Developing Strength and Resilience - with Ted Ryce

Guest Introduction: Ted Ryce is a fitness expert, high-performance health coach, and host of The Legendary Life Podcast. He helps his clients develop and stick with high-performance habits that help them manage stress and adversity and lead more successful lives. Ted has worked with Fortune 500 CEOs and celebrities, including Richard Branson, Ricky Martin, and Robert Downey Jr. Interview Summary: In this interview, Ted begins by talking about some of the personal tragedies he's experienced, and how fitness helped with the healing process. He discusses the connection between physical and mental health, and how we can influence the way we feel through our physiology. He explains why aerobic exercise and meditation are great for calming the body's stress response, while anaerobic exercise isn't as effective. We ask Ted how he might work with a client who is under an immense amount of stress and feeling hopeless. Ted emphasizes the importance of changing our perspective and accepting adversity as a part of life. He also explains how to shift to a problem solving approach and avoid wallowing in pity after something bad happens. Ted then talks about acknowledging death in a way that pushes us to get the most out of life. He offers strategies for improving the quality of our lives, such as reducing consumption of social media or doing a digital detox, and getting outside and experiencing nature. He talks about the health benefits of spending more time in nature. Ted also recommends investing in ourselves and seeking the help of an expert who has overcome a problem similar to ours. Chris talks about focusing on diet, exercise, and sleep when he’s stressed, as well as building a consistent social schedule. Ted expands on this and discusses how we can optimize our wellness by focusing on four main areas: exercise, sleep, nutrition, and stress management. He also talks about the importance of spending time with quality people, and references the research that shows how toxic social isolation and loneliness are. Ted describes the two parts of the autonomic nervous system: fight or flight, and rest and digest. He provides additional tips on reducing stress and stimulating our rest and digest system. Next, Ted discusses the advantages and disadvantages of individual versus group exercise. He talks about being aware of our physical needs and limitations in order to avoid injury. Chris and Ted share stories about physical injuries they've experienced, as well as their recovery processes. Ted then offers advice on how to nurture our social networks and remove negative people from our lives. He also talks about how to properly utilize a coach and not become dependent on them. In the last part of this interview, Chris and Ted talk about the path to mastery. Chris describes the three most important components for mastering a skill: knowledge, structure, and community. Ted agrees, and adds that it's important to consistently ride the line on the edge of our comfort zones. He suggests two books that explore this concept: "Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and "The Rise of Superman" by Steven Kotler. Finally, Ted explains how he tracks and measures the progress of his clients, and how this affects his coaching process. Find out more about Ted: http://www.legendarylifepodcast.com/ The Craft of Charisma Podcast is also available at: bit.ly/Soundcloud-CofC-Podcast bit.ly/Stitcher-CofC-Podcast bit.ly/iTunes-CofC-Podcast bit.ly/Spotify-CofC-Podcast bit.ly/GooglePlayMusic-CofC-Podcast bit.ly/iHeartRadio-CofC-Podcast