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The Rich Somers Report
The NFL Performance System for Entrepreneurs | Former NFL Linebacker: Larry English E503
00:45:31
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- [00:00]
Rich Shimmers
Hey, guys.
- [00:01]
Rich Shimmers (intro)
We are buying two more boutique hotels along the California coast here with Summers Capital. 45 rooms off Market in Catalina island and a second deal up in Bodega Bay, which will make a total of eight boutique hotels owned and operated. Our investors get passive income tax benefits. And the best part is, unlike investing on Wall street and a lot of these other asset classes, like multifamily, our investors get to go and stay and experience these boutique hotels firsthand to see how their money's working for them. And so if you want to learn to see if we can help you before this opportunity fills up, you can go to summerscapital.com invest to book a call with my team. Again@summerscapital.com invest to book a free call with my team. Now let's jump into the show.
- [00:38]
Larry English
This is the one problem that I can tell you that every single day of my life that I've always woke up and have been actively solving around, even, as in within my days as an athlete, it's like unlocking. How do I unlock the peak of my potential right now in this moment to perform at the highest level in this given day. And that was what was necessary as a professional athlete, you know what I'm saying? Like, every day you went into work, you knew that that one day was an opportunity. Tomorrow was not promised. So I got to show up today, right?
- [01:12]
Rich Shimmers
All right, guys, today we got someone doing big things, ex NFL pro. I'm sorry, ex NFL player. I almost said Pro Bowler because we've had on three NFL pro bowlers and super bowl champs. But I got a guy that was doing big things in the NFL and now he's helping a lot of business owners, a lot of high caliber, high performing entrepreneurs really get their mind, their body right. I got my man Larry English in the building. What's up, Larry?
- [01:36]
Larry English
Hey, man, I'm happy to be here, man. Thank you for having me.
- [01:38]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah, man. Appreciate you coming on. I. I was telling you before we started recording, I'm like, you're the fourth NFL guy I've had on in every single one of the previous three were NFL Pro Bowler and Super bowl champ. But I'm like, just to get to the super bowl is one thing. To win the super bowl is, like insane. But then Pro Bowl 2, I'm like, the odds of that is 0.00005. And I'm like, how the hell have we had three guys on like that? But, man, I'm honored to have you on. I was a big fan of you and your playing days with the San Diego Chargers. And I'm honored to talk to you right now.
- [02:06]
Larry English
Thank you for having me, man. I appreciate this. You know, I'm excited to dive in to chat with you. You know, I admire what you've built over the years. Love tapping into the podcast. I think you're doing a lot of incredible work. So I'm excited about this, man.
- [02:21]
Rich Shimmers
I appreciate that, man, that, that means the world to me. So give us, man, high level, big picture, man, what you're doing today.
- [02:28]
Larry English
Yeah, so we, so we run a human performance company for men tends to be mainly like businessmen that are built, that are building things, that have companies that have roles within their lives that they're really looking to advance both from a personal development perspective, from a health and performance perspective, and really looking for that extra point of leverage to really serve and fuel everything that it is that they're building, both professionally and personally. So we're having a. Having a good time with it. And like, look, I'm. This is the one problem that I can tell you that every single day of my life that I've always woke up and have been actively solving around, even, as in within my days as an athlete, it's like unlocking. How do I unlock the peak of my potential right now in this moment, to perform at the highest level in this given day. And that was what was necessary as a professional athlete, you know what I'm saying? Like, every day you went into work, you knew that that one day was an opportunity. Tomorrow was not promised. So I got to show up today, right? And so it's like, how do we do that as men now when we're building things, when we have opportunities that might come across our desk and like, what are we going to do in that moment? Are we going to be mental, mentally clear? Are we going to have the clarity, the mental energy, the physical energy to show up the new the way we need to show up? And so these are the problems that we're. We're really looking to solve for.
- [03:54]
Rich Shimmers
I always say as. As an entrepreneur, you know, you want to build a big thing, like, you got to overpay for excellence. That's not just money, but it's time. It's energy, it's resources. At least you got to go through seasons of it to where you're willing to overpay. And, you know, you got to pay yourself. You got to pay yourself first. That's why I said do the hardest thing first. For me, the way I structure my work week is I front load everything, but Also, the way I structure every day is like, I do the hardest thing first and I got to pay myself first. So I'm usually, you know, first thing in the morning, I'm going to the gym and get my lift in. If I start with that, come in the office, man, get my coffee. I already got my lift in. I'm feeling hydrated. I'm feeling a little pumped. The day just flows. But those days where, you know, maybe I don't wake up early enough to go to the gym, and now I skip the gym, I come to the office, I'm starting my day with an L. And it's just such a good momentum builder to start the day with a nice lift. Come in. But I always say, you got to take care of your body, you got to take care of mine. It all starts with that. If you don't have your health, none of the stuff that we're doing really, really matters. So one of the problems that I hear a lot of business owners and even people listening to show might be struggling with today is I don't have the energy. I feel fatigued. I don't have the energy to get through the day. And when you're. When you're tired, you're not going to have motivation, you're not going to have energy to kind of get through, make decisions, put out fires, and do all the things that we got to do in order to operate a high level. And so what is the best way to combat energy levels and fatigue, all that sort of thing.
- [05:15]
Larry English
Well, let me just start by saying this, is that people always, often you'll hear that, like, time is our most valuable resource. And I think that that's a bit of a fallacy. It's not. Energy is the most valuable resource.
- [05:27]
Rich Shimmers
Okay.
- [05:28]
Larry English
It really is. Because think about it, if you got all the time in the world, but you don't have the energy and the capacity to be able to show up at a high level. There's someone that had, that was short on time, but they had the vitality, they had the energy, and they did something that took you an hour. They did it in a matter of 5, 10 minutes and got a result with feedback and were able to iterate three times before you could even get one rep in, right? And so the energy thing is so clear, so key. I think in. In many ways it also corresponds to, like, this mental clarity piece. And it's like you have the physical energy and the mental energy, and those are like, really two incredible and important aspects. I would say the most important piece to the equation is like approaching things from an objective standpoint and understanding where we're at. You know, that's why all of our guys, I implore and it's a critical aspect of our programming is you're getting blood work day one as soon as you come in. Because we need to see the quantitative data like you come in complaining about a lag as it relates to energy or vitality or all these things. And we don't necessarily know what we're dealing with until we look at the numbers. And so we have our performance docs look at the lab work. What do your inflammation markers look like? What do your homocysteine levels look like? These correspond directly to overall mental clarity and mental energy. What are your hormone levels look, look like your metabolic markers. Right. And then we can start to kind of address and combat what the potential underlying issues are. And we don't want to patch on like band aids. We want to work at the foundational level. Correct. And patch up the holes that are these leaks, the energy leaks, if you will, solidify the foundation. And then we're able to build incrementally on top of that. Right. We're able to correct the hormone pathways. We're able to address nutrition in a way that's specific to things that you were maybe deficient in. We're able to address like your training, your cardio programming and things with a, with a structure that's very precise and, and, and custom built, tailor made, if you will. And so these are the ways that we tend to look at the, the energy piece. I would say a hormone, the hormone, especially for men, hormone health. And testosterone is really the foundation of a lot of the drive, motivation and mental clarity. And it was one of those scenarios like if this we know is a point of leverage and especially as we age to not then be optimizing and accessing that point, then it's like we're doing ourselves a disservice in many ways. And so I would say that hormone levels really set at the foundation of a lot of that. And then secondly would likely be nutrition because the nutrition is like how they say you can't outwork a bad diet. And a lot of people get this fallacy is like, oh, I eat healthy. Well, what does that mean? Right. What is healthy? Right. We need you eating with precision. Right. And, and, and these are the keys that we really tend to focus on.
- [08:49]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah. So low testosterone, I think that's something that is, is a key word as a trending word kind of over the last five Six years. I feel like low T is something that is openly talked about now. And testosterone therapy, we're talking peptides, we're talking. What's the other big one that people take? TRT.
- [09:09]
Larry English
Yeah.
- [09:10]
Rich Shimmers
Right.
- [09:10]
Larry English
Yep.
- [09:11]
Rich Shimmers
Whereas I feel like, you know, 10, 15, 20 years ago, it was kind of looked down upon people.
- [09:15]
Larry English
Yeah. These things were taboo for the wrong reason. Right. There was some flawed data that came out in the overarching health space that kind of was just completely erroneous, that painted some of these compounds specifically and namely testosterone as a pathway that was somehow the devil when. Now that's all been clearly refuted. But, you know, when something makes a headline is like. And then it gets rescinded. Nobody sees the fact that it was rescinded. Right. It's just they remember the sticker shock of the headline. And so I think that that's one of the things that is actually a big part of the current administration's. Ironically enough, their agenda is to in essence correct some of the bad or unnecessarily, unnecessarily negative stigma that has been associated to testosterone replacement therapy itself specifically. And so now even they're now working with the FDA to correct some of that. I mean, they had it scheduled. It shouldn't be scheduled. Right. There's so many men that are unfortunately walking around with only a fraction of who they are in their identity at the really like, foundational level, and they don't even know it. Right. And this is, this is, you know, healthy. Testosterone is. Levels, is actually one of the. One of the clearest markers for longevity over the long term. And so I think that this is a unnecessary stigma that is finally getting kind of peeled back, if you will.
- [10:51]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah, that's good. So what's the difference between free testosterone and. What's the other one?
- [10:57]
Larry English
Total testosterone.
- [10:57]
Rich Shimmers
Total testosterone. What's the difference between free testosterone and total testosterone?
- [11:01]
Larry English
So total testosterone is kind of just this blanket number that is ideal, is in theory floating around in your system, whereas free testosterone is what you actually have access to. Okay. What you're actually. What is actually binding and you're able to access. So you're going to feel the actual qualitative sensations of actually those. That testosterone docking and you getting access to it from a vitality standpoint, an energy standpoint, a health perspective, a mental
- [11:33]
Rich Shimmers
clarity standpoint, which number is thrown out more like when guys say, oh, total, I'm at 900, I'm a thousand. That's. These are total.
- [11:39]
Larry English
Yeah. And they may not even really have access to it all wow.
- [11:42]
Rich Shimmers
And so, and so the free testosterone is typically what percentage of the total or is it going to vary with most guys?
- [11:48]
Larry English
Yeah, I think it's, I think the percentage is, is like 2% or something.
- [11:53]
Rich Shimmers
It's really 2% but yeah, so you're told. So you're going to be a thousand. You could be sitting at 20.
- [11:58]
Larry English
Yeah.
- [11:58]
Rich Shimmers
Free.
- [11:58]
Larry English
And so if you. 20 is kind of like baseline but if you really want to get like to optimal levels, you really want to have it up 40, like close to 40.
- [12:07]
Rich Shimmers
40. Okay. No one talks about that number. It's always the big number.
- [12:10]
Larry English
Yeah.
- [12:11]
Rich Shimmers
So the big number is almost irrelevant.
- [12:13]
Larry English
It is to a certain degree. It really is. If you're not able to access it and really make use of it.
- [12:18]
Rich Shimmers
What are some natural or like what are some healthy normal testosterone levels for total.
- [12:23]
Larry English
For men that is not being supplemented in any way, shape or form?
- [12:28]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah. Like what's a good healthy range for, for men that are, you know, 30s, 40s, 50s. That's, that's healthy to where you should be feeling good, you should have energy and you should have the testosterone to actually put on lean muscle.
- [12:39]
Larry English
Yeah. And see, look like that, that's the trap, right. That's the trap that they want you to fall victim to is that if you're at this number then you should feel good when reality. That's not the case. It's individual. We're all in a one. Right. And so they have what's referred to as reference ranges. And so the reference ranges will tell you that if you are anywhere as like call it like a 35, 40 year old man, that if you're anywhere, you know, north of probably 300 to 500, that these are normal levels. Right. And you should be fine. So go away, get out of my office. Right. When in reality that's just simply not the case.
- [13:15]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah. That seems low to me.
- [13:17]
Larry English
And I think that one of the things that was most alarming to me is like when I first got clarity around this through like our team and our docs and whatnot, I was when they highlighted this, this idea as it relates to like if you took like my grandfather, like your grandparents, their generation for instance, your 25 year old male walking around today has the testosterone levels of in our grandparents generation, what would have been like maybe a 50 year old man.
- [13:50]
Rich Shimmers
Really?
- [13:51]
Larry English
Yeah. So that just goes to show you that the environment that we live in today is compromised. Right. We're dealing with so many additional environmental variables that are impacting these hormonal levels. They're suppressing testosterone levels. And so in parallel to these suppressed testosterone levels, then the ranges move down, they're moving in lockstep. So they're moving. So it's like you are average amongst hormonally compromised aggregate of individuals. Right. And so what does that then say? It's like, look, you have to approach things with, you know, an optimization mindset and be willing to kind of take control of your own healthcare and say, hey, you know what, this is not enough for me. The other thing I would add to this, this very nuanced, very kind of caveat that nobody really talks about is when you look at reference ranges, for instance, that in and of itself is structured and based off of an approach mathematically of a two standard deviation approach to that specific biomarker. That metric, in essence what that is doing is that's cutting off the top two and a half percent of performers relative to the given biomarker in the bottom two and a half percent. So if you were to look at like relative to like the NBA, the, the LeBron James or like in the NFL, like the Tom Brady, like the highest performers in this category, they're thrown out. We don't even know what their numbers look like. So that's not even included in like these ranges that they're creating. Right. And so as high performing men, we like to view ourselves as being elite.
- [15:34]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah.
- [15:35]
Larry English
We're pursuing this life of, you know, being in the 1%. Yeah, right. That number is not even included in a lot of these kind of reference ranges relative to a specific biomarker. And so these are the ideas that they don't want you to necessarily know about. You know what I mean?
- [15:51]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah, that's, that's a good point. I always say if you want to be in the 1%, don't do what the 99 are doing. So same thing with the fitness. You know, I'm not a huge fitness guy. I love prioritizing my fitness. But I work out at a gym, for example here in San Diego called Compound Newer Gym. It's been open about three years, but is great bodybuilding gym. It's huge. They got all the best equipment they allow tripods, cameras, people can go in there, shoot content, you can take a shirt off. And people that are in really good shape, they work out there. And people even drive down from LA and Orange county on the weekends to get a day pass called Compound Compound Lifting Club. If you're, if you're listening to Check it out, Check it out. It's good, it's right there. In Old Town off Moreno Boulevard. But anyhow, I like working out there because I'm not a fitness influencer, but I like working out there because people are in really good shape. I always say in business, this game's about being in the right rooms. I never want to be the smartest person in the room because that's how I know I'm continuing to grow. Same thing with fitness. I go in here, a lot of these folks are in really, really good shape. They play loud music and so it's easy for me to get up and I get a way better lift in, in that environment than I would at a 24 Hour Fitness where there's, you know, people that are out of shape, that are in their 50s and 60s walking around. Right. And so I like that kind of environment. So, you know, same thing with, with getting in shape and testosterone, all that sort of stuff, it's like get around the folks that are doing the thing that you want to do at a high level. So I'm curious for you, man. You mentioned blood testing is very important. What numbers are you guys looking at outside of the testosterone levels when you guys get some of the blood work?
- [17:20]
Larry English
Yeah, one of the big things is like, we want to look at your inflammation markers. So like reactive protein is another one.
- [17:25]
Rich Shimmers
Why?
- [17:27]
Larry English
Because inflammation really sets at the foundation of many, if not all disease. And so C reactive protein is a marker that specifically indicates if there's a systemic inflammation problem. So that's one of the big ones. Looking at your triglycerides, your cholesterol levels, these are all more of like the metabolic and cardiac related markers that we want to look at. I've mentioned previously homocysteine levels. If you're not methylating and things of this nature, like you are going to have very clear qualitative kind of detriments, if you will, into like your overall performance. So health is, and like long term health and longevity is this thing that I think that fundamentally is important to all of us, But a thing that is very, I think, unique around the way that we approach things too, is that we're also looking for longevity, but not at the expense of performance because we know that people want to feel good right now, have the highest level levels of energy and clarity, perform to perform at the highest level, both mentally and physically in the moment. We got stuff to do.
- [18:42]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah, yeah.
- [18:43]
Larry English
You know what I'm saying? So these are some of the things that we really tend to focus on and look at what else as it relates to those markers are really important. I would say, you know, just ensuring that your estrogen levels are in check relative to your testosterone levels. These are things that we want to see.
- [19:03]
Rich Shimmers
And, and men, men do naturally produce estrogen as well.
- [19:07]
Larry English
That's correct. Yeah, it's a, that's an actual vital hormone for men as well, especially as it relates to libido, longevity, energy, all these things.
- [19:17]
Rich Shimmers
So a little bit of estrogen is good for men?
- [19:19]
Larry English
Yeah.
- [19:19]
Rich Shimmers
Really?
- [19:20]
Larry English
Yeah.
- [19:20]
Rich Shimmers
And a little bit of testosterone is good for a woman?
- [19:23]
Larry English
That's correct.
- [19:23]
Rich Shimmers
Okay.
- [19:24]
Larry English
That's correct.
- [19:24]
Rich Shimmers
And so I didn't even know this was really a thing. So in the blood work, you guys test the estrogen levels of men as well?
- [19:30]
Larry English
Yes.
- [19:31]
Rich Shimmers
Interesting. Okay.
- [19:32]
Larry English
We're looking at IGF levels. This is one that is a signal as to like how your growth hormone secretion is working. Which growth hormone is something that declines as well as, as we age, IGF levels tend to be the marker and the signal that correspond most clearly to that. And you know, optimizing those IGF levels are going to do things like helping with sleep optimization, continuing and improving body composition over time, and also maintaining lean tissue, lean muscle tissue and muscle preservation, if you will. So these are things, these are markers that we care about and that we look at also. Yeah, yeah.
- [20:20]
Rich Shimmers
That's really big. I'm curious with, with the playing days with the Chargers and then, and then later on you played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Was the nutritionist. Was a lot of this stuff that you're alluding to right now, the blood work and all that. This is obviously 10, 15 years ago, but was it pretty dialed back then? No, it was not.
- [20:38]
Larry English
It was more of an afterthought really. It was more of an afterthought. And I think that that is no longer the case.
- [20:43]
Rich Shimmers
Damn.
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Larry English
That's no longer the case. It's like now I feel like these teams, the organizations and just professional sports in general has incrementally gotten more and more precise in their approach in many different aspects, even like the psychological side of things. Like most of the teams and organizations have like sports psychologists that they're actively pursuing that pathway as well with all of their players. So I think that it was much less then that it is a focus now. I mean, if you go up to like for instance, the new Chargers facility, like they got the, you know, highest level of like in house nutrition you could hope for, like, and training and all of these types of things. And so I think these things were a little bit more old school bad back in my day, even despite the fact that it was only, you know.
- [21:42]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah.
- [21:43]
Larry English
10, 15 years ago.
- [21:44]
Rich Shimmers
Give me an idea. Like what. The nutrition, the training, like, all the. All the medicine that they had for you guys, because you, for your first round draft pick, come in middle linebacker, number 52, and you're playing at Qualcomm Stadium, obviously, you know, older stadium, but, you know, this isn't too long ago. You know, we're talking, you know, 2009, so this isn't really too long ago, but give us an idea. What was the technology? Like, what was the medicine and the training and all that sort of stuff? Nutrition, what was that like back in.
- [22:12]
Larry English
Yeah, it's definitely a little bit more old school back in 2009. Yeah. And I. And I. And I'm still involved with, like, look, the Chargers are like my, My home team, so it's like they got. They hold a. A close. A place close to my heart at all times, you know, and so I don't think that they would deny the fact that things were a little bit antiquated back in those early days at.
- [22:36]
Rich Shimmers
At.
- [22:37]
Larry English
At. At Qualcomm. And so, like, for instance, our. Our nutrition was, like, outside in our tent outside the practice facility. You know what I'm saying? And so obviously it was, you know, it was good food, but it wasn't. It wasn't what it is now.
- [22:50]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah. It wasn't specialized to. To the player.
- [22:53]
Larry English
No. And it was more so centered around, like, our stuff was at that time, more so solving around, like, yo, you had to report to camp at a given weight, and whatever you had to do to be at that weight, you better report to camp. Camp and make weight, otherwise you get fined per pound.
- [23:11]
Rich Shimmers
Damn.
- [23:12]
Larry English
And so, like, now doing. What we do now is like, had I approached things with that level of precision back then, it would have, like, served me in so, so many incredible ways.
- [23:23]
Rich Shimmers
So if you were over ten pounds, they would find you a. A dollar amount per pound, you're over.
- [23:27]
Larry English
Yeah.
- [23:27]
Rich Shimmers
Damn.
- [23:28]
Larry English
Until you got 1500 per pound or every single week. Yeah. Until you got your weight down. Oh. And I don't know if it was a recurring. Yeah, yeah, fine. It was more so by reporting to camp.
- [23:38]
Rich Shimmers
So what people do, like, because I had a UFC guy on recently, and we're talking about weight cuts, and, dude, he's like, bro, like, a lot of these. A lot of these guys are walking in a week, a week before the weigh in, and they're like 24, 25 pounds over what they got away in. And he's like, dude, it's a lot of dehydration, like a lot of crazy shit to where they're basically almost killing themselves just to make weight. Were some of these guys doing that back then? Just.
- [24:02]
Larry English
I would argue that not to that degree, because, yeah, I don't think that we knew the strategies with which to do a lot of that stuff that's so commonplace in these sports where weigh ins are a contingency to being able to compete. And so when you have that, like, dynamic embedded into like, the fabric of your sport, I would make the argument that those guys know some of the strategy. And despite the fact that those strategies being really risky, it's like it's commonplace for them. Whereas with us is maybe this kind of like, thing that was, you know, you had to do it to make to. To get to camp, but it wasn't embedded into whether or not you were able. Gonna be able to play on Sundays.
- [24:47]
Rich Shimmers
Right, right, right. Yeah, that made. That makes a lot of sense. So a lot of these guys come in, so you could probably tell like after the summer, like, who was really on top of their game.
- [24:56]
Larry English
Oh, yeah.
- [24:57]
Rich Shimmers
And then. And then who kind of. Who kind of let it slip a little bit, right?
- [24:59]
Larry English
Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure, for sure.
- [25:01]
Rich Shimmers
That's interesting. And would you. Could you. Did you see a direct resemblance with the guys that were like, really dialed when they came back from the summer to, like, to their. Their season that they were going to play in and like, you would see them, you know, play at a really peak level or no?
- [25:16]
Larry English
Well, in the summer, yes. But what I will say is that there were some guys that were like, very tenured, perennial Pro Bowler type players that you see them in the actual proper off season, like in the spring, like around OTAs, and you'd see him like, that's such and such.
- [25:33]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah.
- [25:34]
Larry English
But they had their process dialed in so much.
- [25:37]
Rich Shimmers
They would get back quick that you'd
- [25:39]
Larry English
think, like, you'd see him in spring Fridays, like, this guy looks like a bum out here.
- [25:43]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah.
- [25:44]
Larry English
But then summer, like, they're. You're constantly seeing that progression happen. And then they would peak all the time, like in the perfect. At the perfect time frame where for camp, and then segueing into the season, they were able to perform at the highest level. So it's like you would see this with a lot of the veterans that they would kind of figure out this process with which to allow their body to repair both psychologically and physically, and then peak at the proper time to then continue and, you know, perform at a high level for 10, 12 13, 14 years.
- [26:23]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah. I'm curious, you as a middle linebacker, what. What was the kind of ideal weight and physique that they wanted for you guys?
- [26:31]
Larry English
Yeah, for me. So like, my ideal weight was like right at around 250 and that.
- [26:37]
Rich Shimmers
And you're 6:3.
- [26:38]
Larry English
I like to claim 6:3, but I'm 6:2 and a half.
- [26:42]
Rich Shimmers
Okay.
- [26:43]
Larry English
But. And that really stemmed from. So when I came into the league, I came in at around 250. And then by probably year four or five, I had. That had crept up to. I remember around 2012, I had gotten a little too big.
- [27:02]
Rich Shimmers
What was the most you ever. What was the most you ever weighed? 270.
- [27:05]
Larry English
Is 270 okay? And I felt it like I was maybe stronger and I was able to kind of like sit in the pocket and, you know, get head to head with some of these guys that were like £300. But yeah, I wasn't moving the same. And so from that point on, they were like, you got to report at 250. Yeah.
- [27:24]
Rich Shimmers
Moving forward, what was your best 40 time?
- [27:26]
Larry English
46 flat. I was out and so.
- [27:29]
Rich Shimmers
So you were walking around 250, 260 and you're doing four six flat.
- [27:32]
Larry English
Yeah, that was my. That was my best time. I wasn't a track guy, though. And so that was one of the. That somebody asked me if there. If there was one regret that I would. That I would have had around my early years, I would have stayed in track. I would have actually ran track because it would have made me better at running the 40, which didn't really matter until you guys at the combine, because it's the track guys that are so good. Like coming out of this stance, like this track start to then run this, you know, blazing 40 time.
- [28:03]
Rich Shimmers
What's the fastest 40 time for. For somebody starting middle linebackers in the league that you've ever seen?
- [28:08]
Larry English
Guys now is like getting crazy. Like, you got guys running four threes in their linebacker.
- [28:13]
Rich Shimmers
Middle linebackers running four three.
- [28:15]
Larry English
Yeah, you got guys running fast like that now.
- [28:17]
Rich Shimmers
Damn. That's like. That's a cornerback speed.
- [28:20]
Larry English
Oh, my gosh. It's. That's world class speed.
- [28:23]
Rich Shimmers
Damn. That's crazy, man. That's crazy. So, okay, so the. You were 250 was kind of like the ideal weight. And then. And you're saying back in the Qualcomm days, man, you're playing days, they didn't have a ton of nutrition other other than, hey, this is the food we got for the team.
- [28:37]
Larry English
Yeah.
- [28:38]
Rich Shimmers
Wow. Wow. That's crazy.
- [28:39]
Larry English
Yeah.
- [28:40]
Rich Shimmers
Because now it's like, you know, I know these NBA guys, at least they're like, they all have different metabolisms, but they got nutritionists that are like, this is what you eat based on your metabolism. And everything's like, very customized.
- [28:52]
Larry English
Yeah. And this was one of the things that we never did. Like, I know personally, I never did it at that time, but it was taking, like, a precise and objective, strategic approach to caloric intake, macronutrient intake. How much protein were we getting in? It was like, no, like, eat more food or eat less food. More like that. You know what I'm saying?
- [29:16]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah. So it was don't eat greasy food.
- [29:18]
Larry English
Don't eat fried foods.
- [29:19]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah, yeah.
- [29:20]
Larry English
Don't eat pork. It was more of these broad, ambiguous ideas, and I would argue that now they're approaching things a little bit more precisely.
- [29:30]
Rich Shimmers
What was it like playing with Ladinian Tomlinson? I know that was kind of the tail end of his career, but, like, what was it like playing with, with
- [29:35]
Larry English
lt, the consummate professional. Consummate professional. Incredible leader. So committed to the sport, so committed to the organization. An incredible human best teammate, and just a really, really incredible leader that showed up every day. And so it was like, people like lt, people like Antonio Gates, these guys, the way that they showed up for 11, 12, 13, 14 years, they really exemplify what it meant to be a true professional. Not even just a professional athlete, a professional. You know what I'm saying? You always knew what you were going to get, right?
- [30:15]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah. Yeah.
- [30:16]
Larry English
So. So that's what it was.
- [30:17]
Rich Shimmers
Like, what was, I'm curious, like, what the main difference was in terms of, like, leadership in the locker room between LT Antonio Gates and Philip Rivers, all
- [30:28]
Larry English
three of them incredible leaders. Antonio, I would say, was more along the lines of the quiet confidence. He didn't have to say much, but the way that he showed up and worked, it was just the example of what it to show up when it really mattered. I still remember around 2009, 2010, where he had some of, like, the most productive periods of his career based on touches. Yeah. And he's, like, playing with, like, crazy injuries. I watched that guy not be able to walk throughout majority of the week, but then come in on Sundays and lay it on the line, you know, figure out ways to be that clutch player that, you know, won games for us down the stretch. Philip, despite what people recognize, he was one of the best teammates that you could ever ask for. Obviously emotional and a fiery guy that loved the sport of football. Funny, really funny. Incredibly funny cat But Philip was almost that type of cat where he's like, almost like, like, almost like on the level of like a coach, like approach things in that level with that level of authority with.
- [31:44]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah. Like mindset driven and all that sort of stuff.
- [31:47]
Larry English
Yeah, yeah.
- [31:48]
Rich Shimmers
What's the craziest thing you've ever hear Philip say?
- [31:51]
Larry English
The funniest things with Philip is like, you know, Philip is a man of faith and he didn't swear at all. So he's so passionate that when you match that with no swearing.
- [32:02]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah.
- [32:02]
Larry English
Some of those four letter words had to be replaced by some of these words that you don't often hear a grown man say. Like. Yeah, like get to the stinking ball. Things of that nature.
- [32:11]
Rich Shimmers
Right.
- [32:12]
Larry English
And. And yelling. Yelling and having a rant, an emotional rant, absence of four letter words. So, yeah, he had these placeholder words that made it somewhat of a. A little bit of a funny outcome. But then lastly, then LT with his leadership traits, I think that it was, it was, it was sacrifice, really. Like, I think that he for so long was and still is like the face of the organization. I mean, he. He's the only player that I know of personally. They got. Had the bolt tattooed on him. So it's like I got to, to. To. To San Diego Day 1. That was the first thing that I noticed. Like, he got a bolt, his charger bolt on his calf. So that means like, it was like blood in, blood out for him. And so I think that that kind of like exemplifies what the team and what the sport really meant to him,
- [33:12]
Rich Shimmers
you know, and that run we had from like 04 to 09 was like, that was. When I think of San Diego Chargers, like, it was, it was rocking in San Diego at that time. Lt was a big part of it. Philip Antonio were big parts of it. And you came in that 09 season was, I mean, 13 and three. You guys had a buy first round. Bye. So you got to experience that. That kind of like that chapter. And that was. That was sick, man. The energy in town was insane. And like, you know, the energy at Qualcomm was, was rocking. And that was, that was a different season and. But dude, freaking amazing. You got to play with Keenan too.
- [33:47]
Larry English
Yeah.
- [33:48]
Rich Shimmers
Is it crazy to think that this dude's still balling.
- [33:49]
Larry English
Yeah.
- [33:50]
Rich Shimmers
This many years later?
- [33:51]
Larry English
Yeah. I remember when Keenan came in as a rookie and from day one you knew he had something special.
- [33:56]
Rich Shimmers
Dude, I remember hooping with Keenan at. He would, he would play pick up all at 24 Hour Fitness out here. Yeah, he loved playing basketball.
- [34:04]
Larry English
Antonio would do. Would do that from time to time. I don't know if he would do it at 24 Hour Fitness, but Keenan
- [34:10]
Rich Shimmers
would just pull up the 24 Hour Fitness and just start playing pickleball. He's pretty good, too.
- [34:14]
Larry English
Yeah. Like, and look, basketball was arguably, like, kind of like my first love from the standpoint, like, you could just go outside and hoop. So, like, basketball was a sport that I really enjoyed so much, but there came a point where I was so focused on what my future looked like as a football player that I wasn't willing to risk, like, some stupid little injury that would, like, deviate my trajectory. Right. And so I just stopped playing. And so I remember, like, during those years, like when I had actually then at that point got into the league, that guys were still like playing pickup ball. And I never was willing to do it because I didn't want to risk what that would look like if I come down on an ankle. And then I got to go back and tell the team, like, hey, like, I got this, you know, big swollen ankle. I'm not able to perform at the highest. So. So I wasn't really willing to do that. But there are a lot of guys that do it and really had no problems.
- [35:12]
Rich Shimmers
So. Yeah, yeah, I know you never got to play with Marty Schottenheimer, right? But, but you play with a lot of guys that did, did play with Marty. What have you heard? It was like playing with Marty because he was kind of one of the last, like, old school, like hardcore coaches in the league, right?
- [35:26]
Larry English
Yeah, old school, hard nose guy. But they really rolled for Marty a lot. And so all my, all the guys, the, you know, Sean Phillips of the world, LT Sean Merriman, all these guys that when I came in, you know, it was always, you know, nothing but good things said about that chapter and about Marty himself as a man and what he meant to them as a leader. And so I didn't get to have my, that direct experiential perspective. Right. But it was kind of the second hand kind of representation of what he was that I got from all those guys.
- [36:08]
Rich Shimmers
So, damn, you guys, you guys had a lot of talent on that roster, man. Sean Merriman, you were, you were playing middle linebacker. You had Sean Phillips on the other side.
- [36:17]
Larry English
Sean Phillips, yeah. Vincent Jackson on the squad those years.
- [36:20]
Rich Shimmers
Yes.
- [36:20]
Larry English
Lt Marlon McCree. Phillip. Yeah, yeah.
- [36:25]
Rich Shimmers
Who, who was, who was playing corner? Who was number 23 corner? I forget.
- [36:28]
Larry English
We had. So we had Antonio Cromartie out there
- [36:32]
Rich Shimmers
playing number 31 Jammer Quinn. Jammer. That's what I'm talking about. He's 23.
- [36:36]
Larry English
Yeah, we had Jammer out there playing corner. So those were, those were the guys.
- [36:41]
Rich Shimmers
You guys had a squad.
- [36:42]
Larry English
Yeah.
- [36:42]
Rich Shimmers
And then on the offensive side of the ball you had, you know, Gates, Philip. Yeah, that was the good old days, man. And these pros had a big season in 09. Yeah, that was like his, I think that was like his record breaking year.
- [36:55]
Larry English
Yeah, yeah, he did.
- [36:57]
Rich Shimmers
That's crazy, dude. That's crazy. So when you, when you think of your, your NFL days, you, you, you think were the best memories with the Chargers or with the Tampa Bay Bucks?
- [37:04]
Larry English
Yeah, they were with the Chargers. I mean, so look, the majority of my career was spent there with the Chargers. Up drafted by the Chargers. And so again, like I said, a lot of my memories are there with that organization. I think my final two years in Tampa, that was kind of like the sunset of my career. I was like, the writing was on the wall at that point. Like my body was pretty beat up and so I was, I knew that I was physically on my way out. So psychologically I was starting to look at like what the next chapter would look like in those years as well. When I was in Tampa, Buccaneers organization itself was kind of in like a rebuilding phase where they were rebuilding themselves. And so, so that was kind of a, a little bit of like characterized by my segue into retirement.
- [37:54]
Rich Shimmers
I feel you on that. So with, with mind, body mastery, and by the way, for anyone that wants to go check it out, you can go to mindbodymastery.com training to check it out and see what it's like working with, with Larry. But who, who was the, the typical, you know, customer clients, Someone that, that's a good fit to work with you guys?
- [38:14]
Larry English
Yes. It's usually businessmen, ages really 35 to 50 that tend to get the most value out of what it is that we do. Businessmen, entrepreneurs, people that like I said, are focused on pursuing health from the lens of how can I use this as a point of leverage to perform at the highest level to show up in a bigger way? I mean, these are guys that are now starting to feel the realities and like the gravity of aging and. Right. And so it's like, how do I course correct on that?
- [38:52]
Rich Shimmers
And so you're helping them with everything from blood work, the T levels, building lean muscle, getting in the best shape, all that sort of stuff. What else do you help them with?
- [39:02]
Larry English
Yeah, so, so basically everyone that comes in and joins our programs in essence what they're doing is they're getting direct access to my whole performance team. And you know, I like to kind of look at it as to like the people ask like, what do you do? It's like, look, you know how, you know, you take somebody like LeBron James.
- [39:19]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah. Freaking.
- [39:20]
Larry English
He's got this one and a half million dollar performance team that is really his ecosystem. That is the key to him performing at the highest level on the court, that he's got that one and a half million dollar team off the court. That's in essence what we do for high performing businessmen. Look, look, looking to perform at the highest level, looking to amplify their health and their health instead of being this kind of thing that holds them back for it to then become instead this point of leverage for them. So they're getting access to performance stocks who they're then actually the ones physically running their labs to them, putting together a customized protocol on the health optimization side of things. And then when it comes to structure in relation to training and nutrition, because that's really the blocking and attacking, that's like the foundation. Like once you get those habits in line and put together properly, then you set yourself for like this exponential game with all these different levers as it relates to hormones and peptides and all the, all the exotics. Right. But it's like setting the foundation first. So we actually have, you know, a team of like bodybuilding coaches that are ecosystem partners that are overseeing our clients week to week as it relates to like their training, programming and nutrition and like the adaptations that are occurring relative to how a client's body is responding in real time. So it's really this dynamic approach and this personalized and like customized approach bringing this team of high performance and putting it around all of our members and our clients to really service like that, that, that team in the background that's, that's allowing them to perform at the highest level.
- [41:14]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah. What do you think of. Because you're 40. I'm 40 as well. What do you think when you see LeBron playing at this age, at the high level that he's playing right now? I mean, the Lakers are making another run and playoff's about to start, you know, but they're competing at a, at a very high level. But like, what do you, what do you think when you see LeBron at this age playing at the level he is right now? I mean, that's, that's just insane. Right?
- [41:36]
Larry English
Is it like when you see the guys that are able to do that, especially as they age. It also reminds me of like guys like Cristiano Ronaldo, a similar scenario, you know, like from an age perspective and still. And performing at a high level at, you know, past 40 or whatever it is. So many of the guys that are able to do that is they tap into this channel of optimizing themselves and then taking health and performance and making that kind of like this tool in their tool set, whereas the younger guys aren't necessarily focused as much on that because they. And rightfully so, it's like they have to focus on building their skills within the sport, and that's going to be the most kind of like high leverage activity for them. Whereas you have guys that have so many reps and from a skills perspective, they are second to none. Somebody like LeBron, his core awareness and like his actual like from standpoint of being a floor general, like that is like fully has reached levels of mastery. So now it's like, what other levers do we have to now start to incorporate such that you can add more longevity to how long you're able to perform. Perform at the highest levels. Because like with professional athletes specifically, they. Their skills, they don't lose their skills. What happens in their mind just evolves with time. So they get smarter as players. You know what I mean?
- [43:11]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah, yeah.
- [43:11]
Larry English
Experience, perspective. What breaks down is their bodies. And so if you're able to keep. Find a way to keep the body together, then you already have the wisdom. Right.
- [43:23]
Rich Shimmers
That's the magic sauce.
- [43:24]
Larry English
That's what's happened happening with LeBron. Yeah. Now take that same dynamic, same phenomenon, and you overlay that onto a high performer in business. They've been in their business now 10 years, and they, they're reaching levels of mastery as it relates to how they perform inside of their business. Right. But if you can then couple in, you know, being able to access peak physical energy, peak mental energy and physical performance and mental performance coupled with the actual experience and wisdom, then that's.
- [44:02]
Rich Shimmers
Watch out. Yeah, watch out. In this game, unlike football, this game, you know, you can play into your 70s. I mean, Grant. Grant's 68. He's almost 70. And the dude's just getting warmed up. But he's done a good job of taking care of his health, his body. And so that's why I say, if you're listening this right now, you're a business owner, you're, you know, you're a high performer and you want to take it to the next level. You got to get your mind right, you got to get your body Right. And so highly recommend. Go check out Larry. Larry, I appreciate you coming on, my man. Where can the folks get in touch with you? They want to learn more and drop it one more time. If they want to work with you, see what it's like working together, get on a call with you. What does that look like?
- [44:37]
Larry English
Yeah, that I would definitely love to chat. To the extent anybody be interested in what it would look like to work with me and our team. The best place, honestly, I would say is. Is Instagram at Larry English underscore. You can find me there. I'm happy to have a chat directly with you and. And then that Instagram account will also direct you to our. Our. Our application application page, which is mindbodymastery.com training, as you said. But beyond that. Yeah, I'm excited. I enjoyed this, man.
- [45:12]
Rich Shimmers
Yeah, man. I appreciate you coming on, dude. And man, what an honor. Number 52 in the building, middle linebacker for the San Diego Chargers. Let's go, baby. He is learning English. I'm rich Shimmers listeners. Thanks for tuning. We'll see you guys on the next one. Peace.