Hola from the flying germ tube at 30,000 feet having just left Columbus, Ohio, where your favorite nerd just checked off a goal so big I had to read the invite three times to make sure my brain wasn't cooking itself on the flight home.

Yesterday I rolled into the Elite FTS compound in London, Ohio.

Yes, that EliteFTS powerlifting equipment mothership, and sat down as a guest on Dave Tate's Table Talk podcast.

Honored is not a big enough word. Let me back up.

Twenty-two years in the making

Rewind to 2000. I'm a nobody with a barbell and a caffeine problem, and I hear Dave Tate speak for the first time. It rewired something.

By 2003 I'd scraped together the cash for a full Elite FTS power rack, a straight TX power bar, a trap bar, and a flat bench. I moved from training people in the local gym to my garage.

Those exact pieces? Still in my gym.

Getting loaded to this day.

Twenty-two years of abuse and they haven't so much as flinched — battle-scarred old war horses that refuse to die, plus a pile of other Elite FTS gear I've hauled in since.

So when the invite to Table Talk hit my inbox mid-flight somewhere over the clouds on my way back from presenting at ISSN (the sports nutrition science crowd), I genuinely thought I misread it.

Read it once.

Blinked.

Went back and read it twice.

Third pass, I checked it like a kid matching a lottery ticket against the numbers.

It was real!

Three hours that felt like ten minutes

I showed up early, shot some content with Noah (thank you, sir), then got to just... talk with Dave.

Business.

AI.

Still buzzing about it.

Then Tom Sheppard joined in for the podcast, and the three of us went for what I think was three hours.

The clock straight-up lied.

Dave and Tom made the whole thing effortless. Both of them asked the kind of questions that pull the good stuff out of you, and I got to unload 25+ years of hard-won nerdery on tape. Yes, I am old, I still think in terms of tape and music albums.

Wild!

Here's the part that's actually for you

I'm not telling you this just to flex. There's a lesson buried in it here.

The 19-year-old kid who started training in 1992 during my first year of college and outfitted my garage with lifting equipment in 2003 had zero clue he'd end up across the table from the guy who started it all.

Didn't see that coming in 2003.

It is proof that it can be done.

Keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Keep working your craft.

Stack the small, unglamorous, nobody's-watching reps — in the gym, the research, your writing, whatever your craft is right now.

Compound that over months, years, decades, and it builds something you couldn't have drawn up on purpose.

That's the whole trick.

Not the sexy part anyone wants to hear, but it's the reliable one.

Keep sharpening your craft.

You too can do it!

Much love,
Dr Mike

Dr Mike
PS -if you are feeling a bit slow today, here are some of my favorite lyrics of all time when I am not feeling it.
​
​"Perseverance
Against all opposition
Crushing all limitations
Pure strength through solitude
Discipline and determination" - Jamey Jasta of the band Hatebreed

_______

Mike T Nelson CISSN, CSCS, MSME, PhD
Associate Professor, Carrick Institute
Owner, Extreme Human Performance, LLC
Editorial Board Member, STRONG Fitness Mag

Mike T Nelson is a PhD and not a physician or registered dietitian. The contents of this email should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.

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