I think there’s too much toxic positivity in the rehab world, and I used to be part of the problem.

A client told me why he chose me out of thousands of online coaches and PTs. He’s a PT himself, a dad, and deals with chronic pain.

When his back flares, it doesn’t just affect him. It affects a family of five.

He doesn’t need to hear “just stay positive” or “the research says you’ll be better in 8 to 12 weeks.” He knows that.

He needs someone to say, “F***, man...that sucks. I'm sorry that happened," then help him move forward.

When we spit facts or cite studies at patients, what we say is true. But true and helpful are two different things.

In this solo episode, we talk about:

• Why “pain doesn’t mean damage” can land as dismissive, even when it’s true
• The one-star Google review that rattled me as a young PT
• What a back flare actually means when a whole family is counting on you
• Why clinicians speed run to the 'fix', and the discipline to “sit in the shit” instead
• The 2 sentences that turn a dismissive response into a supportive one
• The 4 questions I ask in every subjective assessment
• Why trust comes before any exercise prescription, especially as AI healthcare grows
• And why taking the next step is easier with someone who sees you

If you’ve ever been on the wrong end of “don’t worry, you’ll be fine,” this one’s for you.

Be a human first, my friend.

Links:

Book a free consult call with me: https://calendly.com/unbreakablestrengthonline/firestarter-call-1

Trying to get consistent with your own training? Get a free copy of the Consistency Catalyst guide: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/cac1abf5af

Wanna be more confident working with athletes in your practice? Get a free copy of the Confident Sports Clinician’s Checklist: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/35c376acac

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jared.unbreakable/

Follow me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jared.unbreakable

Follow me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unbreakablestrength1

Trigger warning: This episode discusses anxiety, panic attacks, and disordered eating.

Dr. Victoria Sekely was basically born on a tennis court. Her mom was still playing when she was 9 months pregnant with her.

She won the Canadian Nationals under 12. Later, she played No. 1 singles at Georgetown.

Running was the thing she started doing just for her. But then it became her job. Then came the comments saying she shouldn’t be a run coach because she doesn’t run fast enough.

Victoria is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, CSCS, USATF Level 1 and RRCA certified run coach, and founder of Train Smart Run Strong.

We talked about why knowing what a panic attack is doesn’t stop one, and how she talks to a patient when she doesn’t have the answer yet.

We hit:

• Why her first half marathon, at 12, was one of the best days of her life
• The burnout 2 years into outpatient ortho, and the question she asked her boss that changed everything
• The comments that had her asking, “Do I even love running anymore?”
• The excuse that kept her out of therapy for a long time, and what she’d tell you if you’re using it too
• What comes before running form analysis, strength testing, and every special test you learned in PT school
• The sentence she uses when she doesn’t know what’s going on with a patient
• Why chasing a single root cause means you’ve “already lost the plot” as a clinician
• Wearable tech for runners, overrated or underrated?
• And her A goal for her next marathon, which has nothing to do with the clock

If you’ve ever felt like asking for help means you failed, this one’s for you.

You don’t have to have the right answer all the time, my friend.

Follow Victoria on Instagram: @trainsmartrunstrong - https://www.instagram.com/trainsmartrunstrong/

Work with Victoria: https://www.trainsmartrunstrong.com

Links:

Book a free consult call with me: https://calendly.com/unbreakablestrengthonline/firestarter-call-1

Trying to get consistent with your own training? Get a free copy of the Consistency Catalyst guide: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/cac1abf5af

Wanna be more confident working with athletes in your practice? Get a free copy of the Confident Sports Clinician’s Checklist: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/35c376acac

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jared.unbreakable/

Follow me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jared.unbreakable

Follow me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unbreakablestrength1

The other day, my client was in a pain flare when he asked, "How much of this is my fault?"

I can't remember how many times I've asked that same question when I got hurt myself.

If you're a clinician or coach who knows about pain science, it can seem like an innocent enough query.

But my goal for this episode is simple: to give you permission to stop asking that question, and give you better ones instead.

To get there, I'm sharing my own screw ups with the injuries I've had since 2015, and what broke, what I believed and what had to change each time.

As an executive member of the Imposter Syndrome Support Club, I'm here to tell you you're not alone...and we have cookies in the back, so help yourself.

In this solo episode, I get into:

• The 2015 deadlift session that became a literal pain in the ass
• What another PT saw in my program that I couldn't
• Batman's "detective mode" for reading a training program
• The pin squat session where I should have stopped
• The question my coach asked me that I didn't want to hear
• The storm, and your pain lightning rod
• If you won the lottery and became a fitfluencer tomorrow, would your pain be gone?
• And the 5 questions to ask yourself instead

If your pain feels like a perpetual game of snakes and ladders, this one's for you.

You're not done yet, my friend.

Links:

Book a free consult call with me: https://calendly.com/unbreakablestrengthonline/firestarter-call-1

Trying to get consistent with your own training? Get a free copy of the Consistency Catalyst guide: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/cac1abf5af

Wanna be more confident working with athletes in your practice? Get a free copy of the Confident Sports Clinician's Checklist: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/35c376acac

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jared.unbreakable/

Follow me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jared.unbreakable

Follow me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unbreakablestrength1

I made my best friend sit through a Lord of the Rings analogy. Then I asked him what it was like to watch me almost die.

In 2023, a common cold turned into a hospital admission. Six days later I was on life support, and everybody was telling John I was going to die.

If you've seen Lord of the Rings, you'll remember when Gondor lights the beacons to call for aid. Rohan sees them and answers.

John is the Rohan to my Gondor.

John Flagg is a licensed athletic trainer, an elite powerlifter with a 904 pound squat, creator of the ClinicalAthlete Powerlifting Certification, managing director of the Honey Badger Project, and as of this year a published author with Human Kinetics. He's also been my co-host, my coach, my boss, my business partner and, for the last decade, my best friend.

We talk about:

• How a distance runner ends up squatting 904 lbs
• The $10,000 pay cut he got a week before closing on his first house
• The night he snapped a mop in half in an empty clinic
• Why "it depends" isn't good enough as a clinician, and the decision tree he wants you running instead
• The 2 words that get you instant buy-in from a lifter when you treat them
• The 4 triggers to check when a lifter's training starts to hurt
• What it was like on his end when my wife texted him "he's yellow"
• The 3 books you need to read to improve your communication skills as a clinician
• And the question his mom texted him last week about the year he failed out of school

If you're the one everybody leans on and you've never once let somebody carry you, this one's for you.

Go find your people before you need them, my friend.

Follow John: @john.rebuild_stronger - https://www.instagram.com/john.rebuild_stronger/

Links:

Book a free consult call with me: https://calendly.com/unbreakablestrengthonline/firestarter-call-1

Trying to get consistent with your own training? Get a free copy of the Consistency Catalyst guide: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/cac1abf5af

Wanna be more confident working with athletes in your practice? Get a free copy of the Confident Sports Clinician's Checklist: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/35c376acac

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jared.unbreakable/

Follow me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jared.unbreakable

Follow me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unbreakablestrength1

"Hi, I'm Jared, and I'm a recovering perfectionist."

Recently, I hit my heaviest squat of the day and my first thought was, "Damn, why isn't it higher?"

My coach sent me a 5 minute voice note back. Only 30 seconds of it had to do with squatting.

The rest of his answer was the stuff around the training. Three little girls. A business I keep overextending myself in. A hamstring that's been flaring since last year.

And the one underneath it all: I'm losing my vision. There's a shot clock I'm up against and no one can tell me how much time is left on it.

He reminded me that you can be excellent at holding up the mirror for your patients, but you still need someone to hold it up for you.

In this solo episode, I get into:

• The 30 seconds of my coach's answer that had anything to do with squatting
• The shot clock I've been racing since 2024
• Why the people who care most are the last to hit the brakes
• What it felt like to have somebody hold up the mirror
• The fear underneath the sprint, of not doing enough and not being enough
• And your assignment, and what it means if you can't finish it

If you're "in your bones" tired too, this one's for you.

Pick your two this week. Hang in there, my friend.

Links:

Book a free consult call with me: https://calendly.com/unbreakablestrengthonline/firestarter-call-1

Trying to get consistent with your own training? Get a free copy of the Consistency Catalyst guide: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/cac1abf5af

Wanna be more confident working with athletes in your practice? Get a free copy of the Confident Sports Clinician's Checklist: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/35c376acac

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jared.unbreakable/

Follow me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jared.unbreakable

Follow me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unbreakablestrength1

My guest spent a night in an ER, just hoping for a disc herniation.

• Why she assumed her dad was coming home to die, and what she'd do differently now
• The shin splints that weren't shin splints, and what the top doctors in Seattle decided was really going on
• Why healthcare might be the only job where not getting a break is normal
• The night in the ER when she was hoping for a disc herniation
• Her nerve pain triggers that have nothing to do with movement
• The question Dr. Quinn Henoch asked her that changed how she thinks about lifting without PRs
• The rough Wednesday eval that had her in a pelvic health course by Saturday, six hours of driving later
• And what happens when a woman who's scared to pick up her own kid learns to do it with a barbell

Links:

Book a free consult call with me: https://calendly.com/unbreakablestrengthonline/firestarter-call-1

Trying to get consistent with your own training? Get a free copy of the Consistency Catalyst guide: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/cac1abf5af

Wanna be more confident working with athletes in your practice? Get a free copy of the Confident Sports Clinician's Checklist: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/35c376acac

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jared.unbreakable/

Follow me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jared.unbreakable

Follow me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unbreakablestrength1

This episode gave me a cue called "the vaginal elevator."

It also gave me insight on how the pelvic therapy and performance worlds don't have to be at odds.

Dr. Sophia Veiras dropped more usable pelvic floor and lifting knowledge in an hour than a lot of us get in a whole con-ed weekend. She'd know. She sat through those weekends, spent her $1500, and not one of them talked about what happens when there's 300 pounds on your back.

Sophia is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, pelvic therapist, powerlifting coach, Barbell Rehab educator, and repeat national-champion powerlifter who came back to compete a year after having her son.

We talked belts, bracing, the fact that a little leakage while you're learning is okay, and how coaches and pelvic PTs can work together instead of past each other.

We cover:

• Why the cues for lifting belts is a time-and-place decision, and how to tell when it fits the athlete in front of you
• The Spider-Man rule of intra-abdominal pressure: more pressure means more responsibility for the pelvic floor to handle it
• Why a real brace is 360 degrees and full-body, not "abs," and the four players in the canister
• Valsalva vs. bearing down, and cues to actually feel the difference (yes, the vaginal elevator and the vending machine claw)
• Sophia's first move when a lifter leaks
• The modifiable levers most people skip with lifter pelvic floor issues
• Why "a little bit of pee" can be part of the learning process, and where the line is
• The underloading problem in rehab, on both the ortho and the pelvic side
• When to keep coaching it and when to refer out, plus the one screening question every ortho clinician should ask
• Pelvic floor issues in men, masters athletes, and post-prostatectomy
• Training and competing through pregnancy and postpartum, with a one-year-old refereeing your bench

Pop it on for the drive. You'll laugh, and you'll leave smarter.

___________

Follow Sophia: @soph.squats

Follow me on Instagram

Let's work together! Book a call here.

New grad second-guessing your exercise prescription for athletic clients? Get the Confident Sports Clinician's Checklist

Struggling with your own exercise consistency? Get the Consistency Catalyst here

Trigger warning: This episode discusses disordered eating, body image, and anxiety.

My old bodybuilding coach called me a pig.

I emailed him after the 4th or 5th binge. First year of PT school. The most anxiety I'd ever had in my life up to that point. I was stuck in a cycle I couldn't break and I reached out for help.

That email is what came back.

It's also one of the two or three reasons I became the coach I am today.

Nobody asked me why I wanted to bodybuild in the first place. They probably should have. Instead, what I got was blame and shame piled onto someone who was already flagellating himself daily.

This episode is about that email, what it cost me, and what I've come to believe any good coaching relationship is built on.

In this solo episode, I get into:

• Why shame fails every single time to create lasting change, and why that's especially true for high-achieving perfectionists
• What my coach should have asked when we started working together, and what it cost when he never did
• What a year's worth of client responses says about what changes people most, and why constant communication ranked above everything else
• What trust, relationship, and communication look like when they're done right
• What I need you to know if you've had a toxic or damaging coaching relationship and you're still carrying it

You didn't fail your coach. Your coach failed you.

And that's not a reason to stop yourself from having hope and reaching out for help again, my friend.

Links:

Book a free consult call with me: https://calendly.com/unbreakablestrengthonline/firestarter-call-1

Trying to get consistent with your own training? Get a free copy of the Consistency Catalyst guide: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/cac1abf5af

Wanna be more confident working with athletes in your practice? Get a free copy of the Confident Sports Clinician's Checklist: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/35c376acac

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jared.unbreakable/

Follow me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jared.unbreakable

Follow me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unbreakablestrength1