180: Why Women Need To Lift Heavy, Build Muscle & Eat More Protein | Stef Bare

22:44Nick Bare:Yes. So to say you were in a reverse diet, you and your coach, Andrew, were increasing your calories. Week by week. Week by week to see how much food you could consume without gaining significant weight. Body fat. Body fat. Yep, exactly. So I think he started me at, and my numbers don't matter, I'll just say them for context, but I think he started me at 1 ,500, which felt like I was starving myself, to be quite frank. And that's crazy because a lot of women these days don't even touch that number because they're so afraid of weight gain. and then we would slowly increase. And I'm like, oh, surely I'm going to get to like 1800 and then he's going to tap me out.

23:21And then I'm just going to have to go back down. And I got up to like probably 2300 calories and I had the best workouts of my life. And I did not look, I did not feel fluffy. I wasn't gaining weight, but I was able to push myself to failure in these workouts because I had the fuel to do so. So while yes, the training part was huge, but it's like, it's the food is what I feel like fueled me to be able to actually explore this and do it correctly.

23:50Nick Bare:Yeah. I remember evenings where we'd be getting ready to go for bed. And that's typically when we have like our last meal of the night. Yeah. And you would have all these carbs left over. Yeah. You learn a lot about how you eat when you start counting again. And fats. And you were having to get creative to consume all these calories before bed. so then you had to learn okay i need to kind of like disperse these calories earlier in the day yes so that i'm not having to like stuff myself at night yep so i think you get to a point maybe you still are where your breakfast was like 70 grams of protein yeah it's my favorite way to eat now so what's your what's your typical breakfast right now yeah so like my what i learned so like for me i'm 130 pounds i try to get at least that in protein a day like at one point I think he had me at like 150 and that seems like a lot but I got so good at it so now what my favorite thing to do is front like you said a front load my protein because for me personally I love breakfast and by the time dinner comes around and our kids are screaming and throwing food at us I'm like I don't even know what I'm eating that's not an exaggeration it's not an exaggeration Nico is in this phase right now where he is throwing his food Yeah, last night it was.

25:06At us. Meatballs. Last night it was meatballs.

25:09Nick Bare:But the night before, what did we have the night before? The rice. Salmon and rice. Square, square. He was throwing salmon and rice all across the kitchen. Yep. He's got an arm. Like it goes over the table. I was sitting there eating my dinner shirtless because we just got done swimming and I'm feeling salmon hit the back of my head as I'm trying to get this meal down. He's throwing food. It's not an exaggeration. And the kids are eating off my plate. Dinner is a mess. So I really like to start dialed. So yeah, breakfast is where I try to literally get almost like half of my protein in and I'm so hungry.

25:45So it works. So my go-to lately has been like, so I'll kind of show you like what my breakfast used to be to give it. Like I would have protein oats. I'd have, you know, half a cup of oats. I'd throw in a scoop of protein powder and some berries, maybe some nut butter, call it a day. That's probably 30, 40, 35 grams of protein. And that might seem like a lot, but when you have higher goals, it's not enough. So then what I started to do once I had these protein goals, I would, if I was having oatmeal, I would do the half a cup of oats, do this cup of protein powder. I would add a cup of egg whites into my oatmeal and then, or maybe I would have some turkey bacon on the side.

26:29And I've been putting like protein in my coffee, just trying to find ways to really front load my day so I don't have to like play catch up as the day goes on. Right now, my favorite breakfast is Greek yogurt, scoop of protein powder in the Greek yogurt, and then I'll have turkey bacon on the side. And that's like 70 grams of protein with the protein in my coffee. So if I'm under 60 grams after breakfast, I'm disappointed.

26:57Nick Bare:It's impressive. Yeah. I just, I feel good. I'm not like, oh my gosh, too much. But that's when I normally have my protein powder too. And I really only have one serving, two servings of protein powder a day. And then from there, it's just off to the races. I try to always get between like, lunch is a little bit lighter, probably like 30 grams. And then if I'm snacking, it's because I need more protein. And then at the end of the day, if I need something, it's cottage cheese, it's yogurt, an extra scoop of protein powder. But yeah, I found the most success with hitting my goals if I can just knock it out early.

27:30Nick Bare:So changes you've made to diet, working with this coach, increasing total caloric intake and seeing positive returns on your training and the way you feel, prioritizing protein, hitting your protein goals daily and being more intentional with the foods you're consuming. Yeah. Quality. And instead of snacking throughout the day, these larger boluses of food within like three meals. Mindless snacking, yeah. Yeah, you weren't mindless snacking. What have been your go-to protein sources to hit that say 130 to 150 grams of protein a day? So obviously I love our whey concentrate. It's so good. It's really good in digestion.

28:14sorry no yeah opposite

28:16Nick Bare:I like the isolate yeah our concentrate is really really good too but isolate explain the difference so we've been consuming whey protein for years and years and years now for the longest time we've sold whey protein concentrate which is your basic whey protein whey protein concentrate has lactose in it and for people who have issues digesting lactose there is another option You can either do a plant-based protein powder, which we have, like our vegan protein powder, which is pea protein based, pea protein, watermelon seed, pumpkin seed, protein sources. And then we've recently launched our whey protein isolate.

28:58Nick Bare:And an isolate undergoes additional processing and filtration, which removes a lot of the lactose. So for people who have issues digesting lactose, an isolate is a great option. It's better digestibility. it's a little bit leaner and you don't have the stomach issues that you might experience on a whey protein concentrate yeah so you've been consuming we both have been consuming our whey protein isolate since we've launched it i choose isolate too because i've actually i read somewhere that a lot of like women's skin issues can be derived from dairy so i was like okay cool let's try this isolate and i even get like lactose-free yogurt now and i feel like my skin's never been better.

29:41So that's why I choose the isolate. They both taste amazing. So that obviously is a huge source of protein for me. I'll have like on average, probably two scoops a day. There's 25 grams of protein in each scoop. I, let's see. So breakfast, obviously eggs, egg whites, turkey bacon, chicken sausage. I don't love all the process, but sometimes like once a while to hit that, you have to.

30:05Nick Bare:Turkey bacon, the turkey bacon you consume has six grams of protein per slice. Oh yeah, three slices, it's 18 grams. And it's amazing. Like I crave it. It's so good. So that's what I normally stick with for breakfast or sometimes it'll make me like protein waffles or pancakes or something like that. But right now I'm on a really big like fruit, protein powder, yogurt, some turkey bacon and like a piece of sourdough. I love that. And then for lunch, pretty much just like leftover, whatever we have prepped, which is normally either ground beef. I love salmon, chicken, a really, and you either love this or hate this, but 33 grams per can, tuna.

30:45Tuna is the easiest, quickest way. If you were in a bind.

30:48Nick Bare:How do you prep your tuna? I will get that yummy mayo we get from the farmer's market, which is like avocado. Avocado oil based mayo. I'll put a scoop of mayo in it. And then sometimes I'll put some like Thai sweet chili sauce and like cucumbers, shredded carrots, edamame, just more of like a Asian vibe. Really, really good. But tuna, don't sleep on tuna. If you're a mom and lunch is crazy and you need something super high protein, it's really easy. It's great. And even like canned salmon too. Again, you're probably rolling your eyes because you would probably never do that. I would eat it in a pinch.

31:24Nick Bare:Yeah. Okay. But if I have ground beef prepped, which I always do, Yeah, I'm so over ground beef, honestly. Mr. Beef and Rice. So that's lunch. I love like a burger bowl for lunch, ground beef, those Jesse and Ben's fries with like pickles, tomatoes, all the things. At lunch, I'm always having, at every meal, I'm always having protein, carb. I'm pretty just naturally low fat with my preferences and what I like, but I try to hit a good balance of all three in each meal. And then for dinner, we're always having a really nice size serving of meat, whether it's chicken thighs, chicken breast, chicken tenders, or steak, pork chops, salmon.

32:01Nick Bare:We don't eat chicken tenders that much. No, like the tenderloins. I know, we rarely eat that. Okay, I even knew when I said chicken tenders, you were going to freak out. Chicken tenderloin, whatever. I guess you're right. You just run down to McDonald's, pick up some chicken tenders, pull the breading off. No, the little guys, the little guys. And for snacks, hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, if I haven't had that already, beef jerky some protein bars I really love I love the Prime Prime by Equip Foods super clean I love that recently tried David protein bars those are higher protein but skeptical we don't really know so I try to stay away from protein bars again I try to keep it as whole as possible I'm working on a protein bar right now please do bring it back so yeah it's just it's all my whole philosophy with food now is being a mom, being a busy human and just having goals to be as strong and as least frail as I possibly can be.

33:04It's food is fuel. Food is fueling whatever I'm doing that day. I know in the summer, I'm so much more active. So naturally, I lean on a little bit more carbs than I would like in the winter if I'm a little inside more, but I just feel like I'm constantly moving. So I've never really been one to be afraid of carbs but now I just see them so different. I think that's just the biggest miss with women these days is the carb fear. Whereas for me, carbs, it's like the guests in the car.

33:34Nick Bare:I've noticed that approach with you. Yeah. And it was like yesterday, you were running around doing yard work and you came in, you grabbed a go bar and slathered honey and sea salt in the go bar. and you grabbed that one back outside. Yeah, because I was feeling a little, it was fading. Yeah. Yeah. Right now, what is, because I cook a lot of our dinners right now. Most of our dinners. Most of our dinners. What is the favorite dinner you have right now that I make? I mean, probably what you did two nights ago. Like I love salmon so much. And then the rice cubes you make. Oh my God. We got to share that.

34:14Nick Bare:Yeah. So I did something different with the salmon this time. We typically bake our salmon. Salmon is just like a powerhouse of a protein source. Like there's so many benefits. Like I just, I love it so much. It's great protein, great omega-3 fatty acids. You got to cook salmon right though. Yeah. Like I pull salmon out of the heat source at 145 degrees internal. If you overcook it, you don't get that flakiness. Sometimes I'll even pull down like 138, 140. you like yours. I like a little crisp. I like a little crisp. But here's what I did this past weekend. It was so good. I pan seared it. So I got our cast iron smoking hot, added some oil into that pan, olive oil.

35:00Nick Bare:And I started skin side up and I had a nice just crispy layer on the salmon and then I flipped it skin side down, crisped up that skin layer. And then I probably brought it to like 100 degrees internal, put it in the oven after that to finish off and brought it up to 140 Fahrenheit internal, brought it out. It was cooked perfectly. But the way that we do rice, like our take on rice when paired with salmon is I make sushi rice. So I prepare sushi rice, which you can get sushi rice at the grocery store. I rinse it first. I do two cups of dry rice, three cups of water, some rice wine vinegar, a little bit of sugar, a little bit of salt, cook it.

35:49Nick Bare:And then when it's done, I line a Tupperware pan with parchment paper and I put all the rice in there and then I pack it really tightly in there. It's a block. It's an art. It is an art. It's a process. I pack it in there and then I cover it. I put it in the fridge for a few hours and then I flip it out on a cutting board and it's this big block of rice. I mean, you really got to pack it into that Tupperware container. It's like a cake, like literally. And you cut it into like two by two inch blocks. And then we pan sear it on a cast iron, a little bit of oil. So every side is crispy. We should make a video for this.

36:31We should. Yeah, yeah.

36:32Nick Bare:Sea salt on top. And then I eat it with my hand. Oh, so do our kids. Our kids love it. You just pick it up like a brick and you eat it like a hand. It's crispy rice. It is so good. And with salmon, it is amazing. So we had salmon, crispy rice, and broccolini. Yeah. I also get really excited too, like when you make chicken thighs with the skin on, which old Stephanie would have been like, take the skin off. But now I know, like looking at my diet, like I really am, I'm lower on fat. What is skin? It's just extra fat. So now I enjoy that because I am balanced throughout the day. But chicken thighs, just in general, like we're a chicken thigh family over chicken breast.

37:14That's just torturous if you're eating chicken breast.

37:16Nick Bare:But if you cook a chicken breast right. Yeah. Yeah. But chicken thighs are just so good. But when you make like hot honey butter chicken thighs. Oh yeah. I love like a meat, potatoes or rice and a veggie. Like that is our jam. I love it. And we'll treat ourselves once in a while. And when we go out to eat too. I talk about this a lot with friends. How do you make good choices when you go out to eat versus at home? Because we cook, what, six out of the seven days, you'd say? At least. Yeah. So when we do out to eat, that one date night a week, or if we're going to Hop Daddy with the family, I am fully committed to enjoying everything about that meal.

37:57So I'm getting a whole bowl of parm truffle fries. I'm going one to one with you at sushi

38:04Nick Bare:you do I told you this after our last date night one of the reasons I love you is because you eat food and if you were a woman who didn't eat food I would struggle in this relationship when we go for sushi which we made a new agreement after this past week when we go for date night moving forward we're only going for sushi moving forward because it's one thing that we can't prepare ourselves really well. And like some of these dinners we go to, we leave. Like Mexican the other night. Yeah, we're like, we could have done this better. Yeah. Sushi feels indulgent, but you feel really good after. And we go one for one, like no exaggeration.

38:50Nick Bare:I am so impressed by how much. There's going to be a couple that I'll give you. I'm so impressed by how much nigiri you can consume. It's lean. It's not always lean, but it's protein. And it's just the simplest thing. and it's so good. Ponzu is the key. It is one of the most attractive traits in this relationship. That's odd. That's odd. I love it. Okay, well, I'm happy that that is the case. So you shared with me this Instagram reel from Jesse James and Eric Decker two nights ago. Oh, and he's like the magic, he's waiting for the magic words. Yeah, it's like when you go to dinner with your spouse and the guy finishes his meal first and he's waiting for his wife or significant other.

39:34I'm so full.

39:35Nick Bare:To not finish their food or the meat specifically. That was so good. So when we were at, we went for Mexican food this past week for date night. We got chicken fajitas. We both got chicken fajitas. And it was probably eight to 10 ounces of chicken. Yeah. I ate mine. I was still hungry afterwards. and I mean, I finished my food in five minutes. Yeah. You finished your food in like 25 minutes. And I kept watching, you had like multiple pieces of chicken left. And I kept thinking, I think she's done. So that's what you're thinking of the whole time. That's what I was thinking of. Sweet. Is she going to finish that chicken?

40:14Nick Bare:And if not, I'm going to go after it. You ate it all. I did because I needed my protein. I wanted that chicken so bad. It was good chicken. Yeah. Okay. But all that being said, when and I think we're both this way too. I think a lot of people, like we've been invited to dinner before and they're all nervous about where to take us. Like no, when we're going out to eat, we are fully prepared to indulge and enjoy whatever is in front of us because we don't do it very often. And I think because we stay dialed and consistent throughout the week, we have that like mental freedom going into a night out where we can have a cocktail and chips and guacamole and just not even think about it.

40:51Like there's no food guilt around it because I know I'm doing everything I can to set myself up for success during the week.

40:56Nick Bare:Yeah. I am the type of person though that I always look at the menu before we go to a dinner. I don't. I think there's two types of people. Yeah. Yeah, that's the military planner in you, maybe. I always, I like when we go for dinner. Yeah. Tonight we're going to dinner with a couple. I know what I'm ordering before we get there. What are you ordering? It's a 14 ounce steak. It's the only steak on the menu. Okay. All right. That's what I'm getting. Or they also have a bluefin tuna on the menu. But I base my planning based off how much meat I think I'm going to get. And I base my assumption based off the price of that meal.

41:39Nick Bare:So you were going to say? Yeah, I found myself enjoying eating out more now because I still do. I make mindful decisions, right? Like chicken fajitas, for example. Love fajitas. Are they the most healthy thing? No, you get a plate full of cheese and onions and peppers covered in oil and all this stuff in tortillas. But I let myself enjoy those things. And if I'm feeling like full and satisfied or I indulged a lot in chips and guacamole, I'll only have one or two tortillas instead of four, you know. But the base of my plate at all times, whether we're out or in, is protein because I know it's a non-negotiable.

42:20It's what I need.

42:21Nick Bare:Yeah. Yeah. So those are the changes you've made to your diet to facilitate muscle growth in this strength-focused era. You got to eat. You got to eat. What about your training? How has your training changed specifically? Yeah. So when I got my first couple of weeks of programming from my coach, it felt like I looked at it. I'm like, oh, okay, sweet. Very familiar as far as content-wise goes, like the movements and the exercises I was doing. everything I've already done before. But split wise, it was like two up. Right now I'm doing two upper body focus days, nothing specific. It's kind of like sprinkled all muscle groups throughout.

42:59Two lower body days. I'm on Wednesdays still incorporating a Pilates core focused, like 30 minute workout, kind of as like a middle week recovery. Also just want to keep my core strong after all these babies. And then Saturdays, I will either take an extra long tennis clinic or a spin ride cardio. So I'm basically intensely strength training four times a week right now. And when I got the workouts from him, again, like I said, they looked familiar, but I said the biggest difference was volume and my workouts got a little bit longer. And there are definitely days where I don't have time to do four sets of every single movement, just because mom and time crunch and stuff like that.

43:45But it made me realize though, I kind of was taking some shortcuts in my training before when it came to volume amount of exercises in each workout. We talked about this too. Like I really loved, and his structure is very similar. It's like a compound movement. I think, is it called bilateral? Is that what you were saying? Like when you work just one leg or one arm at a time?

44:09Nick Bare:One arm or leg would be unilateral. That makes sense. Yeah. Unilateral movement and then like accessories work. So all of those things are sprinkled in my workouts and they feel very well-rounded. And I'm tired by the end of it. And the biggest thing is, I'll see my programmed workout and it will say RDLs, four sets of, or let's say shoulder press, four sets of 15. And for me, I was like, okay, four sets of 15. I'm just going to pick up, old me would pick up the same 15 pound dumbbells that I would always pick up. I'd hit the 15 reps and I'd be good. And then I just sit there and wait for the next set.

44:49Now, yes, 15 is the set number of reps, but I'm not always hitting that 15 because my goal is to hit close to failure in those reps. So like this morning I did shoulders. Now I'm picking up, today I shoulder pressed 25 pound dumbbells in each hand. Like I would have never done that before, but I only hit eight reps because I could not go further before. Like could not get them over my head if I tried. That is the goal in every single workout and every single set. that's the biggest difference for me is not just mindlessly picking the same dumbbells that I've always picked up. It's no, last week I hit this.

45:24This week I'm going to try for a few reps with five pounds more.

45:27Nick Bare:So you've been incorporating progressive overload. That's what that is. Yeah. And before, I guess you could say you were just going through the movements. Yeah, literally same dumbbells for 10 years. And that is what so many women do. Like women are married to 10 or sorry, 8, 10, 12 and 15 pound dumbbells. And that's all they think they can lift. And I'm here to tell you that is not the case. You can do so much more. And we've had so many conversations because I was like, Nick, is it should I just is it better for me to do eight reps with 25 pound dumbbells for a press or should I do 15 reps with 15?

46:07It took me a very long time to realize that quantity isn't always the way to get strong and grow muscle.

46:14Nick Bare:Yeah. Quantity as in reps. You can describe failure in terms of an RPE scale, rate of perceived effort or exertion. So for example, if you do an RPE 7, it means you had three reps left in the tank. RPE 9 means you had one rep left in the tank. RPE 10 means you went to failure. you couldn't do anymore. That is still confusing to me. Fine. So if I said - I get it, but like, how do you know that you had three reps left if you didn't do the three reps? It's an estimate. Okay, okay. So instead of me saying, hey, do a set, do it for eight to 10 reps. I could say, do a set. You choose the weight to an RPE nine.

46:58Okay, so when you feel like -

47:00Nick Bare:You can maybe do one more and you stop. Yep. So if now you're going to RPE nine or 10, you're going to failure, what would you say you were previously doing? How much of an effort were you putting forth towards your lifts? RP10. You were going to failure before? Oh no, I'm sorry. Now you're going, you had nine reps left? Probably. When I tell you, when I would see shoulder press programmed back in the day where I would have that written in my workout, it was 15s. Always. I never it never even crossed my mind in 2018 to try to pick up something heavier than that so were you tired after a workout or a set I would be sore but

47:48no it's just looking back it just it was so mindless and unintentional right and I just I never tried like I think it can be super intimidating when you are by yourself to pick up heavy dumbbells and throw them over your head. But once you do it once, the confidence builds. Like today, like when I was shoulder pressing the 25 pound dumbbells, it's like a spot would really be great right now. I probably could knock out a couple more if I had just someone there just to know. But once you do it once, you just truly, you don't realize how strong you really are until you just try to pick up. Like what's the worst that could happen?

48:25You have to go back down and wait. Sweet, that's it.

48:27Nick Bare:So you've not only increased training volume, but you've also increased training intensity. Absolutely, yeah. So we were at the house the other day. This was probably two weeks ago. And I saw you opening a package and you pulled out these Jim Reaper lifting straps. Yeah. I was like, who ordered these? It was you. I was so impressed. Because I feel like my leg days are hindered by my grip strength. I know. And I still, I feel like I still have not even, I need to do a leg day with you because I still feel like I haven't fully tapped into my strength because I feel like my grip strength truly hinders my leg day.

49:04I'll put you through a leg day. Yeah.

49:06Nick Bare:Do you want to hit? I'm hitting it Wednesday this week. Well, sure. Seriously, do you want to? Yes. As long as you don't make me do the one that gave me bruises on my hip bones. That machine. That belt squat. Yeah. I'll choose something else. You don't have to do belt squat. All right. We'll hit legs Wednesday together. Okay. But yeah, straps. Amazing. Loifting straps. Yeah. Game-changing for just comfort and being able to lift more weight. Also for dumbbell rows, for back day, I've been using straps a lot. It helps a lot. Slight pivot. You've picked up a new hobby in sport, tennis. Yeah. How long have you been playing?

49:44Nick Bare:A year now? It's been a year. Yep. Last May, June. What made you want to start playing tennis? Do you remember? Because I don't. No. I don't. I think, so we have tennis courts in our neighborhood and we have to drive by them every day to go to our house. So I think I just, I mean, I grew up with an aunt who tennis like is her life. It's her method of staying fit. It's her social life. It's everything. Like she's just a tennis freak. She's amazing. She's so incredible. Always thought it was cool, but I don't know. Just never considered it. I think I picked up a racket maybe like two times in my whole life because we'd play in Florida on vacation because my parents liked to play.

50:28My dad played tennis in college. We'll see.

50:31Nick Bare:He still says he was a tennis pro. We'll see. I don't know. But we would just mess around growing up. But I think just one day I was like, hey, I think it was beginning of the year, last year. So I want to try something new. I want to try to challenge myself because I really, I'm married to you, right? Who picks all of these endeavors and these goals and these challenges. And I just never really do that. that's just really not my personality like I'm not I'm a goal-oriented person but I'm not like a competitive gal but actually if you ask my coach Michael he would probably say I am but yeah I think just one day I was like I think I'm gonna try that so I just emailed our club and was like hey do you guys offer private lessons and I went to my first one and it was probably a joke but we have some really phenomenal instructors in our neighborhood and I am addicted.

51:25Like I was -

51:26Nick Bare:You are addicted. I am addicted. And I was telling Michael the other day, if only you could have captured me. Like, you know, when you see the Instagram reels, it's like first day of watching a show and it's like themselves. And then like they slowly turn into the characters. That's me with tennis. Like first day playing tennis, I was in like hokas and leggings and a vest. And then now it's like, I haven't made the move to get a visor yet, but that's coming soon. But no, it has changed my life. What do you love about it? There's so many things. I play three times a week, a mix between like I have a private lesson and then some clinics.

52:02I love the social aspect of it. Like I've made some best friends from tennis that are in our neighborhood and it's just so fun. It's so fun to be active with people and just like have a group that you do stuff with. Like And my coach, Michael, is one of my great friends now. It's so fun. And so I love that part of it. But I was never a super athletic kid growing up. I was a dancer, which I was never that person that fought. Dance is a sport. I think dance is dance, right? It's not a sport, in my opinion. But I was just -

52:38Nick Bare:Hard take, hard take. I just don't think it is. I think it's an art and it's its own thing, I think. But I was never like a, you know, standard sports kind of person. And I was kind of always insecure about that. I just, I don't know. Just never really succeeded in anything like that. So to try something new, and I think what I'm addicted to is the progress. Because it is really, really cool when you decide to do something and you see yourself getting better. You commit to it. Yeah. And it's awesome. And I think the number one thing I like about it, I love that it's outside. I play outside. We don't have indoor courts or anything.

53:13So that just vitamin D and being outside is incredible. But I think the number one thing I like about it is when you're playing tennis, you cannot think of anything else other than tennis or you will get a ball to the face or you'll suck. Like I could be having the most chaotic day, the worst day. I could be so just having something weigh so heavy on my heart. And it's like, you literally are brainwashed for an hour. Like it's kind of amazing. And that's why I really want you to do it. I just really want you to play with me because that's the best part because it's just, it's such a mental sport.

53:48I've been told that it's, it's like a very, it's like very similar to golf. Like there's just so many things you can fine tune. You can always get better. And there's days where you just absolutely suck for no reason, but you always want to go back to it because you always want to get better.

54:01Nick Bare:I went with you. I love it so much. A few months ago and we, we used the the ball machine. And after that experience, I had so much more respect for the game of tennis. Oh yeah. It's tough. It is so hard. I couldn't even make contact with the ball. And just that alone, contact. But then there's like, I'm just now getting to the point where strategy and intention is coming into play. Before it was just like, hit the ball, get it over, Stephanie. I don't care where it goes. But now it's like, nowhere can I hit to get this point? that's fun that's really fun and it's also taught me too i love being coached i love being coached i love being taught i love being around people that are experts and pros and are just so passionate like my coach he is like he's when we drive by the courts michael is always out there he is yeah like he's out there every single day all day because he loves the sport and he loves watching people get passionate and learn and get better and it's just it's a really cool feeling as an adult to have that.

55:04When there's so much chaos going on to get better at something, it's just, it's, yeah, I love it so much. I think I truly will play for my whole life now.

55:10Nick Bare:Being coachable. Being coachable is a very valuable skill and characteristic. It shows humility. Yeah. It shows openness and being willing to learn. I think that you should be really proud of that. It's been cool to watch you progress in tennis. Thanks, yeah. I just got to get you out there. And get really committed. I need to find a hobby, but I don't know if tennis is it. I'll be honest. We'll see. I love that you love tennis. Yeah. And I will keep supporting. Yes. Thank you. For example. Yeah. It's been a family endeavor. It has. You brought the tennis girls over for Cinco de Mayo. Yeah. Oh, I'm talking about how like you let me go play it even like Monday nights.

55:56It's not just when, you know, you're at work.

55:58Nick Bare:True. So I appreciate that. But you brought the tennis girls over. For Cinco de Mayo. I was in my element, my hobby of cooking. I cooked you girls, chickens, steak fajitas, made homemade margaritas, chips and guac. That's my element. Put me in a kitchen. Let me serve food to people. That is my hobby. They loved it. They loved it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. You've been using a lot of GM sport around tennis? Yeah. I mean, I can't believe I just unlocked that. Truly. It's hot here in Texas right now. It's June. so you know when I'm playing in the winter months and in the spring I mean it's it's hard it's always hard but in 100 degree you know weather on courts that makes it feel like 120 it is it is a sauna that's that's how it is it is crazy so I don't know I was just before a clinic the other day I was like why haven't I need something and normally I reach for a go bar but I just wasn't feeling it.

56:57I'm like, oh, I have G &M Sport in the pantry and that is our carb electrolyte sodium supplement. And when I tell you it was the best I've ever played and the best I've ever felt because of that, I was, now I bring a tub with me because I want everyone that I play with to have it because one thing I've noticed, especially because I see a lot of like older women on the courts and even the girls I play with sometimes too, women are just so afraid to fuel themselves based on what they're doing that day. And if you were playing tennis in a hundred degree weather, you better be fueling yourself and having electrolytes and sodium and hydration and all the things.

57:41So I told you, I'm like, we need to make a tennis ad for doing a sport because it is like the perfect supplement for that sport. I felt so energized and good and just on fire. I mean, even my coach was like, what did you take today?

57:55Nick Bare:Take a bunch of bottles and samples over to them. But even like, it's funny because even I did the other day and someone was like, oh, carbs. I'm like, take it and you will see how much better you play. Yeah. Because the chicken breast and the broccoli that you've had today, it's not going to help you at all. Underfueled. Yes. It is such a problem with women. I just want to shout from the rooftops. Like see food as fuel. And it changes everything. Yeah. So to close it out, run me through your daily supplement routine. You know, where we are creatures of habit. We are very routine people. What supplements do you take every single day?

58:42Yeah. So I wake up. The first thing that I do is I get like eight ounces of water in a cold or cold water in a glass in one glass I put in strong greens, strong reds for micronutrients, gaps I have in my diet, just nutrition wise, and electrolytes and creatine. I've been taking creatine for probably three years. Don't go a day without it. So that's the first thing I have in my body. And I feel like that brings me back to life. And then I will have like a half a scoop of protein in my coffee just because I honestly love the way it tastes. You want to do vanilla? Yeah, vanilla. It's like a vanilla latte.

59:18It's so good. And then you get mad at me because I take all the rest of my supplements at night. Yeah, she takes all of these supplements

59:27Nick Bare:before going to bed. You know why? You know why? I figured out why the other day. It started when I was pregnant because I could never stomach anything in the morning. So I think, and it's just stuck. I just take them at night now. I don't know. All these energizing vitamins and minerals right before going to bed. I sleep just fine. You do. I sleep just fine. So I take fish oil, our fish oil, Strong Omega, which is the best. I love it. Keep that in our fridge. There's no like fish burps or anything. It's truly the best form of fish oil I've ever taken. I'm not just saying that. Strong joints I take just because, you know, we're getting up there.

1:00:03Nick Bare:Joint support. Yep. I take a prenatal right now. I take magnesium at night. I take our peak sleep at night on nights that I just want extra good. nice rest what else that kind of just depends what season we're in like if we're in cold and flu season it changes but i keep it pretty basic honestly um sometimes i'll throw in like turmeric if i'm in a season where i feel a little bit more inflamed that's pretty much it why no pre-workout because caffeine i'm just something happened to me once i got a little bit of thyroid issues where i'm just so caffeine sensitive i mean i have a cup of decaf in the morning still you do i don't I hold my caffeine until about like 10, 30 or 11 most days.

1:00:48And I'll just have one source of caffeine a day. And honestly, I've noticed a big difference in just like jitteriness, anxiousness, how I feel. I do, I love energy drinks in pre-workout, but I just can't take it anymore. Just turn it into an old sensitive lady when it comes to caffeine.

1:01:05Nick Bare:Your caffeine intake has decreased and mine has increased. But I will say our pump formula, I will, so like the type of workouts, on my strength days. Like it's the perfect opportunity to take that. And it is, do you remember the first day I texted you? And I was like, I think I've experienced a pump for the first time. I was trying to explain the pump to Steph for the longest time. And it's probably because you weren't training with enough volume and intensity. Totally. To get a pump. Yeah. And I do remember the first time you ever experienced a pump. Proud moment. Proud moment. I sent you a picture.

1:01:37I was like, wow, I've really turned into a gym bro. But that day I also took pump. So it was like, whoa, but you're totally right. I think it's because I've changed the way I train. I'm actually experiencing it now, but I do. I love the way that feels. But yeah, I'm just not a pre-workout girl, but I know ours is amazing, but it's not for me. Oh, and then Recover.

1:02:00Nick Bare:Now Post. Post, that's Post now. We've rebranded Recover to Post. Yeah, I will have that once a day too, just especially in the summer when I'm just like active all day. Yeah, we have a basically supplement story in our pantry. I'm lucky me. We do. Well, it's been cool to see the progress you've made with fitness and your training journey and being muscle focused and consuming more protein. It's been fun for me. Yeah. Cause I'm not in a deficit. I was in a deficit for like two weeks and you're like, I don't know if this is the time to do this. I'm like, listen, listen, brother, I've dealt with this with you for so many years and I'm in a deficit for two weeks and You couldn't handle it.

1:02:43Nick Bare:I was like, hey, you being in a deficit - Is hurting our whole family. Might be putting a strain on our relationship and our family. Oh. We need to go back into a surplus. But I'm not really in a surplus. I would say I'm just maintaining right now. The deficit though, it was - It hurts. It hurts. But sometimes when you want to get a little right and tight, that is the time for deficit. When you do the work like I did for six months and you want to just be a little bit more lean, but then I did realize you, I don't want to say you were right, but as we're entering a season where I want to have another baby eventually, I don't need to be in a deficit right now.

1:03:22Nick Bare:Yeah. And honestly, summertime, I want to enjoy ice cream with my kids. I want to go out to eat with you and have a cocktail and enjoy margaritas by the pool. It is not a time for me that I want to be in my fitness pal, logging food when I should be enjoying the moment with my family. So no deficits for the foreseeable future. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. Well, thank you for coming on and sharing all this with us. It's been cool to see. Thank you. I look forward to our next date night. Sushi. Yes. Sushi only. Uchiko only. Uchiko. We always wrap up our Uchiko dinner with like four pieces of the Wagyu nigiri each.

1:04:01Melting your mouth.

1:04:02Nick Bare:Dipped in some ponzu. So we'll see you guys in the next episode.

1:04:18We'll see you next time.