Dynamic Dialogue with Danny Matranga - 7 - Disagree with Danny: Crossfit Sucks, Group Fitness Sucks and Bitcoin Too!

Episode Date: March 21, 2020

In this episode, Danny addresses YOUR'S and HIS disagreements. But don't worry - don't take it personally. - Is CrossFit legit/not- All group fitness sucks.- Bitcoin as a legit investment option.- Staying Inside during COVID-19.- The Environmental Footprint of His Chicken Bites.The episode wraps up with a Q and A.Support the Show.

Hey everybody, welcome back to the Dynamic Dialogue podcast. And today's episode is going to be a positive divergence from this COVID-19 stuff that kind of seems to be encapsulating everybody's life. I'm not going to touch on it too much. I don't want to talk about it too much. All I'm going to say is we will get through this. Do your part. Follow the rules and we'll be okay. In the news, a lot of buzz in NFL free agency. Todd Gurley, my favorite player in the NFL, probably besides Aaron Donald, was released by my team, the Rams. It was a painful day for me

yesterday, but he signs with the Falcons, his hometown team from North Carolina, but he played his college ball in Georgia, and he joins a pretty high-powered offense, which makes me happy. Other running backs on the move are Melvin Gordon to Denver, and he's going to make a nice one-two punch with Phillip Lindsey. Who knows what's happening with Royce Freeman, who they invested a lot of draft capital in. And kind of surprising. But hey, there we go with that. As far as pop culture, The Weeknd, who's a favorite artist of mine, released an album and it was pretty good.

I listened to it all the way through last night and listened to it while I trained in my garage this morning. Had a very crappy workout yesterday but bounced back and had a good one today. So those are the positives for me. I hope you are having some positives as well. Now, today's episode is a little bit different. I fielded some questions on Instagram but not typical questions. I actually asked you guys to tell me what you disagree with me on. I actually asked you guys to tell me what you disagree with me on.

And I'm going to, to the best of my ability, defend and plead my case to you once more on these issues. Now some of these questions are just that. They're questions. They're not really disagreements. But we'll talk about them anyway. So let's first start with where people disagree with me. And I haven't come up with a name for this segment but i am going to kind of dive in um without a name so at lee pinkham asks from what i'm exposed to from you it seems like you hate crossfit what is your reasoning all love okay, so first thing is first. In general, I actually think that CrossFit,

if you take out the Olympic lifting, primarily because it's very technical and I think most people just do it wrong, it's actually a really good exercise modality. And I think it's a more all-encompassing approach to physical fitness than bodybuilding or powerlifting. So I actually don't dislike CrossFit. The big problem I have with it is the amount of fatigue people accumulate across a training session and how that pairs with high intensity movements like Olympic lifting. I also don't like how a lot of the competition stuff is judged in a lot of the nutritional kind of camps that go hand in hand with it, like there's a lot of keto CrossFitters and that just doesn't really work from a physiological standpoint. And you can poke holes in anything, but this is actually one that I don't have to

debate too much on because I think at the core of it, I don't dislike CrossFit. If I have put off the vibe that I don't, that's not the case. I instead would like you to think of it as there's elements of CrossFit that I really don't like. And I think that overall, they hold it back from being what would otherwise be a really unique and cool type of exercise. I think it's very all-encompassing. I like the reliance on mostly compound movements. I love the incorporation of core work, metabolic work, even gymnastics work if it's done properly. I think that it's a very, very well-rounded way to train

for people who are already fit, and I don't dislike it. So hopefully we can put that one to bed. Next question or next disagreement is from atlady underscore in the moon, and she says, hate and group fitness question mark. So again, another one that I think we could easily poke holes in, but when you break it down, we have to consider that for a lot of people, group fitness is a very approachable, very easy to get started with fitness modality. Having community, whether that's CrossFit, Zumba, Orange Theory, F45, body pump, whatever it might be. Having community, having people to do something with is a really encouraging way to get people into something, particularly exercise, because going to the gym alone without an instructor can be really intimidating.

Personal training is a more premium service, and it can be expensive for some. And group fitness represents a fantastic, oftentimes free, because in many cases it's included with your membership, or at least reasonably priced opportunity to train around other people in a community with some type of instruction. So while there's some group exercise modalities that I think are foolish and some group exercise gimmicks that I don't like, for example, I don't like the F45 diet, but I actually don't hate the F45 training. I know a lot of F45 trainers who are great people. In fact, I've hired and coached many of them who've gone on to work at F45 because they like the environment and the group coaching

setting. So I know there's plenty of great F45 trainers out there that do a good job of watching their members form and technique. And I think that extends into all the other group exercise modalities. In the same way you're going to have great one-on-one trainers and shitty one-on-one trainers, you're going to have great group trainers and you're going to have bad group trainers. And I think that that's just going to kind of make or break the modality as a whole. I think it comes down to the instructor more so than it does the class. Because like, for example, Zumba might be kind of goofy, but it gets you moving. It gets your heart rate up. It's fun for people. And dancing can be a really good way to kind of let off some steam. So if that's how

you burn some calories, good for you. And weightlifting is not for everybody. Do I think everybody should resistance train? Yes. But I'm not so delusional to think everybody will. So there are certain elements of group fitness that I think are very encouraging and that I think are, they give me hope for people who are new to this that I think might one day find their way to resistance training through group fitness or find their way to a personal trainer through group fitness because group fitness is really accessible. And I think that's big. Okay, so at beefy bit boy asks, I think you should reconsider Bitcoin. This is great at this moment in time because the economy is tanking. And for anybody who's not aware, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that you can trade on most exchanges now. changes now. But as far as I'm concerned, I like to put my money into commodities. I like to put my money into places that tend to be a little bit more tried and true. And I think I'm late to the game on the Bitcoin bubble. I think if it comes back around, I'd be more than happy to reconsider it. But at this moment in time, I'm primarily investing in index funds. I'm buying shares of VTI, which is Vanguard's total index

right now while the market dips, as well as things like Disney, GE, and a few of these big airlines before I think they'll get bailed out. But generally, I don't advise picking stocks. And again, that comes from Warren Buffett himself, who would prefer people who are not educated in investing invest in index funds. And I tend to agree with that notion. So I do stay away from cryptocurrencies. When I do pick stocks, I try to pick stocks that I think are going to be around for a long time and invest in things that I like and trust. But about 90% of the money that I invest goes into indexes. And I stay away from cryptocurrency primarily because I like stability and I like long-term growth that I can project out over a long time. And I find myself a bit more comfortable doing that with what I would consider to be more typical commodities. So nothing against Bitcoin,

nothing against anybody who got in early. But yeah, that's okay. Okay, so Kaylin Wood, this is a good one, says, I love your choice of easy, healthy snacks, but those types of things have 10 times the packaging. Now, you got me on this one, Kalen. There's really no defense for this because as a community, as a nation, as a world, we need that I buy that come in a pack of 20 use a lot of plastic, and it's definitely not the best type of packaging for the planet. A lot of the other things I buy are in that same boat. If it makes you feel any better, I do use a reusable water bottle every day. I rarely use plastic water bottles. I tend to even reuse plastic water bottles if I have one, which is probably not the best for my hormones because they can leach a variety of different disrupting chemicals. But overall, I try to limit my consumption of what I would call extraneous plastics or products that use an egregious amount of plastic.

But this is definitely one area where I do not do my part to help the environment. So you're actually completely right to disagree with me on this. And it's something that I've had conversations with people who are environmentally conscious about. And it is something that I'm working on now. I tend to do my part overall, and I tend to do my part with how I vote and who I vote for because the environment is at the forefront of my priorities as a citizen. But it's not something I always live in the most actionable way. So you definitely got me there. You're totally right to disagree with me, and I probably could do a better job here.

So while those snacks are healthy, I think in general, if we could find a way to minimize how they're packaged or package them in a more eco-friendly way or even package them in a type of material that's generally more sustainable, that would be better. But yeah, that's one that I have no defense for because I need to do better, and there's nothing wrong with that. At JuanRangF says, when you disagree with a topic, subject, or person, you are sometimes a little too hard. Yeah, that's very true. I tend to run a bit on the hot side. I tend to run a bit on the irritable side, and I tend to run a bit on the hot side. I tend to run a bit on the irritable side, and I tend to run a bit on the

passionate side. And I think that in all the places that that helps me, in a lot of ways, it hurts me. And I often let that passion and intensity show in producing content that helps people, but I often let it kind of run unleashed or unhinged when I disagree with people. And I'm very well aware that it's important to be soft and that your delivery is really important when you're trying to dissuade people from doing things or trying to persuade people to look at things a different way because you shut people down when you are oftentimes too hard. So while I think I could do better, I also think it's a big part of who I am and that passion is really important. And so in striving to find a middle ground on this stuff, don't expect me to soften too much. While I am aware and it's going to be a part of my maturation process as a professional, as a communicator. Bear in mind,

I'm 24 years old. There are certain aspects of my personality that are fairly ingrained at this point, but they might be plastic enough that I can polish them and change them up. I'm very much aware of this, and it's something that even though I still do it, I am much, much better about how often I do it and how intense I am when I do it. So I am aware, even though sometimes it might seem like I'm not. All right, next question comes from at Abigail.Crow. Now, this is COVID-19 related, so my apologies. I told you we would stay away from this, but she says, you argue stay inside. But going on a walk alone in the sun seems okay to me. Yeah, I think that's fine. I think one of the things people need to understand about me saying stay inside is I'm trying to encourage people to minimize social contact at this time.

This is the direction that's been passed down from the CDC, the WHO, the majority of the politicians in this country right now because we need to flatten this curve. And extraneous exposure to other people is unwise at this time. And we should limit it as much as we possibly can. It's really in nobody's best interest. It genuinely, genuinely, genuinely is in nobody's best interest for us to be making extraneous contact. And if we can avoid that and help keep other people safe, I think we'll get through this a lot faster. And one of the reasons I'm trying to use my platforms to encourage staying in place is so I can get back to work quicker and we can get the economy back rolling again faster and my clients can get back to their fitness quicker.

So I do have a vested interest, of course, and I want things to get back to normal so people can really embrace their fitness again. Because first off, I think people are doing an amazing job. The online clients I have right now are literally blowing my mind with how well they're doing, making adjustments, sticking with their goals. It is so unbelievable to see. And I think we're making some incredible progress with the things that perhaps we overlooked before, right? Like the ability to just get into a rhythm, get into a routine, cook the meals. These people are blowing my mind. And this is actually going to be a really positive learning opportunity for us. And we can kind of foster some skills to take with us, or they can foster some skills to take with us or they can foster

some skills to take with them. But yeah, I want things to get back to normal. And I think the fastest way we can do that is by, like I said, staying inside. So that concludes the section of the podcast where we cover things you disagree with me on. Now let's answer some Q&A questions. So we'll do this as a what do you disagree with me on and how can I help you podcast. So this one comes from at Aslan Mirza and he asks, what do we do for training during quarantine? So guys, if you have not done so already, I have three guides on the website for home body weight training. One of them involves kettlebells, bands, and dumbbells. The other two are completely bodyweight. I sent out the other one this morning to my email list. But there's about 21 days of home quarantine workouts you can do. the garage gym I have access to to try to train to the best of my abilities. What I have in there is a barbell with about 400 pounds of Olympic weightlifting plates. I have a hex bar. I have dumbbells, 40s, 25s, 20s, 15s, kettlebells, a 44, a 40, two 15s, and a 10. And I have some easy bars

as well as an adjustable bench. So is it perfect? Absolutely not. But one of the things that's blown my mind is how appreciative I am now. And I was telling somebody this today. I feel like even though the economy's crashed and I'm not working nearly as much as I was with my clients in person, I feel so rich. I feel like I'm overflowing with wealth because I have somewhere that I can work out. I have somewhere where I can stick to my goals and maintain my health. And that's the number one thing. Without my health, I have nothing. To live a rich life for me means first and foremost, I am healthy. And to be able to express movement and do it from the comfort of my home and this

juncture makes me feel so, so grateful, so, so rich. And it puts things into perspective. So that is what I am doing with my quarantine time, if that makes sense. Here's another great question from at Albie underscore flow. And it's if you had to live in another time period, what would you choose? This is one that's been asked many times. And it's kind of hard to answer because I think that with all of the luxuries we have right now going back in time, even if it was like something that seems idealistic or cool or fun or adventurous, it would suck. Like, oh yeah, I went back to the Renaissance and the art was amazing. Yeah, well, you also got an STD every time you had sex and there's no plumbing. You know what I mean? Like there's so many issues with pretty much every time period you would travel to. But if we could keep things relatively cool and nothing crazy is going to go down, something about the Renaissance period, the Italian Renaissance period kind of piques my interest, particularly because of the art and the culture. I find that to be very interesting. The 1950s in America seems pretty

idealistic. And again, I'm lucky to be white, so it wouldn't be too hard for me. So that might be a bias coming out there. But realistically, I don't think there's another time I'd rather live in than right now. With all the problems we have, we also have a lot of luxuries that I'm pretty grateful for. And I don't want to have that go unnoticed. So to hit on something else, guys, just so people don't feel so alone, I put a little feeler out there to ask people how they're feeling about COVID-19, about the coronavirus. And I want to share the responses anonymously so you can kind of understand where other people are at and maybe it'll make you feel a little less alone. So some people are feeling anxious and emotionally overeating. Another person is feeling scared.

She says, I'm a senior fitness specialist and I work with people at their homes. At least I used to. Someone else says, it's surreal. Everything is normal here in the UK except the hysteria. Another person says, I'm scared. Men are two times more likely to die from this. Someone else says, try not to think about it. Keep feeling like I'm sick, but my mind's playing tricks on me. Another one says, upset because I need the gym, but I don't even have weights in my house. Annoyed because my gym

officially closed today. Ready for life to go back to normal. Going to take a while though because of the economy. Some positive ones are maybe I'm going to write my fantasy novel and learn how to play music. I got a puzzle to work on and it's more calming than I thought it would be. Frustrated I never invested in a home gym equipment and now I wish I had with all the gyms closed. I'm a nurse, and I'm working on the front lines, working hard to take care of our communities. Annoyed for my company, top Fortune 500 hasn't shut down yet. They are making us all go in.

Hopeful and thick, because I just ate hella late. I think I need to find a distraction at home. I'm a mommy. I will work out. Realizing how much of my day-to-day normalcy I took for granted. Optimistic AF. Groovy. Surprisingly good. Lots of time to create content and serve my clients better. So everybody's really all over the place. And in all honesty, I've experienced pretty much every single one of those emotions in the last 24 hours. Like, my mood has been far from stable.

It's tough. And this isn't going to go away overnight. This isn't going to be easy. But, you know, there's a lot of positive things going on right now. And I feel pretty good about it. I feel like if we all can keep on the same page, we can get out of this faster. And that's encouraging. To put something else into perspective that I think is really important, the ability we have to work out from home,

diversify our training, change how we kind of have been training isn't a bad thing, right? We have every right in the world to be frustrated about losing the normalcy and the routine. But the opportunity to become better at bodyweight training, the opportunity to improve on movements we don't always do in a lot of ways can be very good for our training. You could consider this an extended deload, an opportunity to work on some new movement patterns, an opportunity to address the mobility issues you've not been addressing, the ability to super compensate like I talked about on an earlier episode from all the hard training you've been doing but you never stepped away long enough to actually attenuate the gains. There's a lot of

potentially positive things going on here. So stay focused on that. Stay focused on, hey, even if I don't have the equipment I want right now, even if it's not the ideal situation, hey, even if I don't have the equipment I want right now, even if it's not the ideal situation, I definitely have the opportunity to make progress with my fitness. Again, just talking purely from an aerobic standpoint, most lifters do almost no cardio. If you went for a run every day and just got a little bit better at your cardio and you did some body weight training, I really don't think you'd lose much if any muscle so long as you're getting adequate protein. And having that aerobic fitness when you go back into the gym, you're going to feel like an absolute animal. That's such a huge, huge piece of what we do. And it's an incredible opportunity for you to improve. And it's something that most

people don't do at all. So even if you have nothing and you can only train with the weight of your own body and do some running, I think if this thing blows over fast because we all follow the rules and do what we need to do, you're going to be happy that you stuck with it. This has been something that I've communicated to almost all of my clients. And I want to stay on track now and take some skills with you, whether it's the increased amount of cooking you've done at home. So when things do go back to normal, you're better at prepping meals and you can make more nutritious, healthy food from home. Whether it's improving your body weight strength, so you're a better lifter when you go back to the

gym. Becoming a better runner, so your aerobic capacity is increased becoming a better listener so you're better in your relationships take this time to work on things that will carry with you when this all blows over because this isn't going to be forever and if we can improve in some way shape or form we have the opportunity to emerge better and stronger than ever. And that, to me, is the biggest light in all of this. That, to me, is the most encouraging thing in all of this. But, again, it doesn't make it any easier today. And just keep your eyes focused on the horizon.

Keep your eyes focused on the horizon. Keep your eyes focused on the future. Be excited about what you can do today to improve your life when we do get through this, because we will. If you focus on the future and you focus on getting back to normal, I think it's a lot easier than focusing on where we're at right now. Just finding things that we can control is going to be a really big piece of this. Guys, thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed today's podcast, please do me a favor.

Share it to your story. I'm going to be doing a unique giveaway today where anybody who shares this to their story is going to be entered into a giveaway for the opportunity to win a 30-minute coaching consultation call with me where I call you and we talk about anything you need help with during this time with your health, fitness, nutrition. I will give you all of my insights and help you as much as I can with anything that you need. All you need to do is screenshot this, share it to your story, and it's that simple, guys. So stay safe, stay inside. Stay safe, stay inside.

Wash your hands and think about the future. Think about what you can do today to improve everything you're going to do tomorrow and everything we're going to do when we get through this. Because like I've said a million times, we will get through this in time. Stay safe. Have a good day.