You Can’t Out Exercise A Bad Diet | Dan G. | Better Man Podcast Ep. 159

Dean Pohlman: Hey guys, it’s Dean. Welcome to the Better Man Podcast days. Interview is an episode with Dan. Dan has been a member of man flow yoga for a few years now. In the last year, he has lost 45 pounds. We talk about how he did that. We talk about how intermittent fasting had a role in that. We talk about how mental yoga helped him to continue to be able to do the workouts he’s enjoyed doing for decades, including martial arts.

Dean Pohlman: And this was just a great conversation with a guy who’s really in kind of our sweet spot. In terms of age. He’s 59 now. And a great example of a guy who is continuing to do what he wants to do physically for as long as possible to be around for his kids, his grandkids. And he knows what he doesn’t want to be.

Dean Pohlman: He knows he doesn’t want to end up like some of the people, in his family who have gotten older and haven’t been able, to do those things or, in his words, just kind of sit there but not able to do anything. So I hope you enjoyed this conversation. I hope it inspires you. And, here we go.

Dean Pohlman: Hey guys, it’s Dean. Welcome to the Better Man podcast. Today I’ve got Dan here to talk about his experience with, getting healthier and getting back into shape. And Dan, thank you for being here.

Dan G: Yeah, thanks for having me.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. So Dan is, Dan is a fellow Wisconsin. Wisconsin. I guess I can kind of call myself a Wisconsin. I spent a few years there. Got a bunch of family there, but, you’re based in what part?

Dan G: That I’m right now. It’s, I’m about 70 miles west of Madison in Fenimore, Wisconsin.

Dean Pohlman: Okay. Yeah. Awesome. Cool.

Dan G: And I’m originally a Minnesota guy, but moved over here then. Okay. I’m living over here now for, I don’t know, 15 years, I suppose.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. Minnesota and and, and Wisconsin have a very, very lax border policy. There’s a lot of. Yeah. You know, I.

Dan G: Crossed some over.

Dean Pohlman: Yes. And being, in Wisconsin, you know, once or twice a year, I understand how challenging it can be to live a healthy lifestyle. It’s cold. So you don’t want to go outside. The only, available vegetables are pickles. Mostly it’s cheese and carbs. And so every time I go, I’m like, you know, I tell to my family, I’m like, can we we need we need like, meat.

Dean Pohlman: We need like, meat without cheese and carbs right now. Is there just like a meat or like, where’s the vegetable section? And there’s like this tiny little vegetable section.

Dan G: Even the vegetables have cheese on them. I think so.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah, exactly. So for you, what was what was your oh shit moment? When did you realize that, you know, it was time for a change?

Dan G: Yeah, when I saw that question, it was one of those. Which one? You know, I think there’s just there’s again, there’s, you know, at 59 years old, I’m not you know, I’m not I got the years left. But you got a few of them over the years. And first one was a while ago. I was my most recent one.

Dan G: It was in January of this year. I was asked to go take a picture with the taekwondo guys that I’ve been working out with and hadn’t been in the gym for a while, and they sent me that. We had some new certificates or something, and they sent me the picture a couple hours later and I was like, who’s that guy?

Dan G: I mean, I knew it was me, but I’m like, what’s going on with this guy over here? And I’m like, I hadn’t stepped on a scale in a while. And I went and stepped on a scale. And it was a, unfortunate, like, career high weight. It was ridiculous. And I didn’t really know it, you know, kind of it, if it can sneak up on you.

Dan G: That’s what happened. And it was like, I can’t be running around at 311 pounds, put it that way. So it was one of those things where I got to change something and how it’s how it works. You still doing a bunch of stuff and you know, thinking I was doing okay, but the weight was just kind of coming on.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. How old were you when that happened?

Dan G: 59. I mean, I was 58. I turned 59 in August of this year. So that was 58 years old. And, you know, coming off, I was doing man flow, yo. I was doing a lot of things. And I think with this whole thing, you know, life has a way of, you running down the road feeling good.

Dan G: And then all of a sudden he had hit right in the gut or hit right in the head, and that’s it. You know, you got to make some make some choices and some changes.

Dean Pohlman: So, yeah. So what, what initially got you started with Mantle Yoga?

Dan G: That goes back, I believe it’s 2021. When I started, I was coming off of a hip labrum issue that I had, in my left hip, and that was causing me a lot of it was immobility. You know, I wasn’t mobile. I was sitting around kind of feeling sorry for myself a little bit, had a medically diagnosed, and they said there was not a lot they could do for it at the moment.

Dan G: And I just needed something to help me regain some flexibility just from a mobility standpoint. I saw your stuff online. I think it was on YouTube, and I just hit hit a couple of workouts and I liked it, and I signed up and took off from there. It was. It’s been something that’s helped me a great deal.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. So when you first got started, you tried a couple of the workouts out on YouTube. What, what what enabled you to, to keep going and what kind of what did you notice in those first couple of workouts?

Dan G: So I first of all, I like this beer style. You know, it’s it’s you sold me on the, you know, it’s yoga without the spirituality and all that stuff. But, you know, it was one of those things that just how your presentation caught my eye. I got into the videos where you kind of carry us through and take us through to make sure we’re doing it correctly.

Dan G: I appreciated that, and then it just worked. I could tell right away, you know, it wasn’t like day one stuff, but I I’ve done yoga for a long time, but in different ways and different times. But this this really hit the spot. It was something that I thought, well, I can, I can, I can hang out with this guy.

Dan G: You know, he doesn’t know me, but I can get on a camera and it’s pleasant. You take us through and it’s tutorial. And I just really appreciated that. And that’s what kept me going.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. And then in terms of being able to stay consistent, it was just did you enjoy the workouts or like where you’re noticing the results and that kept you going or what did you what do you think helped you keep going when it when it got challenging initially?

Dan G: Yeah, I guess from my history of the yoga, I know it can be very challenging physically and I wanted that in, but it was in a way that I wasn’t in a weight room throwing around weights or whatever, the hard core. It was challenging myself in a good way that I know was healthy if you do it right.

Dan G: And I just appreciated the flexibility of what you offer from various ten minute sessions to, you know, you get into some of the fixes or a little over an hour. That’s what I like. And I and I really enjoyed that. And I could tell physically that it was challenging enough and I could just feel it working. It just was one of those things that I knew it was the right, right place to be.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. So after you had been consistent for for a few months, what other well, the results did you start to notice? I’m curious. Like first month. It sounds like you started. You were enjoying the workouts. It sounded like you were starting to move a little bit better. You felt the results. What what what happened is you kept being consistent.

Dan G: Yeah. So with the hip, there was a left labrum, hip labrum issue. I could tell that was it was helping build more strength around it and build up that the muscles in the hip and then the flexibility in the hip. That relief alone was enough to come back. Initially when I started, I lost a few pounds. Right.

Dan G: I thought that was cool. And again, it’s not a weight room workout, but it is body weight. And I could just tell from just how I felt. It wasn’t so much what you what you could see, but I could just feel it was working. And that’s what drove me. You know, you got the hip kind of going the right way where I wanted it to be in it.

Dan G: I just figured it was the beginning of something that would help me do other things that I had stopped doing.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. So, yeah, I remember I think I remember hearing your story, I remember hearing, seeing, posting me in the community or something, and, it sounded like you were it sounded like you had just maybe your idea before was that you’re just like, nah, I’m just I’m just old now, and this is just how my body feels.

Dean Pohlman: And this is just. And it seemed like it was like, almost like to me, it seemed like a light bulb moment to you, like, oh, I just need to do the right exercises or I just need to do the right things. And now I can keep do it because you’re you also. I mean, you do other workouts to use this.

Dean Pohlman: This isn’t just, you know.

Dan G: Yeah, I’m a second degree black belt taekwondo. I did martial arts. Yeah. I’ve, I’ve trained in that for quite a while. I like to like, go home rowing. You don’t have a whole rower at home. I got a bike and I do the total gym, that kind of stuff. So that’s always been part of what I’ve done. That’s one of the frustrating things about it.

Dan G: But yeah, go back to just before getting into for yoga, I kind of at a, I called a crossroads because I was sitting there thinking, yeah, my hips injured, but maybe this is just what old age feels like. I’m already. Yeah, not throw in the towel on life, but throw in the towel and there wasn’t anything out there that I could do that was going to change what was happening to me.

Dan G: You know, I was this is where old age is. Figure it out and deal with it for whatever reason. But I don’t even remember the first one I looked at on your workouts. But you you reference something that hit and hit home, and I was like, well, let’s let’s take a look at this. This has to be something that will get me going the right way.

Dan G: And it did just happen to work out that way. So yeah, it was I was ready to say at 58, you know, this is all and I was and it’s not. So I, I kind of I pulled off a lot of other things I had done in my life, including the, the martial arts training, some of the background, other positions that I’ve had in other jobs I’ve had, and mental toughness kind of thing, and challenge myself to figure out how to turn it around in your program.

Dan G: Came across the right time?

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. So do you, you know, so is is your motivation not wanting to you know, I’m I’m just I’m curious what’s your motivation like have you thought through that or do you recognize like when you’re struggling to be, you know, when you’re when you when you don’t want to do your workout but you know, it’s time to do your workout?

Dean Pohlman: Or maybe you’re thinking back to how you felt before you started doing manual yoga and you weren’t confident in your ability to be able to continue exercising past 58. Like, what’s your what’s your motivation for for showing up and doing your workouts?

Dan G: Yeah, it’s it’s kind of evolved over time. The first one was simply just get back and being mobile so I could do other things. And if I don’t do mental yoga, that hip pain comes back within a couple of weeks. I can feel though, you know, there’s a lack of that, that mobility, that kind of recovery workout stage where it’s not as challenging as maybe something else.

Dan G: But if I don’t do that stuff, I start feeling it and then as it work for me and as I felt like I was getting stronger and just more mobile and being able to do more stuff, it kind of opens up the playbook, so to speak, where I started looking like, hey, I want to be that guy that set a family function.

Dan G: You know, I got a son that’s getting married in next July. I don’t want to be that guy that’s sitting in a chair going like, he can’t really do much. He’s just here, you know? And the guy was thinking, like, grandkids. My oldest son, they’re expecting this this April. So I mean, all that stuff kind of plays into it.

Dan G: And, you know, again, as as you get into it, life has a way of kicking you in the ass and you got to make decisions if you want to be part of it or you want to just stand on the side and watch. So I want to be involved and be active.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. Do you have anybody in your family who you can think of specifically who’s like that guy who’s there but can’t can’t do anything?

Dan G: Yeah. I had, my, a couple Graham both of my grandpa’s were a little bit like that. One of them, I learned from it. He was in his 70s when he decided that was enough. He’s done. He’s old. You know, that that whole mentality. And I didn’t want to be that, my other grandfather was physically had some challenges through the course of his life that he just didn’t want to do much with it.

Dan G: So it was two of those guys that I, you know, loved the both of them. Then, you know, love them. But it was one of those things where he learned, you know, I don’t want to I don’t want to take that approach as I get older. And again, go back to was 55, or maybe it’s setting in on me earlier than them and that’s where I’m at.

Dan G: So I was just on this whole battle internally with myself and figured out a way to pull it out.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. So you’ve been doing taekwondo. Are you also doing are you also doing strength training?

Dan G: Yeah, I do some, you know, I got some dumbbells at home and I do the total gym and I go just like a 30 minute workout with that a couple times a week and that kind of stuff. And I’ve kind of backed off on the martial arts, and I’ve stuck with just cardio. I got a bike that we hit, my wife and I hit the bike trails.

Dan G: We like to ride, you know, that way. So if I do say busy with other things.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. So have you been have you always been consistent with fitness or on and off with fitness or what’s kind of your, you know, what’s been your history with or what’s been your pattern with fitness through your adult life?

Dan G: Yeah, I guess from an early age I’ve always worked out being in the gym was never really the problem. I think, you know, you look at go back to diet now on the other side of that whole thing is you can work on all day long, but if you’re not eating the right stuff for the right amounts, that can cause problems.

Dan G: And that’s where that’s what got me. And then, you know, if I if I jump to this year, you know, I went into this intermittent fasting, you know, it kind of rebooted the whole thing, this thing, and stay on it. I dropped 37 pounds. Oh, wow. I was really good. Went to the doctor, you know, a normal checkup, and she was going to give me that.

Dan G: You know, I’m thinking I’m gonna get this new clean bill of health. Everything is rock and roll weights, good blood pressure’s down, all this stuff, and she’s like, all that stuff is good, but your blood sugar, for some reason, is spiked. You’re type two diabetic. And I was eating right. I know it was weird. It came on fast.

Dan G: And she’s like, we gotta put you on medication for that. It wasn’t insulin. You know? I didn’t have to do that route, thank goodness. But, you know, I was at a anyone see a like 11.6 or something like that. I was crazy. And then by August of this year, I got that down under. It’s like 6.2. And that’s mostly with carbs.

Dan G: Recognizing what I’m eating more, I, you know, I just stay away from the traditional, like the cookies and ice cream and all that. Stay away from that. But there was more of that, more to it than that. And I was a little naive in that way, thinking I knew what I was doing, and it was kind of biting me in the rear end.

Dan G: So I figured out, yeah, I’m just saying we want some of the carbs and that kind of stuff.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. So where are you and your weight loss right now? You were at 311. That was.

Dan G: Yeah, I was I’m at 276 today, you know. So I gained a couple pounds back. But I think some of that had to do with being diagnosed with type two. I had to kind of rebalance some stuff out wasn’t. Yeah they didn’t. They kind of discouraged me a little bit. On the intermittent fasting. They said you might want to try the three balanced with a couple snacks to kind of maintain a healthy blood sugar.

Dan G: And yeah, you know, I was talking to my wife just before this saying, I’m coming on with you. It’s a good time to, you know, recommit and get back on that, lose a few more pounds. So that’s another that’s kind of the next phase for me is to get back into it and see if I can drop another.

Dan G: I got another 2,025 pounds that I could drop easily, I think. No, not easy, but my body can definitely shred it. Shred it. Yeah.

Dean Pohlman: I mean you did 20, 25, 11. You did over 35 pounds and.

Dan G: Yeah.

Dean Pohlman: In a year. That’s that’s pretty amazing man. I think any time someone loses 5 pounds is significant. So I mean, you know, 10 pounds, 20 pounds.

Dan G: My doctor and I had a long talk about that because that intermittent fasting started in January. You know, I get diagnosed with the type two. And then she was kind of asking me some questions, whether that had something to do with the weight loss, you know, kind of accidentally or whatever. So it might have been a little of that, but most of it, the intermittent fasting, I was pretty strict on that.

Dan G: You know, the 16 eight is what I was doing. Yeah. And she thought, based on what I explained to her, it was mostly that that caused the weight loss. And like we caught it just at the right time. It probably had been going on for some time, she thought, and then just not diagnosed correctly. So got lucky there.

Dan G: But yeah man, you know, again staying steady on the mat has helped me. I like the challenges. You know, the I like your community challenges. Those are awesome.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah the community challenges are a lot of fun. And so it’s just just clarifying for people, who are listening in and thinking like, oh, intermittent fasting. That’s this is something that like, I, I’ve, I’ve talked a lot within our community and fasting is probably I think if you’re over 50 and you’re not, you know, training like an athlete.

Dean Pohlman: I think I have it in fasting is probably something that most guys should be, should be doing. Just metabolism slowing down. And, the benefits of giving your body a break from food. So intermittent 16 eight. So that means that you are that means 16 hours you are not eating or 16 hours you are eating.

Dan G: Yeah. My my like my eating windows. Noon date, you know, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.. And I try to shut it down after that and drink water, you know, if you need something. But yeah, it’s it really help me understand. I was scared to try it at first. I’m think I’m a three square guy, you know that, how am I going to survive and, you know, do not literally starve to death.

Dan G: But that year, I thought, is I’m going to be hungry all the time. And you just learned it, you know, drink a lot of water, drink, you know, find the right stuff. It helps me. I sleep better, all kinds of stuff. It helps the whole from starting, you know, A to Z in health. It helps me a lot.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. And that’s that. Well that’s my kind of my next question is like, you know, you started so what was the order of you starting then for yoga or starting intermittent fasting. What what came what came first starting then for yoga happen first around the yoga.

Dan G: It’s 2021. Intermittent fasting was January of 2025.

Dean Pohlman: Okay, it’s not until.

Dan G: I kind of competed with myself there for a while that I can do three squares and then still get going, but it wasn’t working.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. So what are the other, what are some other improvements? You know, we’ve this is a that we’ve seen within, you know, our community is like, you know, people start doing one thing, they’re successful at that. And kind of the mentality then becomes instead of like dreading doing different healthy activities, that kind of the mentality becomes like, oh, what else can I do?

Dean Pohlman: And so I’m curious for you, like, what are some other improvements that you’ve that this has led into, you’re making in your overall health and wellness?

Dan G: Yeah, I was able to get me back on my bike. I was for a while there. I stayed off because my hip hurt and all that kind of stuff. It built that strength. I really enjoy going out and my wife and I usually hit like a 20 mile ride on a trail bike. You know that it’s it’s a couple, you know, a couple of hours for us to go out there and enjoy it.

Dan G: And it’s a good way to burn a few extra calories and work the lower body a little bit. It helped me get back on that. Golfing. I’m not really good at it, but I had gotten away from it again. But it did provided me an opportunity to go out there and, you know, try to not hit somebody on the golf course with there.

Dan G: It was a yeah, it’s that kind of stuff. And then. Yeah, I think too, it’s, it’s helped my mood. It’s helped my overall perspective on different things in life. You know, it just helps open up a lot a lot of doors, a lot of windows that way. And you’re just you’re mentally sharper. You got the energy that you need and then kind of whatever’s whatever’s out there, you’re you’re willing and ready to try stuff that comes up.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah, I have a, have a, I have an unrelated but kind of related question is, you know, I’m, I talked about Wisconsin, earlier in this interview, and I talked about how it’s hard to, you know, do fitness in winter, like, how do you how do you stay consistent with your workouts in the winter when it’s, you know, when it’s freezing, when it’s dark, when you don’t want to go outside at all?

Dean Pohlman: How do you keep you know. Yeah. How do you keep up.

Dan G: That for me? I spend a lot of time on my home gym. I always I’ve always wanted to have the stuff there. I had, you know, burned out on the gym years ago when I was on the road a lot in a different life when I was doing something else. But always in a club, always in a gym.

Dan G: I kind of got burned out with that. So I have, you know, I’m looking behind you to set up for the yoga. I try to have a home gym. I have my bike in my rower and my total gym there. It gets lighter, dark. I go and turn the lights on and get going. Yeah. And that’s that’s where I go.

Dan G: And that says, I have a sign in there. It says therapy. And that’s basically what that is for me is even when I was putting on weight, I would still get down there and work out. So that’s never been the thing. But and now adding to the diet with the exercise and it’s going full circle so I can yeah, I get myself down there, you know, 4 or 5 times a week okay.

Dean Pohlman: That’s great. So how has you know, I, I think this is a really important part. And some people have had great experience with this and other people have not. But in terms of you being it would be successful with your fitness. It’s super important that your partner is if he or she is at least not on board, then they’re, you know, at least I don’t know, supportive instead of weirdly belittling.

Dean Pohlman: So how has how has your wife helped you with your overall fitness journey or what’s that?

Dan G: Oh, yeah, for me, Don Don’s been a lot of help. Not that I have a cook, but she does. She. She eats very healthy, and she’s always. And not in a belittling way, but always reminding me that a, you know, a salads is probably better for you than this. You know, try and very supportive with the time in the gym.

Dan G: You’d hit on it here recently with something about giving time with the family. You know, there’s as much as you dedicate to the working out that hit home with me too, because with Don, Donna was a swimmer, has been a swimmer her whole life. So she goes in the pool and swims a mile plus mile, maybe two crazy, crazy distances.

Dan G: But I’ve always appreciated her, her enjoyment of fitness. You know, she jumps on the bike with me and we go. And it’s always been kind of a partnership that way. And and she, you know, doesn’t give me that fuzzy eye at all when I put something else in the gym downstairs so she, you know, it’s good something to keep you motivated and keep you going.

Dan G: She’s been supportive that way. So yeah, she’s always whatever I’m doing. She’s always there supporting me. And I appreciate that a lot.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. Do you guys do polar plunges on New Year’s polar plunges?

Dan G: No, I haven’t done that. She has done man for yoga with me though. She has she has jumped in on that a little bit. So she’s. Yeah she buys into that.

Dean Pohlman: All right. Cool, cool. Have there any anything else that’s been in terms of external support systems or communities as there than anything else that’s been really helpful for you, along your fitness journey.

Dan G: You know, again, to plunder the you know, I’m not intentionally doing this, but it’s helped me a lot is the yoga community, you know, the find out that there’s guys out there that their stories blow me away. It’s impressive. And you kind of feel I feel honored to be part of the group that you’re, you know, they’re just listening to your stuff.

Dan G: And then providing some feedback. But there’s some guys that are doing some crazy, incredible things. That’s helped me a lot and say, like, you know, if you ever feel too proud of what you’re doing, there’s always another guy out there I can challenge you to to maybe find something else, to go harder at, work harder at. But that that’s helped me a lot.

Dan G: And then just being around my friends, the guys that are in the taekwondo community and the things that we do there together, that’s always helped me. They’re always encouraging everyone that’s involved and stay healthy and and, you know, stay fit. So that’s part of it.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. Awesome. So what’s the next thing you want to work on. Your fitness.

Dan G: Yeah. For me again it’s to restart that weight loss. Then you know just consistency. You know I’m continue to to work at getting you know knowledge you know continue to try to absorb as much as I can about the body. Yeah. Your workouts help me with that. You’re very good at explaining. You know, for me it’s my calf muscle.

Dan G: You break it down and give us the official terms of what we’re doing. I appreciate all that stuff, but for me, it’s just to continue the journey and. And to get better at what I’m doing to stay healthy. You know, I want to get what they say. The odds of people that get on the medication for type two to get off it is I want to be one of those guys that they can say, hey, you’re no longer on.

Dan G: It’s metformin. I’ll just share that. But you’re no longer on it. You know, you’re you’re good, you’re good to go. So that’s a, a goal for health for me is to get off that and just be in that normal blood blood glucose, blood sugar range.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. Yeah. Well, it sounds like you’re doing the right things. And obviously you have a different mindset than many people who ended up in that, in that position. So anyways, I’m interested in continuing to hear about your journey in the community and hopefully one day sooner, whenever that is, you’ll make that. You’ll share that, hey, I’m off meds now.

Dan G: Yeah, yeah, it’s cool. You know, I again, I think our conversation started here recently about neuro your, your in person sessions that that’s a that’s a goal. I want to get to one. And I think that again I think the one I was looking at was an April grandchild. It’s coming about that same time. So I can’t really tap into that.

Dan G: But I do want to make it to one of those. And I will see you guys in person, because I do appreciate guys like Jesse. I had my first, was Patrick yesterday. I actually logged in a lot my mental yoga kind of accidentally at the time that his, his, discussion came up on transitions, and I stayed on and tuned in, and it was awesome.

Dan G: It was. Yeah. Yeah. That’s so that’s really good. So I really appreciate the whole man flow yoga community. The your guides, your, your team. And it’s been awesome.

Dean Pohlman: So yeah I appreciate that. Yeah. We’ve got some we’ve got some great coaches. And we are trying to do more events. So be on the lookout for those. Yeah. Yeah. The main cities we’re looking at for 2026 Boston, New York, Atlanta, Seattle. We’ve already got a Denver one set up, but, but yeah, we’re trying to hit trying to hit more areas this year.

Dean Pohlman: So yeah, hopefully, I.

Dan G: Think it’s cool just to hear that because you know, that, you know, everybody from, they’re all from all over the place, all different walks of life. They’re all getting involved in their flow yoga, and they’re out there. So it’s it’s cool.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah, yeah. We do have a wide range of guys. It’s not just one type which makes marketing really hard. But yeah, it’s great. It’s great that we have, lots of different guys. All right. So let’s, let’s go on to our rapid fire section. You ready for that?

Dan G: Yeah.

Dean Pohlman: Okay, cool. What’s the one habit, belief or mindset that has helped you the most with your overall health and wellness?

Dan G: I think the mindset it’s it’s been on and off throughout the years, but you kind of reboot it again in January. Was you can’t let yourself get in a bad spot with your health. I mean, you just you got to stay on it. And to me, it’s it’s been kind of a little bit of a roller coaster. Maybe your, your ride and it’s, it’s like you got a, you don’t have many more times to redo it.

Dan G: Right. You reach a certain point and you know, I want to keep playing that game where you’re you’re healthy, then you’re not and you’re bouncing around. So for me, it’s that mindset has changed again recently. And I want to stick on. It is just stay healthy. You stay committed. It’s easier to do that than it is to rebound again.

Dan G: You know. So that’s where I’m at.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. You know maybe think of an unscripted question I’m going to start. Have to start asking us what’s your what’s your Achilles heel like with health. What’s the one thing that like derails you?

Dan G: It’s probably from a food stamp. Maybe ice cream.

Dean Pohlman: Ice cream? Yeah.

Dan G: Ice cream. Man, it’s hard to say no to ice cream.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. All right, that’s fair. All right, next question. What’s the one thing that you do for your health that is often overlooked or undervalued by others?

Dan G: For me, it’s it’s always been, my deep tissue massage. Yeah, I massage in general. It’s, it’s something that a lot of people think is weird or whatever. But if you’re going into it thinking it’s for your health, it does open up. You mean it? It does a lot for you. I mean, but not in a mall of all places.

Dan G: It was a Chinese deep tissue massage game that I. I’ll I’ll fly in to go see him if I have to because he does some crazy stuff and it but it does it it relieves a lot of tension and it helps you recover. And I think a lot of guys would, if they’re not doing it, if they started, they would appreciate that.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. I’m glad you mentioned that. That’s something that I end up mentioning to a lot of people that I talk with is try to do more, try to get more massage, try to find a good massage therapist who’s not just going to help you immediately, but also kind of educate you and tell you like, hey, your calves are really tight and so this is what you should do to help with that.

Dean Pohlman: And then if you can’t get to a massage, then also, you know, fitting in, like getting a vibrating phone or getting a phone or getting lacrosse balls, getting, you know, mobility tools, one that I just got that I’m using a lot, experimenting a lot with right now. It’s called a rapid release. It’s pricey, but it is, it’s amazing.

Dean Pohlman: So anyways, random other stuff. What’s the most stressful part of your day to day life?

Dan G: Well, I think the most common answer is, is work related? And it goes into the Patrick discussion, the transition I took on a different position with a different company. So that’s no longer stressful. It’s fun. You know, for me, I get recently it’s again it’s stress as far as like, hey, I want to be healthier that that part of it.

Dan G: There’s a lot of things I do like again, man, flow yoga helps me take some of that pressure off and it’s there. Use it. I mean it, you know, it makes it less stressful. So for me, it’s making sure you’re continuing to do the right things.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. All right. And last question. What’s your best piece of advice for men who want to be healthier?

Dan G: Don’t put it off. Don’t wait. You know, I know I spent a lot of years people were telling me to, like, get my 30s and and maybe even early 40s, like, hey, you guys, you should probably watch what you’re doing and you know, you’re going to pay for a later kind of thing. I’m like, you know, I don’t know if I thought I was indestructible or not, but it does get you here.

Dan G: So, you know, like you said, you’re in not only your upper 30s or whatever, but I wouldn’t sit around and wait to try to start being healthy. Get on it early and stay on it.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. All right. Cool. Well, Dan, I want to thank you for doing the interview. And then I also want to just personally thank you for all of your contributions to our community. I say this a lot, but, I mean, if we didn’t have all the individuals that contribute to that and the, to the depth and career that they do, it wouldn’t be a community.

Dean Pohlman: So, you do a lot. So I just want to say thank you for all that you post and share and interact with the community.

Dan G: Yeah, I appreciate that. That format, it’s a safe space, a safe place. You know, it’s you can be you can be vulnerable. Open yourself up there and you don’t you don’t get the shots. And if you filter that stuff and yeah, somebody’s doing that. They do a great job because everybody that’s ever responded to me, it’s always been helpful and and very professionally, you know, done as far as the response.

Dan G: So always can shots at me. And you feel safe there.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. You know shockingly we have not we hardly do any moderation. The only moderation that we have to do sometimes is people do flex Friday photos and they don’t put on enough clothing. So that’s like, that’s the has the only thing that we really have to, be on the lookout for. But as far as people supporting one another, I agree with you.

Dean Pohlman: I think it’s really cool that it isn’t just a, you know, sack up response when people talk about things that they’re going through. It’s like, hey, that sounds really hard. You know, it’s not like, because most of the time with a lot of those things, we’re not we’re not really looking for advice. We’re just looking to say, hey, man, this is just really hard.

Dean Pohlman: And I wanted to be able to share that somewhere where I feel supported as opposed to, you know, well, the solution for that is to stop complaining and do the thing. You know, it’s like, great. I knew that myself. I didn’t need you to tell me that. And now I don’t want to talk with you.

Dan G: Yeah. No, it’s it is that that’s the one thing that everybody has in common are the couple things is the journey and the grind. Right. Everybody has that going. There are situations are different. But that and you can appreciate what people are going through. And I just appreciate guys that are open enough to be on there and be honest with everybody.

Dan G: And it’s pretty cool. Yeah.

Dean Pohlman: Yeah. Do you have that? I’m just curious for you, do you have friends like that in real life or is this like, is it different in the community or.

Dan G: Yeah, I’ve got some friends that I can open and, you know, a handful and you feel like you, you know, the older you get, you got a handful of guys that you could talk to about anything. But I think with this community, you know, the again, we have the other piece in common and some of these other guys that I worked or would talk to don’t do yoga kind of thing.

Dan G: So I mean that that’s the that’s the separator there. But I’ve actually tried to get a few guys to, to join and use things, and I don’t know if they did or not. But, you know, I said you got to try this, it’s going to work. But again, the idea I’m lucky enough to have a handful of guys that I can reach out to.

Dan G: But again, this community, yeah, I haven’t met any of the guys in person, you know, and it’s almost like you have, which I think is cool. And you can, you know, you, you know, you have that in common in that respect is already there are lights might be way different, you know, when we’re sitting next to each other.

Dan G: But when you’re on that community, we all got one goal and we’re all working towards that. You know?

Dean Pohlman: Yeah, yeah. All right. Cool. Well then thanks again for your time. I appreciate it. Appreciate everything you do for mental yoga. Yeah. Guys, listening in. I hope you guys enjoyed this interview. I hope it inspires you to be a better man. I’ll see you guys on the next episode. Yeah. Thanks. Yeah. Thank you. All right, guys, I hope you enjoyed this conversation.

Dean Pohlman: If you have found this podcast helpful, don’t forget to leave a review. You can do that on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. We also have video versions of the podcast on the Betterment Podcast YouTube channel, as well as AD Free and the Mental Yoga app, and members area. If you’re thinking about joining our community, you can learn more at Mental yoga.com/join.

Dean Pohlman: We also have a free seven day challenge to introduce you to the workouts and see if you actually like them. You can sign up for that at Mandalay yoga.com/7 the number seven DC. That’s it guys. Hopefully you enjoyed this podcast. More on the way. More member conversations, more expert interviews. Thank you for being here. And, I hope this inspires you to be a better man.

Dean Pohlman: Until next time.

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