“Be easy. Life is good.”
– Jason Khalipa
Jason Khalipa (@jasonkhalipa IG, Twitter) is one of the fittest men in the world – a title that was officially his when he won the CrossFit Games in 2008. He is an 8-time CrossFit Games competitor, a 3-time Team USA CrossFit member, and — among other athletic feats — he has deadlifted 550 pounds, squatted 450 pounds, and performed 64 pullups at a bodyweight of 210 pounds.
This podcast also has a bunch of video bonuses and tutorials from Jason, which you can find at youtube.com/timferriss.
Beyond sports, Jason is also a successful entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of NC Fit, which has more than 20 locations in 8 different cities. And he is the co-founder of “Box to Business,” a non-profit that helps gyms become profitable businesses. Jason uses the proceeds from “Box to Business” to help fight pediatric cancer.
In this episode, we cover a lot of cool stuff, including:
- His training and diet
- The hardest workouts he’s ever performed
- The mentor who taught him how to sell anything
- How he and his family has coped with his daughter’s battle with cancer
- How he’s navigated going from competitive athlete to business owner
- And much, much more
I hope you enjoy the episode as much as much as I did, and don’t forget to see the bonus videos at youtube.com/timferriss.
You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
- Listen to it on iTunes.
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another episode about building muscle and strength? — Listen to this interview with Charles Poliquin. In this episode, we discuss, muscle-building techniques, how to become stronger, warmup routines, why people struggle to lose fat, and more (stream below or right-click here to download):
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
- Connect with Jason Khalipa:
Website | NC Fit | Box to Business | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
- CrossFit Games
- 2008 CrossFit Games
- CrossFit WOD: Fran by Will Lanier, Men’s Fitness
- “Fight Gone Bad” CrossFit WOD Demo via WODwell
- Coach.me
- RISE Challenge via NC Fit
- Jason Khalipa Teaching a Basic Snatch
- Thoracic Extension with Kelly Starrett via MobilityWOD
- Progenex
- How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It by Mark Cuban
- CrossFit Star Faces Daughter’s Leukemia by Using His Celebrity Status for Greater Good by Stacy Finz, Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital
- The AMRAP Mentality by Jason Khalipa
- AMRAP Mindset with Jason Khalipa
- Western Digital
Show Notes
- What did Jason have for breakfast today? [02:04]
- What were the advantages Jason had (at his peak) for standing out in CrossFit? [03:18]
- Tests Jason would use to gauge a CrossFit beginner’s fitness. [05:12]
- What is a “fight gone bad” workout? [05:56]
- What advice would Jason give to an accomplished athlete who wants to start their own gym or fitness line? [11:25]
- Most important decisions Jason made when preparing to start his business. [13:26]
- How did Jason initially get his mentor to spend time with him? [15:20]
- What was Jason’s “why” when he began competing in the CrossFit Games? [16:04]
- What triggered Jason’s course correction from slacking class clown to driven fitness magnate? [18:08]
- How might one of Jason’s NC Fit coaches create a new CrossFit program? [22:13]
- How does Jason safely introduce Olympic lifting in a CrossFit beginner’s routine? [24:05]
- Advice for someone entering CrossFit with bad thoracic mobility. [25:07]
- How did Jason build his aerobic capacity with Chris Hinshaw without sacrificing his size or strength? [26:10]
- What did Jason’s nutrition look like at the peak of his training? Did he have any go-to supplements? [27:34]
- What does Jason picture his workout to be when he hits sixty? [29:21]
- Where does Jason see room for improvement in his own routine now? [30:08]
- Jason talks about the components of a good marriage, and how his daughter Ava’s leukemia diagnosis has affected the family. [31:13]
- What practices and routines help Jason’s family through Ava’s treatment? [35:36]
- Advice for parents receiving such a diagnosis for their child. [37:03]
- What is the AMRAP mentality? [38:26]
- Jason explains his goals for operating a service-based fitness business. [42:37]
- What advice would Jason give his 2008 CrossFit Games champion self? [43:39]
- How does Jason quantify balance in his work and personal life? [44:52]
- Favorite book. [46:55]
- Morning rituals and daily routines. [47:27]
- Wearing so many hats, does Jason ever have difficulty sleeping? [49:43]
- Does Jason have any wind-down routines or bedtime rituals? [50:35]
- Who does Jason go to for business advice? [51:07]
- What makes a good salesperson? [53:06]
- What does a good “smile and dial” sales call sound like for Jason? [54:10]
- What kind of facility tour translates into a sale? [54:53]
- What would Jason’s billboard say? [56:24]
People Mentioned
- B.J. Penn
- Greg Glassman
- Ralph Gracie
- Kelly Starrett
- Chris Hinshaw
- Mark Cuban
- Ava Khalipa
- Ashley Khalipa
- Paul Gomez
- Mike Cordano
- Jerry Kagele
- Joe Gigantino
- Jarett Perelmutter
- Mark Bell
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
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A great podcast! Kudos to how you are able to extract valuable insight from your guests. keep up the great work!
Hey tim i REALLY LOVED THIS EPISODE. Thank you.
Hi Tim,
Jason sounds like a super hero 😉 Awesome share. Happy to tweet it.
Ryan
Hey Tim 🙂 Great episode, you’ve got a great ability to interview athletes & I suspect may be even help them dig up inside of their own mentality to understand what makes them thick, find out traits in their mindset they previously didn’t realize they possessed.
But I’d like to suggest you one specific category of athletes, which I believe with your ability to drag your guests into deep long conversations will make fantastic episodes – from the Jamie Foxx caliber. Well, for sure not as funny, but certainly with pretty unique insight. I’m talking about top level professional racing drivers – that’s F1 drivers 🙂
Might sound a bit grandiose, but in general these are the most passionate & professionally trained athletes as they often start at 2/2.5 years of age to kart and at 14-16 they often get picked up by driver programs of the big car companies which spend many millions on their training… and of course when you’re Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel, your split second decisions can bring either joy or sorrow to a team of 1000+ engineers & mechanics.
I know you’ve done a podcast w/ DHH, but he’s what it’s called gentlemen driver(hobby driver) and races in endurance racing, which is way more relaxed & much less driven by killer instinct competition than F1 or even IndyCar.
Pressure in F1 is gigantic when you’ve been doing this since you can remember anything(I know some for whom their first memory is driving a kart) & your family has gone through hell to find the money to support you.
Having gone through a third of your podcasts, as I was interested to see understand the mentality of people in SV, I found out that this mentality is almost exactly the same as the mentality of F1, especially during the 70/80s – startup teams focusing on outsmarting the big car companies with their ability to make conventional wisdom obsolete.
Hope you consider the idea or at least take a look at F1, you won’t regret it – you’ll love it 😉
Hello Tim, NIce podcast Thank you.
Great stuff!
Have you considered having Jordan Feigenbaum on three show?
He’s a doctor who’s deadlifted 700+.
Think you guys would get on 👍
AMRAP Mindset is definitely my greatest takeaway.
I tend to waste so much energy over-thinking things! And work, any work gets harder not because it’s actually that hard but because I think of it as of something hard and deplete my mental energy and focus before I even start.
Being in the moment giving my best – I’m working on that now and AMRAP mindset is exactly what I need!
Great episode Tim and Jason! Thank you!!!
Hello, just wanted to suggest a possible guest: I’d love to hear a conversation between Tim and Daniel Gilbert, Harvard professor and author of Stumbling On Happiness.
My two cents,
Robin
Hey Tim,
did you know that Amazon (link from here) says Crave Crush is not now or may not ever be available. just thought you might be interested.
Interesting read Tim. I’ve always thought the world of crossfit was intriguing. The mindset to compete at that level is amazing.
Hey Tim, this was an epic episode.
Tim, now is the time to tell you how much you’ve fuelled the small but essential changes in my life. As a mom of 3 kids, I am great at my Mom job, but I have not been great at taking care of myself. The first time I listened to one of your podcasts I walked the entire 1 hr 34 min so I could hear every last morsel of information. The next night I walked again for the entire length of the podcast, and so on and so on. I’ve started to meditate, do yoga, read more, write more, listen to myself more, BE myself more. Before I listened to your podcasts I was a 35 year old who knew herself less than when I was 21. Now, I feel things falling into place by implementing what seem like small and easy changes that work for me. My kids notice I’m happier and calmer and my husband asks me what I’ve learned today and is silently thoughtful when I explain in my own words what I got out of the podcast that day. I feel renewed! Thanks so much!
By the way, I love how you say you get Oscar Wilde and Groucho Marx mixed up, I think it’s because of Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street! LOL
Chantelle
Hi Tim
I enjoyed the podcast but given all the talk of super hero bodies and feats not a single q on PED use?
Liam
Hi Tim,
Your podcasts are amazing. Do you have any tips on hacking one’s speaking voice? I’ve been looking for trainings online and it is very difficult to suss out which instructors and/or exercises are worth the time and $$ and which are not. It would be great to learn how to maximize that physical component of the body. I mean, hey, who doesn’t want mellifluous, hypnotic sounds emanating from their person?
Warmly,
Michele
I was wondering if any one could point me to a specific episode or part of a book or anything that would fit perfectly with a student graduating in December of this year? I want some motivation and inspiration to get me ready for my last semester of college coming up in the Fall. Thank you!
Great listen, like the bit about mindset for training.
Tim,
Surely you’ve considered interviewing Kobe Bryant. One of the most driven and successful people in world sport of all time. I imagine he’d have a few routines worth uncovering.
Make it happen!
Now that I saw on IG you are in Montreal, I’m going to try everything I can! Already sent you a few tweets 😀 Tim, I started the Tools of Titans Montreal page (coz I am dying to get you here for live show) and I swear, I am your biggest promoter in this city. I would LOVE to meet you, it would be a dream. Malbec at a local wine bar, guacomole at a mexican resto -to ease any hangovers to come, you name it!! I am your girl. Let’s hang today. If you’ve found you’ve read enough at this point, I wish you a good day. I have to run off to a meeting anyway 😉
Fabulous one. Howd you know this is what I wanted?
It’d be even better if you could get Mr. Rich Froning on.
Great podcast. As a father of three and struggling to earn money, be a father, a husband and somehow include my own fitness goals, I came away from this interview with a different appreciation and some principles I am keen to include in my own lifestyle. Many thanks.
Great podcast. I had to laugh though, I have a similar morning routine as Mr. Khalipa that differs only as I prep coffee, wake the kids up and get them moving ect between various reps.
More of a question for you Tim, with your association with Pavel and your own experiance do you buy into Mr.Poliquin;s comments on the KB swing?
Fantastic Podcast as usual. So many nuggets for life to take away from this. A good exercise that I do with a question like this is,”what do I remember and stuck with me 24 hours later.” Away from all the emotional energy in the moment. My biggest nugget from this episode was when Jason says “I choose to look at life through glasses and not sunglasses.” Immediately going to become a mantra of mine. Again thank you for all that you choose to do.
Great podcast!
Your podcasts have been with me on my bike ride to work every day. Even on days when I feel a little meh in the beginning I end up walking to work feeling inspired and full of energy. Great guests, great talks, even some giggles. Thanks fir doing what you’re doing!
Hey Tim,
My oldest son who is 4 1/2 years old was diagnosed with leukemia last week . The same form of leukemia that Jason’s daughter has. Easily the hardest thing I’ve experienced as an adult. Hands down. Chemo started this week and our first outpatient is tomorrow.
A couple weeks prior to the diagnosis I happened to be driving back from a family trip with the kids, driving in the car on my own and listening to this podcast. As an “athlete” I loved the metaphor he mentioned about knowing your “internal why” when your back is against the ropes. I actually pulled the car over to write it down and was moved by his story. To be honest, I was more internalizing it as a way to prepare for my first Olympic distance triathlon that I have been training for the summer, rather than preparing for something like this.
I tend to write down quotes from various podcasts I listen to, much of been from your show and I never really knew when I would need to draw on some of them. A little strange this one struck a chord with me before ALL became a part of my fams life.
I just wanted to say thank you for the interesting and inspirational content.
Hi Mike, I truly hope your son is doing as well as possible! All the best to you and your family.
I feel lik the answers to questions went nowhere
eg about improving aerobic capacity… didn’t get any idea of that
His diet “I eat real food”
People with bad thoratic mobility “do the workouts but easier, slowly.”
Seems like a lot of fluff, waffling and no real good takeaways