Becoming Harder to Kill: Strength, Recovery + Resiliency (part 2)

Your body can accomplish extraordinary things—if you train it to be resilient. Brandon Mancini earned the nickname "The Wolverine" after surviving a catastrophic accident that should have broken bones but didn't, thanks to years of dedicated strength training. With CK levels nine times above the threshold for heart failure risk, doctors were stunned by his recovery. When they told him his athletic days were behind him, Brandon responded with unwavering conviction: "I will squat 405 again." Sixteen months later, he did exactly that.

What makes this conversation powerful isn't just Brandon's remarkable recovery story, but his revolutionary approach to fitness. Rather than fixating on aesthetics, he helps busy parents and professionals become "harder to kill and more useful in general." When meeting potential clients, he doesn't immediately ask about exercise history—he assesses their support system, knowing that sustainable transformation requires community.

The discussion tackles gym intimidation head-on, exposing how decades of sitcom stereotypes have wrongly portrayed fitness spaces as judgmental and extreme. Brandon offers a more accurate view: most gym-goers are focused on their own journey and welcome others on similar paths. He introduces the concept of the gym as a vital "third place" beyond home and work—a community that pulls your life in a positive direction.

Perhaps most valuable is Brandon's advice for consistency: on days when motivation wanes, commit to just the first few sets. This activates your sympathetic nervous system enough to generate feelings similar to motivation. The philosophy extends beyond fitness to any meaningful life change: "Get your goal, get your end in mind. Build a plan to get there. Create checkpoints on the way. Focus on the daily task—that's where the magic happens."

Ready to become harder to kill? Visit bmfcoaching.com to access Brandon's free resources or follow him on Instagram @coach.brandonmancini for daily inspiration to strengthen your body, mind, and spirit.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Sponsor Introduction
• 1:12 Brandon's Accident and Recovery
• 4:50 Mindset of Recovery and Goal Setting
• 8:32 Finding the Ideal Fitness Client
• 12:15 The Importance of Having a Third Place
• 18:24 Overcoming Gym Intimidation
• 22:59 Creating a Family Fitness Culture
• 25:09 Connecting with Brandon and Final Thoughts

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Before we dive in, we want to give a big shout out to our amazing sponsor for today's episode, jessica Glazer. Mortgage Loan Officer with Elevations Credit Union. If you are looking for a calm, confident guide through the mortgage process, you're going to want low stress Jess in your corner. With 25 years of experience helping people reach their goals, jessica brings a whole new level of care and clarity to the lending process. Her system is built around proactive communication and thoughtful guidance, so you never feel lost or overwhelmed. What makes Jessica stand out, it's not just her professionalism, it's her heart. She's a foster mom, a community organizer, a dog rescue advocate and someone who truly shows up for people, whether it's through Big Bones Canine Rescue or the Cruise Foster Children's Charity. If you're ready to make your next move with less stress and more support, reach out to Jessica Glazer at Elevations Credit Union. Find her information in the show notes below.

Speaker 2: 1:02

Now let's dive into today's episode her information in the show notes below. Now let's dive into today's episode. All of us reach a point in time where we are depleted and need to somehow find a way to reignite the fire within. But how do we spark that flame? Welcome to Reignite Resilience, where we will venture into the heart of the human spirit. We'll discuss the art of reigniting our passion and strategies to stoke our enthusiasm. And now here are your hosts, Natalie Davis and Pamela Cass.

Speaker 3: 1:44

So I developed this really early on, really in my youth I don't want to take painkillers because I want them to work if I ever need them. So we're in the ambulance and one of the paramedics goes do you want me to give you something for the pain? And by default he said I don't take that stuff, I want it to work if I ever need it. And those guys looked at each other and the guy goes hey, man, I think this is when you might need it. I was like, oh yeah. And then so they gave me whatever. I don't know what it was, but I just started going fuzzy. He's like all right, we're going to use your phone to call your wife. I remember telling him like okay, but don't tell her.

Speaker 3: 2:15

And I went out and I still get a little emotional thinking about this, because she saw my phone number come up and answers it, having just talked to me like five minutes prior. And then she's like, hey, babe, and then she gets a paramedic hey, we're taking your husband to the hospital. His leg and his hip were broken. He was pinned between two cars, right. So that's what they had told her, because that's what they saw, that's what they assessed the C to be. But I get to the hospital and there's no breaks Three severe bone bruises, severe crush syndrome, compartment syndrome to all the muscles of the right leg, torn MCL. So she comes to the hospital there and I'm incredibly drugged up. I have it in my head. I'm going home tonight. I told her babe, we're just going to have pizza and donuts for dinner tonight. I don't care what you know, what we're just going to do she's like, yeah, sure, that's what we'll do.

Speaker 3: 3:02

So I ended up being in the ICU for a week, because when you have crush syndrome to such a large area, everything inside the muscle fibers is released into your bloodstream. So they are monitoring your CK levels because once they get past a certain level, you're at risk for heart failure. Mine were nine times that for 48 hours. You are at risk for heart failure. Mine were nine times that for 48 hours. So way, the Wolverine story came to be. One of the nurses in the ICU was a member at one of the CrossFit gyms that I coached at, and if you know anything about CrossFitters, they're going to find every reason to tell you why you should do CrossFit, right? So he was like, see, this is why you guys need to come to CrossFit. This is my coach. Right? It increases bone density. Look, he didn't even break a bone, right?

Speaker 4: 3:48

You're not even healed yet and you're already a testimonial.

Speaker 3: 3:51

Right. So all of that to say, I would not have chosen this way to prove that my methods work for making you harder to kill, but it did, it did. And then, through the recovery process, I dug into everything to expedite recovery, largely from a guy named Charles Poliquin and a researcher named Dr Rhonda Patrick and everything they talked about for helping expedite recovery. So when I was going to physical therapy, one of the physical therapists said man, you're recovering like a real life Wolverine. So that's both. Those times really stoked my ego and that was great. But it's um, yeah, I've, I've decided to go ahead and lead into that, uh, that moniker.

Speaker 3: 4:32

You know, I've heard people. I will often get the comment man, that is extraordinary, but it's what the human body is capable of. There is nothing special or different about me. It is strength and conditioning. Get strong and do stuff. The thing I said earlier about making you harder to kill Mark Ripto is an old strength conditioning coach in this game has this great quote that says stronger people are harder to kill and more useful in general.

Speaker 1: 4:58

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 4: 5:01

That's huge.

Speaker 1: 5:02

Wow, that's huge yeah, and that incident, that accident would have killed most people.

Speaker 3: 5:08

Yeah, there was a moment where, well, I don't know if it would have killed most people, but the way I was hit. I will say there is an aspect of this where I'm very lucky. It was before kids. I used to love just old Jeeps, that's all I would drive and I will get another one again once the kids are older. But I had just walked around the back of that Jeep. They have that big spare tire there. I had just cleared that tire. If I had been lined up with that tire, my rib cage would have been crushed and that I don't know if squatting 405 would have helped me with that. So there is an aspect to it where I am lucky.

Speaker 3: 5:42

In one of the last days in the ICU, the doctor in charge came in and I understand her intent was to help me get right up here. She said Mr Mancini, again, everybody, thanks to that nurse, had heard about why they should do CrossFit. She said look, there is a certain percentage of the population who would have lost their leg in this accident. The vast majority would have had a break Because of your exercise history three severe bone bruises, no break. So you fared this better than most and you will recover better than most, but you need to understand. Those days are behind you and again, I understand her intent.

Speaker 3: 6:17

But I also knew I know how important mindset and vision is. So I told her who's in charge of my healthcare. Or rather, I asked her who's in charge of my healthcare and the look on her face instantly told me she thought I was asking where's the man in charge which, if somebody is making a statement like that against the female doctor, I totally get being offended by that. But she said I'm in charge of your care. Are you okay with that? I said no, ma'am, you're a consultant, I am in charge of my healthcare. I appreciate your opinion. I will squat 405 again. And it took me 16 months to get back to that.

Speaker 3: 6:52

Wow yes, ma'am congratulations.

Speaker 4: 6:57

I mean that's huge just going through that experience in itself. You know you're right when you talk about the, the mindset and being in the right mental space and having the mental capacity to to understand that you're going to heal, your body will heal itself, that you're going to do what's necessary to get there and that you will come out on the other side as well, having having that goal.

Speaker 3: 7:18

And not even knowing exactly how at that point, but I knew just what you said. I was going to do what was necessary Because, I mean, did I make mistakes along the way? Absolutely it was. I was very fortunate enough again, my entire exercise history, the people who coached and mentored me early in my career to help me understand the principles I needed to put into play. But I was in uncharted territory, right. So it's yeah, I leaned on my support system, which is, whenever I sit down to talk to potential clients, that's one of the first things I talk about. Not goals, not exercise history that's, of course, important stuff to talk about but their support system, coaching them on how to lean on that support system, reminding them they don't have a support system. They are part of a support system, so you need to make sure you're putting into that group as well.

Speaker 1: 8:04

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I love that.

Speaker 4: 8:07

That leads to something that I'm curious about, as you're talking to potential clients taking on new clients. What are some things that you're looking for within that individual when you're connecting with them? Because I'm assuming that not every client is an ideal client for you to take on, for them to work with you? Maybe not ideal or the timing is not right, whatever combination thereof, but what are you ideally looking for in individuals when they approach you to work with them?

Speaker 3: 8:32

Yeah. So my mission is to help anyone with initiative get on the correct path to their goals, right. So if they are like busy parents and professionals are primarily who I work with, because they are just strapped for time, they need to be first. Being fit and in better shape does not by default make you a better parent, right, but it obviously makes you more capable of being a better parent, right. Then you would be if you weren't in good shape, if you weren't fit, Because fit is the definition of it, is being suitable for a cause or calling right. So when someone has that, it's going back to that worthy goal. If the only thing someone can tell me they want to get out of their health and fitness is a six pack, I'm less likely to take that person on as a client, Because I know again, I've been doing this for a damn near a quarter century when things get tough, when the schedule gets tight and you can only get in a 15-minute workout, that person is going to be like okay, Right when. The person who, man, I need to have energy for my kids, I need to get this done so that I can be better for my team at work, Right. The person who identifies with being fit it isn't just tied up in the side effects of it Right but identifies with I need to be better for my life, for those in my life. That person is going to understand okay, I can only get 15 minutes, Awesome, I can get 15 minutes and they're going to get that done, and it's.

Speaker 3: 10:12

I did a social media post on this a few weeks ago. I had two clients recently. One had a death in the family and the other one had a medical issue come up in the family where they had to go help a family member move and all this stuff. So they both came in to their appointment saying, coach, I couldn't get it done this week and they were talking about it as if it were a failure. Right, this took over my life. I couldn't get it done. And they were talking about lost gains and lost progress and I said, hold on a second. Both of them had made incredible progress for the months leading up to that. Right, they were getting almost everything done, because no one gets everything done, but getting almost everything done made great progress great improvements in strength, great improvements in energy output, more work capacity, all that I was like this was not a failure.

Speaker 3: 11:07

This was your progress on full fucking display. You were better for your family members that needed you because of all the work you'd done. Stop looking at this as a failure. Think about how you would have fared this week had you not been putting in all because this week was coming, whether you knew it or not. Think about how you would have fared the week differently had you not put all the work in those months prior. And they were both like, yeah, yeah, and they had family members thanking them for being there for you. Know, man, you really made a difference this week. That's the type of person I'm looking for, the person who wants to be more valuable to their support system.

Speaker 1: 11:45

Yeah, I love that. And when you are taking care of yourself, you are able to show up as a better version of yourself for everybody else your kids, your family, whoever it is that needs you Exactly your kids, your family, whoever it is that needs you Exactly.

Speaker 3: 11:58

I mean again, we're talking universal principles. When you get on the airplane, what do they tell you? Put on your mask. Before you can help those around you, you have to make sure that you're taken care of. It is not selfish to do so.

Speaker 1: 12:12

Now, how much of your training is online? How much of it is in person? Is it a blend?

Speaker 3: 12:17

It's a blend? The online much of it is in person. Is it a blend or it's a blend? The online side of it is is growing every single month. There's yeah, more and more people are, and it's it's great to see more and more people are looking for simple yeah, not easy, right. Simple, effective ways to to to really just make change.

Speaker 1: 12:35

And they're able to do it in their home, Like do they need to have a full gym in their house or so I advocate for getting a gym membership for a couple of different reasons.

Speaker 3: 13:39

We can talk about need, right. What do you need? Well, you need to keep breathing and you know maybe a few things beyond that. Right, I think that was the line from that Tom Hanks movie Castaway right, I just need to keep breathing, right. Tom Hanks movie, castaway right, I just need to keep breathing. Right, so there's what do you need. But then there's your third place. Right, you have home, you have work. Everyone has a third place.

Speaker 3: 14:05

For a lot of people it can be a bar, right, some type of social environment that's going to take your life, your health, your support system in one direction for sure. Right, having that third place that fits between the two is great for, again, more than just the physical side of health, being healthy and fit. Right, because physical health and mental health are symbiotic. When you can get them both working together, they're greater than some of the parts, the tools that are available in most gyms, like strength training. We talked about the definition of strength earlier, strength training. If we're to break down simply what it is, the only difference between strength training and yoga is external load. When we're squatting, we're using the body to control the space between two pieces of mass the barbell and the earth. If you think about how gravity works, two pieces of mass in space have a gravitational pull to each other. So that's what we're working on. So yoga and strength training are both a practice of shapes. I may be getting a little bit in the weeds here, but Please continue to go there.

Speaker 4: 15:08

This is good.

Speaker 3: 15:10

The gym has the tools that are going to allow you to be most effective. With your time right, you can build a home gym. I have one and that's great. I still have a membership to a gym because I work at home and I live at home and my kids are here, right. So having that third place is great for a lot of different reasons.

Speaker 3: 15:29

Now, on that, going into the gym, there's a young lady I was working with. This was back in like 2007, 2008, when I was up in Virginia. She was going through this incredible transformation, reinvention of herself, and been working with her at the point of the story is like seven, eight months, something like that. And you share stories, you make jokes and everything. We were talking about the crazy things we'd seen in our careers and at this point, I've been going to gyms since the late 80s, but we've been working professionally on them for whatever. It was seven, eight years at that point. So she was an event planner for large corporations, so she had seen some crazy things too. We're going back and forth.

Speaker 3: 16:07

So I had this thing I'd shared with people over the years. I first noticed it in the 90s, before I was in gyms professionally and way before social media that no matter what time you went to the gym and again, this was 2007, 2008, so before social media as well no matter what time you went to the gym 6 am, 7 pm, midnight, 3 in the morning, doesn't matter If the gym's open. Someone is sitting in their car, just sitting there, right? And so I'd share that with people dozens of times and they would always go. Oh wow, what do you think they're doing? Are they stalking someone? Is it a private detective? Right? And she didn't say any of that. She goes. Yeah, I know. I was like what do you mean? You know she's like.

Speaker 3: 16:48

That was me for three months before I joined the gym, packed my gym bag, went to work, came to that gym parking lot and sat there in my car trying to talk myself up to go into the gym for three months and I couldn't do it. And me again, having been a professional helping people change lives for almost a decade, at that point, like had this existential crisis of like I've been walking past people on the threshold of changing their lives and I'm going what the fuck is this weirdo doing, right? So so I was like oh wow, like that's just a lesson in perspective there. So the heaviest weight in the gym is the front door, and the more you do it, the easier it gets. But it's still like.

Speaker 3: 17:35

I still have those days when I don't want to go work out. Those are the most important days, though, when you're motivated, when you're ready to go, it's hard to stop me from getting in there, right. But when you don't want to just commit to the first two or three sets Because what's going to happen is your sympathetic side of your nervous, your fight or flight side of your nervous system turns on, it's time to go, and what you start to feel after those first few sets feels a lot like motivation right Now. If you don't feel that, then maybe something is wrong, maybe you're on the front of a sickness, but you got a couple of sets in, and that is infinitely better than getting nothing in right, I was never a gym goer.

Speaker 1: 18:17

I always had the stuff at home the Peloton, the treadmill, the weights and all that. And then pandemic happened. I was never a gym goer. I always had the stuff at home the peloton, the treadmill, the weights and all that. And then pandemic happened. I was like, woohoo, I can just stay at home. But now that I go and I do like five classes a week now it's like a community. It's like I know all these women that I'm going to this class with, I know the instructor and you build these friendships. And then it's like this accountability where I'm like I have to go now, because then they're going to call me Like why didn't you go?

Speaker 1: 18:43

So I think there's a community as well.

Speaker 3: 18:46

Getting started is the hardest part and I'll tell you guys after my accident in 2017,. So I remember in 2018, going back to the gym for the first time, Like, again, had been going to gyms since the late 80s, early 90s, been working professionally in them since 2001. But I remember in 2018, like, the first time, walking in, I was going into an LA fitness and I remember sitting in a parking lot thinking about the young lady up in Virginia, Like, yeah, I feel it now, Like I'm afraid to go in there, Like I was on still on crutches. You know it's like. But I knew again. I knew I kept thinking I'm in charge of my healthcare. I'm the only one that can. No one can do this for you. No one can be great for you, no one can do the daily acts for you. I was the one that had to get it done.

Speaker 1: 19:34

You're the CEO of your body.

Speaker 3: 19:36

Yes ma'am.

Speaker 4: 19:42

Gotta act like it, I love it. Well, when we talk about, like the folks that sit in the car and they have to stoke themselves up, they probably have some myths that are swirling around in their mind that you know, these preconceived notions or beliefs that they need to just put to rest in order to just, you know, open the door the heaviest weight that's there. Let's address some of those myths.

Speaker 3: 20:00

Let's do it.

Speaker 4: 20:01

I've got it. I've got it for you.

Speaker 3: 20:03

Let me tell you exactly where it comes from, or at least one aspect of it.

Speaker 4: 20:08

Okay, let's do it yes.

Speaker 3: 20:10

If you think back to the last 30 or 40 years, any of the top rated sitcoms has had an episode where the main character or characters join a gym and they go there and the person at the front desk is all nice, it's probably an attractive young lady, right, or some lady and a buff dude and they're like oh, thank you so much, Thank you for coming in, we want to help you achieve the best version of yourself. And then they'll sign the paper. And then one turns to the other and goes man, it's really nice in here. It's not at all what I thought. And then they turn back around and the same person is there like do 100 push-ups we owe you now.

Speaker 3: 20:46

And they yell at them and they're like, oh. And then for the next 10 minutes of the episode they're walking around like the Tin man and they can't move. And the moral of that episode is those people are crazy, you're fine the way you are, you don't need to go in there. So that's what people think the fitness industry is. Now let me stop and say are there a-holes in the gym? Absolutely, guess where else. There's a-holes Everywhere.

Speaker 1: 21:11

Everywhere.

Speaker 3: 21:11

Yes, in the world, exactly In the world, 100%.

Speaker 4: 21:16

In the world, yeah.

Speaker 3: 21:18

But the better part, the one important thing to understand is the vast majority of the people in there aren't thinking about you. They're there to work on themselves and anybody who wants to work on themselves wants to be surrounded by other people who are working on themselves and they want that community, just as you said it, pam. So it's back to home. Gym is great. I have one, I love it, and it's great for families as well, because my kids they don't know anything except fitness being a part of life. So we are raising them to have it as part of their identity. But we're also raising them to make sure we work on intellect and mental health and we get into nature. Right, it is just physical, mental and emotional development is what my kids will identify with. So having that third place back to that is is important, and the vast majority of the people that are involved in being healthy want you to be healthy as well.

Speaker 1: 22:26

Yeah, I see it. My son joined a gym, oh gosh, probably two years ago. He's 19. That's probably more than three. It was probably three years ago. It was when the pandemic happened. It was like as soon as that was over he had been a competitive soccer and that all that all went away. And so he's at the gym and he's got his gym community and it's adults, it's people his age, and they all look out for each other and they have these great conversations and I love seeing that he loves those people that he works out with and they are all supporting each other and so it's fun yeah, yeah, the community aspect is, is important, for sure.

Speaker 4: 23:02

It's key. Yeah, absolutely Well, Brandon, if our listeners want to get a hold of you, connect with you, see what else you're working on, what do you have in the pipeline and what do you have that you're working on that you could share with our listeners today?

Speaker 3: 23:16

So I would say jump on my newsletter If you go to my website. My company is Brandon Mancini Fitness, so my website is bmfcoachingcom. I've always got different freebies on there. I don't know exactly when this episode's coming out, because I'm always putting new stuff on there. So there's a five-day Bulletproof Core Challenge on there. There's a protein cheat sheet on there. I have a metabolic quiz you can go through on there If you fill that out. There's actually a lot of people filling it out right now. I do my best to get back within two business days. A lot of people are filling that out right now, so if I'm a few days late, please forgive me. So yeah, bmfcoachingcom coach. Brandon Mancini on Instagram.

Speaker 4: 23:53

Awesome, beautiful, I love that. And virtual and in person, so they don't have to live in San Antonio to work with you.

Speaker 3: 24:00

Correct, I have clients in Alaska, florida, colorado, mexico. So yes, I have clients all over the world, perfect.

Speaker 4: 24:10

Yeah. So if that was a myth, if you said oh well, I don't live in Texas, I can't reach out to him, there you go. We shot it down. It's done Now reach out to us. Or move to Texas.

Speaker 3: 24:20

Move to Texas, yeah.

Speaker 4: 24:21

Or move to Texas. Yes, Texas would appreciate that I love it I love it. Well, brandon, we've touched on so much. First, thank you for sharing your personal story. We really appreciate it, and we've touched on some great tools and really some just beliefs that our listeners can start to incorporate in their lives as they're looking at their own wellbeing. Is there anything that we haven't touched on today that you'd like to leave our listeners with?

Speaker 3: 24:47

I don't think so. I mean you ladies just phenomenal interviews. Thank you so much for the time. I really enjoyed this podcast. I guess I would say you know it's to your listeners. Be clear about what you want out of health and fitness. Drill down to the basic things you can do. Get your goal, get your end in mind. Build a plan to get there. Create checkpoints on the way. Revisit that goal for your motivation Again, that worthy pre-workout. Focus on the daily task. That's where the magic happens. You are not going to get everything done. Get done what you can Learn from it and learn to be more efficient with it. Beautiful.

Speaker 4: 25:23

I think so too.

Speaker 3: 25:24

Thank you.

Speaker 4: 25:25

And not only does that apply to that area of life. I feel like it applies to every area of life.

Speaker 1: 25:29

Every area yes, 100%. And small actions towards it yes, beautiful.

Speaker 4: 25:36

Oh my gosh. Brandon it has been an absolute pleasure. Thank you, thank you. Thank you for taking the time out. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us today, because I've learned a lot and I have some goals that I need to set for myself, because I hadn't set that longevity goal I don't know what that looks like. Yeah, yeah, I'm going to set that for me.

Speaker 3: 25:55

Yeah, I appreciate it.

Speaker 4: 25:56

I want to hear about it, natalie. Okay, perfect, I'll send it to you on Insta.

Speaker 3: 25:58

I'm going to set that for me.

Speaker 4: 25:59

Yeah, I appreciate it. I want to hear about it, Natalie. Okay, perfect, I'll send it to you on Insta. I'm following you on the grams. All right, Beautiful. Well, we will make sure that we put all of Brandon's contact information in the show notes. We will also include his website so that you can hang out there and make sure that you subscribe to his think letter and I, of course, I'm going to remind you all. If you're wanting to learn more about what's happening in the world of Reignite Resilience, head on over to reigniteresiliencecom or follow us on Facebook and Instagram Until next time. We will see you all soon, Thanks everyone.

Speaker 2: 26:31

Thank you for joining us today on the Reignite Resilience podcast. We hope you had some aha moments and learned a few new real life ideas. To fuel the flames of passion, please subscribe on your favorite streaming platform, like or download your favorite episodes and, of course, share with your friends and family. We look forward to seeing you again next time on Reignite Resilience.