5 Things Bodybuilders Figured Out Before Everyone Else (That Everyone Should Know) | Mind Pump 2946

Key Takeaway

Use your workout as a stimulus, not a test of how much punishment you can tolerate. Today, match training to your recovery: if sleep, hydration, food, or stress are poor, reduce the load and volume, take an easy walk, or simply practice the movements. Then prioritize protein, regular meals, and sleep. Consistent, recoverable strength training builds a durable base that is easier to maintain than most people think.

Episode Overview

The hosts outline five lessons bodybuilders popularized before they reached the fitness mainstream: mind-muscle connection, using the pump as feedback, prioritizing recovery, eating sufficient protein, and sleeping more. In listener coaching, they reinforce that strength can be built and maintained with less volume than people assume, while nutrition, stress management, and patience determine whether training produces results.

Full Transcript

Transcript of 5 Things Bodybuilders Figured Out Before Everyone Else (That Everyone Should Know) | Mind Pump 2946 from Mind Pump Show. Auto-generated from episode audio; may contain minor errors.

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This is Mind Pump, today's episode. We had people call in and we got to coach them live on air, but this was after the intro, today's intro, 55 minutes long. Now in the intro, we talk about strength training, muscle building, fat loss, diet, nutrition, supplements, and we talk about current events. Look, if you want to be on an episode like this one, here's what you do. Submit your question to MPLifeCaller.com. Now this episode is brought to you by some sponsors. The first one is Seed. This is the world's best probiotic.

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I'm talking right now. Hit pause. Head on over to MindPumpStore.com. That's it. Enjoy the rest of the show. If you like to strength train, if you like strength training machines, you can thank bodybuilders. It's true. They were the ones that first used them and kind of popularized them. Look, you probably don't want to look like a bodybuilder. I know some of you do, but most of you probably don't. But there are things you can learn from bodybuilders that will benefit you. I don't care what your goal is.

There are things you can learn that bodybuilders have learned a long time ago that preach all the time. That's what we're going to talk about today, five lessons from bodybuilders everybody could learn from. Let's go. True pioneers. They for sure were. In fact, no, good and bad, right? So bodybuilders have very specific goals and style of training. They're very extreme. They're a very extreme type of sport, although all sports at high levels are extreme. Bodybuilders I think are very visually clearly extreme. It's hard not to look at one and think that.

But when it comes to strength training and all the things that we know by studies and the things that we knew to study, it all started with them. It really was them that kind of slowly brought this to the mainstream. It was bodybuilders that made gyms a thing, although gyms have now far surpassed it. I think we all owe something to them. And this is true not just for training. It's also true for diet. It's also true for hormone science. They're way ahead of the curve with that kind of stuff.

What do they call them, the pharmonauts? Cosmonauts. I mean, you say good and bad, but can't you justify or defend the bad? I feel like in everything that we've ever changed or evolved in, the early people that were pushing it, there's something bad about all of it. You need risk-takers to move it forward, and they were risk-takers. That's what I mean by that. Obviously, I get what you're saying by bad because you don't want to adopt everything they were doing, but where is that different in any other venture?

No, you're right. Every venture where we're pushing new boundaries, decades later we look back and go, like, well, that was a dumb idea, or you shouldn't have done that. But it's like, yeah, but you would have never figured that out had not that guy or girl was crazy enough to flirt with those boundaries. And so I would argue that it's all really good. It's just that it's a necessary evil when we're going somewhere we've never been before, and they were willing to venture and try and do those things.

Because, yeah, if it wasn't for the bodybuilding community, does the health and wellness space really exist? I mean, or would doctors just still be telling everybody to eat less and run more? That's how you get healthy, right? And even a lot of the studies that we have that show that certain things are good for us and how to train in particular ways and what hypertrophy is and how to build strength in particular ways. We knew where to go because this is how studies work. Oftentimes we kind of have an idea of what to study or a direction to go.

And it often starts with anecdote, right? Like you've got all these people that notice that when they take this particular herb that it helps this thing. And then we know, okay, let's study that. Let's see what the studies show. A lot of these studies are because of bodybuilders. And what we understand about strength training started, much of it started with bodybuilders. I really don't care what your modality is. The only strength modality that I would say that was unique in and of itself was Olympic lifting.

And that's because it was funded by nations and competitive arenas like the Olympics. Yeah, they made a sport out of it. But every other strength sport, every athlete that currently strength trains, it was the bodybuilders that brought it to you initially. And even though it wasn't an ideal way to strengthen, it was always better. I remember when strength training – and I've seen documentaries on this – when strength training first came to the NFL. That was really the first sport that adopted strength training. Everybody was afraid to lift weights because everybody thought it would reduce athleticism.

And it was the football players that played with it first. And the only people you could learn from in that day were bodybuilders. So bodybuilders were teaching them how to lift weights. And yes, there's better ways to lift weights in football. But the football players that lifted weights like bodybuilders were better and stronger than the football players that didn't lift weights at all. Oh, yeah. And so there's a lot we owe to them. And there are certain things that apply to everybody. So whether you want to be a bodybuilder or not, these are things that we can all learn from.

And I'll start with the first one. We've all heard the term – or many of us have heard the term – mind-muscle connection. So if you've never heard the term mind-muscle connection, what this means is your ability to feel and connect to a muscle that you're trying to work. So when I'm doing a bench press, my target, let's say, is my chest. The mind-muscle connection is me being able to feel it more in my chest than in other parts of my body. Really feel what the pecs are doing in that movement.

And you saw this as they were on stage where they display that by flexing certain muscles on command. And so that kind of became a thing because of that. It did. Because strength training existed before people posed or flexed on stage, before we would identify as bodybuilding. But nobody was trying to feel a muscle. Nobody cared about the muscle that they were using. It was literally just let me lift the weight. Let me just lift the weight. I'm doing an overhead press. Let's lift the weight.

I'm doing a squat. Let's lift the weight. Bodybuilders, because of the way the sport was designed to – judges are visually breaking down the body and looking at individual muscle groups and how developed they are. Bodybuilders were the first ones to be like, this is a back exercise. This one's for lats. This one's for traps. This one's for the front of the shoulders. This one's for the rear of the delts. This is for this part of the bicep or that part of the biceps or whatever.

And they learned or they focused on feeling and connecting to the part of the body that they're trying to work. And this is very valuable for people. It's valuable if you want to develop a part of your body because it makes a difference. You can do a barbell squat, and you can do it in a way where it really develops your quads. You can also do it in a way where it really develops your glutes. And the difference between the two is your technique, but really the root of it is where you feel it and how you move through.

How you're recruiting. How you recruit that. And it's also important in another area, correctional exercise. When I'm doing correctional exercise, I need people to feel certain areas. I'm trying to strengthen your mid-back. Mrs. Johnson, you've got to feel it right here. Don't just do the movement. We need to feel this part of your back contracting so we can strengthen it. Well, isn't this the definition of weightlifting is just flexion of the muscles with resistance? Yeah. I mean, that's what it is. Define. It's like is the ability.

That's how I used to explain to clients why we were doing some of these isolation exercises was. And anybody who's ever experimented with this, it's real easy to kind of connect these dots. Very few people can you just say flex your chest or flex your lats and they can do it. Yeah. It requires they have some sort of resistance to even attempt to start to feel that muscle. If there's no resistance, they can't do it. Yeah. If there's no resistance, it's just like that sounds so abstract.

What do you mean? My muscles in my back, you want me to flex them this way? Like it just doesn't seem possible until you understand how to connect that and that ability to do that. And when you learn to do that very well, you then can apply that to like all movement. And what I find, like what I love about this is, and I know that this can be taken to the extreme and be a little ridiculous sometimes. But I could get under a machine that was designed for calves and turn it into a shrug machine.

Yeah. I can get into a machine that was designed for a completely different muscle. You can make a back machine, a rear delt machine and vice versa. That's right. That's right. Like, so when you understand biomechanics and when you understand how to mind muscle connection and flex the muscle you want to flex, I can change a machine that was designed for something completely different to work an area that I wanted to work, which is really, really cool. And this is all pioneered by bodybuilders. It is.

The next thing, this is very unique to bodybuilding and there is a benefit to this. And I'll explain the benefit, but the pump. The pump, so if you lift weights you know what this is. If you don't lift weights or you haven't in a while or haven't done it consistently, the pump is like you train a muscle group and it becomes engorged with blood. And so it feels tight. Okay. So you work your biceps and they feel tight. Or you work your legs and they feel tight.

Every other strength sport could care less about the pump or actually doesn't want the pump. They actually would prefer not to have a pump because it can get in the way of trying to perform a particular movement. Like if I'm running, the last thing I want is pumped quads while I'm running because it hinders my ability to run. Fatigue. The bodybuilders chase the pump. They love the pump. Now they would say that it contributes to muscle growth. There's a psychological component here where I can look at the muscle, see what it looks like if it's more developed.

This is motivating. But here's the real benefit of the pump. Okay. It's hard to get a pump when you're not drinking enough water, when your diet is poor, and when you're not sleeping well, or when you're overtrained. It's a good indicator. It's a great indicator. And it's also an indicator of being able to connect to a muscle. I remember as a kid, one of the hardest areas to connect to when you strength train is just your back muscles in general. Most of us feel it in our arms when we're doing back exercises.

And I remember the first time I got a back pump, a lap pump, it was that day forward I could connect to my back muscles every time I trained my back. Because I could feel them be pumped. It's great for pictures. I was just going to say it's awesome. It's just awesome, period. No person, skinny, fat, in great shape, doesn't matter, doesn't look better with a pump. It makes everybody look better. Well, it's so funny. I was training my son, and he had no idea that you could take an exercise and work your way through, get a pump, and then go look at the mirror, and it's visibly bigger.

He was tripping out and looking at himself. Oh, I remember when that light bulb went off as a kid. Shoot, I remember for years just always saying, man, if I could just look like that guy, if I could just look like the guy who just pumped up all those muscles, that's all I ever wanted. Little did I know that that target would just keep moving. Well, I knew this about my clients. So when they were having trouble connecting to a muscle like the glutes or the lats or the rhomboids, whatever, when they told me they felt it get tight and pumped, I knew we're moving in the right direction.

In fact, lagging body parts, this is my own experience, when someone had a lagging body part, it was always the ability to get a good pump, and it always preceded the fact that it started to build. So the pump, in my opinion, is a signaler, but most importantly, it's this. I know this about the pump. When I'm lifting weights and I'm having trouble getting a pump, it's always because I'm either over-trained, under-rested, underfed, or under-hydrated. Yeah, under-hydrated. Yes, and when I get a great pump, I'm like, ooh, I put together a few good things.

Usually it's good hydration is my issue, but the pump is something that is very unique to bodybuilders. No other strength training sport talks about the pump or even cares about the pump. Here's the next one. This is a, what I'm about to say is a phrase that was uttered by seven-time Mr. Olympia, Lee Haney, but I think it encompasses. What bodybuilders have talked about and known about More than almost others almost any other strength training sport. This is what he said Stimulate don't annihilate now. He's famous for saying that but isn't he also famous for being the one who I used to annihilate his workouts No, no, not at all.

In fact Lee Haney, you know today's in his 60s. He had no no joint pain I thought that was Dexter Jackson. That was known Dexter Jackson trained that way also, okay I know he was ahead of his time with that. Well, so here's the thing about bodybuilding bodybuilding Bodybuilders talked about recovery way before anybody else now, that doesn't mean that they figured it out It doesn't mean that they didn't overdo it but they knew early you can we could read a muscle building magazine from the 1940s and They talked about you know, resting and recovering the muscle you could read from the turn of the century the 1890s Read articles by Eugene Sandow.

Yeah, he talked about resting and building the muscle through the resting process So the whole like he had a real good advice don't over train now again bodybuilders And if you look at a bodybuilding routine, you think to yourself, how could this be possible? They obviously do too much First of all, they're not doing too much They could just handle way more than most people because they're so genetically gifted and they're on a lot of different anabolic They also sell what I think this is also a big mess for people that look at a bodybuilder routine Most people that would call themselves a bodybuilder that compete or want to compete have strung Years of consistency go to so they have scaled many times to be able to handle that amount in addition to everything You're saying too.

So it's not then they woke up their first session built of a tolerance Yeah, cuz I mean I think back to I mean, especially right now with the help minimal volume that my trainer said and man I was there was a point where I mean, I'm spending an hour and a half plus in the gym Yeah, and I'm able to recover and I'm able to build but it's just like that wasn't like I couldn't go do that right now You know, I just can't I couldn't I scale to that volume That was three years of not missing a macronutrient and not missing You know a workout like it took a long time to be able to handle that and a lot we we peer into these guys Work or these guys sell workouts online of this is what I do and you're like, you know, it's like yeah that dude Literally did not just wake up and get to that point Like he built that over time on top of what you said and I gotta say this and just again to give them credit Because again, they were the ones that really talked about this the most To the point where you have mr.

Olympia's that would train for 30 minutes I mean Dorian Yates would do like two sets or three sets in a workout very intense But he was mr. Olympia because they considered recovery a lot more than almost any other strength sport Now the when it comes to like Olympic lifting They started to figure this out, but it wasn't the athletes that figure this out. This is what's unique about bodybuilding. They had no governing Body with scientists that were like you're competing for us So we're gonna study you and they were like figuring this out on their own and rest became something that they talked about And recovery is what they talked about quite a bit The in the in Olympic lifting the Soviets figure this out It's a scientist that we're watching the athletes and going.

No, you're not gonna train anymore. We're at this intent What was interesting to to watch is like everybody like kind of had different modalities that they're testing out on themselves and they get benefits and then it's like they're they're kind of like communicating with each other was working was not working and it's like the Best recipe sort of rises at the top. Totally. Here's another one protein Bodybuilders have been talking about a protein. They were talking about it first. They were talking about it the most They were promoting it across the board They were ridiculed for it for a long time.

And guess what the world is catching up Yeah, if the bodybuilders were right, you know who benefits from eating high-protein every athlete everybody I remember everybody basic everybody. I remember when the endurance community scoffed at this High protein we need carbs. We need lots of carbs. Like what are you talking about? Yeah, they're all guess what everybody endurance athletes also benefit from eating more protein than is typically old people young people endurance Endurance athletes strength athletes you name it longevity people everybody Benefits, but the body breaks that lost people people don't need to lose a bunch of body fat.

I mean, it's It's something that and we I think we've been screaming from the rooftop since we started this thing Every client that I ever trained No matter the goal the weight the age the sex didn't matter when I assessed diet or were under eating protein It was you they were under eating by a little bit or grossly on eating protein and more grossly one of the first easiest fixes to show them great results in whatever their endeavor was was just Flipping the way they ate and focusing on puts why we repeat it so much.

That's right And I'm gonna say this this is just a little sidebar for this particular Point here. The supplement industry is because of bodybuilders the entire good bad and the ugly And a lot of us like supplements and I think the supplement industry does do a lot of good There's a lot of craziness out there as well came from bodybuilders They were the ones that were there were the first ones to create supplements are the first ones that take supplements Protein powders were some of the first supplements.

I mean that were ever created and it was created for muscle building desiccated liver tablets That's it. Yeah, that was for bodybuilders. So and it was because it started with protein and then lastly sleep Bodybuilders sleep a lot. This is funny. People don't know this about pro bodybuilders. Yeah pro bodybuilders sleep a lot They're like big baby. They go to bed. They get eight nine hours of sleep. They get they take a nap in the day They know the value of sleep for building muscle and of all athletes They have known the value of sleep the most and they continue to athletes in general Now these days, I think everybody knows that sleep is something that's really important But in general when you're working with high-level athletes, this is the one that they tend to go am cool I'm alright, like I get enough sleep bodybuilders really made this a focus so now that we have all the science and the data supporting like when you get sleep and Effects of bad sleep and not optimal sleep.

You can think bodybuilders. They're the first ones You know, I actually don't think a lot of I think that Sleep is is is said and thrown around so much that we all kind of nod our head like I know But I don't think we really know and why I say that maybe this is top of mind for me right now I've got two of our good friends one of our mutual friends Jason and my other buddy Justin that are in a group thread with me right now and I've been recently inspired to just Kind of coach them but coach them through Sharing what I do every day and how I make the decision, right?

So what I started this thread last week and You know, I Huh Appropriate So so what it looks like just to give the audience is like I I go I literally I text after the day because I don't know what what what's gonna entail yesterday was um Got a 60 sleep score toss and turn all night skipping the workout today gonna do a 30-minute walk. Keep the diet tight That was what I what I said today So Jason chimes in this is we've been doing this for days now, right?

And one of the things that I noticed about both of them is just the over application of the intensity and volume and pushing it right now and not enough balance of understanding sleep and stress and all these other factors and It was when he told me what he was doing I like he listed I was working hour and a half of the gym 36 sets of stuff. I'm like, what are you doing? What are you doing? You have three girls in school? You're a you know, you're 45 years old Like he's doing what he can get away.

Yeah. Yeah, and he's on every peptide in an HRT So he and he looks really good, but he's deceived by let that like he thinks that you're like it and he's doing a great job But he could be doing so much better with so much less and that was the communication. So I'm like over here like you know weighted pull-ups and Four sets of squats that was like the day before and so he's like man I needed I need to cut my volume way down at least in half and so his half now still looks ridiculous And he's in the yesterday.

He tells me oh I got really poor sleep also, so I need to cut back to today. Should I should I not work out at all? I'll come back. I said well either Reduce it way down or what you would normally do today Is just go through every go through the motions remark and so then he goes, okay And then he sends me what he does, you know And it still ends up being like 16 sets, which is half of what he was doing before so he's thinking Yeah, and he still is you know two or three the movements he was doing he was still pushing really heavy load on him So with that I said way too much No, there was today was a day You could have taken off if you were gonna go there.

You should just went through them Oh, there was no reason to push that on those two exercises or or either or do that much volume You could have done way less. You know why that's so hard Adam It's like, you know what it reminds me of and I won't get too specific, but sometimes they'll pass like some kind of government Policy, that's obviously anti You know classically anti job growth, so they'll pass it then they'll come back a report and be like, oh, yeah Well since we passed that report, we've added a thousand new jobs and it's like well, yeah, but we would have added 3,000 You know how you not done right the challenge with what with with what you're talking about Adam is he's getting some progress Oh, yeah, because he was doing nothing before right and now he's doing something but what he doesn't know is what he's missing Yes, you know, so he you know, he gave five pounds of muscle.

I do you could have gained ten Yeah, and this is what I'm trying to convey right now And then I'm also trying to convey and understand let the to my whole how this conversation started is to bring it full circle that I think You know someone like him if you asked him if he quizzed him What are some of the most important things he would definitely put sleep at one of the top three But it still doesn't register That when you get a really poor night of sleep, like I had the yesterday night My stress bucket is already really close to tipping over already It's it fills it up really high especially at my age with all the other things I have my plate how many kid all it's like totally like so So a day where I have this big wide open bucket to train hard and do all the things and handle work You know is now already whoop right there, right?

And so the workout if I'm gonna do it I got to be very mindful that it's just gonna take very little to spill that stress bucket over and once that that stress bucket is spilled over and now I'm Wasting a lot of energy and effort because I'm not gonna reap the benefits for that added stress And so that's what I'm trying to communicate to them is like yeah, there would have been way better off Not working out focusing more on recovery diet other things that could improve your health or if you're gonna go to the gym because you Consistency I'm not against that but then it should go way easy.

Yeah, you know why it's hard too is because it's doing nothing Yeah, you're just sleeping which seems so wild wait. You want me to do let more of nothing? Yeah to get better results what I immediately think about is and I remember when we interviewed Ben Pekulski So Ben Pekulski is a friend of ours pro bodybuilder high high level You know ten years ago. I was like one of the top bodybuilders and I couldn't wait to talk with them because at that time You had all these pro bodybuilders who were going to the Middle East and They were gaining like 10 to 15 pounds of muscle.

Yeah, but we were all speculating off-air Like it's milestone blockers. They have over there. They have some new drug. Here's why that's so crazy yeah, when you're 280 pounds shredded bodybuilder to gain another 10 pounds of muscle is like a Miracle. Yeah, like what it's like getting a car that does a four second quarter mile What we were seeing Sal to insane to add to what you're saying Is that we were seeing it across the board like everybody that was everybody that went so it raised all these flags that they must Be doing something spend three months there and gain like 15 pounds of muscle everybody who come back huge And so and because they're already pros Because already taking every drug because they already live and have lived for a long time to build muscle I'm like it must be some special new Drug that they have out there and I remember when Ben came in and I'm like, dude You got to tell me cuz he knows he lives in that space.

He's very honest. He's been there and he's been there Yeah, he's like no, there's nothing special. He's like, you know why they're all building muscles like what what are they doing? He goes they don't do anything but lift weights eat and sleep. There's nothing to do. Yeah. Yeah, they literally not distract They literally lift weights go back to their apartment. They play video games. They take an app to eat all day Then they lift weights again and they go to sleep. That's all they're doing and that's why they're getting all this muscle And then I'm like, of course, of course, that's what it is.

Cuz it'll do that. Yeah that rest will do that It made so much sense after this but I mean that says shows you how like to your point Like you have somebody who is the the already checking every box to the highest level Yeah, and it's not like those guys were abusing sleep either. They just got a little more optimal rest recovery and sleep and boom and that's what I'm trying to convey to my Buddies is this like and and so today I scored an 80 great rest So I can't wait to go get a nice lift, but even when I go get a nice lift It's not I'm gonna go crazy either.

It's just like now's the day I'm gonna probably do weighted weighted pull-ups is something that I'll do. I'll either do loaded heavy lunges I'll do something like that because I'm now rested. I'm now recovered This is the day that I'll push a little bit in the workout speaking of supplements and stuff I you know, I got I want to just I want to be clear about probiotics right now because If you had asked me five years ago, what would be like tier one? Supplements in other words, what are supplements that you recommend to everybody that everybody should take I would have said multivitamin and Creatine those have been in the two, but I'm now moving probiotics to that level.

So and we work with a company called seed Their probiotics are the best in the world. They have a delivery process That's just their light years ahead of everyone else but the reason why I now put probiotics in that category where I'm like Everybody should take them the amount of data and studies on their benefits is now Overwhelming in other words to put it differently It benefits everything they test Anything they test when they give them a probiotic. It's better Fat loss better muscle growth better skin better mental health better Digestive health, of course better hormone health better doesn't matter what they test when they take probiotics It's better.

So it's now in my opinion like everybody should do you think there's something there that's More than just a probiotic Lee there's something like societal like there's something that like Today we have so many gut issues in people huge that It's more to do with that that we're so messed up there that this is showing this in this increase improvement Or do you think if you took you actually? Teased out some of these studies and gave it to people that were a hundred percent healthy No gut issues.

No nothing and then you and you compare the against a group that weren't that were so say we have 20 athletes or we need a bigger than 100 athletes 50 of them Uh with incredible health no gut issues No, nothing and then 50 of them with with with gut issues going on stuff like that Now obviously the ones with issues we already know for sure. They're going to see huge improvement Would we still see improvement you think in the well and all in the studies that i'm looking at?

uh, the Many of them are not Uh, they're not picking volunteers with gut health issues. These are people normal healthy people They're just testing it for fat loss or they're testing it for muscle gain and strength or they're testing it for Anxiety or depression or skin hair, you know skin health So they're not coming in with any Uh reported issues interesting now that being said I think it's probably like this like if you look at the data on walking 8 000 steps a day profound health benefits I don't think it's necessarily because walking is magical but rather because we don't walk at all or we never move So you get all these benefits because you're moving I don't know 5 000 years ago.

We were probably our microbiome probably was way more diverse. Yeah This probably wouldn't I don't know if this would be is is essential just like multivitamins. I think are more important today than ever uh, although the argument community would be important a long time ago too because of nutrient deficiency, so I don't know. But what I do know is when i'm looking at the studies on probiotics It's hard to find one that doesn't show a benefit. Well, we keep seeing all the I mean how you know the microbiome plays so many roles in the body and like to just add that little bit of extra to Benefit the culture there like should you know have a massive difference?

Uh, you know just like mitochondria like we're addressing that right like the function of the cell like if we improve that you're going to see You know this cascading effect, uh, I would assume just because probiotics Bacteria plays such a big role in so many things probiotics help mitochondria health. There's another one more. There it is It's just one of those things. So yeah speaking of supplements and stuff. Okay, so, uh glp Uh drugs, right? Um, so somaglutide terzepatide ozempic, right Um, they've just took the world by storm.

We've talked about them on the show um, lots of people are using them now and Huge amount of people are on them now and I predict it's going to be like probably two-thirds of of All of america will be on a glp at some point because of how effective they are for weight loss and that stuff so it Retta is still like gray market. It hasn't really come to like Retta is not fda approved retta trutide. Okay, only terzepatide somaglutide, uh, the two other big ones Um, so when that first started happening Okay, remember when glp really started hit the market There were a lot of there was a lot of fear among trainers And people in the fitness industry.

Oh my god. No one's gonna hire a trainer. Why would anybody go to a gym? Yeah, why would anybody go to a gym when they can just inject this thing and lose weight? and we Uh predicted the opposite what happened. Yeah, and you could listen to old episodes. We said no, I think this will actually increase Mm-hmm, uh interest in fitness for two reasons one, uh strength training is is is recommended Uh, and so people are more aware of the thing to lift weights, but two Losing weight is motivating for people to go work out oftentimes.

So now that they're seeing themselves lose weight. They're like cool Now i'm gonna go Work out a little bit now that i'm starting to lose weight Uh by using this for your average person. I really think it's just absolutely necessary to have a coach If you're going to pursue that at all for sure. Yeah, so we predicted glps would increase Uh business for the fitness industry a lot of people in our space were scared In fact, many of them were anti it saying it's going to hurt Business in the industry.

Yes, he was right. Yeah, we were. Yeah, you want to see what the data looks like? Oh, yeah, they've done. Let's see. They've done it. So they've actually figured out or or they've Uh looked at how much the glp1 user spends on fitness versus the average person The average glp user spends four times more on fitness. Wow Four times four hundred percent more Almost on fitness. So the average glp user spends on average 4.49 per month on fitness Whereas the non-users about 120 dollars per month in fitness So like we like we said and we have a course that we put together for coaches and trainers We also have a fitness podcast that our trainers run called the elite trainer podcast We told all of our trainers, uh, and in this course, which we created a while ago We told trainers do not Like embrace this because you're going to get more clients We're going to be on it because it's going to create it's going to bring more people to us Yeah, and that seems to be the case.

I mean I would I would argue that glp1s Make the weight loss part easier, but more complex so Easier because you've got this incredible tool that just cuts out all the food noise And for somebody who's struggled with weight their whole life Food noise typically is really loud. They're really challenging cravings and food noise Uh is one of the greatest hurdles and habits and behaviors that are attached to that And so this tool allows it just completely crushes that um complex because because it does such a good job of that And we know historically we've always struggled getting our clients to eat enough protein and be consistent with lifting weights It makes those two things more important and yeah, yes makes it more difficult You're low energy to the point that I made when I went through it So you're the drive to go to the gym is going to be even less than what it was when you were probably overweight And if you were already somebody like most people who didn't eat enough protein as it is It's even harder when you're eating half the calories you're eating so Easy, but more complex and that is a perfect recipe for trainers and coaches To support and help that person because that person obviously to your point Is willing to spend four times the money so it's not a matter of are they not willing to invest in themselves in that area?

So they're willing to invest um and more often or more and more now than ever need to invest in someone to help them and support them 100% I think One of the from a business perspective because I think uh, we got to do this the right way. Um, because there's there's There are risks with glps not the ones that you see the the fear-mongering risk But you know if you just go on one and usually weigh less You're going to lose muscle a lot of muscle as well, which can cause other problems but I believe From a business perspective glps are the best thing to happen the fitness industry in a long time.

I think it's going to bring more people to gyms It's going to bring more people to personal trainers more people to coaches Almost any other thing that I can think of and the data is now starting to support that I think we're going to walk into and i'm not even talking about the tech boom, which I think is going to fuel this as well I think ai and all that stuff is probably going to fuel this as well. But let's just pretend that doesn't exist I think we're walking into one of the largest fitness booms that If not the largest one that we've ever experienced in our experience I mean we were part of a kind of fitness boom because gym, you know Mega gyms or the big box gyms became popular during our time Running them but I think glps are going to take it to the next level because it's making people want to work out and it's making people aware That they need to lift weights that they need to work out and their doctors are telling them for the first time They're literally saying to them Lift weights.

Yeah, they never said that before first time mainstream doctors never said that lift weights now they're telling them Yeah, it'd be interesting to see a cool graph I I don't I don't know if we're technically in like a hockey stick moment or it's just been since we've been a part Of this 25 years. It's just been this And we're feeling it maybe ramp up. That's what I think, you know, like we're going through, you know Like if we if you graph this out It probably kind of looks like this over the last 25 years and we're probably on a one of these right now On a on a on a pretty steep.

I think trainers are going to see a big boom You know, what's interesting about as I think back to the like the times the fitness where I felt it really grow One of those times was a period of time where we thought the fitness industry was going to get hit the hardest covid Covid was interesting trainers did very well during covid virtual trainers coaches Gyms didn't do well the ones that were flexible, but gym equipment did really well Do you guys remember what it was like trying to buy home gym equipment from facebook marketplace?

Oh, yeah It was I thought about selling my dumbbells just to make some extra money They're going for like four times the price. You couldn't get weights. You couldn't get bicycles either Everybody was outside like biking. It was crazy. Yeah. I also that you know, we There's there's a there's a lot of different things that are at play or glp ones are definitely one of the things that are at Play, uh, we're in this crisis too of loneliness And you know, we had a live caller just recently that we're talking about community and this and that And you know Some people have hobbies, right?

Some people are into pickleball or sports or have things that that that naturally organically have built-in communities to them but not a lot not everybody has that and I think that the gym, uh, like You you pitch church a lot. I think church is another good example of that. Um I think gym is another one is that it's just it's just an easy built-in I'm going to this place like a church to better myself Uh surrounded by people want to get better i'm surrounded by other like-minded people.

It's a built-in community. So it's such a great place, uh For somebody and I think that that that's also at play here. I think that we have got no you're right Because the the money that's going into gyms right now if you look at the way the money's changing uh, the footprints of gins are of gyms are changing but also The amenities are moving towards more towards socializing. Yeah. Yeah. So gyms now are starting to be They're seeing that they're counting for it. Yeah, they're going there to socialize.

Yeah and to meet up with people Yeah, so I think we're entering into Uh a great era. Yeah. So yeah, we're centering. Um, you know us hanging out around fitness and around like healthy thing it's exciting too because um, you know, and I I like to think that we're part of this movement and narrative too of like that I need to kind of full circle talk about how you you brought this all up with like bodybuilding and stuff like that like Fitness is actually so much different than bodybuilding as far as like what it takes to be healthy longevity and fit like It's very it's very minimal what doesn't take a ton Yeah and so If these if these gyms start building to be more like these cool social like cool social clubs where you can go over and lift A couple weights, you know i'm saying like that's kind of like the vibe that I feel it's gonna work out You eat a little you hang out.

Yeah. I mean, it's really it's it's Even my what i'm designing right now at my house It's really the thought that I have and I can't wait till it's all done at my place Because i'm gonna lift different than i've ever lifted before i'm i'm gonna really attempt to lift Uh the way I tell the story of the trainer who worked for me a long time ago Or you do a little bit all day. Yeah where I like just I have it's there is no routine or format It's just that I go back i'm in i'm in my backyard multiple times a day all day And i'm just gonna walk over there and go do two sets and then i'm gonna walk away, you know You're gonna get so strong.

I I really want to see what i've experimented with that and it makes me strong I really want to see what happens. I think justin does that a lot. Yeah, do you are you good about that? Yeah, he does it all the time every now and then just go. Yeah do an exercise if i'm walking past weights Yeah, I love doing that. Yeah, i'm gonna really discipline myself to kind of try and embrace that and be that guy And see how that is and I and I think that's the uh, and like I just don't think People thought of that before.

In fact, I even I had friends. I still have friends to this day that you know, uh, They they look at uh, like my physique and they think that I I would I don't would never want to do that I don't want to spend six days a week in the gym for hours at a time Like I have a life. I have other things i'm into and it's just like dude. I don't six hours a month. Yeah It ain't gotta be that, you know, it's nothing like that actually and so I think as that narrative changes and people realize that when you live that's the So awesome about lifting weights as your your main modality towards your pursuit of health and longevity It's actually very minimal effort toward that and if you can go to this place now where they build these gyms that are got pools and live djs and lounge areas and little restaurants in them and Man, it's actually kind of like this healthy club that you hang out at and then oh Maybe i'll make it over there and do a couple sets while i'm here And I get out of here and man, I think it really could shift Culture and how we do things.

I so so so I just it's funny you said that because I have this saved There's this, uh, this diagram that explains based off of the data what we know in the data on how Long it takes to lose Uh, like strength or endurance or whatever. So let's say you work out and then you stop How long does it stick around right when you start to lose it so They have this picture of a dude. It's this little diagram whatever and so it's like 48 hours later Pretty much.

Nothing has changed. Uh blood volume is down a little bit by about five Percent, so this is just 48 hours, uh after working out and he's doing nothing. Okay, you get a week later Strength is unchanged muscles unchanged blood volume still kind of going down now. We start to see mitochondria Producing a little bit less energy. That's a week later. Okay, then we get to two weeks later V02 max down five to ten percent. So this is like stamina and endurance motor unit recruitment down thirteen percent force output unchanged strength unchanged four weeks later Okay Blood volume is down by as much as twelve percent vo2 max is down by about ten percent Strength unchanged muscle size unchanged eight weeks later two months later Muscle size barely has changed Strength is finally starting to drop vo2 max down almost twenty percent Twelve weeks later is when you start to see Some measurable size differences in muscle.

So what's cool about this is muscle and strength stick around They stick they're very resilient Forms of adaptation just to just to add to that because endurance goes quickly. So this is this is it's interesting that you um that you have that it's so cool to actually see because i'll tell you what i've experienced that I noticed myself, but just because i've watched and been super analytical of all the the data the numbers what I look like all the stuff like To probably an obsessive level right because of what i've done and there'll be times where You know a week or two More often to is normally about where I would be call I would say I'd push it but a week goes by and I have it lift the weights And I feel like I can start to see a visible difference But what that confirms would be which I feel like this is so true is that most that is just blood volume in the muscles Yeah, because as soon as I go get my first workout back from the same like oh there it is Yeah, like there.

I am like I still got it. You know and it and I'm reminded of that Consistently, and it's just like bad. Did you know how minimal you have to do to maintain? That's what's so cool about one of the things that's why strength training is such a wonderful form of exercise for modern life Because you miss workouts So you get to keep a lot of the gains you get to keep the metabolic boost you get to keep the look The the the one thing I would say the one caveat I would say is the more extreme you are with your development and strength the faster You'll probably notice some declines because you're already at such a high level in other words Someone who is like a Top strength athlete top power lifter, or you're really strong in the gym You take three weeks off of doing that lift you might notice a difference But it's not because your muscles aren't stronger or weaker.

I should say themselves, but rather the motor recruitment patterns haven't been trained or practiced because I know some people listening or like That's not true when I take three weeks off like my bench goes from 450 to 420 I'm gonna push back on that a little bit because and I know I feel like if Ben Pekulski was here He would push back also a tiny bit and what I've experienced, which is Yes, I am NOT squatting 420 and I'm not dead lifting 550 right now at all But there is this kind of my floor is Yes is way higher.

Yes, and That stays around like it felt like I can't lose it. That's right, so Yes, you're right. Like if I if I was like at peak me You know hitting PR and I wouldn't be hovering my numbers and I take three weeks off I'm probably not able to be right at you notice them Yeah, I'll notice some and I and if I continue not doing anything for say another week or month Let's say even a month I might drop down but then all sudden I kind of hit this like floor and that floor is still Way stronger than the average person muscles.

It's interesting. It sticks around Especially the longer you keep it I don't know if you guys ever seen like older people who obviously way less muscle and they had when they were really muscular But mm-hmm that you can still tell that they used to lift almost, you know, I like an old football player or whatever I'm competitive strong, man. I remember yeah, there was this older guy who's like, I don't know 70 years old old man strength Come yeah, it comes from oh you had to have been some kind of athlete back in the day And he I haven't even lifted in you know over a decade really like he just does like everyday activity Well, you tell yours jacked you tell your story about your dad Who just walked over and grab a kettlebell and pick it up and dude I remember when he went so I used to have my when I used to have my studio There was a breakfast place next to it And so people would line up on Sundays Especially Saturday Sundays and I'd work on those days and this little old guy walked in and I think he was 80 I believe he was 80 or late 70s and he was a little guy Little kind of short dude and he walks in and he's looking around and I'm with a client So I walk over him and introduce myself and I immediately noticed his forearms So he's this little dude with these little like ball.

Yeah kind of muscle forearm So right away I noticed and I kind of looked at him and he looked at my kettleballs. He goes. Can I can I? Go look at those. I said, yeah, go ahead. I'm are you familiar with them? Oh, yeah He goes I used to use them in Russia's he had an accent Russian guy So he goes over and he presses one up and I remember what it was like 50 or 70 pounds A lot of weight for an 80 year old, dude, and I'm like you still got some muscle on you He goes I haven't I don't work out.

I'm like, when's the last time you worked out? He's like I'm worked out in a very long time I was a young man nice workup, but he had you could tell by looking at those Yeah, so there's so that was my point of pushing back is like yeah I mean is there's gonna be and let me tell you to the guy who says that too I think because I would have probably said that Some of that is psychological and a lot of it's the blood the blood volume.

Yeah, that's the pump Yeah, cuz there's definitely there's definitely this part of me that goes like oh, man I I feel like I can tell I haven't worked out in a week or two and you're right There's all that blood and fluid isn't pumped into those muscles as soon as I go to the gym and go pump it all back Here. It's like, okay I'm not far off from where I thought I was still guts. Yeah, and so and that's such a cool Cool thing. I mean, it's the thing that I've been kind of talking about for the last couple years on this podcast that you know Not a lot of older guys communicated that to me at least I don't remember ever hearing that from anybody everyone's in fact What was usually communicated is oh if you stop working out you lose it all which is true But what they should have said is you don't need to do a lot to keep it dude.

No. Yes It's interesting you talk about that baseline I totally feel like because it gives me that confidence like even when I was like, you know I'm gonna try to do like a PR like I Just I knew that like at least I'm starting from a good place way higher than you were in your 20s Yeah, you were probably a strong, but yeah, it's like if I could you know It just refined my efforts in one direction for a specific amount of time Be really like judicious about like how I use my time like recovery wise like, you know fueling that like I feel like I get Pretty far but like I like to to know that my base is still right It took me so long as a kid to deadlift 400 pounds like 400 pounds now I could do I can not work out for a while and I'll pull four plates off before that's I mean You're your floor is whatever it takes to get there is not what it takes to keep Oh, no, it's way less when it comes to strength.

We're not even close the stuff that was communicate to me It was like what you said like, oh when you get all you get older if you stop you you lose it all or and people used to say to me when I was a trainer in my 20s like well What are you gonna do when you get older? Like you can't possibly like be in the gym all the time and do a lot It's more important when you're older to work out Well, you know what I get though is like because you know the way we all train so radically in our 20s and crazy and The volume and intensity it's like so, of course somebody in their 50s looking at me in my 20s You don't like you ain't gonna be doing that and they're right.

I ain't doing that stuff anymore It evolved but it's like I don't got to do nearly nearly like that to look ten times better than that kid No, that kid what he had to do. It was to get over 200 pounds. Yes Yeah, the lifting and eating and now it's like yes And now in order to get under 200 I'd have to lose a bunch of muscle get under that you'd have to starve yourself Yeah, so I I mean that to me is uh, it's such if you're listening to this podcast and you're young That's one of the most exciting things about getting older that nobody ever said to me.

It's just like dude It just gets easier. I know it gets e and and that sounds like you're putting in right now matters. Yeah. Yeah. Yes Joint pain and stress and all the other things that we talked about that like there was a fear monger about I'm gonna name it It's called muscle wisdom. That's what I'm gonna call. Yeah muscles become wiser. Yeah, they've been down this road before. Yeah All right, I'm gonna change directions Because I wanted to talk about our partner's ebiotics so people aren't familiar as ebiotics is a pre-alcohol drink and it's a Genetically modified probiotic meaning it's a it's a unique probiotic that breaks down something called acetaldehyde In the gut and acetaldehyde is this like negative byproduct of alcohol?

So it's a good idea to break it down So I did some more reading today on acetaldehyde and what it really does in the body And is there any amount that's okay to have in the body? And the answer is no No extra to know no extra SL acetaldehyde is considered healthy It is a reactive genotoxic compound that the body really works hard to keep at low levels It is not good for you at all when people get an extra load of it It comes from alcohol even moderate drinking produces more acetaldehyde than the body normally handles Especially and here's where z-biotics is important locally in the mouth saliva and upper GI tract So your liver does a good job of?

Detoxifying acetaldehyde. Okay. So when the liver when the alcohol gets the liver unless you drink way too much your liver does a good job of eliminating it but some acetaldehydes in the gut and That doesn't get filtered by the liver goes into your bloodstream interesting What z-biotics does is the bacteria they modified breaks it down. So when you drink us z-biotics for about 36 hours You've got this bacteria in your body that breaks down the extra acetaldehyde that doesn't make it deliver breaks it down So you don't get the text that the toxicity from it and that's why it works so damn Well, is there anything else that we consume that does that?

Negligible from food smoking Smoking is the other. Yeah other way you get acetaldehyde Interesting. Yeah, I wonder if there's any benefits of of that taking it like pre smoking. Yeah I don't know. That's a good question. That's good I'm wondering if the ass well now maybe not because the z-biotics, you know, some of it in your mouth But most of it in your gut when you smoke it's inhaled So, I don't know. It's in your lungs That's funny because some things like you that don't benefit your body You could make an argument that like a really small dose is a hermetic effect to it But like there's no like benefit.

No, no, no data shows. It's all bad for you. Yeah, it's all bad for you So yeah, so so like no matter how much you drink the z-biotics is a good idea So interesting before some surgery that that cigarettes and alcohol would be the thing that does it like all the things that we do to Our body to worse the offenders. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, nobody wants that pretty much Party pooper you guys see the changes in and out mate is making yes. Yes All kinds of stuff.

You see it just all the all the all get rid of all the dyes changing the seed oils They're cooking in I'm not gonna have cheese anymore right after they left, California It's like hey, no, no. Well, you remember remember the first move do you you announced on the podcast when the founder pushed back on the? Trying to get rid of all the Bible verses and everything on that And so they stood their ground with that and then now they're making the move with all the different well check this out So yellow number five is gonna be replaced with tumeric red number 40 is gonna be replaced with beta-carotene or vegetable juice High fructose corn syrup sugar.

They're now getting rid of high fructose corn syrup Oh cotton seed oil has been removed from the buns Calcium propionate is now natural enzymes in the buns No more artificial vanilla in their shakes And they're also so they've upgraded their ketchup to have real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup and their their future their fries They're actually investigating and researching other oil options. Mm-hmm for better fries. I don't know what oil they use right now I don't think it's peanut oil. I think it might be it's not you know, that's for that's for Can I say that?

I I am I don't like and it annoys me the fact that Can I say that I I am I don't like and it annoys me the fitness people that dunk on this because with that because like when when you the whole Make America healthy again. It made movements towards changing the oils Seed oil like seed oil is a thing that's making everybody fat. Yeah. Yeah, they just scoff at it and that's their answer Yeah, and I just I don't again. This is another area where it's like, okay.

Listen, I don't disagree that you know French fries and any oil is not an ideal every little steps good Exactly. It's it's moving us. It's less crap. Yeah, I encourage companies to think about these things really? Yeah, it's like it's like a trainer options scoffing at a client cuz they you know, they walk I just walk cuz they walk that's not a workout. That's exactly what great Exactly, that's why it bothers me it comes to mind is this I love fitness. Yes, you're right if someone just walked They could still be obese and they could still not have muscle and all those things But hey, it's just it's a it's a positive step in a better direction Yeah and so if companies are getting rid of these dyes and they're changing the oils that they're cooking food in for a better version that I don't like fitness people that dunk on that It's just not a choose a choose something else to go to my kids.

This is just personal stupid algorithm content Yeah, this is my so my kids Fall in this category. So again, this is my own act anecdotal my kids When they have read number 40 in particular, it's like I gave them It's like I gave them a like a Fedra. It's like I gave him ADHD Yeah, literally like when I hit when they have read number 40, they act different and if it's too close to bed They can't sleep and I noticed this the first time I picked up on this We were in Arkansas visiting Jessica's mom and we were all we had gotten all these trailers So she had a little bit of land So we had all these trailers were sleeping out there and my daughter got a fever And she was real young at the time She was like maybe two maybe one and a half two and we gave her Tylenol and Tylenol Unless you get die-free.

It's got red number 40 in it because they make it cherry flavor. So it's red Anyway, we gave her Tylenol which helps her fever and all night. She was up all night and she was weird She was like giggly and then cry and then I'm like man, is it her fever? Like what's going on? Second night same thing happened Wasn't until I started kind of putting it together We gave her the die-free and she was totally fine And since then we've tested if they have like gummy bears or anything with red number 40 Especially if it's in a decent amount It makes them Like they have ADHD like really bad.

It affects their CNS and I know other parents that this is the case as well Yeah, I'm glad they get rid of an effect there. Yeah, nonetheless again I just I just think it's a terrible thing to go to go pick something else to Hammer and stuff like that because then then again it gets not good enough You know Keone aminos are the part of protein your body uses to build and repair muscle without anything else No digestion load. No tons of calories 40% leucine enriched formula like Keone's aminos is Required to stimulate whole body protein synthesis.

What's that? It's muscle building after 30 Dieting GLP ones your body gets less efficient at using protein for food Keone aminos Bypass that problem. They're clinically validated at 40% Leucine threshold. In other words, if you're taking essential amino acids, it needs to be 40% leucine That's the threshold for muscle building for protein synthesis. If you're taking essential amino acids and the leucine is too low You're not utilizing all of it. So Keone aminos are the best one go check them out Go to get Keone comm slash mind pump that link will get you 20% off back to the show Our first caller is Patricia from Utah.

Hi, Patricia. Hello Hey, oh First of all, I mean the usual. Thank you guys for everything you do. I've been listening for about a year and you guys rock. Oh, thank you. Yeah. Um, I'll go ahead and kind of like summarize my background and then come in with my question, but I'm currently 23 years old, female. Um, about 145, 150 pounds, five foot seven. Um, I haven't done a full body scan in a while, but around like 15% body fat is I think what I'm usually getting.

Uh, I grew up a competitive soccer player and then got into weightlifting in college with my boyfriend and he showed me how to do everything and got really into all the newbie gains. Those were very exciting. Um, I graduated college about a year ago and have since moved to Utah and have been doing all the hiking and skiing and kind of just random things I've done. Spartan races, tough mutters, marathon triathlon, and the past two months I've kind of taken a break and just done like the free summer yoga classes.

Um, but I think I'm ready to kind of get into like more of a routine. And now that I'm in my adult life, kind of building up to just like a strong foundation, I guess. So my question really for you guys is being a young female, kind of what should I do next? Yeah. Good question. So, um, how did you, uh, tell me about grad school, by the way, what are you going to school for? Um, sources and she sources engineering. Okay, cool. Okay. So you, you're kind of, and you correct me if I'm wrong, you're kind of a go getter.

So like you make a goal, you get after it, which is great. Uh, but it could also be a challenge, uh, because like, just because your past competitive soccer, lots of hard competitions, lots of getting after it with your workouts. Probably. I don't think you're someone that's challenged with being consistent. You're probably challenged with not working out. Like need to take breaks. How has the last two months felt for you since you've done that? Um, it's been good. I've enjoyed yoga, but I definitely miss the gym.

I feel like I'm not really doing anything, which I'm not the biggest fan of. You're also hiking and skiing. Is that right? Or is that going on? Give me, give me also outside of lifting weights. What else are you also doing? Um, the hike we hike in the summer and then skiing in the winter. So going to the national parks, road trips on the weekends, um, I think I've done five or six hikes this summer. It's not every weekend, but pretty active all the time, I would say.

Okay, good. You know, if you want a goal, the best goal that I could point you in the direction of that I think would help with a lot of other things would be strength. It's not perfect because you can go too far with that too. Uh, but it might give you kind of what you're looking for in terms of like something to chase. But I also think it would, it would point you in a kind of healthy direction. The only challenge is, uh, is going to be all the other stuff you're doing on top of it.

So, and I need to know like more specifics. So like how many days a week would you say you're doing something very active? Um, right now, two to three, I think I do two yoga classes during the week. And then maybe a hike on the weekends if we're not super busy with, oh, that's fine. Yeah, that's okay. And yoga is what is a power yoga. Are you doing like yin yoga? Um, I think it's one of each. It really depends on the week. It's just the free.

Okay. Like how do you feel about getting really strong at like the core lifts, like powerlifting? I would love to, I think it would be really fun. I would just be kind of worried about. Form and stuff since I'm not used to it. I haven't really done it before and I definitely don't want to get hurt. Yeah. So be very careful with technique and smart, which I think you will be. Uh, but maps power lift will be a really fun program for someone like you to get like PRS with your deadlift or squat and your bench.

Now, the other side of that is, is diet. And I'm looking at what you wrote and you have some food intolerance issues and stuff like that. Is that, is that preventing you from eating enough? Um, I don't think so. It's just, I know protein's a big deal and I know you guys talk about it and I hear it and I try very, very hard, but like the protein shakes, I just can't get it down. And sometimes I struggle to just eat enough chicken or eat enough beef to hit the goals.

And so I just, I don't know any tips or advice on that would be very helpful. Yeah. We have some tips. Um, do you have a regular menstrual cycle? Okay, cool. I'll just carry you at 15%, uh, and maybe low on some of the healthy fats and proteins would concern me a little bit. But if you have a healthy menstrual cycle, that's a good sign. Um, have you tried different types of protein shakes too? You know, sometimes like, uh, I'm not a big fan of like really thick and like type of shake.

So things like, uh, paleo valleys, bone broth is almost like drinking chocolate milk. It's so thin and easy to kind of pound. And so that's, that's a strategy. Uh, I love things like Greek yogurt, uh, and they make brands, uh, that have like 20, 20 grams and like a small cup. And so something real quick and easy with berries, uh, that I can eat or do. Um, you've probably heard if you listen to the show long enough, uh, making a, whatever you have for dinner, whatever meat that is carrying it over into the morning with like a scrambled, like, you know, scramble a couple eggs with it.

Those are good strategies. Uh, most of my clients that struggle with hitting protein and that's hard for them. It's the breakfast breakfast. So I always talk to them about when the morning and it sets the day up. Um, and so focusing really on making sure that you start the day with a good 30 to 45 grams of protein really sets you up for success. Otherwise it's tough. You're playing catch up the rest of the day. Do you, uh, have you ever tracked to see kind of where your average was your calories?

I haven't in a long time. I did probably sophomore year of college, just when I was first getting into it. And then I kept forgetting to track it. Okay. Can I ask you more personal questions? Yeah. Uh, do you have any, do you ever have a history of like restricting or maybe a challenging relationship with food? So you don't have a problem eating? No, I've always been pretty good. Good. I'll always eat my plate. It's just getting big enough. I think so. So you schedule your meals and you're gonna have to kind of make it like every three hours, more frequency and meal prep and eat.

That'll make a big difference. You do that with power lift and you're going to get real strong. Intimidating. Yeah, no, you'll love it. Listen, you'll love it. But the video demos in there are really, really good. Um, you're, I mean, you have an analytical brain, obviously. So you just watch technique, perfect it. Technique plays a huge role in power lifting. So power lifting is very technique focused. Like if I want somebody to learn how to squat deadlift and bench press better than anybody else, I'm going to send them to a power lifting coach because they know how to do those better than anybody else.

So, so it's very, very technique heavy. You might be a great, uh, Patricia, you might be a great candidate too, for our concierge program where you just check in with a coach once a month, and then you can send videos of your technique and form. So like video yourself squatting, doing those movements. And they'll coach, they'll coach you even virtually. So, and it's a lot more reasonable than, I mean, hiring a personal trainer one-on-one would be awesome. Sometimes it's out of a lot of people's budget, uh, to have a coach one-on-one that would be ideal when you're trying to get good at this, but at the very least, um, doing like our concierge with our trainers, uh, they can help coach you through that process and get you good at it.

Yeah. And I mean, there's masterclass in there as well. So, you know, really go through some of those videos. Uh, it'll, it'll, you know, spell out a lot of the details. Sometimes that helps, you know, people, uh, to really dive into a lot of those details and, and apply them and, you know, and you don't have to be intimidated by adding a lot of weight in the beginning, you know, keeping it light and just, you know, really form and mechanics focused. Uh, and then, yeah, having another set of eyes would be, you know, a really good idea, would power lift be something that.

I guess once I finished the whole program to just kind of restart and just keep building off of. You could, uh, although I like following that up with symmetry. I mean, yes. And I mean, I, if it's her first time through a lot of times I'll, I like to run it twice because you're kind of getting used to building it. Yeah. You're still building it. So you could, I would run it twice and then go to symmetry. Like you saying, since it's like cut, you're kind of new to those lifts and getting good at those lifts, the practice of going through it twice, we typically will tell someone symmetry or performance because you're doing all these like sagittal plane movements and if you get really, really strong and just a sagittal plane, you don't address unilateral work.

Then that's where the, like the, the joints and stuff starts on you, but somebody who's just getting started in it, I'm, I'm, I'm picturing you going through it the first time more cautiously, really working on technique and not loading it that much the second time around kind of pushing the strength and pushing the technique and pushing the weight a little more and then go to symmetry, I think would be ideal. But again, too, this is also stuff that if you do the concierge or their coach, they'll, they'll coach you through that process on what that looks like too.

Okay. Sweet. Yeah. So we're going to send that to you. Go get strong. Yeah. I'm best. Yeah. Keep us. You'll have fun with it. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Yeah. We'd love to have your hair out goes. Okay. We'll do. All right. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you guys so much. Bye-bye. That'll be fun for her. It'll, it'll put a pointer in a good direction. Um, you know, the, the one thing that, and I'm glad she said she would do that because the one thing I'd be worried about for someone like her, just based off her email is that she just do too much, too much stuff all the time.

Uh, but you know, getting stronger is hard to do when you're doing too much. She's got some serious muscle on her, 150 pounds and 15% body fat on a chick is like legit very well, she played competitive soccer and she's probably, so, uh, probably has some serious muscle building potential. So if that's, she's, if she's anywhere, even if she's North or South of that, it'd be good to immediately. Yeah. She's going to, she's going to build some muscle, dude. 15% body fat, one 50. I said some serious muscle already.

Our next caller is Vanessa from Colorado. Hi Vanessa. Hey guys. Wow. Surreal. Um, so amazing to get some advice from you guys. Thanks for just being there. Like in my journey, you've really helped to motivate me. So thank you so much. Um, I wrote everything down just cause I'll get off track and I added a question. So hopefully that's okay. Um, I'm 43 years old. I currently weigh like anywhere between one 61, one 65, five, four. And, uh, the biggest thing I think that might be impacting me is last year.

I found out that I was in post menopause, so low testosterone and estrogen. So I think, I don't know if that's impacting my journey or not. Um, I've yo-yo dieted. I've done everything in the book. Um, took GLP last year, lost like 20 pounds, gained it back, listen to your advice and kind of weaned myself off that. And then this year I started really like doing a four day a week program, upper, lower body since like February and I'm very consistent, so super motivated there. Um, right now though, I've only lost like 2% body fat on the journey there.

I've probably put about eight pounds of muscle on and I've reversed dieted from 18, 50 calories. And then in June I went up to 2,400 and I've been right around there and keeping it there. Um, I step about 8,000 to 12,000 steps a day. And, um, I'm just wondering, like right now I have been working with a trainer and the upper lower body. I jumped into your guys's upper lower body, um, six weeks ago. And, um, that feels great. Just everything's a little bit different. So I feel like I'm really seeing like just changes in my muscle in different ways.

So that's good progress there. But I feel like I'm in a plateau when it comes to like fat loss. I don't know if I'm eating too much or like, like I said, my weight gain is just, it kind of stays between that five pound range. And let's see, I also don't eat too much on days that I, um, work well that I don't work out. And then I eat more on the days that I do. Um, and then also just wondering if maybe peptides is something I should consider.

Okay. Well, thanks for calling in. So you're averaging 2,400 calories a day when you average out the high and low days. Yep. Okay. And well, no, cause I guess if you put it that way, probably around like 22 to 23. Okay. So what's a low day and what's a high day? Low day, maybe 2000 high day, 24. Okay. I see. Okay. So that's good. Um, and then you said your postmenopause, this was based off of just hormone profile. If you do mind, if I ask your age.

Shit 43. 43. Okay. Oh, wow. You look a lot younger. Okay. Okay. So, all right. So, so I think you're doing everything right. You're doing a great job, but you came from on the reverse diet and the amount of muscle you built and body fat percentage changes is phenomenal, especially a postmenopausal. That's phenomenal. It's phenomenal. That's you've done a really good job. Just so you know. Eight pound muscle gain is incredible. And 2% body. Yeah. And the reverse diet, all the things and being postmenopausal, like it's not easy when your hormone profile is off like that.

It makes, it does make everything exponentially more difficult. I mean, I've. Uh, openly discussed this on the podcast many times. My most challenging clients as a young trainer was helping women through menopause, especially back then, 20 years ago when we had way less tools I feel or communication around it. So I always was, I was lost as a young trainer, many times trying to help someone. It's very, very difficult. Are you, uh, are you taking anything right now? They have you on thyroid or testosterone or anything?

Yeah. I'm just doing like a testosterone estrogen cream and it's pretty low. Um, and then I'm on like amino acids and stuff like that. Just after like a powder that I got a lifetime that I'm, that's the gym that I go to. So, so you're doing great. Uh, I think you're doing a lot of things, right? In fact, everything I've heard so far, I haven't heard anything that I would say you're doing wrong. Uh, you're on hormones, so that's going to help, uh, with that. Um, and you have a past of going up and down the yo-yoing.

Okay. So what we want to do is stay away from that. We don't want to yo-yo anymore. And I think that's kind of what you're communicating. Like, like I'm out of that phase. I don't want to keep doing that. I don't want to do that anymore. Um, so this, what that essentially means is you, you gotta be patient because you're doing all the right stuff. Yeah. Now, if we push you in, in a cut, uh, averaging 2,200 calories, we will run the risk of doing the yo-yo thing.

Um, and your calories really aren't that low to do a kind of an effective cut. I mean, we'd have to bring you down to like, you mean high? Yeah, not high enough. Sorry. So we'd have to bring you down to like 1,600 calories with a, which wouldn't feel that good. You would see some weight loss on the scale, but then you plateau and then we kind of be, you know, uh, in a, in a worse position, honestly. I mean, you're doing eight to 12,000 steps a day.

Your strength training hormones are getting balanced. You built eight pounds of muscle. Uh, you're, you're, I honestly, you should keep going. I keep going on the reverse diet keep trying to get some keep trying to get stronger and add calories would be ideal Wondering like should I go higher yes absolutely keep adding strength keep adding calories Keep going that direction So it's different for everybody Generic answer someone your age height weight all the things I want about 2,800 or above But if you were right, let's say we're at 2,800, and you are telling me you still have an appetite I would keep pushing you now.

Let's say you're at 2,800, and you're like Adam this feels like so much food, okay? Then I'll probably start to bring you back down So I think you can easily support working up to 20 based off your activity level Strength all the things you 2,800 calories or more is where I'd be taking you and more would be I would love to get you at 2,800 We haven't seen much movement on the scale You've probably hovered around the same even if we put a couple pounds on the scale not really worried like I'd want you kind of hovering around within five pounds of Where you're at and all the way up to 2,800, and then in a perfect world You're telling me I could eat more, and then I just great Let's keep going that way until finally you look at me, and you go like okay This is a lot of food out of this is now It's becoming like a lot of work to eat this much and now we have runway And yeah now that's typically a good place because it feels very comfortable to go You know what just knock one of those meals off or?

Cut your portion size on this these two meals in half and like you feel comfortable eating that much you still feel satisfied And it's now putting you in a deficit, and now you're just leaning out nicely and you find this kind of beautiful Comfortable place to stay and you achieve the goal you're looking for yeah, Vanessa Are you open to working with a mind pump coach for the nutrition part? I know you're working with a trainer for your workouts, but are you open to working with one of our coaches?

Um yeah, I've always had an issue with nutrition, and what's the right thing to eat, so yeah, I would consider that okay Let me have someone call you because they'll coach you through that process. It'll be very individualized Yes, so you'll meet with them But then also you'll be able to message them and be like I feel like this is this right should I what direction should? I go and then they can modify The whole way through to individualize it because a reverse diet is scary.

It's a scary process. It's all It's been like way too easy, that's the problem I don't want that that's that's the scary part right and so the coach will walk you through that guide you through that that's right Yeah, it's a it's a it's a weekly type of conversation of like how we feel and how you doing talking That's why too when you ask me how far it's hard to answer that Because that could change and I have this sometimes with it with the client this way you'll get this with your coach You guys are going along Reverse diet and you're adding calories on calories, and then all of a sudden we get to a place where you don't feel good You're discouraged.

You're frustrated and then sometimes that to bring the client back down for a little bit, okay? This is what we're gonna do Vanessa for the next two weeks I'm gonna put you down to 23 2400 calories, then you see some results you feel good, and you're like okay Let's go back up and so a lot of that That's the individual part that the coach will do with you and through that process You'll really learn how to control that yourself going forward so very very Worthwhile to go through with the coach take you that Okay, all right, and then I guess the other question was just I did the upper lower body for so long that I jumped into your guises Should I have jumped into something else?

Not necessarily. Yeah, that's that's a good program PPL is a good program symmetry would be a good program, but since you're open to working with a coach They're gonna give you maps Vanessa. They can modify it. They're gonna modify. They're gonna modify specifically for you So and then you'll that'll be the best thing that'll be better than any mass program that we could you know template we can give you Okay, all right. Well, then that's positive news. Thank you. Awesome. Awesome. Yeah for you. Good job.

You're great great job Yeah, all right. Thank you Yeah, she I didn't catch her age when she was talking so she said postmenopausal Mike I mean I heard her say it right away because I couldn't believe it. I saw 43. She's a 43 but yeah the She's doing everything right now at this point and people. Hey, I know I know I Understand how frustrating this is to hear like, oh be patient like, you know, just like I'm gonna pull your hair out But that is a big part of this process is being patient You can't communicate that and focusing on what's happened so far what's happened so far.

She's bumped her calories. Her weight hasn't really changed She's gained eight pounds of lean body mass. Yeah phenomenal. That's phenomenal. Our next caller is Kaylee from Arizona. Hi Kaylee Hi Kaylee. Hi guys. How are you? Good thank you. Thanks for taking the time to speak with me. How can we help you? Um, I work full-time I'm getting ready to go back to school From a logging perspective I usually average about 1,800 to 2,200 calories per day Typically 130 to 160 grams if I'm doing really well on protein I've been working out four to five days a week, but I realize that's probably gonna drop down and I'm just scared of losing Essentially the muscle mass that I've gained in this two years impressively and kind of reverting backwards either by not feeding myself well enough or My training frequency going down with all this high stress and movement that I'm about to go through so just kind of wanting your guidance on how when I can preserve what I've achieved, but also continue to see growth and increase and Factoring and all that stress and change.

Oh perfect. Okay, and I see you're I'm gonna be looking I'm looking at your email right now So yeah You you've been working out for about seven years and last year's really good workout programming you train at home But you also do Peloton strength classes and some bar classes on the weekend Yes, and then you work through the week and on the weekend. It says you also bartend. So you're working a lot Yeah, okay movement and now tell me about your your Workout all of the workouts you do.

So how many days a week? Are you doing some kind of a workout? Whether it's Peloton bar or lifting weights Um, typically I've been trying to practice your guys's like recommendation on trying like an upper and lower so I've been doing Consecutively like Tuesday through Friday Upper and lower and then if like my energy permits that's when I'm doing the bar classes on the weekend So it can be four days a week. It can be six. It kind of just depends. Okay, and then how's your sleep?

Um from the or ring perspective, it says good I'm averaging like 88 as my sleep score and sometimes I get like 96 but I don't know. Sometimes I feel sometimes I still feel like I don't fully feel rested and I know stress plays a role in that, too I think even in my email I mentioned like some digestive stress obviously from trying to increase my feeding window or my My protein but also trying to optimize pre feed and post feed and not eat too close to bedtime and all of that So I got I'll tell you exactly why you feel that way it's not in that fact that you're scoring that high on sleep is You just you do a lot and don't eat a lot for someone who does as much as you do.

That's yeah Yeah, that's why I think that's why you feel that way because like you're getting great the fact that you're scoring 80s and 90s on Your aura means you are doing a good job, and you're probably exhausted while you're crashing out like yeah And why you probably still feel even after good great nights of sleep like that still feel like man I feel like I'm still it's because you're you're low calorie for the amount of Training volume and activity on and then that's not even factoring like like outside stress of just work and all the things pressures and whatever Yeah, you are physically doing a lot for somebody who's only eating 2,000 or so calories, that's that's really low.

Yeah, so the good news is this Kaylee reducing your training volume It's not gonna make you lose muscle. You'll probably be better Okay, you'll probably get stronger in fact. I would do that right now Yeah Results by doing that yeah in training so redlining or kind of doing what you can tolerate which it sounds like that's kind of where you live increases increases inflammation and contributes to digestive issues Okay, so The fact that you're doing so much and eating not enough to support that You're putting yourself kind of in this place if you cut your training way down Bumped your calories you would see a strength gain happen within the week or two what week one Okay, but then we within the first couple weeks you see strength go up and that's how you know You're moving in the right direction Yeah, it's interesting like this.

I think you guys did an episode I want to say a couple months ago where you referred to a study of like how one week off From a typical four-week training can actually like double time your muscle retention just because of the recovery And so I'm like three days into a recovery and like I almost feel like I've been working out Harder just because I feel like my body's like al like you haven't listened to any of the recovery stuff So now you need a foam roll and red light and all the stuff So it's so funny.

I could literally hear you guys saying this to me, and it's but it's nice to hear it reinforced What's your three-day recovery? What are you doing? As of late, it's just been really like stretching just kind of like rolling into the motion of where my body will let me go Kind of just not like forcing myself to do anything Tense like even housework where you like can like really zone into strut the stress of the movement So kind of just like sitting there breathing exercises. I do have foam a foam roller as well But mostly just stretching trying to work out some kinks.

Okay good. So do that for the full week Okay, no workouts for a full week. Just kind of make yourself feel better I'm gonna send you so if you really want to blow your mind I'm gonna send you math 15 take a week off. So continue on this because we got four more days off Start maps 15 see if you can get your calories up 200 a day. So from 18 to 22 This is this aim for 23 to 24 hundred calories a day Okay, by the third but probably by the third workout, you're gonna be stronger.

Mm-hmm. Okay. Okay, and then you know like oh This is working. Mm-hmm. Yeah, okay and knowing that with the Calorie increase like I'm kind of averaging like five to six meals a day like three large and then obviously some snacks I Guess what is your guys's more formal opinion on how to time that around a workout? Like I know I put in my email I was kind of concerned with doing evening workouts because it was like, you know ramping my heart rate up too close to sleep But then eating all obviously also does the same thing.

Are you guys like really strict on that like feeding time? What you just said matters more than anything else. How is it affecting my sleep? How's it affecting my digestion as far as the protein calories around the workout that weren't that doesn't it's so irrelevant Yeah, so so like you need your body needs what it needs macro wise as far as protein And so that so that becomes a priority but sleep and digestion are one and two Yeah, are you familiar with the the best data on like timing meal timing?

Not as if they're like the best or most recent it's it's it's literally it's like splitting hairs and splitting hairs Okay, it matters. Here's what it matters when you have a professional athlete who's gonna train twice a day What this is all they do this is their job and so that the meal timing helps with the second workout Okay, okay it for you. It's not gonna make a difference at all. Yeah, so I don't even worry about it. You just eat You know hit your calories Follow a math 15 and don't worry about meal to like literally don't even worry about meal time.

It doesn't make a difference Okay. Okay. I'm excited. It's just good to hear validated. No Yeah, for sure Yeah You know don't get caught up in the in the little minutiae of all the little hacks and stuff like that Which you know and I can see you know that your normal job. It's it's like, you know a lot probably about supplements You're you know into pharmacokinetics, you know, so it's really fun to get into the details But they really don't make that big of a difference like they just don't so don't worry too much about it Yeah, and you'll like I said, you'll know by the by the second week of following mass 15 and bumping your calories You you'll strain difference.

It's gonna trip you out for sure. Yep. Okay lean into that That's exciting and is max 15 like more home-friendly or should I have more access to a gym as well? Oh beautiful. Okay. What do you have at home? Yeah, you have a barbell dumbbell bench. What do you got? Yeah, I have eight pounds up to 42 pounds and then to barbell With 25 pound plates, so I just do a lot of like plane of motion free weight stuff. Oh, you're good. You're good Yeah, you got plenty.

Okay. Yeah, you'll be great. Okay. Awesome. I really appreciate you guys. Thank you so much. You got us Thank you. Thank you The irony is she's afraid of losing muscle. She's gonna game. I know Yeah, I mean right away was like so glaring when she said her sleep scores were so good She still felt tired. It's like you're crushing. You're definitely hitting your you're doing a good job and sleep But you feel that way because your calories are low and she you could do it a lot I mean not sensor in her.

She's a go-getter. Yeah, right like she's she powers. She's working. She's getting ready to start school She's also bartending on the side. She takes bar and Peloton and she hits for workouts a week And doing all that on 2,000 calories is just what happens with she's young, right? So and you'll see this sometimes with 20 something handle it. Did you push everything? Yeah, these are the women that end up with really bad HPA axis dysfunction once they get into their mid to late 30s Yeah, what is going on?

No, and it's cuz yeah, you've been redlining for a long time But doing what we said, she's gonna get she's gonna blow her mind. Our next caller is Gabby from Australia. Hi, Gabby Hi How are you? How can we help you? I'm good. Thank you Um, I've been listening to you guys for about a year now and you've really changed my perspective on fitness and health I Struggled with an eating disorder for 12 years. I've been a fashion model and I've worked from age 17 now.

I'm 31 So my story is quite complicated when it comes to food and health and Yeah, and I have Yeah, I've wanted to get stronger over the last two years. I'm a mom of two kids and when I when my daughter was born I Have been completely free of My eating disorder tendencies, which has been wild and I never thought that it would happen and I'm eating more than ever and Lifting weights Before I was so afraid to lift weights just to gain any sort of size as a fashion model Yeah, so I'm here because I'm Because I'm wanting a little bit more consistency with With food mainly like obviously my Yeah, obviously my relationship with food has been an interesting, turbulent one, and I would love to have a little bit more input and advice in that.

And I've built so much muscle in the last three years, it's been wild. I'm so much stronger than I ever have been before, and my metabolism feels really fiery. So I'm almost like, I feel like I'm eating too much, but I will then have a day where I'm so hungry where I can't stop eating. Yeah, that's where I'm at now. All right. Well, thank you so much for calling in, Gabby. So when I read your email, and you mentioned this, it was after having your child, I think it's your daughter, where you felt this lift.

Would you mind, if it's okay, would you mind explaining what that felt like? What was it with that experience that brought that away from you? What was that like for you? Yeah. I don't know, I've probably been in recovery for so many years prior. I've wanted to change, I've wanted to be different. So I've done all the steps, and then as soon as my daughter was born, there was just this thing in me that was almost like, no more, I can't do this anymore, this can't happen anymore.

And I'm a Christian, I believe in God, and it was like a divine moment of freedom when she was born. That's wonderful. Awesome. Yeah. I'm so glad you shared that. I've had clients who've had a similar experience to what you're describing. I've also had clients that have gone in the opposite direction. So the feeling of, and you know this, because you're a mom, the feeling that your body's not yours, so now suddenly I can't control everything. It can either push people in the direction of trying to control even more, or it can push people in the direction of like, I can't control this, I'm going to surrender to this.

And then you have the added benefit of having a baby that you just fall in love with. And so I've had people have a similar experience. I do want to say, and add to this, first off, you're doing a great job, that because you lived in that way for so long, and you did it during formidable years, so your teenage years, that is a default pattern that's going to rear itself, potentially, when things get very difficult or stressful. So the challenge isn't, you know, oh God, I got to worry about this thing, that's not what I'm saying.

But keep in your mind when you start to feel those old feelings back, don't be ashamed and say, I thought I defeated this, because that can make things feel a lot worse. The best thing you can do around that, and I'll get more detailed with diet and stuff like that, but the best thing you can do around that is always bring it to the light. So always, so you're a Christian, I'm assuming you go to a church? Yeah, I do. You want to share that with the people that you're close to at church as soon as it starts to come up.

There's biblical backing for that, it's about confession, and then psychologically, when you bring it to the light, it's like putting, you know, it's like taking bacteria and shining light on it. It can't survive. In the dark, it grows. And so you may feel like this thing's coming up, and I told all these people I've defeated it, it's part of my testimony, but now it's coming up. I don't want to tell them, I don't want to share that I'm struggling with this thing. I think I can do this on my own, I feel ashamed because I told everybody I got over it.

That's the worst thing you could do. The best thing you could do is bring it to those people, and that right there is going to help you the most. It's going to help you the most with this process. As far as diet is concerned, getting stronger is the best possible thing you could do. And I think if you focus on moving in that direction, the nutrition's going to support that. The nutrition's going to support that the whole time. Yeah, absolutely. And so it's going to be eating regularly.

So there's a couple of things that can trigger dysfunctional eating. The obvious stuff is like focusing on body all the time. So studying yourself in the mirror, studying pictures of yourself, that could trigger it. Stress, like feeling out of control can kind of trigger it, so be aware with that kind of stuff. But also what can trigger it is going for long periods of time without food, and then following it up with periods of time where you're eating so quickly that it feels like a binge, okay?

So eating regularly, staying on a schedule is one of the things you can do that'll help with that. So try not to skip meals. Yeah. Yeah, I've been doing that, and it really does definitely help. Yes. And so you're probably eating good protein and supporting strength gains because you're talking about all the muscle that you've gained. Yes. Okay, that's good. And then do you coach anybody? No, I don't at the moment. That is very helpful for people. To coach other people can oftentimes be very helpful for the stuff for yourself.

So obviously you work out, you look like you work out, you're part of a community, you volunteer and offer to help other people. That's another great way to kind of keep you in the right place with all of this. Yeah, great. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, great success story. Yeah, it's been a wild one. Talk about how different it must feel. How different does it feel for you being strong and healthy versus, because I know I've trained some fashion models and I know that that space really, it's very normal to feel tired, weak, to restrict yourself.

So it's got to be such a drastic difference in how you feel. Yeah, absolutely. I have energy all day, which is wild. I'm not tired and hungry every afternoon, but just the food focus is so different. And that's been the biggest thing. My husband is like, our life is completely different now. And he's like, I can't even remember what it was like before, but it was really hard. And I'm like, yeah, it was really, really hard. I was a very young mom at 23 and I was dealing with all of this when I had my son for years and years and trying in the depth of an eating disorder while trying to parent, while trying to work, while trying to manage all these different things was like, I was drowning.

I was completely drowning and now to be a mom for the second time and actually able to give my child the attention and my family the attention without this heavy thing all consuming my mind is such an incredible, like such an incredible experience. That's so awesome. So good. What you did, uh, by talking about the differences between the two is so powerful, um, for future Gabby. So one thing you can do, and I don't know if you've done this, is write a letter or write down the ways I used to feel and how I feel now.

And this is, and you write it out. And so the power of this is when you feel like, Oh, I'm feeling this old feeling start to creep up. You go back and you read this letter and you go, Oh yeah, that's why. That's why I don't want to go back. That's why I want to stay. Of course. It's there. It's a very, it can be a very powerful tool for future Gabby. If those old, uh, you know, feelings start to pop up again. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

I had a client once do that, uh, with some substance abuse and he said that whenever he wanted to go back, he would read this letter that he wrote, uh, while he was going through withdrawal. And so he wrote it when he was in withdrawal. So he read, he read it and he's like, man, that kept me away, uh, like several times just reading that letter I wrote to myself. So it's just, just another idea. Yeah, absolutely. I really liked that idea. I do a lot of journaling, so that kind of goes hand in hand with that.

That's so awesome. Gabby, are you following one of our programs? I'd like to set you up with one if you're not. Um, I'm not at the moment. No. Okay. How many days a week are you working out? I would love to. Um, I'm probably around three times a week, but I have like some kettlebells and stuff at home to play around with so I can do little bits whenever. Do you want, uh, do you want to try to get really strong? That's kind of scares me.

So I come from a family, my husband's family, they're like all competitive lifters. Um, his sister is ranked number one and holds record holds for like Olympic lifting and stuff like that. So I'm completely surrounded by that all the time and it terrifies me. But, but yes, I, I, I understand the benefits and I, I do want to be strong forever. Okay. Is it an exciting scary? Like, okay, I want to do this because if you, if you are like every time, every time I, every time I lift heavier, I am excited and I'm like, wow, like this is amazing what my body can now do.

All right, good. I'm going to send you a message. Yes. Yes. I'm going to send you a power lift. Let's get you to hit some PRs. Okay. Amazing. Let's do that. And, uh, and keep, keep us posted. Let us know how it goes. Yeah. Thank you so much. You got it. And I really appreciate you calling in. Your call is going to help a lot of other people. Yes. No, thank you. This has been a really cool experience. Awesome. Great job, Gabby. Thank you, Gabby. We'll send that to you.

Okay. Thank you. Bye-bye. Oh, that's a nice, that's a nice story. What a tough world. I don't know if you guys ever trained somebody that works in that space. Yeah. So restricted. Dude, I, man, I had a client who was like smoking cigarettes. So she was mean. It's, it's, it's extremely rare for, uh, someone to go through that. It's especially any, anyone you know. Yeah. It's all dysfunctional. Yeah. Yeah. Look, if you like the show, come find us on Instagram. It's Mind Pump Media. Thank you for listening to Mind Pump.

If your goal is to build and shape your body, dramatically improve your health and energy, check out Mind Pump.com. We'll see you next time. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Thank you for listening to Mind Pump. If your goal is to improve your health and energy, and maximize your overall performance, check out our discounted RGB Super Bundle at mindpumpmedia.com. The RGB Super Bundle includes MAP's Anabolic, MAP's Performance and MAP's Aesthetic. Nine months of phased expert exercise programming designed by Sal, Adam and Justin to systematically transform the way your body looks, feels and performs.

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