The Upgraded Man

Chris Anderson
  • 4.8 (40)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

The Upgraded Man is the podcast for men who refuse to stay complacent. Hosted by Chris Anderson, husband, dad, and fellow work in progress, it's real conversations with men who have done the work across five pillars: fitness, finances, living fully, relationships, and mindset. And every guest signs the Upgraded Man Journal. He reads what the last man left for him, responds to it, and writes his own entry for the next one. One book, one entry, one guest at a time. Three episodes a week. Monday is the full conversation. Wednesday goes deeper on one segment. Friday is the Journal Entry. If you're a driven man who wants the most out of life for yourself and the people you love, you're in the right place. If you're not growing, you're dying. Let's get to work. Instagram: @upgradedmanpodcast upgraded-man.com

  1. 1d ago

    Upgraded Man Journal Entry: Thomas Edwards Jr on What He Survived

    This is The Upgraded Man Journal. It is the ritual that runs through every episode of this show. One book, passed from guest to guest. Each man reads the question the last one left behind, answers it honestly on camera, and then leaves a new question for whoever sits down next. It is short on purpose. It is not short on weight. Tim McDonald, a stage IV colorectal cancer survivor and screening advocate, left this one: what have you survived in life that you didn't call surviving in the moment? Thomas Edwards Jr, author of The One Up Effect, does not hedge. He goes straight to his addiction, to the night it broke, and to a date he can still say without thinking. January 14, 2019. In this Journal episode: Tim McDonald's question, read by Chris Anderson, and why it lands the way it doesThomas naming his addiction as the thing he survived without ever calling it thatWhat he means when he says he was legitimately dyingThe friend who told him he had his own resurrection, and the moment that framing hit himWhy waking up sober felt like the end of his life instead of the start of oneWhat it is like when the escape you counted on is suddenly walled off, and the way he describes seeing itEveryone counting him out, including his wife, the night she thought they were doneBeing sober longer inside the marriage now than he was drinking in itThe new entry Thomas leaves for the next guest, on the one game you were put here to playWhy he says it twice, slower the second time, and who he wants to hear itWhat Chris takes from it, and where that question goes nextThomas Edwards Jr spent over a decade as The Professional Wingman, the relationship coach the media called the real life Hitch, before he stepped away and rebuilt his life around a different idea. He is sober, married, a dad, and he says it out loud so somebody else does not have to find out alone. Get his book at theoneupeffect.com. To reach him directly or work with him, go to ThomasEdwardsJr.com. If you know a man who is quietly surviving something right now, send this to him. Follow the show so we can keep making them. This episode may or may not be sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something. =========================== ⚡️ PODCAST: Subscribe and listen on all major platforms ⚡️ Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Apply here ➡ https://upgraded-man.com/guest ⚡️ For support or business inquiries, email us ➡ chris@upgraded-man.com Our mission at The Upgraded Man is simple — help men upgrade every area of their life through real conversations, honest stories, and actionable insight from men who have done the work. Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Send Chris Anderson a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/upgradedmanpodcast The content on The Upgraded Man is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not constitute professional legal, financial, medical, or therapeutic advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on information discussed on this podcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  2. 3d ago

    Best Moment: A Sexless Marriage Isn't About Sex | Ralph Brewer

    Sexless marriage is not really about sex. Ralph B., founder of Help For Men and author of The Dead Bedroom Fix, tells Chris Anderson on The Upgraded Man that the bedroom is the last thing to go cold, and by the time it does, something else has been dead for years. Ralph B. is known online as Dad Starting Over. He rebuilt his life after a divorce that blindsided him, then wrote the book that hundreds of thousands of men in dead marriages have picked up. He talks to men who have gone twenty and thirty years without touching their wife, and he knows exactly what type of man ends up there. This one is for the married guy who is doing everything right, and she is still on the other side of the couch. In this episode: Why a sexless marriage is the last symptom, not the problem, and what died firstThe anxiously attached husband who needs her reassurance to feel okay, and why the bedroom becomes his whole scoreboard"Moving the goalposts." She says she is exhausted, he takes over every chore, and she ends up on the couch on her phone while he scrubs toilets asking "do you notice me now"Why stay at home dads have a worse record with dead bedrooms, and what that proves about choresThe anxious avoidant trap. Why the man who wants to talk keeps marrying the woman who wants to be left aloneWhat a man actually does. Back off, work on himself, and stop going to her for approvalThe hard part. When you get better, she might leave, and why that is not a condemnation of getting betterChris reads the Esther Perel line: fire needs air, desire needs spaceWhy couples who work together 24/7 lose the spark, and why a man needs a mission outside the marriageWhere all of this comes from. Look at her mom and dad. Look at yours.The car that pulls to one side, and why you never get to take your hand off the wheelQuestions this episode answers Why did my wife stop wanting sex? Ralph B. says the sex was the last thing to die, not the first. Something in the connection has been broken for a while, and the man usually did not notice until the bedroom went quiet. Will doing more around the house fix a sexless marriage? No. Ralph B. says the anxious husband takes over everything, the goalposts keep moving, and it does not work. The problem is deeper than chores. What do I do if my wife pulls away? Give her space and work on yourself, Ralph B. says. Stop going to her for approval and build a life with a mission in it. Chris Anderson adds the Esther Perel line: fire needs air, desire needs space. Find Ralph at helpformen.com. His book is The Dead Bedroom Fix. On social media, search Dad Starting Over on any platform. The Upgraded Man is hosted by Chris Anderson. Follow the show, and send this one to a married guy who thinks the chores are the problem. #theupgradedman #sexlessmarriage #marriageadviceformen This episode may or may not be sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something. =========================== ⚡️ PODCAST: Subscribe and listen on all major platforms ⚡️ Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Apply here ➡ https://upgraded-man.com/guest ⚡️ For support or business inquiries, email us ➡ chris@upgraded-man.com Our mission at The Upgraded Man is simple — help men upgrade every area of their life through real conversations, honest stories, and actionable insight from men who have done the work. Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Send Chris Anderson a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/upgradedmanpodcast The content on The Upgraded Man is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not constitute professional legal, financial, medical, or therapeutic advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on information discussed on this podcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  3. 5d ago

    How to Quiet the Voice in Your Head with Steve Barton

    Chris Anderson sits down with Steve Barton, a high performance coach, creator of The Game of Ten, and co-author with his son Spencer of The Father, the Son, and the Aha Moment. Steve spent about thirty years running the floral business he took over from his father in Maine. He got certified through the Gestalt International Study Center in 2015 and trained in Miracle Minded Coaching with Marianne Williamson in 2021. He turned seventy the day before this record. This one is for the man who is harder on himself than anyone else has ever been, and calls it high standards. Steve says most of us were trained to think our way out of every problem, and that is why the voice never stops. Then he does something most coaches will not do on a podcast. He hands Chris the actual rep, makes him do it on air, and it works. In this episode: Why 80 percent of what your mind says is junk from the past, and why fighting it makes it louderRespond versus react, and why the only control you have is inside youThe six phrases Steve uses to quiet the mind in thirty seconds, done live with ChrisThe first seven years, and how the voice got installed before you could argue with itChris on three kids under five and the fear of passing it downLove with healthy boundaries. Sometimes love says yes, no, stay, or go.Why Steve told his son they are not best friendsChris's ribbon story, and the one question to ask a kid after he losesYou can get to nine by positive thinking. You cannot get to ten by thinking at all.Is "it is what it is" wisdom or a cop-outForgive the thought, not the personThe man who did not know he had emotions until he was 36Stop chasing shiny objects. You are the shiny object.The Upgraded Man Journal, answering Dr. Tommy Rhee and leaving a line for the next guestFind Steve at stevebartoncoaching.com. Download The Father, the Son, and the Aha Moment free at thegameof10.com. He posts every week on LinkedIn at Coach Steve Barton. If you have never once questioned the voice that beats you up, this one is for you. Follow the show, and send this to a man who cannot shut his brain off. This episode may or may not be sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something. =========================== ⚡️ PODCAST: Subscribe and listen on all major platforms ⚡️ Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Apply here ➡ https://upgraded-man.com/guest ⚡️ For support or business inquiries, email us ➡ chris@upgraded-man.com Our mission at The Upgraded Man is simple — help men upgrade every area of their life through real conversations, honest stories, and actionable insight from men who have done the work. Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Send Chris Anderson a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/upgradedmanpodcast The content on The Upgraded Man is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not constitute professional legal, financial, medical, or therapeutic advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on information discussed on this podcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  4. Sep 11

    Journal Entry: What Did You Survive? | Tim McDonald

    Work smarter not harder is easy to say and hard to live, and stage 4 colorectal cancer survivor Tim McDonald had to get sick to learn it. In this Journal entry he reads what the last guest left him, agrees with half of it, and tells you plainly why the other half almost broke him. At the end of every episode of The Upgraded Man there is a physical journal. The guest reads what the last guest wrote, sits with it, and writes something for the man who comes next. Same book every time, passed hand to hand. No prep. No script. This week it is Tim McDonald. Six years ago an oncologist gave him three years to live. He is still here, and he hosts the Advocacy at Work podcast. The entry he read was left by Nate Spangle, founder of Get Indiana: "Dream so big it makes others uncomfortable and be the hardest worker in every room." Tim is all in on the first half. The second half he does not buy anymore, and he says so. Here is what is in this one: Why Tim McDonald says dream so big it makes others uncomfortable is right, and worth writing downWhy being the hardest worker in every room is the wrong goal, from a man who used to live itFirst in and last out of the office, and what all that effort actually got himWhy working smarter is not doing less, it is getting more doneThe question Tim wrote for the next guest, and why he thinks men in particular need to sit with itWhy most men never call the hard things they got through survivingQuestions this episode answers Should I be the hardest worker in the room? Tim McDonald says no. He was first in and last out for years, and all it did was burn him out and stress him out. Working smarter let him do more. What does work smarter not harder actually look like? Tim McDonald stopped measuring by hours in the office and started measuring by what got done. Smarter is more, without the burnout. What is a good journal prompt for men? Tim McDonald left this one: What is something you survived that you never called surviving? He says men do not like to admit they survived a lot, and that is exactly why the question matters. Find Tim at advocacyatwork.com and on LinkedIn at Tim A. McDonald. The entry Tim read was left by Nate Spangle of Get Indiana, getindiana.com, @natespangle. The Upgraded Man is hosted by Chris Anderson. Follow the show, and send this one to the man who is proud of being the first one in the office every morning. #theupgradedman #worksmarternotharder #mensmentalhealth This episode may or may not be sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something. =========================== ⚡️ PODCAST: Subscribe and listen on all major platforms ⚡️ Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Apply here ➡ https://upgraded-man.com/guest ⚡️ For support or business inquiries, email us ➡ chris@upgraded-man.com Our mission at The Upgraded Man is simple — help men upgrade every area of their life through real conversations, honest stories, and actionable insight from men who have done the work. Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Send Chris Anderson a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/upgradedmanpodcast The content on The Upgraded Man is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not constitute professional legal, financial, medical, or therapeutic advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on information discussed on this podcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  5. Sep 10

    Upgraded Man Best Moment: Thomas Edwards Jr.

    This is a Best Moment episode. One section pulled from a longer conversation because it stands completely on its own. Ask a man how he feels and you will usually get one of two answers. Fine, or nothing. Then something small happens and the anger shows up out of nowhere. Thomas Edwards Jr says that is not a character problem. It is a skill nobody taught him. Thomas is the author of The One Up Effect and spent over a decade as The Professional Wingman, the coach the media called the real life Hitch. In this stretch of his conversation with Chris Anderson, he lays out the ladder most men never climb, and then he does the part almost nobody does. He hands you the actual sentence to say out loud. What Chris and Thomas get into: The three levels: emotional awareness, emotional literacy, and emotional intelligence, and why most men stall out on the first oneWhy a man who cannot put words to a feeling defaults to anger every single timeWhat is usually underneath the anger, and why you can be sad without being diagnosed with somethingKing David as the model. A warrior who wrote songs, danced in the street, and cried out loudAre you playing your own game, or still running a program somebody handed you years agoWhy you should not share every single thing with your wife, and where the line actually sitsThe exact words to use when you are processing something and not ready to talk about it yetWhy he calls it authenticity instead of vulnerability, and why that word mattersHaving emotions is not weak. Letting your behavior get run by them isWhy most of what you react to has almost nothing to do with what just happenedWhat changes at home when your wife can hold space for it, and what to do if she cannot yetIf this section hits, go listen to the full conversation with Thomas Edwards Jr. Get his book at theoneupeffect.com. To reach him directly or work with him, go to ThomasEdwardsJr.com. Share this with a man who has been told he is always angry. Follow the show so we can keep making them. This episode may or may not be sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something. =========================== ⚡️ PODCAST: Subscribe and listen on all major platforms ⚡️ Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Apply here ➡ https://upgraded-man.com/guest ⚡️ For support or business inquiries, email us ➡ chris@upgraded-man.com Our mission at The Upgraded Man is simple — help men upgrade every area of their life through real conversations, honest stories, and actionable insight from men who have done the work. Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Send Chris Anderson a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/upgradedmanpodcast The content on The Upgraded Man is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not constitute professional legal, financial, medical, or therapeutic advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on information discussed on this podcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  6. Sep 7

    Training After 40 with Dr. Tommy Rhee, Sports Chiropractor

    Chris Anderson sits down with Dr. Tommy Rhee, a sports chiropractor who has spent nearly twenty years working on some of the most abused bodies in professional sport. Olympians, NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB players, PGA and LPGA golfers, UFC fighters and pro wrestlers. He is the founder and CEO of RheeGen and the author of The Future of Regenerative Medicine. This one is for the man who is doing everything he was told to do. He trains. He eats decent. He is proud of the effort. And he still feels worse today than he did five years ago, and he cannot work out why. Tommy gives the honest answer, and then he gives the fix, in plain language, with a workout you can run in fifteen minutes. Important: this episode is not medical advice. Talk to your own doctor before you change anything about your training, your recovery, or your health. In this episode: Why you can still keep up with 25 year olds, and why you cannot do it day after dayThe one thing most men skip that would solve half their problems on its ownWhat heart rate variability actually measures, and what a tracker is really telling youThe 100 air squat test you can run tonight, no gym and no gearWhat DOMS is, why you hurt two days later, and how to make it go away fasterThe exact workout pairing for a man in his 30s and 40s, heavy squat straight into a box jumpWhy fifteen honest minutes beats an hour of going through the motionsWhat stem cells and peptides actually are, explained like you are a fifth graderWhat happens to your muscle when you cut food hard and do not trainThe two biggest drivers of inflammation, and why one of them is not foodWhat fight or flight does to blood flow in your arms and legs when the stress never turns offWhat a hyperbaric chamber actually does, and what it did to his resting heart rateThe science fiction that is already sitting in a clinic today Dr. Tommy Rhee is a Doctor of Chiropractic, not a physician. Find him at rheegen.com and physicalchiro.com, on Instagram at @dr.rheetommy, and on LinkedIn at Dr. Tommy Rhee. Follow the show so you do not miss an episode, and send this one to a guy who has started blaming his age. This episode may or may not be sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something. =========================== ⚡️ PODCAST: Subscribe and listen on all major platforms ⚡️ Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Apply here ➡ https://upgraded-man.com/guest ⚡️ For support or business inquiries, email us ➡ chris@upgraded-man.com Our mission at The Upgraded Man is simple — help men upgrade every area of their life through real conversations, honest stories, and actionable insight from men who have done the work. Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Send Chris Anderson a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/upgradedmanpodcast The content on The Upgraded Man is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not constitute professional legal, financial, medical, or therapeutic advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on information discussed on this podcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  7. Sep 4

    Upgraded Man Journal Entry: Nate Spangle

    At the end of every episode of The Upgraded Man there is a physical journal. The guest reads what the last guest wrote, sits with it, and then writes something down for the man who comes next. Same book every time, passed hand to hand. No prep. No script. This week it is Nate Spangle, founder of Get Indiana and host of the Get IN. podcast. He built a media company out of a three thousand dollar truck he did not own when he announced the idea, and he is the first guest to write in the journal in person. The entry he read was left by Larry Hagner, founder of The Dad Edge: "The definition of hell is being on your deathbed and meeting the man you could have become." He sits with it before he says a word. Then he goes somewhere honest. Here is what comes out of it: Why Nate says you are never too old, and the three excuses he kills in about ten seconds The one thing he believes is actually holding most men back, and it is not talent What really turned him into a man he can look at in the mirror, and why it was not a book, a coach, or a plan How he uses the worst thing that ever happened to him without letting it define him The only standard he holds himself to on a given day, which is being closer than he was yesterday The advice he gave on stage that he now believes is the whole secret The test he runs on himself every night when his head hits the pillow The entry he wrote for the next guest, read out loud If you have been telling yourself you are too late, too old, or not smart enough, this one is about four minutes and it takes that excuse away from you. Find Nate: getindiana.com @natespangle on every platform His show: Get IN. with Nate Spangle The entry Nate read was left by Larry Hagner of The Dad Edge, thedadedge.com. New episodes of The Upgraded Man drop three times a week. Full guest episodes on Monday, the best moment from a past guest on Wednesday, and the Journal on Friday. This episode may or may not be sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something. =========================== ⚡️ PODCAST: Subscribe and listen on all major platforms ⚡️ Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Apply here ➡ https://upgraded-man.com/guest ⚡️ For support or business inquiries, email us ➡ chris@upgraded-man.com Our mission at The Upgraded Man is simple — help men upgrade every area of their life through real conversations, honest stories, and actionable insight from men who have done the work. Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Send Chris Anderson a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/upgradedmanpodcast The content on The Upgraded Man is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not constitute professional legal, financial, medical, or therapeutic advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on information discussed on this podcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  8. Sep 2

    Upgraded Man Best Moment: Tim McDonald

    In 2020 a doctor told Tim McDonald he had cancer and that it had already spread to his liver. A few months later an oncologist told him something worse. She said she was going to put him on a chemo that gave him the highest quality of life, because he only had three years left to live. Tim did not say anything out loud. In his head he said four words. That's your story, not mine. Six years later he is still here. This is the Best Moment from Tim McDonald's episode of The Upgraded Man. Eleven minutes, and it is the part of the conversation worth hearing if you only have time for one thing. Tim McDonald is a stage 4 colorectal cancer survivor, a Research Advocate with Fight Colorectal Cancer, and the Florida Chapter Leader for Man Up To Cancer. He spent 17 years building online communities for major brands before he turned that same work toward patients. Here is what is in this one: The conversation with his doctor that made the doctor ask if something was wrong with him The question he asked back. If I act any differently, would it change what you just told me Why his first thought after hearing the word cancer was not about himself The drive home, and the words he had to say to his wife with no time to soften them Why knowing almost nothing about cancer may have protected his mindset What success actually means in oncology, and why it is not what most people assume The appointment where he was given three years, and what he said to his wife in the elevator after The change in himself he could not see until he looked back at it Why the people he is closest to now are not the people he worked beside for 17 years The pattern he noticed as a young man. Men work their whole lives, plan to travel when they retire, and die before they go What he does differently now. Doing instead of planning, and how he moved his infusion schedule to travel with his wife If you have been putting something off until later, this is the eleven minutes to give it. Find Tim at advocacyatwork.com and on LinkedIn at Tim A. McDonald. The Upgraded Man is for men who refuse to stay complacent. New episodes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Subscribe, and if this one hits, send it to someone who needs it. This episode may or may not be sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something. =========================== ⚡️ PODCAST: Subscribe and listen on all major platforms ⚡️ Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Apply here ➡ https://upgraded-man.com/guest ⚡️ For support or business inquiries, email us ➡ chris@upgraded-man.com Our mission at The Upgraded Man is simple — help men upgrade every area of their life through real conversations, honest stories, and actionable insight from men who have done the work. Want to be a guest on The Upgraded Man? Send Chris Anderson a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/upgradedmanpodcast The content on The Upgraded Man is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not constitute professional legal, financial, medical, or therapeutic advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on information discussed on this podcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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4.8
out of 5
40 Ratings

About

The Upgraded Man is the podcast for men who refuse to stay complacent. Hosted by Chris Anderson, husband, dad, and fellow work in progress, it's real conversations with men who have done the work across five pillars: fitness, finances, living fully, relationships, and mindset. And every guest signs the Upgraded Man Journal. He reads what the last man left for him, responds to it, and writes his own entry for the next one. One book, one entry, one guest at a time. Three episodes a week. Monday is the full conversation. Wednesday goes deeper on one segment. Friday is the Journal Entry. If you're a driven man who wants the most out of life for yourself and the people you love, you're in the right place. If you're not growing, you're dying. Let's get to work. Instagram: @upgradedmanpodcast upgraded-man.com

Information

  • Creator
    Chris Anderson
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    530
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Upgraded Man
  • Show Website
    The Upgraded Man