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How To Dominate The Tactical Games | Jen Libby · Discomfort Required

• Trent: You know, we're gonna keep this as professional as possible. I'm just kidding. ⁓ So what do do for a full time job? Jen: Thank I am a personal trainer and CrossFit coach at CrossFit North Scottsdale. You just got really blurry by the way. Trent: Okay, so it's gonna go it's gonna go in and out like that. Don't worry about it. Like you're you're fine. ⁓ And like the video is gonna when it all downloads and everything, everything's gonna be nice and crisp. ⁓ So you do the same thing I do like you're just a personal trainer and you coach full time. Jen: Okay, all right. Okay. Okay. Yeah, I coach full time. I would say I mostly do personal training crossfit workout type. But I teach about six classes a week, group classes. Trent: Nice. ⁓ right. We're like, almost the same person just, you know, built differently. Cool. We're gonna we're gonna get into it. ⁓ So you know, you've been on our podcast before, right? Jen: Yep. Just one. Trent: What'd you talk about? Fitness. Jen: Uh, yeah, it was a little bit of fitness. We talked, it was actually kind of the, like how I got into tactile games and what I used to do before I got into fitness, which was equestrian. So I just kind of covered all bases my whole life. Trent: We're gonna get into all that shit too. It's gonna be dope. Cool. Everything you can hear everything all right and everything's good. Jen: Okay, cool. Yeah, I can hear you. It's just really fuzzy, but you said that's that's fine. So, yeah. OK. Trent: It'll be fine. Don't worry. Yeah, it'll be good. Okay. We're going to get into it. Ready? Perfect. What's up everybody? ⁓ this is discomfort required. I'm your host Trent and I have my friend Jen Libby on today. ⁓ Jen Libby is a cross at level three coach in North Scottsdale. And we're going to get into our whole story, how she's a bad-ass in the tactical games and she does really cool shit with horses too. It was just going to be awesome. Jen: I'm ready. I'm Trent: And we're going to get into our whole story. Jen, how are you today? Jen: I'm doing well, doing well. I had a good day today. Yep. Trent: love it. Okay. So first thing, what does discomfort required mean to you? Jen: What does discomfort require mean to me? Well, I would say a lot of things in life require discomfort in order for you to succeed. And I feel like actually a lot of the things that I've done in my life, ⁓ so if we go all the way back to when I started competing horses, that was very uncomfortable. It was just long hours, long days. ⁓ in all types of weather, you know, trying to not only take care of an animal like ten times your size but also communicate with an animal who cannot speak your language and then trying to get it to go over jumps and do all this stuff so you need to be kind of in an uncomfortable situation to succeed in that. And then I feel like when it comes to what I do now with CrossFit training and tactical games training, I mean the training itself is... uncomfortable as fuck. like, I don't think I've ever done anything harder than this, physicality wise. So, but I think you have to do that in order to succeed or to get to where you want to get. If you don't push yourself into a discomfort zone, I just don't feel like anything really is going to happen the way you want it to. Trent: love that. And ⁓ I feel the same way. Right. ⁓ I asked that of everybody that comes on and I love all of the answers because it's always the same, just a different version to getting there. Right. So like, I love it. ⁓ You have to get uncomfortable to grow if you, if you're not growing, you're dying. And that is just the long story short, right. And I can't even imagine trying to get a horse to do the shit that you want. Cause like personally, I'm scared of horses and I don't care who knows it because a Jen: ⁓ huh. Okay. Trent: They're too fucking big and B, their teeth do not need to be that large. Like it could bite your head off literally if it felt like it, right? I know they're supposed to be gentle creatures and blah, blah, blah, blah, but like that thing could do some damage and I'm not good with it. Jen: Actually, you know what's funny about their teeth specifically is, yes, they do bite, but for whatever reason, when they bite you, they can't unlock their jaw to un-bite you. So let's say my arm is here, right? Here comes their mouth. They go to bite like this, and then it's more of a pinch. So they pull the skin off instead of just a bite and then an un-clamp. Trent: Yeah. Okay, so that's a new fear unlocked. I don't like that even more. That's whole bunch of no. Fuck that. ⁓ Jen: Yeah, it's not pleasant. Yeah, so they basically pinch you with their teeth and it fucking hurts. Trent: Mm hmm. No, like I know. I don't get like, so I didn't want to ride him before and I just don't write. We were we took my dog up to my fiance's dad's house and he lives up by Lake Wenatchee. I don't know if you know where that's at, but it's really, cool. And ⁓ we took my dog on a walk and during the summer they have horses out there and she saw a horse and she's like, what the fuck is that thing? Jen: Now you really don't want to Trent: And she like usually will like, if she sees another animal, she's going to bark and like be like reactive. She saw the horse and she's like, that thing ain't for me. I gotta go. It was awesome. So what got you into ⁓ dealing with horses and like trying to train them and stuff? Jen: Right. Nope. Yep. ⁓ So, pretty simple. ⁓ Back when I was about nine years old, my mom used to drive me to school, and on the way to school, we would pass this horse farm, and I would see the horses out in their field every morning, and I was just like, I think I want to try riding. It just kind of came out of nowhere. ⁓ There was nothing previous. My parents were into horses, nobody else was. It was just kind of like, I saw them out in the field, and... I was like, fuck it, let's try it. So my mom signed me up for lessons. ⁓ It was probably maybe my fifth lesson and I was on the lunge line, so I'm like a little circle, you know, controlled by a trainer. And then I was learning how to canter and I fell off. And I remember my trainer back then, and I remember like feeling scared afterwards and crying and like not wanting to get back on. And my trainer was like, I'm going to stay in here all day until you get back on this horse." She's like, you're fine. I know it was. She is. Yeah. She's like, you're not hurt. You're just scared. That's normal, but you're going to get back on this horse and you're going to canter again and you're going to be fine. And I was like, okay. So I got back on, walked around. She's like, all right, let's try it again. So I tried it and it was fine. And then we cantered again. And then I was fine. I didn't fall off again. Trent: That's a good trainer right there. You Jen: And then I just, yeah, from there on, was just like, okay, let's go. ⁓ started taking a lot more lessons, got into competing. and so back then it was kind of like, ⁓ like hunter jumper, if you will, that was kind of the style I was writing. So English was more like hunter jumper English. And then we had to leave that farm and we went to a different farm and they did what's called three day eventing. Had no idea what it was at the time. just that there were like three phases to it, dressage, cross country and show jumping. So kind of like a triathlon for horses, if you will. Trent: ⁓ nice. I'm learning all kinds of shit right now. Jen: So then, yeah, I was on some lessons horses then I was learning the dressage learning cross country learning show jumping and I was like, this is fucking cool. I feel like I'm like I felt like I was kind of good at it back then even though I was just learning like I just had a feel for it. And then started, then we bought my first horse. And then my sister started riding. So the two of us were know, gone at it together. My brother even tried to get into it at one point. ⁓ He didn't really stick with it though. He went into flying planes instead. It actually is. He's responsible for a lot of lives. He's an air traffic controller. Trent: mean, that also seems hard. Yeah, that sounds so I'm a big fan of not stressing and that sounds like way too much stress for me, honestly. Jen: It's a ton of stress, yeah. Yeah, so I bought my first horse, so my sister got her horse, and then we just started competing in the three-day eventing ⁓ sport, if you will. It's an Olympic sport in equestrian. And then it just went, I don't know if I want to say the way uphill from there or downhill, because it was just, we bought more horses, we ended up getting our own farm. It just became like a huge thing. Trent: You ⁓ nice. Jen: I mean at one point we had seven horses just between my sister and I. ⁓ yeah. And all different personalities. They have all like, they're not like a one size fits all. You have to learn them. But they're like humans. Yeah. I know. Basically. Trent: So many big animals. Just so many. ⁓ yeah. Yeah. Humans are tough and you can't even talk to ours. ⁓ Just like a dog. Just a big fucking dog. Jen: So yeah, just got into competing, to the upper levels, did pretty well, like did really well actually. I'm gonna toot my own horn here. ⁓ Yep, did that for quite a while. Then we ended up getting a farm also in Florida, because I'm originally from New Jersey, so that's where our farm was, and it was too cold in the winter to continue training, because the ground would freeze. Trent: Twoed away. Fuck it. Jen: you know, you just couldn't really do anything. So we would travel to Florida to our farm down there and stay there from December 1st until May 1st and then come back to New Jersey for the other months so that we had a full year of training. Trent: mean, that sounds like a pretty dope setup. Honestly, like two farms just do like cool stuff and like, Florida, like, we went to Miami, and I love hot and humid. I'm like a lizard. ⁓ That's just like I need the sun warmth and I want to be sweaty. I don't know why it's just it's a problem. But like, ⁓ me and my fiance went to Miami a couple years ago for my birthday. And as soon as I got off the plane, I'm like, ⁓ this is great. She's like, Jen: It was. Yeah, now I get that. Trent: But it's like... Jen: It's like walking into like just damp air. Trent: Yeah, I'm like, let's go. Let's like, let's fill my lungs with water. Let's All right, we're back in New Jersey. Jen: Yeah. Yep, so I would train there. My sister and I would train there. I also had clients that I would train. So I was what? In my 20s at this point, early, like late teens, early 20s. ⁓ And I had been riding all the way from nine years old up until then. And then, yeah, how old was I when I was probably... Yeah, I guess I was early 20s when I had my really big win. So there's what's called the North American Young Rider Championship. So there's different regions across the US, groups of states, actually they're called areas. And then if you placed, I forgot exactly how it went, but if you, had to basically qualify to go to the Young Riders. So I qualified. Trent: Okay. Mm-hmm. Nice. Jen: My sister did too. ⁓ So that meant, I feel like maybe there was just a handful of us that would come from each area and then compete against each other at the Young Riders. So kind of like an Olympics, if you will, like a baby Olympics. ⁓ And then I remember I was, so I did my dressage, I think I was like sixth place after dressage. kind of like, not super happy with that. And then I moved up. after the cross country to maybe third. And then I did show jumping and I had a bunch of rails. So I knocked down like the rails off jump. So that cost me penalties. So I was like, ⁓ I don't think I did that well. So I come out of the arena and I'm standing there and I'm waiting for the other two riders to go that were ahead of me. And I actually wasn't really watching them because I was just kind of in my life. I didn't do that well. Just kind of bummed. Trying to be sportsman-like about it, but feeling like, fuck this. Yep. very internal, just killing myself. So then the coach for the team, so the other two riders go, I don't watch them. The coach comes over to me and she's like, you just won. And I was like, I might get the fuck out of here. No, I didn't. Trent: Not kicking shit over or like throwing things you're like, ⁓ god, I want to be so mad right now Jen: had two rails and she's like, but second and third had more rails. And I was like, then I was like, yeah, let's go. So I won the young rider, the North American young rider national championship. Trent: Now you're kicking shit over like ⁓ look at me That's amazing, congratulations, that's super cool. Jen: Thanks. Yeah, so that was kind of, that was a big deal. ended up, ⁓ somebody asked me to write an article about it, which was pretty cool. Yeah, and then I was famous for a little bit, maybe like a year. Trent: Hell yeah. Hey, you know, you were famous, that's all that matters, you know? And you won this thing where it's like, that's nationwide, that's cool, right? And you get to tell stories about it 20 years later. Which is super dope. Yeah. Jen: I remember it too. I just remember that feeling when she and the coach came up to me and she was like, you just won. I was in disbelief. then, yeah, it was pretty cool. Yeah, gallop around the, do the victory lap, lead in the pack. Trent: Hell yeah. Yeah, right. Flexing at people. You're like, hey, look at these guns. I just beat everybody. I love it. That's so awesome. So did you play any sports or anything? Or just the horses? Okay. Jen: Yeah. Just the horses. Yeah. So that was kind of another thing. Like, so I started so young, so it took over a lot of my like after school life. So when I was in, you know, I guess elementary school or grade school, whatever that is, and then going into high school, I didn't have time to do like any school sports because I was doing the horses. ⁓ And I was kind of like an outcast. I didn't really have a lot of friends because nobody else did what I did and I didn't do what they did. So it was just kind of like a weird, you know, just an outlier. Yeah. It's funny. I didn't really like notice that back then, but like looking back, I'm like, yeah, I'd like one friend in high school. Trent: Dynamic. Yeah. Yeah. Besides the horse. Jen: Besides the horse. Yeah, so no school sports. I didn't go to college because my parents were like, can decide to either continue the horse career and kind of make this a thing, or you can stop the horses and go to college. And I was like, fuck college, we're doing horses. ⁓ Trent: Horses. Yeah. School's dumb. Jen: And like I already kind of had a little bit of a thing going. had some clients, I was doing well. So I'm like, let's, let's do this. And then that continued for about another, we'll say close to 10 years. Cause it was about when I was 30 that it came to a screeching halt. I mean, it was a family business and, ⁓ my parents got divorced. So yeah, so they kind of, they funded it all. ⁓ and my sister and I ran it. Trent: tell them. Okay. that's tough. For sure. Jen: And then when they split up, the funds stopped. Trent: Yeah. I mean, I get it. You know, like that. mean, that's a tough situation for sure. No matter how you look at it. I mean, that goes for, you know, business partners or partners, partners or anything like that. You know, ⁓ well, that sucks. ⁓ Jen: Yep. Mm-hmm. Yeah, so we had seven horses then, so we sold them all. ⁓ And I actually sold my favorite horse to the Princess of Thailand. Trent: What? Jen: or the daughter of the Princess of Thailand. Some connection there. I don't know exactly how that was, but yeah, some royalty. Trent: So, the princess's princess got your horse. I mean, it must be a fucking badass horse then. Jen: Basically. You know, it's funny because he was not a good looking horse, he was kind of ugly to look at. had this big, like, white face, big old head with, like, wall eyes, like, fish eyes. Not really athletically built, just kind of like a whatever horse. But man, that fucker, he could jump, whew. He, and, I haven't talked about this in so long. He would, ⁓ Trent: Okay. Jen: When I first bought him, the reason that a person was selling him was because he would refuse at the ditch. There was like just a hole in the ground that we would have to jump over. That was part of our course. And he would stop at all the time. And you know, the owner would try and kept stopping and then somebody else would try and he just would not jump the ditch. And then the owner was like, well, why don't you try it? Why don't you see how it goes? ⁓ So I took him on trial for a little bit. like before I actually bought him. So I had him for maybe like a week or two and we had a ditch at our farm. had a whole like cross country course in our backyard. Basically we had 80 acres of horse land. So we had a whole like slew of jumps and we had a ditch. So every day I would train him. I would do my undersage, my jumping in the ring and then I would go up on the hill and then I would go. Trent: Okay. Right in the backyard. Jen: the ditch and we had like a little baby ditch and then a big one. So I would go over the baby ditch first and same thing he would stop with me too and I was like nope this fucker he's not gonna get away with this and I would just I got after him and I had my crop and I was hitting him just not letting him turn I'd be like you need to go over this today whether it takes us 30 seconds or 30 hours however long it takes. Trent: Yeah, it's happening. Jen: It's happening. So he goes over the baby ditch, finally. And he just kind of jumps it like, like, ⁓ no big deal. I'm like, you're not even scared of this. You're just being a little dick. So then next day, come back up, jumps over it, no problem. Next day, same thing. And then I go to like the big ditch, jumps over it, no problem. I'm just like, all right, you're just, you've been fucking with everybody up until now. Trent: this guy. Jen: And I could just, like, he's just his personality. I'm like, so you realized, he's like, okay, I can't fuck with Jen. So I need to go over the ditch or she's going to beat the shit out of me. So he never ever stopped at the ditch again. And he was like a fabulous jumper. He was always like, ping, like legs up and just loved his job. Yeah. He was great. Yeah. Trent: Yeah. Way to go. That's, I mean, that's, that's some grit right there. Okay. That's awesome. Right on. And Princess got him. So that's also cool, right? For sure. Jen: And I think she took him... Did she go to the Olympics? I think she took him to the Olympics riding for Thailand. I'm not 100 % certain on that, but I'm pretty sure she either qualified for it or she went. Not sure. Trent: That's crazy. You have like this whole like story that I'm sure there's a lot of people that don't even know any of this. Yeah. And now and now your secrets are all coming out. Just so you know. Yeah, that's awesome. So what is so that all came to a halt in when you were 30. OK, and then what how like so what what happened after that? Jen: Yeah. ⁓ yeah, a lot of people have no idea. Yep. Corrects via. Well, was like, kind of, was like, I don't know what to do here, because that was kind of my life, that was my work, that was my money. ⁓ Trent: Yeah. And I mean, probably like your identity too, right? So it's like, when anything changes like that, I mean, it's like, you have to go through an ego death, which is fucking hard, right? And you have to accept the fact like, well, now what? Right? It's, well, that's tough. Everybody's been there at some point. Jen: Yes. Mm-hmm. Yep. I'm actually glad that you recognize that because it definitely was and I believe still is actually my identity. I mean, I'll ride every now and again because my sister, she had to sell all of hers too, but she got back into it years later where I didn't go back into it. ⁓ So when I go out to visit her in California, I'll ride and it's literally like, I can't, it's just, sometimes I'm like, why did I ever stop this? Cause this is just so amazing, but. Trent: Right. Is it like, does it make you feel like home? Like, ⁓ wow, this is the thing. Jen: Yeah, that would be a good explanation. It's kind of like, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Trent: Okay. Uh, so like it, there's like a phenomenon, right? There's a couple of things that happen. There's people that get burned out on a thing and it's like, that was their passion, right? And then they just do it and then they do it they do it they get burned out on it. And that kind of happened with me playing hockey. Like now I was like, I would, I could go shoot some pucks and then be like, nah, I don't need to do that again for another 10 years. It's not that big of a deal. Right. But then there's people like you where it's like, if you, if you just jumped on a horse and you feel at peace and you feel at home and things like that, Jen: Mm-hmm. Yep. Okay. Okay. Trent: I mean, that's a telltale sign like that is still your passion, right? And it's something to explore, right? I know you kind of put your passion in a lot of different buckets now, which is great, instead of just being attached to that one. ⁓ But it's kind of also great, like, if you went through an ego death, and you still have that passion and love for it, that's remarkable. Most people don't get that, right? They like they suffer an ego death, and they're like, well, my life is over. And then they go buy a fancy car because they have a midlife crisis. Jen: Yeah. Yep. Yeah, you're about to make me cry a little bit here too, so. Trent: Hey, you know, get those emotions out. You know, it's good for you. For sure. I love this. We just became best friends. Check that out. Jen: Yeah. And it's funny because I'm, probably get into this later, but like the same feeling that I had slash have with the horses is very similar, if not the same as to how I have with CrossFit and now tactical games. And they all have kind of a similar thing that like. that satisfies me. A lot of things don't satisfy me or impress me, but these, those three things very much so do. Trent: So one of the things, one of the reasons why I wanted to have you on so bad is because there is a difference between high performers and there's a difference between people that just work hard. Right. I can tell that what you do, you do it wholeheartedly full bore whole ass, no matter what. Like there's like, there is no doing it half assly. Right. And that is a high performer. Like how, how I kind of see it a high performer because Jen: Correct. Yeah. Trent: That is something that you are born with. is not, you can't just teach that, right? Like there's a different type of grit and a different type of mindset that goes into like, Hey, I have, I have a goal or I have a thing and it's getting 100 % of me. And whatever the outcome is, it is also getting a hundred percent of me. Right. And that's what sets apart a high performer. That's one of the reasons why I want to you on. So after the horses and everything, what, what led to CrossFit and like, how did you get to there? Jen: and. Right. So, well I got into like, you know, doing actual, like, I don't want to say real work or like a real job because what I did before was real, but like more, ⁓ we'll say normal type work. So I got into like, like I had an office job and I remember like the whole nine to five just sitting at a desk and I was like, I fucking hate this. But, but I was like, Trent: Okay. Fuck this lamp. This lamp's going in the trash. Jen: have to do this I have to make money so I did that for a little bit and then the guy I was dating at the time he hit one of his friends was doing CrossFit and so I was doing what did I do before that I I remember I put on some weight that's right so I remember I remember we hiked the Grand Canyon my sister and my mom and I and I wasn't like heavy but I definitely was fluffy Trent: Mm. Mm-hmm. Okay. Jen: And I remember I weighed myself at her house when I was 150. And I'm gonna say this weight now. So I was 150 pounds and I was like, whoa, that's too much. So I was like, all right, time to lose some weight. So after the Grand Canyon, I joined ⁓ kickboxing, like a fitness style. So I did that for a while and really liked it. My knuckles were like fucked up from that. ⁓ But it was great to just like. Trent: Okay. You just busted ass hands all the time. Jen: Yeah, just punch it. So I did that for a while, lost a bunch of weight. But like just lost weight, didn't gain really muscle. And then that's when it kind of came together because I was like, want to build some muscle. I forgot how I kind of came across CrossFit maybe just on the internet or somewhere. And I was like, God, those girls are jacked. Like I want to look like them. Yeah. Trent: That's usually how goes. Like somebody's like, ⁓ that person's ripped. Jen: Yeah, I was like, how can I look like that? ⁓ So my boyfriend at the time, his friend, she did CrossFit. So she brought me to my first gym and it was in New York state at that time. And I remember it was the middle of winter. So it's January, it's freezing. The gym was just a warehouse, like no heat, broken windows, no mats on the floor, cement. Trent: ⁓ my god. Jen: just a rig. felt like maybe there were some mats under the rig, ⁓ but like just cobwebs is dirty, just an abandoned warehouse. And I was like, no. Trent: Yeah. Yeah. It's like everybody's first CrossFit gym. And if it's not your first CrossFit gym, you're not doing it right. Jen: And then I remember, so he goes over the workout and I'm like, I don't know what this is. And then he's like, all right, everyone outside, mile run. And I was like, there's snow on the ground. But I didn't say that, I just like thought it. then I saw nobody questioned it. They just went outside and ran. So I was like, okay, I guess we're going. So I go out and run in the snow for a mile. I think I came in last. I think, no, I do remember coming in last because by the time I came back in, all of them had started the second part of the warmup and I was like, for waiting. And Fran, Fran actually was the workout. Trent: Yeah, like... I swear everybody does some sort of fucked up benchmark. The first time my first workout was Murph in a park. It's so fucked. Right? God. Jen: Oh my god. That's worse. But yeah, it was Fran and I had pull-ups. I feel like I had strength from riding the horses, like pulling strength. So I've always been able to do a pull-up. So I ended up doing strict Fran because I didn't kip. So I just did strict pull-ups. It took me like 15 minutes to do it. But I remember afterwards I was like, this is fucking cool, I'm coming back tomorrow. And it just, that's how it started, yeah. Trent: That's awesome. I love that. ⁓ And you know, like most people that I talk to that that end up doing cross it, it's it's some, it's a story exactly like that, right? It's like, ⁓ I got my ass kicked. I want to continue to do this or ⁓ I realized that I am unfit and I need to continue to do this. Or people that are psychos and they're like, you know what, I just threw up in the parking lot. I don't ever want to do that again. Just keep doing this. Yeah, that was that was me. So ⁓ Jen: Right. Yep. But you know what else I liked about it too was our coach was a former Marine and he was just a hard ass. Like he maybe said 10 words the whole time. There was no like, yeah, you're doing great. It was just like, do this, do that, fix that, fix this. was just like hardcore. I liked it. I liked it like that. So. Trent: Damn. Okay. Okay, I see who you are as a person. Jen: I don't really care for the fluff. I'm not fluffy myself and I don't really care to receive that. Rather you just tell me it like it is even if it fucking sucks, then beat her on the bush and make it sugar coated, you know? Trent: as the way should be, for sure. Jen: Yep. Uh, so yeah, that's how I got into CrossFit. then, so that was 2013. And then I moved to another gym. I don't remember why. Uh, but then I don't, yeah, I don't remember that, that interim there. Well, the gym I moved to, they didn't have heat either. It was just as cold. Um, but yeah, so that gym, the owner was like, Hey, do you, do you want to coach? Trent: Perfect. It's too cold in here. Fuck this place. ⁓ nice. Jen: And I was like, ⁓ sure, I guess. Like, why do you want me to coach? But I was kind of like intrigued by that because I had coached like, ⁓ horses for so long and teaching people how to compete and do all that stuff. So I like, I like to teach a skill. So when he asked me, I was like, all right, let's do it. So he's like, go get your level one and then we'll get you in. So I got my level one passed, no problem. And then started coaching and was like, okay, this is a lot different then. Trent: Mm-hmm. Jen: horses, but different but the same. You need to convey a message across and it needs to make sense and you need to get the... Like if I'm Y and they're X, I need to get X to do what I want. So back when the horses, it was the same thing, now it's just a human. Trent: Right. Yeah, for sure. Jen: ⁓ Sucked horribly, so bad in the beginning. God, I remember like I would just freeze in the brief. I'm like, yep, just do that. But then, know, practice got the hang of it, did some more classes, got experience. And then I was like, okay, my style with anything is if I'm gonna do something, it's gonna be all. It's not gonna be half-ass like you mentioned before. Trent: Have fun. Jen: ⁓ got my level one. I was like, let me get my level two. And then I just kept going and I'm like level three and then just repeat level three. And now I want my level four. And it's like, I'm not really sure where the cap is probably level four, but Trent: Yeah, I mean, you know, they I mean, they might come up with a level five, who knows or 26 who know, you know, you know, we can't trust cross at this point. ⁓ I get it though, like, ⁓ you know, I kind of did the same thing. I got my little my old one. I loved coaching because I had a really, really great, really great coach. And I like movement. And I like helping, right. So it's like, before I played hockey. Jen: But yeah. Trent: road dirt bikes, did all kinds of stuff. And it's like, I didn't like have a direction in life, right? I knew that like, I, when I had a normal ish job, ⁓ it was, ⁓ I was a project manager for a data infrastructure company. like we built, ⁓ you know, like server rooms, right? So like all of the blue cables that go into server rooms and stuff like that, that connect all the networks, like we used to build those. And I loved it because it was just like, you know, being an adult, getting to build Erector sets. Like it was just really fun and like I got to use like an engineer brain and I loved it. And it was like, this is awesome. But I hated the people that I worked with and I started, I was doing crossfit for years at this point. And ⁓ I had already got my L1 and I made a decision. like, Hey, I hate these people because I mean, we're we're we're union and it's like these fucking assholes. They're just like, I'm gonna do whatever the fuck I want and not work. And it's like, bro, this ain't it. So Jen: Right. Trent: I decided I was like, I'm going to coach full time and like, was such a like change and it was like uncertain. And it was like, Nope, fucking doing it regardless. All in, ⁓ I learned a lot. and it took a long time to like make this like solidify as my career, but I knew as soon as I started coaching, I'm like, this is what I want to do. Like, this is what I meant. I meant to help. Right. And I totally get it. That's like, I have my, I bust my ass for my three and it's, mean, what would be good getting my L four would be dope for sure. Um, and, uh, new format of how they do it. Awesome. Instead of having to fly to a gym and like that, you know, so like, sure. As soon as they open it back up, I'd go for it. But, I, I think it's when you are committed to being a coach and being committed to helping people on that level. Jen: I know, yeah. Trent: It's not the people who have their L one just live with their L one. You know what I mean? And it's like, shows considerably the people that take it seriously, which is dope. ⁓ so you've been doing, you've been coaching and everything since 2013 or 2014. Jen: So 15 was when I officially started coaching. So 11 years, yeah, a little over 11. Trent: Okay, cool. And what year did you get your L3? Jen: The... Was that 19? Yeah, because we're 2026. Yeah, I feel like it was 2019. I got that. Trent: right on. That's awesome. So I gave you a little bit of rundown of like what I think sets apart a high performer. What is your take on what sets apart a high high performer and what does it take deep down inside? Jen: Can you ask me that in a different way? Trent: Yeah, so like what do you think sets apart a high performer from anybody else that just works hard? Jen: Okay. ⁓ Well, I don't know, like this might, I don't want this to sound mean. Yeah. I mean, I just feel like... Trent: No, don't be like, just be honest, right? Like just fucking go for it. Jen: It's kind of like you said before, I feel like a high performer is just someone who just has that discipline and that determination and that grit to just do the thing no matter what. So whatever they sign up to do, whatever they want to do, whether it's coaching, whether it's tackle games, whether it's competing horses, it's all in. Nothing else matters. Nothing else is going to... derail me from doing this the best that I can. And then also on top of that, when you're in it, you're definitely gonna come across failures. Like you're gonna be like going up and then all of a sudden it's gonna come back down and then you're gonna come up and then you're gonna down even more. And then it's just this up and down. maybe this is more it. I feel like when the downs happen, it's almost like a driving factor. to be like, ⁓ no, no, This is happening, yes, I recognize it, but it's not going to turn me away from what I wanna do. It's gonna make me push harder toward it, where I feel like others, that's their time to be like, ⁓ I'm gonna give up. It's too hard. I'm sucking. They don't wanna try to turn that around. So I feel like that would be the big differentiator there. Trent: Yeah, and I love that. That is a great answer to great way to frame it. I it's just like, how are you going to get up from failing? Right? Are you going to take it as lesson? Are you going to take it as you know, oh, fuck, I need to do something else. Right? The answer is not you need to do something else if you're really, really passionate about the thing you're doing. So when Okay, when it when it comes to CrossFit, right, like you had a certain drive, like, oh, this is gonna be the thing that I'm gonna do for rest of my life. Jen: Yep. Trent: How did you stumble into the tactical games and how did this become like the new, like, I fucking love this. Jen: So a friend of mine did it. So back in 2023, I think it was. Or no, was it the same year? No, I think it was 2024. was February of 2024. She went down to the Sierra Vista to do attack. It was her first tactical games. And I was like, I'm go watch you. I'm gonna go support you. I went with some other friends. And I had no idea what it was, I just knew that there was guns involved and there was some fitness, but not like, that's all I knew. So we go down, she's in an Airbnb, so we stay with her. like, there was a, there was kind of a familiarity to it, to like going to a horse show. Like you have to, not so much, like I recognize that more later, but like the whole packing up and all that stuff, but I kind of saw it with her. Like she had to pack up all her stuff, bring it down, like stay in this place. get your food, just kind of take care of yourself at a different location, like you're not at home. Get up early, go to the event. And then we went, so we watched the check-in and then her do all of her stages, and I was like, okay. ⁓ that's yours, I thought it was mine. Trent: Hang on real quick. Hang on. Hang on real quick. My dog is going ape shit. Yeah, well, let's just pick up right where you left off and then we'll be good. All right. Go for it. Jen: Okay. Yeah, so watching her stages and like one of them was this rope climb. So she had like her weight, her plate carrier on her belt with her, ⁓ mag pouches, her pistol, like all this stuff on climbing the rope. And I'm like, God, that's like, that's hard to do. And then it's like out in the dirt. Like she's picking up a sandbag, like throwing it over a bar and then like going under the bar and getting dirty and then going to shoot. And I don't know, just watching it and just the different, I don't even know how to, I don't wanna say different disciplines of each thing, but different aspects, I guess, of. not only being strong enough and fit enough to do the work, but also being like precise enough to shoot and hit the target. And I was like, there's a lot of parts to this. It's not just one thing. So I was like, I really like this and shooting. I mean, it's fucking cool. Plus they all look just like cool. mean, look, if I'm going to let you in on a secret here, the only reason I tactical games is because it looks cool. Trent: Let's be real. Yeah. I fucking knew it Nice right on Jen: I'm just kidding. But that's definitely a part of it. But yeah, so I watched her do that and then, so I watched her two days and like, you know, we spent time with her that first night and we're having dinner together and she's just like telling us about how all the stages fell and she's so amped about it. And I was like, ah, this is like energizing me. And then watched her the next day. And I don't know, just the outdoor aspect of it, the dirtiness of it, the grittiness of it, the discipline of it. I was like, I want to try this. I like this. I really like this. So that was in February, March. I bought my rifle and my pistol. I bought all my gear actually. I asked her, I'm like, what do I need? I want to get into this. And she just sent me a list. So I just bought it all. Yep. That's why I told you the other day, was like, it was a buy once cry once. Trent: guys. Give me a list. Everything's getting bought today. Hey, you know, like I figured like, I look at it like this. I've done this so many times in my life, and I know everybody has at some point you buy the cheap thing, and they end up buying the fucking expensive thing anyway, right? So it's just like, buy all the expensive shit to begin with, and then you don't have to fucking worry about it. Right? And then it's like, it's gonna suck once instead of sucking multiple times, because you bought the cheap shit. And you're like, Motherfucker, right? So just get it out of the way. Jen: Yeah! Yep. Yep. So I bought all my stuff and then I made myself sign up for an event that fall that September. It was in Utah. It was the closest one. So I was like, I have to sign up for this. Like I have to do this. Yeah, so that was in September. I bought all my stuff in that previous March. I don't know what I did a little bit like Trent: And have you ever shot or anything before? Jen: Yeah, but, so I was familiar with it, but not, I wouldn't, like not, not good, you know, like just a handful of times. Trent: Okay. Okay. So like almost no experience. You buy everything in March, you find a tactical games in September, you sign up and you're like, I'm going to go fucking do this. That is the way to do anything. I that that's fucking awesome. Like me and my fiance, we're getting into it now. Right. And because it's looks fucking cool. And I think like you were saying before, there's so many disciplines that go into it. Right. It's like, Jen: Yes. Yep. Yep. Trent: You have to be disciplined to train. You have to be disciplined to be good at shooting at stuff, right? Which is hard, especially when your heart rate's very high. You have to be disciplined to work out, right? And it's like, that's also fucking hard. And it's, it's just like a whole new, whole new ballgame. And it's, I love the fact that like, it's something new. It's going to be exciting. And me and my fiance are going to do it. And it's like, fuck yeah, this is cool. Right. And we get to look like a bunch of badasses and dirt and fucking shooting guns. Pew pew. Jen: Yep. Yep. Yes. Mm-hmm. Trent: Yeah, I'm sorry. I I sidetracked very easy. So September you signed up you're fucking doing the thing. Let's talk about it Jen: ⁓ it's going to be, you guys are going to love it. You're going to love it. Yep. So I started, I did a bunch of dry. So I had a coach that helps me kind of get into it. He helped me with a bunch of dry fire stuff first, just learning like manipulation of the firearms. ⁓ we did a bunch of training in his garage over, you know, from we'll say March to June and then July, we started live fire at the range. We would go out to Ben Avery that's here and I remember he would have the target out at like five yards so close and like little circles or whatever they were. I didn't hit a bullet in the target for weeks. It was on the cardboard. It made the whole thing, but it wasn't where I needed it to go. Trent: It makes me think of super troopers when they're shooting at them and they're what's this little guy? It's like, that little guy? wouldn't worry about that little guy. Jen: Kind of, And I was like, God, I suck at this. Like, this is, this is hard. And I was, I would get like frustrated with myself because I think I kind of came into it thinking, okay, this won't be that bad. I'll be all right. But I was like, nope, it's bad. I'm not all right. But I also like, anytime that happens to me, especially if it's sport related, like it's My brain just goes, you need to get good. You cannot back away from this. You cannot like accept that. Cause I can't live with that. I can't live with like trying something and sucking and just being like, ⁓ well I suck. No, if I'm going to do something, I got to be fucking good at it. Trent: See, and that's badassery right there. That's what that is for sure. Jen: So, trained, so from July to September, like hardcore every weekend at the range. I would say it got better, but certainly it wasn't anything wonderful by the time the event came. But at least I felt safe with the weapon. I felt like I understood how it worked. And then my coach was like, let's just do the event. It'll be practiced in itself. Just get through and then we'll go on from there. So. Yeah, so let me drive up to Utah. What, 10, 12 hours, whatever to get up there. ⁓ So like that in itself was a feat, like packed up all the gear. was just like a ton of stuff. Too much actually. I've learned, I've learned I don't need to bring that much stuff. But it reminded me of the horse shows. It was just like pack up all your shit. I was so organized with everything and like triples of everything. That's why I over packed. Trent: so far. I need 12 pants if I don't have 12 pants what I mean I'm I'm only there for two days but you know like if I don't have 12 pants what the fuck am I gonna do Jen: But yes. Yes, exactly. I had like 12 of everything. Trent: Perfect. I don't see a problem here. Jen: And then, so we get up there, we do, I ended up doing like a tune-up. So they have like a tune-up course on Fridays. So if you're kind of like a first-timer, they have this little three hour course that's taught by a different guy did it back then. I'm not sure who does it now, but some trainer and just kind of goes over basics, you know, just kind of is like nothing too fancy. Just like if you're a first time, just kind of get the nerves out. ⁓ So did that and then same thing. We go to shoot the pistol and again, it's like, I wasn't bad from five yards, but we backed up to like 10 yards, maybe it was 15. And I shot, you know, just like one shot and it like, I wanted it to go there and it was like down here. And then the trainer, like he goes from, he goes from, there was probably 10 of us in the class and he goes from each target and he's like, okay, this is. Trent: Oops. Jen: Why that happened? That's why your grouping is like this. That's why your hits or whatever. And then he comes to mine and he's like looking around. He's like, Oh, she's like, well, at least you made the paper. And I was like, And then he just moved on to the next person. Yeah. So then next morning, early start, feel like we were up at like four, which is kind of normal for me anyway, but. Trent: I checked the box. Well, at least it hits something. Jen: and they have like a safety brief. we all meet in like the center of the place and Nick Sayer, he's like the boss man and he welcomes everybody. It's just kind of a cool moment because he's just like standing up high and you're all just looking at him and you're like, I don't know like what's happening right now. And like they play the national anthem and it's just like, I don't know, it just feels really cool. Like we're all just like coming, we're all in this together. Trent: That's so awesome. Fuck, I'm looking forward to that. Jen: Yeah. And he always asks, cause like, how many people are here for the first time? you like hands, hands go up every time. Like so many hands, first timers. And it's great. ⁓ again, he's like, you know, help each other out. Like, yes, you're here competing, but like, if somebody needs help, help them because you're going to need it too. So help each other out with whatever, whatever they need. ⁓ so that was at probably six in the morning. And then we did like our first stage brief, not too long after that. And then it's kind of just like figure out what the workout is, like listen to the brief and then go. unless you're kind of later in the heats, but if you're the first heat, like there isn't really any warmup. There's no like warmup area. Like, you know, you got to like CrossFit competition and there's a warmup area. There's, there isn't that. So you either, yeah, you just do your own shit by your tent or you don't warm up. Trent: Do some burpees and fucking go for it. Jen: Whatever. ⁓ Trent: Alright. I mean, you know, sending it? Fuck it, why not? Jen: And my first stage was the rope climb. And I just remember like I did it, like I climbed the rope, then you'd like go over the bar, like carry the bag over the bar. And then you had to go over the bar a bunch of times. And then you had to go down to the firing line and shoot. like, I don't know if you've probably seen in my stories and pictures like that thing that looks like an X, like the trap. Yes, the tank trap, yep. Trent: Yeah, the tank trap. Yep. Jen: ⁓ so that that was there and I had never shot off of that before. That's right. I had never practiced that. So I was like, I don't know how to do this. And it's not stable. Like it's not, it's not a secure barricade like you might think it is. ⁓ so yeah, did that. Finished the state, like finished it came, you know, out at the end and my friend MK, she was in the same heat as me. I just remember we came to each other at the end and I just like hit her like right in the chest like with her vest and I was like, oh my god, like what did I just do? Because that was so amazing. Yeah. Trent: You That's so dope. Like, that is awesome. Yeah, I was just, I was just... Jen: And I was like really nervous like leading up to that but afterwards it was like cool like I understood what we were doing and she helps me out a ton. And there was like four stages I think that first day. Yeah there's usually like four a day. ⁓ And yeah they were rough. were... So I had done the intermediate division which would be like scaled. So I feel like the weights were a little bit easy for my fitness level at that time. But the shooting of course is really where it counts. ⁓ And now I'm at the 40 plus, which is like the RX division. that's certainly that's meeting me at my fitness level for sure. Yeah. Trent: That's good. So yeah, when when I start I'm gonna be I'm 44. So I'm like, I'm gonna be the old guys and I like saw there's some old guys that are fit for sure. Right. But I see videos of these old guys that are like the gun counter dudes with a big old beer gut. And I'm like, you got no fitness, but you're gonna fucking murder these targets. And I'm like, I'm just gonna go faster than you. That's all that's gonna happen. Jen: Yep. Yep. Yeah, I would say like fitness definitely counts. You do need to be fit. ⁓ Especially like if you're going to do the 40 plus or higher that level because it's those weights, get get rough. ⁓ But at the end of the day, it's the shooting that counts. Trent: for sure. So, clearly this is like a drug. That's okay. How soon after the first one did you sign up for your second one? Jen: Mm-hmm. Yep. Well, they didn't. So they, when did they release? They released the next season in October. So October. And then that next one was February. This past one was my fifth regional. And I've also done five skirmishes. Trent: Okay, you're like immediately as fast as possible. Nice. So how many of you competed in now? Okay. Okay. So quite a few. That's awesome. So what not even to you. And it's like, that's nine events. That's pretty legit. That's way to go. That's super cool. Or no 10 events. can math. promise. For sure. Jen: Yeah. And it's not even been two years. Mm-hmm. Yep, 10 events, yep. And I was like, I think it's 10, but we'll go with nine. Trent: Yeah, yeah, I can math I sometimes. ⁓ That's super awesome. So this last one, let's talk about this last one, because I want to touch on this. And then I want to get into a little bit more about your life and coaching real quick. Okay. So ⁓ this last one, talk me through it. I know you got second in your age group, which is fucking dope way to go. ⁓ Talk to me about talk to me through the weekend. What was what has changed from the first one to this one? Jen: Okay. Thank you. All right, so we're gonna go back to... So I did that first one in September of 24, and then I signed up for the February one of 25. And I remember, so 24 was kind of like my entryway. I didn't really have any expectations. I finished sixth in that one. So I was like middle of the pack, so I was okay. But I wasn't like, okay, like it just is what it is. But when I did that February one, I had a little bit higher of an expectation of myself. And I fucking tanked. Like I sucked at that one. I was like seventh, I think. Same division and I was like, nope. So just like I said before, I'm like, this is, we're not going to stay here. So I was like, I need to improve. ⁓ So literally it was the weekend after. So every weekend after, so from the weekend after that event, all the way up until Kingman. Trent: you Jen: this past April. we're looking at just over a year. Trained at the range. Every Saturday, two hours, just put time in, did all sorts of drills, did, started off with kind of more basic drills, and then kind of got into more advanced stuff. And it was like this the whole year, just up and down. And I just remember every time it was here, it was coming down, was like, nope, this is learn from this, learn from like, what is happening here? Like, why are you failing? Fix it. So then I would just, I would just learn how to fix it. I would either figure it out myself, just trial and error, or I'd watch videos of people or would get advice from other competitors. ⁓ yeah. And then sometimes I would go during the week, like, Trent: You Jen: And you know the summer, well maybe you don't know the summer in Arizona, but it's fucking brutal. Yeah. But never, didn't stop me. I would just put on a sunscreen and die out in the heat and just get the work in. And I had done, so that next June was my first 40 plus. So I was like, I was like, I want to move up. want to, well, the thought process behind this was. Trent: Yeah, I do. Actually, it's brutal. Very Jen: I knew the weights were heavier, but they were within my range. Bless those knees. ⁓ sorry. There we go. So yeah, the thought process was, I'm to be competing against ladies my age. They're probably going to be broken a little bit like me. So it might be a little bit easier. Not that I'm looking for easier, but it might just be more people my level. Trent: Okay. No, that's a cough. There we go, we're good. Right. It like, it will align with where your fitness is at. Right. And that's the way I'm looking at it too. I'm like, ⁓ old boots. I can compete against old dudes. Jen: Yeah. Nope, I'm gonna tell you, I was wrong. I was wrong. So I go into that division and there was 50 plus ladies in that, my group too, and they were fucking stacked. Like fit, fitter than me and shot better than me. And I was like, well, I'm in the wrong division. ⁓ Trent: That's fair. Jen: But then I was like, no, I'm not in the wrong division. I just need to level up. So yeah, that was my first one in that division. I actually qualified for nationals kind of by chance. I finished in the top five. ⁓ So it was cool, but it was just kind of like luck. And then I did a team event with that same friend that got me into tactical games ⁓ in August back in Utah. So that was fun. Like if you and your fiance are planning to do a team, like the team is definitely fun to do. I like that. Trent: Yeah, we're definitely planning on doing a team at some point. I think that'd be super, super cool. Jen: Yeah, no. Yeah, it's definitely fun with the team because you're just kind of like in it together and you kind of like work off of each other's strengths and weaknesses. Trent: Yeah, we've done it. We've done a lot of competing together. ⁓ we competed a lot of Palooza together. We competed at fittest of the coast together. ⁓ we competed in Canada together. Like it's super fun being on a team with each other. Cause like we know what our fitness is capable of. Right. And it's like, she's my best friend and it's like, I get to do cool shit with her. What the, why the fuck not? You know what I mean? And as soon as I felt, I like, thought tactical games was also low. I didn't know there was teams and, ⁓ Jen: Okay. Thanks. Okay. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Mm hmm. Trent: Nikki, who's one of my athletes, she told me that she was on a team with her husband last year. And I was like, ⁓ shit, seriously? And I'm like, okay, now I just want to do this even more. Like, like, I, I think it's gonna be so fucking cool to do this. It's like, I'm so pumped. It's like, I just want to kick shit over. Like, it's ridiculous. Yeah, I love it. Love it. Jen: Okay. Yeah. Yes. No, you're going to have an awesome time. So yeah, we did that together. We finished fourth there. And I felt like each of those events I was learning to. So also, and still training within all that time. then, so that was August. Had a little bit of a hiatus in... October, November, cause we had a year up trip. That was the only like time I really took off. ⁓ so basically after that, so from November to April, it was like hardcore, like we're going to fucking podium at Kingman. Like that was, that was in here. I'm like, you're going to podium. Like that's, you don't have another option. ⁓ Trent: Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I love that grind. Jen: So yeah, I would just be out there for hours and it would go wrong. And I was like, okay, why is this going wrong? Fix it. I'm like, okay, that fixed it. That didn't fix it. just going back and forth. And then I started to notice a steady incline. There wasn't any of this happening anymore. It was just steady incline. Yep. And then, so that was probably from like beginning of March. Nah, we'll say February. We'll say February to April, just cruising. And I was like consistently doing well. in my training. Trent: Okay, so what do you think changed? Jen: You know, that's actually a good question because I've asked myself that I'm like, was it just the reps? Was it just the time? Maybe. ⁓ Trent: Could be, right? Or was it like the fact that like you turn the switch where you're like, I'm podium. I like that is it. I don't have another choice. That's what I'm going to do. Right. I think that good. Jen: Yeah, I was a little bit more like driven toward that than I guess I was at the other ones. I guess the other ones I was kind of like, ah, let's see how we do. This one I was like, no, you're gonna make other people see how you do. So maybe just a mindset change that kind of transferred into making sure the hits happened. And then yeah, and then it paid off in Kingman, because yeah. Trent: Dope. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. That's great. Second place is dead. That's no joke. I'm super proud you. That's fucking awesome. ⁓ Jen: Well, I appreciate that, I'm also, here's like the high performer in me. I was first on Saturday. Yeah, so I was first on Saturday and I remember, so there was no signal there all day. So I didn't know how I had done because there was no scores up, but I was like, I know I won that stage and I feel like I did pretty well in some of these other ones, but I wasn't sure. Trent: Hmm. Going in, going into Sunday. Yeah. Jen: And then we got back to the Airbnb and then they posted it and I was like, fuck. And I was like, my name is the first, it's first line. So I was like, okay, it's working. But then I was like, oh my God, the pressure. And then just to add a little information, like I have grade four arthritis in my knee, which... Trent: What is happening? Yeah Yeah, for sure. Ooh. Jen: is a fancy way of saying I don't have a whole lot of ⁓ cartilage under my kneecap, so there's not a whole lot of cushion in there. So any type of like high impact, so running, box jumps, double unders, ⁓ yeah, just any type of jumping and running will bruise my kneecap to the point, and I won't feel it in the moment, I will feel it afterwards, and then it will very much hurt. Trent: Yeah. That's brutal. Jen: for months after that. So, I don't really, I don't do box jumps, I don't do double unders, I barely run, I run just enough to be able to be run fit in these competitions, but. So, Saturday going into Sunday, Sunday had a run, and I was like, fuck me. So I was like, I know I'm not gonna win that one because I'm gonna be slower. Trent: Yeah, that sucks. Yeah. Damn it. Jen: ⁓ So I'm like I have to win other ones so that I can keep it because we were only like 10 points apart So the first stage was a long distance off this like funky snake barricade Sucked it was windy. I just it wasn't it didn't go well. I was like third in that and then The next stage was the scared and the step over one. I did win that one and I had I had a feeling yeah, cuz I was like Trent: Good. Does that mean? Jen: I was shooting through the barricade so rewind also part of my training ⁓ my boyfriend built me a tank trap to have here at the house and the three port with the slots ⁓ so that I could just practice positional work here at home so just dry fire so I spend a lot of time doing that as well. ⁓ Trent: Yeah. Yep. Yeah. And I've seen your videos of that and it's like, I was just telling my fiance that I'm going to build both of those things today. so it's like, seeing you go through all of the different trainings to figure out this tank trap thing was hilarious by the way. But you got it down. So that's rad. Jen: Okay. Yep. Yeah, cause that was another thing. Like the first time that a three port, it came up in a skirmish and I'm like, okay, I don't really, I was trying to angle and I'm like, I cannot see through this. optic was just black and it was because I was just not in the right position. ⁓ so literally shooting in the dark. ⁓ so I, Trent: Perfect. Jen: Joe, I had him build one for me and he built the trap too. And then like probably once a week. So after I would come home from the gym, I would just get out there with my guns and then just practice position. was like, okay, I can see it. ⁓ I can't see it. would just trial and error. And then finally it got to a point where I just knew what position to get into. So I didn't have to guess. So was just, okay, this is what I need to do when I get to this barricade. Trent: Yeah, so here's a question. Did your neighbors freak the fuck out because you had your AR in the backyard? Jen: No, I mean, luckily we've got like a cement wall kind of around so nobody can see. Trent: Yeah. Okay. So you have, you have a wall around your backyard and out there just playing with your air. I love that for you. That's amazing. Um, I, I'm trying to think about like how we're going to be able to train. And it's like, I might have to put like an orange tip on the tip of it. And like, I don't know, maybe out in the yard, I have no fucking idea, or we're just going to have to go to the gym and we're going have to do it inside the gym. And I'm going have to turn off the, the key pad lock so people can't come in. Jen: Yep. Yeah. Yeah. You could definitely do that. What about your garage? Trent: So my garage is you can't even fit a car in it. It's so tiny. Like Seattle, Seattle, like Seattle is a special place. Let's just say that. Yeah. So we're going to, I'm going to get creative. I'll figure it out one way or another. Like I always, I always figure everything out. It's going to happen. Jen: Okay. Yeah. Coming. So you guys own the gym. Trent: No, we don't own the gym. So, ⁓ I was managing this gym. ⁓ and since I have a lot of, ⁓ remote clients and personal training clients and things like that, ⁓ I took a step back so that I had more time to focus on that and then really try to build my business. And that's what we're all about. Right. So, ⁓ I'm really fortunate that I have some really, really great athletes and I get to coach them. And I like, it's really rewarding that, you know, Jen: Okay. Trent: We click and we get to do these things. So I started peeling my hours back and peel my hours back and peel my hours back. But like, if I were to ask Chris, the owner, he'd be like, yeah, that's fine. Right. And I would just turn off the lock and like, so nobody can come in and I'm just like, they're like, why is Trent struck here? And it doesn't fucking matter. I'm inside doing stuff. That's why. Yeah. Cause, ⁓ I, I was part owner of a gym downtown in downtown Seattle, but, ⁓ we ended up closing it in 24 because downtown Seattle really never bounced back after COVID. Jen: Okay. It doesn't matter. Okay. Trent: ⁓ and we were paying $12,000 a month in rent and we only ha and we only had 1900 usable square feet. Yeah. Not, not the best business decision, but you know, we tried to make it work as best we could. ⁓ and yeah, we were just like, we can't do it. We just can't couldn't do it anymore. So even if we did do it there, it was all glass windows in front. it wouldn't fucking work. And people in Seattle, they're like, they, the SWAT team would be there. Jen: wow. OK. Yeah. Thank you. Trent: just what's happening. So. Jen: Yeah, Arizona is a lot less, is a lot more free when it comes to that. Trent: Yeah. Most every place is like that, except here. And California. Jen: Yeah. Yeah. Which is odd because they just started a skirmish in California, which I thought was kind of strange, but. Trent: Yeah, actually Nikki just competed at that at the middle of March. Yeah. She, she just, she just competed at that and that was her first, ⁓ solo one. Her husband signed her up in elite and she's like the fuck, but it turns out her fitness is like, she, she did her, she did well. Right. So like, that's awesome. ⁓ and she'd also did elite when she went down to Kingsman. So yeah. Jen: Yep. Okay. Yeah. Okay, nice, yeah. Yeah, I think because of my knee, I also have a bulging disc in my back, lower back, L4, L5, and I have scoliosis in my lower back. So doing the elite weights ain't going to happen. ⁓ Trent: So. Yeah. And it sounds heavy, right? Like I was, I was watching a YouTube video of, think it was nationals last year and Jacob Hebner picking up the 250 pound sandbag. I'm like, bro, no, I'm not like why there's no point to do that. Zero. You know, like a 200, 150 pound sandbags heavy, like there's no point in lifting a hundred more pounds on that. Come on. so with Jen: I know, it's so heavy. Yes. It's very heavy. Trent: As much as you coach and as much personal training and things like that, how do you compartmentalize working with your clients and giving them a high level of care and training home life and all the other stuff that you do all at once. Jen: Well, I is tired. Um, I don't know. I just kind of do it. Like, I mean, I make my schedule. So I've got classes that I coach, um, two days a week. I teach the morning, like the five 36 30. So I'm up early and then. Trent: That's probably the best answer I've ever heard of that question. I is tired. Jen: I have, so my teaching hours are from we'll say five 30 until one o'clock. So I'm done at one. So the whole morning is coaching. And then usually from like one to three is my training. ⁓ and then I come home. mean, Joe's great. He's just kind of like, sometimes I need to come home and just like stare at the wall and not talk, not listen to, like, I don't want to hear anything. And he's good about just giving me that. And I'm on a little bit of a, like we're on just kind of odd schedules, so it's tough sometimes because I'm up at 3.30 in the morning. So I work, so I'm done at the gym by then 3 p.m. I'll have dinner and then at four. And then I go to bed by like 6.30 or seven. So it's just kind of an off schedule where he's just about four hours behind me. Trent: Yeah. Yeah, 6.30 or 7.00, that's early. Jen: I'm gonna tell you though, I'm gonna tell you though because there's there's hangry so you get angry when you're hungry and there's I made this up there's slangry when you get angry because you're tired so you need to sleep. Trent: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You're just turning into a rage gremlin because you're tired. Jen: So if I don't get enough sleep, watch out. Trent: Yeah, for sure. It's like same, same, but like, I feel that so hard because people don't necessarily understand unless they do personal training and coach classes and these things like you want to not speak like you are just tired and exhausted of speaking. And you're like, man, I just want to not talk, you know, but like, also, like, I go into the gym and like in between clients, sometimes somebody is in the gym and they'll turn the fucking music up or I walk into the gym. to coach a class in the music set 12 and I'm like, what the fuck are you doing? Just give me a minute. like me and my central nervous system like understand like this is gonna continue to happen for the next couple hours bro. Like I just need just let me ease into it. I can't fucking get slapped in the face with fucking more little Wayne. Come on. Jen: you I know, I get it. Trent: Yeah. I'm glad that you also understand that it was like, you know, sometimes I get to the gym and it's like, I didn't even listen to zero things on the way to the gym. And I'm just sitting in my truck like, fuck, I gotta go do this. And I'm like, I have a pep talk. like, all right, bro, let's go. We got put on happy face. Jen: I know. And then, you know, kind of similar to like the horses, each person has a different personality. So you have to adjust and, know, whatever. And then you take on that energy too. And like, I, I love it. I love coaching. I love all aspects of it. I love all different levels of it. I love all personalities even, but man. Trent: Mm-hmm. Jen: I am wiped out at the end of the day. Trent: This is like what like what it is. Have you ever watched ⁓ what we do in the shadows? ⁓ it's such a funny show and like the movies even better, right? It's about vampires. It's fucking hilarious ⁓ Taika with TT made it and it is just it is stupid funny. Anyway, they have a show and there's different types of vampires and there's a energy vampire and he's like Jen: No. Is it? it. Okay. Trent: Think of like a more boring Dwight Schrute, but like he just like goes next to people and then people are just like, ⁓ I'm so tired. And he's like just zapping their energy. I'm like, I love everybody that I coach. Don't get me wrong, but some of y'all are just fucking energy vampires. saying for sure. For sure. ⁓ so what, what's next? What's the, what's the next thing that we got going on? Jen: . Yeah, I feel that. I feel that. Well, so I've actually got quite a few well, I would say quite a few I've got a handful of Clients that have been working with me just personal training that have now switched to wanna go tactical games Yeah, it's actually been pretty cool because I like yeah, we talked about it in the gym It's not anything that's not talked about but I don't like I don't Trent: Hell yeah. Jen: I don't go off to anyone and like, should do this, you should do this. Like, I just do what I do and people see me, they see what I post and then they're like, hey, like I like what you're doing. I want to do it too. So like take on the moment. Trent: Yeah. Inspiring for sure. Like, like definitely it, what you're doing is now you can't go anywhere. What about now? ⁓ you know, it's, definitely inspiring, right? And that's super awesome. Like I bet it probably lights your soul on fire a little bit more. Cause like you get to continue to coach, but you're like, now it's like you're the thing you're super passionate about. That's your sport and your fucking pastime. You're like, yeah, let's go. That's awesome. Jen: Mm-hmm. Yep. Yeah, so yeah, I've got my clients that I train at the gym and then I've got a few of them that I also train outside the gym at the range. So I train them to shoot. train them. I prep them for tactical games. One of them, Jess did a skirmish last month and then she's going to do the Phoenix regional here in October in the 50 plus division. ⁓ have another one. He's also going to be in the 50 plus. Trent: Nice. Jen: fingers crossed that we can be healthy enough. He's got a hamstring issue going on, that he can be healthy enough by then to do that. Yeah, and then I've got a bunch of people in the gym, they're like, oh, I wanna do this too, like I like school. So, but yeah. Trent: Okay. You're right, because people want to do it just because they want to look cool. Jen: That's the main reason. Trent: So when's your next one? Jen: Well, I'm gonna do, there's a skirmish here in September, so I'm gonna do that. I am signed up for the October regional in Phoenix, however, it is only five weeks out from Nationals. Nationals is one million percent happening. ⁓ Trent: Right. And you're definitely going to nationals. Yeah. So, ⁓ Nikki, Nikki also qualified for that. You guys should hang out. Jen: Yeah. I know I've been talking with her on Instagram actually. Yeah. She's really cool. Yep. Yep. so you're probably thinking, well, what big deal is five weeks out, but it takes me. So after I do a regional, I need to take an entire week off. My body is like, take a break. Like, what did you just do to get to me? ⁓ so I have to take an entire week off. Trent: Yeah, hell yeah. That's dope. Yeah, she's super cool. And yeah, that's awesome you guys are talking. Jen: I usually don't know if my kneecap is bruised until like two weeks after. So I can tell you now that from Kingman it's slightly bruised. It's not bad, but it's slightly bruised. Just from experience in the past, like I know what it feels like. So because of like my back and my knees, like my body just takes a beating and I'm skeptical that if I do the October Regional that... I might not be actually recovered fully to do nationals, even though it's five weeks apart. ⁓ So there's that and also the risk of getting hurt, like for real, at October. So. Trent: Yeah. I totally get that. ⁓ we did a lot of competing last year and it wore me down so much. it was like training to kind of peak and then doing the comp coming down and then training and not even getting to a peak because they were so close together. And it was like, it it did a number of my body and more than my body. Like it did a number like on. Yeah. Like I just, I lost so much drive to even want to work out. And like, just got really burned out and it. Jen: Yeah. ⁓ Right. Yep. Mental. Okay. ⁓ Trent: It's just it was a lot of things that kind of happened all at once. But like, I'm starting to work out again, which is great. I'm like, I'm excited about that. But like, fucking aches and pains that are coming with this Jesus Christ, like goddamn, I feel like I'm 44. And I don't usually feel that way. ⁓ Jen: Yeah. you ⁓ I know. I get that too because I'm 43 and I'm the fittest I've ever been in my life. So I'm actually going to go back to, so when I was 150 pounds and I thought I was fat when I went to hike the Grand Canyon, I'm 155 pounds now and I'm as fit as I've ever been and I'm happy with that weight. So yeah. Trent: I love that. That's awesome. Fuck yeah. See, old Jen didn't know it was up at all. Jen: And you just had to replace it with muscle. That's it. Trent: That 100 % like, yeah, like muscles win every time for sure. Um, Jen, I cannot thank you enough for coming on and hanging out with me for an hour and a half. Uh, you've been absolutely awesome. Um, so if you could give advice, this will be the last thing. If you could give advice to somebody who's starting the tactical games, what, what, would you say to them? Jen: Yes. Yeah, they're great. Hmm I would say... This is where I wish I had read your questions beforehand. ⁓ Trent: This one wasn't even on there. This one just fucking, just going for it. Yeah. Jen: You know, I'd probably say like the tougher side of me would come out and be like, you gotta want this. Like if you're gonna, if you see this and you're like, hey, this looks cool. I want to do it. Like you have to want it like from here. This can't be like, ⁓ I'm just gonna like half train. I'll just shoot every now and again. I'll just kind of half pass it. Like, nope. If you're going to do this, you have to want to do it and you have to want to train. And if you have that, then everything else will work out. Trent: Fuck yeah, that's awesome. I love that. That's like definitely inspiring for sure. ⁓ again, thank you so much for being on. ⁓ I really, really appreciate you. I would love to get on another episode to talk just tactical games and like prepping somebody for it. ⁓ we'll probably do that in a little bit. I'll reach out and we'll, we'll chat about it and stuff. ⁓ but that would be, that would be super awesome. So, ⁓ where can everybody find you or get ahold of you if they need to, cause they want some sick coaching. ⁓ Jen: Yeah. Okay. Yeah, for sure. I guess you mean like my Instagram or my... Trent: Yeah, Instagram for sure. Jen: So my personal I have two Instagrams, but my the one where I post more of my tactical training is Jen Jen underscore underscore Libby libby wife So if you have DM me on there, I get a lot of people that message me asking questions There's no such thing as a stupid question. I know people like ⁓ this is a dumb question Nope, you can ask me how to put a bullet in the magazine. You can ask me that and I will help you Trent: Hell yeah. I love that. That's awesome. ⁓ sweet again. Thank you, Jen. And I hope that you have an awesome rest of your day. Jen: Yeah. Yeah, thanks for having me. Appreciate you. Trent: No. Yeah. Thank you for coming on. That was, that was super, that was super, super awesome. ⁓ yeah. And I'm excited to do another episode. I would love to just chat, just tactical game shit. I'm like how to prep somebody and like what they should like the 10 things they need to know. Right. And we'll do like, I don't know, like a 40 minute episode and chat about that. ⁓ yeah, I think, I think it'd be super fun. I need to not talk. Jen: Okay. Okay. Absolutely. Let's do it tomorrow. No. Trent: I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. ⁓ no, let's, ⁓ let's shoot for a couple of weeks though. So, ⁓ I'm going to be getting all these uploaded. ⁓ I have to do some editing, a little bit more editing for the YouTubes, but, ⁓ I'm going to start getting episodes out by Friday and then your episode should be up in a probably like two weeks or so. ⁓ that's what I'm gonna hope for. I'll let you know and all that stuff and I'll get like a bunch of, ⁓ clips and things over to you you want to post them or I can post them and then just. Jen: Okay. Okay. Okay. Trent: ⁓ invite you to collaborate on them and stuff like that. That'd be super awesome. ⁓ Jen: Yeah, actually I was going to ask you how is that going to work? Cause I would like to, I think collaborate would be good. So it's on both of our pages. Yeah. Trent: Yeah, definitely. Like, and like, I'll cut up some sweet videos and like, ⁓ put the captions and all that stuff and do some artwork. And then ⁓ get it up. And then I'll just invite you to collaborate on them. And then it'll be on both of ours. Cause like, I everyone on your side to hear the things that's going on. And I want everyone over here to hear what you have going on. And I want, you know, the, all that cross platform stuff. ⁓ And then what else was I say? ⁓ I'm gonna, when I do the artwork, I'll just, I'll send it over. Jen: Okay. Yeah. Trent: to you and make sure that you're good with it for like, know what the thumbnails are going to look like and stuff. And also if you have a picture that you're like, this fucking picture is the one send it to me. Cool. Jen: Okay. Okay. Okay, well I got a bunch from Kingman and I really like one of them, probably say thank you. Trent: Yeah, they look they look dope. that look that that competition looks so fucking awesome. Jen: Well, I would, so when you guys do your competition, whenever that is, get the photo package, get it. It's a hundred bucks. Yeah. Trent: Okay, yeah, for sure. Like, so we do that. Yeah, it's only 100 bucks. What the fuck? Yeah, we get cut like any cross competition we got that we go to we pay for photo packages because the first one we went to, we didn't and we have zero fucking pictures. And I'm like, God, that sucks. You know, so we look we learned our lesson. Yeah, for sure. I will definitely do that. ⁓ Great. So question. What? ⁓ What leggings do you wear that are tactical leggings? Jen: Okay. ⁓ yeah, get the pictures. ⁓ So the ones that I usually go to, especially competition wise, are Vakant. That's the brand. Trent: We text that to me? And then do you wear knee pads and shit? Okay. When it's, have you done one in the mud yet? Jen: Yes. yeah. Yeah. No, but I want to. Trent: Yeah, I think that'd be fun too. Like I guess Montana was like this last weekend and it was like super muddy. And I'm like, that sounds fun. Missouri. Yeah. Yeah. It starts with them. Same, same, same. I don't even know geography anyway. It's fine. ⁓ but do you, have you ever had to wear gloves or anything like that? Jen: Yeah, Missouri. Yeah, was super muddy. Okay. no, not because of like too cold. I used to wear a glove on this hand more for a rifle reason, but I changed that. But no, not, not because it was too cold. Actually, that's a lie. I mean, I have in training. I have in training, not in a competition. So yeah. Trent: Okay, cool. Yeah. Okay. Cool. Good to know. Awesome. Awesome. Again, Jen, you're awesome. Thank you so much. Yeah. All right. I'll talk to you soon. Bye. Jen: Thank you, appreciate it. Okay, see you later. Bye bye.