Advertise on podcast: Pursuit of Balance

I haven't trained with a fitness goal in 10 years, and I haven't stopped training in 20. In Episode 65 of Pursuit of Balance, I break down why I'm not anti-ambition, I'm anti-finish line. We cover why goals can backfire (the arrival fallacy, deferred happiness, all-or-nothing thinking), when they actually help, and how to reframe them: direction over destination, standards over targets, inputs over outputs, and identity over outcome. Plus, why the hard conditioning you want to skip is the most important mental training you do.

In Episode 64 of Pursuit of Balance, Corey breaks down the mindset side of money, inspired by Morgan Housel’s The Art of Spending Money. He covers the difference between being rich and being wealthy, why keeping up with the Joneses is a trap, the “island test” for figuring out what you actually value, and why envy guarantees misery. He also shares why he grandfathers loyal members at Functional Lifestyles, what success means to him beyond finances, and his personal list of money laws, from playing offense and defense to spending on memories.

The words you use don’t just describe your life. They shape it. In Episode 62 of Pursuit of Balance, Corey breaks down how language changes what we see, how our bodies respond, the habits we build, and how we show up for the people around us. Plus five simple word swaps you can start using today, and why body language may be the most powerful language of all. 0:00 Intro 1:37 Words shape what we see 7:07 Words shape our body (placebo and nocebo) 19:22 Words we say to ourselves 27:56 Words we say to others 34:33 Five quick swaps 35:01 Body language

Somewhere along the way, a lot of what we do became more about being seen doing it than actually doing it well. In Episode 61 of Pursuit of Balance, Corey breaks down how performance turned performative: participation trophies, highlight-reel social media, races entered for the photos, fitness content built for views instead of results, and the research showing that announcing your goals can make you less likely to reach them. He shares his own past with chasing attention through physique, selfies, and ego, why business became his competition, and a simple framework to audit, subtract, and rebuild so your motivation comes from the inside. If no one was watching, would you still do it?

Baby Leo is here! In Episode 60 of Pursuit of Balance, Corey shares the story of his son's birth, what two weeks of fatherhood have already taught him about presence, patience, and purpose, and the common parenting myths he isn't buying, from "good luck with your workouts" to "your life will revolve around the baby." Whether you're a parent now or hoping to be one, this one's for you. 0:00 Don't try to be perfect, find your perfect 0:31 Welcome back from paternity leave 6:14 The birth story 12:02 Lesson 1: Be present 14:51 Lesson 2: Control the controllables 18:00 Lesson 3: The provider and protector gear 27:52 Lesson 4: Gratitude for our village 29:14 Parenting myths I'm not buying 36:54 Come meet Leo on October 10th

In episode 59 of Pursuit of Balance, Corey breaks down a phrase he's been living by for almost a decade: never let the next thing ruin the current thing. He shares the story of nearly opening a second gym a year into Functional Lifestyles, why he cut it (and the meal prep business) in the same week, and how the same pattern still shows up in his real estate investing today. Along the way he covers the four reasons we get pulled toward the future (future focus as avoidance, a nervous system that doesn't trust calm, identity tied to trajectory, and the arrival fallacy), a client example of overtraining by chasing the next thing, and the 100 battery rule for allocating your energy. If you've ever caught yourself waiting for Friday, the finish line, or "once I get there," this one's for you.

Testosterone levels have been falling roughly 1% a year for decades, and it's not just an aging story. In episode 58, Corey digs into what testosterone actually does, why the "normal" range is so wide, and where the evidence for the decline is strong versus where it's just correlation. He breaks down what lowers it (visceral fat, poor sleep, sleep apnea, insulin resistance, chronic stress, very low fat diets, aggressive calorie restriction) and what raises it (fat loss, strength training, conditioning done correctly, whole food nutrition, vitamin D and zinc). Plus his take on TRT, why carnivore is an elimination diet and not a lifestyle, and why sleep and stress keep turning out to be the foundation underneath all of it.

Episode 57. Everything is poison at a high enough dose, and almost nothing is poison at a low enough one. Corey breaks down a three part framework for thinking about it: dose, capacity, and recovery, and applies it to sun exposure, training frequency, carbs, keto and carnivore dogma, sauna and cold plunge, alcohol, and stress. If you've ever been told to cut something out entirely, this one is for you.

Is functional training BS? In episode 56 of Pursuit of Balance, Corey breaks down why the answer depends entirely on your outcome, why the fitness internet loves to dunk on the word, and the five universal layers that belong in every single person's program regardless of their goal. Covered in this episode: Why function is defined by outcome, not by a movement style Corey's own path through sports, bodybuilding, CrossFit, physique, and corrective exercise Where the criticism of functional training is actually fair The five universal layers: breathing mechanics, gait, multi-directional movement, unilateral training, and aerobic base The seven movement patterns behind smart programming Why the goal is to stop depending on your chiropractor, PT, and massage therapist Ego versus true alignment in how you choose to train Functional Lifestyles is a semi-private training gym in Palo Alto and Mountain View, CA, built on a movement-first approach with ten members per class and two coaches on the floor. #PursuitOfBalance #FunctionalTraining #StrengthAndConditioning #MovementFirst #Hyrox #CorrectiveExercise

Episode 54 of Pursuit of Balance. This one started with a quarterly review with one of my coaches and turned into a full breakdown of human motivation. I walk through the ten things that drive us, from money and status to impact, autonomy, identity, and fear, and I split them into three categories: fuel that burns fast, fuel that burns slow, and fuel that compounds. I also get into whether a competitive personality is actually required for success, what I found when I went looking for the research, and Robert Greene's mastery arc from his book Mastery, including apprenticeship, deliberate practice, finding a mentor, and social intelligence. If you have ever felt motivated in seasons and flat in others, this one is for you.

Does having money make you healthier — or does being healthy make you more money? In Episode 53, Corey works through both directions and the dark side of chasing either one too hard. The 15-year lifespan gap between the richest and poorest 1% and why it's mostly behavioral. Why 72% of adults stressing about money makes personal finance a legitimate health intervention. The 9% earnings premium for people who train. Healthspan as earnspan. Purpose and a 46% lower mortality risk. And the cost of the grind — 55-hour weeks, stroke and heart disease risk, and why entrepreneurs are twice as likely to face depression. Plus: why wealth is really just the time you can buy back, and why the goal was never more time off — it was better time.

In Episode 52 of Pursuit of Balance, Corey tackles a listener question about healthcare burnout and turns it into a bigger conversation: why the American system is built for sick care, not health care. He digs into why we spend more than any country yet rank near the bottom on outcomes, why medical training leaves doctors under-equipped on nutrition and lifestyle, and why the people working inside hospitals are often the ones struggling most with their own health. Then he lays out the practical playbook — movement, whole foods, community, sleep, and stress management — for staying out of the system in the first place, whether you work rotating shifts or a standard 9-to-5.

Two weeks ago, I back squatted for the first time in six months, loaded it up too fast, and paid for it. In Episode 51 of Pursuit of Balance, I'm using my own back flare-up as a case study in how to actually handle injuries — because for 95% of issues, stopping training completely is the wrong answer. I break down the exact framework I use with myself and our members at Functional Lifestyles: how to know whether the position or the load is the problem, how to regress movements without losing momentum, and why protecting the habit matters more than protecting your ego. We also go deep on fascia — the connective tissue that holds your entire body together — and the three things it's most sensitive to: hydration, position, and temperature. Plus, I walk through how your breathing patterns shape your posture, why big inhalers get stuck in extension, and what your resting posture reveals about your stress state. In this episode: My back injury history — car accident at 19, CrossFit deadlift injury at 20, and the lessons from 15 years of managing it Why I removed heavy back squats, conventional deadlifts, and barbell bench from my training (high risk, low ROI) The swaps I use instead: Bulgarian split squats, goblet squats, sumo, trap bar, dumbbell pressing Fascia 101: Anatomy Trains, fascial lines, and the ketchup bottle analogy for hydration The inhale/exhale test: how breathing connects to extension, flexion, and your nervous system Sympathetic vs. parasympathetic posture — and what mine says about me "There are no bad positions, only weak ones" — the mindset shift that changed how I coach The load test: if it doesn't hurt unloaded, the position isn't the problem How to regress intelligently: reduce load, reduce volume, add tempo, micro-dose frequency Why taking a month off destroys more than your fitness — the downstream habit collapse My honest take on the "supple leopard" philosophy and why modern humans need more prep than a leopard does Whether you're dealing with a back flare-up, a cranky shoulder, or you're just tired of the injury-rest-reinjury cycle, this episode gives you a practical playbook for moving forward instead of shutting down. ️ Subscribe to Pursuit of Balance wherever you get your podcasts

Corey breaks down his nutrition hierarchy — what actually matters when it comes to eating well, ranked from least to most important. From food quality and the whole-food-vs-processed debate, to adherence and sustainability, to why protein makes everything easier, to the final boss: caloric balance. Plus a bonus on self-monitoring and environmental design. Practical, no-BS priorities you can actually build a lifestyle around.

In episode 49 of Pursuit of Balance, Corey gets into something he's been sitting on since the start of season 2: how having tough conversations is one of the most powerful stress management tools you have. The core idea — avoided conversations collect interest. Every time you put off a hard talk with a coworker, your spouse, or your family, you trade a little short-term discomfort for a much bigger long-term problem. And the bill always comes due. Corey covers why action solves 99% of his problems, the difference between being busy and being productive, why good communication is built on empathy instead of winning, and the "love languages for work" idea he uses with his team. He also opens up about the stress of building out both gym locations, learning to communicate in his marriage, and the constant pull between chasing more and being present. If you're holding something in right now, this one's for you. New episodes every week. #PursuitOfBalance #StressManagement #ToughConversations #MensMentalHealth #PersonalGrowth #Mindset #HolisticHealth