I recently flew to New York City to participate in a three-day High Performance Lifestyle event. I met the Founder, Brian Mazza, when he was a guest on my Middle Aged Men’s Podcast and invited me to experience this event.
So what is a high performance lifestyle? I’ve been wondering that quite a bit lately. Who determines what is high performance? Can I be a high performer in some areas and not in others? How do I live a high performance lifestyle? Am I there already? What work still needs to be done and will I always be a work in progress striving for a high performance lifestyle? At what point does a high performance life really take my foot off the gas and allow me to enjoy the simple things in life? That must also be some kind of high performance, right?
At 50, I believe high performance is making an investment and a commitment to continuous improvement and growth. This is what drives me to keep trying new things, challenge myself, live my message, and set an example for my two teenage sons. A high performance lifestyle is knowing and living as if my best, brightest, happiest, and healthiest days are ahead of me.
My new book, The Midlife Male, is based on my Midlife Male Method, which I call the “6F’s”; Family, Fitness, Finance, Fashion and Fun and helping men turn their F’s into A’s. So I wanted to share my 6F assessment of this performance lifestyle training weekend.
But before we get into the actual report card, here are some takeaways and observations:
We can do hard things. Leaving your comfort zone is essential for development. Surround yourself with people who support you and continue to elevate your life. They are everywhere. They exist and they are looking for you as much as you are looking for them. Take heart Each of the men and women who attended (41 in all) has a plan. A personal operating system and as such is successful. There were all walks of life, ages, races, differences, etc. The same with EVERYONE was their commitment to preparation, consistency, and accountability. Words that were heard, lived and repeated throughout the weekend: respect, purpose, effort, attitude, pride, humility, vulnerability, community, prosperity, health, family, discipline. All simple concepts. Simple is difficult. That’s why most don’t… We have choices and decisions to make every day. Make better decisions, live a better life. Once again, it’s pretty simple. Physical challenges are completed through mental strength. You can survive the cold, the accumulation of lactic acid, the exhaustion… If you refuse to quit smoking. It was a simple piece of advice from Marcus Luttrell that got me through the water: “Look at the guy to your left and to your right. He will be suffering worse… Help those guys and you will be fine”. Everything we did, talked about and experienced can be applied to ALL areas of life. It is ALL connected. How you do one thing is how you do everything. It’s about maintaining micro-profits on a daily basis. Going slow is going smooth, going smooth is going fast. Just keep moving.
High Performance Lifestyle Training 6F Assessment
Family: All I do is lead by example for my family and my two children in particular. They don’t need to be interested in the same things that I am. They don’t need to do the same things I do. Anything and everything you want to pursue in life is available and I would encourage and support you to do so.
But it’s important to me that my kids see me putting myself out of my comfort zone, challenging myself, not afraid to try new things, meet new people, plan ahead, train for activities and challenges, and have a strong mind, body, and spirit. In this case, I was going to go to New York alone for HPLT. In the future, I look forward to sharing some of these experiences with my children as they grow. I met an amazing 58 year old Canadian lawyer who was there with his son and was inspired by him.
Kate and Harper decided they wanted to come to New York at the last minute (Auden was in Israel). I told them at first that I didn’t think I would have time to see them and that this was a packed itinerary. he needed to stay laser focused and wanted to enjoy the whole experience the way he presented himself. But maybe it’s a sign of maturity and perspective that when they got there he was so happy to see them that no matter how long it was going to be, he would find a way to spend some time with them.
Courtesy of Greg Scheinman
Physical aptitude: This one goes without a doubt. The entire weekend consisted of major fitness challenges. We woke up at 4am to be trained by Navy SEAL Ray Cash Care and Marine Steve Eckert on the beach and in the ocean at 5am. . We formed a human chain and lay down, submerged in the 50-degree water for what seemed like quite a long time as waves crashed over us, kicking flaps and barking orders to set day, turn around, heads back , heels up. us. We did “Murph” later that afternoon which was a 1 mile run, 100 push ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats followed by a mile run. We woke up for a 7am 10 mile run (I never run 10 miles) the next morning led by Ken Rideout.
This was all done within the confines of a supportive community and it was a privilege to be able to train and compete alongside the best.
Finance: The way I approach these events and experiences in terms of finances is that they are investments in myself, my family, and my future. The price for this was not cheap, but it was worth every dollar spent, as it paid back tenfold. They provided everything: meals, clothing, supplements, featured speakers, trainers, panelists, facilities, and a community of like-minded people. I also want to point out that based on what I’m doing with Midlife Male; the newsletter and podcast and my coaching clients now invite me to events like this for free. I am aggregating and curating best-in-class events and experiences to bring men like you with me and create VIP male middle-aged experiences at events like this in the future. I enjoy putting these events on the calendar, budgeting for them, training for them, looking forward to them, and reverse engineering how to live, operate, and finance the commitments I make.
Meal: There were panels and seminars on nutrition from the amazing human being and trainer Jacob Zemer. They brought us our meals for the whole weekend for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They were healthy and tasted great. They had supplements, drinks, and recovery stuff available for us from brands like SLATE Milk, Vital Performance, Lemon Perfect, Holistik Wellness, and more. We were also treated to dinner at Dan Churchill’s amazing restaurant, Charlie Street. As a foodie it was amazing and Dan is a stellar chef and athlete.
Courtesy of Greg Scheinman
Fashion: What do events like this HPLT have to do with fashion? A lot, actually. Fashion is style. Style is confidence. Trust is performance. Ten Thousand Gear provided outfits for all the training sessions over the weekend. Branded shorts, shirts and tank tops. We wore coordinating outfits/uniforms to all events and it created a unified atmosphere. GoodLife Clothing company provided us with an awesome casual hoodie, joggers and shirt for each of us and KANE Footwear provided custom HPLT NYC recovery shoes. Everything came packed in a tactical backpack. Look good, feel good, dress good, perform well, that’s the motto of high performance.
Fun: This definitely goes for me. Why would you do something like that if it wasn’t fun? These events are fun for me. I really like these things. That’s why I do it. Surround yourself with like-minded people who share the same goals, visions, values, athleticism, purpose, process, reward. It was a fucking explosion. And we have memories, friendships and bonds that will last a lifetime. I was cold, wet and sandy, but I’ve never laughed harder. She was in more pain than ever and still smiling. I woke up tired and struggling to get out of bed and yet I couldn’t wait to go downstairs and do it again.
Now, not all I do is check all six F’s all the time and get straight A’s… But that’s definitely the goal; to check as many as possible within a framework and operating system that helps you maximize your high-performance lifestyle authentically, with intent, with purpose, and to become the best version of yourself.
Greg Scheinman is a lifestyle coach, podcast host, and author of the new book “The Midlife Male.”
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