Jonathan Pope & Craig Weller: How to Train for Real-World Survival Scenarios

As the world we know seems to crumble all around us, how prepared are you for the worst case scenario?

Can you keep your head in a real world survival situation?

How can we train for the unexpected?

Is your health and fitness up to snuff?

Today we’re here with Craig Weller and Jonathan Pope, co-authors of the incredibly informative and useful Special Operations book entitled Building the Elite.

Craig is former USN Special Warfare Combatant Crewman, who held a variety of instructional and diplomatic security roles in locations, including Kenya, the Philippines, Central America, South Sudan and Iraq. Jonathan is a Strength and Conditioning Coach with over 10 years of coaching experience.

Together, Jonathan and Craig co-founded Ethos Colorado Training Center, a full-service strength and conditioning facility based in Denver, Colorado.

They’re sharing some powerful information today on how to think and train like a member of the elite special ops.

If you want to be ready for whatever is coming next, please listen to this entire interview.

On this show with Jonathan and Craig, we’re chatting about:

• How to adapt your stress response to work in your favor
• Why we should train for survival and not just performance
• Harnessing the body’s natural dopamine response for long-term success
• How to train for fear
• And much more…

Let’s go hang out with Jonathan and Craig.

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And a quick note: About half way through, oddly enough, my power cut out while we were recording this interview, and I went off the grid for about a half an hour.

Thankfully, the power came back on. We were able to reconnect and thanks to the magic of digital editing technology, hopefully at home, you don’t notice too much.

But I did want to bring that up. And also it was kind of an odd situation where we’re talking about survival and disaster preparedness and our power goes out, we go off grid.

So anyway, if it was a sign, I just wanted to pass that along to you—it’s a good time to make sure that you’re all prepped and ready for whatever comes your way.

Where To Find Craig Weller & Jonathan Pope

For more from Craig and Jonathan, everything lives on their website BuildingTheElite.com.

'You're capable of becoming better.' - Craig Weller Share on X

Please go check out their book, Building the Elite. It is an excellent one to have around.

You don’t have to read it all in one sitting. It’s nice to thumb around, and you can go deep on some sections and skip around to other ones. It’s an incredible resource, so I encourage you all to check it out.

'Feedback is the mechanism for growth.' - Jonathan Pope Share on X

If you’re in the U.S., you can pick up a physical copy of Building the Elite in their website store right here.

And Building the Elite is also available worldwide through Amazon.com right here.

Be friends and follow what Craig and Jonathan are up to on social media, including on Instagram @buildingtheelite, as well as on Facebook @buildingtheelite.

'Master the skill first and then apply stress.' - Craig Weller Share on X

And if you’re in the Denver area, you can head on over to Ethos Colorado Training Center, a full-service strength and conditioning facility co-founded by Jonathan Pope and Craig Weller.

'Most Americans don't experience fear very often, but they live in anxiety.' - Craig Weller Share on X

And once again, be sure to head on over to BuildingTheElite.com for articles, to check out their upcoming BTE Training App, and more.

Before You Go

Here’s a quick plug. If you’d like to keep this free show coming your way, and you live in the United States, please come support us over at WildSuperfoods.com.

These are the supplements and health-boosting goodies we take every day to stay at the top of our game.

So if you want to stock up now is a great time.

You can check out our best sellers, including Vitamin D Stack, Mega Omegas, Collagen Cocoa, Future Greens, and much more all over at WildSuperfoods.com.

Don’t forget about our bundles, they come with all sorts of goodies, and you can get a great price on Wild Superfoods with you grab one of the bundles or by signing up for Subscribe & Save.

And one more thing we’re really excited that we just launched is our brand new blue blocking glasses over at WildRx.com.

If you want to be some of the first ones to get in on this, to boost your sleep and help calm down an agitated, stressed out nervous system—I definitely have in these uncertain times—then please check out WildRx.com.

One of the most overlooked aspects of our health is our ability to get quality sleep every night.

If your nervous system and circadian rhythm is dysregulated, sleep patterns fall apart. So, if you want to improve your sleep and make all that time in front of computers and screens less damaging, you might want to try some nifty blue blocking glasses.

Right now, we’re only launching in the U.S., but hopefully we’ll be able to expand down the road, a little tricky right now.

But I do have good news if you live in the United States, you can get an extra 10% off your order. All you have to do is use the special launch promo code: YOUROCK

So, one more time, just go to WildRx.com, and enter the promo code YOUROCK and you’ll get 10% off your order.

And I want to let you know that this episode of Fat-Burning Man is brought to you by our family company, Wild Superfoods at WildSuperfoods.com, as well as the good folks over at DrinkLMNT.com.

So, how have you been doing on electrolytes lately?

During those hard workouts or epic outdoor adventures, you’re likely sweating out a decent amount of sodium, potassium, magnesium, and other important electrolytes.

If you’re not replenishing key electrolytes, then an imbalance can occur, which could make you feel fatigued, perhaps a bit of confusion, maybe even muscle weakness.

Especially for you athletes out there, replenishing electrolytes can make a big difference in how you’re feeling and how you’re performing.

But instead of reaching for the fluorescent colored sugar bombs that you’ll find at most convenience stores and gas stations, I highly recommend stocking up on the tasty electrolyte mixes from LMNT.

After years of mixing his own homemade electrolyte concoctions, our buddy, Robb Wolf, started up LMNT to share a sugar-free, clean electrolyte drink to help you feel your best.

Each grab-and-go packet easily mixes in water and replaces essential electrolytes without any of the sugar, corn syrup, coloring or artificial junk ingredients you’ll find in other products.

And right now for a limited time, LMNT is giving away free sample packs to Fat-Burning Man listeners like you.

You’ll only need to pay a small fee for shipping, otherwise the eight-pack sampler is 100% free, and international folks qualify as well.

So no matter where you are in the world, just go to drinklmnt.com/wild to get your free electrolytes from our buddy, Robb.

Be sure to shoot me a note or an email once you try their different flavors. Let me know which one you like the best.

Thanks so much for listening and we’ll be in touch.

What did you think of this show with Jonathan Pope and Craig Weller? Drop us a note in the comments below!