Getting Ripped With Yoga, Using Isometrics To Build Massive Athleticism, Five Things You Must Do Every Morning & More!

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At a health conference, two years ago, I met a giant, 6'5″ basketball player – a beast of man – who swore that his entire fitness routine was comprised of yoga and basketball. I scoffed at this, swearing that the guy must be sneaking away to the gym to hoist a barbell or do explosive plyometrics…

…but then, just a few months later, I met another guy (a very ripped and athletic guy) at a different health conference, and this guy – named Dean Pohlman – completely destroyed me in an obstacle course competition, then informed me afterwards that his training primarily consisted of…

…you guessed it: yoga. 

So as you can imagine, I was somewhat intrigued with how one could use yoga to do things like maintain a very aesthetic body and build athleticism, and I had Dean on a podcast episode called “How To Get Ripped With Yoga“. That episode was so popular and helped so many people get fit with Dean's special flavor of yoga, that I decided to get Dean back on today's episode to talk yoga, mobility, athleticism, and much more!

Dean is the founder of Man Flow Yoga, a fitness-centric style of yoga dedicating to helping anybody who wants to get ripped with yoga to not just get ripped, but to also get massive increases in their flexibility, core strength, endurance, balance, and bodily awareness. It’s basically yoga for people that want the physical benefits without the lifestyle change of becoming a hippie. You hold the postures much longer, more emphasis is placed on technique (instead of the spiritual), and the workouts are more catered to the physical needs of guys (although his workouts are equally accessible to women).

Dean was a former collegiate-lacrosse player when he discovered the potential that yoga had to help improve physical fitness for athletes. He rejected the traditional approach to yoga, however, and in 2013 created a brand of yoga that catered to the more physical fitness-inclined individual. He is the author of the #1 bestselling Yoga Basics for Men eBook, and he has been featured in the Huffington Post, Fox 13 Tampa News, Austin KXAN News, Ben Greenfield Fitness (of course!), and many more top-ranked podcasts.

During our discussion, you'll discover:

-The five things Dean does every morning to create a perfect day…

-The one breakfast Dean has every morning, 365 days a year…

-What happens when you hold a pose in yoga for 60-90 seconds instead of the standard 10-30 seconds…

-Why yoga will create a muscular imbalance in your back and shoulders, and what you can do about it…

-How to develop power and brute strength with yoga…

-Why Dean doesn't get into the spiritual side of yoga much, and my disagreement with Dean on this…

-Why yoga doesn't increase your mobility, and what you can do about it…

-Dean's top tool he uses to quickly remove muscle knots…

-How Dean uses his elbow and other body parts to massage himself prior to yoga…

-My crazy home massage routine that includes infrared, wholetones music, CBD, ayurvedic oils and more…

-Why you should push the “reboot” button on your body each year (and how to do it)…

-And much more!

Resources from this episode:

How To Get Ripped With Yoga podcast with Dean.

Dean's ManFlowYoga program

Dean's Mobility Project (use code “greenfield25” for 25% discount)

Miracle Morning

CILTEP

Ben's new “Foundation” based morning routine

Brain Octane

Ben's Pau d' Arco bark tea article

Venom Suspension Straps for yoga

Neuromass book

The Kundalini yoga routine that Ben does twice per week

The KnotOut muscle adhesion tools

Ben's metabolic mobility routine video

The BioMat

NatureCBD

Wholetones music

Yoga Start – Yoga For Beginners With Modifications For The Inflexible

Do you have questions, comments or feedback for Dean or me? Leave your thoughts below and one of us will reply!

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21 thoughts on “Getting Ripped With Yoga, Using Isometrics To Build Massive Athleticism, Five Things You Must Do Every Morning & More!

  1. Zach says:

    Good podcast. Your reference to Neuromass sounds like post activation potentiation. I have used this method for years. Great for poer development. Here is a good resource. http://www.p3.md/applied-sports-science/post-acti…

    1. Zach says:

      Sorry for typo. Should say “power development”, not “poer”.

  2. Alan says:

    Hi, anyone knows if The Mobility Project program are videos or PDFs?

      1. Alan says:

        Awsome, thanks!

  3. I belive, if search for a woking combination between yoga and balistics you will find a lot to consider in Karate “Kata” and “Kihon” practice. I’ve done Karate Do Shotokan for nearly 10 years and the “classic Karate”, on my oppinion, combines best the isometric, dynamic and balistic modes of the muscle in synchro with coordination, stability, breathing and rythm. It’s quite ultimate, but a pain in the ass if you want to dig deeper in it, because its too complex at certain level :)

    Just an exmple (maybe even not the best one)
    YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oa9nEt_TyA

  4. Dean B says:

    Great podcast! Quick question, what is the serving size for the pau d arco drink? All of it?

    1. I usually drink about 4oz of that.

  5. Fernando says:

    Yoga with or without the spiritual component can be a great exercise, it’ll get you rip,flexible, balanced and relax but it can also destroy your joints, pinch your nerves, let you numb and even incapacitate you. The older you start strenuous yoga the more dangerous it becomes specially if you get under the wrong teacher. The faster you want to improve the more dangerous it becomes specially if your instructor is also pushy. I started at 53, had the most fun I ever had, became great at the mat but could barely run or work because of so many injuries. Change yoga for swimming and I recover my health, not as fun but a lot safer.

    1. Ed says:

      Fernando – Very good point.

      Ben – If you have not read The Science of Yoga, good book on this topic. The author brings up a number of the topics Fernando mentions.

      1. Dean says:

        Hey Ed – The Science of Yoga is fantastic! Nice to see you’ve read it, too.

    2. Dean says:

      Fernando – even though it’s “just yoga”, it can be strenuous. Weight lifting, for example, can be pretty safe if you stick to small weights and good form, but it can also be pretty dangerous. You have to be careful to do what’s appropriate for your body, whatever the physical discipline. :-)

      1. Ed says:

        Hi Dean – You’re in Austin? How is your yoga studio for walk ins…I travel to Austin a few times a year and would love to go through a work out.

  6. Ed says:

    Very good interview, but, I think most people know yoga isn’t going to get you ripped unless you’re going at it for hours.

    There have also been articles about the US Navy’s SEALs incorporating more and more yoga to avoid injuries–don’t know if this is on a one-off basis, etc., from the articles but even Stew Smith, a former SEAL has been recommending the Yoga.

    Finally, check out “Mr. Yoga”…the guy shows what yoga can produce in both strength and physique.

    And Ben, one suggestion? You know a lot of stuff, but, you’re taking up a lot of time the guest could be answering the question. :)

    1. This one was more of a "discussion" than an interview. ;)

    2. Beth says:

      Ben, I’ve been listening to your podcast for several months now. I have learned so much, and really appreciate the service you are providing.

      At the same time I agree with Ed, I wanted to hear more of what Dean had to say. You usually do a great job of bringing out the expertise of your guests.

      1. Yes, it was a bit more of a discussion!

        1. Ken says:

          These podcasts have become very boring.

    3. Courtney says:

      AGREED , sorry Ben you really ignored Dean and turned this into a monologue. I kept wondering if you ingested something that made you jumpy/edgy or if you have a slight jealousy of Dean(again sorry ,but a few of the comments you made suggest this). That being said , I still learned a lot during the show, just felt disappointed in the interview.

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