The Art of SISU - Interview with Pete Nelson

02/04/25 • 55 min

Pete Nelson is the founder of SISU Lifestyle, a Northeast-Ohio company specializing in handcrafted saunas and contrast bath technology. He joins us on the CHP Podcast as a long-time user of our Strength + 50k and Marathon templates (most notably, winning the inaugural Antarctica 50k) and brings with him boatloads of wisdom.

Too much to summarize, dive in with Pete and learn about what keeps him focused, how he prioritizes as a father of 2 young children and devoted husband, and what he's most excited about in 2025.

Notable timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro to Pete Nelson 00:01:07 - Hell on Hogsback Endurance Race Series & Charity Race 00:03:15 - More about dad & SISU Lifestyle 00:09:00 - Partnerships and giving to Veterans in 2025 00:11:30 - Pete's athletic journey (basketball, military, crossfit, running, ultramarathons) 00:18:30 - The journey and the process. 00:19:20 - Being the kind of person who will train for a 100-miler 00:23:30 - Unsung heroes 00:27:00 - The magic of delegating 00:30:00 - It's not meant to be easy 00:30:54 - The best stories are the most screwed up plans 00:32:00 - How does Pete use his sauna? Various protocols 00:40:00 - Using sauna to mentally challenge yourself 00:42:14 - The Running Man Sauna challenge 00:43:40 - Struggling next to a friend 00:48:30 - "Training doulas" 00:49:26 - Closing comments from Pete, the 5 Pillar Man

Follow Pete on Instagram at @petenelsoniii

Follow SISU Sauna @sisu_sauna

https://sisulifestyle.com

@hellonhogsback

Too much to summarize, dive in with Pete and learn about what keeps him focused, how he prioritizes as a father of 2 young children and devoted husband, and what he's most excited about in 2025.

Notable timestamps:

Follow Pete on Instagram at @petenelsoniii

Follow SISU Sauna @sisu_sauna

https://sisulifestyle.com

@hellonhogsback

Previous Episode

20 Top Training Priorities: Sorted (Sorta) Ep 1/2

Ariana, Alex, and Trevor try to work out how they'd rate the relative importance of 20 training priorities, from 1-20 (1=most important, 20=least important). In this hour they manage to discuss roughly 10, so expect a second episode for sure. The theme of today is "It Depends."

The 20 "Commonly Discussed Priorities" are as follows (and in no particular order, trust me): Individualised coaching, NEAT, Structured training, General nutrition, Intra workout nutrition, Sleep, Training periodization, Training volume, Training specificity, Extra recovery (cold plunges, saunas, thera guns, etc), Body work (self or massages), Stretching and mobility, Mental grit, Consistency, Training Intensity, Training environment, Equipment, Data acquisition tools (smart watches, power meters, etc), Basic supplements (creatine, stimulants, protein), Specific supplements (fat burners, beta alanine, testosterone boosters).

Discussed at length were: Extra Recovery, Sleep, Intra Workout Nutrition, Mental Grit, Consistency, Training Environment, General Nutrition, and Training Specificity/Volume/Intensity as a "blob" rather than truly separate entities. I know.

Thankfully for you, we all had very different opinions! Keep your eyes open for episode 2.

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Clayton Foster: Crucible Champ 2024

Clay Foster has been a part of Complete Human Performance for years, and has been doing the hybrid thing for even longer. He won The Crucible Pro Men's Division in 2024, he's competed in the Hybricon Games (2023), and is registered for Rally in the Valley 2025 to name a few things. A coach himself, Clay's training has run the gamut from bodybuilding to CrossFit to 100-milers, and he's excited to spend 2025 enjoying his hard-earned fitness.

Listen in and follow Clay on Instagram at @clayfostfitness