What happens when the competition ends but your love for movement stays? In this powerful episode, Coach Blake sits down with Marcus Filly — former CrossFit Games athlete and founder of Functional Bodybuilding — to talk identity, purpose, and rediscovering the joy of training.

✅ What Marcus misses about CrossFit
✅ How it felt to leave the sport and lose a big part of his identity
✅ Why high-level athletes often feel lost after the “glory days”
✅ How he fell back in love with training — on his terms
✅ The birth of Functional Bodybuilding
✅ What former athletes can do to find passion in fitness again
✅ One mindset shift that changed everything for Marcus
✅ Encouragement for anyone in a season of reinvention

If you’ve ever asked, “Who am I without the sport?” — this episode is for you.

🟥 SUBSCRIBE for more stories, strategies, and mindset shifts to help former athletes train for life again.

🖤 Learn more about coaching: https://comeback-athlete.com
📲 Follow us on IG: @comeback.athlete | @marcusfilly
🎯 Apply for Coaching: [Insert Calendly or Leadform Link]

#IdentityShift #RediscoverFitness #MarcusFilly #FunctionalBodybuilding #ComebackAthlete #FormerAthlete #AthleteMindset #Podcast

Is Vitality Just BS?
With Michael Bann — Why Mobility Screens, Pain, and "Wellness" Need a Reality Check

📝 Episode Overview:

In this unfiltered 60-minute conversation, Coach Blake sits down with veteran coach and educator Michael Bann to challenge mainstream fitness narratives around vitality, mobility, and pain. If you’re tired of gimmicks and want the truth about long-term health, this one’s for you.

✅ Who Michael Bann is and his 15+ years of experience in the fitness industry
✅ Why many mobility and FMS assessments are just scalable sales tools
✅ How the reality of pain and getting out of it is much more nuanced than people think
✅ The problem with treating "vitality" like a product or checklist
✅ What practical approaches to training and lifestyle actually support long-term health
✅ Mindset shifts coaches and athletes need to move from fixing problems to building resilience

What happens when training becomes a burden instead of a blessing?

In this episode, I sit down with coach Misbah Haque to talk about how to bring purpose, fun, and sustainability back into training—especially for burned-out CrossFit athletes who’ve lost their spark.

We cover:
✅ Early signs of burnout and athlete fatigue
✅ Common struggles among ex-competitors and overtrained athletes
✅ How to rebuild trust in your body and enjoy training again
✅ Shifting from intensity to intentionality
✅ Programming strategies that reduce pain and increase consistency
✅ Emotional patterns in burned-out athletes (and how to coach through them)
✅ The difference between training for competition vs longevity
✅ What athletes really want once the scoreboard fades

Whether you're a former competitor or coach, this episode will show you how to build—not burn—the athletes you work with (or yourself).

🎧 Listen On:

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Buzzsprout | YouTube

🔗 Connect with Misbah:

Instagram: @misbah.haq
Website: misbahhaque.com

💬 Let’s Work Together:

Apply for coaching → comeback-athlete.com/apply

🔖 Hashtags (YouTube & IG):

#BuiltNotBurnt #ComebackAthlete #BurnoutRecovery #FormerAthlete #CrossFitCoach #PainFreeTraining #AthleteMindset #SustainableFitness #MisbahHaque #BlakeScheidtPodcast #RemoteCoaching