Nov 16, 2020
On this week's episode, Harvey has an in-depth conversation with Brian Mackenzie, a human performance specialist and founder of Shift - a sports & fitness instruction company working with high performers all over the world, as well as co-founder/president of Health and Human Performance Foundation.
Harvey and Brian talk heavily about how the psychology and physiology of the body are intimately woven together - keying into the concepts of breath work, performance, meditation, addiction, and awareness. As always, any conversation between Harvey and Brian is a must-listen. Enjoy!
There could not be a better biography for Brian than the explanation given on his website (Link below).
"Brian Mackenzie is an innovator in human performance
on stress adaptation and a pioneer in the development and
application of custom protocols to optimize human health and
performance. His work harnesses and integrates respiratory,
movement, strength, conditioning and endurance-based training
approaches to elicit unprecedented positive results. His protocols
have been used to accelerate and raise both mental and physical
performance in world-class Olympic and professional athletes, top
executives, and elite military operators, as well as to improve the
health for people suffering from various chronic and pathological
issues.
Brian’s work is voluntarily and repeatedly subjected to rigorous
3rd party scientific testing, re-testing and improvement, at top
institutions. He has been contracted and his work involved in
research projects at Stanford University School of Medicine,
California State University Fullerton, and San Francisco State
University.
Brian is himself a highly accomplished practitioner. He completed
the Ironman (Canada, 2004), completed both the The Western States
100 mile and The Angeles Crest 100 mile runs using adapted training
protocols he developed to improve performance. He is the co-founder
of The Art of Breath a course he teaches through SH//FT that
teaches a principles based approach to breath & performance. Brian
has also co-authored the book Power Speed Endurance, The New York
Times Best Seller UnBreakable Runner, and UnPlugged, which assesses
the integration of emergent technology and human performance. His
programs have been featured in Outside Magazine, Men’s Health,
Runners World, Triathlete Magazine, Men’s Journal, ESPN Rise, as
well as periodicals such as The Economist. Brian and his protocols
have been featured in 2 of Timothy Ferriss’ New York Times
bestselling books including: “The 4-Hour Body” and “Tools of
Titans” and Scott Carney’s New York Times best seller “What Doesn't
Kill Us”.
His clients have included: Ari Emanuel, William Morris
Endeavor, Sheppard Mullin, Deloitte, Google, Tim Ferriss, U.S.
Military (Navy, Army, Marines), Canadian Military (CANSOF), San
Quentin State Prison, The UFC Performance Institute, Altis, Jon
“Bones” Jones, Laird Hamilton, Tia Clair Toomey (3X CrossFit Games
Champion), Rich Froning Jr. (4X CrossFit Games Champion) and many
others.
Currently, Brian is the Founder & CEO of Power Speed Endurance. He
is also the President and Co-Founder of The Health and Human
Performance Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to
researching how breath and innate tools can optimize and help
health and human performance."
Key Insights:
0’ – Introduction
3:52 – Making Training & Living Progressive Intuitively
9:05 – Is Psychology Just Misunderstood Physiology
12:40 – We’re All Addicts
20:05 – Trying To Understand The Global Implications of Breathing & Breath Work
23:50 – Using Tools To Leverage Performance and Adapt
26:05 – We Are Nature
29:30 – How Cultures & People of The Past Listened To Their Environment Differently Than Society Does Today
42:02 – Thoughts Become What Is Happening Through Physiology & Emotion
48:30 – Fighting The “Outside-In” Battle; The Caution of External Tools For Understanding Physiology
53:22 – The Balance of Medicine and Intuition
55:00 – Have We Tapped Into Our Performance Potential?
56:00 – Player Development & Money; A Different Understanding of Addiction
62:47 – The Misstep of Taking In External Feedback
64:50 – Performance Is The Byproduct of What You Learn
67:50 – The Concept of Goals Is To Make Better Decisions
68:30 – The Main Goal of The Nervous System Is To Be Autonomous
72:00 – The Breakdown of Jaw Structure In Humans Through Recent De-Evolution
74:10 – We Either Pass On Genes, Or We Pass On Information
Product Links
MindStrong Membership: Become A Member Here!
Breathing 101 Course: Purchase Breathing 101 Course Here!
Sauna Research Institute: https://www.saunastudies.com/
XEndurance: Buy XEndurance Products Here!
(Use promo code 'MSP25' for 25% off!)
Brian Mackenzie Links:
Websites: https://www.brianmackenzie.com/
https://www.hhp-foundation.org/
Instagram: @_brianmackenzie - @shift_adapt - @hhpfoundation
Twitter: @brianmackenzie