Episodios

  • Standards Over Wins: Discipline, Recovery, and Growth in Competitive Youth Sports

    Standards Over Wins: Discipline, Recovery, and Growth in Competitive Youth Sports
    Mar 3 2026

    Winning early often creates weak habits later. Veteran coach and founder of Changing the Game Project, John O'Sullivan, joins Joe De Sena to explain how coaches and parents lose athletes by lowering expectations, misusing recovery, and chasing short-term wins. They lay out simple rules for building resilient competitors, setting non-negotiable standards, and letting kids struggle without stepping in. This conversation delivers clear, experience-based guidance for developing athletes who can handle discomfort, take ownership, and perform under pressure.

    Things You Will Learn:

    • How standards drive long-term athlete development
    • Why struggle and loss are necessary for resilience
    • How parents and coaches should enforce accountability

    Tools & Frameworks Covered:

    • Standards-First Coaching: creates clarity and accountability
    • Purpose vs. Outcome Thinking: keeps development ahead of winning
    • Recovery Discipline: balances effort without lowering standards

    Resilience isn't taught through speeches. It's built through standards, repetition, and discomfort. Start there. No more excuses. Spartan.com.

    John O'Sullivan spent decades inside competitive sport as a player, coach, and team leader, experiencing firsthand the physical pressure, emotional strain, and identity challenges that shape athletes over time.

    After seeing how ego, fear, and external pressure erode performance and joy, he committed his career to rebuilding sport around discipline, purpose, and long-term development.

    His work represents three core themes: resilient leadership, mindset-driven performance, and building character through intentional struggle.

    Connect to John:

    Website: https://changingthegameproject.com
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ctgprojecthq/
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangingTheGameProject
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachjohnosullivan
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel
    Twitter/X: https://x.com/CTGProjectHQ

    We gave you the tools, now use them during your next SPARTAN RACE! Use codeword PODCAST on checkout for 10% your next race.

    👉 Find Your Next Spartan Race: https://www.spartan.com/en/race/find-race

    👉 For everything Spartan: https://www.spartan.com/ Rise and Thrive with Essentia. Don't just sleep, recover, perform, and wake up ready for anything. Essentia's certified organic Beyond Latex™ mattresses provide deep, restorative sleep without toxic chemicals, allergens, or compromises. Use code SPARTAN25 at myessentia.com.

    🎧 Listen & Subscribe:

    👉 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hard-way-with-joe-de-sena/id952870930

    👉 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1pYBkk1T684YQg7CmoaAZt

    📲 Short, Impactful Content

    👉 Instagram: @spartanuppodcast

    👉 From me directly: @realjoedesena

    The Hard Way Podcast With Joe De Sena, Hosted by Joe De Sena, founder and CEO of Spartan, this podcast delves into the principles of resilience, discipline, and the Spartan mindset. De Sena's journey from building a multimillion-dollar pool cleaning business in his teens to establishing a successful Wall Street trading firm showcases his entrepreneurial spirit. In 2001, he transitioned from finance to operate an organic farm in Pittsfield, Vermont, where his passion for endurance events like ultramarathons and adventure races flourished. This led to the creation of Spartan, aiming to inspire individuals to embrace challenges and push their limits.
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    22 m
  • Life After the Uniform: Chase Chewning on Discipline Without Orders

    Life After the Uniform: Chase Chewning on Discipline Without Orders
    Feb 24 2026
    Most people don't fall apart overnight. They drift when structure disappears. In this episode, former U.S. Army veteran, health and wellness entrepreneur, and podcast host Chase Chewning joins Joe De Sena to break down what happens when identity, purpose, and community are stripped away. Chase lays out the hard lessons from medical discharge, career-ending injury, and loss, and how discipline, ownership, and community rebuild momentum. This is a blunt conversation about resilience, daily structure, and choosing responsibility when comfort is easier. Listeners will learn how to reset after loss, why discipline beats mindset, and how to move forward without excuses. Things You Will Learn: How to rebuild identity after injury, loss, or a forced resetWhy community is required for resilience and long-term performanceHow ownership replaces motivation and keeps you moving Tools & Frameworks Covered: Ever Forward rule: move despite pain and uncertainty Community as structure: accountability when discipline slips Ownership principle: take responsibility, no matter the circumstance If this episode moved you, don't just listen. Do something about it. Sign up. Show up. Do the work. Spartan.com. No more excuses. Chase Chewning's life is a story of breaking down and rebuilding stronger. After serving six years in the U.S. Army and enduring devastating injuries that left him learning to walk twice, Chase transformed pain into purpose. Today, through his hit show Ever Forward Radio and his work in wellness and podcast education, he shares hard-earned lessons on resilience, mindset, and the power of turning struggle into strength. Connect to Chase: Website: www.chasechewning.com www.operationpodcast.com Instagram: @everforwardradio @operationpodcast We gave you the tools, now use them during your next SPARTAN RACE! Use codeword PODCAST on checkout for 10% your next race. 👉 Find Your Next Spartan Race: https://www.spartan.com/en/race/find-race 👉 For everything Spartan: https://www.spartan.com/ Rise and Thrive with Essentia. Don't just sleep, recover, perform, and wake up ready for anything. Essentia's certified organic Beyond Latex™ mattresses provide deep, restorative sleep without toxic chemicals, allergens, or compromises. Use code SPARTAN25 at myessentia.com. 🎧 Listen & Subscribe: 👉 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hard-way-with-joe-de-sena/id952870930 👉 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1pYBkk1T684YQg7CmoaAZt 📲 Short, Impactful Content 👉 Instagram: @spartanuppodcast 👉 From me directly: @realjoedesena The Hard Way Podcast With Joe De Sena, Hosted by Joe De Sena, founder and CEO of Spartan, this podcast delves into the principles of resilience, discipline, and the Spartan mindset. De Sena's journey from building a multimillion-dollar pool cleaning business in his teens to establishing a successful Wall Street trading firm showcases his entrepreneurial spirit. In 2001, he transitioned from finance to operate an organic farm in Pittsfield, Vermont, where his passion for endurance events like ultramarathons and adventure races flourished. This led to the creation of Spartan, aiming to inspire individuals to embrace challenges and push their limits.
    Más Menos
    27 m
  • Still Competing at 45: Max King on Discipline and Endurance

    Still Competing at 45: Max King on Discipline and Endurance
    Feb 17 2026

    Most people quit when progress slows. Max King kept going and got better. In this episode, two-time world champion endurance athlete Max King sits down with Joe De Sena to break down what actually sustains performance over decades. They talk about why discipline beats motivation, how putting races on the calendar removes excuses, and how managing injuries early keeps careers alive. This conversation focuses on endurance, ownership, and staying competitive long after others fade. You'll take away simple rules for training consistently, handling setbacks, and building resilience that holds up under pressure.

    Things You Will Learn:

    • How to stay competitive as others quit
    • How to use discipline instead of motivation
    • How to manage injuries without stopping

    Tools & Frameworks Covered:

    • Calendar Commitment Rule: creates accountability through fixed deadlines
    • Outlasting Approach: wins through consistency and experience
    • Early Injury Response: prevents small problems from ending progress

    Max King is an elite American endurance athlete who built his career by repeatedly choosing the hardest path, successfully competing across track, road, mountain, trail, and ultra-distance racing at a world-class level.

    From Olympic Trials and world championships to 100-kilometer suffering and iconic Fastest Known Times, his journey reflects relentless discipline, mental adaptability, and deep respect for durability over ego.

    Now he coaches the same way: build resilience, stay useful under pressure, and stay elite for life.

    Connect to Max:

    🌐 Website: https://www.maxkingtrc.com/max
    📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maxkingor
    📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/max.king.9828

    We gave you the tools, now use them during your next SPARTAN RACE! Use codeword PODCAST on checkout for 10% your next race.

    👉 Find Your Next Spartan Race: https://www.spartan.com/en/race/find-race

    👉 For everything Spartan: https://www.spartan.com/ Rise and Thrive with Essentia. Don't just sleep, recover, perform, and wake up ready for anything. Essentia's certified organic Beyond Latex™ mattresses provide deep, restorative sleep without toxic chemicals, allergens, or compromises. Use code SPARTAN25 at myessentia.com.

    🎧 Listen & Subscribe:

    👉 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hard-way-with-joe-de-sena/id952870930

    👉 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1pYBkk1T684YQg7CmoaAZt

    📲 Short, Impactful Content

    👉 Instagram: @spartanuppodcast

    👉 From me directly: @realjoedesena

    The Hard Way Podcast With Joe De Sena, Hosted by Joe De Sena, founder and CEO of Spartan, this podcast delves into the principles of resilience, discipline, and the Spartan mindset. De Sena's journey from building a multimillion-dollar pool cleaning business in his teens to establishing a successful Wall Street trading firm showcases his entrepreneurial spirit. In 2001, he transitioned from finance to operate an organic farm in Pittsfield, Vermont, where his passion for endurance events like ultramarathons and adventure races flourished. This led to the creation of Spartan, aiming to inspire individuals to embrace challenges and push their limits.
    Más Menos
    17 m
  • Discipline Before Strength: Brian Alsruhe on Mental Toughness

    Discipline Before Strength: Brian Alsruhe on Mental Toughness
    Feb 10 2026
    Pressure reveals the truth. It shows what you trained and what you avoided. In this episode, strength coach, strongman gym owner, mental conditioning coach, and licensed therapist Brian Alsruhe talks with Joe De Sena about why discipline fails before strength and how missed decisions under stress lead to quitting. They break down using physical hardship to train the mind, stacking small wins daily, and choosing discomfort to build resilience. The listener gains simple rules to perform under pressure, own outcomes, and stop making excuses. Things You Will Learn How pressure exposes weak discipline How to build mental toughness through daily discomfort How small decisions decide long-term performance Tools & Frameworks Covered Stacked Wins: build discipline through daily action Pressure Training: sharpen decision-making under stress Discomfort Practice: strengthen resilience before it's required If this episode moved you, don't just listen. Do something about it. Sign up. Show up. Do the work. Spartan.com. No more excuses. Guest Bio: Brian Alsruhe is a strength coach, strongman athlete, and founder of NEVERsate Athletics, a global community built around resilience, discipline, and personal accountability. His background in counter terrorism and his work toward a graduate degree in clinical mental health shaped his approach to physical and emotional endurance under real pressure. Brian's life represents three core themes: overcoming adversity through discomfort, using strength as a tool for transformation, and teaching people to become harder to kill in both body and mindset. Connect to Brian: Website: https://www.neversate.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neversate YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Rt7E2JVz4fPmC8AhjDoaA
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    22 m
  • Life After Service: Discipline When Orders Are Gone

    Life After Service: Discipline When Orders Are Gone
    Feb 3 2026
    When the mission ends, discipline gets exposed. What happens when the uniform comes off and no one is giving orders anymore? Former Army Airborne Infantry soldier and nonprofit founder Jonathan Milkovich joins Joe De Sena to talk about life after service, losing structure, and rebuilding standards from scratch. They cover the gap between military experience and civilian reality, why discipline must become self-directed, and how endurance training, competition, and finish lines replace lost mission and purpose. This episode delivers clear rules for ownership, structure, and performance when no one is watching. Things You Will Learn How to keep discipline when orders and structure are gone How to rebuild purpose through standards, not motivation How competition and finish lines create accountability Tools & Frameworks Covered Calendar-Based Challenges: create urgency and structure without external orders Endurance Training & Finish Lines: rebuild identity through proof of work Checklist Ownership Systems: replace motivation with repeatable discipline If this episode moved you, don't just listen. Do something about it. Sign up. Show up. Do the work. Spartan.com. No more excuses. Jonathan Milkovich is a military veteran who struggled deeply after transitioning out of service, losing the structure, identity, and sense of purpose that once defined his daily life. Through endurance racing, he rebuilt discipline, clarity, and self-belief, discovering that physical challenge could become a pathway back to meaning. That journey led him to found Operation WarriorFit, centered on purpose after service, discipline through fitness, and rebuilding identity through shared challenge. Connect to Jonathan: Website: https://www.operationwarriorfit.com/new-page-1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milkovichjonathan/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Operation-WarriorFit-61569077765518 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathangmilkovich
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    20 m
  • Training to Finish: Bronco Billy on Distance, Discipline, and Rules

    Training to Finish: Bronco Billy on Distance, Discipline, and Rules
    Jan 27 2026
    What holds when everything breaks is not motivation, talent, or hype? It's rules built under pressure. In this episode, elite ultra-endurance athlete and coach Jeff Browning, aka Bronco Billy, talks with Joe De Sena about how distance exposes weak standards and why rules, not motivation, decide who finishes. They break down hard calendars, pre-set rules, and the cost of quitting under pressure. This is a straight talk on ownership, preparation, and making clear decisions when fatigue hits. Listeners leave with simple rules they can apply immediately to training, work, and life. Things You Will Learn How setting rules in advance prevents quitting under pressure Why long distance and hard deadlines force discipline faster than motivation How finishing hard things builds repeatable resilience Tools & Frameworks Covered Hard Calendars: Force daily accountability and consistent action Pre-Set Rules: Remove emotional decision-making under fatigue Finish vs. Quit Framework: build resilience by training completion, not comfort If this episode moved you, don't just listen. Do something about it. Sign up. Show up. Do the work. Spartan.com. No more excuses. Jeff Browning, known as Bronco Billy, is one of the most durable and decorated ultrarunners on the planet. With over 200 ultras and 40+ career wins including 32 victories at the 100 - mile distance he's proof that grit, adaptability, and discipline can outlast age and adversity. From farm chores in Missouri to near-death mountain moments, Jeff's story embodies endurance through hardship, mindset mastery, and the pursuit of longevity through "the hard way." Connect to Jeff : Website: https://www.gobroncobilly.com/about-jeff-browning/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gobroncobilly
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    25 m
  • Get Off the X: A Navy SEAL on Pressure, Pain, and Action

    Get Off the X: A Navy SEAL on Pressure, Pain, and Action
    Jan 20 2026
    Pressure doesn't ask if you're ready. It hits, and most people freeze. Retired Navy SEAL officer and combat leader Jason Redman talks with Joe De Sena about Hell Week, Ranger School, combat failure, recovery, and the rule of getting off the X. They break down why thinking too long gets you stuck, why quitting in the moment is a mistake, and how discipline is built by moving first and fixing it later. The takeaway is direct: act under pressure, own the outcome, and build resilience through discomfort, not comfort. Things You Will Learn: How to act when pressure hits Why hesitation keeps you stuck How discipline is built through movement Tools & Frameworks Covered: Get Off the X: act before conditions improve Never Quit in the Moment: avoid bad decisions under stress Awareness–Preparation–Action: stay effective when plans fail If this episode hit, don't sit on it. Get off the X. Take action. Subscribe to the podcast. Follow for more hard rules. Check Spartan races, books, and resources at Spartan.com. Own the work. Jason Redman is a former U.S. Navy SEAL whose life was transformed by combat injury and near-death experience, turning that hardship into a powerful message of resilience, leadership, and human potential. After being severely wounded in Iraq and undergoing dozens of surgeries, he authored bestselling books and built a career speaking and coaching on overcoming adversity, teamwork, and mindset. His core themes: "get off the X" (moving from crisis to action), leadership under pressure, and the belief that greatness is within you regardless of circumstance. Connect to Jason: Website: https://jasonredman.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonredmanww/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasonredmanww/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-redman-b8324210/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYlcniaDl7BxOLMCn-EoXqw
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    23 m
  • What Holds Under Pressure: Ray Zahab on Endurance, Cancer, and Discipline

    What Holds Under Pressure: Ray Zahab on Endurance, Cancer, and Discipline
    Jan 13 2026
    When everything gets hard, discipline decides the outcome. This episode cuts through the noise and shows what holds when the body quits and motivation is no longer an option. Explorer, ultra-endurance athlete, and expedition leader Ray Zahab talks with Joe De Sena about surviving cancer, crossing the Arctic, disconnecting from distraction, and choosing action under pressure. A no-nonsense breakdown of ownership, resilience, and rules tested by real pressure. Things You Will Learn: How to keep moving when energy is gone and comfort is no longer available Why simple decisions outperform complex plans under pressure How repeated hardship forges real resilience through action Tools & Frameworks Covered: Stop or Go Rule: eliminates hesitation and forces commitment Calendar Discipline: enforces action before emotions interfere Discomfort as Training: conditions mental and physical endurance through exposure If this episode moved you, don't just listen. Do something about it. Sign up. Show up. Do the work. Spartan.com. No more excuses. Ray Zahab went from being a sedentary smoker to one of the world's most accomplished ultra-endurance explorers, running thousands of kilometers across the planet's harshest environments. His journey from unhealthy habits to global expeditions reveals the power of mindset shifts, resilience, and purpose-driven adventure. Through his non-profit impossible2Possible, he transforms exploration into education proving that breaking limits, physically and mentally, can empower others to do the extraordinary. Connect to Ray: Website: https://zachbitter.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachbitter YouTube: https://zachbitter.com/hpo
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    18 m