April 26, 2016

Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.

This is a special bonus podcast episode with the guy you get to meet and hang out with if you come to the July 8, 9 and 10 SEALFit 20x event at my house!

Two years ago, I reported on my experience at the brutal SEALFit Kokoro camp, a 60+ hour crucible you can read more about at “26 Mile Night Hikes, Surf Swim Torture, 450 Pound Giant Logs And More: What To Expect at SEALFit Kokoro Camp And 9 Ways To Get More Tough.“

In that article, I mention a guy named “Lance Cummings”. Coach Lance's snarling face struck fear deep into the heart of every Kokoro participant in my class, and he is well known for being the man who dishes out extreme amounts of suffering and hardship for anybody brave enough to step into Kokoro.

But there's much more to coach Lance Cummings than simply being a man who could kill you with his pinky finger.

Technically, Lance is director of training at SEALFit.

Before that, retired from Active Duty Navy Service with 30 years of combined Active and Reserve service. After graduating BUD/s Class 124 he deployed overseas in support of US Foreign Policy with six different SEAL teams on both the east and west coast. He served at the Naval Special Warfare Center as a Basic Underwater/SEAL (BUD/s) instructor where he earned his Master Training Specialist classification. He also worked several State Department Security Team contracts with private employers during his time in the Naval Reserves.

He left Active Duty in 1995 to pursue a Doctorate of Chiropractic degree, graduating in 2000 from Life Chiropractic College in Atlanta. While running a Chiropractic practice in Ga. and continuing to serve in the SEAL Reserves, he was recalled to Active Duty in January 2002 to deploy to the Middle East in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He made 7 subsequent Middle East deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq with three different SEAL Teams as well as contracting with Blackwater Security.

As the Training Officer at Naval Special Warfare Group 1, in charge of West Coast SEAL Team operational training and readiness, he helped establish the Human Performance Initiative, a tactical readiness assessment and evaluation testing system utilized by every SEAL team today.

Since retiring from the Navy in 2011, Lance has coached at SEALFIT Integrative Training, where he, Mark Divine, and numerous SEALs and selected civilian coaches conduct multi-day Academies, 20X, Kokoro Camps and custom team events, both locally and internationally.

His athletic accomplishments include hundreds of triathlons, multi-day adventure races (he once paddled from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean through the Panama Canal in 15 hours), endurance horse racing, and he has been a member of World Championship Teams in Military Pentathlon, Naval Pentathlon, Outrigger Canoe and Dragon Boat racing. He has won several Marksmanship awards in inter-service competition in both handgun and carbine categories, and also competes in Stand Up Paddle Board Racing, archery and mountain biking.

He continues his passion for Chiropractic, both with people and animal patients. He is certified in Cold Laser Therapy, Functional Mobility, Thermal Imaging, and is a registered Emergency Medical Technician.   His wife is a practicing Emergency Physician, and he also has nine year old twins.

His certifications and experiences include:

Honor Graduate, US Army Master Fitness Trainer Academy
SEAL Team Training Officer
Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician
NAUI Scuba Instructor
US Navy Master Training Specialist
Certified Veterinary Chiropractitioner
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Doctorate in Chiropractic, Life University, Marietta GA
BS Education, Southern Illinois University
American College of Sports Medicine Fitness Instructor
TRX Suspension Training Level 1, 2 and Sports Rehabilitation Trainer
Functional Movement Systems (FMS) Level II Certified
Structural Functional Movement Assessment Certified
US Military Pentathlon Athlete
US Navy Pentathlon Athlete
USA Mens Dragon Boat Team 2011, 2013, 2015 – Team physician and competitor
Outrigger Canoe USA/World Championship Teams

So the guy is a wealth of knowledge on not just survival and warfare, but also fitness, taking care of aging and injured bodies, pushing through pain and much more. During our discussion, you’ll discover:

-What it feels like for Lance to be “the man” who strikes fear in the heart of all Kokoro participants…

-When Lance decided he wanted to be a SEAL…

-Whether Lance thinks he is simply “hardwired” differently from a genetics standpoint, or whether something happened during his childhood that made him a high achiever…

-Why Lance got into pentathlon (and this crazy Brazilian penthathlon video)…

-Lance's story of paddling from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean through the Panama Canal in 15 hours…

-As one of the “fittest old dudes” I know, what Lance's fitness program look like…

-How Lance pushes through pain…

-The top tools Lance uses as a chiropractor – tools people know little about, but should when it comes to enhancing recovery or managing injuries…

-What to expect at a SEALFit 20x event, and what can people expect at the Eastern Washington event at my house…

-And much more!

Resources from this episode:

–The SEALFit 20x physical standards

–Erchonia laser practitioner directory

–“The Mindful Athlete” book by George Mumford

–The TRX Suspension trainer that Lance swears by

–FMS Functional Movement Systems

–My three part series on SEALFit Academy & Kokoro

–The SEALFit events page

–SEALFit Kokoro

–The upcoming SEALFit 20X course at Ben Greenfield's house

Do you have questions, comments, or feedback about anything that coach Lance Cummings and I discuss in this episode? Leave your thoughts below and one of us will reply. And remember to click here if you want to get in on the upcoming SEALFit 20X course at Ben Greenfield's house!