2878: Why You're Losing Muscle While Trying to Lose Fat (And How to Fix It)

18:47Sal Di Stefano:Okay, we've been saying since day one on this podcast that one of the number one issues I had with all of my clients was under eating protein. That's right. and not proper strength training and over abusing cardio. That's been around forever. That's right. Way before these GLP-1s got popular, that was already a problem. So you now take that and you add this new drug that makes them eat even less.

19:10Adam Schafer:It gives all those false confidence. Yes. Yep, 100%. So this is a problem any time that somebody goes in a sub-calorie diet to lose body fat. So this is the number one thing you need to manage is muscle. And there's a few things. Adam just mentioned them. So we'll break them down a little bit. Number one is inadequate protein intake. So when you look at the data on a sub calorie diets or what are called a calorie deficit diets, in other words, you're eating less calories and you're burning, right? So, cause you're trying to lose body fat when protein is high. And when I say high, I don't mean what the RDA considers high.

19:45Adam Schafer:What I mean is what, uh, what fitness coaches and what the data shows as being high, the upper limit of where you're going to get benefit, which is closer to a gram of protein per pound of target body weight. So it's way more than what you would read the RDA saying as being high. Okay. Now I'm overshooting it a little bit, but in coaching circles, it's just even more beneficial, but the data will show it's closer to that. It's like 0.8 grams per pound of target body weight or something like that. So one gram per pound of target body weight, what the data shows when you look at those areas is even without strength training, it has a muscle preserving effect.

20:21Adam Schafer:When you add strength training, it's even more powerful. So inadequate protein intake as defined by not hitting these super high targets that we're talking about is a, you're essentially shooting yourself in the foot and you're going to make muscle loss, uh, much more, uh, prevalent with your weight loss journey. The second thing is poor strength training or resistance training programming. So I think a lot of people know by now if they want to keep muscle, especially if they want to build muscle, they need to do strength training. But I don't think a lot of people know

20:49Sal Di Stefano:what that looks like no especially in a low calorie calorie that's right because appropriate strength training is important here too not just oh like oh i do the right movements the right movements with over applied intensity and volume um it can be just as detrimental you're not gonna and i think that's the part that's really screwing a lot of people is they're like i'm still pushing in the gym doing my thing it's just like yeah but you're doing way too much for how little you're feeding yourself you're really exacerbating the problem that's right so the first problem i see

21:18Adam Schafer:with poor resistance training programming is that people think if you use a dumbbell or a barbell or machines, it automatically qualifies as strength training. That's not strength training, not necessarily. It's the rest periods that make it strength training. So if I use dumbbells, barbells, and machines in a way that looks like cardio, if I'm doing circuits, if I'm doing exercise after exercise after exercise with no rest to try to sweat, to try to get out of breath, then I'm essentially, I might as well be running on a treadmill. I'm not doing strength training. Strength training that builds muscle or that preserves muscle is known as traditional resistance training or strength training.

21:54Adam Schafer:I do a set, maybe eight to 10 reps, relatively high intensity. Then I rest for two to four minutes. And then I do another set. And then to what Adam's saying, what's really important to consider your ability to recover and adapt. And that consideration is even more important when your calories are low. So if I have a tendency to overdo it at 3 ,000 calories, my tendency to overdo it multiplies when I go down to 1 ,500 calories because I have just less nutrients, less food, less calories. Less recovery agents. To recover. Yeah. So strength training needs to be appropriate. And what it typically looks like with somebody who's in a subcalorie diet is less than what it looks like when somebody is in a maintenance caloric diet or a diet where they're trying to build.

22:42Sal Di Stefano:You brought up the bodybuilders and the copious amount of drugs they're taking and their genetics and their training. This was common with them. uh i remember watching uh and and you would see them lose muscle is they would ramp up intensity as they get into these severe calorie deficits for six to eight weeks going into show time sometimes 12 to 16 weeks yeah and so and what what ends up happening and the average person doesn't know any better because they see somebody who just gets shredded and they get up on stage

23:14Adam Schafer:and they have abs oh my god they look amazing but they lost 10 pounds of muscle but yeah but i'm i'm

23:18Sal Di Stefano:behind the scenes with a lot of these because they're my peers and we're all checking body fat and doing DEXA scans and we're monitoring how much lean body mass we have going into this and out and they're showing up every time to the stage with the same amount of lean body mass or less than they did on the previous show they just they go through this off season of bulking up 30 40 pounds and trying to build to go this crazy cut to show up this exactly the same as what they were at the last one and why that is is because they go on these severe cuts and they also ramp up intensity and training and you're talking about people that others would look at and go like oh they know what they're doing they got good form technique they're training their strength training they're doing all the right things but that's and they're on all those drugs and yet that still happens to them so again using your point it's an extreme analogy but it just exactly that's the point of bringing this point of bringing this up is not uh to to lose the audience and go like well I'm not a pro bodybuilder.

24:12Sal Di Stefano:I'm not taking drugs. So why am I? No, it's an extreme analogy of even these people with great genetics, taking all the drugs, know how to resist the strain, lose muscle, still do this inappropriately by ramping up intensity while being in a calorie deficit, while doing a cardio and low calorie. It's like, is a recipe for losing muscle.

24:30Adam Schafer:That's right.

24:30Sal Di Stefano:And you bet your ass if you're just, you know, Jane or Joe on a GLP one, and you're not taking all those drugs and you're not a genetic freak and you're doing those things, you will, And you'll lose just as much as you lose fat, which puts you in a worse situation than when you were 40 pounds overweight.

24:48Adam Schafer:100%. So what strength training would typically look like in a sub-calorie diet for the average person is not every day hitting the gym, hammering myself. It's traditional strength training, probably two full-body workouts a week or one to two exercises every single day. This is probably what would be appropriate for this individual. And to carefully manage intensity. And how do you know if this is going the right way? You're getting stronger. This is the best measure of moving in the right direction. I'm actually getting stronger. At the very least, maintaining.

25:19Sal Di Stefano:If you get weaker, you're going the opposite direction. Because you almost certainly get weaker. Most people get weaker. You start cutting and reducing calories and losing lots of weight. Most people see a significant drop in strength. And so bare minimum, you should be maintaining. And if you're doing a really good job, you found a way to get stronger during this, which means you probably have a really good balance.

25:40Adam Schafer:Now, the last big issue is improper exercise focus, in particular, cardio focus. So all different versions or forms of exercise have specific types of value. In the case of weight loss, the number one consideration is preserving muscle. The only form of exercise you should focus on or the one that does that is strength training. All the other ones don't do this. In fact, all the other ones may actually contribute to some muscle loss, in particular cardiovascular focus. Now, the problem is, is cardio has been labeled incorrectly as the fat loss form of exercise. By the way, we have studies that compare strength training to cardio in a low-calorie diet, head-to-head.

26:22Adam Schafer:And guess which one wins at pure fat loss? Strength training. So strength training should properly be labeled not just as the form of exercise to build muscle, but also as the best form of exercise for pure fat loss. So your focus should be strength training. It should not be on other forms of exercise and definitely not on cardio. And if you're in a low-calorie diet and you're on a GLP in particular or you're just eating really low calories and you have limited recovery, limited ability to handle stress, don't throw a bunch of forms of exercise at yourself. focus on strength training it's kind of don't worry about the rest cardio outside volume cardio

26:59Sal Di Stefano:outside of the health benefits that it provides and utilizing it for body composition the main value of it is to create a deficit and if you're already using a glp1 to create a massive deficit it's you don't want to do that you don't want to create an even bigger deficit because the bigger the deficit does not mean the faster or the more fat you lose the more weight you lose yes and it's muscle. That's right. And there's an amount of fat that your body is going to allow you to utilize and to lose at a certain rate. And genetically, it's different from every person, but creating a bigger deficit and ramping up cardio and expenditure is not going to accelerate the fat loss.

27:36Sal Di Stefano:What it'll end up doing is accelerating the muscle loss. And so, yes, cardio is a great tool for health and heart health, but in the game of body composition, the only thing that it serves is creating a deficit. And when you're on a GLP-1, you're already creating that deficit through food.

27:50Adam Schafer:And it's not sending a signal to maintain. Absolutely. It's opposite.

27:53Sal Di Stefano:That's right. It's catabolic.

27:54Adam Schafer:That's right. I predict over the last, the next, excuse me, decade or two, so the next 10 to 20 years, that the conversation is going to shift from the obesity epidemic to the muscle loss epidemic. And you're going to see this in the future. So I'm just encouraging people right now, do this the right way, because otherwise you're going to rob Peter to pay Paul.

28:13Sal Di Stefano:I do want to make it clear, though, and I'll do my best every time we go on these rants with this is this isn't um this isn't us like railing on glp ones yeah we're not shaming or changing because they're with the coach they're amazing i mean it's it's unbelievable if you do

28:30Adam Schafer:if you do it right with a good coach who understands this and coaches you through this game changer yeah if you do this without a coach you're going to run to the problems

28:38Sal Di Stefano:somebody who understands everything that we communicated that has struggled with obesity most of their life and utilizes a GLP one with a coach that helps them through this process, this can be -

28:51Adam Schafer:What's our link for our coaches, Doug? We have coaches here that have been specifically trained to work with people on GLPs. And it's very limited, which is why we don't ever point people in this direction. But what's the link that people - If you go to mindpumppersonaltraining.com, you can request - You can request to talk to a coach or whatever. All right. I got to tell you guys about something very interesting about testosterone in both men and women. But this is especially true for women that I guess I kind of knew was true, but I didn't really think about it until I had a conversation with our friend, Dr.

29:28Adam Schafer:Fitz. Dr. Fitzgerald. Oh, yeah. So typically when a woman's testosterone goes up, either through hormone therapy or just naturally, you'll typically see an increase in libido, right? That's testosterone helps with libido. It also helps with muscle and all that stuff. And I knew this. I just didn't really think about it. It's a U-shaped curve. If testosterone in women gets too high, it kills their libido. by the way this will happen with men too because it throws everything off and you just feel like crap and so i looked at and so we were talking about this and i looked up the data on women who naturally have high testosterone like women with pcos where they just produce more testosterone than they should they typically suffer from lower libido so it's not like this straight shot so when i was talking to her she's like interesting she's like there's a sweet spot for testosterone for women for all of the benefits if we overshoot it yeah they'll feel worse they won't have higher libido it oftentimes will go down and they'll feel like garbage oh i imagine that same that same

30:28Sal Di Stefano:thing applies for men too it does yeah i mean so this is just and you'll hear bodybuilders they'll

30:33Adam Schafer:be on high doses of gear oh yeah yeah and they'll lose i mean this is this is anecdotal but and i

30:37Sal Di Stefano:and i wonder if this is the mechanism in which this this is happening so uh many times in the last uh you know shit it's been at least seven seven eight years right right before max um i I utilize HCG. Oh, right. On and off. Like, it was like when we were trying to get pregnant, I was very consistent with it.

30:59Adam Schafer:Sperm production.

30:59Sal Di Stefano:And so the point of me sharing this is that over the last seven, eight years, there's been many times where I've been consistent for months, then off for months, consistent for months. And so I've, and there is a direct correlation to my sex drive and libido to when I'm taking HCG. It definitely kicks up something naturally that I wasn't, that has probably been suppressed a little bit.

31:21Adam Schafer:Even though you're on testosterone also. Yes. You already have, yeah. Exactly.

31:24Sal Di Stefano:So it's like, and I feel great on testosterone. Like, I think, I would consider it normal libido. I feel fine. Like, we have our sex, all the things like that. The frequency seems, all of a sudden I'll start taking HCG and I haven't been on one and I can feel a significant ramp up in libido. And it's very clear because I've done it enough times that it's just like clockwork. The next day after I take a shot of the HCG, I feel it right away. It's not the uptick, too, of estrogen because that will ramp up with higher testosterone levels.

31:56Adam Schafer:And man, that could be part of the reason. Part of it. Yeah, part of the reason is estrogen, but there's also -

32:00Sal Di Stefano:Well, what is it with the HCG? Because it's producing more -

32:03Adam Schafer:There's a downstream effect. It's not just boosting testosterone. There are other hormones along with it that start to boost. So it's probably more of a hormone balancing thing.

32:10Sal Di Stefano:Yeah.

32:10Adam Schafer:And that's the thing with hormones. More isn't better. Well, it kicks up your sperm count, doesn't it? It does. So it's simulating. HCG acts like luteinizing hormone. and then that boosts testosterone. But I think there's other hormones that it can also increase things like the DNA.

32:25Sal Di Stefano:Well, it just seems logical that if my body all of a sudden naturally starts producing more sperm, that it seems that - Makes sense. Right? Makes sense.

32:33Adam Schafer:But there's some mechanisms that are happening. Right, right.

32:36Sal Di Stefano:Like, I don't know how to explain that more scientifically, but it just seems logical to me that if all of a sudden my body says, hey, let's start producing more sperm, that my body would also say like, hey, we should have more sex or try and reproduce, right? It just seems.

32:49Adam Schafer:It's interesting to me too. Cause I'll, I know people, right. I know being in the space for as long as I have, we all know guys, uh, that have been on lots of anabolics, high, high hormones, um, you know, anabolic steroids plus high dose of testosterone, either bodybuilders or gym rats or whatever. And one of the more common things you'll hear from them, you'll also hear super high libido, but then you'll also hear, I lose, I have no libido. Like it crushed my libido. Yeah. And you'll test their blood and be like, dude, you got the testosterone of like five horses. and yet you're, so it's like this U-shaped effect when it comes to, I think all hormones.

33:25Adam Schafer:So it's like more is not better. There is a sweet spot.

33:27Sal Di Stefano:I mean, it seems to me, Justin's point, because I agree, the rise of testosterone naturally brings up, so estrogen coming up, sperm count going down would make me think that that would directly affect libido. And then the other opposite is true. If you kept estrogen at bay, you increase sperm count, I would think libido would just drive up.

33:47Adam Schafer:I think so as well. But it is interesting. Like I said, like you look at it, like with women, I went deep into this over the weekend because I was like, oh my gosh, that's, because I'm like, oh, more testosterone is going to make, I think I assume that. Yeah. But I looked up this data. I'm like, oh my God, that's common among, because women who have PCOS oftentimes will produce tons of testosterone. They start to get like all these masculinizing effects. Yeah. And one of their complaints is low libido, even though the testosterone is like triple what it should be. That's wild. I know. Interesting, right?

34:15Adam Schafer:Yeah. That is interesting. Anyway, I just started kind of preparing for the talk I'll be doing at the World Peptide Congress. Yeah, it's coming up. Do you know the direction you're going to go? Yeah, just a couple weeks out. Yeah, we're right around the corner from that. I was talking to my friend about it. It's going to be huge. I invited my friend to come. So for people who aren't familiar, the World Peptide Congress, this is like the best gathering of researchers and health practitioners. and a lot of the talks and conversations and education is going to be centered around health. But then, you know, if we go down a little more grand, peptide science.

34:50Adam Schafer:So like you want to learn like what's cutting edge with peptides, how to use them, how to administer them. If you're a practitioner, like this is the place to be. Dr. Seeds puts it together. He's like the world's premier authority on peptides.

35:04Sal Di Stefano:I would think this has got to be the largest in the world. It's the largest.

35:08Adam Schafer:And it's like, this is where you want to go. This is like the medical, you got the research and literature and data. This isn't like. This isn't like influencers. No, dude. No, no.

35:18Sal Di Stefano:I feel like fish out of water when we're there. I know. We are the bros. We're the bros. We're representing the bros. Yeah, yeah. 100%. They're like, you guys are the smartest bros. It's mostly all doctors and scientists that are there. That's pretty much the majority. You got to get your lab coat.

35:32Adam Schafer:Well, I was talking to my friend about this because I invited my friend to come because his wife is a, she's a doctor and she started a private practice and she's going to start using peptides and stuff. I'm like, Oh, you should totally come. And they can't make it. But he was asking me, so my, his, her husband, my friend is a pastor and he's just a great public speaker. If you're a pastor, I think pastors are the best public speakers. Yeah. They get the most practice. They just practice all the time. You're talking to a large, you know, group of people, you know, every week, multiple times, three times on Sunday, another time on Wednesday or whatever, like every week, you know?

36:04Adam Schafer:Yeah, yeah. It was just super practice. So I was talking to him and asking him his advice and stuff like that. And he's like, oh, you should be totally comfortable, right? You do this. And I'm like, so different. Yeah, it is different. Talking on a camera, I have no, you guys know, I'm comfortable. I was comfortable early on, no big deal. Put me in front of a group, a large group of people. I get nervous, dude.

36:21Sal Di Stefano:Is that the evolution of Sal's speeches? It's going to be like a reverend when he gets up there? No. And so let me tell you about. That's not my style. listen up here all you fat people fire the brimstone i'm here to save you

36:38Adam Schafer:from your transgressions no dude no but i i would love it yeah that would be hilarious but i do dude i get nervous it's so funny i'd like there's some passion in there i think about you don't you

36:48Sal Di Stefano:definitely don't come off like you are i feel like i can tell like you're you ever watch when some people do speeches or shows or stand up or and you get nervous for them because you can feel their nervous energy, you don't put any of that off.

37:01Adam Schafer:Oh, I appreciate that. I can hide it pretty well, I think. Yeah. But yeah, so I think what I'm going to talk about, I'm not going to stick to my wheelhouse. I'm not going to get up and speak to a bunch of doctors about peptides. Yeah, let me teach you about stuff that you know more than I do about. I'm going to talk about my expertise, which is how you can coach, because all these practitioners use peptides, but they use them in a longevity, typically longevity clinics. And they're very forward thinking. So these are typically practitioners. that are using peptides, but also helping, advising coach on lifestyle.

37:35Adam Schafer:So, cause they know that they know it's important. There's that there.

37:37Sal Di Stefano:And there's also those practitioners that I think they're aware of what's going on with the muscle loss and they want to learn. That's right. And they want, they, they, they, they are not experts in the fitness training side. And so what I think is going to be a really cool. That's why you become so popular at that thing and why he wants you to be one of the main speakers.

37:51Adam Schafer:Well, you know what it is, dude, because I was thinking about this. This will be the third time. and I've heard some of their talks. They've got brilliant speakers that go there. But a lot of them come from a data, medical literature standpoint. Working in clinics. And there's a coaching standpoint that I think is so important to communicate because there's what the literature says and then there's how this works in real life.

38:15Sal Di Stefano:Well, you'll hear them. I've heard them communicate it before and they'll say the same stuff like, yeah, so make sure you just hit your protein. How you coach through that. Yeah, exactly. It's just like what we know, the average person struggles with that. You throw that person on it and it's like, you know how difficult that is for that person? Or they'll say things like, and you need a strength train. And it's just like, well, the proper amount is important. So I think a lot of them understand from a scientific standpoint what they're supposed to do. I think the coaching angle. The application of it, yeah.

38:45Sal Di Stefano:Yeah. It's where they need help. And people is what you bring to that.

38:48Adam Schafer:So that's what I'm going to focus on talking about while I'm up there. Oh, that's good. Yeah, it'll be cool. and I'm speaking, if anyone listening is going to attend, I'm at 1030 on Saturday. Saturday, okay. There's a day that I'll be.

38:58Sal Di Stefano:What's the name of the place where it's actually at?

39:01Adam Schafer:It's at the Biltmore?

39:02Sal Di Stefano:It's in Arizona. I know that he outgrew the Vegas halls, which was huge already. We were in the Bellagio, the Venetian last year. I don't remember which one we were at.

39:14Adam Schafer:This is in Arizona. Am I saying it right? Is it the Biltmore? I believe it's the Biltmore. Yeah, I'm just looking that up right now. Thanks, Doug. Anyway, it'll be a good time. I'll enjoy. I enjoyed afterwards, but when I, like the day leading up to it, I mean, I get so,

39:28Sal Di Stefano:I get so nervous. After, do you have an adrenaline rush? Do you get like a high from it?

39:34Adam Schafer:I feel, if you guys like, so now I'm going to put a little too much out there because now I'm putting pressure on you guys. When you guys tell me I did a good job, I feel very good because I actually want to, I want to do a good job for you guys more than I do for the rest of the week. I'm so going to fuck with you afterwards. So we have to be honest. I know, I should say that.

39:49Sal Di Stefano:Bro, that was bad, dude. That was really bad. What about if we heckle you in the audience?

39:53Adam Schafer:I thought that helped that one time. It does. If you guys listen to me up. You know what's going to be cool about this time is Jessica's coming. So she'll be able to watch. So she hasn't seen me do a talk. Does that make you more or less nervous? Oh, not more nervous. I feel more confident. Yeah. Because I want my wife to see me do my thing, you know? She saw me once speak publicly. And it was when I did the thing here in front of all the trainers. Oh, yeah. And she's going to be so mad I said this. after I was done, she walked up to me, whispered in my ear, and she's like, you just turned me on so much.

40:26Adam Schafer:Oh, now we know why he's bringing her down. It's like my tool belt. Your wife can see you do. I would agree with that.

40:33Sal Di Stefano:I think of moments where I've had Katrina and it makes me... Oh, let me guess. When you're negotiating, it was a big deal.

40:41Adam Schafer:Bro, I feel like that about you. Somebody give me a massage. Yeah, I look at you and I'm like, I kind of turned on this guy. He's stupid.

40:49Sal Di Stefano:damn bro i can't even believe he negotiated that yeah i know i think you would think that you would be maybe more nervous but i i think you're right i think there's something about having your partner there that makes you feel you know more confident 100 yeah 100 yes and it is the built

41:04Adam Schafer:more it is okay that'll be that'll be fun it's gonna be a good time yeah yeah um you know we were talking about protein earlier um and i just because people will often say well how do i hit that protein powder is typically what people will use but uh the paleo valley meat sticks are really really easy and delicious way to help hit protein. I feel like we haven't talked about it. It's like the best snack that I always go for. Are they eight grams of protein? Yeah, they're eight each. Eight each? Yeah. So I'll typically eat three a day. Yeah, I'd say two or three, I'll have one more. So that's like 27, 30 grams of protein.

41:37Especially if my lunch is delayed, it's like, oh my God, it saves me so much.

41:40Sal Di Stefano:They're better than, I'm going to say - By far. Any beef jerky. By far. Yeah.

41:45Adam Schafer:It's because it's fermented. so it's it's kind of broken down already and it's it's like not dry it's tastes it's delicious

41:53Sal Di Stefano:even when i'm in a pinch and i have to pull it because i think beef jerky for as long as all of us have been trainers has been a gas station snack right and uh forever that's been like if i'm on a long drive and i don't have anything i'll pull in a gas station real quick and grab some beef jerky or a protein bar or something and man that i it's palo valley's beef jerky has ruined the other

42:14Adam Schafer:beef jerky for me by far yeah it's not even close yeah this is why we signed with them it was their meat sticks yeah we tasted them yeah but it's an easy way to boost your protein so if you eat your meal and you want to add another eight grams or 16 grams eat a couple meat sticks and they have long shelf life because they're in a package so you can store them and they're good for kids too

42:33Sal Di Stefano:i love giving stuff like that to my kids yeah i i'm so excited to see uh as my son grows up because it's such a different house with food, with food in particular. You know, it's funny. I don't know if I've shared this with you guys. And I just, he got the norovirus, right? So boy, that like ran through our house.

42:52Adam Schafer:I'm so, so by the way, you got nothing.

42:54Sal Di Stefano:I know.

42:56Adam Schafer:So contagious. You came out with nothing. I was low key.

42:59Sal Di Stefano:Like he's going to get it. He's going to get nothing. You, I said like, Katrina and I were getting into it while we were up in Reno because I'm like, we're, this is going to run through all of us. and I'm not going to be able to drive us home. Like we have to go now. It was like a fight because she's like, I'm not driving with my son like this. There's no way we're taking him in the car. He can't hold me down. I'm like, as soon as he shows that he can hold something down for four hours and not throw up or go to the bathroom, I'm like, we're going. We have to. Because my sister, first he got it really bad.

43:30Sal Di Stefano:Then I watched my sister start to come down and I'm like, we're in this little house. I mean, it's only a matter of time before I get it. The only person I thought actually might survive was Katrina. but she got it that was that's the worst i've seen her since mexico um but i tell you i swear up and down by the the sauna training i i have again you talk about things that i've been really consistent and inconsistent you're like daily oh every day yeah every day i do and i explain this to katrina and maybe you can explain the science better because uh she was she was getting in with me and she doesn't like it as hot as i like it she got in she didn't tell me she turned it down And I'm sitting there, and I was like, man, why is this not – did you turn the sun off?

44:11Sal Di Stefano:She goes, yeah, you keep it way too hot. I said, honey, you have to work your way up. You can't just keep it the same thing. She goes, why? I don't get the benefits for it? I'm like, think of it like this. It's like you're using five-pound dumbbells all the time. You get some benefits from that. Like if you didn't strength train at all and you use five-pound dumbbells, like you'll build a little bit of muscle, and then you're going to stay the same. But if you want to get that immune system, you get stronger and better, you got to push it up and adapt and just go slowly like that. So I was trying to explain that to her that that's like, if you just do a little bit and you do it like real easy and your body and you're comfortable.

44:41Adam Schafer:And you do get better at tolerating. You do.

44:43Sal Di Stefano:Oh, I've like when, so when I first started it, like one 80 was like, Whoa,

44:48Adam Schafer:which is hot.

44:49Sal Di Stefano:Yeah. It was hot.

44:50Adam Schafer:Cause the gym I go to it, they'll, it'll be between one 60 to 200. I don't know how the hell they determine that. There's a big difference. Oh, huge. Like one 60. I chill, man. 200. I'm like, Whoa.

45:01Sal Di Stefano:So I, I'm at, I started at one 80. So I'm pushing two 30 now.

45:05Adam Schafer:230 oh yeah 230 is hard the highest it goes yeah 230 is where it peaks i don't think i've ever been

45:10Sal Di Stefano:but i worked at that it was 180 to 190 and then two and then i got to a point where like i can sit in there at 200 like no problem and now 230 cooks me 230 i'm like at the 20 minute mark i'm like i get out i'm like that was tough but i i can i can do that and i've explained to her that just like lifting weights like the body will adapt and then you'll and i said you don't you don't need to go from zero to 230 right out the gates i'm like but try and make it challenging she wants it to be like so relaxing she's like i could hang out here for an hour it's like no you're like it's just like the strength training thing and i explained that to her but anyways i've i've been very systematic and consistent literally every night i don't miss that's my routine and i've worked up to where i'm 20 minutes over over 220 i'm not super familiar

45:53Adam Schafer:with sauna use and immune system maybe doug google there has to be oh i already i went down the rabbit

45:58Sal Di Stefano:hole because I'm so, it's 100 % immune boosting.

46:03Adam Schafer:So it makes sense because when you get a fever, your body temperature goes up and part of that is your immune system kicking up. So I'm wondering if it simulates, it's a mild hermetic stressor triggering an artificial fever state. It stimulates the immune system. So the intensity mobilizes frontline defenses, temporarily increasing circulating white blood cells and promoting the production of protective heat shock proteins. Okay. So you're doing like an artificial

46:28Sal Di Stefano:fever every night yeah well and i and i think that this is what and i've when i've been when i like you we've all talked about this before how weak my immune system is i have a very weak immune system and if someone gets i hear one of you coffee i'm like i'm next you know it's just it's i'm done and the only times that i haven't been done is when i'm really consistent with this when i'm really really good that's awesome about doing it and i i'm like that every katrina has had a couple of our her friends that caught the norvice iris and she's like it wrecked everybody's whole family yeah everybody that they know that have had it and they're like adam didn't get sick and i'm like no and i was and i swear it was that they're reporting it as like flying through

47:09Adam Schafer:northern california doug did you did you know that look up stomach bug northern california click on um news articles they're like writing articles about it because i guess it's like flying through our area i haven't seen i do not want it it's the worst it doesn't it's it takes

47:24Sal Di Stefano:a lot for me to i don't and i obviously i don't let katrina see this or feel this for me but i was scared for max like that there there came a point where like you like he's like non-responsive and like oh you know i'm saying and seeing him that out of it and sick and like and then knowing that like i should take him to the hospital and i'm like oh my god i'm gonna take the hospital they're gonna put an iv in them and i'm not that's gonna be traumatic like oh being on the Look how they test it.

47:49Adam Schafer:They test the wastewater data. So they test it for the stomach viruses, and it says that there's a high amount in San Jose, Fremont, San Francisco, Redwood City, and Palo Alto right now. Oh, our whole area. Yeah. Oh, awesome. So it's like a whole wave of, whoa, dude. Wow. I don't want that. No. That's the worst. I think the only thing that I would say is on par with that is when you have a really bad flu that lasts a week and a half. They're pretty close.

48:15Sal Di Stefano:I mean, it took us, we all left for a little break there, Wednesday to Tuesday, six days of my whole house being just tore up, dude.

48:26Adam Schafer:The worst time I ever got anything stomach-wise. Do you guys remember when I went to Thailand? Yeah. When I first started doing Jessica? Food poisoning, yeah? Yeah. Dude, that was. Food poisoning is nasty. That was not.

48:35Sal Di Stefano:That's what, the normal advice, watching them go through it, it reminds me of food poisoning. But food poisoning, at least, is normally out 24 or 48 hours. 24, 48 hours, you know, it's a hard 24, 48 hours. But then once you kind of get it all the way, you can start to hold water down and food, like you're kind of out of it. Dude, that trip - They were bad for a week.

48:54Adam Schafer:That trip was so funny because it was when I first started dating Jessica. So I'm like, you know, you first start dating a girl and you really like her. You're like, yeah, I'll do whatever you want. She's like, we're going to go to Thailand. She's testing you. And I'm like, you know, you guys know me and that kind of stuff. I'm like, all right, cool. You know, I'll do that. Yeah, the guy doesn't leave his block. That was like that one window of adventurous Sal. I remember that dude I was like whoa you're doing that dude and we get there and we land in Bangkok first and I'm like in my mind I'm like you know what I'm gonna be more adventurous like this is a new Sal right so I eat street food in Bangkok which is not a good idea bro but guess what didn't get anything so my confidence exploded like maybe I'm just scared of nothing like I'm totally fine then we go to resort and you have tummy issues already we go to resort in Kopee P and so we take a boat there the whole deal It's an actual resort.

49:42Adam Schafer:And they made me a mixed drink with a sliced banana in there in the skin. That's where I think I got it. It was in the drink. Oh. And I drank the drink. Yeah. That night went to bed, dude, and it started hitting me. And I got so bad. I had a fever that was like 104 or 5. And I started hallucinating. You ever hallucinate as an adult? Yeah. Not a good deal.

50:01Sal Di Stefano:There's definitely levels of food poisoning. Because I've had it three times. And I've had a very mild, a pretty bad. And then I called my mom. as an adult as a grown-ass dad like i don't feel like you're gonna come here like scared bro like scared as an adult like this was so i remember it was so bad that you you cannot you can't even hold water down it's coming out both ends and then you do that for so long that you can't even lay on a bed because your body aches yes so i was seeing things i did i was

50:33Adam Schafer:terrible and then poor jessica we're in thailand and i'm like i need a doctor and i can't go anywhere i literally can't move so she poor girl finds some random dude to take her on a motorcycle to a place which thank god that worked out to find these doctors that would come to your room i mean they came to my room they hooked me up with ivs to be in another country and go through

50:52Sal Di Stefano:that is crazy oh i mean that like i didn't i was mad that like i told petrina like i want to get to our city i didn't even like being out of our little city knowing where family and our doctors are so to be in another country is like she just hopped on the back of some motorbike dude

51:06Adam Schafer:to get some duck. And then they showed up in my room and they were kind of dressed in like normal clothes and I'm like, I really hope the real... They're like, which procedure are we doing here? Yeah, dude. I'm like, oh. And then they hooked me up. I'm glad you're still the same gender. And then I got this like crazy... You're like random shaman or something like that. I know. They're going to burn some... But no, it obviously worked. And then the rest of the trip I was on these antibiotics that made me sensitive to the sun. So we're in Thailand and I couldn't even go in the sun because I'd get like a rash.

51:32Adam Schafer:Oh man. It was a bonding. That's early. What day? Was it early in the trip? Oh, yeah. It was like the second day or something.

51:38Sal Di Stefano:Oh, it sucks.

51:39Adam Schafer:Yeah, because we were in Bangkok one night, then the second day, and then it was that night. And then I was like totally messed up. Yeah. And then the rest of the trip, I was just, I couldn't be in the sun that long. And it was just, it was terrible. Oh, my gosh. But it was a nice test for early relationship. Oh, yeah. How you can handle all this. Yeah, yeah. Your stripes.

51:56Sal Di Stefano:You know, you were bringing up snacks that people love. I think one of the other hottest ones that we haven't brought up on the podcast is the Rice Krispie Legion bars. I don't eat those because they're dairy, but you guys love them. Those are always gone, dude. Gone. It's you and the staff. Well, I've trained the team. When they come in, I have a... What are the macros on them? I remember asking for that, and they were gone. I want to say they're... There's 15, I think, grams of protein. Yeah, 15. They're only like 15 grams, but small calories, like 190 calories. Really? Yeah, 190 calories and protein is, where am I?

52:30Sal Di Stefano:Oh, 15, yeah. Wow. Yeah, but they taste like a Rice Krispie. Like an actual Rice Krispie. Yes, dude, they're good. Because I see you eating them all the time. I eat them all the time. It's like my little morning snack that I have. And they go so fast. Wow. Yeah, to the point where I hide a box. I just saw you pull out. Yeah, yeah.

52:48Adam Schafer:You know what's crazy is that, because we're kind of in our bubble, and um i don't i feel like everybody speaking of supplements i feel like everybody by now knows the benefits of creatine and i was at um i was at a thing last night and i'm in this group um and there's a woman next to me and we're talking and she's asking me about like supplements and should i take protein powder she's a vegan and so i mentioned creatine she's like how do you spell that i'm like do you don't know what creatine is she's like no so i'm like telling her all about it and she had no idea. And I'm like, I'm listing the benefits for women.

53:20Adam Schafer:I'm like. And vegan? She's going to have all kinds of benefits. That's what I told her. I said, the data shows, well, first of all, creatine benefits everybody, but especially if you're a vegan, you'll get a boost in IQ. You'll actually get a boost in IQ from supplementing. She's like, where do I get it from? I'm like, animal, you know, meat, but you don't eat that, but you could take it in supplement form and it's vegan. So I was talking about, it's like it reduces anxiety, increases motivation. It's going to help you with your strength. that's going to help you with your cognitive function. So I cannot wait to hear from her.

53:49Adam Schafer:Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. So you don't even know what it was. Yeah. That's wild. That is weird. Yeah. So I pointed her to Legion as well because they also have a really, really good source. Dude, I actually have some snack information. What? Two, since you guys keep bringing it up. So this is revolving around an animal. It's a shriek bird. You ever heard of a shriek bird? No. Okay. Use your animal knowledge. I saw your notes and I thought it said Shrek bird. Yeah. Like the cartoon. Oh, no, it's not a Shrek. It's Shriek. But it has this, like, unique bill. So it's, like, a hooked bill. And it can't, like, it can't kill prey easy.

54:26So it had to come up with, like, this, like, solution, which is pretty brilliant. It actually lives, like, in these thorny kind of bushes, like a, I don't know if it's, like, it's, like, this crazy long thorns, some trees.

54:41Sal Di Stefano:That's a picture of it right there. Doug has it right there. Yeah, so what it does is it takes the prey and then impales them. Oh, that's what that is right there. He's stuck another bird through the thing. Yeah, through the thorn. It's a bird. So it'll do that with all kinds of stuff, like rodents, with insects, like big insects. It just skewers them. So you'll see some of these bushes with just carcasses all over the place. And they just snack on them and then just take pieces of them off. Of course you like this. Brilliant bird. It's okay.

55:13Adam Schafer:This bird's metal. Yeah. For sure.

55:15Sal Di Stefano:What are you reading or watching for this to pop up? This is our rhythm, dude. He likes this stuff. Yeah, no. Is that what it pop up on your social? I actually got to give Chris. Somebody DM me this one, and I was like, oh, wow, this is cool. Yeah. They know me, I think, pretty well at this point. I mean, I like this stuff, too. I mean, I love that nature's metal. Yes. Oh, God. Yeah. I love that page. Have you guys ever seen that? I haven't seen any of that.

55:37Adam Schafer:There's a fish that has its eyeballs inside of its head, but its skin is translucent. have you seen this? weird super weird and then there's a fish with human teeth that one's my favorite look at that his eyes are inside his head but it's the barrel eye fish but why? it's all like transparent it protects its sensitive eyes what is it about?

56:02Sal Di Stefano:we all have this in common this is one of the few things that we all share in common we could all watch the Discovery Channel and just like zone out on I geek out on nature, yeah. Yeah, I could watch that for hours. Katrina makes fun of me all the time about that. Like, I cannot. How can you just watch that? I'm like, how could you not?

56:19Adam Schafer:What do you mean?

56:21Sal Di Stefano:How could you not? It's so interesting. It's interesting. They have, like, the right music playing behind it. And the narrator. David Attenborough. Oh, man. I'm melting into the couch through my bed watching it. It's like hypnosis, dude. It is. I'll sit there and I'll watch, like, yeah, it's like beautiful nature. And then it's like, you know, then you'll see some predator coming out of nowhere. I mean, I feel like it's the closest thing to you actually, because nothing trumps you being out in that, right? Like sitting on the sand and the waves crashing in the beach in front of you or being in a rainforest or something like that.

56:51Sal Di Stefano:There's nothing like that experience in person. That's the next closest thing.

56:55Adam Schafer:Would you guys ever want to do like a safari? Oh, I totally would. I'd do that. Oh, yeah. That would be so crazy to like watch a lion. Would love that. You know? Yeah, I would love that. Take down a gazelle or something like that? Yeah. You ever seen the videos of safaris where the lion or the tiger looks like it's coming after the vehicle and they try and take off? There's one video of this, like, safari. And I think, I don't know where it's at, but it's a tiger. So it's got to be India or somewhere else like that. They're driving away and the tiger runs and jumps. It jumps them in? Almost. Like, almost.

57:26Adam Schafer:Like, hanging off the back? Like, they can leap so far. And it's jumping. It's like a frozen picture of its, like, claws coming out. I'm like, oh, my God, dude. You've seen that at the San Francisco Zoo, that huge gap between where people are watching from the fence. It's being able to cross jump over that and actually make it. It killed somebody. Dude. What? Yes. Look at that. See? It just jumps up and just. That's happened before. Yeah. I forget. It was like somebody was taunting. There was this one video. The tiger and it jumped up and freaking got him. There was this one video. There's all kinds of videos of tigers jumping on cars, dude.

58:04Sal Di Stefano:Tigers are monsters for sure.

58:06Adam Schafer:In certain areas, they become man hunters where they actually get the taste of human blood.

58:11Sal Di Stefano:Well, isn't that movie based off of a true story?

58:13Adam Schafer:Oh, I know what you're talking about. It's called... Like this famous tiger that was like killing so many people. Ghost in the darkness.

58:19Sal Di Stefano:That was about lions. Oh, that was a lion. It was a lion. Okay. But that was based on a true story, wasn't it? Yes, I believe so, yeah. Yeah. Dude. And it was for what you just said. Like he got the smell or the taste of it and then all of a sudden it...

58:30Adam Schafer:There's one predator that will almost always hunt a human if it sees it, which is a polar bear.

58:34Sal Di Stefano:Oh, yeah.

58:35Adam Schafer:Really? Yeah. I know they're one of the most dangerous. I didn't know that they will actually go hunt a human. If you see a grizzly, it doesn't necessarily mean he's going to come hunt you and kill you. Yeah. When they say you see a polar bear, oh, he's - Oh, you're done. Yeah, he's already tracking you. He's going to track you. He's going to come after you. Really? Food's so scarce. It's a survival thing for them. There you go. Polar bears are one of the very few animals that will actively hunt humans for food. Wow. So if you see a polar bear, you got to be ready. Homeboy, he's coming. Yeah, he's coming.

59:06Adam Schafer:Terrifying. I did not know that. Yes. Wow. You want to know what's even more terrifying? Do you know how? So if a lion or a tiger attacks you, it'll bite your neck and kill you. If a polar bear attacks you, it just starts eating you.

59:18Sal Di Stefano:Yeah. Oh, yeah. It doesn't kill you. It just starts eating you. For like your stomach inside.

59:22Adam Schafer:It just starts eating your leg and it'll just start eating you, dude. What is it? Hyenas that eat you ass first? Is that true? I think so. That's the best thing. You eat all your insides and everything. Like, oh, God.

59:34Sal Di Stefano:You know, I think hyenas are one of the more unassuming animals until you see one in person. Like, when you see a hyena, they're big. It'll beat the crap out of any dog. When you see all the videos, when you see them on TV, they look so frail. They look skinny and little. But when you see them in person, they are. This is the Disney version.

59:52Adam Schafer:Yeah, they're big. You ever seen those African gang members? We have gang members here with pit bulls and stuff. They have spike collars on them. They have hyenas. Yeah. And they roam around with a hyena. That's the ultimate flex, dude. So, Justin, you're correct. They do start with the butt first. What? Yeah, so it says the skin around the anus and genitals is the thinnest and easiest area to tear through. That's nice. Oh, so nice. You know what sucks about that? If it comes after you and gets at you and then your friends save you, now you have no... Well, thanks, guys. Yeah, you should have let me die.

1:00:28Adam Schafer:Bro. A little earlier? Yeah. Cool. Now I'm screwed. This sucks. Yeah.

1:00:40Adam Schafer:Haya Health is the only multivitamin for kids that we here at Mind Pump recommend. So Haya Health is not a candy. Most multivitamins for kids are gummy candies, lots of sugar, not a lot of nutrients. Hyatt Health is totally different. It does taste good, but it doesn't have a bunch of sugar and crap. And it has the right amount of nutrients that children need. This is a science-backed multivitamin for kids. And again, it's the only one we recommend. We recommend no other multivitamins for children. In other words, this is the one we give our kids ourselves. So if you want your kids to fill those nutrient deficiencies, to get those needs with those micronutrients, and you don't want to give them candy, you want something that's going to improve their health and vitality, help them grow the way that they're supposed to, go to HayaHealth.com.

1:01:33Adam Schafer:That's H-I-Y-A Health.com forward slash Mind Pump. By the way, that'll get you 50 % off. Here comes the show. First question is from Karan Singh, 19. how do you add cardio after two to three years of just focusing on strength training you know

1:01:49Sal Di Stefano:this is a good question but i feel like we would want more context yeah uh to why yeah what are motivation exactly because there's uh there's definitely different ways i'm going to apply this like is is this person looking for um you know in cardiovascular endurance uh do they want to just be able to get up and run? Do they have a sport? Or is this just for heart health? And so there's a lot of different reasons or ways I would go about this, right?

1:02:21Adam Schafer:100%. I would say if you're looking for athletic performance and stamina and you're fit, you're already relatively fit, a couple sessions of HIIT cardio, 12 minutes would totally do that. Hit cardio is like where you go all out for 30 seconds and then you slow down to your heart rate comes down and then repeat it. That'll build. That stamina endurance is very short. If you just want just overall health, you're not looking to beat yourself up, 30 minutes on an elliptical is totally fine. Great steady state. Great steady state. If you're looking for like to get good at something like running, well, then you need to take some time to focus on your technique and skill.

1:02:59Adam Schafer:And you'll probably have to take away some strength training to make room for something like that. But I'll say this, I'll add this. A good routine, overall fitness routine, will involve some cardiovascular training. I know a lot of times we talk about, you know, be careful when you do too much or whatever, but if you're looking at like a perfect routine, you're going to have a cardiovascular component because it's good for help.

1:03:20Sal Di Stefano:So a generic answer based on what you said, because it aligns with how I would approach this, is I love a post-workout 12-minute hit like on cardio, Just right after you work out, 12 minutes, I do the intense, followed by walking or hill incline or elliptical for 30 minutes. And so you kind of get the best of both worlds. You get a little bit of that. And that's three times a week. Three times a week, 12 minutes of the intervals, followed by a walking or hill or something like low steady state for 30 minutes. Perfect. Yeah, I think, well, yeah, I totally agree with you guys for that from a programming perspective.

1:04:00but I think cardio is stupid to do in the gym. I really think it's ridiculous. You're an athlete, that's why. Yeah, but go do something fun. This is your opportunity to go swim or hike or throw the Foresby. Great points. No, you're right. Play basketball.

1:04:19Sal Di Stefano:In a perfect world, it actually wouldn't be programmed in the gym. Yeah. I say that because— Why be monotonous about it? Yeah, no, I say that because this is, I think, of the person who gets to the gym just three times a week and that's all their exercise they do. Yeah, they're maximizing. So it's like you're already there, so that's how I put it on. But if I had a client who was totally open to they love to swim or they like to pick up the ball and shoot or they love hikes, like, oh, man, I would totally encourage.

1:04:46Adam Schafer:And there's more benefits than just fitness there. That's right. You're actually enjoying yourself outside. You're probably doing it with other people. I had this the other day. So I agree with that, Justin. It's just such a formula. I don't know. That's just me. I get stuck in this whole, like, well, we got a program, and then we got to do this set. Well, no, you're right. This is how I go about it.

1:05:05Sal Di Stefano:I don't do formal cardio right now. I'm swimming in my pool like crazy. Or Kachin and I go for hikes in our backyard. We'll go on a 30-minute walk. So that's how I do it. And I think if you can do it, if you can build it into your lifestyle where you're doing physical activities outside the gym, that is the best idea.

1:05:23Adam Schafer:I just did this the other day. I took my kids to the park to try to fly a kite. The wind wasn't cooperating. So I was running to the place trying to get this kite to take off. And I'm getting winded. I'm running. I'm doing it. And I'm like, oh, this is great. Like, I'm having fun with the kids. They're laughing. I was getting frustrated because it wouldn't go up. But it's like, this is way better than getting on a electrical. There was another dad there, by the way, that was also, I didn't feel so bad because I'm like, dude, am I the only guy? Then there was a dad with a kite who couldn't make it happen either.

1:05:50Adam Schafer:So I'm like, all right. It's not just me. next question is from main fit chick if you under eat and therefore don't get enough protein and also lift heavy and get stronger in your lifts what is actually happening in your body are you building any muscle or is something else going on first off if you're getting stronger yeah that's okay so let's address that first very good sign if you're getting stronger then you're probably not losing muscle um and if you consistently get stronger it it typically correlates for the most part, almost always with more muscle. Now, if you're just lifting and you're not getting stronger, but you're pushing yourself and you're under eating, you'll still lose muscle.

1:06:30Adam Schafer:And if you do it long enough, you can even have a bone loss. You can even have osteopenia. I've seen this in fitness women who strength train consistently, good program. They just under eat all the time, get a DEXA scan, osteopenia. So you're not doing much if that's the case, but if you're getting stronger, that's a very, very good sign.

1:06:50Sal Di Stefano:Yeah, no, if you're getting stronger, that is a really good sign. But to your point, you absolutely could see signs like this and still see bone density go down because you are consistently under eating calories and protein. Totally. And what this points to, by the way, and we talk about this, the central nervous system adaptation. So there's a part of exercise and lifting weights that is skill. And we talk about how it's a skill.

1:07:17Adam Schafer:You get better at

1:07:18Sal Di Stefano:lifting and so even though you may not be building a bunch of muscle uh you're getting better at lifting technique wise central nervous system wise being able to recruit more like that can all happen in a calorie deficit and so that could be what's going on here is like you are getting better at lifting therefore you're seeing strength go up but you are consistently under eating protein you are not building any muscle and you are potentially even like losing bone density but

1:07:44Adam Schafer:if you're consistently getting stronger over time and you consistently, eventually muscle builds through that process. Next question is from the gut check. What do you believe the physical standards or requirement should be for your average man and woman in their late thirties to early forties? That's a good, that's a really good question.

1:08:02Sal Di Stefano:Yeah. I picked this because I figured it would be just a great discussion because I don't think we have a set clear what I think, what you should be able to do.

1:08:11Adam Schafer:I think, I think I'll say this. And I say this now because I see this in myself because I work out all the time and I eat, you know, pretty healthy all the time, but I've generally lost the skill of running because I never run. And I know this because then I go run and I feel like I don't know what I'm doing. And so I think on there is the ability to just run, the ability to take off and run, the ability to run without feeling pain. It's a skill that you'll lose over time. And I'm experiencing that right now. And so I think being able to run is important. I think being able to squat is important, be able to lift something overhead, being able to hip hinge is important.

1:08:54Adam Schafer:I think being able to press and row with good technique is important. Now, how strong should you be? That's a much more nuanced question, but I think the ability to do those things is probably a good place to start, I would say. Yeah.

1:09:08Sal Di Stefano:I'm going to address your run thing, because I think that's an area that we could all admit, especially you and I, would admit that we could be better at, that I would be below my own standards on what I would want, somebody who is trying to achieve this, right? And I've thought about this a lot. I think being in your 30s and 40s and being able to run a sub-eight mile good is a good standard. Sub-eight and with good form and technique. So it's not like I could probably go do it right now and look really like I'm dying and dead. and that wouldn't be good. Looks like the lizard that runs on water.

1:09:43Sal Di Stefano:To be able to run a sub-eight-minute mile, I think is a pretty... And I think why I say that, because I know it's like a generic number and that's only eight minutes of cardiovascular, but being able to run a mile in that amount of time, you could probably run two. It's a decent test. Yeah, and it's a decent test. It doesn't impede. Running one mile like that won't impede in your muscle strength, all the other things you're doing. And I think if you're capable of that and then to your point i can squat deadlift overhead press patterns like you know you're strong and all those like hip hinging and squatting and picking things up off the ground and getting up off the ground especially too like uh that was a skill that it's interesting that uh you start you know putting clients down on the ground you're like okay now get up and like you start figuring out how they can organize their body to make that happen and um and i think just definitely lifting things over your head is a skill people lose a lot as well.

1:10:39So you have to intentionally do that. Otherwise, you get into problems with that. And then running. And then even, I mean, I would throw jumping in there, but that's me because of my athletic background. I think just moving fast with acceleration and decelerating prevents a lot of problems and injury potentially. But also, too, it's just something that you're going to have to react quickly at some point outside you might slip on something or something might throw you off balance

1:11:09Adam Schafer:or your kid runs out to the street you gotta grab him you gotta react and you gotta still have that ability

1:11:13Sal Di Stefano:no I love that you brought up get up off the floor because that sounds so silly and ridiculous but you'd be surprised how many people lose with no hands right so literally get up off the ground without using your hands is a skill that a lot of people by the time they're in their 40s lose the ability to do that so I think you should do that I think a simple again I'll put numbers to what you guys are saying. Like, I think being able to do 10 jump boxes where you jump up and jump off the box without your knees exploding, I think is probably a really good ability to do that. I think the eight minute mile will cover your ability to take off and run and do something like that.

1:11:48Sal Di Stefano:If you can run a sub eight minute mile, you're probably pretty reactive. That's not like an all out hard sprint, but that's fast. You know, it's fast enough to be healthy to go take off after your kid or do something like that.

1:12:00Adam Schafer:You know, I'll add throwing onto this. because it is a basic human movement and you also lose that skill. I mean, when I was a kid, I could throw hard without an issue. If I throw hard now, I'm afraid I'm going to hurt. You're going to blow something out. Yeah, I'm going to hurt my shoulder. Yeah. And it is a skill that you can lose. I mean, I guess in life, you don't necessarily need it like we did a thousand years ago. But the ability to throw without hurting yourself has lots of carry over to shoulder health and wrist health and stuff like that. Next question is from Lulu Williams 15. Should I be doing warm-up sets for every exercise and or does it depend on the level of training or the load or intensity for each specific exercise?

1:12:41I've worked with trainers and used online workouts who haven't programmed them, so not sure what the deal is.

1:12:46Adam Schafer:A warm-up should – the goal of a warm-up, the bottom bar is to prevent injury. But if you go up a level higher, a warm-up should allow you to perform the exercise you're going to do smooth. good mobility connection strength like get into it yeah if i'm doing similar exercises uh back to back i don't need to keep warming up in other words if i'm going to work out my legs and my first exercise is squats i'm going to need to do some priming to get myself set up to be able to squat properly but after that i can go into lunges and i can go into bulgarians without having to do a warm-up each time but if i'm doing totally different exercises like if i'm doing squats And then the next exercise, let's say, is an overhead press.

1:13:28Adam Schafer:I may need to do some priming for that movement pattern, I would say. The level of priming and warm-up that you need to do depends on the individual. Really skilled lifters, people who have good technique and form, have been working out a while, oftentimes can warm up by doing a set or two of the exercise they're about to do. Yeah. Make micro-adjustments as they go. They know how to adjust. They know what to squeeze and how to tighten and get into position. But oftentimes with people who don't have a lot of experience, I have to do different priming exercises because, you know, they don't know how to pull their shoulders back on the bench press properly.

1:14:04Adam Schafer:So we got to do something that does that first. Or they don't know how to get the ankle mobility right on a squat with a warm-up, which is just a squat. So I have to do other exercises. So a lot of this depends. This is why we created MAPS Prime. So MAPS Prime, we have a program that you go in, you take a few tests, and then it points, based off of how you do the test, it points you in directions that individualize what your priming looks like. So once you have that, now you've got your individual warmup for your workouts. And it's the best online way of doing it short of actually working with a trainer in front of you who can see these things.

1:14:37Sal Di Stefano:Warming up is very individualized. This answer can vary for every single person. I'm glad you brought up prime because there are certain exercises that I do that I do no warmup. I don't need one. I don't need to go to go do a barbell row. I don't need a warmup. Go right into a barbell row. No problem. To get into a barbell back squat, I absolutely have to warm up prime. And I have to spend probably more extended time than maybe Justin has to, to get into a barbell back squat. If I do a seated row, a lat pull down, don't eat it. If I do a dumbbell chest press, I need to. So there's certain movements.

1:15:14Sal Di Stefano:and that prime is designed to show you we broke we try to simplify it for the average person to just break the body up in three zones and if you fail that zone any movements that you do within that zone you should will help by priming before you do that if you don't fail that zone and you actually pass it really good you could probably get away with doing movements in that zone and not have to prime and feel okay but this is very in fact i remember uh at one point as a trainer like you know using the uh like the saying that you know learn to stretch with purpose uh for the first half of my training career um we you know we did these you know foam roll and random you know stretches that everybody just did that were generic you know to warm them up before it was like general yeah that's the problem it's been that it's so general yeah forever and it's yeah hasn't been real individualized and specific to your joint needs yeah and that's not necessarily bad for you.

1:16:12Sal Di Stefano:It's better than nothing. Yeah. It's better than nothing, but it's all, it's close to a waste of time. So it would be far better to understand your movement patterns, what you need to work on and really focus, uh, on those things. In fact, when I know my ankles and hips are such issues that maybe even when I'm not squatting, I still might do ankle and hip stuff to continue to improve the mobility, stability, and strength in those, in those muscles and joints. And so it really is the individual and where they need to work.

1:16:44Adam Schafer:A hundred percent. Like if you're listening and you want to minimize injury, maximize connection to the exercises, you don't have a trainer in front of you that's going to be able to do this for you. Maps Prime is incredibly valuable. It's not a workout program. It sets you up for your workout program. And I believe it's the summer sale applies to Maps Prime. So it's 40 % off. So if you go to mapsfitnessproducts.com, use the code summer 40, you can get maps prime 40 % off and then literally just take the test and it'll point you in the right direction. Look, if you like the show, you can find us also on Instagram.

1:17:18Adam Schafer:It's mind pump media. We'll see you there. Thank you for listening to mind pump. If your goal is to build and shape your body, dramatically 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 MAPS Anabolic, MAPS Performance, and MAPS 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. With detailed workout blueprints and over 200 videos, the RGB Super Bundle is like having Sal, Adam, and Justin as your own personal trainers, but at a fraction of the price.

1:18:01The RGB Super Bundle has a full 30-day money-back guarantee, and you can get it now plus other valuable free resources at mindpumpmedia.com. If you enjoy this show, please share the love by leaving us a five-star rating and review on iTunes and by introducing Mind Pump to your friends and family. We thank you for your support, and until next time, this is Mind Pump.