Exercise is Bullshit!

Episode 23! The Jordan Podcast! And that's appropriate because today I have one of the GOATS in the field of Exercise Science Research!In this episode I'm joined by PhD student Alysha D'Souza (IG HERE) from McMaster University in Canada. Alysha is a student in Dr. Stu Phillips lab and is leading the way in a new generation of female focused exercise science research (an area that's currently severely lacking in the field). In this episode we discuss a new and exciting muscle composition modality the "COSIAM" method. A combination of multiple isotopes to test the actual amount of skeletal muscle you currently have. This is exciting because most body composition tools use algorithms and proxy measures to estimate muscle mass. Till now, besides performing an autopsy (which means no more gains anyways), there hasn't been a tool to allow researchers to not just distinguish between lean tissue and fat, but actual "skeletal muscle". Which is really what we want to measure in strength research.The value of muscle mass and the link to resistance training is now widely known and propagated, but we've always relied on tools that have a significant margin of error to make our best educated guess at what is happening internally. Though this method will probably never be widely available, it sheds valuable insight on the variability in these tools (i.e. you're probably not as jacked as you think). This episode is research dense and I do my best to bring everything down to a level that's easy to understand. But if you're interested in how to actually measure muscle, you don't want to miss this!If you haven't already please like, subscribe and share. If you're interested in working with me directly for training or health coaching, please reach out at logan@reformed-fitness.com. You can also book a free discovery call with myself or another member of my team ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Episode 22! The Emmett Smith of Podcast Episodes! And just like the all-time leading rusher, this one is all about speed... or time... or the time you'll save being speedy. I'm joined today by Ryan Burke (IG HERE). Ryan is a tremendous young researcher currently pursuing his PhD at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Ryan is a former Master's Graduate from the Applied Muscle Development lab at Lehman University under the guidance of the great Dr. Brad Schoenfeld. Today Ryan and are are discussing a paper he was part of as part of his Master's Program looking at the efficacy of Supersets compared to traditional set training as a way to make workouts more efficient. Supersets in layman's terms are paired sets of exercise with minimal to no rest in between. They can be complimentary (think pec fly into a chest press), antagonist (think chest press into seated row), or not related at all (biceps and squats). For this study the exercises were mostly antagonistic. Both groups performed a full body resistance training program, but the supersets group saved close to 30% in time compared to the Traditional training group. The outcomes were almost identical. This makes supersets a great tool in your tool belt for time efficient training. That doesn't mean it's better than a traditional training approach, but another way to make training more convenient and time efficient during potentially busier periods in life. This is a great episode and Ryan is a brilliant young researcher. Check it out and keep your eye out for more great episodes in the future!If you haven't already please like, subscribe and share. If you're interested in working with me directly for training or health coaching, please reach out at logan@reformed-fitness.com. You can also book a free discovery call with myself or another member of my team ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Episode 21... BlackJack! He's back! The Jack Attack!In this week's episode I'm joined by Jack O0sten. Jack is the founder and owner of Jacked&Leen Gym in Rogers, MN. One of the true Mecca's of Bodybuilding in the Midwest... and possibly the world. Jack has been in the bodybuilding game for over a decade and he and his wife Eileen opened their dream gym in 2024. Together they've been coaching and helping hundreds of clients for the last 5+ years. Jack is also one of the smartest folks I know in the fitness space. He has the gift, for form, technique and probably most importantly, motivation. You do a set with Jack looking over you and you'll never work harder in your life. This week Jack joins me to talk all things rep speed and cadence. How fast should you be moving in your workouts? Is there really an ideal tempo? Does anything actually get better or worse if you move faster or slower. Together we answer all of this and much more. You definitely don't want to miss this episode!If you haven't already please like, subscribe and share. If you're interested in working with me directly for training or health coaching, please reach out at logan@reformed-fitness.com. You can also book a free discovery call with myself or another member of my team ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Episode 20... ! They said we couldn't do it... but here we are ah-doing-it!Today I'm joined by my friend and college Eric Feigl. Eric has been a coach for close to 20 years and trained thousands of client sessions, in person and online. He's currently based out of Ohio at Mission 5 Fitness (HERE) where he takes clients in person, but you can also find him online if you're outside of his area and looking for coaching.Eric and I spent this episode talking about the current state of the fitness industry. Where it might be in the next 5-10 years, and how to position yourself to continue to be competitive in the fitness space. Eric is a brilliant guy with a TON of knowledge and experience. Definitely give this episode a listen if you want to know more about the future of fitness!If you haven't already please like, subscribe and share. If you're interested in working with me directly for training or health coaching, please reach out at logan@reformed-fitness.com. You can also book a free discovery call with myself or another member of my team ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Episode 19... that's almost 20! They said we couldn't do it... but here we are ah-doing-it!Today I'm joined by the king of stats, Dr. James Steele. Dr. Steele is a good friend and colleague, former associate professor at Solent University and currently the head of the research department for Keiser Australia (⁠HERE⁠). He joins me on the show today to discuss a relatively recent paper he was a major part of called "Machine-based resistance training improves functional capacity in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis." (⁠HERE⁠). This paper is a fantastic Meta-Analysis (combining multiple papers together on the same topic), that looked at the effects of resistance training on machines and how that affected functional capacity measures in older individuals. Often fitness folks confuse the idea that "functional training" must involve things like, balance, coordination, free weights, bands, and plyometrics. The results from this paper show that simple progressive resistance training using full body resistance machines, improves these results just as much as traditional "functional training". This is great news for older individuals (and younger ones) who want to get stronger and feel better well into their golden years. You don't have to do any fancy exercises to improve functional capacity. Simply strength train hard, brief, and infrequent. Progress the weights and reps over time, and you've got all the functional training you'll need. As with most things, this applies to older individuals and also... athletes. If you're interested in hearing more about why exercise doesn't have to be complicated, give this episode a listen!And if you haven't already please like and subscribe to the podcast. If you'd like to work with me directly or any of my colleagues feel free to schedule a Free Discovery Call ⁠HERE⁠.

Episode 18!!! The king of IG cooking content and hypertrophy gains is back!In this week's episode I'm joined by Max Coleman, MS. Max is a previous guest on the show and one of the brightest minds in the exercise science space today. He has a fantastic IG account where he break down scientific literature... all well cooking delicious treats!In this week's episode we talk about the state of the science on a variety of different fronts. Supersets, Optimal Rest Periods, Minimum Effective Dose and more. Max received his Master's from Lehman College in the Bronx under the tutelage of Dr. Brad Schoenfeld. He'll be part of the inaugural Doctoral Program at Lehman College which is set to launch this Fall. So check him out now, so you can say you knew him before he was Dr. Coleman. If you haven't already please like, subscribe and share. If you're interested in working with me directly for training or health coaching, please reach out at logan@reformed-fitness.com. You can also book a free discovery call with myself or another member of my team ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Episode 16... another Doctor! And a Candadian! A double whammy of awesome! Dr. Sara Oikawa is the Chief Science officer for Enhanced Medical Nutrition (HERE). They specialize in pre and post surgery nutrition interventions for patients who want to maximize their readiness going into surgery and prepare to be at their best following surgery. Their flagship product EnRoute is a patented blend of protein and nutrients that has been clinically shown to not just maintian lean tissue, but actually acutely increase lean mass in individuals, even without regimented exercise. It's the ideal solution for someone looking to undergo a surgical procedure that might not be totally prepared through exercise and lifestyle for the high catabolic cost that can come with surgery. If you or someone you know is having some kind of surgery or plans to potentially have it in the future, talk to your doctor or surgeon about making EMN part of your "pre-hab" routine. Dr. Oikawa is a brilliant researcher with a Master's and PhD from McMaster University in Hamilton Canada. She studied under the world-renowned Dr. Stu Phillips and before coming to EMN worked for GSSI (Gatorade Sports Science Institute). We talk in this episode about the importance of protein and specifically protein quality. Sara also talks in detail about the importance of movement and exercise and the role they play in longevity. In all transparency, I have no affiliation with EMN or EnRoute. I am just friends with Sara and when I learned about the product she was representing, I knew there must be something to it. Your risk of death from all causes increases significantly with surgery after the age of 65 (3-fold) in the years following surgery. So anything we can do to mitigate that risk in my book, is a win! If you haven't already please like, subscribe and share. If you're interested in working with me directly for training or health coaching, please reach out at logan@reformed-fitness.com. You can also book a free discovery call with myself or another member of my team ⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠. Keep an eye out for my book "Exercise Is Bullshit" launching in 2025!

Episode 15 with Big Ticket Bess! This week I'm joined by my good friend and business mentor Dave Bess. Dave is a renaissance man who does a little bit of everything. He owns a High Intensity training gym in AZ called "Greenlight Personal Training". He also runs a coaching and business mentor company called "PT Legends" which is what my company Reformed Fitness uses for our Health Coaching program. He also... really likes chicken sandwiches. Dave is a genius at coaching, motivation and helping scale small-medium sized coaching businesses and helping to launch them into the stratosphere. His mentorship has been invaluable to myself and my colleagues and he's completely changed the way we do business. If you've ever thought about launching a health coaching business of your own, or if you've ever been interested in working with a health coach to improve your own life, I would highly recommend you check out this episode to learn more. If you haven't already please like, subscribe and share. If you're interested in working with me directly for training or health coaching, please reach out at logan@reformed-fitness.com. You can also book a free discovery call with myself or another member of my team ⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠. Keep an eye out for my book "Exercise Is Bullshit" launching in 2025!

Episode 14... The Doctor's are back! This episode is great! Unfortunately my sound was not. It's a little echoey but I assure you it's worth your time. I'm joined this week by the King of Hypertrophy himself, Dr. Brad Schoenfeld. Dr. Schoenfeld is the leading hypertophy (muscle growth) researcher in the world. If you're serious about growing big muscles, you know Dr. Brad. He leads the Lehman College Applied Muscle Development Lab in the Bronx which continues to pump out world class Exercise Scientists. He's been published close to if not more than 300 times and he's not stopping anytime soon. Lehman is planning on launching it's PhD program this coming fall, and our former guest Max Coleman will be one of the first in line. In this week's episode we discuss some of the most popular topics in the bodybuilding world, like lengthened partials and interset rest periods. Brad does a great job of being "scientific" and not over selling any particular style or technique. But I think you'll find tons of useful information in this episode to incorporate into your current or future training programs. If you haven't already please like, subscribe and share. If you're interested in working with me directly for training or health coaching, please reach out at logan@reformed-fitness.com. You can also book a free discovery call with myself or another member of my team ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Lucky Number 13! You think you have a cool home gym... you are a pathetic. You think your local gym is cool... it is trash compared to Mike Petrella and STG! Mike has unquestionably the greatest collection of vintage and new exercise equipment on the planet. We took a vote, he won... it's over. Even more... he won't stop adding new stuff! Some might say he's obsessed... I just think he's awesome! Mike own's STG Stength and Power in Ontario Canada (HERE). He's like most Canadians, super nice, affable and awesome. Last year was mostly doctors... apparently this year is the year of Jacked Canadians. STG is one of the premier strength and conditioning gyms in all of North America and certainly one of the coolest gyms in the whole world. It's still on my bucket list of places to check out. On this week's episode we talk about different styles of training. Mike has experienced and worked with every type of client imaginable from high level olympic caliber athletes to little old grandmas. There's few people better positioned to talk about different training modalities. If you're interested in all things fitness, this episode is a must listen. If you haven't already please like, subscribe and share. If you're interested in working with me directly for training or health coaching, please reach out at logan@reformed-fitness.com. You can also book a free discovery call with myself or another member of my team ⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠. Keep an eye out for my book "Exercise Is Bullshit" launching in 2025!