#33 World Champion At Age 23... What Now? with Trofym ANDERSON

#33 World Champion At Age 23... What Now? with Trofym ANDERSON

Athlete Case Study: Rower for George Washington University; 3 High school National Championships; Winner of 2 Canadian Henleys; 2014 World Champion at coxed four; Under 23 senior Developmental Team for Canada

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March 12, 2015

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BACKGROUND

On today’s show, Trofym will tell us about his journey from where we was as a young kid, to how he got to where he is now. He will share his experiences as an “obese” young boy who was pushed to the limit at an early age and became an elite rower and received multiple scholarship offers from the United States. He explains WHY he decided to compete and receive and education in the US instead of staying home in Canada. We will get many lessons from today’s episode as Trofym expresses the importance of Never giving up and always making sure you are “10x better.”

BIO

• Born, Trofym Anderson, from Ontario, Canada.

• Trofym grew up as an only child.

• Started rowing in the 9th grade; eventually transferred schools and rowed for the best high school in Canada, E.L Crossley High School; has won a total of 3 high school Championships; has won 2 Canadian Henleys; was 7th in the men’s 8 at the 2010 Junior World Championships.

• Received Scholarship offers from the University of California, British Columbia, and George Washington, which is where he attended and received his bachelor's degree in Business

• Finished 5th in the men's coxed four at the 2013 Under 23 World Championships; Won the 2014 World Championship at coxed four

• He is now preparing to get a shot at the next Olympics with the Canadian Under 23 Senior Development Team

• Currently working on masters degree in Sports Management; has done research at the last 2 Olympics; desires of working with the International Olympic Committee in Switzerland

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PERSONAL QUOTE:
“You always gotta make sure you are 10x better than the next guy.”
-John Ruscitti

Key Mentors in his life:

• John Ruscitti: His high-school coach that pushed him through and helped him overcome the adversity of being an undersized rower

• His Uncle Harry (ex-NHL Player): Trofym was obese at an early age and his uncle got him up early in the mornings at 5am and pushed him to the limit

Key Discussion Points:

• When was one of your biggest struggles?

• When was your lightbulb moment?

• When was your proudest moment in life so far?

• Why did you choose to go to a US college over a Canadian College?

Key Lessons:

• You can change if you want to, its all about taking that first step

“My biggest lesson was just never giving up no matter what.” TA @ 16:12

• Nothing ever comes easy, you have to work hard always

• We don’t always know our talents or what we are good at until we branch out and try different things

• Sometimes we need to stop what we are doing, look at our situation and ask ourselves what we are willing to do to get what we truly want

“It was that day that I said...‘I gotta stop what I’m doing. I gotta revamp everything, I gotta look at my training..I gotta get a strict week program..I needed to get serious with my training..it all started there.” TA @ 24:19

• Once we make the decision to make a positive change, we should never look back

• If you’re serious about whatever you’re doing, demand more of yourself, put a plan together, and associate yourself with the best

• Winning at the highest level comes with struggle and obstacles along the way

“It’s not because we won, but its because during the 9 years to get there, there were just so many obstacles and so many miserable days.” TA @ 27:15

• Having a champion like mindset means you know you can always push to be better

• When choosing a school for your sport, it's important to think about what you truly want out of it

“In trying to choose where I wanted to go… ‘ do I want to go to a massive, already established team, and maybe be the guy that helps continue to make the team as good as it is..or do I want to come to a smaller team at George Washington..take them from the absolute bottom, to now finishing 14th in the country last year.” TA @ 36:51

• If we stay in our comfort zone, we will stay where we are; you have to get a little uncomfortable in order to improve

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TROFYM’S TIP JAR

What is the best advice you have ever received?
Nothing is impossible

One thing you like to do when you come to a new arena to compete?
Walk around really slow and look at everything, become comfortable with the area

Sleep & Morning ritual:
In bed by 9 or 10pm, wake up at 5am, stare out the window..check my phone, 2 shots of espresso; 20 minutes to get ready, bike to practice, 20 minutes of core stretching; row for 90min-2hours; get home and have breakfast. “Maximize your day by starting early.” -TA

One way you’d like to improve yourself as a person?
Reading more and further educate myself

One tip on how to live a little bit healthier?
Planning; writing down a weekly plan on Sundays

Knowing everything you know now and having all the resources now available (ESS, Beyond Athletic Podcasts, Mentors), if you had a do over, what would you do differently?
I would have started rowing the single earlier; challenged myself as it was something that I always avoided

INFO

Past/Current Teams:
Current: George Washington University Men’s Rowing; also Under 23 Men’s Canadian Team
Past: Canadian Junior National Rowing Team

Mentioned:
Ontario, Canada
Canada
E.L Crossley High School
Canadian Henleys
2010 Junior World Championships.
University of California
British Columbia
George Washington
2013 Under 23 World Championships
2014 World Championship
Olympics
Under 23 Senior Development Team
Sports Management
International Olympic Committee in Switzerland
John Ruscitti
George Washington University Men’s Rowing
Under 23 Men’s Canadian Team
Canadian Junior National Rowing Team

Resources:
Tim Ferriss; Speed Reading
Audible.com

 

Follow Trofym:
Twitter

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Parting Pieces of Wisdom

"10x better, that’s the way you gotta approach everything, this goes for any sport...even if you’re in a sport that doesn’t require as much cardio or is more technique based..always being able to improve...always FINDING and area you can improve on" -Trofym Anderson

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#30 Why Wait Until You're Injured? Most Are 100% Preventable! with Dr. Kelly STARRETT

Why Wait Until You're Injured? Most Are 100% Preventable!  with Dr. Kelly STARRETT

Expert GamePlan Session: (USA) NYT & WSJ BEST SELLING AUTHOR, Former US Canoe Team Member, Co-Owner of San Francisco CrossFit & MobilityWOD.com
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February 20, 2015

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BACKGROUND

A few years back during one of my volleyball seasons, I started to have these random knee issues and I had no idea what actions I needed to take. I came across Dr. Starrett and his “mobility stuff”online and I didn’t know what any of it was. As I continued to research, I found so many things from him that has helped me throughout my career over the years, so I guarantee to all of you who are listening, you will be able to take many lessons away from today’s episode. We will get into all of the basic things athletes, or anyone in general, need to have or do on a day to day basis when it comes to maintaining a high fitness level and staying healthy. He talks about the importance of having a ball sport in your repertoire as a kid as well as being involved in a sliding sport (ie: surf, skate, ski). Today you will learn why Dr. Starrett says that “the first wealth is health.”

BIO

• Born, Kelly Starrett, currently living in San Francisco, California.
• Married to Juliet Starrett, together they have two children
• Kelly is former USA Canoe Team Member, the Co-Owner of San Francisco Crossfit along with his wife. Also the Co-owner of MobilityWOD, a resource for learning how to fix old and prevent new injuries with instructional video. 
• A New York Times and Wall Street Journal’s Best selling author including, Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing and Optimizing Athletic Performance. New book is Ready To Run: Unlocking Your Potential to Run Healthy
• He trains top athletes as well as Olympians around the world 
• ReebokONE Official Trainer

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Listen ON-THE-GO (00:55:55) NOW -or- mobile via iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn Apps!

Key Discussion Points:

• How do we prevent injury and prolong our athletic careers?

• The importance of kids having an aerobic base?

• As far as training and conditioning in youth teams, what are things that can be done to make sure the athletes are being taught the correct technique, as it is often overlooked?

• The importance of reinforcing good mechanics in training?

• Why is MCE the new recovery for injuries?

Key Lessons:

• If its not from contact, most injuries we see are 100% preventable

• We don’t know its a problem until its a problem

• It is important to have a ball sport in your repertoire as a kid

• As an athlete, there is no OFF button; athletes have a tendency to push through knowing something is wrong, coaches need to pay for attention

• Its important to enforce good mechanics when training youth

“So what we are seeing is people are reinforcing these bad mechanics, and when it matters most, under the highest levels of stress or when there is fatigue..there’s gonna default to those practice states..and that’s where we can immediately start to make these huge changes.” KS @ 16:20

• As a more experienced athlete, it is important to share what you have learned with younger athletes

• When conditioning properly, we can get leading indicators, signals of possible injuries that may come in the future

“How do we know we have a problem? Pain, swelling, numbness and tingling, loss of forced production..that gets our attention, but those are lagging indicators. What we get from better conditioning is a set of leading indicators.”KS @ 21:38

• Conditioning is where you reinforce the fundamental positions of particular sport

• Technique in training is key

“The best technique actually mimics the physiology of the human..now coaches, because we’re obsessed with going fast, and jumping the highest, and hitting the hardest, most technique ends up matching perfectly the physiologic expression of how the human being works.”KS @ 22:44

• Ready position is ready position and its the same in all sports

• Training isn’t always about strength, but more so efficiency

• Icing doesn’t necessarily cure an injury

“There is not a single piece of research that shows icing helps an injury”KS @ 41:03

• We reduce swelling by elevation, compression, and squeezing the inflamed/swollen area

• Anything you put a brace on is eventually going to become weaker

Listen ON-THE-GO (00:55:55) NOW -or- mobile via iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn Apps!

INFO

Charity/Organizations They Add Value to:

Standupkids.org | Tweet @Stand_Up_Kids

Business/Work:
San Francisco CrossFit, MobilityWOD.com, Official Trainer for ReebokONE, instructor on CreativeLive.com’s educational website

Past/Current Teams:
Past; USA Canoe Team

Recommended Guest:
Stacy Sims ;)

Books Mentioned:
Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing and Optimizing Athletic Performance by Kelly Starrett
Ready To Run: Unlocking Your Potential to Run Healthy by Kelly Starrett

Follow Dr. Starrett

Facebook | Website

Definition of an Athlete?

"Who picks up a new skill the fastest...can be coached and apply the set of skills over and over, understands that they have to perform basic maintenance." 
-Dr. Kelly Starrett
 

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