Welcome to the inaugural BiOptimizers’ Awesome Health podcast! For our first show I’m excited to bring you Matt Gallant. Matt and I started the journey that created BiOptimizers about 13 years ago. He was a personal trainer at that time, and was also learning about online marketing. He approached me about creating an online product, which led to supplements and more products later on. Our partnership was born. On this edition of the Awesome Health podcast we break down what the Awesome health formula is, why each piece is important and why we started this podcast in the first place. Listen in for all of that and more on this episode of the BiOptimizers’ Awesome Health show. More About Awesome Health with Matt Gallant The first product Matt and I created together made money from day one, so it made sense for us to continue creating products and supplements. The real turning point for me, however, was when I dieted for 11 months and then competed in back to back to back competitions. First I was in the Western Canadian, which I won. I then went to the Nationals and won, before competing in the Mr. Olympia contest. This was a pivotal time for me not just because I won but because of what I had to sacrifice for those wins. The last 6 months before the competitions were very painful for me. I didn't want to sacrifice my health for my performance, and so I made a deep commitment to find a better way and to share it with everyone. After the event I looked at what happens to athletes after their careers, not just body builders but all athletes in a variety of sports. I discovered their physicality often gives out and it's assumed that that will happen. But I thought what if we could explore and experiment with high performance techniques and tools that have been tested at extremes with athletes and apply them universally? Those questions eventually led to the products, supplements, and programs we offer today - as well as this podcast. Before Matt and I explain what the AWESOME health formula is, we talk about how to know you've reached optimal health. If you go back to childhood, you never worried about running out of energy or just getting through the day. But along the way most people start to feel tired, or have digestive issues or gain weight which they can't lose. All of these are symptoms of the body not functioning at its ideal level. And the truth is if you want to play at a global level you have to be in awesome health. Great health means you have more energy, more endurance and better mental performance for yourself, your work and your personal life. What Is A.W.E.S.O.M.E. health? So what is awesome health exactly and what's the formula behind it? Matt and I break down what each letter stands for and why it's important. Air: This is about oxygen and breathing practices. Certain breathing techniques have been shown to increase oxygen levels in the blood, and fight off all kinds of things while building your immune system. Breathing can be done consciously or unconsciously, which is why I think it gets overlooked. Personally I got into meditation in 1996 and got a teacher in 2000. In the East the breath doesn't start with the inhale, it starts with the exhale. They believe the expulsion is where breathing starts. I learned how to deeply exhale: if you force the breathe out that forces the carbon dioxide out which allows for a deeper inhalation. Listen to today's show to hear this example and the 10-10-10 technique used for better cardiovascular health. Water: Matt explains how water helped him while he was experimenting with sleep deprivation, and we discuss why water isn't just water! Dr. Gerald Pollock has proven that water has four phases: solid, liquid, gas and crystal. It's the only substance that exists like this in nature, in 4 stages. The crystal idea is very interesting. I think there's been a lot of debate about water because most people don't think about water as a crystal, as a storage unit. The hu