Podbit · Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
AJ Brown at 227 lbs moves like a skill position player half his size. Solomon Thomas at 285 lbs moves on all fours like a cat. These moments of watching elite athletes move are what still drives Kula after 30 years — the physical freakishness is real, and it's humbling even for the coach.
Where this was said
At 35:15 · chapter starts 30:08
When asked for the best strength training exercises for speed, Kula doesn't hedge: trap bar deadlift, box squat performed with velocity emphasis, and overcoming isometric split squats. [1] — Brian Kula "Trap bar deadlift, box squat with velocity focus, and overcoming isometric split squats are Kula's top three strength exercises for speed —…" 29:08 The trap bar deadlift earns top billing because it engages seven muscle groups simultaneously and mimics the pushing mechanics of sprinting, making it a rare exercise that is both safe and directly transferable. The box squat allows Kula to isolate the concentric and eccentric phases and to train them both heavy and fast — a critical distinction because most gym training neglects the velocity component. Overcoming isometrics — pressing maximally against an immovable object — activate fast-twitch motor units without producing soreness, allowing Kula to use them at the start of every session as a potentiation tool and tendon health measure. He notes that a split isometric lunge will often eliminate patella knee pain. Before reaching these recommendations, Kula recounts working with Saquon Barkley, who was a classic reach-and-pull runner that overcame his mechanical flaws through sheer physical dominance — but whom Kula still felt compelled to address mechanically. [2] — Brian Kula "I feel like every athlete needs everything. It's just how much dosage. It's like if we all made chili, at some point we'd all have kind of …" 28:16 This leads into a discussion of programming individualization that Kula captures in a chili analogy: every athlete needs the same fundamental ingredients, just in different proportions based on their specific strengths and weaknesses.
Brian Kula incorporates overcoming isometrics into every single training session — both for fast-twitch activation and for tendon and ligament health.
Isometrics deliver fast strength gains, build tendon and ligament health, and produce minimal soreness — yet they've virtually disappeared from modern training. The reason? You can't make an impressive Instagram video pushing against a wall for 10 seconds.
The functional training wave of the late '90s and 2000s removed the most important tool for athletic performance: heavy concentric strength work. Removing back squats and deadlifts in favor of balance board exercises stripped athletes of the foundational strength that bulletproofs them against injury.
Brian Kula has worked with Christian McCaffrey since he was 13 years old, identifying him as a future NFL player as early as 8th grade based on his movement quality and mentality.
Kula watched McCaffrey dunk a basketball in 8th grade at 5'10" and knew immediately he was different. What separated McCaffrey wasn't just genetics — it was an obsession with being the best that started at 13 and never let up. A decade of working together and the results speak for themselves.
Thomas's wife deferred her CrossFit career — she's in the global top 1% of athletes — to put him through law school debt-free. He wants her to chase the dream now; she wants the emergency fund and house down payment first. On a $200K lawyer income with no debt, the opportunity cost is just a few months of slower saving.
Underground calisthenics battles are exactly like UFC meets a rap battle — 150 people crowded around a circle, fighters walking out with masks and chains, nicknames like 'Extra Money' vs 'Calisthenics the Prince,' and people throwing money and betting. The battle set: 100 burpees, 50 muscle-ups, 75 dips, 75 squats with a 65-pound dumbbell. This is the next big spectator sport.
Rico Verhoeven controlled the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion for approximately 10 rounds — and had his appeal upheld when officials admitted the fight was stopped after the bell. The result was never overturned. Rogan calls it either incompetence or corruption, and argues the money behind Usyk made an upset politically inconvenient.
Rogan lays out a blunt case: boxing's 3-judge system is structurally broken, and the judges know who the promoter wants to win. Glory's 5-judge format is the right model. Corruption doesn't have to be conscious — just knowing Usyk is the cash cow is enough to tilt the scales.
With the Usyk-Wilder fight stalling and Fury-Joshua coming too late, the real fight the world wants is the rematch. Rico is a free agent. Usyk vacated his belts. The story is unfinished and both Rogan and Rico know it. His Excellency Turki Alasheikh already called for it ringside — the question is money.
Rico texted Jason Statham during the Canelo-Crawford fight. Statham showed Rico's highlight videos to promoters. Two days later, Rico was on a call about fighting Anthony Joshua. When Joshua pulled out, Rico pitched Usyk himself — Undisputed vs. Undisputed. Usyk said yes in two weeks. The whole thing started with one text.
Every heavyweight who faced Usyk tried to move to the right — straight into his power hand. Rico and Peter Fury identified the obvious solution: move left, away from the left hand, and smother him with size. It sounds simple. Nobody had done it. That one adjustment was the foundation of 10 dominant rounds.
MMA fans boo when fights go to the ground. They love stand-up. Kickboxing is pure stand-up. Yet it barely exists in America while boxing and MMA are enormous. Rogan's diagnosis: no promotion machine. If the UFC got behind kickboxing the way they've built MMA, it would explode. The talent is there — the storytelling machine is not.
A nation of 17 million people gave the world Ramon Deckers, Peter Aerts, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Rob Kamen, Ernesto Hoost, and Rico Verhoeven. Rico's theory: the country is so small that every gym shares knowledge freely. In the US, you need a flight. In Holland, you drive 40 minutes and spar the national champion.
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