SOFLETE

Chris Fettes- A former Navy SEAL who now slings ice cream and teaches first responders how to deal with active shooter threats.

On this Episode we have arguably one of the most legitimate shooters still in the game. Matt @Xray.Alpha.LLC spent over 20 years in service in SOF and is a USPSA Grand Master. Him and Brent @sofletefish get together to trash talk fitness, run drills, and dissect why CQB is such a hot topic these days. Like and Follow for the next Episode of Do It Live.

Former MARSOC Raiders get together to talk fitness, culture in SOF, and diet- while they live fire clear a shoot house utilizing basic principles of CQB Find Danny on IG @SOFLETE_Hypeman and the SOFLETE CEO and Founder Brent @SOFLETEFish

Matt and George sit down with a cup of joe and drive in a conversation about life balances where they specifically highlight the Cognitive Warrior System. If you haven't listened to the lunch and learn series on the new human behavior program, please head over and take a listen. Now, as always our podcast comes and goes like the wind but when we sit down we bring something unique to the listener as time is finite and we need to make sure we bring in innovative information to those who support SOFLETE. The music you hear at the start and end of the podcast is by a British Artist named Matthew Brewer who brings a wonderful soundscape that will drive your mind wild and help focus during those times of direct focus. Check out Frameworks to get more awesome music like this.

George and Matt, in-person together in Salt Lake City for a change, discuss how you can engineer success for yourself this year. Whether this is the year you finally run that first ultra, or take your shot at getting your tabs, the guys chat "new year, new you" SOFLETE style. George unwraps the psychological theories around goal setting, offering some great insight and tips based on his personal experience as an athlete and also as a writer. If you're struggling to build momentum this year, this is well worth a listen. As always, the guys invite you to join in the conversation- either through SOFLETE's social media or by contacting them directly (George@soflete.com Matt@soflete.com).

Sitting together in George's office, he and Matt enjoy a coffee whilst catching up on what's been going on for them thus far in 2022. Alongside working arguably the best two jobs in strength and conditioning, the guys have been busy. George has been flat out balancing fatherhood, with studying for his Bachelor's degree, developing his writing skills and crushing training in anticipation of completing the Recon Challenge in April... Matt on the other hand has mostly been hard at work shivering in Upstate New York! Talk inevitably turns to the Conscious Warrior System. The guys are in the process of conducting the final debriefs with each participant and are getting increasingly excited about the potential for this system to have huge implications for the tactical professional. Catch up with what the SOFLETE Human Performance Team has been getting up to and see where their sights are set next. As always, the guys invite you to join in the conversation- either through SOFLETE's social media or by contacting them directly (George@soflete.com Matt@soflete.com).

George sits down with Dr. Katie (also known as Kate to many) Pate and explores a holistic approach to life and the actions it takes to build an experience worth living. Dr. Pate and George have an authentic, honest conversation with each other and share some ways they’ve learned to combat fear, anxiety, addiction, abuse, and countless other difficulties. Kate cracks George open in this one after she shares and fills George in on what she’s been doing during the past four years since she was last on the podcast. George then releases the flood gates, and stories come flowing as he shares a few personal experiences that created a shift in perspective regarding his own life. The conversation continues and takes the listener further into each of their minds and hearts. Kate and George explain why they do what they do and discuss their passion for helping the veteran community, especially as it pertains to helping build a different path than the one we've seen for many years. Kate’s bio: Dr. Pate is a neurophysiologist (PhD), athlete, entrepreneur, and certified coach dedicated to helping struggling service members, veterans, and first responders. She advocates for and educates on functional and non-traditional approaches to mental and physical health. Kate comes from a military family and has always been passionate about finding ways to help those who serve others. Her primary objectives are to help people find the path to healing that works best for them, to change the narrative around how we discuss mental and physical health in our communities, and ultimately, to remove the stigmas associated with diagnoses and asking for help. Her associated organizations: HunterSeven Foundation (Medical Advisor): https://hunterseven.org/ Psychedelic Medicine Association (Board Member): https://psychedelicmedicineassociation.org/ Heroic Hearts Project (Director of Research and Integration Coach): https://www.heroicheartsproject.org/ https://soflete.com/blogs/knowledge/ayahuasca

Dive into a conversation with George and Diana, as they sit and chat about the importance of nutrition from an omni-directional perspective on nutrition. Both George and Diana carry a wealth of experiences that they each shared on the show, only adding and connecting the dots in moving the needle forward in human performance. Furthermore, Diana believes strongly in science, research, and how science is being used to help build a foundation for the tactical professional. Re-educating each tactical professional, not only to support the physical, but most importantly, how nutrition can impact your cognitive function over time. Nutrition can be the smallest worthwhile change, aiding in lowering the chances of illness and disease, over the duration of a tactical professional career, potentially cutting their life span shorter and shorter. Diana Nguyen is a Performance Dietitian for U.S. Army Special Operations to support combat readiness, health, and career longevity for soldiers. Prior to her time in the Special Operations setting, Diana worked in collegiate athletics for 12 years, first as a Graduate Assistant at Virginia Tech, then serving as the Assistant Director for Performance Nutrition at Texas A&M University, and most recently as the Director of Sports Nutrition at NC State University. Diana is also the owner of Nguyen With Nutrition LLC which focuses on performance nutrition education for first responders and tactical professionals as well as competitive athletes. Nguyen earned her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Virginia Tech. She completed her dietetic internship at the University of Virginia Health System in 2008. She is a Registered/Licensed Dietitian (RD/LD), and Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD). She is a member of the practice group Sports and Human Performance Nutrition through SCAN, and she also serves on the Board of Directors for the Collegiate & Professional Sports Dietitians Association (CPSDA) as the Chair of Research and Education. Nguyen's passion for helping athletes and professionals reach peak performance and function through nutrition runs deep. In her free time she enjoys hiking, training and spending time with her family.

Closing out the Lunch and Learn series Join George and Matt as they wrap up the last in the series of the Lunch and Learn podcast. The boys reflect on how the Conscious Warrior System has slowly taken shape over the past few years, as a direct result of first hand experience. Utilizing the metaphor of the Parthenon, George describes how a solid foundation of health is necessary to support the load placed on the modern tactical professional. However, the boys also acknowledge that the CWS project will continue to evolve and be refined, in order to keep delivering what the community needs. With that in mind, if you’d like to offer any suggestions or feedback, or have any questions relating to the CWS (or anything covered in this series), please reach out via social media or contact George and Matt directly via George@soflete.com or Matt@soflete.com.

Episode 3 - Managing Your Occupational Stress As ever, in this final episode of the chapter, George and Matt get down to offering practical advice and suggestions for how you can better manage your occupational stress. From using the Conscious Warrior System framework, to specific breathing drills, the guys unpack simple and accessible solutions that you can put in place tonight, to help prepare you for tomorrow. This is definitely an episode to listen to if you need some help with work related stress. Everything we do here at SOFLETE is based on adding value to our community, so if you have any ideas, requests or questions, please feel free to reach out to us- either through SOFLETE social media or contact George and Matt directly via George@soflete.com or Matt@soflete.com. Please see below for a few resources, linked to today’s episode, that you might find useful: The Tony Nash Night Before Journal (https://thetonynash.gumroad.com/#Wiwvc) Some breathing drills from Patrick McKeown (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdPpV32cM0I)

Episode 2 - Occupation Stress in The Tactical Community In these times of increasing uncertainty, the tactical community, especially, faces ever greater levels of unpredictability. Alongside this, resource and funding restrictions place significant limitations on a group of people who pride themselves in always being ready to ‘‘answer the call’’. Unsurprisingly, this leads to levels of work related stress being exponentially amplified. In today’s episode George and Matt discuss what effects high levels of occupational stress have on teams within the tactical community, as well as the individuals that make up those teams. The guys get into how we might be able to learn from innovations in efficiency in the corporate world, through increased transparency and flexibility, as a way to work smarter rather than harder. Everything we do here at SOFLETE is based on adding value to our community, so if you have any ideas, requests or questions, please feel free to reach out to us- either through SOFLETE social media or contact George and Matt directly via George@soflete.com or Matt@soflete.com. Please see below for a few resources, linked to today’s episode, that you might find useful: The Creativity Leap by Natalie Nixon (https://www.figure8thinking.com/books/) The Art of Impossible by Steven Kotler (https://www.theartofimpossible.com)

Episode 1 - What is Occupational Stress? This is the last chapter in this series and represents another one of the supporting pillars in the Conscious Warrior System Framework. George and Matt kick off this chapter with their understanding of occupational stress. The guys discuss how work induced stress, both physical and psychological, can have a very real effect on your physiology; the results of which can negatively impact quality of life and career if left unchecked. However, as is the case with many aspects of human performance, occupational stress appears to follow something of an inverted-U relationship. Too much stress and we become overwhelmed and unable to function effectively, but equally, too little and we lack the spark required for innovation and progression. Everything we do here at SOFLETE is based on adding value to our community, so if you have any ideas, requests or questions, please feel free to reach out to us- either through SOFLETE social media or contact George and Matt directly via George@soflete.com or Matt@soflete.com.

Episode 3 - How To Flex Your Psychological State In this final episode of Chapter 6, George and Matt are back to give you the tools needed to take back control of your psychological state. The guys talk through some simple and accessible options for increasing self-awareness and establishing a baseline for any future strategies you might employ. As is customary with the Lunch and Learn series, the guys also give you a fun challenge to try at home, that will highlight just how real the link between psychological state and performance really is! Everything we do here at SOFLETE is based on adding value to our community, so if you have any ideas, requests or questions, please feel free to reach out to us- either through SOFLETE social media or contact George and Matt directly via George@soflete.com or Matt@soflete.com. Please see below for a few resources, linked to today’s episode, that you might find useful: Feeling Good by Dr David Burns (https://feelinggood.com) The Recon Sniper Foundation (https://www.reconsniperfoundation.org) HunterSeven Foundation (https://hunterseven.org) PB Abbate (https://www.pbabbate.org)

Episode 2 - How Understanding Psychological State is Relevant to the Tactical Community Everything we do in the Tactical Community revolves around teamwork. Even when operators deploy on their own, they are always supported by team members- be that professionally, in the form of radio operators or int’ specialists, or personally, in the form of spouses or friends. If a team, like a chain, is only as strong as its weakest link then we need to start looking out as well as in. The psychological state of any member in the team can have both direct and indirect impacts on mission success. In this episode, George and Matt discuss how learning to leverage the psychological state of those around you is a great way to upskill your whole team and help safeguard mental health. Everything we do here at SOFLETE is based on adding value to our community, so if you have any ideas, requests or questions, please feel free to reach out to us- either through SOFLETE social media or contact George and Matt directly via George@soflete.com or Matt@soflete.com.

Episode 1 - Introducing Psychological State In Chapter 6, George and Matt look at the Psychological State and get to grips with how understanding your state, as well as those around you, will exponentially enhance performance and longevity. As usual, Episode 1 acts as an introduction to the topic. The guys use their own personal and professional experiences to highlight the importance of recognizing that how you feel affects how you perceive the world around you. Everything we do here at SOFLETE is based on adding value to our community, so if you have any ideas, requests or questions, please feel free to reach out to us- either through SOFLETE social media or contact George and Matt directly via George@soflete.com or Matt@soflete.com. Please see below for a few resources, linked to today’s episode, that you might find useful: The Breathing Cure by Patrick McKeown (https://oxygenadvantage.com/the-breathing-cure/) Amy Cuddy’s Ted Talks (https://www.ted.com/speakers/amy_cuddy)

Bottom Of The Barrel 23 - The Fine Line by SOFLETE

Performance Podcast - 78 - John M by SOFLETE

Brent and Doug discuss the intricacies of the human specimen.

This week’s episode has the boys reflecting on a truly awesome week. George and Matt recently attended the NSCA Tactical Strength and Conditioning (TSAC) Annual Training event in Norfolk, Virginia. Aside from offering a stellar lineup of highly experienced and educated speakers, the event was also a fantastic opportunity to connect with other human performance specialists from across the tactical community. From earning a Navy SEAL Challenge Coin to playing the most competitive game of Jenga ever; if you weren’t fortunate enough to have been able to attend the event in person, check out this episode to live vicariously through the eyes of the Soflete Human Performance Team. Please see below for some of the links that the guys mention during the podcast: NSCA TSAC (https://www.nsca.com/professional-development/professional-areas/tsac-professionals/) Vernon Griffith Episode 44 of the Soflete Performance Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/performance-podcast-44-vernon-griffith/id1238939513?i=1000446191699) ‘The Brain’s Way of Healing’ By Norman Doidge (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/308751/the-brains-way-of-healing-by-norman-doidge-md/

Brent and Doug catch up over drinks.