S5EP5: Matt Hasselbeck

Matt Hasselbeck is a former pro-football player spending the bulk of his career with the Seattle Seahawks after his initial position as back-up Quarterback to Brett Favre on the Packers for 2 years. Matt led Seattle to six playoff appearances including the 2005 Superbowl against the Steelers and was selected to 3 Pro Bowls. After 10 seasons and a contract dispute, Matt went on to play for the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts. At retirement, Matt signed a one-day contract so that he could officially retire as a Seahawk after 18 seasons in the NFL and continues to be beloved by the Seattle community. Matt went on to become an ESPN analyst working on Sunday NFL Countdown, and most recently calling Thursday night college football games.

For more info about Matt follow him on Instagram and Twitter.

People, Books, and Lightning Strikes mentioned in the episode:

04:51 Matt’s Background and Football Career; Matt’s dad let them play football (but didn’t want them to), but it was mandatory that they played a bunch of sports
05:26 NFL Combine; Andy Reid
05:50 Matt started 9 games as a 40 year old
06:26 The average NFL careers is about 2.8 years, Matt played for 18 years
06:49 Matt was drafted to the Green Bay Packers backing up Brett Favre for his first 3 years in the NFL
07:27 Matt has only had one surgery, that he was basically talked into by Drew Brees
09:27 Dr. James Andrews, Kevin Wilk, Lenny Macrina
11:46 Drew Brees and “the San Diego Guys” were really the first to train differently as QBs rather than doing the team workout
13:27 Early training and recovery at the beginning of Matt’s NFL career was all carbs, ice cream bars, and miller lites
16:16 Matt talks about how his thinking has evolved around sleep
16:44 Mark Verstegen
18:17 Matt got a handle on the sleep situation with the now defunct Zeo Sleep Headband
19:18 As it turns out, two Bud Lights before bed doesn’t help you get good sleep
20:17 Matt’s wife is all in on recovery, even the headband, Normatec boots and the Marc Pro
21:38 Matt’s wife, Sarah Egnaczyk, was a hockey player awarded all-state honors in high school, led a championship team in college, played for the U.S. Junior National Team, and was an alternate for the 1997 U.S. National Team
21:48 Matt “retirement” has him on Sunday NFL Countdown and calling Thursday night college games
22:25 How does Matt manage his sleep/health in retirement?
23:03 Matt’s favorite exercise as a 40 year old is the Hex Bar Deadlift
23:24 Being intentional about having a plan
24:33 Pro Travel Tip: Compression Dress Socks
24:51 Pro Travel Tip #2: Walking meetings or study sessions
26:13 Andrew Luck and Matt take Kelly’s advice and get warm all day rather than sitting in a hotel room prior to games
27:11 In the NFL when you travel there are cops stationed on your floor at the hotel to keep fans out. But looking back it may be to keep the players in.
28:52 Feldenkrais paraphrase: “The measurement of your health is the ability to take a huge hit to the system and still remain unchanged”
29:55 It’s important to make deposits in the fitness bank so you can handle injuries
30:42 Looking back, Matt is so grateful that he incorporated all different warmups from different sports into his NFL practice day.
31:53 Matt and Andrew were doing Alex Morgan women's soccer warm ups that they saw on Instagram
32:37 What does Matt’s fitness routine looks like now. Short answer, when you are short on time: Peloton
32:54 As it turns out, exclusive Peloton-ing does not keep you fit for other activities like shoveling the driveway or shooting hoops
35:42 Matt has done a lot of research on brain health and has realized that it is very important to break a sweat everyday
37:49 Kelly loves to say, “Be consistent before you are heroic”
38:13 Matt considers himself the least athletic person in his family. Sarah requested a Versa Climber for her birthday this year.
38:30 Matt’s true motivation for training, is so that he can practice his kids’ sports with them and not tear his achilles or pull something
39:51 Juliet wants a machine called The Gauntlet
40:14 Jacob’s Ladder: The workout of Matt’s life that he will never get on again
40:44 Kelly’s love of mountain biking is making him super stiff. His solution: jump roping
41:40 The Russians say, “When you stop jumping, you start dying”
41:18 Matt had one of his hardest offseasons with Rick Celebrini, which included a bunch of jump rope warm ups and Matt was convinced he was gonna pop a calf
42:38 When Obama was in the White House he liked to play basketball and people would come and play with him. Translation: big increase in torn ACLs, ruptured quads, and torn achilles in the upper executive branch
43:50 QB Pro Tip: Shooting in water polo is an excellent drill for a QB and keeping that elbow up
45:00 During the NFL lockout, Matt did SealFit
45:43 Matt and Sarah get struck by lightning at Peter Laviolette’s wedding, it hurts.
48:16 Matt’s Socials

Sponsor

This season of The Ready State Podcast is sponsored by OOLER, makers of the chiliPAD. Kelly credits the chiliPAD with being the single most important product to improving the quality, density, and duration of his sleep. Juliet credits the chiliPAD with making Kelly less sweaty. For more info and discount codes, click HERE!