Operation Antifragile

Operation Antifragile Non-profit organization for Veterans and First Responders

06/20/2026

Common Mace Training Mistakes:
❌ Muscling the movement with the arms
❌ Forgetting to engage the hips
❌ Forgetting that Epstein didn't kill himself

Also, remember the real power comes from the ground up. Stay connected to the floor, brace your trunk, and let the hips and torso drive the movement. Your arms should guide the mace, not muscle it through every rep.

A well-executed mace swing is a full-body movement that builds strength, coordination, rotational power, grip strength, and looks effortless.

If you're looking for a quality loadable mace, check out CK MACEWORKS and use code MATTSPAID at checkout.

A portion of every purchase made with my code helps support Operation Antifragile⁠ and our mission of helping veterans, first responders, and tactical professionals build strength, resilience, and an antifragile lifestyle.

06/16/2026

One of the first things I do every morning:
Mindfulness (Prayer/Meditation/Journaling)
Breathwork (O2Trainer/Dynamic/HRV breathing)
Mobility (Balance Board/Flows/Targeted)

Sometimes, I spend 5 minutes inverted with red light therapy and the O2 Trainer as part of it.

Why?

Because after years of TBIs, chronic stress, and a nerve injury, I've learned that how I start my day matters...a lot.

Inversion changes the way the diaphragm and rib cage work together. With gravity shifting the abdominal contents toward the diaphragm, each breath becomes a little different. The diaphragm has to move through a larger range of motion, making it easier to feel and train deep diaphragmatic breathing instead of shallow chest breathing.

Adding the O2 Trainer increases the challenge by strengthening the muscles of respiration and forcing me to slow down and focus on every breath.

The red light therapy is there to support mitochondrial function, circulation, recovery, and overall brain health.

This isn't some magic biohack, it's just science and training.

The goal is simple:

• Improve circulation
• Train the breathing muscles
• Wake up the brain
• Regulate the nervous system
• Prepare for the day

For me, this has become part of managing the long-term effects of TBI, PTSD, and chronic stress. Five minutes of intentional breathing helps me start the day focused, calm, and ready to train.

Small habits. Done consistently.

That's how antifragility is built.

Find the Balance. Use Code OperationAnifragile on Valo Red Light for 20% off!

06/16/2026

Don't just train the mace in a bilateral stance.

Move. Use split stances. Elevate a foot on a box. Move laterally. Challenge your balance.

The moment you change your stance, the demand on the hips, core, and nervous system changes.

Now you're not just training the mace. You're also training hip stability, hip flexion/extension, coordination, balance, and force transfer through the entire body.

Life doesn't happen with both feet planted evenly on the ground.

Your training shouldn't either.

Train more positions.
Build more options.
Become harder to break.

If you're looking to add a mace to your training, check out CK MACEWORKS and use code MATTSPAID at checkout. Not only will you save some money, but every purchase helps support Operation Antifragile's mission of providing coaching, care packages, and retreats for veterans and first responders.

Train with purpose. Give back while you do it.

The heaviest weight is the one you don't talk about...I am quite literally a walking example of "the body keeps the scor...
06/15/2026

The heaviest weight is the one you don't talk about...I am quite literally a walking example of "the body keeps the score."

Most people see a guy fighting through a keg press.

What they don't see is that my nerve injury was flaring up and my tricep was giving out on me. What should have been one of my best events became one of my worst (pretty sure I took last in this event) because of an invisible injury...

My nerve injury isn't just physical.

High stress can make it flare up. Emotional triggers can send shocks of nerve pain down my arm and make my trigger finger twitch. Sometimes my body reacts before my mind even realizes what's happening.

It's a very frustrating injury because most people can't see it.

I can be in the middle of a conversation, coaching, training, or simply going about my day and suddenly get hit with a shock of nerve pain or a strange sensation in my trigger finger. Sometimes my hand will start twitching. Sometimes my arm feels weak. Sometimes it's just a reminder that the injury is still there.

The person standing in front of me has no idea it's happening.

From the outside, I look healthy, strong, and capable. Most invisible injuries are like that.

Many veterans, first responders, and tactical professionals are carrying wounds that nobody else can see. Sometimes they're physical. Sometimes they're neurological. Sometimes they're emotional.
Often they're all three.

One of the reasons I started Operation Antifragile is I got tired of losing friends. I was tired of watching veterans, first responders, and tactical professionals fall through the cracks.

I got tired of watching it happen to myself.

My goal isn't just to help people get stronger physically. My goal is to help people become resilient enough that they don't fall in the first place.

But if they do?

I want them to have the tools, habits, routines, community, and support system to climb back out.

Too many people spend years training their bodies while ignoring the monster in the closet. The problem is that the monster keeps training too.

06/14/2026

Why does Operation Antifragile exist?

Because I've been in those holes.

The kind where you can't see a way out.

I share my struggles not for sympathy, but so others know they're not alone... and so they know there is a way forward. You just have to stay strong and keep moving forward.

What got me through the hard times wasn't wishing things would get better.

It was work.

The daily work of showing up for myself and others.
The daily work of taking one more breath.
The daily work of lifting one more weight.

That's why we train.

Because antifragility is built from work, not wishes.

Keep moving. There is a way out...and someone needs to hold security.

Need help? Visit OperationAntifragile.com and submit an application for assistance. We're here to help veterans, first responders, adaptive athletes, and others rebuild strength, resilience, and hope.

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75 Center Circle
Sulphur, LA
70663

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