The Daniel Yores Podcast

Levi Tate (@levitate.lifestyle) is a bodybuilder and personal trainer from New Zealand, who now lives in Victoria, BC. Levi grew up playing sports and found the gym through sport where he fell in love. He now trains both lifestyle clients and competitors, while actively competing himself. You can visit his website, levitatelifestyle.ca to learn more about Levi’s coaching. Bodybuilding is far from a sport of just a bunch of meatheads throwing weight around and slugging back protein shakes. It’s a sport that requires extreme dedication and precision to be the absolute best. In addition to the details of training, nutrition, supplementation and “gear”, there is an equally important art component. The ability to pose with choreography and fully display your (literal) body of work is a crucial part of the sport. We spoke quite a bit about the ins and out of this. While bodybuilding may be the extreme end of fitness, there is tons to learn for the general population. After all, so much fitness knowledge has come from the bodybuilding work and simply been adapted to everyday people. We broke down where some myths came from, and how they apply to both bodybuilders and regular people alike. Eating is an ever important part of our health, and so many of us do it completely unconsciously. Perhaps the first step to any nutrition plan should be understanding what you’re even eating. We might call this “conscious eating”. Levi and I spoke a lot about this, and how to find the best nutrition strategies for yourself – there’s no one size fits all approach. There was a lot of detail in this episode and I think it’s one you’ll want to share with your friends and listen back to. Be sure to follow @levitate.lifestyle on social media, and check out levitatelifestyle.ca. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Website danielyores.com Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Amanda and Harry are two of the co-founders of Othership (@othership.to). Othership is a vessel for transformation that invites us to collectively explore our extra-sensory faculties through the practicality and potency of the elements. It is a physical space located in Toronto where you experience sauna, cold plunges, and breathwork to build resiliency, improve your health, connect with others, and so much more. Visit othership.us/physical to book a guided class. For those outside of Toronto, they also have an accompanying breathwork app with over 500 classes. The app is available to download here. Visiting Othership is an incredible experience that I believe everyone in Toronto or the GTA should experience. And if you live elsewhere, I’m not sure there’s anything quite like it, but you can join in the practices of heat and cold. Sitting in a hot sauna for an extended time while doing breathwork and light movement can get tough, your body tells you it wants out – and that’s where the benefits kick in. There’s a whole bunch of science to support this, as we discussed through the episode, but when you feel it, you know it. You move from the hot sauna into a cold plunge where you sit for 2 minutes. The cold is the opposite extreme and the effects are quick. As soon as you hit the water your mind screams “out”, and yet, this is where the benefits kick in. There are many purely physical benefits to all of this. But perhaps the most important is the building of resiliency – the ability to do hard things in a controlled environment. This way, when real life smacks you in the mouth, you can be prepared. Amanda and Harry did an excellent job outlining all the ways the heat and cold benefit us, how the community aspect of Othership plays a huge role, as well as the value of having these authentic human experiences. If you live in Toronto, Othership is located at 425 Adelaide St W, and you can visit the website to book a class here. For everyone else, you can download the Othership breathwork app here. Also, follow Othership on IG @othership.to and @othership.app.I would love to organize a visit to Othership with listeners of the podcast, so if you’re in, send me an email or a DM on IG and I will put you own for it. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.Apply for coaching here.  Website danielyores.com Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Lots of great questions for this second Q&A episode covering quite a large range of topics but with lots of similarities. For future question submissions, please message me on IG @danielyores or visit my website danielyores.com. Here are the questions in order from this episode: 1) How to determine the calorie needs for women? (hint: it’s the same for men and women). 2) Is it possible to lose weight during your period? 3) What’s better for building chest, dumbbells or barbell? (the person I referenced in this answer for the press arounds is @coach_kassem)4) How often should you do cardio for weight loss? And what type is best?5) What are the best snacks to have while losing weight? Please reach out with more questions for future episodes! For online coaching, please fill out the coaching application form here. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Website danielyores.com Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Rashad LaTouche (@rlatouch_rmt) is a massage therapist, educator, and coach located in Toronto and the GTA. Rashad played football at Laurier University before pursuing a career as a massage therapist. He treats clients all over the GTA both in clinic and in home. In addition, he also teaches massage at the Canadian College of Massage and Hydrotherapy. You can check out Rashad’s services and get in contact through his website: latouchemobilemassage.com. Massage therapy is often misunderstood. It’s not lathering up with scented cream and someone just rubbing your neck for 15 minutes. It’s a form of manual therapy requiring extensive education and a high level of care. Rashad and I spoke about this throughout the episode. It’s important to understand this so that you know how massage therapy might fit into your care, and how you can best utilize it. With massage, and any manual therapy, there is a level of home care that’s needed. If the therapist could do everything for you, they certainly would. But they can’t come home with you, so there’s a level of responsibility needed to keep up your end of the recovery process. We discussed some of the thought process behind this and how to best implement them. Bear in mind, everyone’s home care should be individualized and overseen by their practitioner. This also led into regular maintenance recovery tools like theraguns, ice and heat, foam rolling and other tools. Similar to almost anything, the individualized approach is best. Massage and your personal care is no different. What works for you may not work for me, and vice versa. We spoke about strategies to find the best methods of care and lifestyle choices that could suit you. Hopefully this sparks you to consider what you’re doing, and make some important changes. Rashad and I worked closely together at a gym in Toronto in what feels like a previous life. One day soon we’ll get the “Cafe Dell” crew together for a fun story telling podcast from those days. Rashad works extremely hard to deliver the best level of care to his clients and this is apparent as soon as you get to meet him. If you live in the GTA, please reach out to Rashad through his website for any massage therapy needs. Also follow Rashad on IG where he posts great educational content.Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Apply for coaching with me hereConnect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Danielle Webster (@daniellewebsterfit) is an online fitness coach who specializes in hypertrophy training. Danielle starting working out in an effort to put on muscle and gain weight. She learned from some of the best people in the business, put on muscle, gained tons of confidence in herself, and now coaches others to do the same. She has several coaching options, and you can see each of them on her website: daniellewebsterfitness.comWe had some internet issues throughout the episode, which led to some not great sound quality and a couple of moments where we froze, so apologies in advance for that. Did the best I could to clean it up . It’s not that bad, and was still a great conversation which matters most, but just wanted to put that out there. Danielle specializes in hypertrophy training – that means building muscle. Getting bigger and adding muscle to your body is a whole lot of fun, but certainly not easy. There are many different training methods which will lead to hypertrophy but they all follow the same principles, because physiology. Throughout the episode we touched on specific exercises, sets and reps, nutrition, how to execute training sessions, and everything else that goes into adding muscle to your body. A central part of the discussion was around choosing the best exercises for your goals. Deadlifts are an amazing exercise, but likely not the best for hypertrophy. Bicep curls might be great for hypertrophy, but won’t help your squat. These are neither good or bad. Each exercise has it’s pros and cons for different training goals, and different body structures. Understanding the difference is important to training effectively, and safely. Putting on muscle is like a cheat code to self confidence, in my opinion. Danielle spoke about her experience entering the gym as someone who was “skinny” and looking to gain some weight and muscle mass. Once the gains starting coming in, her self-confidence also improved; an amazing bonus. And no, she didn’t get “bulky”… we spoke about that, too! Danielle is an excellent coach and resource for all things hypertrophy training, and you should definitely be following her on IG for all her amazing training content. She also offers workout guides, training app subscriptions, 1 on 1 coaching, and has some awesome lifting grips, all available on her website. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Simon Dutton (@kingsleydutton) is an online fitness coach and trainer currently living in Hong Kong. After working in fitness education for a number of years, he has since transitioned back to his roots of helping clients achieving life changing results through fitness. He is the host of The Self Made Podcast and you can learn more about Simon’s coaching at https://madecoaching.com/. Perfectly fitting with the overall theme of this entire podcast, Simon has learned that the most important lessons from the gym often have a greater impact in our life outside of the gym. The recent James Bond movie was a bit of an inspiration to him to focus on building men’s confidence through fitness. *spoiler alert* we did talk about the movie briefly. Building an amazing body and putting in hard work in the gym is almost guaranteed to improve your confidence in yourself, and spill into everything else you do. A large part of the conversation was centered around managing one’s expectations. It’s ok to expect exceptional results, when you put in an exceptional effort, with an exceptional plan. It’s very hard to expect greatness, when your effort and methods don’t match. And it’s not that we all should strive for the best physique in the world. It’s moreso about understanding what it takes to get what we want, and then determining whether or not we are willing to do what it takes. If not, then we adjust the goals accordingly. This is an excellent way to reach your goals, and we touched on these concepts in several different contexts throughout the episode. Simon’s got a term he hates in fitness: “sustainable dieting”. Nothing about dieting (as in, eating in a strict way or in a restrictive caloric deficit) is meant to be sustainable. A diet is meant to achieve the goal of fat loss. Once achieved, the diet should stop, and normal eating patterns are resumed. Now, the caveat, is that “normal eating patterns” doesn’t mean chips, chocolate and constant junk. It can certainly include those things, but within reason. Making things seem easier than they are circles back to managing expectations and setting yourself up for success.  This was a thoroughly enjoyable conversation and I’m sure you’ll find lots of value in this episode. If you do, please share this episode with a friend! Be sure to follow Simon on IG, check out his website, and tune into his podcast as well. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Daniel DeBrocke (@daniel_debrocke) is a coach, athlete, writer, podcaster and newly appointed education coordinator at Kabuki Strength. He began his journey into fitness through the sport of boxing, and has since transitioned into the sport of powerlifting.Many of us rush into making changes in our life. We try to overhaul everything about our lifestyle in an effort to get in shape, and inevitably don’t follow through. Rather than trying to overhaul one’s life, Daniel outlined several examples as to how one might aim at small goals to collect small wins along the way that eventually lead to big wins.This was part of a larger discussion around human behaviour, and how our actions most of the time do make sense based on our past. Often, it’s not even our past history with fitness, but the sum of the past history of our entire life. All of these experiences create the person you are today, and therefore, they are layered in to the decisions we make on a daily basis. Understanding why we do the things we do is a big first step to positively influencing our behaviour.This goes hand in hand with taking responsibility for your actions. The results we get don’t happen by accident, and they are well within our control. Of course there are external factors swaying us in every direction, but ultimately, we must take personal responsibility for our actions.I had a question from social media about sumo versus conventional deadlifting that we also touched on towards the end of the episode. Daniel has written a very in depth article on the exact subject that we referenced, and you can read that here.Be sure to follow Daniel DeBrocke on IG, listen to the Stacked Strength Podcast, and keep up with all of his articles and content through his website, https://www.stackedstrength.com/. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions and feedback are greatly appreciated! If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify. It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Nick Gomez (@coachnick44) is a strength & conditioning coach currently living in Austin, Texas and a coach at Onnit Gym ATX. Originally from Albuquerque, NM, Nick has worked with some of the most successful fighters in MMA, and trained high level athletes from all sports.Avid listeners will recall I visited Onnit in the summer of 2021 (Ep 27), and Nick was the first person I met there. We got along so well and had some great chats those days and finally got around to recording a podcast. Functional training is a word far too often tossed around with no rhyme or reason. Doing stuff that’s weird doesn’t make it functional. Performing impressive lifts or feats of athleticism isn’t functional. SPOILER: doing burpees is not functional. However, there are a whole lot of ways we can train for the functional challenges that life may throw at us, and we covered that throughout the discussion. We spoke a lot about the way that athletes train, and how it’s sometimes misguided. Athletes should train to be good at their sport, not good at lifting weights – unless of course, lifting weights is their sport. Many youth athletes fall into this trap, and the thought process around the role that strength training plays in athletic development needs to evolve. Along these lines, we spoke about several prolific athletes. One of which is Jon Jones, arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time. We discussed the qualities that are present in an athlete like Jon, both in and outside the gym, that make them so great at their sport. Nick and I are also both huge proponents of barefoot training and we both spoke about our experiences with letting your feet work like feet. If there’s one thing you take from this podcast, it should be to spend more time barefoot! To follow along with Nick’s coaching and continued education you can follow him on IG. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

This episode was a Q&A style episode taking questions from you, submitted to me through social media. If you have questions for future episodes, please send me a message on IG @danielyores.The following are the questions covered in today's episode: 1) How/why I got into fitness? What's my why? 2) Is it useful to be slightly neurotic and addicted to a fitness lifestyle? 3) Tips to stay healthy when time is limited. 4) How to ease into a lean bulk if you're afraid of gaining fat? 5) How to care for callouses and not rip your hands? 6) Is 4 cups of coffee per day bad for you? How to negate any negative side effects? This was a fun and enjoyable episode to record, and I hope you enjoy it as well. Reach out to me with more questions you'd like answered for future Q&A episodes! I would greatly appreciate any comments, questions or feedback. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Alena Luciani (@Training2XL) is Strength and Conditioning Coach and educator who works with both athletes in sport, and athletes in life. She played both basketball and lacrosse at Laurier University before progressing into her coaching career, where she has worked with athletes of all sports and all levels. She is also focused on elevating the field of strength and conditioning through her Cueing and Programming clinics for trainers and coaches, which you can find at https://www.training2xl.com/. Coaching is about so much more than barking instructions, writing down exercises, and counting sets and reps – It’s about connecting with people. This is perhaps the least taught, yet most important skill to learn as a coach. Alena learned this through watching her father coach football and connecting with his players on an individual level, as well as learning about body language and human behaviour with her mother. She utilizes this knowledge in her own coaching, as well as passing it along to other coaches. Anyone who seriously played sports knows that it’s difficult to lose your “athlete identity” and find out who you are outside of sport. Similarly, it’s difficult to find your own identity as a coach without simply copying what’s always been done. Alena and I spoke at length about her own journey through this and how it would apply to anyone in any field. We are more than our titles, we are who we are. Alena also has a fantastic system in place to optimize working at home and utilizing her environment to her advantage rather than it being a downfall. From creating separate spaces to the clothes you wear and the routines or habits you follow, you must master your environment. Alena works with people of all walks of life locally in Toronto and the GTA, as well as virtually with humans all over. If you’re a coach, you should definitely check out her Cueing & Programming Clinic. To get in touch and learn more about what she does, check out her website https://www.training2xl.com/ and follow her on IG. I would greatly appreciate any comments, questions or feedback. Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify.  It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.  Connect with me on Instagram @danielyoresConnect with me on Twitter @danielyores Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss