This Fitness challenge from Joe De Sena Takes on a New Level of ‘Resilience’

If there was a title or award for the busiest man in fitness, that award may go to Spartan founder Joe De Sena. The author of 10 Rules for Resilience recently sat down with M&F Chief Content Officer Zack Zeigler and M&F Digital Director Mike Myers for an episode of the M&F Reps podcast.

Aside from being an author and businessman, De Sena, who also hosts CNBC’s reality series No Retreat: Business Bootcamp, is and has been an athlete at heart. That’s why he decided that in 2022, he’s going to participate in the Spartan Death Race as a competitor himself.

“I’m basically putting my cleats back on. I’m coming out there to run it this year,” he told Zeigler and Myers. “It’s been years, and not run it physically. I’m going to manage it and drive everybody f***ing crazy.”

Joe De Sena also offered a unique challenge to fitness-minded people that want to achieve personal greatness. He told Ziegler and Myers that he had packaged together what he calls the summits of fitness, similar to the summits of mountains, and he feels accomplishing all of them would be a great test for every athlete.

“It’s M2O (Molokai 2 Oahu), the toughest paddleboard race in the world. La Ruta (bike race), Lance Armstrong said hands down the toughest race he’s ever done, Death Race, Agoge (Spartan Race), World’s Toughest Mudder, and Patagonian Run, which is a 100-mile run.”

De Sena felt that after the recent challenges that the world faced, competitors could use a lofty goal to motivate themselves to get back into competitions.

“As human beings, we need things to get us excited and motivated,” said De Sena. “It could be over seven years or one year, whatever you want.” Even though he faced some internal critcism about the idea, Joe De Sena felt this was about something larger.

“Those events get talked about a lot, and they inspire the world.”

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