bengreenfieldfitness.com/peakhuman On a recent trip to Austin, Texas, I had the pleasure to sit down with my new friend Brian Sanders. Brian is the filmmaker behind the feature-length documentary Food Lies and host of the Peak Human podcast. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and then turned to technology and sold an app company. He’s used his technical background and love for fitness and nutrition to also work as a Health Coach and be the co-founder of the health, media, and technology company SAPIEN.  He's also a speaker and the owner of NoseToTail.org providing premium grass-finished meat to the 48 contiguous states. Prior to this podcast, we both did a "shot" of a kratom/kava euphoric-inducing blend called FeelFree, so the podcast got a bit crazy! If you want to try a shot of this stuff for yourself click here and use code INSERT CODE for an XYZ% discount. In this episode, you'll discover: -Brian and Ben have “drunken banter” over some new products...03:05 -About ancestral hacking vs biohacking...06:30 -Why it’s important to track your metrics naturally, without wearables...10:05 -The most ideal state to consume food and how to stabilize blood glucose spikes...13:20 -Ben’s biggest takeaways from the Faster Study and what it involved...26:10 -What Ben carb loaded before Spartan race days...31:00 -The best way to adapt your diet for improved longevity...41:00 -Ben’s best tips for including alcohol into your “healthy” diet...45:10 -Why Ben says it’s okay to be weird in the sake of being metabolically well...57:05 -And much more... Episode sponsors: -Kion Cold Thermogenesis Challenge -Butcher Box -Ra Optics -Levels Health bengreenfieldfitness.com/peakhumanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's time to take a deep dive into all things pre-, post-, and during-workout nutrition to maximize recovery, anabolism, muscle hypertrophy, and much more with Milos Sarcev — one of the top bodybuilders of all time. Milos was born on January 17, 1964 in Novi Sad, Serbia (former Yugoslavia), grew up in Bečej, and at an early age got involved in numerous sporting activities—participating in judo, karate, swimming, soccer, and basketball tournaments as a teenager. At the age of 17, he was introduced to weightlifting and immediately fell in love with bodybuilding. Four years later, he started competing, entered and won his province title (Mr. Vojvodina), his republic title (Mr. Serbia), and finally national title (Mr. Yugoslavia) before going on to compete on the international scene (Mr. Europe and Mr. Universe). He won the 1989 Amateur Mr. Universe competition and started competing as a professional in the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB). Milos studied nutritional technology at the University of Novi Sad and moved to the USA in 1987 to pursue his bodybuilding career. In 1989 he won the Amateur Mr. Universe title, in 1991 became an IFBB professional bodybuilder, competing in over 110 bodybuilding shows worldwide (72 of which were IFBB professional competitions), and qualified for the Mr. Olympia contest for 10 consecutive years in the hardest era of bodybuilding (1990s). After his competitive career, Milos became known for coaching/advising numerous professional athletes and Olympic medalists. He took a part in famous BALCO Labs "Project World Record" as a nutritionist and strength and conditioning coach for Tim Montgomery—creating the fastest man alive by breaking the World Record on the 100-meter sprint (9.77 seconds) after less than 9 months of coaching. As a bodybuilding coach, he advised over 100 IFBB professional bodybuilders, of which 36 qualified for the most prestigious Mr. Olympia competition. He is a renowned international nutritional expert and speaker; professional trainer; and strength, conditioning, and contest preparation consultant with over 35 years of firsthand industry experience. Milos has become one of the most prominent authorities on nutrition and the human body as relates to athletic performance, earning him the industry moniker “The Mind.” He is considered to be one of the most influential bodybuilders in history, pioneering the usage of specific intra-workout nutritional sports supplementation through his Hyperemia Advantage System, which revolutionized the whole sports supplementation industry. Milos' methods of training and hormonal manipulation for achieving a hyper-anabolic state and maximal hypertrophy are now accepted by millions around the world. During this discussion, you'll discover: -The background on Milos' interest on muscle growth...6:25 -Milos' ideas and theories put into real-world practice...16:00 -The substances Milos uses alongside EAAs during training...29:45 -Proper timing and dosage of supplementation before and during a workout...37:15 -How Milos structures his diet for optimal training...42:00 -Why supplementation during the workout is necessary...45:45 -How post-workout supplement differs from the pre-, and during-workout...49:15 -Milos' carnosine strategy...54:05 -What Milos' training looked like during his peak vs. now...57:10 -Why essential amino acids are so...essential...1:10:05 Milos' actual training - Body split workouts, warm-up, and exercise selection: I always begin my workout with 10 minutes of cardio, then move to leg extensions to further warm up my muscles, tendons, and ligaments. I take three seconds to raise the weight, two seconds to hold it at the top, and three seconds to complete the negative. Although I don't advocate locking out your knees on squats, lunges, and leg presses, I do recommend fully contracting your quads on leg extensions, and this requires a momentary locking-out of the knee joint. I now move to what I consider the king of all exercises: barbell squats. Even though I've already warmed up my quads with leg extensions, I still do two warm-up sets of 10 squats to warm up my hips, glutes, lower back, and calves before my three heavy working sets. My descending speed is still slow, about three seconds, but since squats are a building motion, the ascending motion is more explosive. A lot of people make the mistake of stopping between reps and resting when doing squats, but you must keep continual tension on your muscles for maximal results, and this is achieved by continual motion. Next come leg presses. I alternate from week to week between the unilateral and two-leg versions. I see so many people doing 1,000-pound 1-inch leg presses. That won't help you develop anything. For both single- and double-leg, I advocate a full range of motion. I finish off with hack squats. On two-legged leg press days, I perform the standard three sets of 10, with my feet and knees close together to hit the outer sweep of my quads. On the unilateral days, I do my infamous triple drop set. I've made more than 100 people throw up doing this, and I myself have thrown up on several occasions. You begin with a weight with which you can get only 5-6 reps, then drop it down and do another 10, drop it again, and go for 10-15. But the trick is this: Do these as slowly as possible. Five seconds to go down, pause two seconds at the bottom, and five seconds to go back up. If you finish this without being sick, you didn't do it right. I used to think I could train legs all at once, but my hams were always lagging because I was exhausted from quad training. So these days, I train quads and hams separately, giving each its own day once a week to ensure complete development. Episode sponsors: -Kion Cold Thermogenesis Challenge -Butcher Box -Ra Optics -Levels Health Do you have questions, thoughts, or feedback for Milos or me? Leave your comments at https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/milos2 and one of us will reply!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/redbull  Occasionally, I'm interviewed by magazines, other podcasts, authors, radio networks, etc., and occasionally, I also release those interviews with the journalist in public. After all, whatever you say on an interview can and will be used against you right? Just kidding. This interview actually went quite well, and was recorded to be published in The Red Bulletin Innovator, published by the Red Bull Media House, distributed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland plus digitally in several other languages online (including English). The interview with me is an 8-page-opener for a special section about biohacking, and the issue will be out in September. The interview was conducted by Andreas Breitfeld, a German biohacker and founder of the first biohacking lab in Germany, along with author Stefan Wagner. In this episode, you'll discover: -Is there such thing as a "perfect life"?...03:55 Full mind, body, spirit optimization Not fully attainable due to our fallen human nature Our fallibility can be a beautiful thing; keeps us humble and grounded Problems spur progress Most people exist in a sub-optimal state Many obstacles to an optimal life humanity today we weren't exposed to before Always learning new things to optimize mind, body, spirit -What is the meaning of life?...10:35 The meaning life is "survival" Maslow's hierarchy of needs Ben subscribes to a higher power, absolute truth "Savor, enjoy God's creation while loving others; identify our calling and make a positive impact" John Piper: "We are designed to fully glorify God by being fully satisfied in Him." -Is your personal health the best expression of seeking meaning in your life?...16:35 Focusing on your own health is the opposite of seeking true meaning in life Focusing on others makes your own health more gratifying Take care of your health in order to serve others Use biohacks in order to best serve those who depend on you Put on your own oxygen mask first; but don't dwell on all the technical details, help people! -How to find the balance between optimal health and a worthwhile life...20:40 Self-quantification (genetics, HRV, sleep cycles) Oura Ring Apollo Genetic test we recommend Biome test (viome?) Food allergy test Blood panel, micronutrient Make serving others your prime focus in your life Spiritual Disciplines Journal Don't ignore the heart/gut impulses Self-optimization with the goal of "others-optimization" -Ben's "elevator pitch" to embrace biohacking...29:00 Understand what problem you want to fix before identifying which bio hack to use Joovv light panels Clearlight sauna ReTimer glasses Earthing sandals Hot/cold contrast The Body Electric by Robert Bekcer Healing is Voltage by Jerry Tennant Structured water Use salt and minerals the right way Quinton Aqua True liquid minerals -How to approach biohacks that aren't advocated by mainstream science...38:25 Earthing documentary Book by Clint Ober BGF podcast w/ Clint Ober PEMF mats and pads Use self-quantification to identify what is and isn't working for you Many biohacks simulate what nature is already doing -How to be a human guinea pig without harming one's self...42:20 Blood glucose monitor Track sleep cycles and melatonin levels Don't try any biohacks you don't feel comfortable doing Weirdest biohacks Ben has tried: Build muscle using electrical stimulation Whipworms and tapeworms Ensure there's ample evidence of a biohack's efficacy before using -What will it look like when Ben is an old man?...46:40 -What to do when you're lacking motivation to fill your life's purpose...50:20 -And much more... Resources mentioned in this episode: Episode sponsors -Organifi Green Juice -Paleo Valley Beef Sticks -Kion Refer a Friend -Thrive Market https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/redbullSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/431 Have a question you'd like Ben to answer on the podcast? Click here, or use the 'contact' button in the free Ben Greenfield Fitness app. Prior to asking your question, do a search in the upper right-hand corner of this website for the keywords associated with your question. Many of the questions we receive have already been answered here at Ben Greenfield Fitness! News Flashes – Follow Ben on Twitter for more… Good one: "Psychedelics Weren't As Common in Ancient Cultures As We Think"08:40 Interesting...why chewing morning glory seeds gets you high: (I guess Home Depot is probably going to sell out of seeds once this becomes common knowledge)...14:20 Interesting that vegetable oils trigger the 'bliss molecule' anandamide. May that's why that baked goodie or potato chip is so darn addictive (veg oils kinda like using THC for munchies!)...18:55 Ladies - it appears cannabis makes sex better...22:25 How to have WAY MORE SEX in your marriage...25:40 Special Announcements... -The Boundless Cookbook: Optimize your physical and mental performance with nutritious and delicious Greenfield family recipes. This is your roadmap to a culinary journey that includes ancient food and wild game preparation tactics, biohacked smoothies, meat rubs, cocktails, desserts, and beyond—without any restrictive diet, limited ingredients, or tasteless “health foods”! Pre-order yours today here! Check out Ben on Instagram for epic posts and photos about his morning, day, and evening routines, recipes, and much more! Follow Ben on Twitter for daily news flashes and the latest health, fitness, and anti-aging research. Join Ben's Facebook page for conversations with listeners and even more useful information, posts, and support! This podcast is brought to you by: -Kion Clean Energy Bars -Organifi Green Juice -Magic Spoon -Paleo Valley Organ Complex Listener Q&A: Tips for training children...38:00 Supplements that increase NAD, and other plants that make you feel high...47:30 bengreenfieldfitness.com/431See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, what's up. It's Ben Greenfield. You may have heard that I wrote a new book. It's free at fitsoulbook.com as a digital download. You can also get the physical version for next to nothing. I'm not making any money off this book. I'm just covering my shipping and handling and printing costs. I just want you to experience some of the things I've written within the pages. Now, because of that, I'm also recording the audio book version, and I want to give you a bit of a taste of that audio book version.  If you like it all the resources and everything for what you're about to hear are at fitsoulbook.com/resources. So I hope you enjoy this chapter and you can always find me on social media at Ben Greenfield Fitness on most social media platforms. And perhaps there you can just let me know what you think.  So without further ado, here we go.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BenGreenfieldFitness.com/recapturerapture My guest on today's podcast, Jamie Wheal, first joined me on the podcast episode: "Recapture the Rapture: Biohacking Sex, Tantric Breathwork, Plant Medicines For Orgasmic Enhancement & Much More!", for which the title is pretty self-explanatory regarding the wildly stimulating topics we covered on that show.  Today Jamie, a so-called "neuroanthropologist" is back, describing exciting elements from his new book Recapture the Rapture: Rethinking God, Sex, and Death in a World That's Lost Its Mind - a book in which he maps out a revolutionary new practice—Hedonic Engineering—that combines neuroscience and optimal psychology. It’s an intensive program of breathing, movement, and sexuality that mends trauma, heightens inspiration and tightens connections—helping us wake up, grow up, and show up for a world that needs us all. This is a book about a big idea. And the idea is this: Slowly over the past few decades, and now suddenly, all at once, we’re suffering from a collapse in Meaning. Fundamentalism and nihilism are filling that vacuum, with consequences that affect us all. In a world that needs us at our best, diseases of despair, tribalism, and disaster fatigue are leaving us at our worst. It’s vital that we regain control of the stories we’re telling because they are shaping the future we’re creating. To do that, we have to remember our deepest inspiration, heal our pain and apathy, and connect to each other like never before. If we can do that, we’ve got a shot at solving the big problems we face. And if we can’t?  Well, the dustbin of history has swallowed civilizations older and fancier than ours. This book is divided into three parts. The first, Choose Your Own Apocalypse, takes a look at our current Meaning Crisis--where we are today, why it’s so hard to make sense of the world, what might be coming next, and what to do about it. It also makes a case that many of our efforts to cope, whether anxiety and denial, or tribalism and identity politics, are likely making things worse. The middle section, The Alchemist Cookbook,  applies the creative firm IDEO’s design thinking to the Meaning Crisis. This is where the book gets hands on--taking a look at the strongest evolutionary drivers that can bring about inspiration, healing, and connection. From breathing, to movement, sexuality, music, and substances--these are the everyday tools to help us wake up, grow up, and show up. AKA--how to blow yourself sky high with household materials. The final third of the book, Ethical Cult Building, focuses on the tricky nature of putting these kinds of experiences into gear and into culture—because, anytime in the past when we’ve figured out combinations of peak states and deep healing, we’ve almost always ended up with problematic culty communities. Playing with fire has left a lot of people burned. This section lays out a roadmap for sparking a thousand fires around the world--each one unique and tailored to the needs and values of its participants. Think of it as an open-source toolkit for building ethical culture. In Recapture the Rapture, Jamie takes radical research out of the extremes and applying it to the mainstream to the broader social problem of healing, believing, and belonging. It’s providing answers to the questions we face: how to replace blind faith with direct experience, how to move from broken to whole, and how to cure isolation with connection. Said even more plainly, it shows us how to revitalize our bodies, boost our creativity, rekindle our relationships, and answer once and for all the questions of why we are here and what do we do now? Jamie is also the author of Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work and the founder of the Flow Genome Project, an international organization dedicated to the research and training of human performance. His work and ideas have been covered in The New York Times, Financial Times, Wired, Entrepreneur, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Inc., and TED. He has spoken at Stanford University, MIT, the Harvard Club, Imperial College, Singularity University, the U.S. Naval War College and Special Operations Command, Sandhurst Royal Military Academy, the Bohemian Club, and the United Nations. He lives high in the Rocky Mountains in an off-grid cabin with his partner, Julie; two children, Lucas and Emma; and their golden retrievers, Aslan and Calliope. When not writing, he can be found mountain biking, kitesurfing, and backcountry skiing. During our discussion, you'll discover: -What the heck is a "neuroanthropologist?"...07:34 -What does it mean to "recapture the rapture?"...15:15 -A contrarian view of the end times...23:56 -Jamie's creative writing process...31:55 -How prostate massages bring one to a new level of consciousness...43:25 -The 5 big techniques for achieving a peak state of flow...48:35 -Why sex, drugs, rock and roll mark the beginning of civilization, not the end...1:00:44 -About circular breathing...1:05:00 -Meduna's Mixture...1:10:12 -How to use breath to "steer" your psyche...1:23:40 -How to work directly with Jamie...1:28:05 -And much more! Episode sponsors: -The Boundless Cookbook  -Kion Aminos -JOOVV -Clearlight Saunas -Paleo Valley Beef Sticks BenGreenfieldFitness.com/recaptureraptureSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BenGreenfieldFitness.com/runnershigh I recently read the book Runner's High: How a Movement of Cannabis-Fueled Athletes Is Changing the Science of Sports. As kind of a mash-up of Michael Pollan's How to Change Your Mind and Christopher McDougall's Born to Run  this immersive, investigative look at the hidden culture of cannabis use among elite athletes (as well as weekend warriors) reveals the surprising emerging science behind the elusive, exhilarating "runner's high" they all seek. Author of the book and my guest on today's podcast - Josiah Hesse - believes that "pot makes exercise fun", or at least, easier or more productive. The link between performance enhancement and cannabis has actually been an open secret for many years, so much so that with the wide-sweeping national legalization of cannabis, combining weed and working out has become the hottest new wellness trend. Why, then, is there still a skewed perception around this leafy substance that it only produces the lazy, red-eyed stoner laid out on a couch somewhere, munching on junk food? In fact, scientists have conducted extensive research that uncovers the power of the "runner's high" - the true holy grail of aerobic activity that was long believed to be caused by endorphins. In an extraordinary reversal, scientists believe marijuana may actually be the key to getting more Americans off their phones and on to their feet. In Runner's High and in this podcast, Josiah takes you on a journey through the secret world of stoned athletes, describing astounding, cannabis-inspired physical and mental transformations, just like he experienced. From the economics of the $20 billion CBD market to the inherent inequalities in the enforcement of marijuana prohibition; from the mind-body connection behind the "runner's high" to the best way to make your own cannabis-infused power bars; Runner's High takes this groundbreaking science out of the lab and onto the trail, court, field, and pitch, fundamentally changing the way we think about exercise, recovery, and cannabis. Josiah is an author and journalist from Denver, Colorado, whose work has appeared in Vice, Esquire, Politico, and The Guardian. Hesse casts a wide net in his journalistic curiosities, covering everything from science, crime and politics, to pop culture, the arts, sex and drugs. After a decade of covering the slow-burn legalization of marijuana, Hesse finally wrote the book we discuss today. In this episode, you'll discover: -How the "420 games" inspired Josiah's book...07:15 -Josiah's history w/ cannabis prior to the 420 games...12:20 -An ultra-marathoner that has taken edibles during his runs for years...17:15 -What to expect in cannabis-inspired fitness classes and events...21:20 -How prevalent is cannabis use in professional sports...25:30 -How, when and why cannabis became "persona non grata" among natural herbs...34:15 -What is the best dosage to increase the efficacy of exercise...50:25 -Does cannabis help altitude performance?...59:55 -Is cannabis a true performance enhancing drug?...1:04:00 -Is cannabis a crutch for Ben Greenfield?...1:11:05 -And much more... Episode sponsors: -Kion Lean -Paleo Valley Organ Complex -Seed Daily Synbiotic -Beekeeper's Naturals https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/runnershighSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, what's up. It's Ben Greenfield. You may have heard that I wrote a new book. It's free at fitsoulbook.com as a digital download. You can also get the physical version for next to nothing. I'm not making any money off this book. I'm just covering my shipping and handling and printing costs. I just want you to experience some of the things I've written within the pages. Now, because of that, I'm also recording the audio book version, and I want to give you a bit of a taste of that audio book version.  If you like it all the resources and everything for what you're about to hear are at fitsoulbook.com/resources. So I hope you enjoy this chapter and you can always find me on social media at Ben Greenfield Fitness on most social media platforms. And perhaps there you can just let me know what you think.  So without further ado, here we go.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BenGreenfieldFitness.com/donnamills You've no doubt heard me talk on podcasts before about my epic massages. We're talking essential oils, carefully selected musical tracks for healing the body, an acoustic sound healing table, a pulsed electromagnetic field mat, and a variety of specific plant medicine compounds and supplements for relaxing the body and turning a massage into a full body, mind and spiritual reboot and cleansing. But I haven't talked much about the wizard (wizardess, I should say) behind-the-scenes. Her name is Donna Mills, and she is my massage therapist, the most unique and talented therapist I've ever worked with, and my guest on this podcast. Donna lives in the aesthetically stunning Pacific Northwest, specifically in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She is a woman committed to all things that elevate human consciousness. She is a practitioner of the healing arts, an advocate for civil conversations, and a community educator. Donna is the founder of HumanWell Integrative Healing where she sees private clients healing through trauma and grief. On the community consulting side of HumanWell, Donna designs integrative workplace wellness programs for large and small businesses. The name HumanWell was created out of her unwavering need to know “How do we human well? We can see where we are missing the mark in society, but where and how are we getting it right?” Donna is a social healing practitioner, a narrative disruptor, and a cultural change agent. She is here to invite society into a deeper conversation about civility and connectivity. She believes that, “and justice for all” means just that. For all. She is a fierce advocate for a new narrative of economic justice that elevates our collective human wellness and ability to thrive. Donna is a Lay Pastoral Minister through the Unitarian Universalist Association and is ordained to perform many celebrations of life, from partner unions to end of life doula services. In this work she gently guides humans through the sacred journey of living and dying. She is often called upon to share her insightful wisdom on the divine, and serves this world with a deep commitment to humanity. Donna aligns and connects to Source Spirit as High Priestess in her Pagan faith. She also describes herself as a mystic, a tarot reader, an intuitive healer, and a conscious thought leader for these changing times. She practices a very intentful and cyclical lifestyle that includes loads of joy, playful exploration, good food, and always, always, more beautiful humans. She excels at growing food and wild foraging, loves to be on the water, is a collector of smiles, and can be found spending teatime with her favorite feline, Professor Moosey Softpaws. During this discussion, you'll discover: -How Donna developed her unique therapeutic approach…14:00 -Donna’s self-work routine...17:35 -Donna’s unique massage practices...19:25 -About Donna’s coursework programs...34:00 -How Donna healed Ben’s very injured toe...38:00 -Why massage sometimes brings up emotions or trauma release...43:55 -Supplements, products and technology Ben and Donna use during massage treatments...49:50 -How to work with Donna...1:10:40 -And much more…   Episode sponsors: -The Boundless Cookbook -Kion -Four Sigmatic -JOOVV -Water and Wellness Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback for Donna or me? Leave your comments at BenGreenfieldFitness.com/donnamills and one of us will reply!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.