The Dad Strength Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Dad Strength Podcast
There is no strength like dad strength. It is quiet, patient, and persistent. Some would say stubborn, dammit. Dad strength rarely makes the highlight reel. It exists in the in-between spaces....The times when nobody—except maybe your kid—is watching.
The Dad Strength Podcast was created to support and encourage the best in dads like you. Authors, entrepreneurs, artists, and experts from all over share their wisdom with us. We discuss 360º health, doing work that matters, and—of course—fatherhood. These conversations are fun, informative, and always emphasize action and understanding.
The Dad Strength Podcast is hosted by Geoff Girvitz. Geoff is a father, fitness expert, and curious fellow. Based in Toronto, he has been featured in Vice, GQ, and multiple exercise publications. He is known for innovation and real-world success in the fitness industry. Now, Geoff is pointing a wide-angle lens at health and parenthood. Workouts and nutrition are just part of the program. He will be looking at relationships, critical thinking, motivation, and discipline. In short, anything you need to earn the mug that says “World’s Greatest Dad.”
“I want to be Mr. Rogers for men over 30,” says Geoff. “There is so much noise and confusion out there.” We all need a community devoted to the best we have inside of us. The Dad Strength Podcast is here to make the world a better place through our roles as fathers and as men.
Alex Manley is published poet and journalist, a senior editor at AskMen, and the author of The New Masculinity: A Roadmap for a 21st-Century Definition of Manhood
In this episode, Manley's helps us question and deconstruct outdated rules for masculinity and build—in their place—opportunities for a more modern vision of what it is to be a man. Manley's view—informed by their position at AskMen—speaks directly to the gaps we're currently feeling and offers, in their place, a considered and thoughtful view. If you are a parent to young men, you will want to hear this one.
Website
Instagram
Facebook
Title music by Daniel Ross
Additional music by Mike Ford and Jeremy Glenn
Edited by Jeremy Glenn
Alex Manley is published poet and journalist, a senior editor at AskMen, and the author of The New Masculinity: A Roadmap for a 21st-Century Definition of Manhood
In this episode, Manley's helps us question and deconstruct outdated rules for masculinity and build—in their place—opportunities for a more modern vision of what it is to be a man. Manley's view—informed by their position at AskMen—speaks directly to the gaps we're currently feeling and offers, in their place, a considered and thoughtful view. If you are a parent to young men, you will want to hear this one.
Website
Instagram
Facebook
Title music by Daniel Ross
Additional music by Mike Ford and Jeremy Glenn
Edited by Jeremy Glenn
Jeremy Frisch is a father of three and the owner and director of Achieve Performance Training in Clinton, Massachusetts. Here, he focuses on youth athletic development, physical education, and physical literacy.
If you parent or coach young athletes, you’re going to want to listen to this one. Frisch shares some important insights on how to get the most out of kids through creative problem solving and play. Please listen and share this with anyone who wants their kids to enjoy a positive experience with movement, exercise, or sport.
Links
Article: 15 Things to Remember If You Love Your Child-Athlete
Achieve Performance Training
Dom Matteo is a “coach of coaches” as a Coaching Masterclass instructor for Precision Nutrition. He is a father of two who has also applied his deep knowledge of nutrition and strength training to a 20 year competitive rugby career. In this episode, we discuss parenting a child with OCD, tips on being a master coach, and the unsexy reality of athletic development.
LinksLinkedIn
An incredible display of grit
Dom’s physical transformation
Coaching Masterclass program
Coaching with Dom
Pain is complex, often frustrating, and often hard to pin down with pure biomechanics. Greg Lehman is a “movement optimist” who takes a broader view of research and practice to help clients. He has also taught his course, Reconciling Biomechanics with Pain Science, over 100 times and in more than 40 countries. He has also published over 20 peer-reviewed scientific papers on manual therapy and exercise biomechanics. In his spare time, he skateboards and works on sticking his backflip.
In this interview, we discuss pain science, what we know—and don’t know—about pain and injuries and how to age semi-gracefully.
Links
Website
Course: Reconciling Biomechanics with Pain
Monitoring the athlete training response
Polarized training for endurance athletes
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network Production
Title music by Daniel Ross
Additional music by Mike Ford
Motivation is a funny thing. We are forever finding ways to inspire and rev ourselves up. But what happens when you let go of those strategies? What are you left with? And is it truly less motivation? Or does another framework emerge? I dig into this question as I share my thoughts on a month of NOT motivating myself.
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network production
Title music by Daniel Ross
Additional music by Mike Ford
Rich Thaw is a Montreal-based strength and conditioning coach—and father of one. We riff on coaching and parenting. Rich also shares some programming tips for building athleticism at any age.
Links
Rich Thaw Instagram
Empowr Instagram
Website
Exercise library
Do Hard Things
Rich’s Choose Your Own Adventure Protocol
Choose 1 of each:
Cardio: 500 meter row; 250 meter ski erg; 400 meter run; 100 feet on Jacob’s Ladder
Lower body: 20 squats; 10 walking lunges (per leg); 20 deadlifts
Upper body: 15 push-press; 20 push-ups; 3-5 pull-ups; 10 dumbbells rows (per side)
Perform 3 sets for time.
Week 1: Take your time (but hurry up)
Week 2: Beat last week’s time at all costs
Week 3: Beat last week’s time at all costs OR battle someone else on their combo
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network Production
Title music by Daniel Ross
Bryan Krahn is a fitness coach and “semi-serious physique athlete.” He has written hundreds of fitness articles for magazines like Men’s Health—and just about anything in the fitness section of your local newsstand. He’s also ghostwritten hundreds of other articles—many with celebrity names attached to them. He knows the fitness industry inside and out—and has a keen eye for bullshit. That’s why the advice that he does share is so useful.
In this episode, we discuss mental health and ADHD, non-bullshitty fitness advice, and—of course—fatherhood.
Links
Website
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network production
Title music by Daniel Ross
Additional music by Mike Ford
This episode is an interlude for The Dad Strength Podcast. No guest this week. Just some reflections on time with your (extended) family, the perils of air travel, and the podcast so far.
Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Follow us on Instagram @thedadstrengthpodcast/
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network production
Title music by Daniel Ross
Additional music by Mike Ford
Andrea Spyros is a speaker, facilitator, and expert in Dr. BJ Fogg’s Behaviour Design methods. She helps people design products, services, and systems that create lasting change. She has also been my partner on many projects relating to the Tiny Habits community
In this episode, we discuss internal beliefs about motivation and identity and how to more accurately assess—and design for your motivational environment.
LinksWebsite
Tiny Habits
Free 5-Day Program
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network production.
Title music by Daniel Ross
Dr. Marc Bubbs is a naturopathic doctor and performance nutritionist. He is the Director of Performance Nutrition for Canada Basketball and consultant performance nutritionist for a portfolio of professional and Olympic athletes. He is also the author of Peak: The New Science of Athletic Performance That Is Revolutionizing Sports and Peak 40: The New Science of Mid-Life Health for a Leaner, Stronger Body and a Sharper Mind
Bubbs works with athletes who want to improve their performance on the court or field—and regular folks doing the same in their daily lives. And over the past 20 years of his career, he’s found a lot of parallels between the two.
In this episode, we discuss blood work and other health markers, practical health habits, and how to leverage your daily rhythms for success.
LinksWebsite and coaching
Alfie Kohn is a speaker and the author of 15 books on behaviour, education, and parenting. He is an outspoken critic of the value of competition and rewards—and draws deeply from research on motivation.
In this episode, we unpack a lot of the common strategies that parents and teachers use to motivate or shape behaviour. We discuss how to move away from strategies that reduce our kids’ intrinsic motivation and interest—and how to move into a more collaborative worldview.
LINKSWebsite (and books)
Blog
Twitter
Article: 5 Reasons to stop saying, “Good Job”
Morgan Campbell is an award-winning journalist who writes for New York Times Sports and is the first Senior Contributor to CBC Sports. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Literary Review of Canada, and the Best Canadian Sports Writing anthology. He’s also working on his first book—due out sometime in 2023.
In this episode, Morgan and I discuss the paradoxes and politics of doing what you love professionally, his professional journey, fatherhood, the differences between how Canadians think of racism in the Unites States vs here at home.
LINKSTwitter
CBC
Follow Bring it In on Facebook
Affirmative Action—via Scene on Radio
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network production
Title music by Daniel Ross
James Fell is the author of three books, including On This Day In History, Sh!t Went Down. He has written for the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Time Magazine, The Guardian, and others. His daily column, Sweary History reaches millions of readers monthly.
In this episode, we discuss ADHD, hitting success in your 50s, and putting your politics up front and centre.
Links
Subscribe to his Substack
Tik-Tok
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network Production
Title music by Daniel Ross
Additional music by Mike Ford
To subscribe, visit dadstrength.com
This special edition of The Dad Strength Podcast is the final episode of the first season. Here, host Geoff Girvitz reflects on the past 19 episodes and what it’s like to get traction on a personal project of this scale. He also discusses the gap between understanding presence and practicing and provides you with a quick rundown of guests and topics.
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network Production
Title music by Daniel Ross
For updates on Season 2, subscribe at dadstrength.com
Carmen Bott is a coach and university lecturer. She has a Master's Degree in Exercise Science and is an expert in training Combative & Repeat-Sprint Team Sport Athletes. She’s had years of working with Canada’s top athletes—most notable top wrestlers. She’s published The Wrestler's Edge and a textbook called Exercise Programming Science and Practice. Her knowledge is world-class.
In this episode, we talk about the differences between training regular folks, athletes, combat athletes, and… Kids—including her son.
Links
YouTube
The Wrestler’s Edge
Schedule a consult
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network Production
Title music by Daniel Ross
To subscribe, visit dadstrength.com
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have chiselled abs? Or otherwise wonder what life would be like if you were fitter? Or richer? Or more of whatever it is media tells us we’re supposed to be? Me either. But I know a guy who’s willing to admit to doing so. Not just admit it; write about it and put his internal life on public display.
Graham Isador is a writer in Toronto. His work has appeared at VICE, GQ, and the BBC. And he’s brought me into some of his past experiments. These have been personal experiments designed for public consumption. Isador’s ability to capture what we’ve all thought and felt is superb. We talk about all that—as well as masculine relationships—in this episode of The Dad Strength Podcast.
LinksI Spent 80 Days Trying to Get Abs and It Ruined My Life
The Boring Truths I’ve Learned About Losing Weight and Keeping It Off
How Fit Can You Get From Just Walking?
Iron by Henry Rollins
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network Production
Title music by Daniel Ross
To subscribe, visit dadstrength.com—and just kind of figure it out from there
Christian Cameron can swing a two-handed sword, spin a yarn, and pitch a tent. He has published over 40 novels over the past two decades—of (mostly) historical fiction and fantasy. He has an incredible knowledge of history and fighting in antiquity. Cameron’s detail and practical understanding are bolstered by both his scholarly interests and reenacting. He is a former American intelligence officer—with NCIS and later with DHS. He is a dedicated partner and father—and in contention for World’s Most Interesting Man.
In this episode, we talk about manly things, Cameron’s military and writing careers, and what it means to be a dad.
Links
Website
Wikipedia page (including collected works)
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network Production
Title music by Daniel Ross
To subscribe, visit dadstrength.com—and just kind of figure it out from there
Chris Duffin is a serial entrepreneur, an author, an inventor, engineer. He has demonstrated unparalleled feats of strength and incredible business acumen. In this episode, we dig into his childhood, his role as a dad, and learn about his incredible resilience.
LinksBook
Kabuki Strength
Media
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network production
Title music by Daniel Ross
Dr. Mike T. Nelson is a high-performance consultant, an academic, and the host of the Flex Diet Podcast. He has a PhD is in exercise physiology and a master’s degree in biomechanics. More than anything, he is able to marry high-level knowledge with practical insight and action.
In this episode, we discuss the legendary “fat-burning zone” and how to avoid common mistakes in approaching scientific research.
Links
Website
Podcast
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network production
Title music by Mike Ford
Todd Hargrove is the author of A Guide to Better Movement and Playing With Movement. He is a reformed lawyer who found his calling after dealing with chronic pain. Todd is trained in the Feldenkrias Method. He is frequently called upon as an expert in pain and movement. He’s also a father of two daughters.
In this episode, Todd and I discuss movement, the pitfalls of early specialization for young athletes, and how to look at fitness goals through a longer-range lens.
Website and podcast
Twitter
Research review
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network production
Title music by Daniel Ross
Robbie Bent’s entrepreneurial journey is legendary. His career began with private equity and hedge-funds. But he was chasing the wrong kind of recognition and success. By his mid-20s he was struggling with addiction and a failing startup. After crashing completely, he reset his life. Meditation, psychedelic medicine, and other inner-work changed things completely. Meanwhile, he began working full-time for the Ethereum Foundation. During this period, he began to explore breathwork and the benefits of hot and cold exposure. What began as a way to socialize in a healthy way rapidly grew into a community. For Robbie, it was clear that there was a greater need for this type of inner-work. This led to the creation of Othership.
This interview takes us through his journey and into the heart of a rapidly growing startup. As a bonus, it also includes a guided breathwork session.
LinksOthership
Twitter thread on asking for help
LinkedIn
Othership on Twitter
Michael Bauman is an entrepreneur enoughness coach. He uses helps entrepreneurs struggling with isolation and insufficiency connect to their purpose and to the people who matter most. In this discussion, we talk about parenting, the psychology of change, and the art and science of being enough.Website
Podcast
Instagram
LinkedIn
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network production
Title music by Daniel Ross
This one for you—and the women in your life. Amanda Thebe is an author certified personal trainer, and a leader in menopause advocacy and education. She also wrote the Amazon best-selling book, Menopocalypse: How I Learned to Thrive During Menopause and How You Can Too! . In this episode, we explore what we need to know about menopause and peri-menopause as tuned-in partners.
Website
Instagram
YouTube
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network production
Title music by Daniel Ross
This episode of The Dad Strength Podcast takes you through over a century of physical culture. We look at what trends have faded and what have re-emerged. We also dig into why our default settings for strength training look the way they do. Conor Heffernan, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at the University of Texas at Austin, where he works at the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports. Conor isn’t just an academic, he has competed as a bodybuilder, he is a strength athlete with a love of kettlebells—as well as some more esoteric tools. And mostly, he’s a good time Conor is also a brand new dad—he’s in the thick of it. And that’s where our conversation begins.
Conor’s book (academic writing warning)
Website
Strongest Ever trading cards
https://strongestevertc.com/
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network Production
Title music by Daniel Ross
In this episode, we speak with Ryan Andrews, author of Swole Planet, about meeting our own health and fitness goals while still thinking about the planet as a whole. Ryan is a systems thinker, former nutrition expert, and activist. He is also a verifiably good human and someone who has walked the walk—from competitive bodybuilding to volunteering.
Folks in the worlds of muscle, strength, or performance often have a knee-jerk reaction to moving away from more meat-based diets. But if you’re looking for something to push back against, you won’t find it in this interview. Andrews broadens our concept of what health really means. He lays down clear, thoughtful methods without ever once asking you to compromise on your sweet, sweet gains.
Andrews is an author, an activist, a nutrition expert, and a former competitive bodybuilder. He has Master’s degrees in nutrition and exercise physiology. He’s completed training to be a registered dietician. He’s also studied sustainable food systems. Andrews has written for Time, Muscle & Fitness, Men’s Health, Precision Nutrition, and more. He’s accumulated over 1,000 hours volunteering at organic farms and with non-profit food recovery organizations.
LinksSwole PlanetWebsite
Instagram
Facebook
LinkedIn
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network Production
Title music by Daniel Ross
Mike Boyle is a true OG in the world of strength and conditioning. He has headed up strength and conditioning for multiple teams—including the Boston Bruins (1991-1995); the US Women’s Ice Hockey Team (gold in 1998 and 2018, silver in 2014); for a World Championship season with the Boston Red Sox; and for 12 years with the Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey Team. He was the head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Boston University for 15 years. He is the author of Functional Training for Sports and has created over 20 instructional videos. He has also run Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning since 1996.
Boyle has been a mentor to many—including me—and continues to be a voice of reason and critical thinking within the industry. This means that he makes a whole lot of people angry. Mostly on Twitter.
In this episode, we explore the history and ideas behind functional training, think critically about exercise conventions, and talk about raising young athletes.
LinksFacility
Twitter
Book
The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network Production
Intro/outro music by Daniel Ross
James Heathers has a strong academic and applied background—all of which center around collecting and interpreting signals bio-signals. His PhD was on heart rate variability—at a time before most people had heard of it. His post-doctorate work continued in this vein—focusing on bio-signals and meta-science research. Now, as the Chief Scientific Officer for Cipher Skin, he helps elite athletes and other high performers collect real-time feedback on position, movement, and recovery.
In his spare time, Heathers lifts heavy things, cooks tasty things, and takes down spurious research.
Everything Hertz podcast
Data Thug article
James Heathers on MediumJames Heathers for The AtlanticCipher Skin
Research
Julie Bogart is the author of Raising Critical Thinkers and Publisher's Weekly Best-Selling book *The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life. She is a seasoned writer, editor, and educator with a Master's in theology from Xavier University. Her Brave Writer and Brave Learner programs have helped educate over 100,000 students. She is also the host of the Brave Writer Podcast.
Bogart also has an has an incredible practical basis for her teachings—having raised and homeschooled five children over the course of seventeen years.
In this episode, we talk about how to raise critical thinkers. We pull apart ideas about how to make learning exciting, how to recognize—and work with—bias, and what is far more valuable than having the “right” answers. It’s a thoughtful, lively podcast that every parent will be able to take something from.
Julie Bogart Social MediaInstagram
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Brave WriterWebsite
Blog
7 day writing blitz
BookRaising Critical Thinkers
In 2007, Robin Black had a drug-induced seizure—the accumulation of a decade of hard rock and roll living. Something had to change. And it did. By the summer of the next year, he was stepping into a cage for his first professional fight.
There is nobody who’s walked a path quite like Robin Black. From glam rocker to pro fighter to MMA analyst. He has shaped his career into something meaningful, highly personal, and incredibly successful—all through an uncompromising and work ethic.
In spite of everything that’s interesting about Black—and that’s a lot—what really stands out is the way he thinks about things. Strategically, philosophically, and as a new dad.
Snapchat
Paul Taras Wolkowinski is a page out of traditional physical culture. For almost a decade, he has been travelling the world—learning and teaching the arts of Indian club and mace swinging. In that time, he has decoded Victorian-era manuals, built his own teaching methods, and become a true emissary for these (almost) lost arts. He has taught workshops in South Korea, USA, United Kingdom, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Iran, and India. And he continues to learn and translate knowledge from traditional sources ini Iran and India.
Paul is a thinker, a doer, and a family man. And he’s one of my personal heroes.
LinksWebsite
Instagram
Facebook
Paid courses
Dr. Thomas Verny is a psychiatrist and researcher who recently published the book, The Embodied Mind. Here, he looks at the borders we’ve created between our brains and bodies—and asks just how real they are. This well-researched review of over 500 academic papers shows the interplay between our brains and our guts, hearts, and DNA. Along the way, he makes a compelling argument that things like decision-making and memory are part of a much bigger ecosystem, where the brain plays only a partial role.
Further reading:
How the Heart Regulates the Mind
Brainless but Not Mindless: The Embodied Mind Hypothesis
Book: The Embodied Mind
Carlos Bustamante is a father of two and reporter for ET Canada. He’s interviewed an amazing array of celebrities, including Robert Downey Jr., Tina Fey, Col Chris Hadfield, and Dolly Parton! Canadians of a certain age will also have grown up with Carlos as the host of YTV’s The Zone for close to 15 years.
Carlos is a trained dancer, which is not only cool, it’s how he met his wife. He was born in Manilla and moved to Canada when he was young. He is currently nominated for Best Host in a Series by the Canadian Screen Awards. But most of all, Carlos is a thoughtful, tuned-in parent and partner.
In this episode, we discuss, screen-time, overprotective parents, parenting while famous, and our favorite cartoons.
The Dad Strength Podcast kicks off its first official episode with Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon. We discuss how our health is impacted by the relationships we have—and by the ways we work. This is transformative information for anyone looking to take a 360º view of their own health.
Krista (also known as KSD) is Director of Curriculum at Precision Nutrition, leading the development of the PN Academy and PN Certifications. She is the author of several books, including Why Me Want Eat and co-author of the The Essentials of Nutrition Coaching for Health, Fitness, and Sport textbook, along with an extensive list of academic publications, book chapters, articles, and reports.
Before working with Precision Nutrition, Dr. Scott-Dixon was a researcher and faculty member at York University in Toronto. She has more than 20 years in fitness and health coaching, and 10 years of university teaching and course direction.
She has lectured and taught internationally across North America as well as in the UK, Ireland, China, and Southeast Asia. She is also a trained counselor, with certifications from George Brown College and Leading Edge Training, which is certified by the Canadian Psychological Association.
Her compassionate, pragmatic style makes her a sought-after speaker, writer,—not to mention—podcast guest.
Find Krista at:
Twitter and IG - @stumptuous
FB - personal
Purchase Why Me Want Eat on Amazon
FB - for Why Me Want Eat
stumptuous.com
FB - Stumptuous
There is no strength like dad strength. It is quiet, patient, and persistent. Some would say stubborn, dammit. Dad strength rarely makes the highlight reel. It exists in the in-between spaces....The times when nobody—except maybe your kid—is watching.