Coach Alex (Alex Van Houten) is a genome-sequenced exercise scientist who studied chemical engineering and psychology at Vanderbilt, has trained CIA operatives, and has spent 20 years coaching people back to strength. He also lives with Ehlers-Danlos, a genetic connective-tissue disorder doctors told him would put him on pain pills and the sofa. He did the exact opposite.

In this episode we get into the hard science most health advice ignores: the “hope molecule” your muscles release that no antidepressant can replicate, why the “healthy” label on your food might be wrong for your specific genes (1 in 8 people can’t even process the folic acid added to cereal), why a cold shower after lifting could be quietly deleting your gains, and why a doctor telling you “don’t lift” is often lazy medicine.

We also cover something I needed to hear: you were never behind. Alex breaks down how 1% better a day compounds into 37x in a year, why your old training never truly disappears, and how faith and fitness intersect in his work and his book Faithful Fitness.

If you’ve ever felt like your body is working against you, or that you started too late, this one’s for you.

Find Coach Alex’s work and the SPY Fit community in the show notes below

Follow Alex:Profile / bio page: https://everydayspy.com/sme/alex-vanhouten Quick-link redirect: https://everydayspy.com/alex Personal fitness brand: Defining Dad Bod — social handle @definingdadbod, email coachal@definingdadbod.comHis featured episode “The Psychology of Winning: How CIA Trains Spies to Achieve Any Objective” (12 May), where he discusses fitness myths and exercise science

Follow Jacob:YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@watsonhowland Website –

https://www.jacobwatsonhowland.com

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00:00 The Hormetic Stress of Exercise

02:48 Evolutionary Advantages of Strength Training

06:05 The Role of Myokines in Muscle Communication

08:57 The Hope Molecule: A Biological Perspective

11:55 Understanding the Warrior Gene

14:51 Genetics and Personalizing Fitness

18:14 Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: A Personal Journey

21:04 Dietary Adjustments for Genetic Disorders

24:14 Nutrigenomics: The Science of Personalized Nutrition

37:30 The Journey of Nutrition and Self-Discovery

40:01 Understanding Genetic Influences on Diet

42:34 Interpreting Body Signals for Better Nutrition

47:25 The Power of Fasting and Meal Timing

52:02 Exploring Genetic Testing for Personalized Nutrition

59:48 The Science of Adaptation in Exercise and Learning

01:08:03 Hormetic Stress: The Benefits of Heat and Cold Exposure

01:15:15 Embracing Hormetic Stressors

01:20:47 The 1% Better Philosophy

01:26:45 The Power of Small Steps

01:30:31 Healing from Trauma

01:36:11 Faith and Personal Growth

01:49:00 Finding Meaning in Faith

Two thousand years ago, the Apostle Paul wrote a letter from a Roman prison cell to a group of Christians he had never met, and buried inside it was a single question that still breaks modern life today. He asked: “Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules?” That one verse, Colossians 2:20, exposes how most believers are still living as slaves to a system Christ already freed them from.

Paul wrote the letter while awaiting trial before Caesar, and he had learned about the Colossian believers through Epaphras, his fellow worker who later joined him in chains. The Colossians were mostly Gentiles being pressured to follow Jewish law and were absorbing false teachings, with some boasting about secret visions and hidden spiritual knowledge. Paul’s response cut through all of it with one claim: when you have Jesus the Messiah, you have it all.

The letter then shifts in three deliberate parts. Paul first reveals exactly who Christ is, the image of the invisible God in whom all things hold together. He then moves from cosmic truth to personal reconciliation, explaining how Christ’s physical death made you holy and free of accusation. Finally, he gets practical, listing exactly what to put to death in your earthly nature, anger, lust, greed, slander, lying, and what to clothe yourself with instead, compassion, humility, forgiveness, gratitude, and love that binds it all together.

Discover:

–The one question Paul asked from prison that exposes how Christians still live as slaves

–Why Paul wrote to people he had never met and how the letter reached them

–The three-part structure that makes Colossians one of the most practical books in the New Testament

–What Paul said to put to death and what to clothe yourself with instead

–Why working as if for the Lord changes everything about how you treat others

–The hollow philosophies Paul warned would take Christians captive

–How gratitude in the smallest things brings the peace of Christ

–The final wisdom Paul leaves for how to speak, act, and pray every single day

Read along: Colossians, New International Version

❤️ Subscribe for more solo episodes on faith, scripture, and the Christian life.

🎥 / @watsonhowland

Website: https://www.jacobwatsonhowland.com

#colossians #apostlepaul #bible #christianity #scripture #christianpodcast #faith #jesus

00:00 Introduction to Paul’s Colossians

01:24 Understanding Who Christ Is

02:00 The Personal Impact of Christ’s Work

03:04 Practical Living in Light of Christ

05:00 Clothing Ourselves with Virtues

05:42 Reflections on Living Out Paul’s Teachings

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Rewilding Expert Steve Carver Reveals Why Britain Is The Only Major European Country Without Wolves, How 1% Of People Block The Wildlife Coming Back, And Why He’ll Be Dead Before We’re “Mature Enough” To Live With Predators Again.

Wilderness scientist Steve Carver has spent 30 years mapping the wild places of Britain and Europe, and he says we’re failing in ways most people don’t realise. He reveals why Britain and Ireland are the only two major European countries without breeding wolf populations, why the Netherlands and Luxembourg have wolves walking through their towns while we have none, and why he believes he’ll be “dead and gone” before Britain reintroduces the wolf.

Steve Carver is the Director of the Wildland Research Institute at the University of Leeds, co-author of the IUCN’s globally recognised definition of rewilding, and a member of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management Rewilding Thematic Group. He has mapped wilderness quality across Europe for the European Union and co-wrote the international guidelines for rewilding launched at the IUCN Congress.

He explains:◾ Why Britain and Ireland are the only major European countries with no breeding wolf populations◾ How there are now more wolves in continental Europe than in the lower 48 US states◾ Why wolves are not a wilderness-dependent species and live happily alongside humans in Dutch towns◾ Why he says Britain is “not mature enough” as a nation to reintroduce the wolf◾ How the “land, wealth, power nexus” of large UK landowners blocks rewilding progress◾ Why lynx, not wolves, are the realistic reintroduction proposition for the UK◾ How Rewilding Britain calculated that protecting 30% of land for nature would only impact around 3% of agricultural production◾ Why the famous Knepp Estate is “rewilding light” and not true rewilding by the IUCN definition◾ The truth about greenwashing and why he’s “suspicious of anybody who gets into rewilding to make money”

00:00 The Case for Rewilding in the UK

02:49 Challenges of Reintroducing Wolves and Lynx

05:58 Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence

09:01 Ecological Roles of Predators

11:49 The Maturity of British Society Regarding Predators

15:10 Land Management and Rewilding Incentives

17:51 The Role of Landowners in Rewilding

21:10 Rewilding Models and Community Involvement

24:11 Economic Viability of Rewilding

26:52 The Future of Rewilding in the UK

29:48 Defining Rewilding and Its Goals

33:05 The Vision for a Rewilded UK

45:48 Exploring Rewilding Landscapes

49:07 Balancing Farmland and Nature

51:23 The Role of Marginal Agriculture

52:44 Integrating Green Infrastructure in Urban Areas

55:11 Consequences of Neglecting Green Spaces

56:19 Communicating the Benefits of Nature

58:16 Understanding Rewilding Misconceptions

01:00:30 The Joy of Ecological Succession

01:03:43 Critique of the NEP Estate

01:08:12 The Future of Rewilding in Agriculture

01:09:06 Concerns Over Green Finance

01:12:58 Private Sector Involvement in Rewilding

01:15:14 Imagining a Rewilded UK

01:16:58 Wildlife Corridors and Connectivity

01:20:12 Lessons from the Netherlands

01:22:55 The Need for a Connectivity Plan

01:26:35 Final Thoughts on Rewilding

Follow Steve:Wildland Research Institute – https://wildlandresearch.orgUniversity of Leeds – https://environment.leeds.ac.ukIUCN CEM Rewilding Thematic Group –

https://www.iucn.org

Follow Jacob:YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@jacobjwatsonhowlandWebsite – https://www.jacobwatsonhowland.comSpotify –