
The FASTEST Way to Get Lean if Money Wasn’t an Issue It’s EXTREMELY expensive to be unhealthy. (1:02) The 7 FASTEST Ways to Get Lean if Money Wasn’t an Issue #1 - Hire a trainer 3 days a week. (3:10) #2 - Hire an online coach for diet....
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If you want to pump your body, your mind, there's only one place to go.
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Mind Pump.
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Mind Pump. With your hosts, Sal Destefano, Adam Schaefer and Justin Andrews, you just found the.
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Most downloaded fitness, health and entertainment podcast. This is Mind Pump. Okay. What if money was no object? What if you had all the money in the world? What would be the fastest way to get in shape? The fastest way to lose weight? To get in shape, to get ripped? That's what we talked about in today's episode. Now, this episode is brought to you by a sponsor and element. This is an electrolyte powder that goes in your water. No artificial sweeteners, no sugar. The right amount of sodium to actually make a difference. Get better pumps more energy. It tastes amazing. Go to drinklement.com mind pump on that link, you'll get a free sample pack of their most popular drink, mix flavors. Also, it's the last hours of our August special. Maps. 15 minutes is half off. Head over to maps1.5min.com. Use the code Muscle50 for the discount. Here we go. Everybody knows getting lean, getting ripped, getting shredded, it's super, super challenging. It's super hard. Everybody knows this. But what if money was no issue? What if you had all the money in the world? Could you make this happen for sure? Could you almost guarantee success? That's what we're talking about in today's episode.
D
I like this.
C
What's the fastest way you could get lean? If money wasn't an issue, what should you do? Let's go.
E
So we're Kim Kardashian.
C
Yeah.
D
No, I mean, number one has to be right. Has to be hiring a. A trainer or coach.
C
Of course, of course. Now, now I want to back up first and, and kind of break this down because the truth is, here's what the data shows on weight loss. Over 90% of people who lose weight or get in Shape, end up getting the weight back or getting out of shape again within the first year. This is a very consistent statistic across the board. It's very difficult to do. It's even harder to maintain. So what we did with this list is we included things that actually made a difference not just in the short term, but could potentially help with the long term success. And the reason why I'm saying this is, let's say you did accomplish this on your own, but you became like one of the 90% of people that gained it back and you repeated the cycle like many people do throughout their lives, three or four times. The time that you waste going through this process and the health problems that are associated with getting back out of shape or being unhealthy or gaining weight back, if you were to add that up, that time and that money and the loss of productivity, it's actually very expensive. It's extremely expensive to be unhealthy. It's extremely expensive to be obese when you look at your entire life. So reason why I'm saying that is a lot of the things that we're going to talk about are expensive. But when you consider what they can do for you and how much better they make the odds, the value is, is, is tremendous.
E
It just keeps proving that it's more beneficial to really think about the long term strategy of this.
C
That's right.
E
And like if you could, yeah put those, pit those against each other and really look at the financial commitment of it. It's interesting how similar it probably, oh.
D
I wish this would be such a cool like study to do. Like because I remember just to the first point of having a coach and a trainer, we used to have this statistic on our customers at 24 Fitness and we knew this at the front of sales. We would present personal training and we were so aggressive about it. And the selling point was the average person that gets started with a gym membership without a personal trainer falls off by the third month. The average person that actually gets personal training continues on for two plus years.
C
Huge difference, huge.
D
And so that doesn't mean that they got to their goal per se necessary, but the fact that they continue going for that much more time said a lot about probably less likely to get hurt, probably did see more results, like at least knew what they were doing. And so that just that stat alone to me is what makes this number one.
C
Number one has to be, it's for sure number one. It's also one of the most expensive. Right. You hire a trainer three days a week you're looking at investing about for a good trainer. And of course this is, you could go up or down, depending on your area, but It'll cost about $300 a week. A good trainer typically costs around. Again, some are less, some are more, but $100 a session. Now, by the way, we listed these in order of value, not in order of cost. Okay. The most valuable thing that we're going to talk about today is the trainer. And here's why. A trainer, a good effective trainer can, number one, you see them in person, they train you so you get a good workout. That's a duh. But really what it is, a good trainer helps foster that relationship with fitness and diet and health that lasts a lifetime. This is what good trainers do. Well.
D
And the education, the education that you get along the way too is just like. So, okay, if we were to put a, a minimum, like bare minimum. Remember, money is not an issue. Right. So I come to you, I have an endless budget. Okay, you tell me how long should I work with? Yeah. How long should I, the minimum I should work with? I say at least three months.
C
Yeah. Oh, I would say way more than that. Three months would be the absol.
D
Least three months to a minimal commitment.
E
I see.
D
Three months to a year with a coach or a trainer.
C
You gave me someone for a year. The odds that I will be able to help them develop the relationship with exercise that'll last them a long time, if not forever, is high. If I worked with them for a year, it would take about a year of doing that. Three months. I could go far and I could do well. But you guys know this. When you train someone, like the first three month period is great and it's fun. It's like month six, seven, eight, when you start to run into those challenges where they have to kind of work through certain things and motivation fades. And now we're working on sticky then. That's right. That's right. So I would say about a year.
D
I, I like, I like that too. Because in a, in a three month time, some people can, can like shut their whole life down for three months. Right. Just be like, this is all I'm gonna do. And so that's not very realistic.
C
Horse blinders again, right?
D
When I had somebody for a year, it was inevitable. We were probably gonna have to, you know, handle some sort of vacation.
C
That's right.
D
We're gonna have to handle maybe even an injury or a major setback. We would have overcame at least one or two plateaus.
C
That's right. And so awesome motivation, right?
D
Yeah. And exactly. The hype of it being new would be worn off. And so I do like the year as a, as like the ultimate money's not an object type of pitch. And the minimum because, because even at three months, you're going to get a ton.
C
You're going to get a ton.
D
Three, three months, you, you still are going to get a lot. But if money, if, if I had the, an endless budget here, I would go go for a year.
C
Yeah. Because what'll happen in three months is you'll be, you'll, you'll leave with a decent understanding of, of what you can do for your body. Exercise wise, you'll have good technique and you would have built a decent enough base to where you can perform the exercises. Okay.
E
Basically you build a full routine.
C
Right. But, but after that you have, you're on your own. Yeah. A year. You now have a guide and that guide has been with you for a year. That's. And they're going to get you through all those processes and you're going to develop a relationship with exercise or at least you're more likely to that last. That's the most important thing. That's the most valuable thing that a trainer can do. Because bare minimum, a trainer needs to know how to exercise train you. They need to know proper technique and what movements to apply, which ones not to do correctional exercise, that is bare minimum, the really good ones, you end up showing up, you want to be with them, you want to see them and they get you through all those different pitfalls. And so that's why that's number one. So you're looking at what is that, 1200 bucks a month. So over the course of a year, I mean that's a decent investment. But I'll say this again, if you add up the time and energy, loss of productivity, poor health that comes from the yo, yo, up, down, up, down, eventually giving up. I think it's far less expensive than that.
D
Well, think of it like getting a mini degree in your body.
C
That's right.
D
Right. All things related to nutrition and exercise. And how much do you value that? If someone puts you through a mini degree in knowing what you need to do exercise nutritionally like that. I don't. I mean I would think that most people, if you framed it like that would be like that's a worthwhile investment.
C
Totally. Number two is to add to the trainer an online coach for diet. Now, why most personal trainers are not going to coach you day in and day out with your diet. Some do but at $100 a session, most trainers train you when you see them. When you're gone, they'll text you a couple times, but they're not there to, like, coach you through the whole process. They'll probably charge extra for that. An online coach with diet does that. They're going to work with you almost entirely with diet, and they'll work in tandem with your personal trainer. If it's not your trainer that's also doing this, which, again, they'll charge extra. This person's going to work with them on your nutrition. What works for you, what doesn't work for you? Let's look at your macros. We're going to start with macros and calories. We're going to learn how to reverse diet. We're going to learn how to cut your calories appropriately. I'm going to talk you through the frustrating parts when you're like, why am I not losing weight? Or weight, did I gain some weight? No, it's just water weight. What about hunger? What I, you know, I'm having this. I went off my diet. Oh, my God, I totally screwed up. And then they talk you off the ledge. This is what a good online coach will do with diet. And you combine that with a personal trainer, by the way, these two alone will have a tremendous impact on your odds of success. An online coach, by the way, will cost a good one, about three to five hundred a month. I know they have some that are a lot less, but the good ones that I've seen typically charge.
D
Yeah. You might get lucky and find the trainer who's. Both of these.
C
That's right.
D
I mean, that you exist. You guys would be that if you train a client, you wouldn't. They wouldn't need to go get a nutritionist on top of that. You would be that person. But you would want somebody with. If you're high, because you could hire a good trainer that's not necessarily 10, 15 years deep.
C
Right.
D
And still get a good trainer. But you're probably going to want somebody that deep if you also want them to also manage the nutrition.
C
Yeah. And what it looks like is this is. It looks like you're in the beginning, you're tracking your food, so have a good idea of what you're currently eating, and then they're making minor adjustments. And an online coach, like a personal trainer, meets you where you're at. So you're gonna start with changes that you think you can do, and then there's gonna be something you're gonna do that you're like, I can't do that yet. And they're gonna walk you back and then they're gonna look at, okay, here's what we're gonna add to your diet and here's what it looks like and feels like to eat this much protein and how's your digestion? And okay, it looks like we need to reverse diet you because your calories are too low. We need to lose 30 pounds. But before we do, we need to build you up. And that reverse dieting process is going to be difficult to do on your own because it's going to be scary. But don't worry, I'll talk you through the whole thing. And they're going to monitor things like energy and strength and mobility and sleep and they're going to walk you through. And then a good online coach will be available through texts often, not all the time, but often where you could text them or message them and say, hey, I'm struggling today, or hey, today after dinner I ate this, whatever, what should I do? And they'll walk you through that process. And this person right here, their job is to help you develop a relationship with nutrition where you start to enjoy and seek and want to eat in a healthy way, in a healthy, balanced way. This is not a bodybuilding online diet coach. That's not what I'm talking about at all. This is somebody that knows how to turn this into a lifestyle, not this crazy.
D
Well, and again to the education piece, a lot of clients just didn't know what to do. I remember having clients that would text me like, hey, I'm in this situation, what should I choose? And it's not just, oh, choose this food. The reason why I'm pointing you in this direction or telling you to go eat the protein first are for these reasons. So it's like not only are you getting that guidance, but hopefully also if you get a good one, they're going to coach you through like what the strategy was, why, why I pointed you.
E
I make better decisions each time I go shopping, right?
C
Yeah.
D
You know these things, you know, they're going to be in those situations or they have a late night craving or snack that they want to get and it's just like, oh, what do I do? Okay, here's a better choice to go this route. I think that part too, just like the training part, the education piece of what to do in those situations, extremely valuable and probably equally in time, I would say as the trainer, like six.
C
Months to a year.
E
Yeah, like intolerances, like there's a lot of stuff that you could really communicate and nail down specifically for your personal needs. And I think that the more personal you get with this, the more benefit.
C
Yeah. So I would agree. I would say about a year. You did both for a year. You've got most of your bases covered. Now we're going to get to the more kind of nitty gritty stuff that doesn't make as big of a difference. But again, money's no option here. What else can I do to really start to, you know, crank this up? The next thing I put was a meal prepping service.
D
So I would argue that this is damn near equally as important.
C
Yeah.
D
Just because if you outsource this part. Right.
C
You don't think about it.
D
Yeah. Because you can act. A lot of these companies, you could have your nutrition coach or your trainer who laid out your macros, lay that out to the meal prep place and they'll. They will prep the meals according to your macros.
C
Yeah.
D
And so you completely outsource that. And then if you just make it a. A deal again, if money's not an object, I could eat every single meal from this meal prep service. Then I literally just make that commitment of like, hey, when I'm hungry, I eat one of those.
C
Huge.
E
Yeah. I mean, I did this in my own business when I was like helping people, you know, strategy for. They only have this much time for the week and then they travel a lot. And so it's like here, when I come home, I want to have these meals ready to go that are healthy and like within the macro balance.
C
Yeah. Now, the only challenge with this, and the reason why I put this as number three, is because a good offboarding process is important with meal prepping. Because here's the challenge with meal prepping.
D
Know how you do it yourself?
C
Yeah. Like, you're on this plan. You're eating what they give you. They'll change it for you and all that stuff. But it's. At some point you may want to go off and then you're out in the real world. But that's what the good online coach.
D
I was going to say. If you, if you also are. Have the. If you, if we assume that the person's purchased the other two things, then a good trainer and a good nutritionist is going to help you, Right?
C
That's right.
D
So maybe you're outsourcing at the beginning, but part of that year process, we go, hey, let's this last three months, try and not use the meal prep service. Let's see if you can make These meals yourself and then work through that. That would be a good coach, right? That was doing something like that.
C
Exactly. So a good example of what this might look like is in the begin. Beginning, you're like, this is real tough. I'm gonna eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner from the meal prepping service. I'm gonna work with my online coach, and this is what I'm gonna start. And then it may look like breakfast and lunch, and then it may look like just breakfast as you start to kind of wean yourself off and figure out how to do this on your own. Next up, optimize your hormones with hormone replacement therapy, if appropriate. Now, if appropriate. This is a game changer. This is a game changer. It's not as big of a game changer as exercise and diet, but it is a game changer nonetheless. This is the difference between, you know, building an extra 10 pounds of muscle, losing additional 4 to 5% body fat if your hormones are really off.
E
Yeah.
C
It could be like, well, that's it. It's like you're trying to run in quicksand. Like, I've trained people like this where their hormones were so off that it was like every little inch of progress was so hard.
E
Tried everything to the nth degree. And this is the one thing that really unlocked that result.
D
I mean, again, I know that you're. I know you preface this with it's not diet and exerciser as, but if. If you're north of 35, this becomes damn near as. As important or valuable as the other things we're talking about. I mean, I can't tell you how many clients that before I. Before HRT was even a thing that I'd be training, that their hormones were just out of whack. And I didn't care how good of a diet we ran. I don't care how good our training was. That just did not move the needle. And that is so discouraging for somebody who's putting all the work in to see that incremental or no change at all and simply getting their hormones balanced made such a significant difference. So granted, if it's. If they're great, if you'reif you're training a Doug who's got incredible hormone profile and doesn't need it, then that's another story. But that's just not been my experience. Most people that are above 35, they. They could use some sort of hormone balance.
C
Yeah. So if we back up again, the meal prepping would be about 10 to $20ameal. This hormone therapy roughly $300 a month could go higher depending on what you're, you know, quote unquote optimizing. But here's, here's why it's so valuable. Okay? Yes, when your hormones are optimized, your body is pointing more towards fat loss and pointing more towards muscle gain. But there's all, there's all these other things that happen as well. You have more motivation and energy. You know, if your thyroid is low, you just don't have a lot of energy. When you take thyroid, which is very inexpensive and easy to optimize, suddenly you have more energy, which makes you do what you want to move more, exercise more. Same thing with testosterone, both in men and women. Then you can go to higher levels like growth hormone, which is, that would be extremely expensive. But I'm talking about the basic hormones. So when you start to optimize hormones, you just feel better, you feel more motivated, you're in a better mood, which encourages you to exercise, which, which speeds up and helps with recovery from exercise, which helps with the cravings. Literally helps with the cravings. Hormone imbalances can cause your body or you to crave foods that are hyper palatable to help with the symptoms of just feeling not so good.
D
It improves your ability to build muscle. It improves your ability to burn body fat. It absolutely can be a game changer, especially when needed.
C
Now that's again around 300amonth. Then we get to peptides. And peptides are, aside from hormones, are some of the most amazing medical interventions. And I'm talking specifically, there's lots of peptides, but in particular the GLP1s like tirzepatide, that can help tremendously with fat loss. Tremendously. I mean, in combination with eating good protein, having a trainer, somebody who wants to lose 50, 60 or plus pounds, this can really be a huge game changer. Suddenly you don't have the strong cravings. Suddenly it's not that hard to avoid eating the foods that you used to. It's not that hard to stay away from certain things. And it makes a big difference. And with GLP1s, with good coaching, there is an off ramp. With good coaching. Without good coaching, it looks like you're going to be on for the rest of your life because you don't, you don't know how to, or you don't have anybody coaching how to develop the behaviors that'll support you. There are other peptides out there as well, things like BPC157, Thymus and Beta, which help with recovery from injuries or just recovery in General, there are peptides that help with sleep. There are peptides that help with growth hormone. I talked about that earlier. You don't have to take growth hormone. In many cases, you could take a growth hormone releasing peptide that will raise growth hormone levels to what you may have had in your early 20s. So now you're adding that to the mix, which will run about three to five hundred dollars a month. And again, the GLP ones in particular for weight loss. Huge, Huge.
D
I mean, I, this, this is the first one that I feel like is. And I don't even want to say the least, it's the least important or.
C
The least so far.
D
Like, because all the rest of them in my opinion are like absolutely almost a must. Right. If, for, if we, if we have an unlimited budget and it's like, what would I list off for? Sure. This is kind of more like an optional. Like, hey, there's some things that could actually help us with recovery, help us with growth hormone that will add to this, but can get expensive too. But again, if we're with an endless budget here, then why weight loss in particular?
C
They seem to be extremely effective with coaching. Next up, the. The best sleep system that we have seen, hands down, is called the Sleep 8 system. Eight sleep. This goes on your bed and it modifies the temperature of your bed. It uses AI technology so that it's individualized for you. Why is this on this list? Sleep makes such a big difference, everybody. It makes a huge difference. There are studies where they've taken groups of people and they've put them on the same diet and the same exercise regimen. One group gets bad sleep, one group gets good sleep. The, the difference is remarkable. The bad sleep group loses half as much body fat and twice as much muscle in a calorie deficit. In other words, their body wants to lose muscle, does not want to lose body fat. And the only difference is poor sleep.
E
Yeah, losing body fat, gaining muscle, it all, you know, all of that has to happen while getting good sleep.
D
Well, and isn't there isn't room temperature one of the biggest factors to how good the sleep is? And so you're being able to this thing body temperature. Yeah. I built in to monitor that and make it optimal.
C
Now, an eight sleep will cost you about one to $2,000, but that's total. So you pay it once and then you have this unit and then optimize your sleep. And by the way, sleep also affects cravings, mood. It could, it could have effects on depression, anxiety, energy. Yeah. So by the way, this is you know, there's lots of things you can do to improve your sleep. But we. This up here is like, okay, this is one thing you could do that probably has one of the biggest impacts on that. And then lastly is supplements. And really what you're going to supplement for are any potential nutrient deficiencies. So what this looks like for most people is multivitamin, vitamin D, maybe omega 3 fatty acids, maybe magnesium, maybe magnesium. Why? Because nutrient deficiency can really be a wrench in the whole machine. You could do everything perfectly, but if your vitamin D levels are low, you're going to have some strange symptoms. If you're low in a key nutrient, your body's not going to want to work properly. So. And now this is the least expensive of all. 50 to 100amonth. Yeah. Will cover the bases.
D
I mean, I imagine you would throw creatine on there also, too.
C
Creatine is great. Not necessary, but great.
D
Really? I feel like you would have put that on there. I mean, it's not that expensive.
C
No, it's not.
D
And of all the things, as far as the benefits from it, you're right.
C
And we're not slaying. Money's no option.
D
Yeah. So you would throw that on it. But I think the main takeaway or point to this one is finding out where your deficiency is first. Like, because I think that's a mistake that a lot of people don't even, they just, oh, I'm fine, or oh, my general practitioner said I'm okay. And so like getting like a full blood panel, I think, and getting all this, everything from hormones to any, anything that you have, any sort of deficiencies and getting that addressed with supplements, I think is where that makes the biggest sense.
C
Now, the total for all of this, Doug did the math for the lower number, so we're looking at between probably 47 to 50 something thousand dollars for the year. But I will say this. If somebody did all this, if somebody needed to lose £50 is out of shape and they invested in something like this, this is the highest odds I could possibly think of in terms of success, both in getting results, but also maintaining and keeping those results for the rest of life, sounds like a big number. But again, if you count the amount of time, energy, loss of productivity and money people spend on things that, you know, to improve their health once their health goes south. Yeah, it's actually not as bad as you think.
E
And having a plan to, you know, avoid pitfalls and plateaus. Yeah, that's, that's humongous.
D
Not only that, but I'VE never had a client that I've like radically changed their life in a year of training. Right. So we lost the 50 pounds or whatever the main goal was that did not report back to me their productivity and work and performance.
C
Oh, they make up that money.
D
That. So that's, that's the part.
C
Isn't that wild?
D
That is. It's hard to sell that to somebody from this point and go like, listen, the 50 grand, like I. Most especially if you're in a profession where you can control that, like you're in a sales job or you're an entrepreneur, you're in a position where you're not just this hourly employee at the same rate, if you have the ability to impact your paycheck. Almost every client I've ever trained that we've seen those type of results from. Made it back up.
C
Now I will. Now I'm going to ask you. I know what the answer is, but I'll ask you guys, of all of these, which one would make the big. If somebody's like, I'll just do one of them. Trainer, by far.
D
I mean, you ordered, I think you ordered them in the order how, like, if you like, let's say you can't quite afford that, but you're like, I'm down to spend some money. I would go in the order you listed.
C
Yep. And the personal trainer you're looking at, what is that? What does that come out to per. Per month? That's twelve hundred dollars a month. So twelve hundred dollars a month and you could pay it monthly. That by itself because a good trainer can do a lot of this stuff. They're not going to prep your meals.
E
Prioritize based on what's going on with your program.
C
That's right.
D
The only thing that I might make the argument that jumps towards the top from like the middle right now is if you did get your blood work done and you, and you need hormone. And you're a, you're just a hormone mess. Yeah, that. Because even, even somebody, somebody who has subpar programming, subpar diet with terrible hormones, you. You get their hormones optimized and they'll see better results right away. Just, just from.
C
I agree.
D
Just the simple fact, even if they're going to the gym kind of like aimlessly and making somewhat of a good choice, taking that person who has hormones that are all over the place, optimizing them normally will really move the needle in the right direction. So that is about like. So I think no matter what.
C
But if your hormones are okay, just a trainer, just hire a good trainer.
D
Yeah, I know. I agree.
C
Look, if you like the show, come find us on Instagram. We're mindpumpmedial. See you there.
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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@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. The RGB Super Bundle has a full 30 day money back guarantee and you can get it now. Plus other valuable free resources@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. Everything from clothing to household items are getting more expensive each day. American Giant is about keeping things simple and close to home. Aren't affected by tariffs because their products never leave the US Support American made tariff free clothing with American Giant. Get 20% off your first order when you use promo code STAPLE20@american-giant.com that's 20% off when you use code STAPLE20@American-Giant.com.
Episode 2675: The Fastest Way to Get Lean if Money Wasn’t an Issue
Hosts: Sal Di Stefano, Adam Schafer, Justin Andrews, Doug Egge
Date: September 1, 2025
In this episode, Sal, Adam, and Justin tackle the question: "If money were no object, what is the absolute fastest and most effective way to get lean?" Drawing from decades of fitness experience and industry insights, the hosts break down a “dream team” approach to fat loss and muscle gain—prioritizing longevity, health, education, and lifestyle sustainability, not just rapid transformation.
They share an ordered list of interventions you could invest in to maximize your odds of losing weight, getting in shape, and keeping those results for life. The episode offers practical explanations, personal anecdotes, and sharp commentary on the real financial and life costs of being unhealthy, making a case for the value of investing in quality support.
Framing the Problem: Sal opens with hard truths: the vast majority (over 90%) of those who lose weight regain it within a year. So the real "cost" is not just money, but repeated lost time, productivity, and health consequences.
"It's extremely expensive to be unhealthy... if you add up all the time, money, and productivity lost." – Sal (03:01)
Strategy Focus: Their list prioritizes investments that not only get you fast results, but increase long-term success odds.
In-Person Coaching is King: Having a high-quality, in-person trainer is the single most important and valuable investment.
"A good trainer helps foster that relationship with fitness and diet and health that lasts a lifetime. This is what good trainers do well." – Sal (05:13)
Real-World Stats:
"The average person that gets started with a gym membership without a personal trainer falls off by the third month. The average person that actually gets personal training continues on for two plus years." – Adam (03:44)
Timeframe for Lasting Change:
Investment: ~$100/session; $300/week; ~$1,200/month; ~$14,000+/year.
Complementary Role: While trainers handle exercise, an online coach provides daily diet accountability, reverse dieting guidance, and emotional support.
Education Piece: Teaches clients why to make certain food choices, fostering independent habits.
Client Support: Text access for quick advice on cravings, social pressures, setbacks, and shopping decisions.
"This person's job is to help you develop a relationship with nutrition where you start to enjoy and seek and want to eat in a healthy, balanced way." – Sal (11:27)
Investment: $300–500/month, ~ $3,600–$6,000/year.
Why It Works: Outsourcing meal prep eliminates decision fatigue and ensures all meals fit your macros and caloric goals.
Importance of Transition:
"A good offboarding process is important... At some point you may want to go off and then you're out in the real world. But that's what the good online coach is for." – Sal (13:59)
Suggested Use: Start with full meal coverage, and gradually transition to self-prep under coach guidance.
Investment: $10–$20/meal; varies depending on meals per day.
When It Matters: Especially vital for those over 35 or people with measurable imbalances (e.g., low testosterone, thyroid issues).
Game-Changing for Some:
"I can't tell you how many clients ... their hormones were just out of whack... simply getting their hormones balanced made such a significant difference." – Adam (15:32)
Benefits: Enhanced energy, motivation, recovery, reduced cravings, better fat loss, muscle gain.
Investment: ~$300/month; varies with treatment.
Types: Focus on GLP-1s (e.g., tirzepatide) for weight loss, peptides for recovery and hormone stimulation.
Caveat: Far less critical than foundational work.
"These are more optional… could help with recovery, growth hormone… but can get expensive too." – Adam (19:23)
With Coaching: Proper support can ensure these are a tool, not a lifelong dependency.
Investment: ~$300–500/month depending on regimen.
Why Focus on Sleep?: "Game-changing" for fat loss, muscle retention, moods, cravings, and long-term health.
The Eight Sleep System: AI-driven mattress topper that controls temperature for optimal sleep quality.
"Studies have shown…the bad sleep group loses half as much body fat and twice as much muscle... The only difference is poor sleep." – Sal (20:34)
Investment: $1,000–$2,000 one-time.
Prioritize Deficiencies: Focus first on clearing deficiencies via multivitamins, D, magnesium, omega-3s.
Lab Testing First:
"Getting a full blood panel... and getting that addressed with supplements is where that makes the biggest sense." – Adam (22:00)
Creatine?: "Great, not necessary, but throw it in if money's no object."
Investment: $50–$100/month.
"Almost every client that I've ever trained that we've seen those type of results from made [their investment] back up." – Adam (23:23)
On Sustainability:
"The value is tremendous…a good trainer helps foster that relationship with fitness and diet and health that lasts a lifetime." – Sal (05:13)
On Personal Training:
"The average person...without a personal trainer falls off by month three. Those with personal training continue for two plus years." – Adam (03:44)
On Education:
"It's like getting a mini degree in your body." – Adam (08:17)
On Technology In Sleep:
"The bad sleep group loses half as much body fat and twice as much muscle in a calorie deficit… The only difference is poor sleep." – Sal (20:34)
On ROI:
"Almost every client...made it back up...in productivity and work performance." – Adam (23:22)
| Time | Segment | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:00 | Framing the problem: Why losing and maintaining weight is so hard | | 03:44 | Why personal training is #1: Real stats and long-term adherence | | 05:13 | The true value of a good trainer: Building lifelong fitness and diet habits | | 08:40 | Why diet coaching is vital: Real-time support and behavior change | | 12:42 | Meal prepping service: Outsourcing for consistency, transitioning to self-sufficiency | | 14:35 | Hormone therapy: Who needs it, what it can (and can't) do | | 17:46 | Peptides: Use cases, especially for large weight loss with proper coaching | | 19:46 | Sleep systems: How optimizing sleep transforms body composition, performance | | 21:01 | Supplements: Addressing deficiencies, role of lab work, creatine discussion | | 22:26 | The all-in cost: Is $50k/year worth it? Long-term ROI beyond health | | 23:50 | If you had to pick just one: Trainer comes out on top—when hormones are okay |
If money’s no object, a holistic, immersive approach offers not only the fastest but the most sustainable way to get lean and healthy.
The Mind Pump crew recommends investing in expert coaching, daily support, structured convenience, medical optimization, technology, and targeted supplements—stacked in that priority order for the best results.
But their core message is clear: If you can only splurge on one thing, a top-level personal trainer is your best investment, both for immediate transformation and for lifelong health skills.
Find the hosts and their programs at Mind Pump Media and on Instagram @mindpumpmedia.