On today's episode of Vital Metabolic, hosts James Wheeler and John Parker speak with John Odden from Kettlebell Gains Apparel. They discuss John's experience competing in the Highland Games, setting multiple world records. John shares information about how he trains, what he tracks (or doesn't), the importance of understanding your body, and more.
Episode Highlights:
- 8:30 – John lives in Bend, Oregon, with a lot of blue collar folks who he considers "industrial athletes" with physically demanding jobs.
- 10:20 – John did some winter training prep work for all the outdoor sports in Oregon, and he does a little bit of everything and treats it as time to play rather than treating all activity as formal training.
- 13:48 – There's a stigma around lifting weights, but in outdoor sports, building muscle is like building armor that helps to buffer you from breaking a bone in a fall.
- 16:29 – John asks people to commit to him for just 90 days to try lifting to see the results and how it transforms their experience of their favorite outdoor sports.
- 19:20 – They recommend a book called What Doesn't Kill Us by Scott Carney, which talks about the Wim Hof method.
- 19:53 – Overcoming physical objects like lifting stones creates a lot of resilience.
- 20:36 – John has been participating in the Highland Games since 2004 and is a world record holder.
- 21:00 – What inspired John to participate in the Highland Games and what is his training like?
- 24:42 – As John grew in the sport, he broke through the misconceptions that you had to look a certain way to be able to throw certain numbers.
- 26:26 – There are different stones used in the event, some about 22-30lbs, open stones weighing about 16-20lbs, two weight throws at 28lbs and 56lbs, and hammer throws at 22lbs and 15lbs, and the weight over bar event.
- 28:35 – John formerly held the record for the standing shot over bar, and then one of his students broke it.
- 28:55 – There are weight classes within the sport.
- 29:51 – The last two events are the sheith toss (a larger medicine ball in burlap thrown with a pitchfork) and the caber toss (a massive telephone pole-like object).
- 32:16 – Watch the Highland Games documentary episode called Home Game on Netflix.
- 33:12 – John has not tracked his body fat or food in years.
- 38:25 – The Dinnie Stones was featured in a documentary about old-time strongmen, and these stones weigh a combined 734lbs.
- 39:50 – They have ring handles to lift, and today the challenge is less about whether you can lift them at all, but how long you can hold them.
- 42:18 – John is particularly proud of how he trained for the Dinnie Stones, including getting ring handles to simulate the lift.
- 44:14 – John feels like he's made for the battlefield more than the gym, and likes that he looks more athletic than like a giant bodybuilder.
- 46:25 – It's important to understand what your physiology, genetics, and natural proclivities are.
- 47:42 – It can be a challenge to find a balance between maintaining your fitness and deadlift weight while also pushing yourself, without hurting yourself as you age.
- 48:55 – Successful coaches will still often have their own coaches to tell them whether they should do more or do less.
- 50:12 – What is "strong enough"? It depends.
- 51:00 – John has owned his own facility for about 5 years but has been coaching for 20 years.
- 51:51 – To get started, you need a mentor to learn from someone who knows more about training than you.
- 53:01 – One of John's mentors has set the goal to fail three times this week.
- 53:25 – John called around to about 15 different facilities and asked them what was working for them and what wasn't before he decided to open his own.
3 Key Points:
- Understanding your body is more important than looking a certain way or fulfilling certain stereotypes about lifting.
- People's bodies are built to excel at different movements, exercises, and skills.
- Working with a trainer can help you avoid training yourself into injury and pain.
Tweetable Quotes:
- "So many times, we're often stuck in our limitations." –John Parker
- "I would break down. I thought I was way too small, all those things… I just kept going with it. I just kept building my momentum in the sport and realized that I can break past that, what that looks like to throw xyz distance in any event." –John Odden
- "I'm so mindful and I've been such a big follower of precision nutrition principles for a long time, and I've tracked it for so long that I just know when I'm in the range that I need to be in." –John Odden
- "I'm not gonna suffer for my sport. If I didn't feel as good or better than ever right now, going into competition, I just wouldn't be doing it anymore." –John Odden
- "If you are training yourself into the ground, you will eventually be in the ground."
- "Coaches make the best students."
- "You gotta fail. You gotta fail forward fast." –John Odden
Resources Mentioned:
