I recently flew to New York City to attend a three day high performance lifestyle performance event. I met the founder, Brian Mazza, when he was a guest on my Midlife Male Podcast and he invited me to attend the event.
So what is a high-performance lifestyle? I've been asking myself that quite a lot lately. Who decides what high performance is? Can I excel in some areas and not in others? How do I live a high-performance lifestyle? am i there yet What work remains to be done and will I always be a work in progress striving for a high-performance lifestyle? At what point does a high-performance life actually take my foot off the gas and allow me to enjoy the simple things in life? That has to be a form of peak performance, right?
At 50, I believe that high performance is an investment and commitment to continuous improvement and growth. This is what drives me to keep trying new things, challenging myself to live my message and leading my two teenagers by example. A high-performance lifestyle means knowing and living that my best, brightest, happiest, and healthiest days are yet to come.
My new book, The Midlife Male, is based on my Midlife Male method, which I call the 6F; Family, Fitness, Finance, Fashion & Fun and helping men turn their Fs into As. So I wanted to share my 6F rating of this high-performance lifestyle training weekend.
But before I get to the actual testimony, here are a few insights and observations:
- We can do hard things. Stepping out of your comfort zone is essential to development.
- Surround yourself with people who support you and who continue to improve your life. They are everywhere. They exist and they are looking for you as much as you are looking for them. stand out there
- Each of the men and women present (41 in all) has a plan. A personal operating system and successful as such. There were all walks of life, ages, careers, differences, etc. What was common to ALL was their commitment to preparation, consistency and accountability.
- Words heard, lived and repeated throughout the weekend: Respect, Purpose, Effort, Attitude, Pride, Humility, Vulnerability, Community, Prosperity, Health, Family, Discipline.
- All simple concepts. Easy is hard. That's why most don't...
- We have choices and decisions to make every day. Make better decisions, live a better life. Again it's pretty easy.
- Physical challenges are completed by mental toughness. You can survive the cold, the lactic acid buildup, the fatigue... if you refuse to stop. It was simple advice from Marcus Luttrell that got me through the water: “Look at the guy on your left and right. He's going to suffer worse... Help these guys and you'll be fine.”
- Everything we have done, discussed and experienced can be applied to ALL areas of life. EVERYTHING is connected. How you do one thing, you do everything.
- It's all about maintaining the micro wins daily.
- Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. just keep walking
High Performance Lifestyle Training 6F Assessment
Family: All I do is set a good example for my family and especially my two boys. You don't have to be interested in the same things as me. You don't have to do the same things I do. Anything they want to achieve in life is available and I would encourage and support them to do so.
But it's important to me that my boys see that I'm outside of my comfort zone, challenging myself, not afraid to try new things, meeting new people, planning ahead, training for activities and challenges, and having an independent mind, body and spirit . In this case, I wanted to go to the HPLT in New York alone. In the future I look forward to sharing some of these experiences with my boys as they grow older. I met an amazing 58 year old lawyer from Canada who was there with his son and was inspired by him.
Kate and Harper decided they wanted to come to New York at the last minute (Auden was in Israel). I initially told them I didn't think I would have time to see them and that this was a packed itinerary, I needed to stay laser focused and wanted to enjoy the entire experience as it was laid out. But maybe it's a sign of maturity and perspective that when they got there, I was so pleased to see them that no matter how long it took, I would find a way to spend some of it with them.
Courtesy of Greg Scheinman
Fitness: This goes without question. The entire weekend consisted of significant physical fitness challenges. We woke up at 4am to be trained by Navy SEAL Ray Cash Care and Marine Steve Eckert on the beach and in the ocean at 5am. We got cold, wet, sandy, and had to carry, pull, and crawl ourselves and our partners through various activations. We formed a human chain and lay down, submerged in the 50-degree water for what seemed like quite a long time as waves smashed overhead, flutter kicks followed, and lay-day commands, turn, head back, heels up, were barked at us. We did "Murph" later that afternoon which consisted of a 1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats followed by a 1 mile run. The next morning we woke up at 7am for a 10 mile run (I never run 10 miles) led by Ken Rideout.
All of this happened within the confines of a supportive community and it was a privilege to be able to train and compete with the very best.
Finances: Financially, I approach these events and experiences as investments in myself, my family, and my future. The price for this was not cheap, but it was worth every dollar spent as it was worth ten times as much. They provided everything: meals, clothing, nutritional supplements, top speakers, coaches, panelists, facilities, and a community of like-minded people. I would also like to point out that based on what I do with Midlife Male; Thanks to the newsletter and the podcast and my coaching clients, I am now invited to such events free of charge. I collect and curate the best in class events and experiences to engage men like you and create future VIP experiences for middle aged men at events like this. I enjoy scheduling these events, budgeting for them, training for them, looking forward to them, and back-engineering how to live, operate, and fund the commitments I've made.
Meal: There were panels and seminars on nutrition from the incredible human being and trainer Jacob Zemer. Our meals were brought to us for breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the weekend. They were healthy and tasted great. They had supplements, drinks and recovery material ready for us from brands like SLATE Milk, Vital Performance, Lemon Perfect, Holistic Wellness and more. We were also treated to dinner at Dan Churchill's incredible Charlie Street restaurant. As a foodie it was amazing and Dan is an outstanding cook and athlete.
Courtesy of Greg Scheinman
Fashion: What do events like this HPLT have to do with fashion? Actually quite a lot. fashion is style Style is Confidence. Trust is achievement. Ten Thousand Gear provided outfits for all workouts throughout the weekend. Branded shorts, shirts and tank tops. We wore coordinated outfits/uniforms for all events and there was a unified atmosphere. The GoodLife Clothing company provided each of us with an amazing casual hoodie, sweatpants and shirt, and KANE Footwear had custom made HPLT NYC recovery shoes for us. It all came packed in a tactical backpack. Look good, feel good, dress well, perform well, that's the high-performance motto.
Fun: That's out of the question for me. Why would you do something like that if it's not fun? I enjoy these events. I really like this stuff. That's why I do it. Surround yourself with like-minded people who share the same goals, vision, values, athleticism, goals, processes and payoffs. It was a damn blast. And we have memories, friendships and bonds that will last a lifetime. I've been cold, wet and sandy, but I've never laughed like this. I was sore than ever and still smiling. I woke up tired and struggling to get out of bed, yet couldn't wait to go downstairs and get back to work.
Well, not everything I do is going to check all six Fs all the time and get straight A's.... But that's certainly the goal; to review as many as possible within a framework and operating system that will help you maximize your high-performance lifestyle with authenticity, intent, and purpose, and become the best version of yourself.
Greg Scheinman is a lifestyle coach, podcast host and author of the new book The Midlife Male.
