In the 32nd Episode of The Strength Connection Podcast, Mike and our special guest Personal Trainer, StrongFirst Lead Instructor San Diego California, John Parker will talk about Beast Tamer Challenge, tips for bulking up, John’s weight gain diet regime, supplementation & nutrition, some of John’s favorite exercise, minimalist training, testosterone blend, and more.

Join us in this insightful and captivating talk!

In this chapter you will discover:

(1:25) Introducing our special guest Personal Trainer, StrongFirst Lead Instructor San Diego California John Parker @johnparker__

(1:40) Beast Tamer Challenge

(2:30) Shout out to Karen Smith @_coach_karen_

(2:35) Beast Tamer Program

(3:30) John’s training and dieting for the last 6 months

(6:00) The Beast Tamer Challenge for bigger guys

(7:10) What’s Beast Tamer & Iron Maiden Challenge

(8:10) John’s fitness background

(9:30) The actual challenge for John

(10:15) John’s diet regime

(10:20) John bought a cow

(11:30) More about John’s diet routine for gaining weight

(12:25) Tips for gaining weight

(13:00) Questions to ask yourself when bulking up

(14:20) John’s weight gain goal vs results

(14:40) The most difficult thing about bulking up

(16:30) John’s training for the Beast Tamer Challenge

(16:45) Pistol squats and pistol squat ladders

(18:00) Pull-ups and lock-offs

(18:30) Pull-ups: pros & cons

(18:55) The benefit of wide-grip pull-ups

(20:00) Zottman curl: a game-changer

(21:10) Hanging scapular depression with a 32-weight

(22:30) Is it good to just do pull-ups?

(23:00) Minimalist training philosophy 

(24:00) The military press

(24:35) More about John’s training

(26:40) Double military press with kettlebells

(27:10) Balancing recovery and training

(28:25) StrongFirst’s mindset

(28:35) John’s initial training program

(28:35) John’s favorite exercises

(30:10) People’s mindset about Beast Tamer Challenge

(30:25) The reality of training for Beast Tamer Challenge

(32:15) Train smarter, not harder

(33:10) Minimalist training

(33:25) The training wasn’t difficult, the diet was

(34:10) Tip from John about training

(36:30) Recovery and Supplements

(38:00) John’s weekly training routine

(38:20) “Once you are really honing down the last 6 weeks or 4 weeks if you are going for Beast Tamer or Iron Maiden that would be a good thing to just physically get as much rest as possible.” - John Parker @johnparker__

(39:30) The caveat with the minimalist training program

(40:45) Different training for different people

(42:50) Shout out Derek Toshner @tnt_adventure_fit

(43:25) John’s supplementation routine

(43:30) Shout out to Dr. Andrew Huberman @hubermanlab

(43:40) Testosterone blend

(44:05) Benefits of the testosterone blend

(44:15) How to know if your testosterone is high

(44:55) Caveat with supplementation

(45:00) “How much are you boozing? How much are you partying? Are you sleeping? What else is going on? Because if that stuff is not in order, supplementation doesn’t matter.” - John Parker @johnparker__

(45:40) Testosterone Blend vs Ancestral Supplements Mofo

(45:50) Benefits of eating liver

(46:05) How does John cook his liver?

(47:15) Stone Lifting

(50:54) Mark’s current body weight

(52:15) Where to find John Parker? @johnparker__

https://strengthaxis.com/

https://strengthaxis.substack.com/