Optimize with Philip Levi
We engineer incredible humans. We no longer need to hunt for food when we can push a few buttons and have it delivered. We’re overweight and understimulated.
We live solitary lives and express ourselves in 144 characters or less. Conversation is down and depression is up. Comfort is a commodity that is slowly numbing us out with each swipe. Peddled pills then Netflix and chill. While we sit more and move less the “achievement” of when we can rest next is normalized. While we buy more stuff we are hungry for meaningful connection. We live in pain and th
20/03/2024
Help us to take the title! - https://mailchi.mp/cc053340a941/weve-been-nominated-for-best-personal-training-14152526
Learn how to execute the bridging reach to create length and space!
09/02/2024
04/02/2024
We've been nominated for BEST PERSONAL TRAINING - https://mailchi.mp/487387026c33/weve-been-nominated-for-best-personal-training-13916438
29/01/2024
Now is when all those resolutions can start to fade. Now is your chance to get ahead of everyone else.
Keep going.
Drop a 💯 if ya feel me.
08/01/2024
The hardest part is taking first step.
12/11/2023
Drop a 💯 if ya feel me.
Joint based movement therapy. Kinstretch is every Wednesday on the Optimize platform.
*t
04/10/2023
Book - “100 Quotes That Will Change Your Life.”
29/09/2023
5 moves for every strong runner.
1️⃣Ninja Kicks - Ninja Kicks are my absolute favorite, when kicking forward they open up the glutes hips and hamstrings. They also loosen up the low back a bit. The trick is letting your leg fly back into the posterior. When you capture this momentum and add the opposite arm to counterbalance, it’s a great stretch for the anterior lines across the midsection. Think chest and obliques here.
When I’m doing these, I’m syncing my breath and also I like to envision two axles of the body, the hips being one and the shoulders being the other. The kicking leg is counterbalancing the opposite arm up top. Each cancels the other out and provides an effective counter stretch.
2️⃣Hip Hinges- With hip hinges if you can find some thing to post your toes up onto while driving your heel into the ground you’ll get the best effect when you hinge your hips backwards. See if you can really lengthen out the spine and get a good stretches going in the lats as well.
3️⃣Quad Stretches - If you run a lot, your quads are going to be tight the only way around it is to stretch them out so your hips can move freely.
What most people overlook is that if you also have tight shoulders, then they won’t move smooth enough to counteract the action of your hips while you’re running.
I’m gripping around the outside of my shoe. I do this so that I can roll my shoulders back and try to pin my elbows as far behind me as possible this will open up the chest as well as the deltoids.
4️⃣Figure 4 - Hike 1 foot up above the knee. I like to use the friction of the shoe when I’m doing this. Hold on tight and lean your hips back. This might be enough for some people, but for an added bonus try pivoting around the planted shin. The end result will look kind of like a dog, wagging its tail, and with each wag you’re getting deeper into the hip extensors.
5️⃣Squats- Once you’ve done the previous four movements bring everything back online with good old fashioned squats. Plant into the bottom of your shoes (and thus the ground) through all four corners of the feet. Drop the hips down and then press the ground away as the legs extend.
04/09/2023
What is fitness to you?
29/08/2023
Welcome to the Pain Cave
It’s not often that I find myself so exhausted that I start to question whether I can continue. I hadn’t felt this kind of fatigue since my time with Kokoro. The 52 hour crucible led by Navy SEALS.
One big difference was in those 52 hours, while we weren’t allowed sleep we were fed on a schedule. And it made all the difference in the world.
In a nutshell this is me in a dark place. The long head of my bicep is torn and I’m all out of fuel. I’ve got several miles and 19 more obstacles to overcome.
You can see the uncertainty on my face.
The injury came 10 miles in with 5 to go. I hit a wall 3 miles later. From there everything slows down. Each mile drags out forever.
I was so tired my vision was starting to go grey. Most of my being told be to just stop right there.
But then my thinking changed. “This is why I’m here. The whole point is the test of it all.”
I kept telling myself this over and over. Kept putting one foot in front of the other. “Focus up” and “Get back to your family.”
It was that bad.
At this point I couldn’t afford any mistakes.
No penalties and no extra running.
When you’re this tired you can only think that far ahead. Anything else is too much. Using this strategy I managed to navigate 19 more obstacles including the multi rig, rope climb, several walls and a spear throw.
My biggest takeaway from this experience is two fold. The first is to be over prepared. Double check every variable so when the unknowns hit they don’t stop you in your tracks.
The second is this. When faced with a huge problem the only way to dismantle and eventually solve it is to take it on one very small step at a time. Focus on nothing else but where you are right then and there and you’ll make it through.
These are some of the lessons learned from a foggy Saturday morning in Northern California.
27/08/2023
Well that could have gone better.
The San Jose Spartan Beast. 13.1 miles 3,413 feet of climbing (500-600 at a time). By the end my read over 15 miles. Racing in the elites, the distance and hills ate into my planned nutrition and I bonked HARD at mile 11. The IV tent brought me back to life (somewhat).
We know the hills were soul crushers but kicking the weeds, wading rivers and slipping on the grass in the mist of the early morning proved challenging as well.
Everyone running the beast remember mile 6 heading downhill in “ACL gulch”? Not the real name but what I’ve come to call it due to the technicality required to navigate it.
At mile 10 I tore my bicep on Twister. After that I felt some doubts coming in. The next 4 miles were an energy slog and the last mile I was fully bonked and looking for Jesus.
Concerned about my arm I did some CARs on the go to keep solid blood flowing to it so it wouldn’t lock up. I still had 19 obstacles to go so really needed to focus the f*ck up when it was time to lift, carry or throw.
By mile 14 I was to exhausted I wanted to stay in the waters of Rolling Mud. Eventually I crested the last hill and sank the spear. The final obstacle was the 20 foot “A- frame”. I went up with 2 other guys and rolled over the top to pass them. On the 3rd roll I smacked my head pretty good on the frame. But I passed them so worth it.
I dropped the hammer on the remaining obstacles and ended with a clean race post “Twister”.
Bottom line there were many lessons learned today from a sport that I love. Just gotta get rehabbing this arm before OCRW next month.
I hope all had a better experience than I did today and were a little more prepared.
23/08/2023
Read that one a few times.
07/08/2023
Lock in and stop playing with your own potential 💯🩸🐺
26/07/2023
"Swap your Netflix routine for our weekly classes - your future self will thank you!"
Welcome to Optimize 3.0. We focus on live snack-sized classes with minimal equipment required. So you can destroy the barriers that keep you from developing your best self.
Our focus is movement as medicine and pain reduction. Anyone can work out but that’s not what we do here. We are taking steps and training toward your optimal self.
So you can move with ownership and confidence. Sure and steady as you go through your day.
When you’re ready, download the app, and come join us on the Optimize platform.
30/06/2023
.0: The noise of social media is so loud that In effort to be as useful as possible we’re moving to .0 .
Same content. Efficient and effective.
With a new more streamlined presentation.
Live classes, Q&A, movement medicine and the podcast.
All in one location. .0
23/06/2023
8:15am BURN! starts in 20 minutes.
In and out and on with your day.
Here's our menu for today:
Lateral Shuffle t o Touchdown
B-Boys
Shoulder Taps
Side Planks with a Hip Dip
https://optimizewithphiliplevi-live.remotecoach.fit/home/session/1614
29/05/2023
Believe in yourself and your abilities, and you're already halfway to achieving your goals! With a positive mindset and the confidence to succeed, anything is possible. Keep pushing forward and never doubt your potential.
29/05/2023
Memorial Day is about remembering those who gave their all so we could live our best lives.
Living to anything less would be dishonoring their gift.
Today we MURPH.
Grab a 20 lb vest and a group that knows the benefits of controlled discomfort.
Complete for time:
1 mile run
100 pull-ups
200 push-ups
300 squats
1 mile run
While we MURPH we hold the thought that we do this for our families and we live in the best country in the world. Despite all our faults and divisiveness we enjoy many freedoms that others do not. Remember that and find your crew willing to push themselves with you.
You’ll find you have much more potential than you ever realized.
Just don’t waste the time that is given to you.
Tomorrow is never guaranteed.
Happy Memorial Day.
22/05/2023
Being unique comes with a price. Loneliness can feel like a heavy burden, but it's a small price to pay for having a mind that stands out from the crowd. Embrace your individuality and know that your uniqueness is what makes you special.
15/05/2023
Real change starts within ourselves. Let go of the need to change the world and focus on improving yourself every day. Embrace the journey of self-discovery and watch as the world around you begins to transform.
We’re adding some great features to the Optimize App so while that’s under development here is a snack sized yoga flow for you to get your day going.
09/05/2023
Small steps can lead to great accomplishments! 🌟 Don't wait for the perfect moment to chase your dreams, start today and tackle the hard tasks while they're still manageable.
I don’t feel like working out this morning.
My bed is comfortable.
A hot shower is comfortable.
My car is comfortable.
If I leave things up to how I feel then I’d never get anything done.
The discipline of showing up for those that depend on me is what drives me.
It’s week 4 of throwback season.
Here are 3 moves that we focused on in class this morning.
1. Frog High Pull with several modifications shown
2. Front Squat
3. Back Fly
Discipline equals freedom and too much comfort kills.
If you’re feeling like this then just start doing and I promise you’ll feel better than you do now.
Your mindset will shift and you’ll want to get nothing but better.
Go. Do it.
28/04/2023
When I was a kid I earned an injury that I deal with daily.
At 15 I was fox hunting and a tree branch shredded some tissues in my neck.
As I grew some of the connections in parts of my neck and shoulders weren’t made I live in a state of constant imbalance.
Short of surgical intervention this is what it is.
At times it can be debilitating. I’ve slipped discs and had the effects domino all the way down to my hips.
The problem can be complex and while dealing with it has taught me a lot some things I can’t fix on my own.
When I hit a wall I go see .
A level 10 wizard of the human body, he’s one of the only people that I trust to work on me so that I can go and do what I need to do.
You probably have things like this too.
Things that mark times in your life that you’ll never forget.
If you can’t fix it on your own I suggest getting someone you trust to help you optimize.
If you’re in the Palo Alto area then I recommend you look this man up.
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