05/28/2021
Throwback to driving to Woodstock of all places in May of 2017 to meet The Rhino— the worlds strongest Pro bodybuilder with the world’s greatest consistent REM sleep cycle on record
After this seminar, I asked Stan how a trainer should best train a client with mental illness. He said to keep it simple and not change very much at all. The powerful effects of sleep hygiene, a healthy gut biome, hydration, nutrition, 10 min walks and resistance training on a person’s wellness extend to everyone.
Stan opened up to me about supporting his mother and her story shared some similarities to both mine and the folx I have supported in my profession leading a mental health program in the community alongside social workers, nurses and psychotherapists. As he sat there eating his lunch with me I was floored by how generous and articulate he was with life changing information.
This experience helped me to become a better strength coach, a better athlete and it bolstered my approach to helping people who struggled with disabilities—particularly those with anxiety, depression and substance use concerns.
Just a few months ago I was invited to give a number of my own health seminars to kids who struggled with disabilities and my content centred on the literature within Stan’s e-book, The Vertical Diet 3.0 . When I arrived early to do a 10min walk beforehand, I looked across the street startled to see the gym where I met Stan 4 years earlier to take this photo by pure coincidence.
Stan’s approach to optimized health through practices held in his diet is meant to improve how our hormone’s function. If you are someone struggling from anxiety, depression, grief, other symptoms of mental illness or just feeling unwell and willing to make a change, I highly suggest opening YouTube and searching for Stan’s full seminar and this rant in particular:
➡️ “Stan Efferding KOMPLETTES Seminar in THOR's Powergym“
OR:
➡️”The REAL reason Westside barbell athletes are so strong”
If you’re interested, challenge yourself during this COVID era to implement just some of the habits Stan promotes in these talks. ��It has been more than 5 years since I began implementing The Vertical Diet and have managed my own symptoms of mental illness successfully because of it. Back in 2016 I submitted to Stan my story of having lost 110lbs from 2010-2012 and having used The Vertical Diet in the years that followed to sustain my health and transformation—one that began with giving up a dependence to alcohol, drug use, ci******es, institutionalization, a reliance on the “system” and an eating disorder.
Stan’s E-Book is available on his website. Stan’s YouTube (Search “Stan Efferding”) channel is also an invaluable resource of free information for any person trying to live healthier. ��Anyways, after this day, Stan later went on to run about 42 businesses, write a seminal book that would change the fitness industry, and among other things, train some guy named Jon Jones. As for me, I kept doing 10 min walks in random locations, kept eating salt like it was going out of style, and also implemented the teachings of the Vertical Diet in the community here in London as a personal trainer and as a mental health worker-- continuing to use it to help me achieve goals for myself and for others.
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