The Human Animal Podcast

Over a year in the making (ahem, editing) - we are back with another great conversation with Caitlin Pontrella- play architect, community advocate, and amazing human being. One of my favorite podcast segments ever is in this episode when we start diving into what we would want to see most in a coach...the answers may surprise you! Check it out :)

Caitlin Pontrella is a coach, parkour practitioner, and designer/architect. She focuses on engaging people physically and playfully in the places they work and live. She is involved in a variety of projects ranging from: The Movement Creative in NYC, The Movement Library, The Art of Retreat, and most recently moved to Seattle to work with the […]

This week, I’m so thankful to have Jozef Frucek of Fighting Monkey on the pod. This interview is one I have been looking forward to for a long time. Jozef’s approach to human movement and the aging process is fascinating, and his research with partner Linda into the interplay between athletics, art, and movement has […]

In this episode of The Human Animal Podcast, Jake (@themindfulsavage) and I sit down to discuss the central concept around how we coach people: triggers. I.E. That environment is a huge factor in shaping our behavior. Specifically, I ask Jake about how he uses this concept in his Success Sessions, his initial meetings with clients, […]

This week’s episode features one of my all-time favorite guests, Rafe Kelley of Evolve Move Play. I’ve been following Rafe’s work for years, and many of his concepts have worked their way into my own practice and teaching methodology. The “80/20” play rule, starting from a fully realized natural movement practice and working backwards to […]

This week on The Human Animal Podcast, special guest Kellen Milad is back for round two. Kellen is a movement coach and MovNat Team Instructor based out of Milwaukee, WI. For this episode, we dive further into his unique approach to movement culture, training, philosophy, and more. In particular we touch on: How to let […]

Frank Forencich is the Exuberant Animal and, in my opinion, the father of the play movement in fitness today. His work is influential across many fields, and includes the books Exuberant Animal, Beautiful Practice, Stresscraft, and his upcoming book on The Long Body and Warrior Activism (two topics we cover at length in this podcast!) We also touch […]

This week I am so thankful to have the amazing Julie Angel on the podcast! Julie is an independent filmmaker, author (“Breaking the Jump”), and has perhaps the coolest PhD thesis of all time, “Cine Parkour: a cinematic and theoretical contribution to the practice of parkour”, AKA observing and talking to parkour athletes to better […]

This week I am so thankful to have long-time friend and mentor Tim Anderson on the pod. Tim is the co-founder of Original Strength Systems and Original Strength Institute. Original Strength is built around the idea that “you were not made to be broken” and seeks to “set the world free through movement.” That message […]

This week is our second vault episode. Jake, TJ and I sat down to record this about six months ago and it was a blast! Our topic of discussion led us through six fascinating concepts that have changed the way we understand ourselves and our lives as human animals. From posture and hormones, imperfection and happiness, […]

In this comeback episode of the Human Animal Podcast, we dig into the vault and bring out a pod we recorded about six months ago. I was sitting on it trying to figure out how the make the audio sound clearer after we had a massive equipment malfunction – hopefully I did well enough that […]

Today I am very happy to bring you a conversation with my friend and fellow coach Josh Halbert. Josh (AKA “Get Chimpy”) brings a unique perspective to the table, blending philosophy with his own physical practice to create a holistic style of training for himself and his clients, who range from NFL Players to figure skaters […]

Recently Jake, TJ and I had the chance to sit down and chat with Lori Crock and Nick Lynch, two all-star coaches and Russian Kettlebell Certification Team Instructors. Lori is back for the second time on the podcast (her first visit being one of my favorites). Our conversation ranged far and wide, covering: Play and human […]

In this week’s episode of The Human Animal Podcast, I got the chance to chat with Dr. Kwame Brown, The Neighborhood Neuroscientist, Professor of Psychology, and play expert. I am so thankful to Dr. Brown for sharing his insights into play, health, and community. We can’t wait to get him back on the podcast soon! […]

At The Human Animal, we believe in the power of self-discovery through discussion. Our goal with this podcast is to start a conversation, but not finish it. The process of exploring what it means to be a human animal is uniquely your own, and yet you will find many shared experiences with those in your […]

We are back with a new episode of The Human Animal Podcast! (Actually, we already have three new episodes recorded and a fourth in the works this weekend.) We believe in the power of self-discovery through discussion. Our goal with this podcast is to start a conversation, but not finish it. The process of exploring […]

In today’s episode, we dive into training program design. If you on your own without a coach, what movements are a part of the most effective training programs? As always, it depends. However, wherever your functional “gaps” are (i.e. the most basic movements that you DON’T do on a regular basis) is where you can […]

This week, Nate lays out a goal-setting strategy that actually works and isn’t a pain in the butt! Even if you just implement 1 of the steps, you’ll be more efficient in achieving your goals. This has practical application in all aspects of fitness/life. Give it a listen and let us know what you think over […]

This week, Matt, Nate and Jake sit down to talk about the upcoming Challenge at their gym, and how their views of “good nutrition” and “good coaching” have evolved over the past year. They also spend some time talking about the evolution of play within fitness (a topic we will be discussing in more detail […]

This week I am excited to have Coach Spencer Roloff on the pod! Spencer is one of the phenomenal coaches at Force Fitness and has taken over our AR (Athletic Revolution) Program. He mainly trains middle school and high school athletes, but also competes in Olympic Weightlifting and dances to Taylor Swift songs while wearing […]

This week, we are so lucky to have the lovely Lucy Hendricks on the pod! Lucy is a coach at Gym Laird Strength and Conditioning in Lexington, KY and an all around beast when it comes to helping people breathe more efficiently and effectively. Why does this matter? Because breathing is the base of everything […]

So we’ve finally come to it – the often alluded to “podcast about nutrition.” The tricky thing about nutrition is that we don’t believe there is one diet that is perfect for everyone, all the time, wherever they are. This leads to the favorite response when someone asks a question about nutrition: “It depends…” However, […]

Another episode of The Human Animal Podcast is up! I feel very blessed to be able to sit down with Nate, Jake, and the little man Rowan for a pow-wow session. This week, we reflect back on the past year and lessons we have learned in fitness, health, and life. I hope you get something […]

It’s popular to be a hater. In fact, it seems it’s gotten even more popular with the anonymity the internet provides. The latest in a long-line of hot button topics that apparently no one can agree about (you either LOVE it or HATE it) is CrossFit. Unfortunately, I rarely see these conversations result in constructive outcomes. Each side […]

On this week’s episode, Nate and I sit down to talk about Mindful Eating and how our thinking has evolved over the last year of practice and coaching. We introduce our revised 3 rules of mindful eating, talk about the first two steps to any successful nutrition plan, and discuss if happiness is really the […]

This week on The Human Animal Podcast, the whole crew is back together again! We started off talking about a situation a friend of mine is in and how her coaches are/aren’t helping her. Then we got in to our “order of priority for health” and things took an interesting turn. You’ll see what I mean :). […]

The 40th episode of The Human Animal brings us another Special Guest, Kellen Milad. Kellen has a background in Psychology and was a MovNat team instructor for over a year traveling around the country to put on workshops and certifications (including my own certification.) He currently lives in Milwaukee where he is involving others in […]

We are back with our 39th episode! This week, Jake and I sit down to talk about what the modern human must be “fit” for in our current environment. What skills do we need and which skills are on the “endangered movements” list? Plus, Jake shares his own story of how he learned the hard […]

This week we have another special guest on the pod, Travis Noble Graves! Travis and I met back at one of the original MovNat certifications in Boston in 2012. He designs all the conditioning programs for American Parkour, runs classes at their location in D.C., and teaches a Parkour certification instructors across the country. If […]

This week Jake comes to the table with a question he’s been wrestling with: how much training is too much training? Specifically, he’s asking about young swimmers who spend 12 hours a week in the pool and are looking for more training to do outside of the pool. What advice is best? This sparks a […]

This week we have the amazing Molly Galbraith on the pod! Molly is a trainer, lecturer, writer, and all around great person. I was fortunate enough to meet Molly during the Train Like A Girl 2 Seminar (which she hosted and spoke at). We’ve been keeping up with each other ever since on a topic near and […]

This week we pull back the veil and uncover exactly how we think about coaching someone to long-term success. We use this framework to inform our decision-making, whether it be in a one-on-one sit down, an initial intake, a meeting with a client who feels “stuck” or wants to continue their progress to the next level, […]

This week we answer a question from listener Judi and go into detail about the hot topics of mobility, flexibility, stretching, and more! These topics aren’t simple, but the solution is. Listen to find out what I mean. “Hey Matt, It’s getting close to baby day – so excited for you! But I have a […]

In today’s episode, we dive down a rabbit-hole that Nate opened on a previous pod: emotional goal-setting. Drawing inspiration from the work of Thich Nhat Hanh, Nathan lays out a template for understanding our emotional selves and how we relate to others. We also talk about empaths from Star Trek and Tiger Kittens. What’s not […]

This week, Nate and I sit down to cover a topic near and dear to our hearts: goal-setting. Why do we set the goals we do? Are they appropriate for what we want to accomplish? And how does the fitness industry alter our perception of ourselves? This was one of our most powerful discussions yet! […]

This week, the team tackles smart training principles for recreational endurance athletes. If you are someone who doesn’t get paid to run, but wants to compete in a 5k, half-marathon, marathon, Spartan race, etc., this one’s for you! We’ll lay out the top 3 mistakes that most people make in their training, and how you […]

This week, Nate bring’s us the awesome topic of: how do I start a fitness community? In other words, how do I share my passion for what I do with others without driving them away, and how can I foster growth in my family and friends. Then, it turns into something a little different. This […]

In this week’s short, we tackle recruiting social support for making healthy changes in your life. Having a strong social network (not the book of faces kind) is one of the strongest indicator’s for successful habit change! How can you talk to your friends and loved ones about the changes you want to make without […]

In this week’s episode, we talk about high intensity interval training (HIIT) and whether it is the best method of exercise for fat loss. This one’s a doozy, and a great follow-up to last week’s episode about cardio and fat loss. In it, we cover: The Stress-Recovery Cycle Should you train like an athlete? Benefits […]

In this week’s episode, the guys are back together to tackle the elusive topic of “cardio”. Debates over the merits of cardio training leave people wondering if this is an all or nothing scenario – and it’s time to set the record straight. As always, things aren’t as clear cut as they seem. We’ll cover: […]

This week, Nate and I tackle two topics for our listeners: The Dangers of Food Reductionism, and How to Increase Non-Exercise Activity Levels These are two topics that are near and dear to my heart and are often overlooked in our desire to focus on “perfect exercise” and “perfect nutrition”. Take a listen and send […]