Modern WisdomProtecting Your Body & Mind From Your Personality - Jordan Shallow | Modern Wisdom Podcast 267
CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 1:35
“Have you tried trying?” — why execution beats endless optimization
Jordan explains what he means by “have you tried trying?” in an era where people over-index on optimization and under-deliver on follow-through. The core idea is that effortful execution—not just insight—creates most real progress.
- •Optimization culture can replace intentionality and action
- •People become “repositories of useless information” to look smart online
- •Jordan’s learning was driven by breaking performance plateaus, not collecting facts
- •Trying harder often makes people do things better simply through effort and feedback
- 1:35 – 4:03
Insight vs. execution: the bodybuilder example and what “trying” looks like
They discuss the gap between knowing and doing, using professional bodybuilders as an example of imperfect technique but relentless execution. Jordan frames a trade-off many people make: pursuing outcomes (size/strength/leanness) versus pursuing the identity of being “smart.”
- •Elite performers may do many things “wrong” but execute with extreme consistency
- •Execution intensity can outpace intellectual perfection in results-driven domains
- •Rare alignment: being both highly knowledgeable and highly executing
- •Social reward for appearing smart can derail outcome-based goals
- 4:03 – 6:27
Convenience and the new competition: social media as a “simulation” marketplace
Chris links modern convenience to a decline in ‘skin in the game,’ and Jordan maps this onto fitness-business culture. Jordan argues many coaches now compete in a simulated economy of social capital rather than real client outcomes.
- •21st-century convenience reduces hands-on effort and personal experimentation
- •Fitness coaches are selected via social proof, not demonstrated competence
- •Winning shifts from execution to optics (posts, jargon, engagement loops)
- •Acquisition vs retention: flashy marketing may win attention but not keep clients
- 6:27 – 9:20
Defining “winning” without selling your soul: ethics, metrics, and monetization
Jordan explains how to compete without becoming a caricature online: define what winning means and measure it correctly. He emphasizes that followers are not the business—profitability, retention, and ethical boundaries are.
- •You can define your own win conditions rather than chase platform metrics
- •Big following doesn’t guarantee monetization or sustainable systems
- •Value creation tends to produce audience growth as a byproduct
- •Clear moral lines prevent desperate business decisions later
- 9:20 – 12:27
When people ‘see through it’: avatar vs real-life dissonance and mental fallout
Chris and Jordan discuss ‘car crash’ accounts and the social cost of performative content. Jordan’s bigger concern is the creator’s internal split—where an online persona diverges from real life, sometimes leading to severe anxiety and psychological breakdowns.
- •Audiences and industry peers eventually detect inauthenticity
- •Creators can become trapped maintaining an exaggerated online character
- •Dissonance between avatar and real self can escalate into panic/anxiety crises
- •Platforms reward extremes, widening the gap until “the bend breaks”
- 12:27 – 18:17
How to avoid the trap: don’t post what isn’t true, and keep privacy boundaries
Jordan gives a simple rule: never post anything that isn’t true in real life, and don’t do things ‘for Instagram.’ They explore the nuance between transparency and oversharing, and why certain mediums (like podcasts) support real dialogue better than captions.
- •Avoid behavior changes for content (PRs, relationships, lifestyle choices)
- •Transparency is good; voyeurism and performative vulnerability isn’t
- •Discussing issues without dialogue can become attention-seeking or harmful
- •Podcasts enable context and conversation; Instagram incentivizes simplification
- 18:17 – 21:59
Competing in a crowded attention economy: zero-sum thinking vs real-world reality
Chris introduces an analogy about competition pushing ecosystems toward shallow content. Jordan counters that attention and opportunity aren’t truly finite—many people outside the niche don’t care—so creators can win by patience, business fundamentals, and not acting from desperation.
- •Arms-race dynamics can reward lowest-common-denominator content
- •Social media is often treated like zero-sum even when it isn’t
- •Niche fame doesn’t translate to broad real-world importance
- •Desperation (financial or identity-based) drives creators to ‘sell out’
- 21:59 – 25:10
Preventing injuries after lockdown: re-entry programming and avoiding ‘make-up’ intensity
The conversation shifts into training and injury prevention, especially after long layoffs or home workouts. Jordan argues that both overreaching and underloading can create injury risk, and the fix is structured reintroduction with a plan.
- •Post-lockdown eagerness leads people to ramp intensity too quickly
- •Underloading and detraining can also set the stage for injury on return
- •Avoid “off-program PRs” and emotional decision-making in the gym
- •Write a plan (pen to paper) and execute a measured progression
- 25:10 – 30:47
Programming priorities: shoulder, hip, and spine as the main ‘gatekeeper’ system
Jordan outlines his practical model for most trainees: focus on shoulder range of motion, hip stability through gait-like patterns, and spinal force resistance. He introduces “gatekeeper drills” as prerequisites that ‘license’ more advanced loading.
- •Mobility (active) before loading; don’t load positions you can’t reach unloaded
- •Shoulder: end-range stability precedes strength (e.g., overhead competence)
- •Hips: gait-cycle patterns (lunges, single-leg RDLs, split squats) as foundations
- •Progression logic: mobility → stability/capacity → strength/power
- 30:47 – 42:09
The lumbar spine explained: ‘dent in the pop can’ and scaling core training
Jordan explains why lumbar issues are common and how thoracic stability differs due to the ribcage. He critiques simplistic core prescriptions (e.g., McGill Big Three as a universal solution) and argues core training must scale with the athlete and task demands across all planes.
- •Lumbar spine lacks the external stability the ribcage provides the thoracic spine
- •Core must resist force in all three planes: anti-extension/flexion, anti-rotation, anti-lateral flexion
- •McGill Big Three can be a starting point, not an endpoint for trained athletes
- •Progressions matter: dead bug → bird dog → bear crawl → carries/rows/RDLs
- 42:09 – 47:33
Assessment, self-regulation, and avoiding ‘correctives’ as random rituals
Jordan emphasizes assessment (history + movement) to choose the right starting point and avoid cookie-cutter systems. For people without professional help, he recommends methodical self-experimentation: change one variable at a time, track outcomes, and build repeatable checks and balances.
- •Assessment should create exclusion criteria so programming is individualized
- •“You can’t out-corrective bad exercise” — execution and timing matter
- •Self-regulation works when changes are controlled and measurable
- •Intuition can be trained by reproducible routines and feedback loops
- 47:33 – 56:41
Work-life balance for high performers: strategic deloads, metrics, and ‘extreme balance’
They close by applying training logic to work: Jordan describes how sheer grind got him success, but scaling requires slowing down strategically. Using metrics (productivity, fatigue indicators), he plans push/pull cycles, recovery breaks, and an ‘extreme balance’ approach rather than moderation.
- •Plateaus can require ‘doing less’ with discipline, not just more effort
- •Use data/metrics to know when fatigue is hurting progress
- •Push to a deadline, then deliberately deload before the next project
- •Moderation feels impossible; ‘extreme balance’ reframes recovery as strategy
- 56:41 – 1:05:30
Building better PTs: the book, raising standards, and the future of personal training
Jordan explains his book as a manual for the PreScript Level 1 curriculum and outlines his mission to raise the PT industry’s bar. Chris adds that PTs now compete with scalable digital fitness options, making branding, retention, and continuing education essential.
- •Book supports a structured, applied biomechanics curriculum for trainers
- •Personal training is returning to a ‘luxury’—mediocrity will be squeezed out
- •Trainers must deliver pain + performance + body composition outcomes
- •Modern competition: Peloton/Zoom/classes increase pressure to specialize and improve
