Episode 26 - Full Interview with Wendi Irlbeck MS RD CISSN and Mike Nitka MS

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3:30 Wendi, what piqued your interest in working with young athletes? And how you deal with parents regarding young athletes?
6:27 Mike, his work with kids was an accidental career. Started as a gym teacher. A four decade’s worth of experience!
12:31 Wendi’s love of physical education; a true tomboy.
14:36 Wendi, how do you deal with the crackpot ideas on sports nutrition and supplements from “experts” on social media. Some professionals are just not open to new ideas. 
16:04 Wendi’s view on the proper and safe use of creatine for youth.
19:58 ACSM – in the 1980s – viewed aerobic exercise as the end all and be all. The NSCA are just meatheads that lift weights
21:10 – Mike describes the “evolution” of resistance training. 
21:45 – Mike describes the Universal “weight training” machine. Holy shit! We’re dinosaurs.
27:00 – Kenneth Cooper’s “Aerobics” was revolutionary at the time.
27:47 – People don’t like the “basics.” Wendi’s view of teaching the basics!
30:40 – You can’t eat like a bird, and race like a beast.
30:59 – Women and young girls worry about “getting big” or gaining weight from protein or from lifting.
32:40 – Mike dealt with high school kids that basically didn’t eat enough.
35:36 – Food service dietitians hate being called “lunch ladies.” 
40:05 – Wendi, how do you educate young kids (and their parents) about the importance of body composition versus just weight. The content of the calories you consume affect body composition! Eat more protein for better body composition.
43:48 – When can kids start lifting weights?  And is it safe? Mike opines.
45:35 – Youth weightlifting – great for your health, Wendi opines.
49:22 - Wendi was the black sheep of her dietetics program at UW-Stout. But she’s great at translating sports science in a palatable way to parents and kids.
50:38 - We have a profession (educators) and we have an industry (sellers).
51:35 – Wendi’s top supplements (in general) for active individuals.
54:49 – Squats are the king of all resistance exercises – Mike opines

Our Special Guests
Wendi Irlbeck, MS, RDN, LD, CISSN is a Registered Dietitian, certified sports nutritionist, lifestyle coach with an M.S. in Nutrition. Wendi specializes in enhancing health, athletic performance with a focus on injury prevention by improving metabolic efficiency using nutrient periodization. She and her team of registered dietitians work closely with both young and adult athletes nationwide. Wendi is a former collegiate athlete, active writer, speaker, mentor, and actively integrates faith into her practice. Based in Nashville, TN. You can check out her website www.nutritionwithwendi.com and subscribe to her FREE newsletter. Check out her guidebooks, sports nutrition presentations, testimonials, and coaching programs! Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Mike Nitka MS earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Health and Physical Education from the University of Wisconsin- LaCrosse and began teaching at Muskego High School in Southeast Wisconsin for 38 years. He had a vision to create elective PE classes which were called Human Performance 1 & 2 and then expanded the weight room several times to meet the demands. The school’s athletic teams improved their ability to compete as he and the staff applied basic principles of strength and conditioning. Looking for information he joined the NSCA in 1985 and began to earn the following credentials starting in 1988:  CSCS*D, RSCC*E, FNSCA*E; Other awards: Hall of Fame NHSSCA in 2018, NSCA Boyd Epley Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. To date Coach has been in education working with students /athletes for the past 46 years. He currently is an Adjunct faculty member in Human Movement Sciences at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin.