← Stronger with Don Saladino
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- [00:00]
A
Hey, guys. Welcome to Stronger. Today I'm bringing on my friend, Luke Cook. This is the first of three episodes. So the format is. Is we're shooting three 20 minute episodes and we're going to release one episode every few months. Luke is someone that I met years ago. I was invited on his podcast, and I'm incredibly impressed by Luke because he's an actor, he's an entrepreneur. But today we're going to discuss the topic of fitness. I mean, Luke was a former model, got into fitness, obviously for the aesthetic purposes, became very well educated on health and wellness, and he has carried this journey off into his own life and his family's life, and this actually helped support a lot of his work. So super excited for you to check out this episode. And let's get started, Guys. By far the funniest human being, one of. One of the most talented people that I know on social media right right now. And I told Luke earlier, there's probably not a human being that forwards his content to more people than me. So very proud to say that. Luke, thanks for being here, man. I know you're in Cali. I really, really appreciate your time.
- [01:08]
B
Well, thanks for being my number one fan.
- [01:11]
A
I love it. I was forwarded to, like, my celeb clients. Like, people, they're like, this is hilarious. So I'm good marketing for you, let's just say it that way. But listen, man, there's so many areas I want to cover today, but I think the first one is probably. I know you talk about fitness a lot, but you are, You're. You're. You're very talented on the screen. You're hilarious. You know a lot about health and wellness, and almost to the point where most people probably don't give you enough credit for it. When, When I was lucky enough to come on your podcast, I was shocked on your knowledge. So when did fitness become important to you and what was your original motivation?
- [01:43]
B
Yeah, so good question. I was, I was a model when I. When I left school, high school. And so it was very much based off vanity. Like, I loved getting. I love being healthy so that I could look as good as possible. And then over time, you realize, okay, well, I'm not getting any cuter.
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A
I.
- [02:00]
B
But I. But I, I do enjoy this. Like, I absolutely love it. In fact, my wife asked me the other day, she's like, would you rather give up sex or exercise? And I was like, gosh, that's so good. That's tough, because I. There's one of them that I do every day which is complete self love. And then there's one, you know, when you're married with three kids, like, if you get it done once a week, that's pretty good, right?
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A
Yeah.
- [02:24]
B
And so now it's just like, you know, it's my. It's my me time. I'm like, I'm not going to get into golf. I'm going to. I'm going to take 45 minutes for me every day to go and exercise. That's my hobby.
- [02:36]
A
The funny thing about fitness is, you know, you said that it's your me time, but that's your moment to get. You know, you put your blinders on and you just get lost. Like, I don't like being bothered. I don't. I don't even really like where, you know, when coaches in the past would look at me and be like, you have to have a goal. And I'm like, you don't have to have a goal. Like, the goal could be to go in and optimize that day. Like, you could have a plan in mind. It could be to put on £5. But for me, it's going in, showing up, and pushing yourself through a day that might not be ideal and leaving there with that mindset approach. How much did that. I mean, was that difficult for you when you're training for modeling, right? You. You're. You're training to look a certain way, but at a certain point you still want to look good. But at a certain point, did this become more as much mental as it was physical?
- [03:24]
B
100%. My biggest issue in my whole life is dealing with my own moods. And so health and wellness has become, you know, eating properly and feeding myself well. And the mood that I have going into a gym versus the mood that I have coming out is so completely different. And this was just one thing that I could do to get control of my mood so that I could, like, just be a better human being. And I feel like over the last, you know, six, seven years, I've gotten so much better at dealing with my moods. But for me, it is more mental, I'd say now, than. Than it is physical. As far as the esthetics are concerned, it's more about all the things that are going up in here. Like, a good control of my mood is really why I do it.
- [04:06]
A
So, yeah, I would imagine you're more of an AM workout person. Like, you got to get up and kind of go about your morning and hit it more in the morning, or you are you kind of all over the place due to Castings or calls or whatever it might be.
- [04:17]
B
I'm actually at noon, and then I eat lunch after that. So I tend not to eat most of the morning. I just maybe have coffee and some fruit, and then noon I hit it, and then I have lunch after, like my first big meal. And that's how I prefer to do things. But it's shifted over the years. I used to be an afternoon guy, and I absolutely loved that. And I know that scientifically, like, you're probably the strongest in the afternoon, mostly because you've probably eaten, you've hydrated well throughout the day. And then I got into the mornings too, and then now I'm just noon most days. Just noon.
- [04:51]
A
Yeah. I like your approach. I mean, and you just said it. The science might be saying one thing, but you're doing what works for you, right? Not what some focus group is doing or some scientific study is doing. Where I think a lot of times people take the science and the data and I respect it, but I think they blow it out of proportion. If I have someone that's like, no, I have to do it in the evening, that is the time where I am best. I'm like, all right, not gonna. I'm not gonna bark at that. What's your daily fitness routine look like? Like, what is that? Can you walk us through from, you know, a typical day or even, you know, elaborate into how it would be structured throughout a week?
- [05:31]
B
Yeah. So every day, 10,000 steps. Once again, I know the science is 7,500. I still want my 10k every day, and that's just non negotiable for me. I have a. I have a Garmin watch. I'm just always, like, checking it, making sure I'm moving enough throughout the day, walking enough. I have a treadmill desk. I swear by this bloody thing. It has an incline that goes up to, like nine. And I get on that sometimes if I haven't worked out in a day, if I didn't get my chance to do my weightlifting, which will be like 45 minutes of basic resistance training about five times a week, I will jack that thing up in the afternoon, get on an incline and listen to a podcast or do a meeting or do some, like, email kind of work in the afternoon if I don't get my chance to do resistance training, but, like, basically by the end of the day, I want that 10, 000 steps minimum. And then 45 minutes of resistance training five times a week. And then once a week, I'll do 20 minutes of sprint training. So like a 40 meter, a 40 meter sprint, walk back, relax. I'll. Let's just say I'll do 10 rounds of that but very like slow and then that sprint gets faster and faster and faster. And then one day a week I'll usually go for about a 5k run and that's just relaxed. It's not about time I run through the hills so it's not about, I'm never thinking about, oh, I've got to beat a certain time. I'm just going, I'm just doing something because I'm like, ah, I want to just mix it up. Resistance training, sprinting and like a 30 minute run, let's just say. And so that's what my basic week of exercise looks like.
- [07:01]
A
How's the resistance training broken down? I mean are you breaking it down to upper lowers body parts? Are you doing full bodies? Like how do you like to structure that?
- [07:09]
B
Yeah. So shoulders and arms Monday and then I'll usually do somewhat of a leg day, like a squat and deadlift on a Tuesday and then on a, on a Wednesday I'll do chest and then on a, and then once again Thursday we'll go back to legs and then on a Friday I'll do biceps. So like an arm blaster basically. And that's like, it's fairly high volume on those days. Meaning like I'm really smashing my shoulders and I'm really smashing my chest because I'm only getting to do them once a week and, and that's what I found to be, to be working really well for me. And I've been doing that for that as in I've been doing this exact kind of training for, let's just say a year. Like I'm always getting a little bit restless because I see all this stuff on Instagram that I'm like, oh, I want to do something like that and I want to do something like that. And I'm lucky that I've got a coach that I'm just, he's just like just keep on this, just don't stop, don't doing this, don't want to mix it up too much. Like kind of keep on the, keep on the path rather than get restless all the time. Which I think is a problem for a lot of people.
- [08:15]
A
Yeah, I think people search for variability because they plateau and I think they plateau because they're not necessarily monitoring, you know, their day to day and progressing. Right. And when someone doesn't progress, you know, I think that's when they start itching their head a Little bit. And they, and they want to program hop. I think what your coach is structured for you is really, you know, very mature. I think it's, it's, it's a way of saying that like, you know what, the science might be saying this, but what works for like, ironically, I do an arm day on Monday and people are like, why the hell would you do arms on Monday? I do it on Monday because I have an intense hockey game every week for 990 minutes on Tuesday morning. So if I come in and I typically would love to hit lower body on Monday, my legs are smoked for Tuesday and I have no pop. So I'm like, let me hit something with a little less CNS fatigue. I'm sprinting later in the week. I'm doing, you know, some steady state work later in the week and I train really intense. So I have to be really cognizant of how I'm structuring my day to day. And if I increase the frequency too much, you know, I don't care what science says. Like it's, your lower back is taking a pounding from deadlifting one day and it's taking a pounding for maybe you're squatting or you're hinging or whatever it is you're doing. That's a, that's cumulative fatigue over time. And that's, that's where I think people need to start doing more of what you're doing. And they need to start looking at their lifestyle and a program and saying, does this fit and actually be a little bit of a chef and say, you know what, I've been on this for six weeks and this is just not working out for me. Learn something. Noted. Let's move on. I'd like to thank David protein bars. David protein bars are not like any other protein bars. To put it into perspective, David delivers 150 calories and zero sugar, all right across both its gold and bronze product lines, delivering 28 and 20 grams of protein, respectively. That equates to 75 and 53 of the calories from protein. The highest protein calorie ratio by any leading bar on the market. Okay. Which typically equates to 40%. The bronze bar is a little different from the gold. Bronze bars are a bit lighter, 20 grams of protein in comparison to the 28 grams in the gold bars. Each bronze bar features a smooth, decadent marshmallow base with a flavor filled layering. Airy crisps and a chocolate flavored coating providing a different taste and texture profile compared to the regular gold bars. New bronze bar Flavors. Cookie dough, caramel chocolate crunch, Double chocolate crunch, Peanut butter chocolate crunch, S'. Mores Chocolate crunch. Delicious. So right now, David is offering to our listeners a special, very special deal. All right, buy four cartons and get the fifth free when you go to davidprotein.com backslash stronger. That's David protein.com backslash stronger. Thanks, everyone. This episode of Stronger is brought to you by our friends at Timeline, the makers of Might Appear, a supplement I've been taking now for about three years. For decades, the gold standard of supplements for muscle performance have been protein and creatine. But there is another piece of the puzzle. Most people overlook your cellular energy. At the center of that system are your mitochondria, the tiny energy factories inside your cells. And Mitrepure is the best supplement that I found that provides more efficient energy production in your cells. Every step you take, every weight you lift, every muscle contraction depends on your mitochondrial energy, which mitopure was designed to enhance. Timeline's clinically proven formula is now available at a new, lower price. Might appear now starts at $79. When you go to timeline.com stronger. That's timeline.com stronger for 20% off your order. Thanks, guys. How long did it take you to kind of turn into a little bit of that? Like I say, Chef, when it comes down to, you know, determining what it is you actually need.
- [12:15]
B
Yeah. Well, I think, like you said, it's. It's. It's mature. It's mature. It's. It has matured. I'm less restless now. I'm less. I know that just getting the work in is enough, and I'm not, like. So, like, we gotta be sculpting the shoulders more. We've got to be doing this more and, like, kind of, like, losing it every so often, going like, we're not doing enough of this. And I'd often write to my coach in the old days and go, are we hitting enough volume in the shoulders? Are we doing enough lateral raises? Are we doing enough of this? And now it's just like, as a. As a dad who's busy however many jobs, I'm like, as long as I'm getting it in enough, like, I'm. I'm cool with it. I don't want to have to stress over what I love to do as well. I don't want to have to, like, always be hitting something. So I'd say. I'd say in the last three years, it's really matured where I'm not, like, writing to him as much. I'M just like, just give it to me and I'll just do it. And I don't really have to. And I'm not going to think about it too much or stress over it as much as I used to. And I think that the problem with, in social media or Instagram today or is that you could get a different person telling you that you must be doing this however many times a week or you must be taking this science into consideration when you make a, you know, and, and there's so many people pulling you in so many different directions and if you were to listen to all of them, you would get absolutely nothing done. And.
- [13:33]
A
Right.
- [13:33]
B
It's almost like you should just get rid of that and just listen to one person. Like, just go, okay, you're my coach. I know you're smart. You're going to be my guy. I'm not going to, I'm, I'll listen to other people, but I'm not going to take all their advice and freak out if I'm not doing everything they say I should do. Like listening to one teacher is better than listening to five.
- [13:51]
A
There's so many things that work, right? And you've, and you've seen that. There's so many approaches that, that work for, for different people. I mean, frequency or, you know, higher volume training might work for someone who's, you know, not as active as you. Right. And, and they can, they can get away with it. Part of the problem with social media, I think there's a lot of good information out there. I think it just confuses people because they're suddenly sitting there going, but I just started in an upper, lower split and I thought that person saying full bodies and you know, that's, that's kind of where it gets a bit frustrating. I mean, everyone's almost on a, on an even, you know, they're almost on an even playing field when you're, you know, I always like to say, Mike Boyle's a good friend. Mike Boyle's one of the godfathers of strength and conditioning for people listening who don't know. And Mike would always say, you know, if you saw me on a beach, I'd be the last person you'd ask, you know, fitness advice to you. I'm like, mike, give yourself a little more credit. You don't look that bad without a shirt on. Right. And we always joke around, but, you know, he's right. Like, most people are going to go to the guy with the, with the chiseled abs and say, well, what do I do? And Mike is, you know, very brilliant when it comes to that stuff. So what's something you believed about fitness in your 20s that you no longer believe in today?
- [14:58]
B
Gosh, mate, I had no idea in my 20s, like, it's really. Everything has developed so much. Like the way that I felt about even six years ago about diet, nutrition and things like that is shifted so much. Like, I really look at my 20s, I'm like, oh, God, I was just guessing. I was just going to the gym and blasting out a few things. I think I was doing almost the same thing every day. I think, like, we didn't, I didn't exist in this, in this society where there was so much, there was so much to go and find out from people. It was just like you kind of just had yourself and maybe a few friends who you knew, who knew that knew what they were talking about. I had. No, I had, I just had my own. Yeah, I don't know. I guess I'd learn a few exercises and I'd go and do them every day in the gym and. But I look back when, like, let's just say 20, 20, 20, 19, I was so like into the whole quality of calories over quantity of calories. I was not mindful of calories at all. I'd like scoff at people who counted them or was. Who were aware of how many things calories had in them. And I was very big on, like, oh, let's. I was bulletproofing. I was putting a tablespoon of butter in my coffee every day. Sometimes having two cups of that a day. Like, it was very, it was very like, obsessed with, is this grass fed? Is it organic? And, and now I'm, now I'm far more relaxed about that. I still think those things are good. I just, I've just shifted in that sense. I'm not so obsessed with that anymore. It's kind of like I've, I've. At some point I was like, I could optimize everything in my life.
- [16:31]
A
I.
- [16:32]
B
And I'm going to be psychopathic if I do. And I don't want to be a psychopath. I want to relax. I want to be a fun person to be around. I want, if people to come, if people come and talk to me about health, that they don't leave going, God, that guy's an idiot. Like, or that guy is like, he, he's, he's negative. Like, I kind of, when I found, when I talked about health and wellness, people were like that they were a little bit intimidated by all the things that I was saying and I'm like, this isn't how I want to be and it's not how the health life that I want to live either. I want to be like somebody who integrates the like regular life into their, into their daily life and, and, and essentially almost minimum effective dose. What's the minimum effective dose for you to like be, for you to be healthy? I, I think that when you get really busy as a dad or with, and with all the jobs that I have, you have to think, what's my minimum effective dose? So I'm more than happy to go and get 20 minutes of a lift in and not nail my 45. Really happy to do that.
- [17:31]
A
I mean, but you're also seeing a result which I think is part of the maturity, right? Like you're realizing that you feel great, you obviously look real, you look great and you're strong and you're actually probably, you're not declining, you're in many ways improving. Which I think is something that's really comforting for a lot of people to hear. I'm one of these coaches that just believes that we can get better as we age. And there's certain things that, yes, of course, I get it. Testosterone in time is going to dip, bone density is going to dip. But we can work on these things and we can prepare on them a little bit differently than say our parents were. And I think what's exciting now is that there's so many things that we're at the forefront of that we're going to kind of set a new bar for in the next, you know, 10, 15, 20 years. Like our kids are going to look at that and be like, shit, look at my dad, Luke. Like he's, you know, he's 80 now and he's doing pull ups. But think about that. Like there weren't too many people. I got an opportunity to train with Jacqueline back in 2002 or 2003. They were having like a Gold's Gym anniversary. It was like Jack's 90th birthday or something. So he came into the gym and he saw me, you know, in a tank top and he's like, I'll work out with him. And the guy was 90, like throwing around 5060 pound dumbbells. Like perfect form put together like fitted shirt. I'm like, holy shit, this guy's 90. Like it was unbelievable. He's nailing perfect pull ups that most 20 year olds can't hit. So I think when you see someone like that, which was a rarity Back then. I feel like we're going to see a lot more of that now in the next 10, 15, 20 years. And I think that's something to get excited about. I think we're going to set a new standard for the future. But have you had to change kind of pivoting to roles that you've had to get ready for? Have you ever had to change your body for a specific role or something that you had to prepare for?
- [19:19]
B
I've just had to keep in relative shape. I've never had to do anything extreme or even put on a bunch of muscle. But I. Later in the year, I'm playing a, a, a, a, a,. A general manager of a gym in a gym movie. And so I'm gonna want to put on some kilos for that. I'm really excited to eat more. You know, I don't know if, I don't know if people talk about this publicly. I'm totally looking at testosterone and going on some testosterone and kind of like boosting my numbers there. I was thinking of an oral testosterone, but I'm looking to put on about 10 kilos of, or 5 to 10 kilos of muscle just to look really like, well rounded and like this guy, like, is. This guy is serious. So I'm excited about that. I'm excited about getting bigger. I'm looking forward to, Honestly, I'm looking forward to. As we, as we age, John. I'm looking forward to going on some, on some, you know, hormone replacement therapy. I can't wait for it. I think it's like, I've waited. I've waited and watched people do it, and they look like they're having so much fun. I'm like, I can't wait to do that stuff.
- [20:25]
A
You know, it's funny. I'm going to be 50 in April, so I've, I've not, I've never taken a peptide or. I haven't done any type of hormone replacement therapy. I'm not saying I'm not going to do that at 60 or 55 or. I got to see how it goes. Like, I feel like I've been doing a pretty damn good job and keeping my numbers at a specific point. And I'm just, yeah, I don't really want to go to the, you know, it's like in Fast and Furious. I don't want to hit the nos until it's time to hit it. You know what I'm saying? I'm like, let me just try and hold up, hold up as much as possible. But is it More of a comedy or is it more of a. More of a serious movie? What is it exactly?
- [20:59]
B
It's more of a. It's a. It's a gym place, like workplace comedy, and I am the lead role in it. And I've always had in mind that this guy is a certain size. And so I'm really excited about, like, looking this certain way. I've got. It got clearly in my mind of how I want to look. And, yeah, I'm excited about things like that. People often ask me, would I do, you know, when I do the Christian Bale thing where he, like, gains, you know, fat, like, and looks like John McCain. My gosh, that's just such a sacrifice, isn't it? Like, you really are just going like, I'm. I'm going to give up all of this that I have, pack on a bunch of fat or, like, lose it all like you did for the machinist. And it's like the sacrifice for the role I just find incredible. And I guess that's the difference between me and Christian Bale.
- [21:47]
A
No, no, I think it's also what's important to you, right? It's. It's you. You've also, like, really embraced, you know, health and wellness is like part of your. It's like one of your pillars, right? Like, that's part of who you are. That's part of what defines you. So I. I find it's. It's easy with the actors I worked with who can, like, put on, like. I remember Joaquin Phoenix once worked with. I worked with him, and he had to put on, like, like 50 to 60 pounds, and then. Or like 40, 30 or 40 pounds. And then he had to lose, like, 60. And I'm like, how are you gonna do that? And he's like, I. I'm like, how are you gonna do this? I don't know how you're gonna do this. He's like vinegar, lettuce and smoking cigarettes. I'm like, are you out of your mind? Like, this is like, this is not. This could not be anything less attractive to me than someone putting their body through that. But listen, I. I admire you guys. That's what you're talking about with the. With the 20 plus pounds or the 10 kilos. I mean, that's. That's very doable. That's going to be fun on your frame. I mean, you're. You're a monster. You're what, like, six, five, six, six. Like, how tall are you?
- [22:46]
B
I'm 6. 5 and 100 kilos.
- [22:49]
A
And you're going to be a monster.
- [22:52]
B
Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait to see myself in this way. And I can't wait to feel that, like my friends have all said, like, the first dip into testosterone is some of the funnest that you'll ever have.
- [23:03]
A
Oh, my God. Well, do me a favor. When you, when you, when you decide to dive in, keep me posted on it. I would love to hear your. Your experience. I think that's also, also a really important thing, is to hear people's experiences and do your homework, which I know, obviously, if there's someone who's going to do their homework on this stuff, it's definitely going to be you, so. All right, listen, man, can you tell our guests where they can find you?
- [23:22]
B
Sure, you can find me. The Luke Cook on Instagram and TikTok and getshakeworld.com is my protein shake. If you ever want to give out, give a try to a premium fresh protein shake with great ingredients.
- [23:35]
A
Grateful for your time. I thought that was absolutely perfect today. Thanks again, mate.
- [23:39]
B
Spot on. Thank you so much. I really appreciate you. And I, again, I just want to say thank you for all those years ago when you came on my pod and we were sitting on that uncomfortable couch. I remember your posture. You sat at the edge of the couch. You were so present with me, and I was like, man, this. I wish I had a better spot for this guy to be in, but you were so great. So thank you.
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A
The views, information or opinions expressed in the series are solely those of the
- [24:06]
B
individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of Chip and Joanna Gaines by
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A
Nail Audio nor Magnolia.