What Are You Really Training For?

A few weeks ago, I asked my YouTube community a simple question:

“What are you training for?”
And the two most common answers were no surprise: Performance or Longevity.

One group is chasing PRs, aesthetics, speed, and muscle.
The other is chasing vitality, energy, mobility, and a longer, pain-free life.

But here’s the twist — I don’t believe either one tells the full story.

In fact, I’ve come to realize: there’s a third way to train.
And I call it Resiliency Training.

Let me explain.

Performance vs Longevity — Two Different Roads

If you’ve ever walked into a CrossFit gym or trained like a high-level athlete, you know what performance training feels like. It’s about peak output. Moving heavy weight, sprinting hard, chasing progress, PR’s, and maybe a little ego. You feel powerful. You’re constantly leveling up. The engine is roaring.

But it comes with a price.

Your joints ache. Your sleep gets worse. Your cortisol climbs. You’re flirting with injury. And if you’re a parent — with a full-time life off the field — this style of training can be exhausting, not energizing.

On the other end, we have longevity training. Think low-intensity cardio, mobility work, walking, grip strength, long sauna sessions, sleep optimization. It’s smooth. It’s sustainable. It’s designed to make you feel good… not just now, but 40 years from now.

But let’s be honest — it can feel slow. Boring. Like you’re not making any progress.

What I Realized

For years, I tried to do both — chasing performance while pretending I was training for the long haul.

But when I hit my mid-30s, with four active kids, a growing business, and a back that didn’t recover like it used to — something had to give.

I didn’t just want to lift heavier.
I didn’t just want to live longer.

I wanted to be ready.

Ready to show up for my family.

Ready to carry my kids through the woods or throw them in the lake, no matter how old they are or how big they get.
Ready to take on a 12-hour filming day, then play basketball with friends.

And that’s what Resiliency Training is all about.

What Is Resiliency Training?

Resiliency Training is a blend.
It’s not “train hard” or “train slow.”
It’s “train smart.”

It’s about building a body, mind, and nervous system that can bend but not break.

It combines the strength and output of performance with the recovery and sustainability of longevity.

It’s:

• Strength without ego

• Cardio without burnout

• Recovery without laziness

• And intentional movement that prepares you for real life

Think of it like this:

If performance is a race car, and longevity is a Land Cruiser…
Resiliency is an all-terrain vehicle with a full tank of gas — built for whatever life throws your way, any adventure, any road, and distance, and at any speed.

The 6 Pillars of Resiliency Training

Here’s the framework I follow (and teach my kids by how I live):

1. Daily Movement

Move your body every single day.
Walking, stretching, playing, swimming in the lake and grounding barefoot in the yard.

We’re designed to move — not sit still and then explode for an hour at the gym.

Aim for 8,000–10,000 steps per day. Not because it’s trendy — but because movement is medicine and its a good guide and goal to follow.

2. Zone 2 Cardio

This is your engine building zone.
You’re not gasping for air. You’re not dripping sweat. You’re training your heart, mitochondria, and metabolism to work efficiently.

For me, that looks like:

• Rucking with a weighted backpack or vest

• Rowing, Biking, or Skiing at a steady pace

• Walking on a treadmill at an incline

• Jogging while nasal breathing

3x per week for 30–45 minutes is a game-changer.

Studies show Zone 2 improves metabolic health, fat burning, and reduces all-cause mortality. This isn’t optional — it’s foundational.

3. Functional Strength Training

We still need to be strong — but not at the expense of our spine or sanity.

Instead of chasing max weight, I chase:

• Realistic form (we don’t have a spotter in real life telling us to shift our hips back and straighten out spine when we pick up our kids, so I don’t lift weights with “perfect form,” I actually change my form to fit real life often)

• Joint integrity (if the joint hurts worse than the muscles, lower the weight)

• Real-world movements (squat, carry, crawl, press, pull, hang, and climb)

This is how I write my workouts, 4-6 days a week:

Most days, I start with 2 minutes of light cardio and movement to prime my body. Then I go into a heavy, volume-based lift for about 10 minutes. From there, the bulk of my workout is a 15 to 40-minute HIIT session — built around speed, functional movement, and intensity.

At the end, I always reset my nervous system with an intentional cool down. Then I’ll hit the sauna for 5 to 10 minutes to let everything settle.

And yes — I almost always finish with a cold plunge.
But it’s strategic — never longer than a minute, and rarely colder than 50º. The goal isn’t to suffer… it’s to recover.

I want to build a body that lasts, not just one that looks good for one season.

4. Performance Spikes (Zone 5 Training)

Once a week, I hit the gas for a long Zone 5 Workout.

Sprints.
Bodyweight circuits.
Kettlebell complexes.
Something short and intense to keep my explosiveness alive.

This keeps my nervous system sharp and my muscles primed.
Because let’s face it — sometimes you do have to run fast, lift heavy, or get up off the ground quick.

5. The Recovery Stack

If there’s a secret sauce to resiliency… it’s this.

Sleep 7–9 hours.
Cold plunge to drop inflammation.
Sauna to release heat shock proteins.
Red light therapy to reduce oxidative stress.
Breathwork to regulate your nervous system.
Hydration. Mineral balance. Stillness. Prayer.

This is how you bounce back stronger. Not once a week, daily.

You don’t get stronger from training. You get stronger from recovering.
Recovery isn’t a luxury — it’s where the gains actually happen.

6. Resilience Metrics

If you track stuff, track what matters:

• HRV — your body’s stress response

• Grip strength — one of the best predictors of all-cause mortality

• VO2 max — your engine

• Bloodwork — inflammation markers, hormones, metabolic health

I use Blokes + Joi to test my blood every 90 days.
It’s changed the game — because I can see what’s working under the hood.

I don’t track these things to obsess, I track them to make changes if and where necessary. One thing to consider is that if your training is endurance heavy, your Testosterone levels typically decline, and thats not always a bad thing. Just be aware.

The Goal Isn’t Perfection — It’s Readiness

Resiliency Training isn’t sexy.
It won’t get you a six-pack overnight.
It won’t get you 1,000 likes on your before-and-after post.

But it will give you the kind of energy, durability, and peace most people are silently craving.

You’ll:

• Wake up without pain

• Have the capacity to play with your kids

• Recover faster

• Sleep better

• Feel strong but not wrecked

• Stay in the game for the long haul

And that’s what I’m after now.

So What Are You Training For?

Look — performance training isn’t bad. It has a place.
Longevity training isn’t soft. It’s wise.

But if you want to live strong, move well, and be present for the people who need you?

Then maybe it’s time to train for resiliency.

I’ll leave you with this:

The goal isn’t to look fit.
The goal is to stay ready — for life, for love, for legacy.

If this resonates with you — reply back, share this with a friend, or just start walking tonight with your family.

This isn’t a fad. It’s a foundation.
This is The Good Stuff.