016 - Health Movement Podcast - 5 Fitness Myths - Mindset Hack - How Often to Train - Cruz Oguz

[00:00:04] Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of the Health Movement Podcast. My name is Derek. I'm a two-sport collegiate athlete, teacher of over 20 years and a certified personal trainer. And I usually have Tim with me and he will be on in a little bit, but we had some technical difficulties with this episode. We had Cruz Oguz on who is a collegiate athlete. He was a track runner at Mississippi State as a freshman and switched over to Delta State to play football there.

[00:00:35] During the process of recording that episode, we unfortunately lost some of the footage as well as had some glitches and other issues. So I was able to salvage some of that. But for now, we're going to combine that interview with this episode, which will be a quick one.

[00:00:53] I wanted to talk about the best way if you're trying to lose body fat percentage and get in better shape, what I think the easiest way to do that would be and give people a little plan. And then we will end the show with the interview with Cruz with Tim as well. So for right now, you're stuck sadly with just me, which I know is a huge disappointment for our many fans out there, all tens of you.

[00:01:19] So anyway, thank you for joining us. We have a special guest coming this coming week. We'll be courting with Rebecca Shocker, who is a mindset coach for men. Somebody I've been very, very excited to have on here to get a very different perspective about the why people have for improving their lives, both in terms of fitness, nutrition, overall health, and many other aspects.

[00:01:45] So make sure to check that interview out next week. We shouldn't have any more technical difficulties at that point.

[00:01:53] But before you begin any new training programs, we're not doctors. So make sure you consult with yours about what's best for you.

[00:02:01] So, all right, here's the way I think would be the best to drop body fat if that's what you're looking to do in order to improve your health.

[00:02:09] And just as an aside, when we say, you know, lose body fat percentage and all that, it's not aesthetics.

[00:02:17] We don't care what people look like. That's not why we're doing it.

[00:02:21] Our goal here is to help people become healthier through fitness, through nutrition, through recovery, through mindset, so that you can live a better life, so that you can be there for your family, for all the important things that come from life.

[00:02:35] So I just want to make sure that everybody knows that the important piece here is overall health.

[00:02:41] It has nothing to do with looks.

[00:02:44] All right, so the first thing that you would need to figure out, number one, is to figure out your why.

[00:02:51] Why are you trying to lose weight? Why are you trying to get in better shape? Why are you trying to be healthier?

[00:02:56] If you simply want to see a number change on a scale, that's not going to work long term.

[00:03:03] You'll get to your goal, and some people will be able to maintain it, but there's a large number of people that once they get to that percentage, or once they get to, excuse me, that number on a scale, the weight starts to come back on.

[00:03:17] Because their goal was to see the scale go to 120 pounds, 180 pounds, whatever it happens to be.

[00:03:24] And then in their mind, they're done.

[00:03:26] They accomplished their goal, it's over.

[00:03:28] And then they go back to eating similarly to what they did before, and the weight comes back on, the energy levels go down.

[00:03:37] And you're back right in the same spot you were before, almost worse off, because now you've been where you wanted to be, and you almost feel more defeated and worse off, because you then let all the weight come back on.

[00:03:52] So the first thing is to figure out your why.

[00:03:55] It could be some people have a health scare and realize that they need to change their lifestyle.

[00:04:00] Some people have family members who have health scares, and then they realize the same thing.

[00:04:05] They're trying to help them get healthier, so they do it themselves.

[00:04:09] Some people want to do it for their kids, for their spouse, for their family members, so that they can be around to enjoy time with them.

[00:04:18] They want to set a good example.

[00:04:20] There are a lot of whys, but you need to make sure you take your time to figure out what that why actually is, and it's got to be a good one.

[00:04:29] It can't be a number on a scale.

[00:04:31] It can't be because beach season is coming up, because the second beach season is over, the weight comes back on, and you're yo-yoing all year long for years, and it's not worth it.

[00:04:43] For me, I have a lot of different reasons.

[00:04:47] I've got kids that I want to be here for.

[00:04:50] I have this podcast, which I do with Tim, and I know that keeps both of us accountable.

[00:04:57] I think we've both said that before, and I know since starting it, I've been better off.

[00:05:02] Tim's been better off definitely working out more consistently, eating better overall.

[00:05:08] So that's part of it.

[00:05:09] Another one is you look at how long life expectancy is.

[00:05:15] I'm 45 years old.

[00:05:16] If I look at the numbers, I've got 30 years left.

[00:05:20] That doesn't cut it for me.

[00:05:21] I want more than 30 years.

[00:05:23] So time is the most valuable commodity we have because you can't get more, but I don't believe that completely.

[00:05:32] I feel like we can create more time.

[00:05:35] Maybe not in a day and definitely not in a year, but you can add years to your life by doing the little things that we're going to talk about right now and that we've talked about in the previous episodes.

[00:05:45] If you take the time to prioritize your health, my life expectancy goes from only having 30 years left to 40, 45 maybe.

[00:05:57] And hell, I even want to hit the 100-year mark.

[00:05:59] I want the century mark.

[00:06:01] So I could still be on my front nine before I hit the back nine.

[00:06:04] I'm 45 if I live to 100.

[00:06:06] I still got more than half those years to go.

[00:06:08] So, and in my mind, if my why is right and I get all this stuff lined up, those aren't going to be retirement home years for the last 20 years.

[00:06:19] I'm going to be able to enjoy myself.

[00:06:21] And that's part of it too.

[00:06:24] My mother is 75 and she goes for vacations riding her bike 20, 30 miles a day.

[00:06:31] Like that, that's what she does.

[00:06:33] So the longevity piece is definitely there.

[00:06:36] So the number one thing you need to do, first step is to figure out your why.

[00:06:40] I would say the second thing to do, and this is simple to remember, it isn't always easy to do, but you need to hit between 10 and 12,000 steps a day.

[00:06:48] You have to be active.

[00:06:50] If you're not moving your body, if you're living a sedentary lifestyle, that is not going to be good for your overall nutrition and your health.

[00:06:59] You can burn about 40 calories per thousand steps, which doesn't sound like a ton.

[00:07:04] But if you're getting between 10 and 12,000 steps, you're burning 400 to almost 500 calories, 480 calories, just walking around.

[00:07:14] You're not really doing much else.

[00:07:15] And that definitely helps out in the long run.

[00:07:20] And I think it can be incorporated into your day and also helps with things like digestion and helping with your sleep.

[00:07:29] It's helping with your activity.

[00:07:31] So that piece, just adding 10,000, 12,000 steps, they're not adding, but making sure you hit that is going to have a huge benefit to you.

[00:07:40] Another thing is your nutrition.

[00:07:43] It's not a diet.

[00:07:44] You're not going on a diet.

[00:07:46] You're changing your lifestyle.

[00:07:47] We've said this a bunch.

[00:07:49] Nutrition.

[00:07:49] This is part three, I would say.

[00:07:52] You need between 80 and 85% whole foods.

[00:07:55] Prioritize protein, one gram per your desired body weight, and then fill in the rest of your calories with a combination of carbs and healthy fats.

[00:08:06] Some people go carnivore diet.

[00:08:08] I know talking to Cruz, that's what he does, and that works for him.

[00:08:12] And if that works for you, that's great.

[00:08:14] But try things out and see what fits best for you.

[00:08:18] There are plenty of calculators to tell how many calories you need in a day to sustain your health.

[00:08:25] I use an Apple Watch, and I know on the fitness app on my phone, it tells me exactly how many calories I'm burning each day just living as well as through exercise.

[00:08:37] And I'm about 35, between 3,000 and 3,500 calories I average per day.

[00:08:44] It depends what I'm doing that day.

[00:08:46] But it falls right in there.

[00:08:48] So I know for me, if my caloric intake is around 2,500, that will generally get me in a 500 calorie deficit, which will have me lose about a pound a week.

[00:09:02] Initially, that's good.

[00:09:04] Four pounds a month is extreme.

[00:09:06] At the beginning, when you start changing your nutrition, you'll notice the weight falls off quicker.

[00:09:11] And then as you progress, it slows down a little bit.

[00:09:14] That's perfectly normal.

[00:09:16] But I would look to prioritize your protein, one gram per pound of body weight.

[00:09:21] Check your calories.

[00:09:23] Look at how many you take in.

[00:09:25] The easiest way to do this would be to eat normally for a week.

[00:09:28] Get an app like MyFitnessPal, track everything you eat.

[00:09:31] See what it is you're taking in each week.

[00:09:33] Cut out 500 calories.

[00:09:35] Or what you can do, cut out 250 calories and increase your activity by 250 calories in terms of output.

[00:09:43] So if you are only getting 500 steps a day and you bump that up to 10,000 steps, right there you're getting another 200 calories expended.

[00:09:52] If you do a workout, if you do anything in addition to that, that can be how the numbers play out.

[00:09:58] So that was number three.

[00:10:00] Number four, resistance training.

[00:10:02] You need to build muscle.

[00:10:03] You need to work on building or maintaining muscle.

[00:10:06] If you don't do any resistance training, your body is not going to use the protein that you're taking efficiently and in the right way.

[00:10:17] If you don't work your muscles, your body will break down your muscles.

[00:10:22] So you want to work on strengthening your muscles.

[00:10:25] You want to work on doing the resistance training.

[00:10:29] That way, your body knows that the food you're taking in, that fuel needs to go to repairing your muscles.

[00:10:35] So it will prioritize burning the fat cells over the protein from your muscles.

[00:10:42] The next thing I would say, step five, and these aren't necessarily in order, but these are five big things.

[00:10:50] Schedule these workouts.

[00:10:51] If you don't treat them like a business meeting and you skip them or don't do it consistently, it's not going to make a difference.

[00:11:00] You need to be consistent with what you're doing.

[00:11:03] If you do it great for two weeks, you'll notice a difference.

[00:11:06] But if you stop, you'll go right back to where you were.

[00:11:09] So the goal here is to find a system that is something that you can maintain consistently for the rest of your life.

[00:11:18] And you can vary it.

[00:11:19] It can change.

[00:11:20] That's fine.

[00:11:20] You might have to change up your resistance training.

[00:11:24] You might not enjoy it anymore.

[00:11:25] Maybe you play basketball for a time period and then you want to switch to tennis or pickleball or whatever it happens to be.

[00:11:32] But find things that you enjoy and incorporate that in and mix things up if you start to get bored.

[00:11:39] Next one, I think this is number six in case I'm losing track, is your cardio.

[00:11:44] If you want to just do walking for your cardio, that's fine.

[00:11:48] Like I said, 10,000 to 12,000 steps a day.

[00:11:50] Other people like to do something a little more active.

[00:11:54] Jump roping is awesome.

[00:11:56] If you want to do 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, do five to 10 minutes of that.

[00:12:01] And that can be enough cardio if you're getting the steps in.

[00:12:05] There's also something called the Norwegian 4x4, I believe it's called.

[00:12:11] This is a little nuts and you probably only need to do this once a week.

[00:12:15] But you go as hard as you can for four straight minutes.

[00:12:18] Three minutes, two minutes, whatever you can do.

[00:12:21] I wouldn't start with four minutes.

[00:12:22] Actually, start with one to two minutes as hard as you can.

[00:12:25] Then this can be on the treadmill.

[00:12:27] This can be on the elliptical.

[00:12:29] It can be just outside running.

[00:12:30] But as hard as you can that you can maintain for that time period.

[00:12:36] And then you go really, really light.

[00:12:38] This can be almost like walking pace for two, three or four minutes,

[00:12:43] whatever you did for the initial thing.

[00:12:45] And then do that four times.

[00:12:47] So it's a four by four.

[00:12:49] Norwegian four by four.

[00:12:50] They say four minutes, three minutes off, four minutes on, three minutes off.

[00:12:55] You're doing the full four minutes.

[00:12:56] It can be less than that if you're going with a lesser time.

[00:13:00] But whatever sort of HIIT workout you want to do, I'm a big fan of those.

[00:13:04] I wouldn't go crazy with them every single day.

[00:13:08] Two, three times a week is probably plenty.

[00:13:11] But if you're looking for a little more cardio than just the walking, that's fine.

[00:13:15] If you just want to do walking, that's enough.

[00:13:17] You don't have to do more than that.

[00:13:20] And then the final piece is your sleep.

[00:13:23] You need to be sleeping seven to eight hours a night.

[00:13:26] There is a percentage of the population that can get away with six or less.

[00:13:31] But it's such a minute percentage that it's almost non-existent.

[00:13:37] Seven to eight hours.

[00:13:38] If you know you have to get up at five o'clock, then subtract seven hours from that.

[00:13:43] Okay, you need to go to bed at 10 or nine, depending on how you feel.

[00:13:47] But it has to be consistent.

[00:13:49] And you want to be going to bed at the same time every night.

[00:13:51] I know not everybody can based on work schedule or whatever life throws at you.

[00:13:56] But ideally, you want to do it as consistently as possible.

[00:14:00] Now, if you're doing all these things, your goal should be to lose one to two percent body fat per month.

[00:14:09] Two is probably the max to do it safely.

[00:14:12] If you're losing more, then you're dropping too much weight too quickly.

[00:14:18] And that's going to be very hard to maintain.

[00:14:20] So if you know you are at 30% body fat and your goal ideal percentage is 10, it's going to take some time.

[00:14:28] If you're at 20% want to get to 10 or 30 want to get to 20, you have to figure out,

[00:14:33] all right, I've got to lose 10 percentage of my body fat.

[00:14:37] If I'm losing one to two per month, it's going to take me five to 10 months if I'm going to lose 10 percentage points.

[00:14:44] If I'm going to lose 20, it's going to take me 20 to 40 months.

[00:14:48] That's okay.

[00:14:49] It's a slow process if you do it right.

[00:14:53] If you're going to lose 50 pounds in a month, it's doable, but it's not consistent.

[00:14:58] It's not something you can maintain and it's going to have side effects that you don't want.

[00:15:04] So do it the right way.

[00:15:06] Do it slowly.

[00:15:07] Take your time.

[00:15:09] Set up your goals.

[00:15:10] Set up your plan.

[00:15:11] And a big thing that will help you out is if you tell somebody about it.

[00:15:16] You don't have to announce it from the rooftops or anything like that.

[00:15:19] But if you tell people, all right, this is what I'm going to do.

[00:15:22] I might need some help from time to time or I just want to tell you so that way I know I'm being held accountable.

[00:15:27] That's great too.

[00:15:30] So that right there, that would be my recommendation for how to lose those percentage body fat.

[00:15:37] If you want, quickly recap.

[00:15:39] Number one, figure out your why.

[00:15:40] Two, 10 to 12,000 steps a day.

[00:15:43] Three, get your nutrition in check.

[00:15:45] Talking about whole foods.

[00:15:47] Prioritize protein.

[00:15:48] Don't worry about getting rid of carbs or fats.

[00:15:52] I don't think you should do that.

[00:15:53] Your body needs some of everything.

[00:15:55] Ideally, I know other people will say differently, but that's just my personal opinion.

[00:16:01] Number four, resistance training.

[00:16:02] You need to be working on your muscles.

[00:16:04] Build muscle.

[00:16:05] It'll help with your metabolism.

[00:16:07] And it will make sure your body is keeping the muscle that you have.

[00:16:13] If you don't do any resistance training, you're going to lose whatever muscle you have.

[00:16:16] Number five, set up a schedule that you're not going to break.

[00:16:22] Six, cardio walking is fine.

[00:16:24] If you want to do some HIIT training, that's high intensity interval training where you're

[00:16:28] going hard for 30 seconds to a minute.

[00:16:31] And then you go easy for the same amount of time.

[00:16:34] You go back and forth, 5, 10, 20 minutes, whatever you want to do.

[00:16:38] That can also be sort of combined with resistance training.

[00:16:41] If you want to do a circuit style training where maybe you do pushups, bench press, and dumbbell

[00:16:46] flies.

[00:16:47] And you go and you cycle through those three things without any rest or very little rest

[00:16:53] in between each one.

[00:16:54] And you do it for time.

[00:16:55] Maybe you do 30 seconds of bench press, 30 seconds of chest press, 30 seconds of pushups,

[00:17:00] and you take 10 seconds off in between and go through.

[00:17:03] That's another fine thing you can do.

[00:17:06] And the last thing, I believe this is number seven, is sleep.

[00:17:10] If you don't sleep, it's going to make this a lot harder.

[00:17:15] One of the benefits of following all this cognitively, your mind's going to be so much

[00:17:20] sharper.

[00:17:21] You're going to think better.

[00:17:22] You're going to have more energy.

[00:17:23] You'll be in a better mood.

[00:17:25] There's a study done by Oxford and Yale, a collaborative, where they found that people

[00:17:31] who exercise consistently take care of themselves earned on average an extra $25,000 per year,

[00:17:38] which seems crazy.

[00:17:40] But all the stuff you learn from being consistent and focused on your fitness and your health,

[00:17:47] if you transfer that over, those skills that you learn into your work and into your business,

[00:17:53] that is a great, great outcome as well.

[00:17:56] So thank you.

[00:17:58] We're going to go right into the interview with Cruz right now with Tim.

[00:18:03] So you don't have to just listen to me talk anymore, but I appreciate you taking the time.

[00:18:08] And we'll jump right into that other interview now.

[00:18:11] Tim, I'm a certified athletic trainer, EMT wellness coach.

[00:18:15] We have a pretty incredible guest with us today.

[00:18:19] He's certainly a little younger and more athletic than the two of us, but that still remains

[00:18:25] to be seen.

[00:18:25] But Cruz, welcome.

[00:18:27] Thank you so much for having me.

[00:18:28] Absolutely.

[00:18:30] Cruz, can you give us a little background about what you're doing with yourself these

[00:18:34] days?

[00:18:35] Absolutely.

[00:18:36] So I'm currently a college football player at Delta State University.

[00:18:40] And funnily enough, Delta State University is in my hometown.

[00:18:44] So, you know, my parents aren't making me pay rent while I'm down here, but they're certainly

[00:18:49] not happy with me being here.

[00:18:50] But the stadium's actually like right there.

[00:18:52] It's literally right there.

[00:18:54] But the previous year, I was running track and field at Mississippi State University.

[00:18:59] So that was a whole shebang.

[00:19:02] I decided I didn't really like track, although I was pretty good at it.

[00:19:05] So I made the transition over to football right now.

[00:19:08] I've gathered a lot of social media followers, or to some people's standards, a lot of social

[00:19:12] media followers just by doing flips.

[00:19:15] And I remember last August, I posted a video which went viral, got a couple million views.

[00:19:20] And I've just been trying to study the algorithm, keep posting, and keep on gaining followers.

[00:19:24] And I've achieved a certain level of success with that.

[00:19:28] So I'm happy to be here.

[00:19:30] Nice, nice.

[00:19:32] In terms of, I've seen some of the videos there and the flips and everything like that.

[00:19:38] I saw a recent one you posted about going for the world record.

[00:19:43] Right.

[00:19:44] Right.

[00:19:44] Yeah.

[00:19:44] So I was actually someone on that same post that I posted commented that, hey, my Italian

[00:19:51] friend, and then they tagged the guy.

[00:19:53] He actually got like 1,200.

[00:19:56] So apparently people are sitting there breaking the record.

[00:19:59] But because, you know, Guinness, official Guinness Book of World Records isn't actually like covering

[00:20:04] it.

[00:20:04] It's not going to count.

[00:20:05] It's not going to go on Google.

[00:20:06] So do I want to take the honorable route and judge it based on actual video recordings of

[00:20:13] these people unofficially breaking it?

[00:20:15] Or do I want to take the unhonorable route of just saying, oh, it doesn't say it on Google.

[00:20:19] It doesn't count.

[00:20:20] I broke it.

[00:20:21] I broke the record.

[00:20:21] So yeah.

[00:20:22] Yeah.

[00:20:23] But my plan for that is I'll go a little bit in depth with it.

[00:20:27] My plan for that is to do one backflip a minute.

[00:20:30] And if I continue to do one backflip a minute for, I believe it's 17 hours, that's 1,050.

[00:20:39] I think 17 times 60 backlifts per hour.

[00:20:44] Yeah.

[00:20:45] That would put me over 1,000.

[00:20:46] That would break the record right there.

[00:20:48] So one backflip a minute for 17 hours?

[00:20:53] That's crazy.

[00:20:54] I mean, it sounds easy, right?

[00:20:56] I think it sounds fairly easy.

[00:20:58] That does not sound easy to me.

[00:21:00] I can't get one backflip in a day, let alone one a minute for 17 hours.

[00:21:07] But that's crazy.

[00:21:12] So what do you do?

[00:21:13] What's your training routine?

[00:21:14] You said you're a college football player.

[00:21:17] Can you elaborate on that a little bit more?

[00:21:19] Yes, sir.

[00:21:20] So when I grew up, I really liked kicking the football.

[00:21:26] So I've got this power line in my front yard.

[00:21:29] And I don't know what it was, but naturally I just kind of went out there and I would see

[00:21:33] people kicking it, you know, watching the NFL or college.

[00:21:35] I would see people kicking the ball.

[00:21:36] And I would just try to kind of kick it over the power line.

[00:21:39] And I never really played soccer.

[00:21:41] But my dad said, oh, you know, you kick a soccer ball just like you kick a football.

[00:21:45] Maybe go out and just like try to try to be the kicker for the team.

[00:21:49] So it's exactly what I did.

[00:21:50] I've always had a love for kicking.

[00:21:53] And now I'm a college kicker for a Division II university.

[00:21:56] But as far as training goes, you know, I think the coach wouldn't like to admit this,

[00:22:01] but he probably didn't give a crap what the kickers do at practice.

[00:22:05] So we're sitting there.

[00:22:06] We go to our lifts.

[00:22:08] We do all that.

[00:22:08] I like to keep myself in shape.

[00:22:10] I like to be strong.

[00:22:11] I do my power cleans.

[00:22:13] I do my dead lifts, my Olympic lifts.

[00:22:15] But at practice, man, it's just kind of messing around most of the time.

[00:22:19] Yeah, yeah.

[00:22:20] Yeah.

[00:22:21] Coaches don't really care what the kickers do at practice.

[00:22:23] How long have you been kicking?

[00:22:25] I've been kicking ever since I was in fifth grade.

[00:22:28] Fifth grade is when I started kicking over the power line in my front yard.

[00:22:35] Were you a kicker in high school or anything?

[00:22:37] Or you played football before you got there, before you got to college?

[00:22:42] Yes, sir.

[00:22:42] I played all four years of high school.

[00:22:44] We couldn't kick in middle school.

[00:22:46] But when I was in middle school, my high school, the high school coach knew about me.

[00:22:50] He said, hey, do you want to come kick for the high school team?

[00:22:53] So that's what I did.

[00:22:54] So I really played high school football for about five years.

[00:22:57] You know, got a little extra year in there.

[00:22:59] We got some NIL going on.

[00:23:00] But, yeah, so that's essentially it.

[00:23:04] I never really thought that I would play college football, especially after receiving an SEC D1 offer to run track and field.

[00:23:13] But halfway through the year, I realized my heart really wasn't in it.

[00:23:17] And just because you're good at something doesn't mean that you have to pursue it if it's not your dream.

[00:23:22] Yeah, I think that's a good point.

[00:23:24] And it's a lot of commitment, you know, running at that level.

[00:23:30] I was at D3, did track and football D3.

[00:23:34] And there was a level of commitment there.

[00:23:36] There's nothing like D1 and what you were expected to do on that level.

[00:23:40] So, yeah, I mean, if your heart's not in it, then your heart's not in it to find something you love to do.

[00:23:46] Definitely.

[00:23:47] Yes, sir.

[00:23:49] I saw your video with meeting up with Rodrigo Blankenship.

[00:23:54] So that must have been an experience.

[00:23:57] You know, you talked about, like, mindset and stuff like that.

[00:23:59] Can you kind of elaborate on that experience a little bit more?

[00:24:02] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:24:04] I was so surprised.

[00:24:05] I actually didn't know that he wasn't on an active NFL roster.

[00:24:09] Because, you know, he's like, we saw him at Georgia with his sports goggles.

[00:24:13] He was an icon.

[00:24:14] He was iconic.

[00:24:15] Super good.

[00:24:16] And then I believe he got, you know, whatever happened, he got cut from the Colts or the Bucs or whatever it was.

[00:24:22] And there's this one online service that you can use.

[00:24:25] It's called a one-on-one kicking.

[00:24:26] So I just kind of look on it one day and I see get one-on-one coaching from Rodrigo Blankenship.

[00:24:31] So I'm like, wait a minute.

[00:24:32] So I can just, like, meet Rodrigo Blankenship.

[00:24:35] And it pays, like, $100.

[00:24:36] Like, meet up with him, pay $100.

[00:24:37] It's kicked for, like, two hours.

[00:24:38] So I did it.

[00:24:40] And then it was in Birmingham.

[00:24:41] So it's only about four and a half hours away from me.

[00:24:43] So I made the drive.

[00:24:45] And I think it would come as zero surprise for anyone that would actually want to meet him in person.

[00:24:52] The way that he acts on TV or the way that you see him on TV, you can predict exactly how he acts in person.

[00:24:59] You know what he told me?

[00:25:01] He said, oh, man, I'm horrible with water.

[00:25:04] Whenever I get into knee-deep water, I have to be in it with somebody I really, really trust.

[00:25:09] So it's like, he's a cool guy.

[00:25:14] But, you know, he's got his own character.

[00:25:16] He does the little Legos.

[00:25:17] He builds his Legos.

[00:25:18] But, yeah, cool guy.

[00:25:20] I didn't realize that.

[00:25:21] Yeah.

[00:25:22] I heard you talk about, you know, maybe discussing mindset a little bit with him.

[00:25:26] And, basically, with the kicker, you're kind of, you're a unique position.

[00:25:30] And you're on a little bit of an island, even though you're on a team with 11 other people.

[00:25:35] Or you're on the field with 10 other people.

[00:25:37] What would you guys talk about?

[00:25:39] Kind of, can you elaborate on what your mindset piece is like there?

[00:25:43] Yeah, so I think one of the funniest things about kicking is that it doesn't matter how physically strong you are or how good your technique is.

[00:25:51] Because kicking is one of the very few sports, just like golf.

[00:25:55] I'm sure both of you guys play golf.

[00:25:56] That it's almost more mental than it is physical.

[00:25:59] If you have good technique and you have enough power, you could theoretically be the best golfer on earth if your mindset was there every single day.

[00:26:08] But the problem with kicking is that your mind's not going to be with you every single day.

[00:26:12] Your mind is almost wired to self-betray.

[00:26:17] You know, you get what I'm saying?

[00:26:18] It's always going to tell you, oh, you can't do that, you can't do that.

[00:26:20] Oh, don't go work out.

[00:26:22] Don't go exercise.

[00:26:23] You got to do this.

[00:26:24] You got to do that.

[00:26:25] You're starving yourself.

[00:26:26] Like, it's always going to tell you the opposite of what you have to do to achieve your goals.

[00:26:31] So, as far as mindset goes, he didn't really teach me much.

[00:26:36] He just said, you know, he's got his own ritual.

[00:26:38] I think he counts to three or four in his head.

[00:26:42] Just deep breath in, deep breath out.

[00:26:45] He likes to do a little kickback step with his heel.

[00:26:47] That's something that I guess you just pick up on the better you get.

[00:26:51] But, yeah, you know, I was super excited to learn from him and everything that he does.

[00:26:57] So, the fact that I actually got to spend time for two hours, in fact, with him was surreal.

[00:27:03] Do you have goals to – are you happy where you are?

[00:27:06] Do you want to move back to the SEC and kick for a team there?

[00:27:10] Or are you going to ride this wave through Delta State?

[00:27:14] I think whoever said that one famous quote would be like, it would be a shame to see a man not achieve the most that he can with his body or his physical form.

[00:27:25] Whoever said that quote, I think it was like Marcus Aurelius or something like that.

[00:27:28] I think if I were to settle down with Division II football, not an insult to Division II football.

[00:27:35] A lot of people say that D2 football is where D1 dreams come to die.

[00:27:40] And as far as looking out at teammates, that's very, very true.

[00:27:46] So, I think it would be a shame.

[00:27:48] I think it would be a slap in the face of all the ones who have ever believed in me to just settle with D2 football.

[00:27:55] Not that it's like below me, like I'm too good for it, anything like that.

[00:27:59] I just want more for myself.

[00:28:01] That's it.

[00:28:02] Well, I got you.

[00:28:03] That's not a slap in the face of anybody.

[00:28:06] You set your goals where you want to achieve them and that, you know, you do everything you can to get there.

[00:28:12] Right.

[00:28:13] Did you have any mentors or anybody like that that helped you out?

[00:28:16] I know you talked about your dad encouraging you to kick over.

[00:28:21] Are these electrical wires?

[00:28:23] Because part of me sounds like that might end for you.

[00:28:25] Yeah, it's a power line.

[00:28:27] Yeah, that might not end well if you directly drill it.

[00:28:30] Yeah.

[00:28:31] And there's been times where I'll like kind of swim the ball and it'll like hit right underneath the belly of it.

[00:28:38] My mom has come out.

[00:28:39] She says, it's the TV's cut now.

[00:28:41] What are you doing out here?

[00:28:42] I'm like, I don't know.

[00:28:46] But anyway, yeah.

[00:28:47] So mentor-wise, I did mention my dad.

[00:28:50] And I think my dad is one of the most important people that I'm so lucky to have with him growing up.

[00:28:57] He taught me everything.

[00:28:58] Just like I'm sure y'all's fathers taught y'all discipline.

[00:29:02] He would encourage you.

[00:29:03] He taught me that nothing that's worth having is going to be easy.

[00:29:08] And often the easy route is the unrighteous route and the difficult route is probably the correct route that you should take in life as it pertains to anything.

[00:29:19] Yeah, I think that's true for anything you're doing.

[00:29:22] Business, family, athletically.

[00:29:25] The easy route is usually the one that will give you a quick result that doesn't last very long.

[00:29:31] So if you're willing to put, we talk a lot on here about setting goals and consistency and mindset and really having a focus on what you're doing.

[00:29:41] All right.

[00:29:41] Well, we're kind of up against the end.

[00:29:43] I didn't know if there's anything else you wanted to quickly talk about or give a shout-out or anything like that or how people can reach you.

[00:29:52] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:29:53] So, you know, again, thank you guys so much.

[00:29:56] Sorry, I'll do like a little spiel right now.

[00:29:58] But, yeah, thank you guys so much for watching the video.

[00:30:02] Please follow my Instagram page.

[00:30:04] He's going to tag me.

[00:30:05] He's going to do all that.

[00:30:05] Follow my YouTube page as well, please.

[00:30:07] I post kind of vlogs on there every month or so.

[00:30:11] And check out cruzoguz.com.

[00:30:13] And also hlxcruzoguz.com.

[00:30:15] I've got merchandise on there.

[00:30:17] I've got one-on-one coaching.

[00:30:18] So if that's of interest to you, please go ahead and check that out.

[00:30:21] And, you know, I would like to thank my good friends for having me on very much.

[00:30:25] Thank you, Cruz.

[00:30:26] Thank you, everybody, for joining us.

[00:30:28] If you need any help, I'll put Cruz's information down in the show notes.

[00:30:32] You can jump over to healthmovement.us if you want to get in touch with us.

[00:30:36] All right.

[00:30:37] I apologize for the craziness of this episode.

[00:30:39] That wraps up the interview with Cruz.

[00:30:42] And, Tim, thank you so much for taking the time.

[00:30:45] We know time is valuable to you all.

[00:30:47] And the fact that you spend it with us means the world to us.

[00:30:51] So from Tim, from me, thank you all so much.

[00:30:55] And we hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.

[00:30:58] Thank you.