A long lifting career comes with plenty of ups and downs, so we’re accustomed to hearing stories about setbacks, comebacks, and perseverance from our favorite lifters. These setbacks can take many forms, but Jared Maynard’s extraordinary story exists in a league of its own. Over the course of a few short weeks, a rare autoimmune disease took Jared from being a young, strong, healthy man in his early 30s to being on life support in the intensive care unit. With survival odds worse than the flip of a coin, Jared fought his way out of the ICU and started training right away. The major difference is that his training program involved re-learning how to eat, sit up, and roll over before he could focus on squat, bench, and deadlift. Barely more than one year removed from life support, Jared was back on the powerlifting platform setting PRs and deadlifting over 500lbs. In this episode, Jared shares his incredible story with Omar and Dr. Trexler, and talks about how years of lifting likely saved his life and set him up for a remarkable recovery.

00:00 Not talking crap about our guest today as part of our Iron Culture apology tour

02:12 Introducing our guest Jared and his journey

10:40 The potential recurrence of mononucleosis and Jared’s plan if it does

14:49 Treatment and testing modalities

21:52 The crucial role of lifting in Jared’s journey and the gradual process of recovery

32:13 Restoring activities of daily living 

41:25 Jared’s mental challenges and stoicism

50:40 Getting back into training and competing a year later

1:02:08 Setting the example to motivate and the recalibration of perspective 

1:12:11 Jared’s study of stoicism

1:15:35 Where to find Jared and what’s next for him

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