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Behind the Bluff
Uncover best practices to participate in life on your terms. Every week, hosts Jeff Ford and Kendra Till guide listeners with short conversations on trending wellness topics and share interviews with passionate wellness professionals, our private club leaders, and additional subject matter experts offering valuable tips. Each episode conclusion includes Healthy Momentum, five minutes of inspiration to help you reflect and live differently. Subscribe now and discover the keys to living your greatest active lifestyle.
Behind the Bluff
Same Standard, Different Season | Mitchell Wendling
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We sit down with Mitchell Wendling to unpack how a former college athlete becomes a wellness leader by leaning on discipline, seasons of training, and simple systems. We keep coming back to one idea that cuts through the noise: train hard, then recover on purpose so you can keep showing up.
• Mitchell’s path from basketball to kinesiology to leading a private club wellness program
• The mental shift from sport performance to real life accountability
• Discipline at home as the difference maker for body composition and health goals
• Building group fitness momentum and planning for a new fitness facility
• Fitness seasons as a way to stay curious and avoid burnout
• Consistency as doing something even when life gets busy or travel hits
• Program design built on squat hinge push pull carry lunge patterns
• Rotation and anti-rotation training for golf and everyday strength
• Half Ironman training with written weekly plans and morning sessions
• Recovery maxing through downtime quiet space and sauna routines
• Hydration as a daily non-negotiable with a measurable system
• Wellness defined as proactive self-care across stress sleep and physical health
We look forward to being together with you next Wednesday. Episodes come out every single week.
Welcome And Guest Introduction
SPEAKER_00Are you ready to live an active lifestyle? Welcome to Behind the Bluff, where we believe every moment of your life is an opportunity to pursue wellness on your terms. Today's episode is a special one for me because I have had a front row seat to this guest journey. From coming out of grad school to stepping into leadership roles at one of the top wellness retreats in the country, and now as the director of fitness and recreation at Hague Point, Mitchell Wenling is someone who lives what he coaches: discipline, consistency, and a genuine passion for helping people realize what they're capable of. Today we plan on diving into his evolution from a college athlete to a leader and what it really takes to stay consistent and how to build a life around movement. Not only does Mitchell lead a thriving program at Hague Point, but he is also training for a 70.3 Iron Man triathlon right now. Mitchell, welcome to the show. Jeff, what's up, buddy? Dude, glad we could make this happen. That was a fantastic intro.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
SPEAKER_00You're so welcome. And I I know you took the boat, then you got in your car from Hilton Head Island, drove out here to Palmetto Bluffs. So it's been a journey. Thank you for taking the uh the trip to this vicinity.
Mitchell’s Path Into Fitness
SPEAKER_01I know it's unique. Not everybody gets to say they take a boat to work every day, and I am blessed enough to say so. I love it.
SPEAKER_00Mitchell, go ahead, share with us your background, the reader's digest version of your story and how you came to be in the fitness industry.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I started schooling. Uh I'm from Springfield, Illinois, Athens, Illinois, to be exact, just in south uh just north of Springfield. Um but I went to school at Central Methodist University, it is in Missouri, and played basketball there for four years. That's kind of where I found a love for strength and conditioning, and I really enjoyed it. But I graduated there with a degree in biology and chemistry, and then I ended up going to grad school at Western Illinois University for kinesiology, and that's where I really fell in love with this field that you and I both work in now. So from there, I went to Sky Terra Wellness Retreat, where you so humbly hired me. Did you ever think you were gonna work at a wellness retreat? Didn't know what they were. I had no idea there was a thing, but I applied because it sounded cool, and it was in a state that wasn't Illinois. So I'm so happy you hired me. Checked a couple boxes.
SPEAKER_00It was it was cool, different state, and dude, those were fun times. Great times.
SPEAKER_01So you hired me there. I was there for what three and a half years or so, and then came down here where you are now and uh moved to Hilton Head and work at Hague Point as their director of health and wellness now.
SPEAKER_00And you've been there now just over two years? Just over three. Over three years at this point. Come on, year four now. Time flies.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so that's that's kind of how I got to where I am. Other than that, I have uh the middle child, I have an older sister, younger brother. I have a fiance, Avery, and we have a dog named Karma. And you're a certified strength and conditioning specialist? I still have that CSES credential, yeah.
The Mental Shift After Sports
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so let's jump in. Tell us what it was like to be a college basketball player and the shift that you had to make physically and or mentally taking on a job and you know, of course, being a human being and a an adult. That's what I think.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Um, you know, college basketball was an awesome time. You you make a ton of friends, ton of teammates, um, you know, just everywhere it it takes you. It's just it's just you it's hard to put into words, you know, just being around a group of guys that all have the same goal to win games, to go, you know, play after college, some of them, etc. It's a great time. But then that unfortunate day comes where your last college game is played and the real life is upon you. And I'd say nothing really changed physically for me. You know, at that point, fitness, being active was always part of what I do and what I intended to do for life. But I think mentally now you are just getting judged differently. You know, in basketball, if you don't perform, you don't play, right? Or even in just in um college, if you have bad grades, you don't graduate. So now in real life, it's it's your livelihood. If you don't show up to work, if you aren't good at your job, one, you don't have a job, but two, now you're struggling to survive. So it's it's just I know it sounds pretty deep, but it is um that was just like the biggest shift for me is like you don't get to retake this class, or you don't you can't just redshirt this year, like this is your real life, yeah, and it's time to show up and work hard.
Why Discipline At Home Wins
SPEAKER_00That that perspective is it's it's different. You're you're training to perform at a sport, and now you're in a place where you're leading programs to help people get healthy and live a long life on their terms. Yep. Now, adding a little context, you and I met during this transition and we worked at SkyTear Wellness Retreat together, and you're now at the Hague Point Club. What separates the people who truly change from those who stay stuck in that transition?
SPEAKER_01I'll say the biggest thing is just their discipline at home. You know, for for most of us that are training people, we might see them an hour and a half to three and a half, maybe four hours of a week. And you can get a lot done in that one and a half to four hours a week, but whatever they're doing outside of that four plus hours makes the entire difference of you know, whatever the goal is, building muscle, losing fat, etc. So if they're training hard with you for three 45-minute sessions a week, but then just abusing the alcohol and food and everything just nonstop, it's gonna be hard to see the change you want in your bodies. And that's the one thing I try to reiterate to all of our members at Heg Point is like you guys are putting in all this good work here, and if you're not seeing the results that you're trying to see, maybe take a step back and look at what else you're doing outside of fitness to help get you to those results. Yeah.
Building Hague Point’s Wellness Program
SPEAKER_00So, in all your experience of you know, seeing folks like we did for short periods of time, a week, attempting to reset their lives, go back home, improve their environment, get consistent. It's not just about what we do from a fitness and training perspective, it's all about looking at the whole picture. 100%. Tell us a little bit more about what you have going on over at Hague Point. We've done some fun stuff together and plan to in the future. What's what's the wellness program look like uh in your private community?
SPEAKER_01Man, it just keeps getting better every single year. You know, I'm I'm just just finished up my third year there. And it like I said, I mean, every year it started with maybe two people per class, then second year you you're averaging four or five people per class, and now we have to max our classes out at 12 because of the size of our space. But pretty much every class this year has been waitlisted, you know, 12, which is so fun to see in in three years' time to just slowly something that we're like, oh, we don't know if it's gonna build, and it's here, and it's like it's the future. So now the best news we have recently is they had a vote pass that we are getting this brand new wellness and fitness center. So that's official now. We haven't we haven't talked since then. I think that's public knowledge, yeah. Yes, okay, it is official, and that is I'm beyond the moon about it. So we're there hoping to break ground ASAP and health and wellness and fitness at Hagpoint. Is the future at Hague?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's it's great to see so many private communities investing in professionals like us and then investing in improving the amenities. Uh, our crew had the opportunity to to do the uh Hague Point swap day. Yeah, where we yeah, we came over, dude. You did such a great job, had the workout planned, and and we've we saw your existing space. Super fun, great to be within there, but uh I I can feel the excitement that you're gonna have more space and more opportunities soon.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it definitely feels like humble beginnings. You know, you you we make the best of what we have, but seeing these renderings and plans of what it could be uh, you know, a year and a half, two years from now is just it it's so exciting.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, it's fun to be a part of that.
SPEAKER_01Oh my gosh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, as you well know, we're we're expanding here at Pummetal Bluff with our temporary 10,000 square foot space. And then beyond that, we're already looking at you know what's what's crossroads look like and what does the future look like because of growing communities. Yeah. Hague point, do you know how how built out it is? Uh it sounds like there's a lot of real estate that's that's happening over there, a lot of purchasing right now.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, don't quote me on this, but I want to say it's as far as lots go, I think it's roughly half, like half full. So there is a ton of lots to be sold and houses to be built on those lots. Um, so if I had to put a number on, I think there's roughly another 150 to 200 houses to be built on Hague Point. Yeah. So that's significant. Yeah, absolutely. Um yeah, and then you know, if they're putting this investment into a new fitness center, just making sure that's big enough to you know accommodate another 250 homes, right? Exactly.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's that planning process isn't easy. Yeah, we we've seen Palmetto Bluff's growth and just getting that right so that you're prepared for the future and and the focus on wellness. People want to come live in the low country and and participate in life on their terms and do all the incredible activities that this part of the country offers.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and especially at Hague Point, uh, not many people want to take the boat over just to go to excuse me, just go to the gym. So having that facility is gonna be a just a game changer. Yeah. Well, I'm excited for you, man.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. Yeah, uh, tell us a little bit more about your role at Hague Point. So break down what's a typical day look like for you and uh some of the types of programming that you guys have going on.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so with what I do, I usually start every day. We always have uh an 8:30 group fitness class, um, usually a 945 group fitness class, and then sometimes an 11 a.m. group fitness class. So a lot of it's group fitness all morning long, and then more one-on-one private trainings in the afternoon and beyond. So um, right now we offer 12 group fitness classes throughout the week. So it's myself and we have a yoga instructor as well, and then we offer some massage therapy, we have myofascial uh release that we offer as well, therapy, and that's about it right now.
SPEAKER_00So busy days, you stay pretty consistent with classes and yeah, uh personal trainings.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so it's it's been great. 2025 was a great year, 2026 is off to our hottest start yet. So very busy Monday through Friday. If I'm I'm looking for another. So, Jeff, if it's not too soon, I ask, would you come over and help me?
SPEAKER_00Oh, hey, that's probably a little too soon. But uh yeah, we'll we'll we'll see. I'm gonna I'm gonna think about it. Let me sleep on it. That's fair. Um, well, Mitchell, you you know, you and I worked closely together for a good stint of a of roughly three years. I've seen you grow tremendously, and and you've you moved quickly into uh different leadership roles, not just at Hague Point, but also at Sky Terra. What do you think you did differently that allowed you to grow fast as you entered the fitness industry?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And by the way, thank you for giving me that opportunity to be a young fitness director. Um, but I think the biggest thing was, you know, I was reliable. I do take pride, and I hadn't until literally two years ago never called out a day of work, like sickness, nothing. I was like, I'm gonna show up, I'm gonna do the job. So I was I I really think reliability and just my willingness to do what was asked of me. You know, I don't know if you know this, but when you first hired me, I had never taught a group fitness class in my life. I did know that. I think it might be a good idea.
SPEAKER_00I wasn't too I wasn't too worried about it though.
SPEAKER_01Okay, yeah, I remember the interview process. It was fun. So, but I was like, sure, I'll teach group fitness, or sure I'll teach water aerobics, whatever you need. And so just you know, being there every day, saying yes, and just not being afraid to step out of my comfort zone to for the betterment of the program, I think was hopefully what you guys saw in me.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's such a parallel to even what I believe we want to instill in the folks that we work with to step outside your comfort zone. Yeah. To say yes when it, you know, it might not be something that you're wicked good at today, but you could be better at tomorrow. And um, creating that that mindset, that willingness, it goes a long way in life and just enjoying activities in general, especially the ones we're not as familiar with. That's right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know, I they're they're trying to get me to teach a dance class. No way. Is that happening?
SPEAKER_00It's not it's not official. Well, when's the next fitness committee meeting so I can be there and put my vote in? Yeah, I'll let you know.
SPEAKER_01I'll let you know.
Fitness Seasons And Trying New Things
SPEAKER_00Well, I I will say on on air that Mitchell has great dance moves, so just gonna plug that. Uh, let's get into your fitness philosophy. So I think what's so fun about having different professionals on behind the bluff is to get their take on how they look at fitness and for that to then be shared with with our members who are listening so that they can just look at fitness slightly differently. So, for you, Mitchell, how would you define your overall fitness philosophy and how has that evolved from when you first started?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I think my philosophy, I would, whatever you want to call it, chapters or seasons, I think that's the best way to look at it. You know, there's gonna be times when you really focus on your strength training. There's gonna be times when you really focus on your cardio, and that's kind of how I've shifted my viewpoint on fitness over the last five, six, seven years is when I first came to Sky Terra, for example, I was just strength training, that's the way. No cardio, no long, slow distance, none of that. And that's what you were so used to as part of training for your sport, basketball. Right. Short and you know, short sprints at most, but you're never gonna go on a zone two, two-mile run. Yeah. Um, so that's kind of what I started with. But you know, as time goes on and you find new interests as well, you start to do maybe just a little less strength training, a little more cardio. And I think it's fun to have those seasons because then you have stuff to look forward to and prepare for and not get burnt out and just bored of strength training. Because that's where I was getting to in my life was I enjoyed strength training so much, and that but that's all I did. So I got to a point where it was just repetitive, same thing over and over. And then meeting you, you're a big endurance runner, and I despised running, but I remember you signed I signed up for the Asheville 10K with you, and I thought I was I thought that was gonna be my last day on earth.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but it was a it was a rough day for you, that first 10k.
SPEAKER_01It was a rough day, but but you know, it was fun because afterwards you realize, oh wow, I am capable capable of that. And then what's more than a 10K? Let me sign up for a 15k. Spark that motivation, huh? Exactly. So I think having those seasons and something to train for is so important. I think it's good for us to prevent like overuse injuries as well. You know, same thing for people that love running, even if that's your thing, that's one the one thing you're always gonna go back to, you're gonna try to run every single day. Maybe during the winter when it's cold, you instead of running five days a week, you run two or three days a week, and those other days you go into strength training.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so winter season, switch up the volume of your run, even because it's you know not as fun to run outside when it's cold. I mean, people like it. I do not, but yeah, that's your thing, hats off to you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Well, I I'm hearing kind of a general theme here with your fitness philosophy that it's all about switching up, be open-minded, have different seasons, uh, step your toe in the water a little bit more, especially uh even when it's something you think that might not be right for you, or or be in your wheelhouse because you're a tall guy, you're a strong, naturally strong built individual. You are um running. You know, I really want to tell this story. So I already know where this is. Yeah, so we were at this running race, Mitchell and I, and we it was a relay, right? Yep, the Reaper. The Reaper, uh, in the upstate of South Carolina, many of you are familiar, Greenville. And this was one of your early on races where you were stepping your toe in the water, getting outside your comfort zone. So we went down there as a team, uh, three of us. We switched off legs. This is the middle of August, July, super hot. I think it was July. And I just remember seeing you finish up, might have been your second lap. Lady turns and goes, Oh my gosh, uh, just because of your stature. You are a strength training type human. Sure. And we all have kind of those natural tendencies where someone looks at me at an event like that and they expect to see a person like that. He's a fast runner.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So I just think it's a testament and a true example of like people are sometimes surprised when they see other people doing things that they they are maybe not meant to do, if you will, in quotations.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I do think it's important to think of it as uh a season as well, especially um, you know, for example, a season spring is what three, four months. I think it's important to give something three or four months before you really check it off, whether it's if whether you like it or not. You know, I don't think switching every other week is good. That's you're just gonna spin your wheels, you're not gonna get very far there. But if you think swimming is something you want to get into, maybe really give it a good effort for three months, four months, and then by the end of that, if you don't like it, find something else or go back to what you were doing, but don't just give it a few days and then think, oh, it's not for me.
Consistency Without All Or Nothing
SPEAKER_00Yeah, make sure you give everything you try for a chance. Yeah, and I see that a lot with our membership, which is great. We're in this transition time where we're gonna have a lot of new programming, new classes on the schedule, so it's the perfect time for you, our member listener, to to maybe have a different season for three to four months and and try some new formats that you may not be used to. Yeah. Uh Mitchell, you work with you know similar individuals, people who I believe they they want to be their best. They're not necessarily always training for something. But I'm wondering from your perspective, what do you believe matters to most of most of the people you work, most of the people on this planet who are trying to get fit, what do they tend to overcomplicate?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think the the biggest thing that people tend to overcomplicate is just the the consistency of it all. You know, I know we talk we've talked a lot in the past about this all or nothing mentality, but a lot of people don't realize that just showing up and doing something is better than taking extended time off and falling off the wagon. You know, literally, if you go to a fitness class, you know, I see it all the time. People people will come to Heg Point, they'll be group fitness class Monday through Friday, they'll do it for a month long, they're gonna go away, and then they never come back to fitness class just because all you know they were on vacation and now they're out of shape. Quote and I'm like, you know, if you were just if you're on vacation, you do not have to do a Mitchell fitness class you're on vacation. You were probably on a beach somewhere, you could take a two-mile walk. Is that the same as strength training? No, but is it fitness? Is it exercise? Absolutely. You're getting your heart rate up, yeah, you're getting some steps in. So I think just people overcomplicate that you have to be doing a certain movement or certain exercise to be considered for it to be considered fitness when you know you can get a ton of energy expenditure just through your day-to-day life. Just try not to be a couch potato.
Program Design That Actually Works
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, be comfortable with modifying, especially our members, like like I'm sure the members at Hague Point travel a lot. So setting up systems where when we are on that on that beach, what does it look like? Systems is a great way to put it, yeah. Yeah, no, I I I appreciate that that perspective a lot. Now let's let's get into program design. We're kind of in the middle of of reprogram design. So I wanted to get in your head a little bit and hopefully get a get some cheat code here. When you're building a program, whether it's for yourself, a member, or a class, what are the key pillars that you're always called coming back to?
SPEAKER_01I don't think this is anything revolutionary, but um for most of all of the clients that I train one on one at least, if I see them twice a week, you know, you're always gonna hit those big five or six foundational movements. So I always start there, you know. I I think you and I have talked about it before, but Some sort of squat, hinge, push, pull, carry, or lunge, something of that nature. I always start there and then I always supplement that with something that they are specifically focused on. So a lot of people now it's all getting back into golf. So it's like, how can I get power? I want to work on my rotation. And so we are always starting with our foundational movements. I'm not, I'm not going to neglect that just because they just want to do rotation and power for golf, but I will supplement though those rotational movements and anti-rotation in there to make them enjoy it even more. So yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, that makes complete sense. The key is foundational movement patterns, set set the program, and then tailoring that to the goals of the individual if it's sports specific in this case. You mentioned anti-rotation. Go ahead, describe that for our audience today.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so it's kind of what it sounds like. So when you rotate, you're thinking of like you're moving your body left to right, rotating your spine. So the anti-rotation is kind of opposite of that, where you are resisting rotation. So if you had a cable or a band tied up around a pull, you pull it out to your midline towards your chest, and maybe you extend your arms, and you're just trying to fight that rotation toward the way the band is pulling you. So it really just lights up your your core, your midsection there if you're doing it right. And um it's I would argue it's just as important as rotation for a golfer or a pickleball player.
SPEAKER_00100. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. A great example, the Powff press is a common movement. You mentioned cable and band. Um, we haven't talked about it much, but that's a nice plug and play uh as as a ancillary movement on top of the foundational patterns. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Kind of like I'm sure you guys zoom in class like uh a farmer walk or farmer carry. Yeah. That's kind of an anti-rotation.
Training For A 70.3 With A Plan
SPEAKER_00That is anti-rotation as well. Yeah, it could definitely fall into that classification. Well, thanks for the program design perspective. Let's dig into consistency and training. So I mentioned in the introduction that you are training for a half iron man. Uh explain what's a half man half iron man, and then what does consistency look like in this season of your life taking on this new challenge?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. As you know, with as a full Iron Man participant and yourself, multi multi participants?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, what would you call someone who's done three Ironmans? An animal. Just an absolute animal.
SPEAKER_01Um, thank you, Mitchell.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. You're you're on the journey though. You're next.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so doing a half iron man, half of the animal distance, that um, as you know, it can take over your life if you want it to. Half Iron Man, probably not as much as what you're used to, but I mean you can still easily lock in 10, 15 hours a week training and think of like, whoa, where did all my free time go? And so that's really the big thing that I noticed early on is I wanted to be as efficient with my time as I can, but still be present with my significant other uh work and all that. And so what I'm committed to right now is training a minimum of five days a week, ideally, maybe six, depending on how I'm feeling. If I'm beat up, I'll take an extra day off. But a consistent five days a week with structured plans. I know what I'm gonna do the week before, you know, I have my whole plan written out, so I'm there's no second guessing what I'm going to do. I have it, I just got to execute it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, right on. Making sure that the details are in of like when what workouts are gonna get done and preemptively putting that on the schedule.
SPEAKER_01Yes, I think that's important because I mean, you know, I on top of that, I would say if you can, what I try to do is do it in the morning as well. The last thing some of us want to do after teaching fitness all day is to go home and do our own fitness.
SPEAKER_00I get that question all the time, all the time. When do you get your workouts in?
SPEAKER_01Or you work out all day, yeah. Yep. Which spoiler, technically, we don't necessarily work out all day. It's more like watching people work out all day, but still, it's still you're still up and down, moving weights. Plenty of steps, a lot of mouthwork, too. A lot of mouth work, a lot of mouth, a lot of social connection time. So, you know, just like any job, by the end of that, you can always make an excuse. Oh, I had a long day, I don't want to go sit on this bike for an hour and 30 minutes. So I try to make it a point if I can most mornings I'm doing it before work. That way there's there's no second guessing. Yeah, it's important.
SPEAKER_00I appreciate you sharing that because it being in the industry, it's like, oh, we're we're always hyped to do our workouts. And the reality is we're much more hyped when it's first thing in the morning, just like any other professional out there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I think you you could probably agree that you just show up better at work, too.
Recovery Maxing And Recharging Time
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. I'd say the mental benefit of being able to be on, be present with people, bring like your true self comes out when you're moving your body and doing it consistently and doing it before your day starts. Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm excited for you. Half Iron Man, it's coming up. You stay consistent, keep that, keep that planning going. Thank you. You you've got a lot happening right now. You're leading a club wellness program. I know you got some side jobs you keep up with, you're getting married. That's exciting. That's right. Yeah. How are you approaching this season so you can show up at a high level in all these areas? We've talked about the planning, but but give me some other strategies for those who are in an occupied season like you are.
SPEAKER_01This might sound super boring, but I'm all about recovery maxing. Are you familiar? Go ahead, define recovery maxing, please. Are you familiar with the term maxing? It's very, it's very popular right now. Everything is whatever you're doing, plus maxing. Anyway, okay, I like it. Recovery maxing. Recovery maxing. Go on. So, really, what I mean by that is anytime that I am not physically at work, working, or doing training for this 70.3, I am big chilling. So I'm on the couch, I'm present with Avery, my snake and other, um, my fiance. So yeah. So present with her, but I'm always I'm never doing anything like too strenuous to just keep draining my social battery and never refilling my cup. So for me personally, I I think the term is an introverted extrovert. I don't really know. Yeah. But I love my job, you know, in a group fitness sitting group fitness setting. You're pretty high energy, you're social, but you're galvanizing, you're on. You are on. Yeah. But when I'm not that, I love nothing more than just a quiet room with no one talking. Yeah. And so I really appreciate that. So what I have to do is get my alone time in for myself, which I think is important, and Avery understands that as well. We have our time together, but I also have my alone time to recharge and refill my cup and you know, improve or charge my social battery. And so that's really the biggest thing for me. Um that I think in this current season is just helping me out because with the job, with the the extra training that I'm doing, it's just a lot. And you know, there's you there's a lot of demands at work, you know, you're you're creating a million plans for other people, and then yeah, so it's just a lot. But having that downtime, quiet time is just paramount. Recovery maxim. Recovery maxim, baby.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So on top of that, uh not to interrupt, sorry. So on top, you have uh like saunas. Like I know you have a cold plunge. I don't know if you have a sauna. We don't have the cold plunge yet, but it's on the way. Well, I I'm sorry, I'm thinking of your house.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I've got kind of like a temporary one. I haven't been consistent. I need to create a better plan. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, there's saunas on property here. You know, the vision I think for all these communities is to have more of a focused hydrotherapy program. Like that's just where private clubs are going. Yep. Um, but yeah, are you using that kind of as an example of recovery maxim?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, exactly. So we if you're familiar with the the sauna box, it's just like at-home sauna. But yeah, I'd love I love going in there and sitting for 20 minutes, 25 minutes, because it checks all the boxes. You are getting all the benefits of sauna, you get a nice sweat out, but you're also that is there's no noise in there. You're just relaxing, you're with your thoughts, you can do your deep breathing, and it's just so relaxing, you just feel great afterwards. Away from it all. Yeah. Yeah. So I try to do that twice a week if I can, if not more.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm glad you brought up the introvert, extrovert side of things because there's so many people who have jobs where they're on. And they could even be people taking care of their family where they're always on or vacations. You know, we've got so many members who host people constantly. All the time. Yeah. I'm sure you see the same thing. There's always something going on at the club. So taking that step back, prioritizing your alone time and even having that conversation with your spouse, your significant other, uh, it can go a long way to help recharge the battery.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes all you need is just throw your favorite TV show on, nobody's talking, you guys just locked in watching. But there's something magical about that.
The One Habit He Never Skips
SPEAKER_00I'm with you, man. I I I would definitely say I'm um introverted, extroverted as well. Because when I'm I'm at the house, when Lindsay, you know, knows that I'm I'm just a little quieter than when I'm at work. Sure. Because she's she's here on site with us sometimes and she sees the the me at work and the me when I'm just trying to recover. Yep. Yeah. Recover max, baby. Recover max. We can use that. Well, Mitchell, this has been a lot of fun. Before we wrap up, uh, just a couple more questions here. What's one habit you won't skip no matter how busy life gets?
SPEAKER_01The biggest thing, or the first thing I can think of is literally just getting my water in. I know it sounds easy or sounds cheesy, but what I find is when you are properly hydrated, that just makes everything in your life and in your body just so much better. You know, you know in your mouth it's just dry. Like thankfully, my mouth, knock on wood, is never dry. Like I drink water non-stop every single day. So I shoot for a hundred ounces at least a day. And I have this whole routine that I have to get 50 ounces by noon. So that means I can I know I can get another 50 ounces before I go to bed at night. So I'm just if I can get my my water intake, it doesn't matter if I'm on the road, if I'm at work, if I'm at home, on the weekends, whatever. Just guarantee I'm gonna hit my water, my water goal each day.
SPEAKER_00That's the system 50 ounces in the morning, 50 ounces after, and you have like a bottle that you have throughout, just depends.
SPEAKER_01I'm a little neurotic about it. You are okay. Explain. So I, you know, I have uh the what's what we'll call it, I have the 40 ounce awala, and I know it down to a T, it's like clockwork every day. I I have that first awala down by about 9 a.m., 8 39 a.m. So there's in my head, I'm like, okay, there's 40 ounces. I got the night fill it back up, I got that second awallo down by the time I leave work, which is you know, depending on the day, we'll call it 4:30. So I'm like, all right, I'm at 80 ounces. And then I know I'm gonna have if I work out after work or if I have whatever for dinner, I know I can easily get another 20 ounces in. So I'm like, in my head, I'm at 100 ounces, even Steven, every single day. But the thing is, I have that with every water bottle. Like, I was like, oh, this is a 32 ounce, so I need to drink, you know, three of these before I leave work.
SPEAKER_00So no matter the water bottle you're using, you've got a good recollection of where you're at in the day.
SPEAKER_01And I'm kind of weird where I I will finish if there's even a sip left in there, I'll finish it before refilling it again. Like I won't leave any water in there before I refill it. Yeah. It's it's a little too much. I don't recommend it.
Community As The Real Benefit
SPEAKER_00No, I I appreciate this detail behind hydration because it's it's about to get hot here in South Carolina. Oh, good point. And creating a system like this could be very helpful to many people out there. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I never knew you were this this dialed in with your hydration. I'm passionate about it. Yeah, love that. Mitchell, what do you enjoy most about leading a wellness program?
SPEAKER_01To me, I think it's all about the community that it builds. You know, it's it's rewarding one, but also just seeing people's lives change positively through fitness is pretty cool. You know, we're not creating a rocket to go to the moon or anything. What we're doing, I would consider very fun. You know, we do it in a safe manner, but people come together, move their bodies, and literally nine times out of ten, they're leaving with a smile on their face. Nobody's coming in leaving mad, nobody's coming in leave leaving upset that they came to that workout. They don't always walk through the door with a smile on their face, but when they leave, their day's better off of it and better off because of it, and they're happy. And I think that's what I love about my job is I get to do that day in and day out, every single day.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you get to make an impact on people's being, their mood, their the rest of their day changes because they've taken the time, you know, they've made the choice, but you're there creating that experience so that they can have that shift in themselves. Yeah. Yeah. It's powerful.
SPEAKER_01It is. And they it's a it's just another great spot for members to meet members that they normally wouldn't as well. You know, I've I've seen that a time or two where like, oh, you know, you you I think I saw you at dinner the other night, but I'm not sure who you are, yada yada. And they meet in fitness class and now they're having private dinners together at their house, you know. So it's just a cool community and it's fun to watch grow as the years go on. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00No, I couldn't agree more. I think if we flipped the tables on today, I would I would have said something very similar. Just sometimes we don't introduce ourselves to other members in this case in certain environments. And a fitness environment, it almost lends itself to the introduction.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Which is pretty cool. You know what I like to do actually is do you do you make groups like in group fitness? Do you put people in groups or just let them choose their groups or yeah, it it depends on the workout.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um, pretty much you self-choose, but if it's a bigger event, then you know we'll we'll probably you know create some heat schedules or something like that. But yeah, no, you you you kind of just come in and usually people are with someone different a lot of the time. Yeah, that's what I was gonna say.
SPEAKER_01I think it's cool sometimes when you do have somebody you know who's new to class and you can you know put them with a specific person to kind of help you, you know, uh lead, you know, help them lead the class so you're not always just hands-on. Um, but then you know they introduce one person, the next person, the next person. I don't know.
Defining Wellness And Signing Off
SPEAKER_00It's a good way to meet people. Momentum. No doubt. Yes, sir. Well, Mitchell, we're we're at that time. I would love to hit you with the final question here. What does wellness mean to you?
SPEAKER_01Hmm. I think wellness is definitely more than just physical, which I know is pretty standard for most people. So I would say it's really about proactive self-care. And uh, you know, that's everything from your stress levels, your sleep, physical health, but being proactive about it is what I consider wellness. Appreciate you coming out, Mitchell. Man, it's good to see you again.
Host Reflection On Recover Max
SPEAKER_00Yeah, thanks for having me. No, I just uh have enjoyed our relationship, you know, just learning from each other as the the years go on and watching you just do your thing and likewise, glad, glad we're only a boat ride away. That's all right. Yeah, as the crow flies, it's pretty close. Yeah. Well, that brings us to the end of our main segment. Listeners, feel free to hang out with me for a few more minutes and get some healthy momentum for the rest of your week. Wow, totally enjoyed my time with Mitchell as a previous colleague and and now close friend. If you're anything like me, it it just feels so good to get together with someone you don't necessarily see all the time, but you have such deep memories with. And in our time together, there was one phrase that really stuck out to me from the conversation. And you might be able to guess it recover max. We spend so much time focused on pushing, training harder, doing more, or even trying to stay consistent. But what he kept coming back to is that growth doesn't just come from how hard you go, it comes from how well you recover. And we've talked about this before on the podcast. Life moves in seasons. There are seasons to push, seasons to maintain, and seasons where the smartest thing you can do is pull back just enough to keep showing up. And not so much so that you can be there physically, but showing up in the way that you want to. This doesn't just apply to training. We've even talked about being introverts in an extroverted role as wellness directors, constantly pouring into others, bringing energy, showing up for people all day. That takes something out of you. And sometimes recovery looks really simple. Mitchell mentioned just throwing on that favorite movie, taking space, allowing yourself to reset on on a couch. Not always doing, that's a big one for me. Not always pushing, just being. Because if you don't intentionally create that space, you slowly run on empty. The people who actually grow are the ones who evolve. They don't overcomplicate things, they stay consistent and they take care of the basics at all costs. And sometimes the basics are simple. Mitchell said one habit he never skips, it wasn't earth shattering, drinking water. Not flashy, not complicated, but it truly is foundational because consistency isn't built on big moments, it's built on what you refuse to skip. So here's the question for this week are you recovering at the same level that you're giving? Physically, mentally, emotionally. Train hard. Recover max. That message brings us to the end of this week's episode. I want to thank you so much for taking the time to join the conversation. We look forward to being together with you next Wednesday. Episodes come out every single week. And until that time, remember to actively participate in life on your terms.
