
00:26:52,817 --> 00:26:55,058
You walk out of the gym, your biceps are going to get bigger.

428
00:26:55,058 --> 00:26:58,868
And that satisfaction alone can go so far.

429
00:26:58,868 --> 00:26:59,179
Yeah.

430
00:26:59,179 --> 00:27:04,453
That, and for me, I like, I try to really lean into how I feel when I'm done.

431
00:27:04,774 --> 00:27:08,857
Cause some of it is like, was hard and I did it.

432
00:27:08,938 --> 00:27:15,247
So the next time something seems like it's going to be hard, I've been building a body of
evidence that says you can do hard things.

433
00:27:15,247 --> 00:27:17,798
It's the same reason I go in a cold lake a couple times a week.

434
00:27:17,798 --> 00:27:26,352
I literally, you know, I love cold plunging because when I can sit in two degree, you
know, Celsius water for 20 minutes, the next time I'm like, I don't want to make this

435
00:27:26,352 --> 00:27:26,943
phone call.

436
00:27:26,943 --> 00:27:27,533
Like really?

437
00:27:27,533 --> 00:27:28,293
Come on.

438
00:27:28,293 --> 00:27:29,284
Look what you can do.

439
00:27:29,284 --> 00:27:30,284
You can make this phone call.

440
00:27:30,284 --> 00:27:31,674
This is not that hard.

441
00:27:31,674 --> 00:27:35,776
And, you you just start to convince yourself that you're capable of more than you thought
you were.

442
00:27:36,018 --> 00:27:39,471
I think we are all more capable than we think we are.

443
00:27:39,471 --> 00:27:45,646
And so doing those little things of like, I'm gonna wake up, like let's say you're waking
up 8 a.m.

444
00:27:45,646 --> 00:27:46,797
a day, right?

445
00:27:46,797 --> 00:27:49,600
And that's late for you, whatever late is for who you are.

446
00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:52,943
Like 10 minutes earlier, 20 minutes earlier, 30 minutes earlier.

447
00:27:52,943 --> 00:27:54,906
And you just like walk it down a little bit.

448
00:27:54,906 --> 00:27:59,890
And by the time you know it, you're waking up early enough to enjoy your morning for you.

449
00:27:59,890 --> 00:28:03,639
Maybe you can have journal time in the morning, or maybe you can.

450
00:28:03,639 --> 00:28:09,141
Like if you have the opportunity to go to a sauna, get a sauna in the morning, like go to
the lake in the morning.

451
00:28:09,141 --> 00:28:11,650
Like there's so much opportunity you create.

452
00:28:11,650 --> 00:28:16,171
you create your own luck is what I like to like stick that I've heard before that I really
like.

453
00:28:16,171 --> 00:28:22,290
And so ultimately at the end of the day, like, and then now all of sudden you are looking
better, you're feeling better, you're feeling more confident.

454
00:28:22,290 --> 00:28:27,122
So the next time you go to that meeting, or that interview or whatever it is, you've have
all this built up.

455
00:28:27,122 --> 00:28:39,614
momentum from weeks of like constant, you know, small improvements to now somebody feels
that somebody recognizes that and it, it penetrates not just them, but also like your life

456
00:28:39,614 --> 00:28:41,056
for the long-term development.

457
00:28:41,056 --> 00:28:41,866
It's massive.

458
00:28:41,866 --> 00:28:42,438
Yeah, yeah.

459
00:28:42,438 --> 00:28:49,287
Well, you've you've now created a life where you're teaching others how to incorporate
these things into their lives and live better, healthier lives.

460
00:28:49,287 --> 00:28:54,260
Where can we learn more about you the great podcast that you do and follow the work you're
offering?

461
00:28:54,260 --> 00:28:58,063
So Ben Thinking is the name of the podcast, B-E-N Thinking.

462
00:28:58,063 --> 00:29:03,507
And you can follow me on Instagram at Ben Nevares, N-E-V-A-R-E-S on Instagram.

463
00:29:03,507 --> 00:29:05,328
And that's pretty much where I post all my stuff.

464
00:29:05,328 --> 00:29:09,630
And then my website for the business is iehealth.co.

465
00:29:09,630 --> 00:29:11,411
If you'd like to schedule a call, we can get on.

466
00:29:11,411 --> 00:29:12,913
We can start doing some programming.

467
00:29:12,913 --> 00:29:14,581
That's the jam, man.

468
00:29:14,581 --> 00:29:19,376
Awesome, and we'll have all those links in the show description for this episode been
really fun conversation.

469
00:29:19,376 --> 00:29:23,299
The audience doesn't know it was a bit of a surprise that we're doing this, but it turned
out great.

470
00:29:23,299 --> 00:29:28,746
I'm so glad for for this opportunity and grateful for this opportunity and looking forward
to seeing in touch.

471
00:29:29,367 --> 00:29:29,907
Thanks, Ben.

472
00:29:30,037 --> 00:29:31,138
All right, my thanks to Ben Navarro.

473
00:29:31,138 --> 00:29:37,643
So you can find his show, the Ben Thinking podcast and links to him in the show notes for
this episode at the fit mess dot com.

474
00:29:37,643 --> 00:29:43,207
It's funny, all these these little steps doing the little things, topics that we're
covering today.

475
00:29:43,207 --> 00:29:45,368
Words, they're easy to say sometimes.

476
00:29:45,929 --> 00:29:52,113
Yesterday was one of those days where I'm using this new app to track my workouts and help
me plan them.

477
00:29:52,113 --> 00:29:57,457
And I've been in the middle of eight week now successfully pat myself on the back real
quick.

478
00:29:58,229 --> 00:30:02,489
nine week streak of hitting my workout goals every week.

479
00:30:02,489 --> 00:30:03,669
And yesterday was the deadline.

480
00:30:03,669 --> 00:30:09,429
If I didn't get something in yesterday, then I was going to break what would have been a
nine week streak.

481
00:30:09,809 --> 00:30:13,329
And so I, you know, put it off all day, hemmed and hawed, when's the right time?

482
00:30:13,329 --> 00:30:14,389
What am going to do?

483
00:30:14,389 --> 00:30:15,189
I don't want to do it.

484
00:30:15,189 --> 00:30:15,729
I'm tired.

485
00:30:15,729 --> 00:30:16,209
I hurt.

486
00:30:16,209 --> 00:30:17,169
I'm sore.

487
00:30:17,489 --> 00:30:19,549
I even hurt myself in the gym, you know, the day before.

488
00:30:19,549 --> 00:30:20,989
So was trying to figure out what am I even going to do?

489
00:30:20,989 --> 00:30:21,769
I can't lift stuff.

490
00:30:21,769 --> 00:30:22,929
My shoulder hurts.

491
00:30:23,549 --> 00:30:27,613
But with this app that I'm using, I was able to kind of program like a simple

492
00:30:27,613 --> 00:30:31,494
sort of brief workout that wasn't going to affect the injury that I received.

493
00:30:31,995 --> 00:30:36,717
And I was able to sneak it in literally while I was cooking dinner for my kids.

494
00:30:36,717 --> 00:30:45,621
I was in the kitchen and like, you know, stir the soup a little bit, do 12 squats, stir
the soup a little bit more, get down on the floor, do some Superman, you know, raises and

495
00:30:45,681 --> 00:30:46,191
stuff like that.

496
00:30:46,191 --> 00:30:48,482
So I was doing just these body weight workouts.

497
00:30:48,662 --> 00:30:55,515
And the point isn't to, you know, again, not to brag, but the fact that I was able to do
something.

498
00:30:56,133 --> 00:31:01,015
helped me maintain the streak that I'm on to achieve the goal I'm trying to achieve.

499
00:31:01,015 --> 00:31:10,117
I'm trying to, I'm on a goal, I'm on a quest, I'm on a journey to be in the best shape
I've ever been when I turned 50, which is getting closer and closer, just a couple years

500
00:31:10,117 --> 00:31:10,347
away.

501
00:31:10,347 --> 00:31:16,319
So part of that is just putting in three or four, you know, heavy workouts every week.

502
00:31:16,319 --> 00:31:18,320
And I've done it now nine weeks in a row.

503
00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:22,005
I wouldn't be able to say that today if I hadn't said, you know,

504
00:31:22,005 --> 00:31:23,845
Who is the healthiest version of me?

505
00:31:23,845 --> 00:31:25,045
Who's the fittest version of me?

506
00:31:25,045 --> 00:31:27,125
Is he the one that's too tired to work out today?

507
00:31:27,125 --> 00:31:29,085
Or is he the one that's gonna do what he can?

508
00:31:29,305 --> 00:31:32,805
Is he gonna be the one that knows, you know, what's the floor and what's the ceiling?

509
00:31:32,805 --> 00:31:37,645
What's the best I can do and what's the least I can do to still do something?

510
00:31:37,985 --> 00:31:39,965
It was not an incredible workout.

511
00:31:39,965 --> 00:31:47,305
Nobody's gonna win any awards for what I put in last night, but I kept the streak alive
and I did something and I got in a quick, you know, 30 minute workout.

512
00:31:47,425 --> 00:31:52,145
So I say that again to just reiterate, like you have to decide.

513
00:31:52,233 --> 00:31:53,404
Who am I trying to become?

514
00:31:53,404 --> 00:31:54,504
What would that person do?

515
00:31:54,504 --> 00:31:58,456
And then do those things and do them every day as much as you possibly can.

516
00:31:58,597 --> 00:32:01,338
That's what it takes to get where you're trying to go.

517
00:32:01,779 --> 00:32:05,420
At least I hope so because I'm still on that journey right along with you.

518
00:32:05,641 --> 00:32:07,221
So I hope this has been helpful.

519
00:32:07,262 --> 00:32:12,165
If it has, if you think somebody else could benefit from hearing this, please do share
this episode with somebody who could benefit from it.

520
00:32:12,165 --> 00:32:15,016
You can do that with the links that are available at thefitmass.com.

521
00:32:15,016 --> 00:32:17,648
And that's where we'll be back in about a week with a brand new episode.

522
00:32:17,648 --> 00:32:18,815
Thanks so much for listening.