2804: The Ultimate At-Home Dumbbell ONLY Workout

Summary

Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

Episode 2804 – The Ultimate At-Home Dumbbell ONLY Workout

Release Date: February 28, 2026
Hosts: Sal Di Stefano, Adam Schafer, Justin Andrews, Doug Egge

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on delivering the ultimate at-home, dumbbell-only workout—demystifying how you can get strong, balanced, and fit with just dumbbells and a bench. The hosts build out a full-body regimen ideal for people with minimal equipment, address common misconceptions, and answer live caller questions ranging from fitness career advice to hormone balancing, food sensitivities, and skill development as an aspiring trainer. Classic Mind Pump humor and plenty of personal anecdotes make this an insightful and entertaining listen.

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Segment 1: The Ultimate At-Home Dumbbell Workout

(Starts at 02:55)

Why Dumbbells?

• Minimal space, max results: Adjustable dumbbells and a bench are the "ultimate combo" for home workouts.
  • "Almost anything you need to do, you can do with dumbbells and an adjustable bench." —Justin (03:52)
• Flexibility and Progression: Many consider dumbbells limited by weight, but with proper exercise selection and progression, great strength and hypertrophy gains are possible.

The Core Workout (Exercises & Rationale)

The hosts lay out a 2-3x/week, full-body dumbbell routine, covering all major muscle groups and focusing on safety, progression, and building a balanced physique.

1. Back Step Lunge (04:43)

• Why: Safer for knees vs. forward lunge, good for stability and hip extension.
• Coach’s Note: Start with back step lunges, especially for beginners or those lacking ankle mobility.
  • "You step back, go down to lunge, step forward—it includes a nice hip extension to bring yourself forward, and a lot of people need that." —Justin (05:37)

2. Single-Leg Deadlift (07:01)

• Why: Maximizes load with lighter dumbbells, addresses imbalances, and builds hip stability.
• Coaching Tip: Start unweighted, then progress. Use support for heavy loads if needed.
  • "A 70-pound dumbbell single-leg deadlift is like someone doing a 140lb barbell deadlift—that’s a good amount of weight." —Sal (09:44)

3. Dumbbell Row (10:01)

• Why: Emphasizes scapular retraction and anti-rotation, highly functional.
• Progression: Start with strict form, then add rotational element if advanced.

4. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press (12:11)

• Why: Superior chest/shoulder development and joint positioning compared to flat presses.

5. Arnold Press (12:53)

• Why: Full-range-of-motion shoulder development and healthy spiraling movement.
  • "You want to bulletproof your shoulders, the Arnold press is such a great press." —Sal (13:43)

6. Biceps/Triceps Superset – DB Curls to Overhead Triceps Extension (15:53)

• Why: Great pump/effectiveness, time-efficient; arms get secondary work from compound lifts.
• Advice: Don’t overfocus on arms as a beginner; compound lifts build better arms long term.

7. Core Superset – Windmill and Active Plank (17:19)

• Why: Windmill hits rotational core and QL; active plank challenges abs and obliques.
• Integration: Fire finisher, ties together stability, rotation, and total core strength.

How To Structure the Program

• Beginners: 1 set/exercise, 2–3 times weekly.
• More advanced: 2–4 sets/exercise, adjust based on frequency.
  • "You could go for a full year just doing this, getting stronger, and your body will progress the entire time." —Justin (18:00)
• Reps: Start with higher reps (15), then drop to 10–12, and later 5 as technique and strength improve.
  • "Begin with 15 reps, then 10–12, and by month 3, as low as 5. Practice first." —Sal (18:03)

Programming Wisdom

• Adapt frequency vs. volume: More weekly workouts = fewer sets per session, and vice versa.
• Emphasize progression & consistency, not perfection.

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Segment 2: Call-In Q&A Highlights

Q1: Becoming a Personal Trainer – College vs. Experience

(56:09 | John, Florida)

• Question: Should I get a business degree on top of my NASM CPT?
• Advice:
  • College is unnecessary unless you want a medical license.
  • "If you want to be a trainer, college is a waste... learn more in a NASM cert than 4 years in college for training." —Sal (58:40)
  • Focus on character, mentorship, and learning on the job; education is ongoing.
  • Mind Pump offers a trainer business-building course recognized for CEUs.

Q2: Naturally Increasing Low Estrogen & Regaining Menstrual Cycle

(63:14 | Alyssa, Michigan)

• Situation: Lost period during first years at college, low estrogen, doc’s only advice was birth control.
• Foundational Steps:
  • Read "Beyond the Pill" by Dr. Jolene Brighton
  • Focus on cumulative stress, not just training load ("Let your body heal and recover")
  • Reduce training volume (Maps 15 over Maps Anabolic), eat enough daily (2,400–2,500 calories), prioritize sleep, incorporate more recovery-based activities (yin yoga, sauna).
  • "Give it 60 days: Stop running, walk, bump calories, swap to a lower volume program." —Justin (69:33)
  • Supplement: Multivitamin, Vitamin D3/K2, magnesium before bed.

Q3: Food Sensitivities, Biomarkers & Over-Optimization

(72:24 | Lucan, California)

• Issue: Lab suggests sensitivities to eggs, casein, coffee, wheat, yeast; family history of heart disease.
• Advice:
  • Stick to elimination for 90 days, retest, then slowly reintroduce single foods based on priority.
  • Don’t try to optimize everything at once: “Move too many levers, you won’t know which one made the difference.” —Sal (78:02)
  • Monitor how you actually feel, not only lab numbers; don’t let “over-biohacking” become a new stressor.

Q4: Skill Gaps & Imposter Syndrome as an Aspiring Trainer

(81:34 | Reese, Texas)

• Problem: Passionate future trainer feels embarrassed at low squat/bench/dead numbers, fears imposter syndrome.
• Mind Pump Wisdom:
  • "The character of a great trainer: humble, loves people, growth mindset, honest and vulnerable." —Justin (85:08)
  • You can become a great trainer without being a great lifter, especially if you’re authentic and willing to learn.
  • Use your own journey to relate better to future clients.
  • Focus on practice and skill development (Great 8 program, Prime/Prime Pro for mobility/correctives).
  • "98% of clients relate better to an honest, still-learning trainer than to a perfectionist athlete." —Sal (94:17)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Dumbbell Programs:
  • "Whenever somebody asks me what equipment to buy, it's always adjustable dumbbells and a bench." —Justin (03:37)
• Arnold Press Debate:
  • "You want to bulletproof your shoulders, the Arnold press is... such a great press." —Sal (13:43)
  • "Nothing gives me a shoulder pump like it, to the point of being uncomfortable." —Justin (14:10)
• Trainer Wisdom:
  • "A trainer who is humble and honest connects far better than a trainer who pretends to be perfect." —Justin (85:08)
• On Overtraining & Hormones:
  • "The general advice for hormone balancing... is to let your body heal and recover." —Justin (66:20)
• Life Coaching:
  • "Happiness is like a thermometer—it measures the room’s temperature. Joy is like a thermostat—you can set the temperature." —Justin (54:10)
• Biohacking Cautionary:
  • "Turn longevity into a god, and it becomes its own stressor." —Sal (78:10)
• Relatability:
  • "Even if you're not deadlifting 300, your honesty will connect better with most clients." —Sal (93:56)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:55] — Introduction and why dumbbells for at-home training
• [04:43] — Back Step Lunge: safer, more effective for most
• [07:01] — Single-Leg Deadlift: balancing out imbalances
• [10:01] — Dumbbell Row: anti-rotation and building the back
• [12:11] — Incline Chest Press and the Arnold Press debate
• [15:53] — Biceps/Triceps superset for efficiency and pump
• [17:19] — Core rotation and finishers
• [18:03] — How to progress the program for beginners and intermediates
• [56:09] — Call-in Q&A: How to become a trainer (skip college?)
• [63:14] — Call-in Q&A: Restoring hormones in young athletes (Alyssa)
• [72:24] — Call-in Q&A: Food sensitivities, labs, functional health (Lucan)
• [81:34] — Call-in Q&A: Overcoming imposter syndrome as a future coach (Reese)

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Mind Pump Tone & Takeaways

The hosts keep the energy loose, direct, supportive, and unfiltered. They debunk fitness myths, remind listeners that progress—not perfection—matters most, and give down-to-earth advice for sustainable health and career growth. They encourage new trainers to embrace imperfection as a strength, emphasize the importance of being authentic, and remind everyone that fundamentals trump complexity.

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For Listeners

• Find the full workout and more guidance:
  Visit mindpumppodcast.com or mapsfitnessproducts.com
• Connect on Instagram:
  @mindpumpmedia @mindpumpsal @mindpumpadam @mindpumpjustin @mindpumpdoug
• Want to call in?
  Submit your question at mplifecaller.com

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This summary captures the heart, advice, and wit of Mind Pump’s hosts, making it perfect for anyone looking to maximize their at-home training or aspiring to grow in the health and fitness industry.

Transcript

[Justin Andrews]

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[Doug]

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[Sal Destefano]

Just relax, you're on a roll.

[Reese]

Let her rip.

[Sal Destefano]

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[Justin Andrews]

Charmin Ultra Soft Smooth Tear has the same softness you love now with wavy edges that tear better than the leading one. Ply Brand Enjoy the Go with Charming.

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

If you want to pump your body and expand your mind, there's only one place to go.

[Justin Andrews]

Mind Pump. Mind Pump.

[Sal Destefano]

With your hosts Sal Destefano, Adam Schafer

[Justin Andrews]

and Justin Andrews, you just found the most downloaded fitness, health and entertainment podcast. This is Mind Pump. In today's episode, callers called in and we coach them on air. We got to help them with their fitness. But this was after the intro. Today's intro was 52 minutes long. Now in the intro we talk about fat loss, muscle gain. We give you a free workout at the beginning of this episode. Current events, family life, always a good time. By the way, if you want to call in, you want to be one of the callers where we get to help you, here's what you do. Submit your question to mplifecaller.com now this episode is brought to you by some sponsors. The first one is Seed. They're the world's best probiotic, hands down, by the way. They now have a multivitamin. So the same technology that goes into the probiotic that allows it to get released in the right places and in your body now is applied to a multivitamin. So if you like multivitamins, if you take them but you want the best, go with seed. Go to seed.com mindpump use the code 20mindpump get 20% off. This episode is also brought to you by Crisp Power. These are high protein pretzels, 25 grams of protein per bag. And they're crunchy snacks. They taste delicious. Different flavors, great way to snack while watching tv. Or if you want something on the go and you're having a tough time hitting your protein targets, go check them out. Go to crisp power.com use the code mindpump10. Get 10% off. We also have one day left for our brand new maps program. Maps great eight. This program is one exercise per day. It's an eight day split. It's basic, it's simple, super effective and it's 50% off right now. Go to mapsgreat8.com that's mapsgreat number8.com use the code launch for 50% off. By the way, we're going to throw in a free nutrition guide if you sign up in the next 24 hours. Again, mapsgreat8.com, the code launch, 50% off, plus the free nutrition guide. All right, real quick.

[Doug]

If you love us like we love you, why not show it by rocking one of our shirts, hats, mugs, or training gear [e-mail] I'm talking right now. Hit pause, head on over tomypumpstore.com.

[Sal Destefano]

that's it.

[Doug]

Enjoy the rest of the show.

[Justin Andrews]

All right, here's what we did. We put together the perfect, the best at home only dumbbell workout. You only have dumbbells. You work out at home. Here's the workout that you do. We put together the best exercises. Simple, effective. Let's go.

[Doug]

Okay.

[Sal Destefano]

We didn't do this.

[Justin Andrews]

We didn't do this. I did this. You guys agree? Yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. Well, we'll find out.

[Doug]

It's fine. It's the Collective.

[Justin Andrews]

It's 1A. One of the most. It's got to be one of the most requested. Like, hey, can you guys give us a workout with all of them? And we. And a lot of our maps programs

[Sal Destefano]

have all the alternatives.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, we put in a lot of them, like Dumbbell only versions of those programs because such a popular.

[Sal Destefano]

You get a lot of these exercises.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. And whenever somebody asks me, I'm sure you guys answer the same way. I have a lot of friends are like, what equipment should I buy? I have. I have minimal space. I don't want to spend a lot of money. They expect me to say some machine or something like that. I always tell them the same thing. Adjustable dumbbells and adjustable bench.

[Sal Destefano]

That's it.

[Justin Andrews]

You could do almost anything.

[Doug]

Pretty much anything you need to do.

[Justin Andrews]

So far. So far. Now you can do stuff with bands and suspension trainers, stuff like that. But like dumbbells, adjustable bench. I mean, you could, you could go super far. Something like this.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

All right, so here we're going to list the exercises. And so this would be a workout. And you could do this workout two or three days a week. And you would hit all of the major areas of the body. You would also develop a good balance. You wouldn't really develop too many imbalances or issues. It build good muscle. You could progressively overload this pretty well to the point where you're going to get pretty strong. Sometimes dumbbell, you know, people think with dumbbell workouts, you're limited by the weight, and there's some truth to that. But we picked exercises where you could go pretty far. You can go pretty far. So we'll start with the lower body. I picked a back step lunge with dumbbells.

[Sal Destefano]

I like this. Yeah, I, you know, we, we don't talk about the back step lunge a lot.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

And so I love that you put it in here so we can talk about this. Because when I think back to a lot of my clients that I train, I would say I did more back step lunges than I did regular lunges.

[Justin Andrews]

Me too.

[Sal Destefano]

The reason why that is is because the lack of ankle mobility in the average person, hence struggle with squats, would feel stress in their knees when they would do a forward lunge.

[Justin Andrews]

Yes.

[Doug]

And the forward moving weight coach too.

[Sal Destefano]

Exactly. And so coaching somebody through a proper forward lunge seemed to be more difficult. Where I could start a very beginner person into a backstep lunge, get the desired outcome I was looking for. And much easier, less stressful on the knees to take step backwards and to go forward.

[Justin Andrews]

It also includes when you come out of the back step, you step back, go down to lunge, step forward. It includes a nice hip extension to bring yourself forward, which, you know, a lot of people need that posterior chain strength. And like you said, it can be tough to train otherwise. It kind of naturally happens with a backstep lunge. What's cool with this too is you could really progressively overload this. Like I, you know, I could squat a lot of weight, but I definitely could work with dumbbells with a back step lunge that aren't that heavy and get a pretty damn good workout. You make a couple 40 pound dumbbells with some backstep lunges. Like I'm going to get a really good leg.

[Doug]

Well, it's as close as you're going to get to, to like a single leg squat.

[Justin Andrews]

That's right.

[Doug]

From that kind of movement going in reverse. And like you said, it's just so much easier. Instead of really trying to manage and maintain their knee position, like they just fall into much better mechanics that way.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. A reverse lunge to about a 3 second balance was like a staple exercise 100 that I started. So many you get somebody who is, you know, not even has to be advanced age, just in their late 30s, 40s, hasn't really trained. You know, stability is normally a real issue. And, and then also, like we said, ankle mobility. And so I love the back step lunge. To a balance to kind of take care of two things that we're, we're

[Justin Andrews]

trying stability at the top. You get the hip extension, you get good quad activation. Great exercise. Next up, the single leg deadlift. Now you're probably, if you're not working out, this is new for you. Probably gonna use no weight whatsoever. Could you progressively overload this to make this like a really good strength? Oh yeah, big time. Now I like I made it single because you could do, you could do a stiff legged deadlift with, with you know, both legs. But single leg adds that stability. It gives a little bit of that lateral stability. It helps create some balance which if you're doing everything bilaterally, both legs, both arms, sometimes you develop some imbalances when you're doing the single leg version. It's, it really does handle this quite a bit and it really does illuminate the difference between right and left. You'll see it, you'll feel it. So pick the side that's weaker, let that dictate the reps and then go. Yeah.

[Doug]

And deadlifts, you know, with dumbbells, you're not really going to get like that heavy of load to really, you know, get a substantial lift out of it. That's why I like the single leg is to really totally.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, you're going to get, you're going

[Doug]

to maximize your efforts, you know, know by going single leg.

[Sal Destefano]

That, that being said, this is so there's I don't know if you guys remember, I think I brought it up briefly on the podcast progressing Katrina on this. So she single leg deadlift is one of her first when we're just kind of working out in the garage or she's getting back in the swing of things. It's a staple movement that I normally have her do to regain that stability back with even just the body weight or a light dumbbell is enough to challenge it and, and progressively overload it at the very beginning. And I had seen her doing that for you know, a while and you know, she'd slowly progressed away but you could see too she was getting to a point where to stabilize like that and also hold really load was, was getting challenging one leg and I'd seen her do the same kind of weight for a while and I said hey, you know, you're at a place now, you've been doing that for a little bit. You, you know, you can go over and grab a hold of that squat rack or that bar right there to help stabilize you and really load.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

And so what I like to do is I love to do this first.

[Doug]

Eliminate the stability.

[Sal Destefano]

Yes. Yeah. So first use it for stability because it makes sense. You're just getting started. Get the benefits of the hip stability and the balance and, and then the challenge of that, you progress it to a little bit of weight, then you get to a point where, you know, balancing with really heavy dumbbells is. You're going to be all over the place. Really hard to do that. And now that, that's not a bad thing to just keep trying to progress.

[Doug]

Sure.

[Sal Destefano]

But somebody who's like really trying to develop glutes like she is and wants to build. Yeah, yeah. I walked her over to the bar and like she went from like holding on to like 1520 pound dumbbells stabilizing to being able to hold a 70 pound dumbbell and a single leg deadlift because she could stabilize with the, the squat rack, you know, or a bar and hold on to it.

[Justin Andrews]

More hypertrophy focus.

[Sal Destefano]

More hypertrophy focused. So I love this. And so again, going back to just what would I do with a dumbbell? And you don't. So I don't even need really. And a 70 pound dumbbell single leg hip hinge is like someone doing a 140 deadlift barbell deadlift. That's a good amount of weight. So you can really load that.

[Justin Andrews]

Totally, totally. Next up, the dumbbell row. One of the best back exercises. You know, just a single arm dumbbell row. It's really good because it does emphasize that scapular retraction. There's a little bit of rotation at the top and it's just very functional. It's one of the best back exercises you could do, period, end of story. And put your knee and your hand on a bench just to just offer some balance. This is an exercise that's good for function, it's good for aesthetics. And you can also get really strong with this. Like you can get really. This is one of those exercises. I don't care how advanced you are. It's a staple back exercise but great for beginners.

[Doug]

Yeah, it helps to really set you in good upright posture as well. So yeah, it's definitely a good functional addition and back developer exercise.

[Sal Destefano]

Incredible for the anti rotation too. So I mean when you do the single side like that, your core really has to stabilize the spine from wanting to rotate. And so this is also one of those movements. Again, I'll give like the, like a great exercise by itself and we can progress this and we can play with it a little bit as I take A client through. So when they first start, it looks like a very strict form when they do that where I have their back level and there's not really a rotational component to it. It's just trying to isolate the lat and really squeeze the back and stabilize the core. And then as we get, you know, further along, I can progress it by trying to create some sort of rotation inside there. And so, you know, there's, I think we did a YouTube video I believe I did on Mind Pump TV a long time ago that talked about, you know, this. It's not right or wrong way to do these because you'll see some camps

[Justin Andrews]

when it comes to big rotation.

[Sal Destefano]

Yes. Or completely flat. Right. And so, you know, both valuable. Both very, very. Well, a bodybuilder camp would, would do this very stable look where it's just like you're not getting any rotation. The more functional group would be like intentionally rotating through that. And so both are good and both are almost like different exercises. And so this one dumbbell and one movement you can really progress and play with over time and get a lot of benefit from it.

[Justin Andrews]

Totally. And you have the incline dumbbell chest press, just a great upper body exercise. Incline. We've talked about this before. Even with the barbell, it's better for aesthetics. It's gonna develop a better looking chest and shoulders, more functional, better positioning. Flat, not a bad exercise. If you want to do flat, that's great. But if you had to pick just one incline, and I'll argue that all day long, incline dumbbell chest press, great exercise. Then you have the Arnold press. Now what's funny about this Arnold press is a standing shoulder press. There's a rotation at the bottom that allows for a deeper range of motion. It's so crazy to me when we talk about the Arnold press, how some people somehow think the Arnold press is like not a good pressing exercise. Have you guys seen these comments?

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, we got it when we did the, we did when we ranked the exercises.

[Justin Andrews]

I don't get it.

[Sal Destefano]

I think we ranked the Arnold press. You know, you're not going to load it as much as you're going to load a barbell military press. And so.

[Justin Andrews]

But you still can load it. It's not like an exercise.

[Sal Destefano]

No, no, you can, you can load it pretty well. And, and I know for sure full range. Well, that's. I know. I knew you were bound that. Right. Like, I mean, that's. You can't.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

You can't beat taking.

[Doug]

Not doing this.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

I mean it's full Range of motion with articulating it through a rotational pattern too. So you get this, this full range, you're articulating the shoulder and this kind of natural spiral, healthy shoulder development. So it's not just you can get great development from it, but it's also the entire shoulder getting worked and you want to bulletproof your shoulders. The Arnold press is, I think, such a great press.

[Justin Andrews]

It's funny, the first time I did an Arnold press as part of my work, I got, and I still to this day, if I want to do a shoulder press, this is from a bodybuilding perspective and just get the craziest, gnarliest pump. This will crush all the other versions behind. The neck press is pretty close because I have to really squeeze my shoulders back. But the Arnold press with that full range of nothing will give me a shoulder pump. Like it, like it makes it uncomfortable, in fact.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Give me such a crazy, I mean,

[Sal Destefano]

I, I, I do them in a, not always, but I do them in a very untraditional way too. I like to single arm them.

[Justin Andrews]

Oh yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

So I love to, to throw a single arm version of it.

[Justin Andrews]

I feel like just holding one number.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, yeah. I feel like you can also see

[Doug]

something, I mean, if you have a. Yeah. If you have access to kettlebell. I prefer it just because of the loading on the back of the arm. It goes really naturally with that spiraling type of press.

[Justin Andrews]

Totally.

[Doug]

But you know, one thing I, I try to figure out how to articulate this, but it's, you know, just this 90 degree sort of the existence that we've been conditioned to, to, to be in and to do all these exercises within. Like, you got to think about, like where that force like really targets and you know, in the joint and how much pressure are we placing, you know, like unnecessarily. Like if I'm rotating through that and I'm still expressing these muscles, but it distributes it so much more effectively.

[Justin Andrews]

Well, so I mean, we're going biomechanics, right? If you look at the, the humerus, right. The upper arm, which is the part that the Delt is attached to, you also, you have to also look at the scapula. The scapula has to move. That's the shoulder blade has to move along with the humerus. For a healthy shoulder, this 90 degree press almost limits the movement. It does limit the movement of the scapula and makes it all the humerus. So what ends up happening is you start to teach your shoulder joint to move where the humerus moves and the Scapula doesn't. This is why people that always shoulder press with this. And I agree, their shoulder hurts when they do a full range of motion. They're like, why does my shoulder hurt when I go all the way down?

[Doug]

You hit a point where that it really, like, compounds and you get that pain signal because it's just like it's got nowhere else to go.

[Justin Andrews]

That's right. That's right. Next up, it's a super set. That means you go from one to the other, which is considered a set. It's just regular dumbbell curls to overhead tricep extension. So this is your bicep tricep combo right here, by the way. Supersets, they have some value here or there. People argue them bicep, triceps, supersets, purely for the feel is the best. Like, there's nothing like getting the bicep and tricep pumped at the same time. It's a great feeling.

[Sal Destefano]

They're just also both very small muscles.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, they're not going to get exhausted doing.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, they just. Everything else is a much. Your shoulders, your back, your chest, your legs are such bigger muscles. And so if you were going to throw something to conserve time, like, it makes the most sense, not to mention both those, both those muscles get addressed in the other big compound lifts anyways. And so it's not necessary to, you know, low the. This is something that it took me a long time. I was so backwards when I was younger. Like, so much emphasis on arms.

[Doug]

Just my body so important because everybody sees it.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, yeah. And you just, you know, when it's like. And yet they were taking away from these other great compound lifts that I was neglecting because I, I.

[Justin Andrews]

Which would have gotten you better arms.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, which would have got me better arms. That's the point I'm making, is that if I would have really been a better rower, bench presser, all these other deadlifter, all these other great movements that incorporate the biceps and the triceps and then done them, like in a superset fashion. Get out of the gym. I would have been better served anyways.

[Justin Andrews]

Totally. And then lastly, a little core superset windmill. This is great for rotation. You're getting sip hinging, you're getting that ql, which often gets neglected, causing the back pain. Superset that with an active plank, which is abs and obliques. And now you have a fire finish to your workout, which is core. Now here's how you would piece this together. Okay. If you're relatively new, once you're warmed up. One set of each is fine. You could do this workout two or three days a week. One set of each would be perfectly fine. If you're more advanced, you can move up to two or three sets per exercise and you have yourself a full body, effective workout that you can progress for a decent period of time. You could go for a full year just doing this, getting stronger, all these exercises and your body will progress the entire time. Yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

My advice, if I was a beginner would be to start the first month in the 15 rep range and then drop to 10 to 12 and then the third month drop to like 5. Yeah, right. So, which is typically backwards from a lot of like maps programs that we build and so that we tend to focus on, on strength first. But if I think of a beginner, A beginner, A beginner who's doing a dumbbell workout at home, which comes to mind right away, I'm thinking of practicing these repetitions, getting good at the movements. Higher repetitions at first and then working them way, you know, by the third month, they're down to five reps. They're getting confident and confidence in a lot of these movements, starting to really load them with the dumbbell and, and really say, man, this is a, for three months cycling through like that.

[Justin Andrews]

Oh, great.

[Sal Destefano]

Three, three times a week. This is a. Two or three times a week. This is incredible. And maybe that's how I would by the way too. Like the, the layer to that is you said like two to three sets, right? If, if I'm, I'm training three times a week, you do as little as two, two to three sets. If I'm training two times a week, you'd probably do like four sets, right? You could, yeah. So that's how you would. I would manipulate that. If I'm only doing it two times a week, I might do four sets of all these things. If I'm doing it three times a week, I'm gonna probably do two or three times.

[Justin Andrews]

Good, good. All right, so today I gotta tell you guys about my, my workout. So you guys know this week is cardio week.

[Sal Destefano]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. We're on day three now.

[Justin Andrews]

Day three. So I'm throwing in a little bit of like stuff that normally wouldn't do, like roller skating I need to do. Yeah, it's a little roller skating prancing.

[Doug]

Now I'm waiting for, you know, did

[Justin Andrews]

some skippy, by the way. You know what's funny about skipping? You'll see this in like dynamic warm ups sometimes. Remember the first time you saw that in a dynamic warm up.

[Doug]

I can't make fun.

[Justin Andrews]

I do that.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Doug]

Like bound and.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, yeah.

[Doug]

You do that to. Yeah. Get everything loaded.

[Sal Destefano]

You'll catch me do that every once in a while.

[Justin Andrews]

Just skipping.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

When you're happy or as part of your work.

[Sal Destefano]

No, no, it's part of this. To warm up. To warm my legs up. I do. I do like to do that.

[Justin Andrews]

I would love to see it.

[Sal Destefano]

I. I used to do it. I used to do it a lot when we.

[Doug]

You have to.

[Sal Destefano]

We didn't have so many people in here, and we had the grass. We had the grass with a lot of people in here. That was a. That would be a common way that

[Doug]

I would tell you how much I missed the grass. I know everybody else here is like, you know, that's one thing. I do miss it. Just because it's.

[Justin Andrews]

I'm.

[Doug]

I'm very driven to fields and all that from, like, training, you know, that's one of those things.

[Sal Destefano]

I mean, for workout purposes, I do too, but it's like, it looks better without it, you know, I'm saying it looks so much better. And the truth is, like, it wouldn't even matter now. We have so many people training, not enough space.

[Justin Andrews]

You know what's funny? That the grass. Excuse me, the grass is kind of. The color is falling out of favor now. You're seeing gyms with, like, black. Yeah. Turf.

[Doug]

Yeah, yeah. No, I'm so still the same, though, because it's. It's definitely. It's an association thing. So.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Because you played sports.

[Sal Destefano]

I agree with that too. I don't think I would like black grass. There's something. There's something about the color that may. Even though I'm indoor, it makes me feel like I'm outdoor.

[Doug]

I feel like it's a bodybuilder idea.

[Justin Andrews]

It's a bodybuilder.

[Doug]

They're like, yeah, we'll do grasp.

[Justin Andrews]

It's gonna be black. Yeah, dude.

[Doug]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. Close the windows. Shots, fire dogs. Just turn up the lights. We don't want windows in here. Body was like, we don't know.

[Reese]

Grass.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Why would it do it? Yeah. Yeah. I still think if I were. If I don't. And this is super. I'm sure this will never happen because economically, I don't know how you make sense, but I would love a gym in a location that's like California. I have to work in a sunny place with a roof that you could retract.

[Doug]

Oh, yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

So you can let the sun.

[Sal Destefano]

I don't I don't, you know, but I don't know how economic I would not be at all. Gyms are not very profitable. And to have, you know, the Dallas Cowboy Stadium for your freaking gym and

[Justin Andrews]

you decide to open it.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, no, I still go back to

[Doug]

our original idea where we could can get everybody to actually power our lights by running on the.

[Justin Andrews]

Someone did that. Yeah, I know.

[Sal Destefano]

Someone actually do it because they did and it failed.

[Doug]

Oh, really?

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Doug]

Oh, like it was a chain that.

[Justin Andrews]

So it was a jam. Maybe Doug can look it up.

[Sal Destefano]

Are you sure you're not like, we talked about this? Are you sure it's not what we talk.

[Justin Andrews]

No, I think somebody actually tried this.

[Sal Destefano]

I don't think so.

[Justin Andrews]

So you would pay a fee and then you could exercise down your fee

[Sal Destefano]

by generating our idea.

[Justin Andrews]

Dog.

[Sal Destefano]

That was our idea. Yeah, we talked about somebody did it. I don't know.

[Justin Andrews]

I believe it was.

[Sal Destefano]

That was my idea. On this podcast a long time ago, I talked about that.

[Justin Andrews]

I could have swore our friend Larry was going to work in a gym like this.

[Sal Destefano]

No, no, no. He was building something else.

[Justin Andrews]

No. Are you sure?

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, this was my idea a long time ago. We laughed about it years ago.

[Justin Andrews]

Let's see.

[Sal Destefano]

Years ago now. I knew there there was someone trying to do an eco. An eco.

[Doug]

There was one in Oregon.

[Sal Destefano]

It wasn't structured with the membership like you're saying. That was our idea.

[Justin Andrews]

Was that our idea?

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it was mine, but you probably took that. You know,

[Justin Andrews]

what is this? Sacramento Eco Fitness. This facility uses sports art Echo power machines, which includes stationary bikes, ellipticals, and treadmills that turn human energy into utility grade electricity. Yeah. The gym has reportedly reduced its electric pill bill from 600 to 30. $680 to $30 a month.

[Reese]

Yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

So, yeah, this has been done. But the membership idea was our idea. Yeah. Like I thought that was a brilliant idea, by the way. Thanks.

[Doug]

You are a human battery, by the way.

[Justin Andrews]

This is pure. People aren't going to like this. A gym that does this is pure. It's virtue signaling. Because that's not profitable. If you go from 680 to $30, you're like, wow, cool. We're saving $600 a month. Do you know how much that equipment probably costs? Yeah, it'll probably take you 15 years to make up the difference.

[Sal Destefano]

Well, can I just tell you how small that gym has to be to

[Justin Andrews]

only have an electricity bill in Sacramento?

[Sal Destefano]

I have solar panels in my electricity

[Justin Andrews]

because it's like a.

[Lucan]

What is that?

[Sal Destefano]

A 1000 square. Was that a 1000 square foot gym? That's somebody's gym garage.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. That's tiny, dude. I don't know. By the way, did you guys know that the first. And I'm going to talk about my workout in a second because I close that loop, but you guys know that the first. I think I told you guys this. The. How treadmills were first invented. I think we talked about this once. Like, who invented treadmills?

[Sal Destefano]

Oh, that's a good trivia.

[Justin Andrews]

They were for. They were. It was a way to punish prisoners.

[Sal Destefano]

No, it was.

[Justin Andrews]

Look up, look up. Original. It was.

[Lucan]

No.

[Justin Andrews]

Yes. First.

[Sal Destefano]

Wait. Doug's looking at one thing at a time here. How big is this gym?

[Justin Andrews]

Okay. What?

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

This is the gym itself. I'm just looking at how expensive pieces of equipment are. Or the treadmill is like 10 grand.

[Justin Andrews]

10 grand.

[Sal Destefano]

I mean, that's.

[Justin Andrews]

That's all right. But how much power is it really?

[John]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

I don't know. All right, what were you saying, Justin?

[Doug]

Oh, like, so which came first, the hamster wheel or the. The treadmill?

[Justin Andrews]

Probably treadmill. I don't think people had hamsters as pets.

[Doug]

No.

[Justin Andrews]

When the treadmill was invented. Yeah. They were trying to kill.

[Sal Destefano]

So it was a form of punishment.

[Justin Andrews]

Yes, the first. Yep. Treadmills were invented in 1818 by English engineer William Cubitt, specifically as a form of hard labor punishment for prisoners in 19th century British jails, often referred to as a penal treadmill or everlasting staircase.

[Doug]

Why is this.

[Sal Destefano]

You know what's so funny about that

[Justin Andrews]

we're forced to walk on large.

[Sal Destefano]

Is how much did that backfire? Because if you're a prisoner. Okay. Locked up in a cell all day long, I would look so forward to go walking on my StairMaster or treadmill for hours. Not sure you want to bet?

[Justin Andrews]

No, I would, bro. First of all, they're feeding you three grains of rice a day. You're forced to walk.

[Sal Destefano]

Stop it, bro. If you are. If you're in solitude, in. In confinement, walking, going outside, and I

[Justin Andrews]

mean, it's probably better than what.

[Sal Destefano]

Yes.

[Justin Andrews]

We're having. You do.

[Sal Destefano]

Yes, I will. I will bet that all day. That's why. I guarantee you why. It didn't probably last very long. They probably were like.

[Justin Andrews]

They like it.

[Doug]

They're all the chain gang or these new brakes.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. I mean, if you're in prison, going out and doing labor or work or exercise is.

[Justin Andrews]

I mean, they probably were having people walk on them for like 10 hours a day.

[Sal Destefano]

Oh, that.

[Justin Andrews]

Yes. Well, look at it.

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

So they were used to grind grain, pump water, causing extreme exhaustion, injury, and sometimes death.

[Justin Andrews]

It was like that, bro. It was like.

[Doug]

It's a liability if we had those.

[Justin Andrews]

The gym, I guess. My bad. Get fit or die. I pull up a picture of one of these.

[Sal Destefano]

This is like. It's like a torture looking one. It's kind of like spice on it.

[Justin Andrews]

Oh, yeah, look, look, look. Wow. It would all line up.

[Sal Destefano]

Oh, wow, look at that.

[Justin Andrews]

And you'd have to just keep walking forever.

[Doug]

It's the original CrossFit right there.

[Justin Andrews]

Wow, dude. How'd you get shredded, by the way?

[Sal Destefano]

Hey, dude, that's. I had no idea about that. I had never. I had so.

[Justin Andrews]

You know how people hate treadmills? They use it as a punishment back in the day.

[Sal Destefano]

So I mean. And that's like the Stairmaster still there, right? So that's. That was the Stairmaster Treadmill was. Is like the first thing then. So what. Where did the elliptical come from?

[Justin Andrews]

Oh, that came later, bro. That was invented.

[Sal Destefano]

That was for low impact.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, but that was the 90s.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. That was like science came around, said like, okay, how do we get people to do cardio without her?

[Justin Andrews]

It was brilliant. It was actually chiropractor. It was so in our, in our time in fitness, there's a few times when equipment was invented and changed the landscape of a gym.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

So dumbbells and barbells always been there.

[Sal Destefano]

Yes.

[Justin Andrews]

Squat racks always been there. The elliptical was one of the biggest changes.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Pre core came out and suddenly it was because cardio areas in gyms used to be treadmills and bikes and stairmasters. That's all they were. Stairmaster was the newer one, but they were there.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Then the elliptical came out and it became a selling point.

[Sal Destefano]

Oh, yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

I used to give memory.

[Sal Destefano]

Oh, I had a. I had a preso around it, dude. Because so many. You had so many people that were middle aged. It's a bad knees, bad joints, injuries, surgeries, all the things. And it was zero impact. Yeah, it was a zero impact cardio.

[Justin Andrews]

I do it all the time.

[Sal Destefano]

Just I. I intentionally. I'm like, I was gonna watch like I'm gonna get on elliptical.

[Justin Andrews]

You know why it's the best.

[Sal Destefano]

Suggested he sends me videos.

[Justin Andrews]

I do. Really? Yeah. I see videos like this.

[Doug]

Shake my head.

[Justin Andrews]

But Precorp, Precor crushed. They went from nothing to crushing.

[Sal Destefano]

You think it was, was it was

[Justin Andrews]

it Precor was the first one.

[Sal Destefano]

You think so it was, you know that.

[Justin Andrews]

Look it up.

[Sal Destefano]

You say that.

[Justin Andrews]

So I am like, I am like 95% sure. That precor.

[Sal Destefano]

I mean, I wouldn't.

[Justin Andrews]

Invented.

[Sal Destefano]

I wouldn't argue. I just don't know, like, because I. Precor was one.

[Justin Andrews]

Did Pre. Core invent the elliptical, Doug?

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

I believe so. Yeah. They were up in. Actually, Washington state. I remember when they first came around.

[Justin Andrews]

When were they invented?

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

Because 1980.

[Sal Destefano]

Oh, wow.

[Justin Andrews]

80. I didn't see him in gyms until, like, the 90s.

[Sal Destefano]

Take a while to get popular. We don't have to have the Internet, dude. Yeah.

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

They made the first rowing machine in 1981. And the elliptical in 1995.

[Justin Andrews]

Oh, 95 was the first one. Yeah. Where'd you get the 80 from?

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

Oh, that's when they were founded.

[Justin Andrews]

Oh, duh.

[Sal Destefano]

Okay.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. So I remember that because I was working in gyms in 97, and that's when ellipticals were starting to make their way.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, yeah. I remember when we were getting them.

[Justin Andrews]

Yep. Oh, yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

We're getting four more ellipticals.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, yeah. It would be a line.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

There would be a line.

[Sal Destefano]

Oh, my God, you're so funny. You brought that out. I was just gonna bring. I'm glad you said that, because I'm gonna bring it up on the podcast because I've been doing so much cardio at the gym, I. So I'm. Fitness 19 is one of the gyms I rotate through. So I went to that one, which has a huge cardio area, and they have, I want to say, four of those step Step monsters. The Step Mills.

[Justin Andrews]

Step mill.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Called the Step Mill.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Yes.

[Sal Destefano]

They call Step monster.

[Reese]

Whatever.

[Sal Destefano]

It is scarier because there's.

[Justin Andrews]

There's.

[Doug]

There's a.

[Sal Destefano]

There's a StairMaster. It's like this. And then there's the rotating stairs. Actual stairs, big stairs.

[Justin Andrews]

Right. Then if you mess up on your phone.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, There's. There's four of those. I'm. I'm doing my elliptical.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

Which is funny because people don't. There's always elliptical.

[Justin Andrews]

When you demonstrate the elliptical, you make a funny face.

[Sal Destefano]

He does like salsa. It's the face I suggested all the time. It's my face.

[Justin Andrews]

Okay. All right, Tell your story. Dude. You're so weird.

[Sal Destefano]

So there's always ellipticals open. There's always a handful of treadmills, but everybody wants those four step step mills or whatever. And I'm on the elliptical, and there's two ellipticals open next to me.

[Justin Andrews]

There's.

[Sal Destefano]

And there's two people waiting, sitting on their phones while there's hella equipment. Why there's. People do that. And I'm like, the first of all, cardio is so minimal amount of calories.

[Justin Andrews]

It also doesn't matter. Any piece of cardio.

[Sal Destefano]

That's what I like.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. It's not like. It's not like strength training where they're all different.

[Sal Destefano]

It's so hard. My trainer brain is so hard to not.

[Doug]

There's like, real stares.

[Sal Destefano]

Like, I would. Like, this has now happened enough times where I'm like this. I'm like, you, Adam. You're an asshole. Don't talk to nobody. Just, you're working out. You don't need to talk to anybody. But I want to walk over to them so bad and be like, I know what your goal is to get. What to get on this. I've been pretty confident in what you're trying to do. You know how much more beneficial it would be for you to just until that opens up, go walk on that treadmill at speed three until that does. And then you hop over there versus sitting down on your phone waiting for 20 minutes.

[Justin Andrews]

I know. That is the. That is the most absurd I know

[Sal Destefano]

thing you could possibly do.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

Like, it's almost like you went to the gym, which means you went to the gym. You might spend, let's say an hour, hour and a half there, and you sat on the ground for 20 minutes with. While somebody was walking on your. So you.

[Doug]

The same people at the airport that, like, move everybody away to get right in front on the track to get their bag, but their bag isn't even there.

[Sal Destefano]

That's my other pet peeve. Can we address that, too?

[Doug]

Can you step back and wait till your bag even gets there?

[Sal Destefano]

There should be, like, a. There should be, like, a painted line around. Around the luggage.

[Justin Andrews]

The luggage wants to push people. Oh, you just push them down.

[Sal Destefano]

Dude. I just.

[Doug]

I don't get it.

[Justin Andrews]

It is.

[Sal Destefano]

And if we all just stood back, then when you're thinking it would be easy. There it is.

[Doug]

And then you come in and you're not in everybody's way, but right away,

[Sal Destefano]

everybody gravitates right to the edge of it and into shoulder to shoulder.

[Justin Andrews]

And it's like, even your bag's not even there. Let's just stand here. I know. Did I ever tell you when I look at the same people I lectured, it is the same people saying 100. It's also the same people at Costco with their cart that stop in the middle of everything and just sit there.

[Doug]

And the same people don't understand how merging works.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. Yeah. You don't stop.

[Doug]

Yeah. No, you merge you zipper in.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Doug]

You wait till the last minute you zipper, and you get in early like an asshole and create a longer line, and they get mad that I'm passing

[Justin Andrews]

you, so it's merging, so it makes you zipper in.

[Doug]

Can we get a psa?

[Justin Andrews]

You ever get on the freeway where the guy doesn't want a zipper and, I don't know, it's a slow. We're all merging. But why are you fighting me to get in? Yeah, you're, like, willing to drive off the freeway because you got to be first. Like, I'll let you in. I don't care. Get in.

[Doug]

This is where automated cars, like, I'm, like, looking forward to that totally.

[Justin Andrews]

Every time when I lectured. So I lectured some members because I was outside. We were doing flyers or whatever. It's one of the gyms I managed, and they got in a big old argument again. California, sunny day. They're fighting over a front parking spot. By the way, there's parking in the parking lot. You just got to go back a few spots. And they were fighting over the front, and one guy's honking or whatever, and I'm the gym manager, so I, like, get in the middle of it. And I hammered him. I said, you guys are fighting over who parks in the front so you can get in and get on a treadmill. Makes no sense. Just walk from the back.

[Alyssa]

Back.

[Justin Andrews]

And I remember I was. Yeah, I was really.

[Sal Destefano]

Those are the. The.

[Justin Andrews]

The. The.

[Sal Destefano]

The. The lack of logic.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

That type of stuff is just so. Is. Is wild.

[Doug]

Frustrating, alien to me.

[Sal Destefano]

It's wild to me. I mean, I, I. I'm sitting there doing it. I'm going like, is this, like, the old man in me or a trainer in me? What is it in me? That's like. I filmed that since I was a kid.

[Justin Andrews]

I'm like, what are we doing? I've been an old man for a long time. I did. So I. So true. So my workout, right?

[Doug]

So get to your.

[Justin Andrews]

So I'm pushing the sled because I got to do some functional stuff. And so I do two normal sets, and then the last set, I'm like, okay, I'm gonna, like, sprint. I'm gonna sprint.

[Sal Destefano]

You're so failing at this dog.

[Justin Andrews]

You are so failing now. Why is that a fail?

[Sal Destefano]

Because you're still. Okay, the first day. The first day. The first day you had to go pump out a couple sets. Your third day. Now you're telling me you're doing sled pushes, which is still muscle building. No, you ain't, bro.

[Justin Andrews]

You're not really.

[Sal Destefano]

I was thinking you're not committed.

[Justin Andrews]

No, no.

[Sal Destefano]

I was thinking. You're not serious, dude. You're not serious.

[Justin Andrews]

All right, we'll change subjects,

[Alyssa]

bro.

[Justin Andrews]

Dude, listen.

[Sal Destefano]

Someone's got to do that.

[Justin Andrews]

Let me tell you, your wife is

[Sal Destefano]

here to encourage you. I'm here to put you down. I'm here to put you down until you're failing. Get your shit together.

[Justin Andrews]

I push the sled, and I'm trying to go fast. Just really aware of how unathletic I've become. Like, I was never super athletic to begin with, but I'm, like, trying to go fast. I'm like, this is awkward. So I did that. And then they have a Kaiser machine because I'm like, I want to get a little, like, rotation. Explosive rotation. Which, by the way, explosive rotation is. I used to love doing that because I did judo, right, bro? How did I almost pull my hamstring? My hamstring. What am I doing? My hamstring? I'm not doing anything with my hamstring. Suddenly I'm like, ah, you get, like, stabilized. Walk on the treadmill. That was the rest of the day. Just get on the treadmill and walk the whole time.

[Sal Destefano]

That's what God trying to tell you that. Stop trying to do any sort of development stuff.

[Justin Andrews]

Go walk, dog.

[Sal Destefano]

Go walk on your treadmill for a while.

[Justin Andrews]

So gentle. So gentle. Anyways, I want to talk about. So you're taking all kinds of supplements, which is great. And you're taking the seed multivitamin.

[Sal Destefano]

That's on. That's on. They came. They. They came out. I don't know.

[Justin Andrews]

I show you great multivitamins. It's a great multivitamin.

[Sal Destefano]

I figured. Yes, I figured.

[Justin Andrews]

Great. So here's the thing. Because people are like, you know, multivitamins are interchangeable. Just whatever. One or the other doesn't make a big difference. Two things with multivitamins. One, supplement industry is notorious for not having what they say is on the bottle. So you want a reputable brand because oftentimes you'll take third parties will go and test supplements. And 80% of the time, this is like, often 78% of time, the bottles they test don't even have what they say they have filler. So seed is really good. They're really, really good. Very reputable. Here's the other thing. With vitamins and minerals that different parts of the digestive tract will absorb different nutrients better. It's not like you just dump them in your stomach. You'll get some absorption, but bioavailability makes a big difference for multivitamin seed. Remember with their technology, they're the masters of this. They're the masters. Remember at their facility they have the

[Doug]

artificial huge digestive tract that they built

[Justin Andrews]

that they built to simulate to show when the capsule releases the probiotic and when to show. Okay, it's coming out at the right moment, not just all coming out in the stomach. They did that with the multivitamin. So the multivitamin is multi layered just like their Probiotica.

[Sal Destefano]

We were talking about this.

[Justin Andrews]

Love it.

[Sal Destefano]

I thought I saw somebody in our thread share that they're in another commercial store. Look up Seed and see if they are at Target also because we were talking about some of our other brands that, that are now in Target.

[Doug]

Making all these retail.

[Sal Destefano]

Bunch now. Yeah, a bunch of them now. Of our partners or you can find them like in Target by the way.

[Justin Andrews]

You know, it's hard. So who was I talking. I was talking to somebody about this. When you have a company that you're trying to get into Target, if they accept, if you can't deliver, you're screwed.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

You have to, because you have to have inventory. You have to have a large inventory and you're not going to make money at first. Otherwise you'll get crushed. It's like a big deal.

[Sal Destefano]

Where they at, Doug?

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

Target.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. See Target now.

[Doug]

Oh really?

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Doug]

That's cool.

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

They have 11,000 five star reviews.

[Justin Andrews]

That's crazy. 11,000? Yeah, their probiotic is, I mean nobody even touches them. Doesn't come close.

[Sal Destefano]

No, I, you know, I mean I remember when you first started talking about them. I mean you've been talking about probiotics products long before we even worked with them. But the amount of people that I know converted over to seed and then the, the reviews that we would get email wise. Yeah, but isn't that cool that they're in Target now? Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Good for them.

[Sal Destefano]

It's a trip for me to walk down the like the supplement and the drink aisle and stuff like that.

[Justin Andrews]

See how many partners we're, I want

[Sal Destefano]

to say like six different companies that we've been working with for a long time now to see them in.

[Justin Andrews]

Maybe they'll play our podcast at Target.

[Doug]

So our Maps program. Do you DVDs.

[Justin Andrews]

Nobody uses DVDs.

[Sal Destefano]

Remember we talked about that for a minute.

[Doug]

Dude, I remember a lot. That was the move for a lot of like fitness programs back in the day. It was like you had like the video like version of it.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Doug]

It was like you'd buy it and I mean, the Jazzer size was huge on that and that's how they made all their money.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. I was retelling the. Our of my. This. This weekend. I had Jason and. And Danielle over and then I also had my mother in law over for Valentine's Day. I cooked for all them. And I was retelling the. The four of us all meeting. And she didn't realize that when we.

[Justin Andrews]

That's a crazy story.

[Sal Destefano]

When we went over and podcasted at her house that the four of four of us, this. That was like the first time we all really met. She assumed that we were.

[Justin Andrews]

By the way, Doug wasn't at that original meeting.

[Sal Destefano]

Not the original meeting he wasn't at. Obviously he was at when we recorded at Tina's, but the original meeting when we met at Katrina.

[Justin Andrews]

That's the first time we all met.

[Sal Destefano]

Which dude. Katrina's. Katrina has got it somewhere recorded. And I got to find that her brother claims that it's on. It's saved on the Internet. It's out there on the Ethernet somewhere. Like we really. Well, she recorded it on. On the iPad. So the iPad that we had, you

[Justin Andrews]

guys remember that conversation was.

[Sal Destefano]

I don't.

[Justin Andrews]

I do.

[Sal Destefano]

You do.

[Justin Andrews]

I do.

[Sal Destefano]

You do remember.

[Justin Andrews]

I do. And when you find it, I want to.

[Doug]

I want to try horrible.

[Justin Andrews]

But no, I don't. I remember the topics. Yes, we talked about the science of cannabinoids. Because remember at that time.

[Doug]

Oh yeah, that's right. You guys are geek.

[Justin Andrews]

We got all big on that. Yeah. We talked about combining fitness and wellness. Because back then there was fitness, which was like fat loss, muscle gain. Then there was.

[Doug]

Well, that's right. We were trying to talk about bridging that.

[Justin Andrews]

How are we going to do that? That's right. Because it was gut health, skin health, you know, immune health. And it's like there's two areas, but they should definitely come together, they contribute. And we were talking about how we can talk about that on the show. You're right. I remember those two topics.

[Doug]

Yeah, that's funny.

[Sal Destefano]

I remember. I mean, I had no idea she did it. She was in the kitchen. And afterwards, after you guys left, it was. Yeah, it was longer than that because we've been going for 11. And that was a year or two before we had started or so.

[Justin Andrews]

Or.

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

No, it was right before we started, around October of 2014.

[Sal Destefano]

Okay. I remember so well.

[Justin Andrews]

His dates, dude.

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

Cuz I'm always reviewing old files.

[Justin Andrews]

Got the B roll black.

[Sal Destefano]

He's like, oh, I remember that file.

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

Doug's List.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, he saves it. It gets released if somebody. I.

[Sal Destefano]

So we were. I. She was like, no way. She had no idea. I said, yeah. When we came over your house and we recorded. Because we recorded at her house first. I said, we barely knew each other as a group. Like, I said, I knew Justin before. And I said, doug and Sal knew each other.

[Justin Andrews]

It was us getting to know each other.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. I said, but that. That was all us. Just. And she was totally blown away. She had no idea about that. I said, oh, yeah. And in fact, when we first started, I said, we had no intention of actually going into business with each other. We all agreed that the podcast would be this cool thing we do, but Justin and I were doing own thing. Sal and Doug were doing their own.

[Doug]

It was like a collaborative marketing effort.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. So it was exactly. We thought, okay, if the podcast ends up getting enough attention, we can both have our businesses on the side. And we never thought that it would be a thing together. And so I. I was telling her that story. So she was all blown with that. And then Danielle ch times in Jason's wife. And we get to talking about when I first met her and. And Jason and all back our days. And I'm telling my mom, I'm like, and because Jason's there, I'm like, jason is one of Sal and I's mutual friends who would always tell, tell me, you got to meet my buddy Sal. You gotta meet my buddy Sal. And I knew I knew him forever. And I said, and he knew Sal and Sal. And later on, we find out that he was telling Sal the same thing. And. And Danielle's like, well, you met Sal before. He's been to your house. And I'm like, what do you mean? I was like, he's out. What house? And she's like, your condo? I'm like, no. I said, sound. I didn't meet for years. Later I said, I met him with Larry at his studio eight, nine years after. After that, I didn't even have my condo. When I met Sal, it was long, long gone. She goes, adam, I was there with Jay. And she starts arguing with me. Like, Danielle gets. She gets real passionate about what she's saying. Like, Jason's like, can we just agree that maybe like moderate mediate between the two of us? And like, Daniel, I said, trust me, Sal's never been to my house. And she starts. And she starts telling. Recalling this night, she's like, larry had this huge going away party. It was like the Hayman. And I'm like, like, okay, I Definitely remember that night. That was a huge, huge night. Right? And she goes, and I was there with Jason. We got in a huge fight. And then she starts talking about the whole thing like that. And then we went to your house.

[Justin Andrews]

Never argue with a woman's memory, dude. Oh, I swear to God.

[Sal Destefano]

That was like.

[Justin Andrews]

I don't understand.

[Doug]

Yeah, she was.

[Sal Destefano]

She was like.

[Justin Andrews]

Well, it's because of the argument. Well, that's why she remembers.

[Sal Destefano]

Well, you know why. You know. So this is what Jason. This is so Jason. I shouldn't sell him out, but he said something on, like, derogatory about her and the girls that he's with, like, being funny. Smart ass. Like, he is on the phone, like, yeah, come over here. I'm with my, you know, like. Like something like funny. Yeah. Trying to be funny. And she was on the couch and she like popped her head up, like, what'd you say? Yeah, like. So they got into a big fight. That couch. So she's at my condo on my couch. I tell her, like, I don't. I don't remember that. She goes, and Sal was there on your. On your deck and hanging out. I'm like, no way, dude. No way.

[Justin Andrews]

It happened.

[Sal Destefano]

And he did have.

[Justin Andrews]

It's. So here's what.

[Doug]

You guys didn't even talk.

[Justin Andrews]

No. So here's what's so weird. No, here's what.

[Sal Destefano]

Even though it was my house, here's

[Justin Andrews]

what's weird about the story, because we were talking off air. I remember that night because Larry. It was his going away party, obviously. I know Larry very well. I remember that party. There was a lot of drinking. I remember being on the dance floor holding a Shepay bottle, drinking like an idiot. We all hung out and we went back to someone's house, and I didn't know anybody but Jason.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

So Jason brings me in. I remember the white couch, which you said was yours.

[Sal Destefano]

Yep.

[Justin Andrews]

And at one point I went out to the balcony because I got sick from too much drinking and I threw up. Over the balcony. Yes. And Jason walks up beside me and he rubs my back. He's like, it's okay, buddy. And then he starts to puking and we're both just puking. So I remember that night because of that.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

And I also remember I lost my shoe. I've told this story before I got home and which I don't know how I got home. It's terrible story. And I lost. I didn't know where my shoe was. I have one shoe missing, which might be. It might have been stuck in Your condo?

[Sal Destefano]

I don't know, dude.

[Justin Andrews]

But. But that was your house.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

That's weird.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. And I have no recollection. I don't remember him being there at all.

[Justin Andrews]

I don't.

[Sal Destefano]

I don't remember Danielle being there. I don't remember him being there. But I do know. I do remember that night. I remember that big party. And I do remember a lot of times when we all went out like that. Jason, Larry, all this guy. We would all come back to my place afterwards and after party. So I definitely.

[Justin Andrews]

So weird. And.

[Sal Destefano]

But so the fact that you possibly there, that's like. I mean, we have to be. Do you have an idea how old you were? So when it went. Is that Santa Teresa days, Right?

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. So I'm probably 23.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. So I'm like 21 years old, bro. Yeah, I'm like 21.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

Because I had just bought. So that means I just bought my condo. I bought my condo.

[Justin Andrews]

It must. I think it was right. Not right before, but right around the time I finally left the big box gym industry to start my own business. So I. I must have been like. I was 3.

[Sal Destefano]

I was 21. Turning 22 when I bought my condo. I think I. I only had. So I had been about 22. Which would put you at 23.

[Justin Andrews]

24, maybe.

[Sal Destefano]

24. You'd be about 24.

[Justin Andrews]

Okay.

[Sal Destefano]

So if that's how.

[Justin Andrews]

Wow.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

That's weird. 23.

[Doug]

I was probably working for you.

[Sal Destefano]

Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. This is. This actually might have been even right before you. Because Baker and I are still hanging out and together.

[Doug]

Oh, yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

And. But sure. But I wasn't Hillsdale, so this is probably like. So how weird would that be that it was like right when I was hiring Justin? Because it was probably right around the time when you're coming out of college.

[Justin Andrews]

It wasn't ready yet.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Because had we met, connections were forming. Yeah. Maybe if we had met, we wouldn't have liked each other and that would have destroyed the. You know, who's this guy throwing up on? Yeah.

[Doug]

You know what I mean?

[Justin Andrews]

Oh, you should meet Sal and work together. They got a puked over my balcony.

[Sal Destefano]

Well, what's crazy is maybe I was

[Doug]

like underneath, I'm like.

[Sal Destefano]

I mean, that was. We had both Larry and Jason are two of the people who are involved that night. Who are two of the people. 2. Just two of some of the people who would always tell me about. You got to meet Sam. Which is so funny that we were all at my house and we Never. Like that's so weird. Formally introduced her, hung out, you know, so that was so crazy. Oh yeah. Danielle was like, like I was so adamant, like, no, he hasn't.

[Justin Andrews]

I don't know they were together that long.

[Sal Destefano]

So that was.

[Reese]

They.

[Sal Destefano]

That was like the first time they'd ever hung out.

[Justin Andrews]

Wow.

[Sal Destefano]

Like, or they had just started hanging out. Like he had hung out with her before and then he took her to that thing and that's what she. So that's how, how this all started was actually them talking about that and she's talking about the fight because of what he said on the phone, because he was at my f. I don't

[Justin Andrews]

know if she remembers everything.

[Sal Destefano]

Oh yeah, I know every detail. I don't know if you remember I had like a little glass table in the kitchen. Yes, yes. And so him and Baker were sitting in there and he calls up somebody on. Calls his buddy on the phone. Oh, come over. And he says something derogatory like that. And she's. He thought she's passed out on the couch and she pops her head up.

[Justin Andrews]

I'm just like pissed mistake. Jason. She still married him. Yeah, she still married him.

[Sal Destefano]

They're great together and they got one

[Justin Andrews]

or over and they're happily married with three girls.

[Sal Destefano]

Three girls.

[Justin Andrews]

Three girls.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, three.

[Justin Andrews]

Of course. A guy like Jason has three dogs.

[Sal Destefano]

I do.

[Justin Andrews]

That's. That's what always happens.

[Sal Destefano]

I think so too.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. He's such a good dad. He's a great dad.

[Sal Destefano]

He's incredible father.

[Justin Andrews]

A great girl dad. He's.

[Sal Destefano]

He's an incredible father. And his daughters absolutely adore him. Super, super, super close to him. Yeah, there's cool to watch.

[Justin Andrews]

I read a story. It's an old story. So before Adam makes fun of me, you bring up a story from a long time ago. Yes, dude, 2006. It's an old story. Okay. But it's a crazy story that I didn't know this. Actually, this is real. I saw like on, on Facebook there was like a clip or something that popped up. I'm like, is that real? Yeah, dude, it was real. In 1974, there was a ship that caught fire and sank. Okay. A woman that was on that boat. A boat came by and saw this woman clinging to something. What was she? And she was on this boat. She survived. She was holding on to something. You know what she was holding on to? A sea turtle. She held on to a sea turtle for two days.

[Doug]

This feels like a Disney movie.

[Justin Andrews]

It does. 52 year old woman hung on to a sea turtle. For two days? No way. Two days.

[Sal Destefano]

Sea turtle didn't bite her or, like.

[Justin Andrews]

Listen, her name is Candelaria Villanueva. She was one of the passengers where the ship sunk. It was off of Zamboanga. Where is that? In the Sulu Sea. Is that a real place?

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

This whole thing sounds made up.

[Justin Andrews]

Miles south of Manila. As she. Listen to the story as. This is how she tells it. As she struggled to survive in the water. This. Bro, this is crazy. A sea turtle swam up to her. Then she climbed on top of it and rode it. For two days. For two days. And then she was rescued. How is that wild?

[Sal Destefano]

Come on. What year is this?

[Justin Andrews]

1974.

[Sal Destefano]

Is there a picture or anything?

[Justin Andrews]

They didn't take pictures. They didn't take pictures back then.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Isn't that crazy?

[Sal Destefano]

If it's true, it's crazy.

[Justin Andrews]

As soon as she held on, they threw one of those life rings to her. As soon as she grabbed onto it, the sea turtle took off.

[Reese]

Off?

[Justin Andrews]

What? Yes. Dude.

[Sal Destefano]

Is there confirmation? Like, the people that survived?

[Justin Andrews]

Oh, it was a. It was a navy ship that. That found her.

[Sal Destefano]

And then does the navy ship, like, confirm?

[Justin Andrews]

Yes, they're the ones that tell the story.

[Sal Destefano]

Oh, interesting.

[Justin Andrews]

Yes.

[Doug]

I've heard wild stories about, like, dolphins doing things like that to save humans.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Doug]

Like. Yeah, not a sea turtle. That's.

[Justin Andrews]

Bro, it was a time, dude.

[Sal Destefano]

Because sea turtles don't normally stay like that at the top of the water either. They don't always.

[Justin Andrews]

They also don't normally save your life. Swim up to you.

[Sal Destefano]

It's just.

[Reese]

Just.

[Justin Andrews]

I just.

[Doug]

I don't know if it's Nemo or whatever. It's the guy that's, like, the total serpent.

[Justin Andrews]

Hop on bed.

[Doug]

Like, you know, like, we definitely make an animated movie.

[Justin Andrews]

I love it, though.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. How did they not make a Disney movie? I feel like that. Like, you know what?

[Justin Andrews]

So here's a. I would love. Did she do anything with her life that would be really sad if she did it?

[Doug]

At least get a sea turtle tattoo on her lower brow.

[Sal Destefano]

She definitely did that.

[Justin Andrews]

If a sea turtle. If a sea turtle saved my life after I survive, I'm like, I'm doing something.

[Doug]

You know that wherever that is in Mexico where they. They, like, hatch and then the people go there to just help them get into the ocean. Maybe she's doing that, like, every weekend.

[Justin Andrews]

Maybe that's.

[Sal Destefano]

Have you guys ever seen that happen?

[Justin Andrews]

I would.

[Sal Destefano]

What that, like, turtles being born?

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, I wanted to do that. Maybe she. Years ago, maybe see the part of the story she saved the sea turtle when it was a baby. And it came back and returned to favor. That's the move.

[Doug]

That would be the movie.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, that's. That's the.

[Sal Destefano]

Did you look her up, Doug? Did she do anything with her life story?

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

Well, it says she lived a quiet life, largely avoiding the media spotlight, so.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. God, what a waste.

[Sal Destefano]

Didn't even save any turtles lives.

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

Yeah, she should have done that, shouldn't he?

[Justin Andrews]

That's a shame. Like.

[Doug]

Like she's gotta be the first person to go in anywhere where they have plastic straws and be like

[Justin Andrews]

murderers.

[Sal Destefano]

It's her claim to fame.

[Justin Andrews]

She's the one behind. She's the one we gotta treat the steepest drive stress. Thanks. Wouldn't that be a great story? Yeah, I wouldn't feel bad, but that makes sense when we're not using plastic straws anymore.

[Sal Destefano]

Hey, speaking of plastic stuff, I. I got a cool gift from my mother in law and I was like, what is this thing? Like this and it's a. You can reseal like pet bags, so.

[Justin Andrews]

Oh, like potato chip bags. Yeah, yeah. It heats it up. Yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

So I was. So imagine that Max and I were eating some of that Chris Power stuff the other day and he didn't finish it. So he only had half of it. And you know, typically you have to crumble up.

[Justin Andrews]

Go look for one of those clips

[Sal Destefano]

or whatever like that. And so I couldn't find it there.

[Justin Andrews]

They just melt it.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, it just. You just run it across and it reseals it. Have you seen those?

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

I haven't.

[Doug]

Slick.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

The only thing is every time you open the bag, you got to cut more of it off, right?

[Sal Destefano]

Well, yeah. I mean, nobody ever fills a bag. All the chip bags are like one third. Yeah, yeah. But I mean for something like that where you don't finish, it's like a perfect little thing like that is.

[Justin Andrews]

Does he, does he like the Chris Power?

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Crushes them.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

He loves 20 something grams of pro 27.

[Doug]

Pack it in there.

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

Six to 28.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

In a bag.

[Sal Destefano]

Depends on what. What flavor I feel like.

[Justin Andrews]

So. Because protein. There's so much awareness around protein. Largely because people in the health space have been talking about for so long. But I think a bigger part is the GLP1 phenomenon.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Doug]

And then the new food pyramid.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. And now you're starting to see companies market high protein this, high protein that. Like you said, even fast food companies. Yep, yep. I could see Chris Power making a huge run.

[Sal Destefano]

They're gonna. I think they already are.

[Justin Andrews]

Well, like going to movie theaters like you now you can grab a 25 gram protein, you know, and they're basically pretzels.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. You know, that's what makes them cool is because they're. They're a salty carby type of treat. That is high protein, though. That's high protein.

[Justin Andrews]

That doesn't taste like it's not jerky.

[Sal Destefano]

No, I know, that's what I mean. Most high protein, like snack stuff is like meat based.

[Justin Andrews]

Totally.

[Sal Destefano]

To get the high protein like that. So to have like something that is a. What would be a traditional carb.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

Be a high protein snack. I love them, man. I eat them all. I eat them all. The staff eats them.

[Justin Andrews]

Are you doing the spicy ones?

[Sal Destefano]

You know what that was. I was on that kick first.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

The sesame seed ones I like a lot.

[Justin Andrews]

Really?

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. The salt and the salt one.

[Justin Andrews]

Those ones are everything. One everything.

[Sal Destefano]

Bagel ones.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Alyssa]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Okay.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. I mean, I haven't had any. The only, the only one just that I'm not a big fan of is the cinnamon ones. I don't like.

[Justin Andrews]

I would think you would like that because you like sweet stuff.

[Sal Destefano]

I do, but that's not how I want. That's not. I don't want it in my pretzels. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I want sweet in my cereal or something else like that. I don't want my pretzels. I want salty.

[Justin Andrews]

Hold on a second, bro. What if you poured them in a bowl with milk?

[Sal Destefano]

I mean, it'd be interesting.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, that might be good, huh? Milk, pretzels. Yeah, well, it's just, you know, you got the cinnamon. It's like cinnamon toast crunch, except protein.

[Sal Destefano]

I mean, it'd be interesting to try that. That to me, is the only way I'd probably like this. I like all the other flavors, so.

[Justin Andrews]

All the flavors are bomb. I. I heard the other day, I thought this would be a really cool thing to bring up. Just quickly. The difference between happiness and joy. I thought this was such a good explanation. So you guys, we've heard joy, We've heard happiness. People tend to interchange them. Right? Same thing. It's not. Joy is a spiritual concept. Joy is a feeling that you'll hear people, you know, say that it comes from God. Let's say Christians will talk about this where you could be in pain, you could be suffering, but still feel a sense of joy. Whereas happiness is related to external circumstances. Right. So, like, something good happened. I got a raise. You know, someone said something nice to me and it makes me happy versus joy, which comes from something Outside of you. Right. And so I heard this great example of how you would compare the two. And it might have been Arthur Brooks that said this. Happiness is like a thermometer. It measures the temperature of the room. Joy is like a thermostat. You could set the temperature of the room.

[Sal Destefano]

That's cool.

[Justin Andrews]

Isn't that cool?

[Sal Destefano]

That is cool.

[Justin Andrews]

So regardless of what's going on, you could change the thermostat. And so joy is something you could feel regardless of the circumstances.

[Sal Destefano]

Well, you remember, I mean, this is how I described what I went through

[Justin Andrews]

when I thought of you.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Like when you're going through all that.

[Sal Destefano]

And it was funny because that was the word that came to me. It was just like, I have this weird joy because I know I'm. The temperature of the room is miserable.

[Justin Andrews]

You feel like crap.

[Sal Destefano]

It is terrible. There's no doubt that that is bad. But I had this weird sense of joy even in the midst of that.

[Reese]

That.

[Sal Destefano]

And there was nothing that could. I could explain it better than that. It wasn't happiness and excitement, you know, it wasn't like that because of external things at all. In fact, all the external messages were like, this is miserable. Sleep is terrible. Like, all the things. But I had this weird feeling of joy.

[Justin Andrews]

That's so awesome.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. Yeah. So it was so interesting to go through that.

[Justin Andrews]

Row. Nutrition provides excellent supplements, things like NAD and glutathione in a form that gets them to be bioavailable. What does that mean? Your body actually absorbs and uses them. It's liposomal technology. So what they do is they take these molecules, these NAD molecules or glutathione, they wrap them in a liposome. This is a type of fat, and it gets it to the places they need to go. So, by the way, the data shows in the studies, you take normal glutathione, it goes nowhere. You get. No, your blood levels don't even increase of glutathione. But if it's liposomal, it makes a difference. This is true for NAD as well. You want better mitochondrial health, better liver health. You want to improve your overall athletic performance through better mitochondrial functioning. Remember, the mitochondria produces energy in the body. Go with Ro with their liposomal technology. Go to rownutrition.com that's R, H O nutrition.com discount, forward slash, mindpump. Use the code mind pump. Get 20% off everything on that site. Back to the show.

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

Our next caller is John from Florida.

[Justin Andrews]

What's up, John?

[Sal Destefano]

How you doing, John?

[John]

Hey, how are Y' all doing good, man?

[Justin Andrews]

What's going on, dude?

[John]

Not much, so I guess I'll just read my question. So I'm 18 years old, and I'm looking to become a personal trainer. But I was just wondering if, like, the best thing for me to do would be, like, go to college and get, like, a business degree for that, as well as getting my NASM personal training certification. And I was just gonna kind of see, like, what yalls opinion on that would be, bro.

[Sal Destefano]

Definitely, bro.

[Justin Andrews]

I'm so glad you're talking to us right now. Hold on, hold on.

[Doug]

It's a big commitment.

[Justin Andrews]

I'm gonna ask you some questions. Okay? What makes you want to be a trainer?

[John]

I mean, I just. I love fitness. I mean, like, I grew up playing sports and stuff, and now I'm, like, super into the gym, and I just. I just love it.

[Justin Andrews]

How do you feel about working with people, different kinds of people all day long?

[John]

I mean. Well, actually, currently I work at. I mean, with the Walt Disney Company. I love working.

[Justin Andrews]

How do you feel about selling things?

[John]

I mean, pretty good. I haven't had a whole lot of

[Justin Andrews]

experience

[John]

and get better at that.

[Justin Andrews]

What do you. How do you feel about working with people who are stubborn, don't want to do what you're telling them because you're trying to tell them to get in shape? How do you feel about that? Patient or you get irritated?

[John]

I mean, I know what's gonna happen, but, I mean, I could always work with it at Disney, bro. I worked with him.

[Sal Destefano]

He works at Disney. Great culture, dude.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. How do you feel about moving across the country, become a trainer?

[John]

I mean, I'll do it anywhere.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. You'll what?

[Sal Destefano]

You'll do it anywhere you go?

[Doug]

Anywhere.

[John]

I'll be a trainer anywhere. Like here in Florida or California or Alaska.

[Justin Andrews]

How bad do you want to do this?

[John]

Pretty bad.

[Justin Andrews]

All right, all right. So I'm asking this question because we're hiring trainers like crazy, and I. And we hire based off of character and attitude. I'm going to give you some general advice, and then I'm going to connect you with our fitness manager, because we don't hire expensive trainers. We create trainers here. And I love young, hungry people who are looking to get into fitness because you're moldable and we can turn them into awesome coaches and trainers. But I'm going to give you some general advice. College. Your parents aren't going to tell you this, okay? If you want to be a trainer, you really want to be a trainer, college is a waste of time. They're not going to teach you anything that's going to be of any value to be a good personal trainer.

[Sal Destefano]

You'll learn more in NASM certification than the four years of college for. For being a personal trainer.

[Justin Andrews]

We have a course. Like, go ahead.

[John]

Even, like, with the business aspect, like, if I got a business, you know,

[Sal Destefano]

you know that, you know, two of the four guys here don't have degrees. Right.

[Justin Andrews]

Actually, none of us have a business.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, yeah. Yes. Yeah. No. Nobody in here has a business degree. Sal doesn't have a degree. I don't have a degree. Justin's the only. Justin and Doug have degrees, and they're

[Justin Andrews]

not even in business.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

By the way, the waste. The waste of time that there is to become a trainer. Going to college to become a trainer. It's equally a waste of time to get a business degree to start a business. They don't teach anything.

[Sal Destefano]

The business advice is terrible.

[Doug]

Yeah, you get good at, like, business planning and writing that up. But it's like asking for money. But, you know, everything you learn is by doing. But yeah, so it, I mean, there's value to it. I wouldn't completely shit all over it. You know, there's a lot of really good professors out there that will teach you really good things. But the application is, in this industry far outweighs a lot of the education. And you can get the education while you're working. I think that's something to consider.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. All right, so certification. We have a course.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

That teaches trainers how to build their business. It's focused on building your business and being a good trainer. NASM is great for the knowledge aspect, biomechanics, you know, exercise, program design, all that stuff. And then ours is about building your business. I'll have Doug sent you the link, or I'll have somebody call you to talk to him.

[Sal Destefano]

Have Ann call him and talk to him. And then Ann can talk to him about the course and give recommendations on certifications. She'll be great on the education side for him. And then she'll introduce him to Kyle if he's interested in.

[Justin Andrews]

And if you're, if you, if you listen, this is for anybody else watching, too, John. So this is also for you. If you're, if you're willing to come and eat shit for three months and run through a wall, then that's the kind of trainer that we want, and we develop good trainers. So you think about that real hard. And if you're interested, then you can talk to who runs our fitness department.

[Doug]

College will always be There.

[John]

I'll keep that in mind.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

All right.

[Sal Destefano]

Miss out on all the parties, though. I did miss that, bro. I did. I missed out on the party.

[Justin Andrews]

You still party.

[Sal Destefano]

That's right. I just drove.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. Better parties.

[Sal Destefano]

All right, buddy, we're gonna, we're gonna have Ann call you. She'll talk to you more about the education stuff to help you out on that. And then. And then hopefully we get a chance to meet you.

[John]

Awesome. Well, thank you.

[Sal Destefano]

All right, John.

[Justin Andrews]

You got it. All right, buddy. Yeah. Dude, it's like

[Doug]

crushed his whole dream.

[Justin Andrews]

Hey, hey, man. That's the advice you need to hear. Well, I know.

[Doug]

I don't disagree.

[Justin Andrews]

It'll do one of two things. It'll either scare him and he's like, I don't know if I want to do this, which is good, then go, go to school and do something else.

[Doug]

It's just a lot of money, you know, that he would invest in that direction. And, you know, if you're looking for that kind of return and also to be effective in the industry, I don't see the value if you, if you

[Sal Destefano]

know, it's a no brainer. Yeah, that's right. That's right. I was interested in, and I thought it was going to be a physical therapist. And I was, I was going to school for kinesiology. I knocked out my. Was finishing up my AA when I moved over here. And I. And I got personal training as a side job, not because I thought it was going to be a career as a side job while I finished my, my, my degree. And I fell in love with personal training so much that I was like, this is what I want to do. And I found out that there was a career in it. And I remember my boss at that time, so showing me how much money he was making, he's like, listen, goes, you can go finish your kinesiology degree for the next two, three years if you want. He goes, or you can get education through certifications. We raise you up the same amount of money. You'll get more from having a degree. We'll pay you more for having a national cert that you can do at home. And he goes, and that's the pathway to my position. And that was a dis. That was all. And what I did was I said, I'll give it a year.

[Justin Andrews]

That's so similar to my story.

[Sal Destefano]

I'll give it a year. I will give it a year. I'm going to give it everything I got. And I'll still be young. So if it doesn't pan out the way I think then I'll go back to college and you know, here we are. So here we are. And. And so if you know you want to be a trainer, it's a no brainer. If you're not sure, then college has a lot.

[Justin Andrews]

That's right.

[Doug]

You want to be a doctor or do something in that regard. Like medically, like. Yes.

[Sal Destefano]

Oh. Even if you're uncertain. Right. Because at least that gives you years to mature and experience and take different classes.

[Justin Andrews]

But if you know.

[Sal Destefano]

But if you know.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, dude, give it a year.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

What's the worst that could happen? So similar to my story, mine literally was my. My man. I told my manager, I got to go back to school. I can't train as much. He's like, I know how much you're making. He goes, you know how much a physical therapist makes and showed me. I'm like, he's like, you're making more now. Yeah. I was like, oh, don't you like this better? I said, yeah, that's crazy. So I stayed.

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

Our next caller is Alyssa from Michigan.

[Justin Andrews]

Hi, Alyssa.

[Sal Destefano]

Hi, Alyssa.

[Alyssa]

Hey guys, how are you? This is amazing. I'm good. How are you guys?

[Justin Andrews]

Good. How can we help you?

[Alyssa]

Okay, so my name is alyssa. I am 20 years old and from Michigan. My question is how do I naturally increase my estrogen? For background, I have always been interested and involved in fitness and sports. I got my period at 14 years old and for about three years it was perfectly normal, regular flow once a month. When I went up to college, my period became irregular, getting it once every three or four months. Fast forward to now and my period is even more inconsistent. I brought this up to my doctor and got my blood drawn. Turns out my estrogen is below 10. Her only advice was to go on birth control, which I was and still am against. But I did end up taking for 21 days. This forced my period due to the estrogen in the birth control. That was back in October 2025 and I still have yet to have another period. I do not know what could have caused my decrease in estrogen as it had to have been normal for at least a few years. Going to college was a big change for me. Lifestyle, location, food, people, stress, etc. I also played basketball freshman year of college, but I've always played multiple sports. I have strength trained since I was 15. I started running in May 2025 and I've been running a few times a week since then. I find it hard to believe my activity could be the reason for my decrease in estrogen since I've always been active, is there anything I can do to naturally increase my estrogen to get my period back?

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, great question. Okay, so it's more complicated than what you said. First off, book I recommend is called beyond the Pill by Dr. Jolene Brighton. So I think that'd be a great book for you to read. Kind of learn about hormone, your hormones and how to get them in the healthy spot.

[Sal Destefano]

Did you see that interview we did with her?

[Alyssa]

No, I did not.

[Sal Destefano]

Oh, okay. We've done an interview with her at least twice.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, we did.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. So watch, watch that interview that we did with her. It's A great interview.

[Justin Andrews]

Dr. Jolene Brighton. So she's really, really good about this. Okay, so yes, it's your training, but it's not just your training. It's the cumulative stress that you have on your body that tends to cause hormone disruption. So that can look like exercise, sleep, diet, but then it can also be lifestyle. It could be stressful situations, it could be anxiety, it could be change of environment, it could be all those things. So does any of that ring a bell? Are there lots of changes happening in your life recently that could be. We could put in the category of oh, yeah, that might be a stress.

[Alyssa]

I mean, probably. I think I'm just naturally a kind of a stressed out person. I have a lot of worries about not people and school.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, yeah, you're not health. Nobody's a naturally stressed out person, but you probably are used to living in a stress, kind of a stressful way. So this can look like type A, get it done, make it happen, take on more responsibilities, etc. Etc. And so you may be so used to doing all those things that it's hard for you to gauge what that kind of feels like. The general advice for hormone balancing for both men and women, but especially for women, is to let your body heal and recover.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

And that takes a while sometimes.

[Reese]

So.

[Alyssa]

Yeah, like. Right, go ahead.

[Justin Andrews]

No, no, go ahead, go ahead.

[Alyssa]

Right Now I'm following map synabolic. I'm on like day 42 and I actually did the advanced because I was like, you know, the normal, whatever, throttle down. Yeah. So I'm just getting into. I actually have a phase three workout today, which I'm supposed to do. But like, I mean, is that really too much volume right now?

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Right now that's 15 would be more appropriate also. I mean, tell me more about like all the other stuff. Like are you playing sports right now? Are you running right now, what's your calories at right now?

[Alyssa]

Well, right now I'm running one mile in the morning, right when I wake up on the treadmill and then walking one mile and I'm trying to get 10,000 steps, including both those things in my head. I was gonna start running outside like my 4 miles a day type thing when it got warmer, but it hasn't gotten warmer yet. No, no sports. My calories are like 2200. Sometimes I'll go to like 3000 just because I'm so hungry. So I feel like it's not that, like I eat so much food.

[Justin Andrews]

You know why you feel, you know why sometimes you go up to 3,000 calories?

[Sal Destefano]

Because your body needs it and you're low. So you're, you're not. You need to find a more happy place. A happy, happier place would probably land around 2500 calories.

[Justin Andrews]

Consistent.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. Consistently. Instead of the staying low, doing all that stuff, and then your body's starving, and then you go all the way up to 3, 000, you need to hover around like a 2500 calorie mark with all the activity you have going on.

[Justin Andrews]

Alyssa, you're, you're young. This will bounce back. Well, if you're, if you're, if you don't let yourself go back to what you're used to doing and it's going to take a little while. What's your body fat percentage at, do you know?

[Alyssa]

I'm not sure. I believe I did one of the ones where you hold that machine. I don't think that's right at all, but it was like 25%.

[Justin Andrews]

Okay, good. You got. Don't let your body fat go below 22%. Okay. Keep your calories around 2400. 2500 consistently. Maps anabolic's okay. Phase 3 is a bit much. So here's the deal. It's not that it's too much, it's that it's too much for you right now. If your estrogen's in the floor in combination with everything, we, we gotta, we gotta let things heal. So maps 15 would be your routine and walking.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. Maybe consider some things too that are like, kind of bring you down a bit. Like sauna or yoga or stuff like that. Like, things like that will help if you have, if you have, if you're anxious, have a lot of anxiety or you're somebody who thinks they feel stressed out a lot like that. Doing things that are more recuperative for you, it will serve you getting your

[Justin Andrews]

hormones and I'm Yin. Yog.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Not power. Yoga. Not hot.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Yoga. Yin. Yoga.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Would be the one to do, but it's. Do you have mass 15?

[Alyssa]

No, I don't.

[Justin Andrews]

Okay, I'm gonna send you mass 15. I want you to stop running and I just want you to walk and I want you to get your cut. Let's go, let's go. 2400 or 2500. Let's do 2500. Consistent. And I'm gonna have you back on in 60 days and let's see how you feel now.

[Alyssa]

I actually really gotta do this.

[Sal Destefano]

That's why you have to do it. We're get you back on here.

[Justin Andrews]

I, I, if you do what we tell you, there's a very high chance in 60 days you're like, whoa.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

And now here's what's gonna happen in 30 days. You're gonna feel amazing. You're gonna be super tempted to go crazy, jump back in. Just do what we're saying.

[Alyssa]

Okay. Yeah. I mean, I want my period back. Like, I'm worried I'm not gonna have kids. I'm stressing out about that.

[Sal Destefano]

So this will, this will rebound. You'll, you'll be okay. You'll, you're not in like a really dangerous, scary, bad place at all. Yeah, it's a, it's a, it's a normal thing to happen. Women lose it when they're, when their body is taking on.

[Justin Andrews]

Especially athletes.

[Doug]

Yes.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. When you're taking on all these different. And remember that sports, running, exercise, those are all stresses. They can be, they can be good, but those are all stress. And then you add in a new move, new school, new circle of friends. New what, like all that stuff is. Those are all stressors.

[Justin Andrews]

It's also cumulative. So it's like year after year after year after year. And then finally the signals get loud enough to where you're like, oh, what's going on here?

[Doug]

Especially if you're not getting quality sleep too. You're not fully recovering. You're going carry that into the next day and then it just compiles.

[Justin Andrews]

How's your sleep? Are you getting night sweats?

[Alyssa]

No, but I am waking up a lot of times throughout the night. I used to never do that.

[Justin Andrews]

That's the low estrogen. Okay, do what I said. Maps, 15, 2500 calories, 10,000 steps, no running, nothing else. If you want to do something else. Yin yoga.

[Sal Destefano]

Any supplementation like magnesium or anything like that?

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, you take a multivitamin, vitamin D, magnesium, that kind of stuff?

[Alyssa]

No, I really should.

[Justin Andrews]

Oh, yeah, Listen, take a multivitamin, take a. Also take a vitamin D3K2 supplement and then magnesium, and take magnesium glycinate before bed. Super inexpensive.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Doug]

Get a night routine before you take all that.

[Sal Destefano]

You bump your calories, you knock off the running. I. I bet 60 days you feel good.

[Justin Andrews]

Oh, yeah. Well, I think. I think we'll have a good. A good report in 60 days.

[Sal Destefano]

Yep.

[Alyssa]

I hope so.

[Sal Destefano]

Trust the process. Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Can we do it?

[Alyssa]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, let's go.

[Reese]

That.

[Alyssa]

Thank you guys so much for taking the time.

[Doug]

Of course.

[Sal Destefano]

You got this. Listen, don't be scared. You're gonna be fine.

[Justin Andrews]

You're at your age. It's gonna be very solvable.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, we'll see you then.

[Alyssa]

Thank you so much, everyone.

[Justin Andrews]

All right, Bye. Bye. Do you know how common it is for female athletes to have irregular and opair? Yeah, it's actually more common than not.

[Doug]

I see how they freak out, though, you know?

[Justin Andrews]

Oh, yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

Well, you. You also have to factor in, because what ends up, like, those calories for someone who's doing all those things and that stress exacerbates all that stuff. So someone might be like, that's. What do you mean, you can't play sports? I can't do. It's not that you can't do that stuff, it's just that you all. You have a stress bucket sometimes.

[Justin Andrews]

Just eating more does it.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, exactly. That's why, like, first thing that came to mind when she said 22, and then she goes all over to 3,000 in her head, she's like, I can't be that because I have those three. It's. Yeah, well, that's because the body's going like, you've been starving me for four days and now I need this. And then you. Yep, Overeat. Right.

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

So our next caller is Lucan from California.

[Sal Destefano]

How you doing, Lucan?

[Justin Andrews]

What's happening?

[Sal Destefano]

What's happening?

[Lucan]

Hey, how's it going?

[Sal Destefano]

Good man. How are you doing?

[Lucan]

Well, really appreciate you allowing me back on for another question. Big fan and supporter. Just want to say, you know, first and foremost, thank you for the work you guys put in, the knowledge you share, and then your. Your time for my question as well. So we'll get into that. This is more along, like, the health and wellness side of things. So at the end of last year, I did a function blood test. Measures 175 biomarkers. It's pretty in depth. And while like 90% of it came back with everything, you know, in line, everything looking good. The 10% or like, the Stuff that was out of range, really wanted to focus on and just had a couple of questions regarding that. So specifically, the food allergy and sensitivities portion was informed. I was highly sensitive to egg whites, casein, coffee, wheat and yeast. I think I included in my question. My breakfast was six eggs, Greek yogurt, a glass of milk, and a cup of coffee down. So definitely had to make a change.

[Alyssa]

Air.

[Lucan]

And then with the heart biomarkers, I understand that, like, cholesterol and stuff like that can be pretty individual, but stuff that was like, the apob, lipoprotein A and high C reactive protein or hscrp, along with, like, a history of heart disease in my family, just kind of stuff that I wanted to prioritize and think about a little bit more. So definitely change, like, the diet up, you know, reduced red meat, kind of replaced with, like, fish, chicken. Breakfast is completely different now. Definitely not doing six eggs anymore. My question is really, like, who should I be coordinating this information with? Like, now that I'm kind of in, like, this elimination phase, do I just. Just eat like that for the rest of my life? Like, how should I go about? Or what should I be focusing on? Because in my past experience with, like, health care providers and things of that nature, it's not like I'm unhealthy. You know, I'm not going there because I have, like, a sickness that I need to be cured, but I'm definitely not optimized. And so who should I be? Like, what information should I be seeking out with the information that I have in order to, like, live an optimized lifestyle?

[Justin Andrews]

You know, honestly, I think you're already in the right direction. Here's what I would do. Those changes you made are what I would do if I was you. And I get. I'd retest in 90 days, do this exact same test in 90 days and see where you're at. Now, if you want, like, a provider, a functional medicine provider, a really good one, one, you know, Dr. Cabral's team is really good. You could work with someone like that, but you're otherwise pretty healthy, active, you're young. Honestly, make those changes, wait 90 days, do another one of the exact same tests he did and look at the difference and see where you're at. And I think that would be just a fine place to start.

[Lucan]

Got it. And then, like, when it comes to the insensitivities, like, for me, it's kind of hard to almost believe. Like. Like, yeah, like, for instance, eggs. I've been eating them since I was. I mean, since I can remember.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Lucan]

And I guess, like, maybe I was just constantly inflamed. Like, I have noticed, like, some changes. I'm down like five pounds, maybe a little less inflammation in general. But when it comes to like, you know, fixing or not fixing, but reintroducing those food groups, like, is that recommended or should I just kind of wait and, and be like.

[Justin Andrews]

No, you wait. You wait about 90 days and then reintroduce one of them and, and see how you feel. And you can take. Now you could also. The, the. The standard way of doing it would be to re. To do another test and see how those sensitivities responded. And if they go way down, then you can reintroduce it slowly. It doesn't, It's. It doesn't mean you're gonna have to avoid them for the rest of your life. Oftentimes you don't. And the. There typically needs to be some gut healing through that process. So. And that's sometimes what. That's oftentimes what happens with certain food sensitivities. Now, sometimes food sensitivity lasts for a long time. And you just like, gluten for me has gotten a lot better, but I can't eat it all the time. For sure. You know, once a week is okay, but there was a point there where I couldn't even touch it. So there's very good odds that something like egg whites in casein will be something that you can reintroduce later and in moderation and be okay with. But I would do the same test in 90 days. Dude.

[Reese]

Got it.

[Justin Andrews]

And see how everything got. And see how everything. Yeah, see how everything changed. I'd love to have you back on. I'd love to hear how you're. How the new tests came out after making those changes. Cause I think you made the right changes. That's. That's what I would recommend.

[Reese]

Yeah.

[Lucan]

Yeah, I certainly can do that. Is there anything else? Like, obviously, you know, I exercise guys. I'm active. Like, is there anything else that I should be focusing on that could improve some of these markers that were, like, elevated or cause for concern?

[Justin Andrews]

I mean, technically we could. But I'm going to tell you right now just the vibe I'm getting from you and everything that you're keeping track of. And at your age, I'm going to tell you to not over.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Think everything.

[Sal Destefano]

You move too many levers and then you don't know which one of them is the one that helped you.

[Justin Andrews]

You don't want to be like that dude, what's that guy's name? Brian Johnson.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

Where you just turn longevity into a stress into a God. Like.

[Sal Destefano]

Yes.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. Be careful. Yeah. Don't focus too much anymore. You think you made the right changes and then wait and see what happens. And also, you know, look, here's also listen to your body. Sometimes we can use like labs can start to like, like stress us out. Like, oh my God, this one number is not perfect. Meanwhile, you feel good and everything's great.

[Doug]

Doesn't tell the whole story.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Reese]

So.

[Justin Andrews]

So I would say don't go too deep anymore. I think you did the right things. Just wait 90 days and retest.

[Sal Destefano]

And by the way, I. When you go, come back to the slowly reintroducing those foods. I'd re. Reintroduce. Reintroduce them priority to what I really care the most about. In other words, like, maybe you're a big coffee drink. And I love coffee. And it's like, man, I hate to never have that ever again. And so. But I could do without six eggs every day. That's not the biggest deal. Like, whatever that. But maybe eggs is for you. Like, whatever the thing is that you enjoy the most is what I'm going to reintroduce because it's like. So when I went through this process, for me, it's just like I eventually got to the point where it's just like, like bread just will never be. Bread doesn't do well with me. I changed that out of my lifestyle. It's just not something I really eat. This is maybe once in a blue moon, I make some sourdough bread or something like that makes it in there, but rarely ever. Because I've realized that every time I reintroduce it, my body just doesn't do well with it ever again. So I forever have changed it. But I don't feel like I've lost a lot or was that big of a deal for me. And so the things that I really care about in my breakfast that you eliminated, it's like, like I would reintroduce the ones that are most important, high priority. Stick with that, make sure that's feeling okay before you reintroduce the next thing. And maybe one of those things you are really sensitive to and maybe is something that you should change for long term. But there's a good chance you, as young as you are, the way you're approaching this, they should all probably get reintroduced after your gut heals. You'll be all right.

[Reese]

Awesome.

[Lucan]

Well, gentlemen, I really appreciate It. That's. That was my question. So, once again, thank you so much for your time today and. And keep doing what y' all are doing and spreading the good knowledge. So thank you.

[Justin Andrews]

You got it, man. Thank you.

[Sal Destefano]

Keep it up, Logan.

[Lucan]

All right, Take care.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. There's this, like, you know, there's a small category. It's not a lot of people, but there's this category of people that over. I don't think he's there, but he could go there where he can break down everything and every little lab, and. And then that. That's unhealthy. It becomes obsessive. And so, you know, he did the right changes, and that's it. I think.

[Doug]

Be patient. See what happens.

[Sal Destefano]

Two things I want to comment on. One, the doing too many things at once. This is a common mistake. And. And then you don't know what really made the impact. Right. So I think that's the other thing. The other thing that is important to point out. It always surprises people that the stuff that we're sensitive to or that you have an issue with are these foods that you've eaten forever. It's actually more likely that's the case.

[Justin Andrews]

Right.

[Sal Destefano]

The way it works, when it gets the healthy ones, when it gets through the gut lining and it gets into your bloodstream, you're inflamed.

[Justin Andrews]

And it's the foods you always eat that you develop these.

[Sal Destefano]

Exactly. It's less likely. It's the thing every once in a while, never eat. Right. Or never eat, because it. Those are the ones that you didn't get through because you never. You weren't. You weren't inflamed, you weren't stressed, you weren't. And they didn't get through. So it's like. It always surprises people, but it's actually the. The opposite is true.

[Justin Andrews]

It is.

[Sal Destefano]

It's most common that it's the food that you love and eat most of the time, you know? And why people have a hard time processing that is because many times it's a healthier food.

[Justin Andrews]

That's right.

[Sal Destefano]

It's a food that's like avocado.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. There's no category for cookies.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's exactly right.

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

Our next caller is Reese from Texas.

[Justin Andrews]

What's going on, man?

[Reese]

Hey, what's up? What's up, y'?

[Doug]

All?

[Reese]

How's it going?

[Sal Destefano]

Good, good.

[Justin Andrews]

How can we help you?

[Reese]

Okay, cool. So I'm gonna read my question, and then I have a little bit of context, and if I start rambling, y' all cut me off. After. Okay.

[Sal Destefano]

All right.

[Justin Andrews]

Yep.

[Reese]

Cool. So I said, hey, mind pump team. I've actually recently been on the show asking about becoming a trainer, and y' all encouraged me a lot. I want to be a PT because I'm very passionate about behavioral change and the benefits of exercise and routine on mental health. With that being said, I did so many things wrong on my journey so far, about three and a half years, I've learned how to be incredibly consistent with my workouts. And diet is my favorite part of the day. And I go to sleep slash wake up excited and thinking about hitting the gym. The discipline for me now is following the plan and not overdoing it. I always felt like I needed to have a great workout or great pump every time I lifted, which inevitably led to me skipping the hard skill focused compounds. So now I'm a fitness enthusiast slash aspiring trainer who can barely squat, deadlift, or bench for shit. Right now I'm running phase one of Maps 15 advance on repeat with light load, just trying to learn the skill. I also plan on getting prime and or prime pro very soon. I would love some tips for getting better at these movements because every time I go to the gym and can barely squat 95 pounds with good form, I feel embarrassed. And of course, it gives me imposter imposter syndrome with my future coast coach aspirations. Sorry to be long winded. Thank God for the wisdom, bro.

[Sal Destefano]

You're. You're doing a great job and you're on the right and just, you're on the right track. Just so you know, I was already a trainer for a couple years and couldn't do any of those lifts. Yeah, I didn't squat. I didn't deadlift. I didn't do that. Hence why we obviously preach about it so much on the show. So the fact that you're working on it already. Yep. Is a great job, dude. You're. You're, you're going to be ahead of the curve. And you know what's awesome, actually, is that you're going to connect really well with your clients because you're go. You, you just recently have gone through it. You know what it's like to be like, I don't. This is hard. I haven't done it, you know, because a lot of people are going to come from that place. A lot of people are familiar with, you're supposed to lift weights. But they've ignored the big lifts, they've ignored getting good at those things. And it's because they're embarrassed because, you know, I'm saying That all the things that you're feeling has kept them just. And I was the same way too. I didn't, I didn't even teach those movements because I didn't, I couldn't perform a well mind. So I avoided teaching things like the deadlift, like who am I to coach a deadlift? I can't even do it properly. And so I found other things to coach and teach. This is why we talk about how we weren't the great trainers we are today when we first started. And so you're doing great. That's, it's, it's, it's, don't be afraid of that and embrace the journey. And it's going to make you a better coach because you're going to be able to connect to people going through the same thing.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. What makes you want to be a trainer, Reese?

[Reese]

Well, I might start rambling, but I'm really passionate about it because it really changed how I view myself. And I've gone through a lot of like when I first started I was overweight and I really got into that binge cycle and I probably had an eating disorder but you know, I didn't know what that even was. And I just want to help people go through that, avoid those mistakes.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Reese]

And yeah, and I'm not really doing nothing else, you know, I'm just working at a restaurant job and I'm doing decent like personally. But I was like, well, I have a passion about this. Even though I feel like I'm not ready, I might as well do the first step, you know what I mean?

[Justin Andrews]

Let me list the character. Let me break down the character of a successful trainer. Okay?

[Reese]

Yes, sir.

[Justin Andrews]

They're humble, they love people, they want to help people, they like to learn or they want to learn, they have a thirst for learning and they're okay with being vulnerable to their clients and honest. That's the character of a successful trainer. And none of that, did I say, is jacked, can bench press, can squat, can do a backflip, competes in bodybuilding, has a degree, none of that stuff. So just so you know, we hire trainers. That's what I look for. I don't care about the other. I never ask a trainer, demonstrate to me a perfect squat. What's your pr? No, dude. So that's what's going to make you good. Because a successful trainer is not the trainer that knows everything. First of all, nobody knows everything. It's the trainer that loves helping people, is humble and is growth minded. That's it. And is okay with being vulnerable. I've worked with a lot of trainers who couldn't be vulnerable because they never wanted to admit weakness or never wanted to admit struggle. They like to present this Persona of perfection. They never did well. They never connected with their clients. They did terrible. Their clients didn't stay as personal trainers. So here's what I'm do for you. Because you want to become a trainer, so I'm going to hook you up. I'm going to give you prime and Prime Pro, and I'm also going to send you the Great 8 program that we just released. Great 8 is going to help you get good at those lifts better than any other program because you're only focused on eight of the core of the most important lifts and you're doing one lift a day. So do that prime and Prime Pro you need as a trainer for correctional exercise.

[Reese]

I do have a Prime Pro. I just haven't really delved into it too much because it's a little overwhelming.

[Justin Andrews]

No, no, no. Get into it and just look at the movements and practice the movements. Just start on yourself.

[Reese]

The. I did watch the webinar video. Adam did the 45 minutes or whatever. I watched that and it helps me with my 90 90s and stuff. So I've gotten some value. I just haven't really gotten too deep into it yet.

[Sal Destefano]

Go down. We have so much free time.

[Doug]

Watch mine.

[Sal Destefano]

So much free content for coaches. So just, you know, if you're. Hopefully you're watching the podcast with Kyle because that's all about trainers and coaches. So make sure you're watching that on YouTube.

[Justin Andrews]

You need to. Are you're certified? You get a certification yet?

[Reese]

No, I. I have my first exam scheduled actually in a few days. I'm kind of nervous about it, but you know, I'm going to get it eventually. I did my practice. Practice exams and I was passing those.

[Justin Andrews]

Good.

[Reese]

So I should be okay.

[Sal Destefano]

But.

[Reese]

Yeah.

[Justin Andrews]

All right, good.

[Sal Destefano]

Nasm, what are you doing?

[Justin Andrews]

Which one?

[Reese]

Nasm?

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, yeah, I'm going to. I want you to look at our course. We have a certification course. It's. It's recognized nationally, so it'll give you CEUs for NASM, because you're going to need that anyway to maintain your certification. Our course is all about how to be a good coach and trainer. So it's very different from nasm. Teaches you how to train and coach clients. It teaches you how to build your business, how to get leads, how to communicate effectively. Like all the things that I would teach a trainer, how to make it your career, like how to really make how to make it a good career successful. Look into our course. And if you want to talk to somebody all about it, I can have somebody call you that'll kind of explain it to you, at the very least give you some advice. But if you want to be a trainer and you want to be able to turn it into a career, you, you, It's a must. It's a must to learn how to do that side.

[Reese]

Yes, sir.

[Sal Destefano]

Okay, one last piece of advice on nasm. So one of the. If you haven't done this already before you go take the test. I think this is what has helped all my trainers when I prepare them for that test is flashcards. It's the, it's literally the terminology, the terminology that gets you that they're the test best. If you know, if you know all the vocabulary really well, then you'll be okay because there's always, there's. There's two that will be totally wrong and then there'll be two that are, that are close. And the new knowing the vocabulary, the difference you know of, of the vocabulary will be everything. So make flashcards and know, know the words. And if you literally know the terms, the words, you're going to be okay.

[Justin Andrews]

Okay.

[Sal Destefano]

That's the key. That's the key to that test.

[Reese]

Gotcha. Yes, sir. Yeah, I have done flashcards.

[Sal Destefano]

Okay, good.

[Reese]

There was a month ago where I was really disciplined with my studying. The past couple of weeks I fell off. So that's why I'm a bit nervous. I was on the right path, but I just kind of got undisciplined. So the next few days I'm really going to try to, you know, study for a few hours a day and hopefully pass it the first try. So.

[Sal Destefano]

Good, good, good.

[Reese]

Yeah. And do y' all mind if I ask you all one question specifically about me learning these skills?

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah.

[Reese]

For the. Because I was doing maps 15 advanced and it felt really good and I started feeling the benefits, like even day to day, like with something like the deadlifts. But I really had a lot of like mid and upper back doms that was kind of like perpetual. And I did that for almost two months straight and I was going pretty light and I was able to go heavier, but my back would just stay consistently sore. So I kind of. Right now I, I'm going doing the normal maps 15 advanced with dumbbells for like two or three weeks until that goes away. And then I'm just going back into it. Like, is there anything else?

[Justin Andrews]

Yes. Go in prime pro and do the shoulder and thoracic mobility movements a couple times a day.

[Sal Destefano]

There's also what will help sometimes with doms. I don't know how. Are you eating in a calorie surplus or are you in a deficit?

[Reese]

No, I'm basically in, like, the Goldilocks zone y' all talking about. I've been getting leaner, but I'm staying around the same way, so. So kind of depends on the day, I think.

[Justin Andrews]

And you're hitting your protein targets and

[Sal Destefano]

all that because sometimes. Sometimes you'll feel the doms like that when you're not eating enough calorie, you're doing these big new movements, and your body muscles are waking up and working that have never worked before. And then there's a higher demand for more calories and protein.

[Justin Andrews]

Now, here's Adam. Here's where I think it might be a mobility issue. Reece, you said you're getting stronger, though, right?

[Reese]

Yeah.

[Sal Destefano]

Yes, sir.

[Reese]

It's not like my quads or anything. It's just my back.

[Justin Andrews]

If you're getting stronger. Yeah, if you're getting stronger but you still feel pain, thoracic mobility can sometimes be an issue for people.

[Doug]

And so work on those scapular circles.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah. So there's. There's. So in Prime Pro, look at shoulder and then thoracic mobility movements and pick a couple and just practice them throughout the day, and I think those will make a difference.

[Sal Destefano]

Prime with handcuff with rotation before you.

[Doug]

Oh, yeah, that'll come cover it.

[Sal Destefano]

Handcuff with rotation would be that one movement. If you just did handcuff with rotation every time before you do deadlift, do a couple sets of that.

[Justin Andrews]

That might help.

[Sal Destefano]

That should help. If it's a. If it's a mobility thing, I would also look into making sure you're in a surplus, because a lot of times when you're feeling that way, when new movements are happening, you. You need more calories than you normally would than doing your normal look like. Yeah. So both those two things, I think will. Will probably solve what we're talking about.

[Reese]

Gotcha. Hey, do y' all think I should switch straight over to grade eight, or what would y' all recommend for right now?

[Sal Destefano]

The mass 15 advance has all similar. Is the rotational stuff.

[Doug]

I like grade eight, though.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Doug]

For the singular.

[Justin Andrews]

Super basic. Super practice basic movements, and then you combine that with Prime Pro, I think you'll be.

[Doug]

You could jump back to 15.

[Sal Destefano]

The cool. The cool part about grade eight and why we'll send it to you no matter what. And I. I Think it's less important whether you jump personally right over to using it now or not.

[Justin Andrews]

Not.

[Sal Destefano]

Is that though, like, as a trainer, those eight, we. This is what we've distilled out of what we think are the most eight important exercises that every client should be able to do.

[Justin Andrews]

Yep.

[Sal Destefano]

And so, like, that would be great to have in your arsenal that, you know, those eight moves staple really, really well. Because if you can teach all your clients to do those eight movements, you're gonna. You're gonna be very successful.

[Reese]

Gotcha. Yeah. Something cool with like the maps 15. My. I put my friend on the original version and he's a. A beginner. And, you know, y' all have the TRX push ups. And he started phase two and he. He told me he was like, push ups feel so much easier and more stable now. Like, it seems obvious, but that's something really cool that I'd like seeing. Like, I see how it works, you know, with the stability and then the strength and whatever. So it's. It's really good programming. I'm just now learning. It's helping me learn how I'm eventually going to program that myself.

[Sal Destefano]

That's wonderful.

[Doug]

Yeah, that's great, dude.

[Justin Andrews]

That's great. Greece. Can I have someone call you today about course. Because I think you would really benefit from that at your stage just to help you move from restaurant to. To training.

[Reese]

Yeah, of course. I'd love that.

[Justin Andrews]

All right, let's do that. Let's see if we got someone available for animal call. Okay, Perfect.

[Sal Destefano]

All right. Reese.

[Justin Andrews]

Reese, thanks for calling in, dude. You're doing fine, bro. Listen.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah, doing great.

[Justin Andrews]

Keep at it. Feeling like you're not good enough is actually a sign that you really care about being good enough, bro. So when trainers get to that place where, like, I know everything, that's when

[Doug]

you're like, oh, it just takes risk reps.

[Sal Destefano]

But lean into that.

[Doug]

More reps.

[Sal Destefano]

Lean into that part of you. It'll become a superpower. In fact, don't. Let's say. Let's just pretend. Fast forward six months, you're a personal trainer and you're still. You still don't feel super confident because you're not deadlifting 300 pounds yet. You're not squatting. Sharing with the clients that you're taking them through like, that you just. I'm learning. And it's. And it's. And they can relate to that is a good thing.

[Justin Andrews]

It's great, dude.

[Doug]

It's a.

[Sal Destefano]

It that is relatable. It's vulnerable. Like Sal said So lean into that. Don't be afraid to tell people that, hey, I've been working out for years, but I'm still figuring these movements out. They take practice so that when they. They're having a hard time with them and they struggle and they feel insecure about it, even their coach is like, listen, I'm still getting better at these movements. Be. Be. Lean into that.

[Justin Andrews]

98 of the people that work with a trainer are gonna. Are gonna identify more with that than the 2% that want, like, the super athletic trainer body that's such a small

[Sal Destefano]

or the trainer who has the perfect deadlift and does 500 pounds and has it mechanically perfect, like, and talks. No, they'll. They'll connect better with the. The young guy who admits that, hey, I'm learning this still, too, and this is what I'm learning. They'll appreciate that.

[Reese]

Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm glad that y' all give me the encouragement, because it kind of feels like I should wait, but then I'm like, no, dude, if I wait, I'm gonna be like, I should have done the course sooner.

[Sal Destefano]

Don't wait.

[Justin Andrews]

No, this is good, dude.

[Sal Destefano]

You're good.

[Justin Andrews]

How old are you? How old are you, Reese?

[Reese]

I'm 23.

[Sal Destefano]

Oh, bro. Let's go. Let's go, dude. You're good.

[Justin Andrews]

This is the time.

[Sal Destefano]

Yeah. You're good.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, let's do it.

[Doug]

Cram it in, man.

[Sal Destefano]

Y. Yeah. Yeah.

[Doug]

You're gonna be a great trainer.

[Reese]

I appreciate the kind words, y', all, and thank y' all for the time and all the wisdom and stuff. And, Sal, you talking about your faith and stuff. Like, I'm not really super into it yet, but it kind of gave me permission to explore it with my girlfriend.

[Justin Andrews]

Awesome.

[Reese]

So it's. It's been really good. So I appreciate.

[Justin Andrews]

Y' all good, man. You lead her in the right way, bro.

[Sal Destefano]

Keep it up, Reese.

[Reese]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you for the time again. Y' all have a good day. Okay, cool. Appreciate it.

[Justin Andrews]

Yeah, it's a common feeling that trainers will have. You know, it's funny. So, you know, I. I got a superpower I'm gonna give. Listen, I'm gonna give both of you guys some flowers right now. I know both you guys have. Both have expressed this on the show, so I can say this, but part of the reason why Adam and Justin got so good so quickly is because when they became trainers, they were very aware and okay with the fact that I don't know. And I'm going to ask people, and I'm going To get people to help me. And I'm going to have these people mentor me. I've heard both of you guys communicate that so many times. And I've had trainers work for me. When they have that attitude, six months later, they're like, like, so much better. Oh, yeah. Versus the trainer that comes. Like, I know everything I've been working out for. I, you know, I could do all these lifts. Those guys never grow, they never get better, and they really struggle.

[Sal Destefano]

And even, Even if you're not that. Because you, you just give an example of the extremes.

[Justin Andrews]

Sure.

[Sal Destefano]

Even if you're not that. Like, because even you don't have to be cocky and arrogant. Even if just you. You're just so proficient, you're so smart, you know stuff. And you start to talk at that level. You start to speak. Speak to the way you speak to your peers versus disconnect first. Exactly. Versus connecting to the person who feels insecure, feels imposter syndrome, feels like, this is difficult. And when you're fresh in it and you're new and it. And you know what that feels like? Because I just felt that way six months ago trying to figure this out.

[Justin Andrews]

That's right.

[Sal Destefano]

And you're. You're confident enough and humble enough to admit that to the client, they all sudden go like, oh, shit.

[Justin Andrews]

Okay, like, you know what? We have a lot of trainers that exemplify exactly what you're talking about. But you know what really comes to mind? Marcel Solo. Yeah. Here comes a guy who was a cop. And listen, less than a year, this guy is training and working and communicating with people like a trainer with seven years of good experience in less than a year. And it's because he's got that. He's got that attitude, and I can't. Every month shocks me with his wisdom and how much he's grown. So that's it right there. Look, if you like the show, come find us on Instagram Mind Pump Media. We'll see you there.

[Doug (Tech/Research)]

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 [e-mail] the RGB Super Bundle includes Maps, Anabolic Maps, Performance and Maps Aesthetic. Nine months of phased expert exercise programming designed by C. 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 [e-mail]. 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.