TRAINED

To be the best version of yourself, all you need to do is make small, sustainable changes. At least that’s what behavior scientist, director of the Stanford Behavior Design Lab, and best-selling author of “Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything,” BJ Fogg says. On today’s episode, Ryan sits down with BJ and digs into his research, case studies, and approach to changing behavior, uncovering how BJ’s Tiny Habits Method can improve everything from your training routine to overall happiness.

If you asked Ellen Latham twenty years ago where will you be in the next ten years, she probably would have said, "working at my dream job." But when Ellen was in her early 40s, raising a child as a single parent and pursuing her career as a fitness instructor, she was suddenly let go from that dream job. She had to weigh her options: she could either give up or forge a new path. What started as Ellen’s small cycling classes grew into a thriving fitness movement built on the idea of accepting your setbacks in order to overcome them: Orangetheory. Ellen’s years of research, expertise as a fitness instructor, and her own challenges have shaped the philosophy behind Orangetheory; it’s for everyone, at any level, no matter your ability. On this episode, Ellen breaks down the science behind every Orangetheory workout, what it takes to be not just a good but a great trainer, and why anyone, no matter your training goals, should make fitness a lifestyle.

When most people think about nutrition and fitness, they think about burning calories, weight loss, or fueling their body. But what we eat determines so much more than how we look, feel, or what we do at the gym. Our approach to nutrition says a lot about our values, our training and health goals, and the type of life we envision for ourselves. On today’s episode, we sit down with Dr. Joel Kahn, a cardiologist, best-selling author and a proponent of vegan and plant-based diets, who has learned that while nutrition looks different for everyone, finding the right one for you can improve your longevity, performance, sleep, and your own sense of self. Dr. Kahn will debunk some of the science behind the latest fad diets, explain how nutrition can stave off heart disease, and dive deep into the specific plant-based foods that everyone should put on their plate every day.

Think about your training ambition: When does it change? What hurdles get in the way? How do you keep yourself going? And how often do you think about why you’re doing what you’re doing? Finding your “why” ––your motivation, your belief, your cause –sets people up for greatness. And no one understands this idea better than Simon Sinek, an author, ethnographer, organizational consultant, and self-proclaimed optimist, who has dedicated his research, books, and career to helping people find their “why” and achieve their long-term goals. On this episode, Simon gives us tips on how to find and stick to our own “whys,” walks us through the best way to manage stress and unpacks the idea of training as “an infinite game.” Because when you approach your training routine as something that can’t be won, that has no end, you give yourself room to constantly improve and focus on the process instead of the outcome.

Welcome back to Season 4 of Trained. To kick off our season, we’re sitting down with one of the greatest basketball players ever, LeBron James. LeBron is a three-time NBA champion, four-time MVP, and the current forward for the LA Lakers. With his trainer Mike Mancias, LeBron’s created a training routine that focuses not just on his day-to-day goals but on longevity — because he has no plans of stopping his career anytime soon. In this episode, LeBron and Mike give us an inside look into the deliberate approach that’s defined their training routine: how they’ve learned to optimize LeBron’s sleep, their approach to recovery through contrast hydrotherapy, and how they incorporate meditation into LeBron’s schedule. Because for LeBron and Mike, training isn’t just something they do in the gym; it’s a lifestyle. And one that needs to be planned.

Welcome back to Season 4 of TRAINED. We’re starting off this season with an interview from LA Lakers forward LeBron James and his longtime trainer, Mike Mancias. Together, they give us an inside look at how anyone can incorporate some of LeBron’s training tips into their own routine. But we’re just getting started. On this season of TRAINED, we’re bringing you even more behind-the-scenes conversations, research, and advice from the best minds in holistic training. Because even if you’re at the top of your game or field, there’s always something new to learn. Always more to discover. Always more to do. Because greatness isn’t born, it’s trained.

Over the past two years, New York Giants running back, Saquon Barkley has gone from a college athlete to the number two overall draft pick in the NFL to the 2018 NFL Rookie of the Year. But with every new milestone, Saquon’s goal has remained the same: to be the best. For Saquon, having a positive, open, and focused mindset is what has gotten him so far in both his football career and his life outside of sport. In this episode, Saquon tells us about how he continues to cultivate that mindset through goal setting, how his early exposure to sport has shaped his approach to training, and how he has handled physical and emotional transitions from college football star to professional athlete.

No matter if you played Little League, ran high school track, or were a kickball star on the playground, chances are you had a coach who was with you every step of the way. But too often, we overlook how coaches and trainers can shape our life both on and off the field. In this episode, we're sitting down with Megan Bartlett, Founder of We Coach, an organization that trains coaches and equips them with the tools and knowledge they need to help kids reach their full potential. Megan tells us about the connection between sports and stress management, the benefits of rhythmic and repetitive activities, and how to set positive and realistic expectations for young athletes.

Training is all about figuring out what works for you. It’s about finding your own philosophy, your approach, your guidelines. On this episode, we’re turning to some of our other Nike Master Trainers – Kirsty Godso, Betina Gozo and Joe Holder – for a round table discussion on how anyone, no matter their level, can improve their approach to all five facets of fitness. Throughout our conversation, Kirsty, Betina and Joe will tell us about how they’ve developed their own training philosophies, how they've learned to tailor their workouts to different needs, and how training – both professionally and personally – has changed their lives.

Golf is all about the long game. And no one knows this better than pro golfer, Rory McIlroy. We caught up with Rory after the 2019 PGA Championship. From barely making the cut on Friday to a top 10 finish on Sunday, he attributes his comeback to what he calls his “resilient mindset.” Over the course of his career, Rory has learned that the more resilient you are and the more you understand that winning is a byproduct of setting small, tangible goals -- the better you will perform. Throughout the episode, Rory tells us about learning proper biomechanics as a kid playing rugby, soccer and tennis, his dedication to positive self-talk, and being an advocate for holistic fitness.

When it comes to recovery, the onslaught of new trends and research can make it difficult to separate the noise from the science. In this episode, we’re digging deep into recovery and giving practical tips on how to incorporate it into your overall training routine. We’re sitting down with Dr. Shona Halson, Associate Professor in the School of Behavioral and Health Sciences at the Australian Catholic University, a former Senior Recovery Physiologist at the Australian Institute of Sport, and Director of the Australian Olympic Committee Recovery Center. Dr. Halson breaks down the ways we can all maximize our recovery time -- everything from understanding what type of compression or hydrotherapy works for you, to the science behind mental recovery and sleep, and how to structure your active recovery days.

When Kevin Love, power forward of the Cleveland Cavaliers, was drafted into the NBA in 2008, he needed to find a way to handle the physical and mental demands of playing at the pro level. Today, Kevin isn’t just a five-time NBA all-star or a 2016 NBA champion -- he’s also an avid yoga practitioner and an advocate for mental health. By incorporating yoga into his daily training routine, Kevin has come to understand the “mind-body connection” -- that taking time to breathe, to meditate, to set an intention, no matter how small, can have huge impacts on all facets of fitness. On this episode of TRAINED, Kevin tells us about how his early sports experiences have helped him stay competitive, how his approach to nutrition, recovery, and sleep has changed over the course of his career, and how he plans to keep playing basketball for as long as he can.

To kick off Season Three of TRAINED, we’re sitting down with U.S. Soccer Team midfielder Julie Ertz as she and the U.S. Women’s National Team prepare for this year’s competition in France. In 2015, Julie and her team won the competition, but once you’ve made it to the top, where do you go from there? How do you motivate yourself to keep training, to never stop striving to be your best, to perform at your highest level? For Julie, it’s about creating a training community. With the help of her teammates and her husband, Philadelphia Eagles tight-end, Zach Ertz, Julie continues to push herself in the gym and on the pitch. She tells us about her training routine, her take on nutrition, and why she has learned to embrace adversity.

Welcome back to TRAINED. Presented by Nike. Our third season launches on June 6 with a conversation with pro soccer player Julie Ertz. Through years of research and working with the world’s best athletes, Nike has learned that greatness isn’t born, it’s trained. This podcast explores the cutting-edge of holistic fitness to help make you a better trainer and athlete. Listen to conversations with athletes and industry experts to discover the latest innovations, insights, and trends making the biggest impact on the training world.

Food is complicated. The “rules” change all the time, and every body is different. So how do you decide what’s right for you? For Melissa Hartwig-Urban, Co-creator of Whole30 and four-time New York Times bestselling author, it was a process. She started blogging about her “elimination diet” as a way to improve her training and recovery and share her results with her training community. Ten years later, her approach has become one of today’s most-popular eating programs: The Whole30. In this episode, Melissa explains why The Whole30 isn’t meant to be a long-term diet but, rather, an experiment to figure out which foods work best for you. She also provides us with tips on how we can learn to identify, cook, and eat “real food,” how to make meditation a consistent part of training, and how we can all cultivate a healthier relationship with food in order to bolster our performance, recovery and mindset.