Security Halt!
Welcome to Security Halt! Podcast, the show dedicated to Veterans, Active Duty Service Members, and First Responders. Hosted by retired Green Beret Deny Caballero, this podcast dives deep into the stories of resilience, triumph, and the unique challenges faced by those who serve.
Through powerful interviews and candid discussions, Security Halt! Podcast highlights vital resources, celebrates success stories, and offers actionable tools to navigate mental health, career transitions, and personal growth.
Join us as we stand shoulder-to-shoulder, proving that even after the mission changes, the call to serve and thrive never ends.
Security Halt!
Systems, Routines, and resources for 100 day challenge
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Deny Caballero breaks down his 100-day challenge and the lessons learned from a year of imbalance. This episode focuses on building sustainable habits through morning routines, prioritizing family wellness, improving sleep, and leveraging hormone optimization and technology to support long-term growth.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
• Why the 100-day challenge builds real discipline
• How to create a powerful morning routine
• The importance of balancing work and family
• Why sleep and recovery drive performance
• How hormone optimization impacts energy
• Book recommendations for personal growth
• Tools and technology that support wellness
• How to take actionable steps toward your goals
🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts for weekly episodes.
Chapters:
00:00 the origin 100 Day Challenge
02:23 Building a Morning Routine for Success
05:42 Prioritizing Health and Wellness
09:55 The Importance of Sleep and Recovery
13:59 Utilizing Books and Resources for Personal Growth
16:23 Incorporating Faith into Daily Life
18:32 Tech Tools for Better Sleep
21:49 Conclusion and Call to Action
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Produced by Security Halt Media
Welcome back to another episode of Secure Down Podcast. I am your host, Denny Caballero. And today I'm going to be breaking down the routine that I'm building, the systems that I'm putting into place, and the things that are going to help me with my 100-day challenge. And to those that are just listening and don't know about the challenge, uh, it's just my attempt to utilize the hard lessons learned from 2025 to build a better, better me. One that is truly aligned with the things that I care about, the pillars that I want to I want to strengthen and prioritize in my life, and ensuring that I I hold my family and my faith at at the very top of my list. And that's that's that that's that was really hard for me in 2025. I struggled. I I put a lot of emphasis on the business, I put a lot of emphasis on being successful, but I didn't put a lot of emphasis on living a life and and being able to to breathe, really. I felt like the entire year I was just working nonstop. Financially, I felt like that was the only area that I was focused on. So how can I make the most amount of money? How can I get out there and really crush it? And I did good. I did really well. Um but at the same time I didn't understand how to balance or how to find harmony. And it really burnt out. I I allowed myself to not establish boundaries with uh certain clients and gave way too much of my my time to individuals that I should have been holding to a um you know the higher standard. I should have been very upfront and clear with what's important, when you can communicate, and what are non-negotiables. And I learned that, and that's why I'm prioritizing that in 2026. It's gonna be a very, very assertive, very, very strict Denny for 2026. But without further ado, here is uh what I started focusing on. So I had to realize that I needed to build a routine, one that optimized and and and focused on what was truly important to me. What I realized was now that I'm I'm father, now that uh that's at the forefront of my mind, I needed to figure out how to squeeze in all the things that were important to me, but also be available. Because if I can't be there to help my wife with my little one's morning routine, if I can't be there for dinner time, if I can't be there for bath time, and and I'm not accessible, and I'm always locked away in my office, and I'm not a good parent, and I'm not a good husband. So how do I how do I fix that? And for me, it meant loading up my morning with the things that I needed in order to pour back into myself, my morning routine, my gym, my reflection, and doing things like this. An ad hoc podcast, I'm able to do that early off in the morning and then uh get it up and ready to go with a quick turnaround because I'm not putting this on YouTube. This is just an audio only, because full disclosure, I'm in my office, not in the studio, and I'm you know recording this with the background of uh my crazy ass whiteboard with a bunch of random circles and lines that make me look like I'm I'm a junior Alex Jones or something. But yeah. So prioritizing my wellness routine first thing in the morning, get up at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. and then load up that morning portion with everything I need to be successful. And then that allows me to come back from the gym, be with Izzy, be with my wife, and really spend a few, few couple hours before they they're off for their day. And then eight to nine, prep and execute for work, and then uh then start to wind down towards two to three. That way I can squeeze in another workout, afternoon walk, something for myself that I need to do, run errands, whatever you have, whatever I need to do. And then hard that hard stop of like 3 to 4 p.m., be done, be done with work. And I know it sounds impossible for a lot of you out there, but whatever timelines you need, establish them. Set up a routine. And then the big, the big one for me is that evening, evening time for family. Not with bouncing around from apps and work and doing an analytics or squeezing in, multitasking this and that. No. It's time for family, it's time to be around my wife and around my daughter. Need to set that in. And then here's the crazy part going to bed around 7 to 8 p.m. I know it's nuts. But if I want to wake up at 3 to 4, I need to be in bed by 7 to 8. That's been a hard one, but I'm telling you, it helps. It helps. There's nothing, there's nothing gone in the world. I don't need to be up. I don't want to be chasing analytics. I don't want to be reading, catching up on anything. I need sleep. That's what I need to do. Um, but I've got some tools that have helped me with that, and I'm gonna share them with you later on. So the number one thing that I had to do was list out everything that was priority for me. And I recommend you do that. Start off this challenge by doing that. Um, you know, I started February 1st, you can start whenever, but I recommend outlining your like top three most important things. And uh for me, you know, that was easy. Family and faith and uh being of service to others. I knew that right off the bat. So I needed stuff to help me achieve this. I needed something to help me put that into focus. And um a lot of it came off with, you know, apps, devices, and yeah, consulting great doctors and individuals to help me with that. So, first off, the biggest leg up that I want to dive into uh is Dr. Taylor Bosley and Precision Wellness Group. In 2025, I was running out of answers as to why I was feeling so crappy. Uh, wasn't able to keep up with my workouts, had a personal coach, but I couldn't just I wasn't eating, I wasn't doing anything, trying to make the most of my workouts, but I wasn't gaining anything, man. I was at a fucking standstill, a stalemate with my body. And then uh I ran into somebody that was talking about hormone optimization, pulled some some strings, got some more info. Then I found Dr. Taylor Bosley and Precision Wellness Group. And uh, they're more than just um TRT. That's the one thing everybody talks about when I mentioned Dr. Taylor Bosley and Precision Wellness Group. It's it's all about you know having a quality medical team, a quality doctor that puts in lab work and then goes through. I mean, my first sit down with Dr. Taylor uh was about two and a half hours deep diving into all of my labs. Never had that. Not even in all my years in special operations, never sat down with a doctor to go through the nitty-gritties of my blood work. They don't give, they didn't give as much uh thought as uh Dr. Bosley and his team did. And from that point on, I realized I was dealing with people that really cared and wanted to not just sell me on a product. Because obviously you go there and you're like, oh, I want TRT. And they're like, okay, guy, let's let's run your labs, figure out what you do need. And that's been the case for everybody that I've referred to them. Um had a friend that went there, same thing. Um, I described what I was going through. He went there, and lo and behold, it was something completely different. So don't don't think that my situation is going to determine your outcome either. Uh be willing to check them out, be willing to find a doctor that is as caring, compassionate, and as invested in your overall health as Dr. Bosley and his team. That's the thing that blew me away. Uh they really care. They absolutely care and they communicate uh, I mean, insane amount of communication, whether it's a text message, a phone call, or through their app, they let you know when things change. They let you know your latest blood work results. Uh, as soon as those labs get ordered and you go get them and you get your results back, they're talking to you about what they found. And um that's the one thing that's helped me because I'm not flying in the blind anymore. I have people that I can reach out to and ask. Um, and the the great thing too was that the guidance I got from Dr. Bosley. It wasn't just a, you know, like a small sit-down. It was a continued relationship where somebody's reaching out and asking you about your diet, your wellness, your well-being. So if you guys are curious, if you guys are looking for a doctor that cares, I can't recommend him enough. Um, also a bonus, he's a former Green Beret, so it's kind of nice to have that rapport with uh another doc that's been through the same thing. And you know, he was an 18 Delta. That's the other great thing about the that is he knows everything that we go through in our career as a service member, and he's able to understand, like, man, like this is somebody that's coming off a career that was pretty damaging and and put a toll on their body. So he knows what to look for. So I can't recommend him enough, and that's been the biggest thing because I finally have energy and I have the stamina to continue going through my workouts. So, episode, you know the spiel, episode description, click the links there. Uh, precision wellness group. Now they're located in North Carolina, but they can ship to a lot of different places. That's the other awesome thing. I don't have to go to a friggin' pharmacy or wait in line at the freaking base. I just go through my labs, do my consultation, figure out what I need, and whatever they their they recommend, whatever it's it's uh the doctor's protocol, gets delivered to my house. Um, which is awesome. Which is like right to my front door. Uh other medications, uh, you know, of course, you more than likely won't go to um prescription fill at your local pharmacy, but by and large, for hormone optimization, they'll be able to get it shipped directly to you, which is pretty fucking awesome. All right. So, moving on. The other thing that I love, um, it's my Whoop 5.0. If you know me, you know I'm a fucking gear nerd. Uh, when I was on a team, you couldn't uh tell me not to buy the latest and greatest gadget, whether it was the uh fancy garment watch with the uh applied ballistics data or the kestrel, like all that shit. I loved it. Um I love having wearables, I love having the feedback, but the most important metric that Whoop gives me that I have been absolutely fanatical about is the recovery, the sleep and recovery. If you've been following the show, if you've been here for my journey, you know I talk about sleep a lot because I struggled with it. I struggled with insomnia while I was in the military. I struggled with it again when I got out. Sleep is the one thing that can really make or break our ability to like really perform in every other aspect of our life, whether it's being a present father, present husband, or being the best version of yourself at work. Sleep touches on everything. That's why so many doctors are now pivoting and make sure they address this when they do an initial consultation. What is your sleep like? Because if your sleep is shitty, chances are your mental health isn't going to be the greatest. So when it comes to what I'm tracking, I'm tracking my sleep and my recovery uh almost religiously. Uh, it is a big thing for me to understand what I'm doing, if I'm getting a full, full rest cycle, REM cycle, and understanding what it looks like. And you can feel it, right? But when you don't see, like for me, like I need the ability to read it on the freaking app, to see it, to measure it. So that's why I'm a big, big, big believer in Whoop, and I'm always doing the giveaways and buying them for people. And now, if you can't wait for my next giveaway, please use my code, go to the episode description. Um, the whoop is amazing because like, yeah, I I measure, like I said, I measure my workouts, I measure all that stuff. It's great. Um, plus, it gives you that little awesome feedback when you're crushing it. But the other thing that I like about it is the community aspect. So for a few months now, I've been able to build a community uh with Project Forge. Uh, it's my concept of it is trying to build a place where we can go on there and cheer each other on and talk. And look, I don't care what you're doing, I'm not a fucking CrossFit expert. I'm no fucking I'm nobody in the fitness space. That's not my thing. But I do know there's a big connection between mental health and your overall wellness when you incorporate physical fitness into your life. You're gonna feel it on all of those other domains. You're gonna feel better. So having a little community in Whoop where you can encourage each other, whether you're freaking just starting out and and doing a 45-minute walk is an awesome accomplishment. Or if you're going after marathons, I believe that we all have the ability to do great things physically, and we all deserve a community where we can just fucking like encourage each other. Yeah, regardless of your level and your athletic ability. We're all just there to support each other and say, hey man, good job. You freaking crushed it. You were this week's leader in recovery. You know, it's not about competition, it's about community and building something because you know, pretty soon I want to try start trying to do local meetups or try to do big events, a meetup to do a Spartan race of people from the community. So I'm trying to build it, trying to grow it. If you're out there listening and you're part of Whoop, join our community. The episode description has all the information about it. Or if you're trying to join and you want a discount code, click the link in the description. Now, all this stuff is great, it's nice, but if you don't have the understanding on how to put it together, you aren't gonna last long. You won't make it through a couple weeks. Sheer determination is one thing, but 100 days is about building systems and understanding human behavior. Next. Next, I want to talk about the books that I have uh utilized to build this challenge and to help me put together the best plan of action. So when it comes to building out my habits, routines, and goals for the new year, I didn't wing it. I went back to the drawing board and wrote out every domain and pillar I wanted to enhance. And the first book I turned to was Atomic Habits by James Clear. When it comes to goals, habits, and understanding how to build systems at last, I can't recommend another book. This is really, really gets it. It breaks it down super simple. And you know, I've this book's been out since 2021, I believe. I read it several times, and every time I help somebody build good habits or break bad habits, I refer them to this book. And I really believe that a key to success is understanding not only what's important to you, but understanding how we as humans think and establish new goals and break bad habits. Um I believe in this book so much, and I think that it will help you that if you're listening to this by the time I release it, I'm hopefully getting out here in the next couple of hours. It's uh today is February 4th. Um hit me up on Instagram or SecurityHall Podcast or SecurityHop Podcast at G or SecHOLPPodcast at gmail.com. Uh, the first 20 people I will send a free copy to. So gotta jump on it. I'm not gonna be able to send it to everybody, but if 20 of you hit me up, I'll send you a copy of this book for free. Uh it will be a hard copy because I think this there's something to reading it, the, you know, and holding it and being able to outline it and mark it. But um, yeah, please hit me up if you want to try it. The other two books I recommend are the Daily Stoic and the Companion Journal. That way, if you're doing the morning reflections, if that's one of the things you want to do is journal and reflect, it's an easy way to do it. You start off your day with some perspective, something that makes you think, and then reflect on it. Reflect on your life, reflect on that, what you're trying to accomplish for the day, reflect on the things that are really bothering you, or something that evoked a thought from you from that day's reading. It's important to take some time to be present, to focus on what truly matters. And I think the Daily Stoic helps that and it helps a perspective. That's something a lot of us need right now in these troubling times. This next app is really important to me. And if you've been following the show for a while, you know that since 2025, I started being more open, more honest about my faith and uh my journey with it, and what I've been doing, and how it's helped me. That's Hello app. I start my mornings and I do my my morning routine with Mark Wahlberg every day. We and I I do my rosary prayer with him. And no, I'm not saying that me and actual Mac Wal Mark Wahlberg actually do the rosary together. No, that's just one of the people that are on the app that will uh do prayers with you. So every morning while I'm doing my walk, I I do, or if I'm in my office and do my rosary here, I choose to do it with uh Mark Wahlberg. So he'll read the rosary and I'll recite it alongside him. It's it's funny. It's it's just funny for me that to do it with somebody with uh that Boston accent. I get a kick out of it, I enjoy it. It puts a smile on my face first thing in the morning, and it never fails, man. It never fails to make me smile and laugh at the fact that we're using technology like this, and it's great, man. It's great. But there's so much on the app. There's so many prayer challenges. A Bible in the year, you know, everybody's heard about Bible in the year. Everybody heard about you know, different challenges you can do, but different novenas, different things you can pick up. Um, every prayer you can imagine, you can probably find it on the app. And I really, really, really think that if you're trying to work on that spirit domain, this is a no-brainer. Put it on while you're taking a break, put it on while you're driving, and just take some time for you and your prayer. Um, I really think you'll like it. So please, again, they're not a sponsor. I'm putting the link in there for you to check it out for yourself because I think it's one of the things you have to explore. If you're willing to explore it, this is the easiest way to do it. It's a no-brainer. Um, this next one is a game changer. I promise you. It absolutely will enhance your quality of sleep. It's the Hattrestore 3. I bought it, yeah. My little one has a hatch, and and I was looking for something with red light, and I was specifically looking for something that would have some white noise in some way to uh you know help me get to sleep faster. And that's what the Hattrestore 3 does. And more. It has this built-in wind-down system, a sleep routine where it starts playing white noise or puts you to sleep with a book. It's all pre-planned and pre-set up on an app. And then once you establish it, you can just put your phone in your office, and then right around your sleep time, it will start going through the system. It will start going through the window. And one thing I've noticed is I thought I needed my blaring alarm to wake up. I don't. The hatch restore three has this awesome wake-up system. Like I wake up every morning to like this soft, gentle light. That's like I thought it was gonna be like I thought it was gonna work, to be honest. I thought that it was too quiet and too um, I don't know, just just gentle, just the softest sound ever. And just in a few days using that routine, using the white noise, I am waking up without any issues. I'm going to bed better. I'm waking up more energized and ready to go after my goals for the day. Um, which is completely different than when I was chasing, you know, constantly dealing with, you know, having my phone, scrolling, answering emails. Fuck that noise. Get some sleep. That's the most important thing you need. If you're gonna make it through this challenge, you gotta get rest. And I think for a lot of us, we just need something that can help us establish a good bedtime routine. And for me, it's the Hatcher Store 3. Uh again, not sponsored. There will be a link if you want to check it out in the episode description, so you can at least read it and understand what it does. Um, I I was hesitant at first because I'm I'm like I said, I'm a gadget person. I want a screen. I want something I can tap. But once you realize it's a screen, if it had a screen, it wouldn't, it defeats the fucking purpose of it. So it's it's not built with a screen where you can actually like tap and stuff. You need the app on the phone. But once you set it up, you don't need the phone anymore. It's got like very, very limited function features on the on the actual device to press two buttons to press. That's it. I set it up with the phone, and then once you establish your routine, you're good to go. You don't need the phone in there anymore. So that's it. That's the episode. Things that I'm using for this hundred day challenge, things that I'm uh I am leaning into, and uh, it's up to you, man. I really hope you take it on. I really hope you find yourself. And if not my challenge, figure out your own. Do something different. The greatest, greatest thing I want to leave you with is a saying nothing changes if nothing changes. So if you want the same, continue doing the same thing. That's okay. That's where you're at. But if you want a radical change in your life, take some time, think it through, maybe pick up a book or two, and develop a plan of action. It's your life. You only got one shot at it. So for me, I'm willing to take this on because I want 2026 to be better than 2025. I'm Denny Caballero. Thank you for tuning in. I greatly appreciate you guys supporting the show. Do me a favor, go to the episode description, click the links, support my sponsors, and do me one more favor. Head on over to Spotify and leave me a review. Give me five stars and say something nice. Wanna kill ya? Just take care of your boy. Thanks again for tuning in. Can't wait to see you again. And uh surprise, surprise, there'll be another episode tomorrow. And then Friday, we'll do another one. This one's gonna be on advocacy. You're gonna love what I'm talking about on Friday. I don't know what I'm talking about on Friday, but I'll figure it out, and then you guys will be there. All right, take care.
