Episode 003 Kelly Starrett Justin Mager

Summary

• Kelly Starrett:
• Showed up in 4Hour Body
• Cofounder of SF CrossFit with wife Juliet
• 60 Minutes has been following them since October
• Interested in performance, but also in helping people prevent pain
• Has two daughters, 8 and 5 years old
• Justin Mager:
• Exercise physiology background
• Went to medical school to study physiology
• Interested in human performance and experience
• Has a pullup rack in his office
• Studied endocrinology and Eastern philosophy
• Interested in chakras, nerve plexi, and endocrine hormone glands
• Blood testing is a snapshot of a moment in time and not an object
• Traditional medicine often judges things as good or bad, such as inflammation being bad and low cholesterol being good
• Context is important when interpreting blood tests, as high LDL cholesterol can be beneficial in a strengthbuilding phase
• Testing is expensive and technology in the field should be leveraged to make it more accessible
• People should be responsible for their own health and nutrition, experimenting with lifestyle changes to improve their wellbeing
• Testing is expensive, and Theranos is trying to break that barrier down.
• Justin Mager looks at markers like homocysteine, which is a marker of metabolic efficiency, and B12 and folic acid levels.
• Kelly Starrett suggests people should develop a relationship with their physician and educate themselves.
• Tim Ferriss is involved with a company called Sano Intelligence, which is developing a nicotine patchlike device to track markers 24/7.
• Kelly Starrett discovered he doesn't process saturated fats like everyone else, so he changed his diet to include more fish, chicken, and leaner foods.
• Mike Pretend from the San Jose Sharks is taking an integrated approach to travel, and suggests that for every hour of time change, it takes a day to normalize.
• Kelly Starrett discussed the importance of sleep and recovery for physical and mental health.
• He suggested using a blood glucose meter to test the effects of travel and diet on health.
• He also discussed the importance of sleeping 8 hours a night and the impact of sleep deprivation on body composition.
• He mentioned the Zeo sleep monitor, which was ahead of its time and expensive.
• Seth Roberts' ShangriLa Diet was discussed, which suggests consuming calories disassociated from food to reduce appetite.
• Kelly Starrett and Justin Mager discussed the importance of selfexperimentation and personal digital health.
• Kelly Starrett and Justin Mager discussed the use of digital health technology and selfexperimentation to track important biomarkers.
• They discussed the use of Restwise, a good algorithm for tracking recovery from workouts, and the use of heart rate variability and S.A.O.2 to track inflammation.
• They discussed the importance of observation and discovery in science and medicine, and how digital health technology can be used to track the impact of society and work life balance on health.
• They discussed Sami Inkinen, a cofounder of Trulia, who is entering an open ocean rowing race from Monterey to Hawaii on a low carbohydrate diet to bring awareness to the dangers of fructose and high carbohydrates.
• They discussed the importance of trusting one's inner compass and the victory of having a heightened state of confidence in it.
• Justin Mager and Kelly Starrett discuss the importance of selfcontrol and delaying gratification.
• Justin Mager shares a story of his daughter, Georgia, who was offered a cookie if she waited for it.
• Tim Ferriss talks about the importance of understanding one's gut instinct and the value of having a coach.
• Justin Mager and Kelly Starrett discuss what makes a good coach, noting that it is a combination of science and art.
• Tim Ferriss talks about the importance of relating to one's athletes and understanding their life outside of the sport.
• Justin Mager grew up in Pittsburgh in a broken home and borderline impoverished situation
• He has an openness and humility that allows people to share with him
• He does not believe in the idea of expertise, but rather that life is a learning experience
• He is able to recognize when someone is sick and has an art of knowing nonverbal cues
• He is able to mimic people and recognize patterns, which has changed his practice
• He believes that if you know yourself, you will know all people and that it is important to find the balance between the two polarities of unique circumstances and being fundamentally human
• Humility and openness to learning from everyone is key to becoming an expert
• UV is filtered through the eyes and is important for vitamin D and other health benefits
• Baseline testing is important to establish best practices
• Men should ask themselves if they have a boner in the morning to assess their health
• Parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system tone is important to understand
• Heart rate slows down when breathing in and accelerates when breathing out
• People are often in a fight or flight response due to stress, leading to difficulty sleeping.
• Sleep begets sleep, so if a child has a bad night's sleep, it can lead to more bad nights.
• Kelly Starrett noticed that many of his professional athletes and soldiers were not sleeping, so he looked for ways to help them without having to measure anything.
• He suggested removing roadblocks such as poor diet and lack of exercise.
• He also suggested selfevaluation and minimal movement to help people who are already compromised.
• Sitting for long periods of time can lead to stasis and congestion, so compression socks and pants are recommended.
• The Victorians sat upright, but in the 1920s slouching became fashionable and furniture design reflected that.
• Posture and body are directly linked to physiology.
• Sleep hygiene is important for good sleep: room should be dark, quiet, and cool (60s).
• Eating carbohydrates at night can help boost serotonin.
• Protein should be consumed within 30 minutes of waking.
• Taking a hot bath and then cooling off quickly can help with sleep.
• Hot and cold environments can affect sleep quality.
• Soft tissue practice before bed can help relax the nervous system.
• Sitting for long periods of time can compress the diaphragm and lead to bladder dysfunction.
• Sleeping on a soft surface can help reduce extension sensitivity.
• Soft tissue work before bed can help reduce stress and jaw clenching.
• Kelly Starrett explains that the resting state of the human being is pain free and that pain is a marker of pathology.
• Tim Ferriss suggests that the squat is a good metric to measure functional movement.
• Justin Mager shares his morning routine which includes 20 minutes of play with his children and then grinding greens into a smoothie.
• Kelly Starrett explains that if you push on a tissue and it hurts, it is a sign that something is wrong with your mechanics.
• Kelly Starrett also explains that humans should have full physical capacity and that they should be able to move without needing to warm up.
• Summary:
• Kelly Starrett and Tim Ferriss discuss the difference between chronic stable pain and acute pain. Starrett explains that people have disempowered themselves for generations and have no idea how to do simple maintenance on their bodies. He also explains that the body is very robust and can handle a lot of wear and tear. He suggests that movement can block pain signals and that chronic pain can be managed by providing a new motor program. He also mentions that physicians are often hamstrung by the litigious nature of the US legal system and are unable to provide the best care in the limited time they have with patients. Finally, he suggests that there is a pain of injury and a pain of transition and that people should be empowered to make changes to their bodies.
• Kelly Starrett and Diane Fu are coaches at a gym and experts in Olympic lifting and proper biomechanics.
• Flag football injuries can lead to a series of musculoskeletal injuries.
• Coaches have hacked physiology to get the best out of athletes for performance and longevity.
• NCAA and professional sports are criticized for putting athletes at risk with catabolic agents and not allowing anabolic support.
• Kelly Starrett works with high level military athletes who have fewer resources and are more compromised.
• Military is a disaster, but also amazing
• Hedge fund guys and military guys have different approaches to 4Hour Body
• Best practice is to make the best choice with the tools available
• Coaches are generous and transparent with their knowledge
• Ideas are worth next to nothing, execution is the hard part
• Intention and expectation are the primal drives
• Kelly Starrett believes public health problems can be solved by standing at desks in schools
• Justin Mager believes realizing individual and collective potential is key
• Justin Mager and Kelly Starrett were guests on a podcast episode.
• Justin Mager predicted the development of an intranet that would connect people on a global scale.
• He also predicted that this would lead to social unrest.
• He suggested that people should come together as global citizens to ask deeper questions and contribute to accelerating human potential.
• Kelly Starrett suggested people visit mobilitywod.com for free videos on mobility.
• Justin Mager's parting comment was to empower oneself and figure it out.