S03E124 Balancing Careers, Family, and CrossFit: Guests Kevin Yurchak and Daniel Coda

Ever wonder how you can keep up with the intensity of CrossFit while juggling multiple careers, a family, and other commitments? What if I told you Kevin Yurchak @yurchak_cfwe_life and Daniel Coda @dannehnj today's guests, have been doing exactly this for over a decade? Join coaches David Syvertsen @davesy85 and Sam Rhee @bergencosmetic as their special guests open up about their journeys, sharing invaluable insights on managing their fitness goals alongside their hectic lives. They bring their experiences as early as the Hoboken Winter Challenge in 2012 through to the Masters Fitness Championship in 2023.

There's no understating the importance of support when pursuing ambitious fitness goals. These athletes, driven by a competitive spirit, have seen the evolution of CrossFit and continued the journey despite the challenges, appreciating the value family and friends bring when aiming for the stars. Expect to be inspired as we talk about making fitness enjoyable, turning disappointments into stepping stones, and finding the right balance in life.

The secret sauce for CrossFit success? A dash of sleep, a sprinkle of nutrition, and a big spoonful of consistency. Tune in as we cover everything you need to kick start or maintain your fitness journey, irrespective of the stage you're at right now.

@crossfitbison @crossfittraining @crossfit @crossfitgames #crossfit #sports #exercise #health #movement #crossfitcoach #agoq #clean #fitness #ItAllStartsHere #CrossFitOpen #CrossFit #CrossFitCommunity @CrossFitAffiliates #supportyourlocalbox #crossfitaffiliate #personalizedfitness

0:00 The Longevity of CrossFit Competitors

7:33 Importance of Support in Goals Pursuit

12:12 Finding Motivation in Fitness Journey

23:34 Sleep, Nutrition, Consistency in Athletic Performance

30:11 Mindset and Consistency in Fitness Training

Show 124 Kevin Yurchak Daniel Coda

[00:00:00] David Syvertsen: Alright, welcome back to the HerdFit Podcast.

I'm Coach David Syvertsen. I'm here with my co host, Dr. and Coach Sam Rhee, and we have part two of our special guest series with Kevin Urchak and Dan Kota. Uh, if you didn't listen to last week, go check it out. They gave their review. Of the workouts, the event itself at Masters Fitness Championship. But as I was prepping for this, I was just starting to write down some notes about the competition and things I wanted to ask them.

And the more I started to write, the more I started to realize I wanted to get as much input from these two guys for you, but also selfishly for myself. As to why are they still doing this at this age? How are they still doing this at this age? And what can we take from their experience? I've known both these guys for, in the CrossFit space, for over a decade now.

Um, I had someone recently show me a picture from a CrossFit Winter Challenge. I think the year was 2012. It was the final event of thrusters and rope climbs. I didn't know how to climb a rope at the time and I got embarrassed in front of everybody. And in that heat... Was there were two guys in that heap that are very well known here.

Kevin is one of them. He was in that final heat and Tim Carroll was also in that. Oh, get out. Yeah. Yep. And you know, we were in the final event. They all watched me do it because I didn't know how to climb a rope. Those ropes in Hoboken are like a joke too. They're like 11 feet off the ground. So you can basically jump your way up there.

But you know, and Kevin was a regional competitor 2011. We told the story before between Dan and I. We started in the same fundamental slash beginner class. And you know, it's, it's amazing how things that come full circle. I'm really thankful that they're both members of the gym. Uh, really thankful. I get to train with them when we can, obviously it's always tough to do lineup schedules.

But what I want to get from them, now that we're done talking about the Masters Fitness Championship, was what has the process been of the long game? For guys that are getting older, you're fighting biology, which we all lose at some point, right? You're gonna get old enough to the point you can't do things anymore.

That's going to happen. Um, you both have had a Kids, multiple kids since that time, you guys both have had multiple career changes and you guys both work your butts off in the gym. How can someone, why can someone do that and really still compete at a high level of CrossFit, whether you compete or not, whether you want to or not.

I think there's lessons to be learned from the two of these guys, uh, that can really, you can apply to your personal lives, your workout lives, um, both now and in the future. So, Sam, you know, you two are in this discussion, you know, I've told you before, I look up to you a lot, you know, someone that's, you know, older than the three of us, but, um, you're still in the game.

You're coaching CrossFit, you're here five, six mornings a week. You know, just opening thoughts on some of the kind of lifestyle situations and lifestyle decisions that we have all had to make, but you in particular, to keep yourself in this game, in this situation.

[00:02:52] Sam Rhee: I think I'm more impressed with these two because my kids are older.

Like, I have one in high school who's finishing, one's in college. When you have young kids and you have, you're in the middle of, like, you're in the prime of your career in terms of your jobs and what you're doing. Like, that's a, I remember when I was your guy's age, I was busier than I couldn't believe.

Like, just my mind was exploding with like, how do I handle this and that and all of this at the same time? But I see you guys and you guys are maintaining and literally an elite level of fitness. You guys are, you move better than pretty much anyone I've seen, I would say in, in real life and at our gym and, and yet you also just found time to go and compete for three days.

in a different state and prep. I mean, it's the competing is one thing. Yeah. But the preparation we all know is really where the time management has to come in and, and perform an elite level. So, and it's been, like you said, over 10 years and yet you guys are still doing it. I don't, I actually want to get into your heads and see like, what is it that drives you guys to do this?

Because I'm kind of

[00:04:03] David Syvertsen: tired. I'm

[00:04:04] Sam Rhee: a little like, like I thought, I think about

[00:04:07] David Syvertsen: what What it takes to compete at that level and I'm like,

[00:04:11] Sam Rhee: yeah, that, you know, that the programming, the training, the, the, the nutrition, the, the, the sleep, your recovery management, like all of those things take such effort and energy.

Managed to do this while juggling five other things at the same time.

[00:04:29] David Syvertsen: Dan, let's start off with this. What's your why? Why, why do you do this? What is your why?

[00:04:34] Daniel Coda: Oh man, uh, that is a good question. Uh, something I think about a lot, actually. Um... And that's definitely changed over the years. Uh, you know, when I first started crossfitting, I was just always trying to find a different thing to keep some sort of fitness.

And most of the time, mostly back then, it was aesthetically, I was trying to just look better. Um, the, my very first competition, um, was a poker winner challenge one year. And I was like, whoa, it's something lit. There was like a fire lit up inside me. And I was like, Man, I was not a college athlete. I played pretty much any sport I could through high school.

Um, with my friends, we were always out just like playing street football and stuff like that. Um, even for years after we had like a, uh, a turkey bowl every year with my friends that we would, like, I would be run that and make sure that I can get as many guys as I could and we would get that going. Yeah.

Um, now we don't do that cause we are worried about our joint Achilles. Um, but it was like that competitiveness that I was like, Oh man, this is something that is deep down inside me and that I forgot about, and that was, I was trying to find holes. To fill that, you know, I did all kinds of stuff to try to fill that, and when I found that, like, oh, I can compete again, like, that was a big, uh, it's just, it was something that's just inside me that I don't, I can't control, that I need to express some way, and, like, Yeah, it's a big part of who you are.

Yeah, yeah, and, um, I definitely, you know, that, that's been in my career life as well, and it's helped push me there, um, it's, and through, through the gym, it's helped push me. I've had, I've had to learn to, um, Over the years, how do you not let that take over though? Um, because there was a good part of my life where I started getting good at CrossFit.

Like, I definitely was not good at CrossFit when I started. I've confirmed. Yeah. I actually, uh, um, you know, I've only become good friends with Kevin in the last couple years as a Bison member. But, um, before that, I definitely knew who he was because I would see him at these competitions. Who is this Greek guy and why is he so amazing at

[00:06:38] 2023_1008_1157-enhanced-90p: CrossFit?

[00:06:40] David Syvertsen: Why does he never look like it's hard?

[00:06:44] Daniel Coda: Um, so, and, but now even not having kids, um, it's definitely shifted in a place where I wanted to be an example for them. I want to show them that, you know, there's nothing that can stop you if you want something bad enough, if you work hard enough at it. You're going to get close to what you want, at least.

Um, so that's kind of where my mind's at now. Yeah.

[00:07:06] David Syvertsen: Okay. Yeah. So it does, your why does shift over the years, Kev, you know, you are, you, you were an incredibly high level athlete, CrossFit regional competitor. You know, now you're still at a very high level after all these changes in your life. What has changed about your why back then and where it was a little bit easier to plan and map out things, contrast to where it

[00:07:25] Kevin Yurchak: is now?

Yeah, I mean, obviously going, you know, going back from when I started in, I think I started in like January 2010. Um, give a shout out to, uh, Red Shed Crosses where I started. And, uh, I had been, been working with, um, Pat and Janine over there for like a long time. And, and it, it was, it was very different then.

It was, it was, it was competitiveness. It was. It was getting into it. It was like, you know, and it was like the sky was the limit at that point. Like when we, um, I went there with one of my friends and, uh, we both competed regionals that year and it was like, all right, like, we're gonna do it again next year.

We're gonna keep going. And it was like, you know what? And, and that just, that just didn't happen. You know, like the sport caught up to these, these unbelievable athletes that you're now competing against all the time and how much everything has evolved during, during that point. But it was always, Alright, I'm chasing this goal, I'm chasing this, and it was, you know, I went from that, and then, and then owning a gym, and, um, you know, spending my time there, putting it into that, trying to help, you know, really change people's lives, you know, get the word of CrossFit out to everybody.

Um, but that competitiveness has always been there. And, you know, as like when we started competing against each other, whatever it was that, you know, 2012, whatever, it was, it was like, there was stuff all the time. It was like every weekend, like, what are you doing? We'll see you in two weeks. We'll compete against you here.

And it probably wasn't healthy. We were just like, Hey, Alex is doing

[00:08:40] David Syvertsen: right now. Yeah. It's just like every, every month or something. And back then there was a lot more demand. Yeah,

[00:08:45] Kevin Yurchak: absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. But it does, you know, it, you know, it does, it really just evolves over time. Um, it's something that like, I can't shake.

I still enjoy it so much. Um, the timing of actually competing now is a lot harder. As you mentioned, you know, the Masters Fitness Championship, it was awesome, but it's like, that's not something I can do on a regular basis. I can't be like, Hey, I'm, you know, see a family, I'm flying out and I'm back in a couple of days.

And, you know, it's just, it's just not something that is, is reality anymore. So I still, you know, compete every day, whether it's myself in the gym or whether it's in my garage, I still have goals. I still have times that I want to hit on workouts. I'll know, I know where I should be. And if I'm not there, it doesn't matter whether I'm, you know, in a coliseum doing it or whether I'm just doing it in my garage by myself, but that competitiveness is, is always there.

And it, you know, as mentioned, it changes over time. It changes from the age division you're in to the people you're competing against, but. Um, as of now, it's something that's still there, and I still, and it still, you know, kind of fulfills me

[00:09:41] David Syvertsen: as a person. So, all this positive talk about competing and getting after it, you know, everything's all daisies, and you feel great, right?

But, what would you say to the person, or what would you say to yourself, then? You just said last week... You know, you ask yourself, I've said this myself too, I've sent text messages to Ashley at a comp saying, I'm done. I don't want to do this anymore. Um, it's usually after a really hard workout with frizzers in it, but, you know, what do you say to someone when they hit that wall?

Whether it's injury, whether it's motivation, whether they were let down, uh, by a result that they were pursuing for a long time. You know, the reason I wanted to ask you guys what your why was, because to me, your why, some of us don't know. A lot of people don't know their why. And I think if you really have a strong grip on what your why is, it answers all these questions.

It answers, it's the solution to every time you go down this path of, should I be doing this? Why am I doing this? Um, what are some of the things that you really recall on and think about? And do, and actually physically, logistically do, when you hit those low points that are, hey, come from injury, but also being a dad, having a career, going through the ups and downs of life, knowing that other people have to make significant sacrifices for you to go to compete.

You know, what can you say to yourself and other people that are going to go down that path?

[00:11:01] Daniel Coda: Yeah, um, let me start with the other people making sacrifices. That is 100 percent true. I would not be able to do this if my wife Michelle did not fully support me and and what my goals are. That's true. Amazing.

Yeah. Um, she steps up to the plate anytime I am like, can I go? You know, she's, she never puts me down that way because she, she knows I love it. And that, um, we are both, we've, we've come to an understanding. Um. But after having kids that we needed to, uh, first, I think I heard you say this a couple weeks ago, uh, fill up our cup before we can start filling up everybody else's cup.

We, we learned kind of with our, with our marriage that we need to focus on our marriage before we focus on our kids. So, um, there's like an order that we kind of, um, like figured out for ourselves to, to want to do this. Uh, to, to whatever we want to do to, to accomplish. Um. So, uh, now, now I've lost my train of thought,

[00:11:58] David Syvertsen: but, um, I mean, that's a great answer in itself.

The, the, the, how vital it is to have the support of either a friend, family, spouse Yeah. Based on what situation you're in, that you really can't pursue this kind of stuff without that

[00:12:11] Daniel Coda: kind of support. Yeah, a hundred percent. And then when you, when you get to those points, when you're, you start questioning yourself, you kind of just gotta let that, let those feelings come out and just kind of deal with it for like a day or two and be like, You know, not let a fleeting moment or, or, you know, disappointment, you know, I've had lots of disappointments in where I'm like, man, why am I not good as good as those other people?

Why are people beating me? And, and I used to get really down on myself about it until Michelle one day was like, you look, look what you're doing. Like you need to. Shift your mind because you're doing this for fun, but it's making it not fun for you, not fun for me, and you're just a drag to be around, you know, for a while.

So I had to, I've definitely... She'll give it to you straight. Yeah. Oh, a hundred percent. A hundred percent. Um, so there, there's definitely just a, a realizing that. You know, this is a life. If, if, if you love this, make it a lifelong journey and start to shift your mindset away from the result versus like, man, I love coming to the end of the gym every day, processing the result.

Yeah. I had to, I used to, I went to a point where I was only working out by myself because I was. Trying to do specific programming. Well, I had to program for myself. I can't, um, or, you know, get coaches to program only for me, not the class environment, but I lost why I loved CrossFit, which is I love being around everybody.

I love shared suffering. I love, um, coming to class every day and, and hanging out and, you know, BSing with everybody, but then working hard next to everybody. And my, my overall, uh, workouts got better and better, I became better and better because I stayed on track with why I love it. Kev,

[00:13:46] David Syvertsen: the, the idea, like what we're trending towards right now, and I'm glad, just building off what Dan says, but I want your input on this.

You know, filling your cup up before you serve others, right? I think a big reason why we do this to ourselves is that we know we're better people because of it. Like, we feel more complete when we're pursuing something that might be out of our reach. But it kind of keeps us in check. It also keeps us humble.

Because this stuff is so humbling, and I really do think being humble is a huge part of CrossFit. And we're going to do an episode on that soon. Humility and how it relates to the sport and how, you know, we've all been there before and we're going to be there again. That's not a thing that we need to know.

We're going to be humbled again in CrossFit. Um, you know, does, do you feel pursuing something like this actually makes you a better father, a better husband, a better employee, you know, because of all the ups and downs and the, and the fact that you have to figure out solutions to problems and work your way there?

Yeah,

[00:14:40] Kevin Yurchak: absolutely. I mean, you know, for me, it's just. It's every day you have to do something to take the step to get a little bit better. And I think, you know, so many people get sidetracked in it. If, you know, you, they have letdowns and you talk about things like that, where it's like, you're not going to, you're not going to get there today.

You're not going to get there tomorrow. It's just making little steps every day, um, in order to get to your ultimate goal. And, you know, for me, I can tell if I don't, if I don't move, if I don't do the things that, you know, for me, whether even just mentally being like, all right, I need to, I need to get outside and do something quickly.

If it's You know, there's kids, you know, schedules and, and everything. Sleeping doesn't work out well. It's you need, I need that time and it's not only with now for me, it's not, it's not by myself when I go out and if I, if I come here, if I, you know, if rain is here, if one of us is working out in the garage, something we, you know, we're mixing, mixing, matching schedules back and forth, our kids are, our kids are with us.

So, you know, when I opened that garage door and my two kids are running out there, it's like, all right, it's time to go work out. They're there, they're mimicking us, sometimes they're just, you know, playing, eating ice pops, but other times, like, they're watching us, and, and it, it, it does, it makes you a better person, I'm, I'm happier afterwards, I have more patience with them, it's like, it's, you know, it really is unbelievable the effect that it has on you, just as a person in general.

[00:15:52] David Syvertsen: So, to build off that, the slash working out in different environments, at a gym, in your garage, by yourself, with Reina, with your kids. You guys have been through it all. Yeah. Just, you know, describe, you know, some, again, we're talking to people that are, want to play the long game and what can they learn from you guys.

Describe what your reactions and how you prepare for the fact that you know what, sometimes you're not going to be with your friends when you work out. Sometimes you're not going to have the playlist you want. Sometimes you're not going to get the pull up bar or the box that you need every single time you do a workout.

You know, how does one, how can you use that for fuel to play this long game and try to stay away from all that short term gratification, which at the end of the day does not do as much for you guys as playing the long game and staying focused on the one step at a time? You know, describe some of the differences, good and bad, Dan, training by yourself in a class environment.

Yeah,

[00:16:48] Daniel Coda: I mean, uh, definitely the good thing is that you can, um, When you're, when you're alone and when you're following something that is specifically catered to you, you know you're working on your weaknesses, you know you're trying to get better, and, um, you can, you know, for me having like a coach look at that stuff, um, helps me push, push myself in, in when I am alone, when I don't have the person next to me to go for it, um, but, uh, you know, the other side of that is that sometimes, um, you Want some water?

Yeah, I got it. Uh, the motivation, um, it can get tough. It's like, you have to really get yourself in the mood to go out there. My, my, my warmups are usually two to three times as long in my gym because I'm just taking my time. Yep, yep. Yeah, I'll get to it. I'll get to it. Um, and so the, it's. You need to have a really, really strong, uh, why, and also I think a specific goal that you're trying to hit when you're working out alone.

Because if you don't, there's, you're just, you're just kind of aimless. You have nowhere to, you don't really know why you're doing it, and if you don't know why you're doing it, you're not going to put all your effort into it. Um,

[00:18:00] David Syvertsen: yeah. So Kev, how does one respond to, hey, I need to have this, like, you don't get to the, come to the gym that much, you know, like, I know you try to fit in, sometimes you have to cancel, we've canceled each other, on each other a few times, hey, let's try to go to this class, oh, I canceled, I just came up, you know, do you think there's value in someone purposely going to do something that they don't want to do by themselves, or with a class they don't like, or in a class where no one is around that they even know, they're not friends with.

Do you think that there's value in that to actually get something more out of the experience when they are in that environment with their friends and, and favorite playlists, all that kind of stuff? Right,

[00:18:35] Kevin Yurchak: right. Absolutely. I mean, you know, you obviously, you know, know. Um, you know, from owning the gym, being in that situation is, it doesn't always work out that you get to, everybody thinks you're the gym owner, you get all these great perks and whatever, but guess what?

Like, you're, you don't get to work out with the class, you're mostly coaching the class, especially early on and things like that. So you have to get used to it. You have to, you have to realize that the reason you're working out is not, you know, just to be there and to socialize and to do stuff when that is your long term goal of having, you know.

Longevity in, in, if you're talking about the sport of CrossFit or just doing it. But, you know, ultimately at the end of the day, it is the, it is the best way to go. If you can be in the gym working out with your friends, you're, you're, you're getting more out of it than you are in the garage unless you're that one person that like, you know, that, that small percentage that needs that personalized stuff and, and in all reality, that's, that's really not, that's really not.

Any of us, right? Like, we're not CrossFit Games competitors. Right. The best thing you can do is get to the gym. Yeah. It's just, it's, it's, it's plain and simple, but that doesn't always happen. Like that, you know, with the majority of the members that you have here, I mean, how many of them have spouse that comes, have kids at home?

It just doesn't work out that well. So if you can say, Hey, you know, for me sometimes it's, you know, and hopefully nobody's listening, but it's like, Hey, a meeting just canceled, right? Like I can't get in during this time. Nobody's going to know that I'm here. Right. A little red dot is going to be on my screen and I could be working out and I'll have my phone up against the wall.

And it's like making sure that nobody knows that I'm doing it, but it's like. If that's the time that I can get in here, Well, I'll get this out, don't worry. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Um, but yeah, I mean, and it's just, you know, and it might not be, it might not be with some of the people that I know. It might be in the middle of the day, but it's, it's there.

And the people around you are there to motivate you. And, you know, the coaches and everybody, and it's just, it's good. You know, you're not always going to get the pull up bar you want. It might feel a little different. There might be the barbell that doesn't spin as much as you want, but like, you know, that's life.

Like, you know, this is, this is just a move to get you, um, you know, better prepared for when things do happen and you do feel like you can control your environment a little bit more. You're going to be better for it.

[00:20:30] Sam Rhee: I love seeing the OGs work out, uh, in class. I just saw Saturday and I just saw two of your spouses.

I saw Raina Saturday and I saw Ash and you guys just came back on from vacation. I hadn't seen Raina in a while and they, uh, I partnered them up. I know. They, they chase after it and I, I partnered them up and they chased after it and they were, they crushed it. It was a tough workout, the, the Saturday workout.

Yes, it is. Yeah, it was, it was painful and it was long, it was like 30 minutes. And so, I could see them, they would rest, they kind of recover and then they, they get after the next, uh, couplet. And when I see people have done this for like 10 plus years... And they're doing that. And you could see it's almost like they're fixed.

Like they came in, they got what they needed out of it. They were with people that pushed them. And then they were like. I feel so much better. I mean, I feel beat up, but I feel so much better. I'll see you guys. And it was like, I could tell that both Ash and Reina were like, ready to like, take on the rest of the day.

Whatever that Saturday had for them, and I'm, I'm sure they had a lot of crap they had to do. Yeah. Like, they were good. And so, I feel like, uh, I mean, you guys are on the very high level of the sport, uh, competitive side of things, but for, for everyone else who's also been doing this for a really long time, I agree.

It's, uh, I can, I have a full garage and I could do anything I want in it. You guys both work out in your garages all the time. But I can see when, and you could work out whenever you want. I've seen you in the past, like, you would just come in off hours and do your thing. But I, you dropped in on, you, you did the class on, on, uh, Saturday as well.

And so I know... You know, a lot of why we'd still do CrossFit after 10 years or 15 years or whatever it is, is because of the people, because of the classes, because of what we're doing in the classes. And I think that's really one of the big reasons why I'm still

[00:22:29] David Syvertsen: doing it as well. I mean, I think you can learn so much from any veteran CrossFitter.

You know, I mean, if you wanted me to put a number on that, I'd say if you've been doing it for more than six years, if you're someone new or somewhat new to CrossFit, watch someone, how they act, how they move, what they do for fi You know, in and around their workouts, you can learn so much from them. They might be a little grumpy

[00:22:49] Sam Rhee: before, but they'll probably be a lot better

[00:22:51] David Syvertsen: after.

So, you know, let's wrap this up with some recovery talk, because I want to know what you guys have done. What has worked and what has not worked for you guys over the years? And because this answer can change as well. You know, A, resources, which in our case is time. Um, B, finances can come into recovery habits.

What has worked for you guys to help keep you in this game, in this kind of shape and condition? At an age where, and life situations where, almost everyone, not everyone, starts to really go south a little bit. And I'm sure you guys have dealt with a lot of

[00:23:26] Sam Rhee: injuries too, so that, that comes into play as well.

[00:23:29] David Syvertsen: What, what have been the key recovery components for you, Dan?

[00:23:32] Daniel Coda: Yeah, I mean, uh, definitely, I mean, the most important, I think, is sleep and nutrition. I think that... Uh, you know, people want to think that that's just like an easy overlook and like, you know, what supplements can I take and what, you know, what ice bath can I get into.

But I think if you're not eating right and you're not sleeping enough, um, and nothing else really matters. And, uh, that, I mean, obviously that right there is money and time. A hundred percent. I think that, um, you know, with, with, with young kids, it was way harder. I definitely didn't get the sleep I got now that my kids are eight and ten now, which is a...

Much easier age. They want to sleep longer than I do. So, so it's that part can't wait for that. Yeah. Yeah Yeah, and I mean, you know, I'm a morning guy. I need to I'm working from home now So it's like I have a little bit like I don't have to come at 5 or 6 a. m Like some people do I used to be a you know, 6 a.

m Guy and I used to just get up 8 but but then I would make myself go to sleep at like 9 o'clock You know or you know 8 30 or whatever it was. I'd be in bed Getting my, getting my time. I made it a real focus. Eight hours. Is that your number? Yeah. Okay. I try, I try to be in bed. I'm, I'm actually trying to be in bed around nine hours because I know I'm not sleeping all the time.

Okay. Um, so that's like what, there's sometimes I can't do that, but I would say 90 percent of the time I'm in, I'm in my bed for nine hours and I made a very conscious choice to make that happen. Um, and just, um, you know, I like to track, uh, macros and do my nutrition that way. Um, however, however you, you like to do your nutrition, I think that making sure that you're getting enough of all your nutrients that you need to keep your body strong, keep your body recovering.

You know, it's gonna go

[00:25:10] David Syvertsen: a long way. Have you found certain treatment, like hands on treatment? Oh, yes. Have you liked one more than the other?

[00:25:19] Daniel Coda: Yeah, so, um, over the years, I've, uh, you know, I've definitely gone through injury. I've, I've had, uh, patella tendonitis. I had a, you know, a two millimeter tear in my patella at one point.

Um, I did lots of, um, PT. I went, uh, through a company of Maven, which is great and Paramus. Um, and then over the last several years I've been with, uh, you know, Dr. John Hartman, who, uh, I go to him at least once a month. Um, he just kind of keeps me mobile, keeps me, you know. Any little tweaks, he'll work out, um, and if I'm, if I have a specific tweak, I'm in there like two to, you know, like once or twice a week, um, to, to deal with it, um, we, uh, we worked with, um, BFR, blood flow restriction, to heal my knee, which was amazing, very, very painful, but an amazing treatment, So much so that I bought my own cuffs so I could keep that going.

Um, and then, uh, Marissa at all points, acupuncture does, I go to her once a week and I found, like, I didn't know what, what I was trying to get out of that at first. I didn't understand acupuncture. I just was like, oh, maybe my, my quad hurts. Maybe you can like open it up. And she does some crazy stuff sometimes where it's like.

But the muscles are like crazy. Um, but what I, what I've actually felt overall is like my, my, like my mood is generally pretty, like it helps my mood, it helps my nervous system just kind of keep like even. Um,

[00:26:48] David Syvertsen: that's huge. Yeah. So Kev, you're, you're someone that I feel like is just never banged up. Like there's probably things that you don't always tell or disclose, but that's one thing I've ever respected you as an athlete, you know, is there's a lot to respect about you as an athlete, as a person, but one of them is.

I feel very rarely are you coming in like really banged up. What have you, what's, if you had to pick one or two things that have really helped you stay off the, I call it the IL, the injury list, what

[00:27:13] Kevin Yurchak: would they be? I mean, I think first off it's, it's really just trying to be consistent in everything I do on a.

You know, a daily basis. I mean, for, for me, I just feel like there's so much, so much out there now, whether it's, you know, try this thing, try that thing. And people are switching around for when we first started, it was, you know, all these, whether it was a competitor program, whether it was this, like, you know, it was just everything, especially with social media.

Now there's everything you find something new every day to do. And I think you have to kind of fall into what works for you. Um, fall into, you know, like proper programming and getting, you know, consistent in the gym, focusing on your movement, um, rather than just being like, you know, Hey, I'm just going to, I'm not the best with like warming up, but just, you know, from that being said, like, I'm going to just focus on, on moving properly and moving the right way.

Um, and then as far as stuff like outside of the gym, I've always just, for me, it's, for me, it's, it's been, it's been simple, um, uh, with, with like nutrition and, and what I decide to do, what I decide to eat when I eat. Um, I do think that that just goes a long way with cutting down on inflammation, and you can go down a huge rabbit hole with all that, but I think finding something that works for you and sticking with it, and really just kind of staying the course and thinking of it in terms of the long game, um, you know, I think oftentimes people get pushed to do too much, too fast, too soon, and it's something where just kind of staying on your path, looking at it from, you know, every day, just building on it, you know, one step at a time, um, and, you know, again, just doing the same thing every day, finding that routine, finding what works for you, Um, has really, has really just helped me.

I mean, you know, the stuff of, like you said, sleep comes and goes, um, different things, but really just trying to, uh, you know, do your best to, to stay healthy and not, not, not do too much. Is there

[00:28:48] Sam Rhee: anything specific to you that is inviolable? Like, you're like, This, I have to, I know I have to do this in order for me to stay healthy.

Like, maybe the sleep isn't always there,

[00:28:57] David Syvertsen: you said, but what

[00:28:58] Kevin Yurchak: is always there for you? For me, it's always been, it's been food. Since I started doing, I have a journal from, I think it was 2010, and I was tracking to the almond of how many things I was eating. Like, it was like, I still have this book, and I'm like, I can't believe I did this.

It was like 64 almonds. It was this, that, with everything in this meal. And it, you know. Of course, like some, you know, some parts of it change as to like, you know, if you're eating more this way or that way, but I've just always been super consistent with that. Are you a macro guy? Not, not, well, when I have put it in and tracked it, it has stayed pretty close to the macros.

A lot of it has been off of feel. I don't have like a nutritional background, but, um, you know, from my times going to the gym, we would do nutritional challenges and do that. And I would always say, like, it might, what I do might not work, you know, for everybody, but it has, it has worked for me. And it's something that it's just always kind of kept me.

I feel like I'm in control when I do that and I know that I'm getting the proper fuel for my body and and for me there's always I'm always trying something so whether it's you know something from you know the ice baths to this side of the other thing I'm always trying to do. The one thing you guys talk all the time about how Adam's doing the, Adam's like my go to for the weird guy stuff.

I'm like, all right, if I do something like, I'm like, all right, I'm grounding now. I got, I got to be on the earth for 20 minutes. I got to get out in the sun. I got to do stuff. I'm always trying to do something. I've always felt like, and for me, I've always had to work harder than everybody else to get to, you know, to get where I'm at.

Whether it's a mindset or what it is, it's from the time I was. You know, younger in high school playing to, you know, to now. I look at everybody around me. I'm like, all these people have more natural athleticism than I do and I need to find a way to keep up. So it's just been trying to do things, you know, every day to try one new thing.

That's something, something, you know, something that I can do consistently, but I, I absolutely drive my wife nuts because it's like, Oh, what are we doing today? We're spending hours on, you know, figuring out how to keep this ice bath cold. We're trying to like... Put on toe spacers, we're doing this, you know, can't stand it, but it's something for me where I'm always trying to move the needle that, that 1%.

[00:30:47] David Syvertsen: Yeah, I mean, you, it's practice what you preach, right? If you're going to say that you're actually going to try to just take a step forward every day and not obsess over like what the end result is that you want, you know, just what's my one step towards getting in that direction? It might be toe spacers, it might be an ice bath, it might be counting your almonds, but I think Kevin and Dan both are just, they're consistent, and I know it's such an overused word, but consistent to me is...

It's, it's seven days. It's not five.

[00:31:12] Sam Rhee: How about you, Dave? What's your one thing?

[00:31:14] David Syvertsen: In terms of recovery or consistency? Or your

[00:31:17] Sam Rhee: secret or

[00:31:18] David Syvertsen: whatever your secret sauce is? Um, I mean, my, my, I would say the number one thing that I really try to focus on within a workout is just having a plan and having a goal from each single workout.

It's not always best possible score. Um, I would even say one out of five workouts is get the best score I can. It's, it's, it's try to practice a pace, try a different way of moving, try to really slow it down early, speed it up at the end. Like, I always have some sort of intent behind every single time I train, and you do that for long enough, you really, I mean, I just got done talking with Ella, Kathleen, and Amy.

We all just did a couple workouts this morning in prep for Legends, and the workout started off with 50 cals, bike for me, 40 for Amy, and 30 for Kat and Ella. And then you have to do wall balls, dumbbell snatch, and then high level gymnastics. That was don't get on the bike and just go and wait and get, you know, bike until you're done.

Take note on what your RPMs are on the bike, what did you, and be a little aggressive today, and just see, like, where, what, where did you fall apart, where did you bottom out, how many wobbles could you do? Because the next time something like that comes up, two years down the road, if you have a good enough memory for that, You already know, like I knew exactly what my RPMs was going to be on that bike and you're on that bike for two, three minutes, you know, it's a little bit of painful, but like I've done that before.

So that, I think that's like one of my secret things that I've, I don't want to say mastered because I'm always still working on it, but I go into every single workout with an intent and it could be something silly. Like tomorrow we're just doing weighted pull ups and rowing and one arm rows and deadlifts.

I already have an intent for it that I'm very specifically going after. And I think that helps out a lot and actually kind of keeps the mind spinning, which. I hate this. This sucks. This is stupid. This is boring. I don't like this workout. This hurts. You know, like what you're going through right now with your shoulder.

Yeah. We've all been there before where things really get banged up and it really, it's hard to not get frustrated and pissed sometimes. Like it, like, and when something hurts, like, I get mad now. I'm just like, come on, again, like this, that, like, my Achilles was bothering me after, you know, running on the sand and the grass and...

It's like totally fine today, but yesterday I'm like limping around. I'm like, are you kidding me? Like I get pissed off, but you find a way around it and I went to yesterday's workout that you coached on a Saturday with very different intent. And you were mindful.

[00:33:28] Sam Rhee: You switched out for two machines for the box jump, or no, step overs, and then

[00:33:33] David Syvertsen: also, uh...

I did bike instead of box jump overs, skier instead of jump rope. Right. And I was... Tracking my splits from all three sections of the workout. So you weren't

[00:33:41] Sam Rhee: just doing it. You were

[00:33:42] David Syvertsen: actually keeping track of your... I was within two seconds of everything. Like that's, again, that is where I feel like gains can be made.

It's not just try hard until you get tired. I think that's a huge

[00:33:51] Daniel Coda: part of it. Um, it is. There's definitely days where something is hurting, uh, you know, I've tweaked my shoulder, my Achilles, my, or what do you know, my knee is not feeling good that day. I think that, you gotta think that every day in the gym is, can be a step forward, but it doesn't need to be the same.

It doesn't have to be a score. It doesn't have to be a score. Right. Um, that, yeah, exactly, like, if something's hurting, you gotta really check the ego, which was, took me a long time to learn, but... Um, just pull back or switch, switch the movement and get, get whatever your best workout for that day is because not every day can be the very best version of you.

And value

[00:34:24] David Syvertsen: will come out of that workout. Yeah. I think that's what needs to be known. Like if you have to change something, take a step back, there's still value that comes out of that session. It just might not be the result that you want. Nice job

[00:34:35] Sam Rhee: grinding Natalia down yesterday. She never gets ground down.

She was kind of tired. Yeah,

[00:34:39] David Syvertsen: that's right, Natalia. I got you. All right, guys. Well, thanks so much again to Dan and Kev, two weeks in a row, really blessed to have these guys a part of our gym. If you guys come to Bison or you ever interact with them, just know that if you're in a class with them or you have a conversation with them, you're lucky.

There's a lot of value that you get out of just being around people. I'm a huge proponent of, you know, get around people that you want to be like or that you want to emulate someday and it's You know, these are two guys that just trust me from a CrossFit perspective especially and from a family perspective and how you intertwine everything.

These are two guys that you want to be around and, um, you know, they'll be more than happy to help share more experiences with you if you ever come up and ask them some questions down the road. They have some great advice for you guys. Or just

[00:35:20] Sam Rhee: watch the move. They're two of the best movers in our

[00:35:22] David Syvertsen: gym.

Yep. Alright, thanks guys. We'll see you

[00:35:25] Kevin Yurchak: soon. Thank you.