I was in Hawaii for Max's camp ahead of UFC 329, and everybody's been asking me the same questions since fight night. So I'm giving my real take, the fight, the outcome, and what most people missed watching it live.

Then I'm pulling back the curtain on camp itself. What we actually fed him, why this cut was different, and the calls that most fighters and coaches still get wrong.

No filter. Just what I saw from the inside.

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I sat down with Tony Lena, retired Navy SEAL Command Master Chief and General Manager of Virginia High Performance, where he and I work together daily with active duty and retired Navy SEALs. I've learned more about leadership from this man in casual conversation than I have from most books, so I figured it was time to actually put it on record.

Tony spent 27 years in the teams, leading 500 personnel in garrison and commanding multi-branch task forces overseas. He never planned to stay that long. He just never found a reason to leave until he did.

In this episode Tony breaks down the leadership framework he built across three decades, why high performance organizations don't have accountability systems they have self-accountability, the difference between being a laser beam and a light bulb as a leader, and why the best lessons he learned came from the worst leaders he had. He talks about the transition out of the teams, the identity crisis that follows, and how he found purpose again doing what we do every day at VHP.

We also get into school safety and security, the SEAL teams' culture of attrition and what that does to a person over 27 years, veteran suicide, and what actually happens inside the huddle program at VHP where operators from Vietnam to present day sit in the same room and finally start talking.

Tony is the kind of guy that everyone in the teams knows and nobody outside of it has ever heard of. That's by design. But what he has to say is worth hearing.

✅ Fuel Your Performance – Protekt Products

Electrolytes that actually work. Liquid, clean, and built for warriors. Hydration, energy, and recovery—backed by science and performance.

👉 http://protekt.com/truth

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In this solo episode, I'm breaking down one of the most overlooked problems I see every single day working with NFL athletes, UFC fighters, and Navy SEALs. It's not a lack of willpower. It's not a lack of information. It's goal dysmorphia. You're chasing the wrong goal.

I call it the Goal Triangle. Three goals that every person is trying to navigate at the same time: performance, aesthetics, and health. The problem is they don't all play nice together, and the nutrition and lifestyle strategies required for each one directly conflict with the others. I've watched athletes tank their performance, blow out their bodies, and spin their wheels for years because nobody ever told them that you cannot aggressively pursue all three at once.

I walk through real examples from my own athlete case files, including an NFL player I had to talk out of losing weight two weeks before the Super Bowl, and how I took a 400-pound lineman through a full year of goal sequencing to get him to the best shape of his career by preseason. I also give you one of the most effective tools I use with every single client, one simple list that will tell you more about why you haven't hit your goal than any diet or supplement ever will.

If you've been on your fifth diet and still wondering what you're missing, this episode is for you.

✅ Fuel Your Performance – Protekt Products

Electrolytes that actually work. Liquid, clean, and built for warriors. Hydration, energy, and recovery—backed by science and performance.

👉 http://protekt.com/truth

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I sit down with Jen Widerstrom, trainer, performance coach, and former Biggest Loser trainer who has spent over two decades working with everyone from professional athletes to everyday people. What she'll tell you is that the gap between knowing and doing has almost nothing to do with information. It's all in your head.

Jen gets into the psychology of behavior change, why people fail the same diet for the fifth time and call it a new problem, how shame and environment shape our relationship with food, and why removing all judgment isn't always the answer.

She also gets into her work with Arnold Schwarzenegger's Pump Club, the difference between coaching for performance versus aesthetics versus health, and why she thinks most coaches are ruining their clients' motivation with too much information.

✅ Fuel Your Performance – Protekt Products

Electrolytes that actually work. Liquid, clean, and built for warriors. Hydration, energy, and recovery—backed by science and performance.

👉 http://protekt.com/truth

✅ Train Longer, Recover Faster – Vitargo – Use code TRUTH15

When the work gets real, your fuel matters. Vitargo delivers rapid carbs to keep you going and ready for the next session.

👉 https://vitargousa.com/shop/ref/TruthSerum/

✅ Upgrade Your Recovery – Valo Red Light – Use code TRUTH20

More than recovery. Daily red light therapy to help you stay consistent, reduce fatigue, and perform better over time.

👉 https://www.valoredlight.com/

Jen's Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/jenwiderstrom/

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I just got off the stage at SummerStrong 19. Myself and Virginia High Performance Lead Strength Coach Chipper Anderson sit down to break down every talk from the weekend, the highlights, the big ideas, and what coaches and athletes actually need to take away from one of the best strength and performance events in the country.

✅ Fuel Your Performance – Protekt Products

Electrolytes that actually work. Liquid, clean, and built for warriors. Hydration, energy, and recovery—backed by science and performance.

👉 http://protekt.com/truth

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DeAndre Corbe didn't take the obvious path to becoming an elite grappler. He came up through Muay Thai, built a career as an engineer, and somewhere along the way decided the mat was where he was supposed to be. In this episode, he breaks down what that transition actually looked like, walking away from a stable career to go all in on professional grappling, and what it cost him to get there.

We get into his evolution from striking to submission grappling, the mindset shift that comes with competing at an elite level, and what he and his younger brother Gavin built together with Black Box Grappling Club. Running a gym with family is a whole different kind of pressure, and DeAndre doesn't sugarcoat it.

✅ Fuel Your Performance – Protekt Products

Electrolytes that actually work. Liquid, clean, and built for warriors. Hydration, energy, and recovery—backed by science and performance.

👉 http://protekt.com/truth

✅ Train Longer, Recover Faster – Vitargo – Use code TRUTH15

When the work gets real, your fuel matters. Vitargo delivers rapid carbs to keep you going and ready for the next session.

👉 https://vitargousa.com/shop/ref/TruthSerum/

✅ Upgrade Your Recovery – Valo Red Light – Use code TRUTH20

More than recovery. Daily red light therapy to help you stay consistent, reduce fatigue, and perform better over time.

👉 https://www.valoredlight.com/

Deandre's Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/deandre_corbe/

BlackBox Grappling Club Website

https://blackboxgrapplingclub.com/

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Aaron Love is a retired Air Force Pararescueman, co-owner of the Ones Ready podcast, and one of the most unfiltered voices in the veteran space. He went through PJ selection four times before earning the beret, and he hasn't stopped paying attention since he got out.

In this episode we get into the Iran rescue of the downed F-15 pilot, the Maduro raid and the weapons used on the ground that the public is just now hearing about, including a portable sonic weapon and a CIA tool called Ghost Murmur that can isolate a human heartbeat from hundreds of miles away. Aaron also breaks down why he thinks the Iran campaign makes more sense than most people realize, what Ones Ready is doing to prepare the next generation for the pipeline, and why staying physically capable after service isn't optional.

No filter. No party line. Just a guy who's seen it from the inside.

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https://www.instagram.com/onesready/?locale=fr&hl=en

✅ Fuel Your Performance – Protekt Products

Electrolytes that actually work. Liquid, clean, and built for warriors. Hydration, energy, and recovery—backed by science and performance.

👉 http://protekt.com/truth

✅ Train Longer, Recover Faster – Vitargo – Use code TRUTH15

When the work gets real, your fuel matters. Vitargo delivers rapid carbs to keep you going and ready for the next session.

👉 https://vitargousa.com/shop/ref/TruthSerum/

✅ Upgrade Your Recovery – Valo Red Light – Use code TRUTH20

More than recovery. Daily red light therapy to help you stay consistent, reduce fatigue, and perform better over time.

👉 https://www.valoredlight.com/

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Last December, Stuart Locke, the coach and mind behind Kodiak Barbell, nearly didn't come home. An allergic reaction to anesthetic left him fighting for his life, and his wife facing decisions no spouse should ever have to make. He made it through. And he believes he knows exactly why.

In this episode of Truth Serum Podcast, Stuart opens up about the experience that tested everything: his body, his identity, and his faith. We get into how it has reshaped the way he thinks about coaching, strength, and what it means to truly show up for the people in your corner.

We also go deep on what makes Kodiak Barbell different. Stuart's coaching philosophy, how he builds athletes who are mentally and physically tough, his approach to powerlifting programming, and the culture he has built around the barbell.

If you train, compete, or coach, or if you have ever faced something that made you question what you are really made of, this one is for you.

In this episode:

Stuart's near-death experience and the role his Christian faith played in his survival

The Kodiak Barbell philosophy and what it demands of athletes

How Stuart programs for strength and powerlifting performance

Coaching identity and what it means to develop athletes, not just build numbers.

Follow Stuart & Kodiak Barbell

https://www.instagram.com/stu_kodiakbarbell/?hl=en

✅ Fuel Your Performance – Protekt Products

Electrolytes that actually work. Liquid, clean, and built for warriors. Hydration, energy, and recovery—backed by science and performance.

👉 http://protekt.com/truth

✅ Train Longer, Recover Faster – Vitargo – Use code TRUTH15

When the work gets real, your fuel matters. Vitargo delivers rapid carbs to keep you going and ready for the next session.

👉 https://vitargousa.com

✅ Upgrade Your Recovery – Valo Red Light – Use code TRUTH20

More than recovery. Daily red light therapy to help you stay consistent, reduce fatigue, and perform better over time.

👉 https://www.valoredlight.com/

Follow Truth Serum Podcast

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