In this episode, Darien & Hayden shift the focus away from the gym and instead talk about health and food, especially when it comes to the holiday season where we're all surrounded by so many delicious-looking goodies and treats. They start the episode by discussing pre-workout and how odd it was for Hayden to mix his with hot water (3:00). They talk about fueling themselves with food before their workouts as well as how they eat certain foods at certain times with certain intents (13:00). They talk about how drinking liquid calories should be the first thing that is looked at when trying to change your daily caloric in-take (19:00). From there, Hayden goes on to mention how it's important to step back and look at your own relationship with food (33:00). Controlling as many controllable things in your life is going to be what makes your life easier to control and both Darien & Hayden talk about why that's important and how advertisements around food are created to make certain foods appear more appealing than others, although they may not be as healthy (44:45). Darien talks about how short-term diets are not the way that anyone should look at food or diets as a whole, and how goals should be achievable by aligning with your daily activities rather than having to completely change your diet or your routine (58:00). They end the episode by discussing the 80/20 rule and how it relates to finding balance with your own diet (62:45). Instagram @darienmatt and @eade96.

In this episode, Darien & Hayden are joined by Andrew Coates, a Personal Trainer that's based out of Edmonton, Alberta with many years of experience and has also built himself a very impactful fitness presence online through exceptional networking and relationship-building skills. The episode begins with Andrew talking about his background, how he got into the fitness industry, and how he molded himself into the person that he is today (4:50). He mentions how a lot of people within the industry start off as passionate teenagers, while some others (such as himself) find a foothold much later in life (11:10). They talk about home workouts and how they blew up when the first round of COVID started (17:20). As Andrew got into the fitness industry a bit later in life than Darien & Hayden, he talks about how he built relationships prior and had a lot of people come to him for his services once they discovered that he was a Personal Trainer (24:00). They go on to talk about how networking has changed with the current restrictions in place across the world and how social media is now playing such a huge role in the strategies of so many people across different industries and some of the methods that Andrew has been using (39:00). They end the episode by discussing what Andrew's overall training philosophy is and ultimately the reasons behind why enjoys his career and helping other people excel in fitness (54:00). Instagram @andrewcoatesfitness, @darienmatt and @eade96.

In today's episode, Darien & Hayden discuss the importance of monitoring RPE & RIR when it comes to how to gauge how close to failure you take each set during your workouts and is it really necessary for beginners? The episode begins by Hayden talking about a watch that he got as a gift, referencing FERDA (2:50). Darien then talks about his weekend and how he decided that he'd take 2 consecutive rest days off of the gym, which is something that he does not do very often (8:45). They go on to talk about how York Region (Ontario) is forcing people to schedule 50 minute workouts and why that is not long enough for them, however it may be fine for your average individual (12:30). Darien talks about losing his beaver tail virginity and how he's been missing out for all these years (19:00). Then they begin the main topic of the discussion and Darien begins by defining RPE and RIR (23:15). Hayden talks about how to work with new clients and explains how beginners should start to view RPE themselves (36:15). Darien talks about how he would consider RPE for his own training and how it differs from total volume of a given workout, as opposed to the RPE and volume of a previous workout (44:00). They summarize by talking about how a beginner should not focus on RPE, but instead focus on more important variables while utilizing RPE as a tool (56:15). Instagram @darienmatt and @eade96

In today's episode, Darien & Hayden discuss why you should look to exercise correctly as opposed to relying on the overall need to perform corrective exercise. They begin the episode by talking about the copious amount of food they eat, Darien eating whole pizzas and Hayden eating way too many chicken wings (3:28). Darien touches briefly on injury prevention, and how it ultimately stems as a byproduct from exercising correctly (12:10). They go into discussion about a Shoulder Press as a movement, relating to the concepts previously discussed (23:20). They carry that same idea into discussion around a Squat movement, talking about different exercises and the prerequisites required to perform them (29:50). Then they discuss some of those prerequisites and how difficult they can be to perform, although not being very demanding on the body (34:50). They go on to talk about 'red flags' that appear when you have imbalances or tightness in certain areas of your body and why things like that happen (43:06). Darien reflects on a recent injury that he had in his thigh (specifically one of his adductor muscles), what caused it, and what he did to be able to exercise correctly (46:45). Hayden adds in his thoughts around exercising correctly and what it comes down to to be able to optimize the concept (52:15). They end the episode by discussing an example based on increasing your Bench Press and how to program different mesocycles (57:00). Instagram @darienmatt and @eade96

Huge shout out to our friend Lucas (@l.vb) for creating this new intro for us! Although we did not expect it to make it onto this episode which is why we didn't mention it in the episode itself. Darien and Hayden begin this episode by talking about the issue with Darien's right eye and how that's been a huge impact on his life (6:30). They get into Hayden's recently early morning Deadlift session and he reviews his top two sets, including where his weak points are and how he can improve for his next session (13:15). Darien gets into his own nutritional goals and what he's been doing to gain / loss weight while monitoring his progress and also what they've both done in the past and how they've learned from their own experiences (25:00). They get into discussing genetics and a recent picture that they posted on their IG stories, how their own body types differ and why you should only compare yourself to your past self and never compare yourself to others (40:00). The purpose of creating a brace with your abs is then brought up and they discuss a question that they were asked about how & when to properly use a weightlifting belt (47:15). They go into great detail about the purpose of creating a brace, how to create a brace and utilizing a belt as an accessory (69:10). Instagram @darienmatt and @eade96

Darien and Hayden begin the episode by talking about Veggie Greens and using orange juice with either pulp or no pulp (2:50). Then Darien talks about how amazing an Oreo-flavoured coffee whitener that he found is, specifically in coffee (8:50). After that is out of the way, they get into the main topic of the episode which originated from a question that was asked to Hayden: how can you train like a bodybuilder at home with limited equipment, utilizing various techniques (10:40)? The first point that they make is the importance of looking at your training macrocycle as a whole and utilizing this type of work in a designated mesocycle (14:00). Darien then talks about how tempo (time under tension) is one variable that can be easily manipulated to make light weights feel heavier (21:00). They get into the importance of full ROM of a muscle and how & why you should train end ranges of muscle to induce additional hypertrophy (30:55). Hayden talks about his Kettlebell certification and ways that you can use KBs instead of dumbbells if that is all you have access to (41:40). They soon get into discussing leg movements (e.g., sissy squats), with an emphasis on your quads, and mention how you can set up a banded leg extension or split squat at home (46:30). They sum up the episode by reinstating the importance of playing around with angles & tempos and regressing movements rather than weight (57:50). Their closing thoughts include the use of a suspension trainer following the same concepts talked about in the episode (65:15). Instagram @darienmatt and @eade96

Darien & Hayden begin the episode by debating between chicken on blueberry bagels and between who is the better country artist, Luke Combs or Morgan Wallen (1:50). Darien shares a moment that he had on Remembrance Day while driving to the gym at 11:00am (5:20). Hayden then talks about a discussion that he had with some "fitness guru" on IG about an interesting movement (for lack of a worse word) that guy had posted as a video (10:10). Darien then brings up recent video by Greg Doucette that was discussing Whitney Simmons and his thoughts on how she's making such an influential impact on the fitness industry towards women in an amazing way (27:50). Then they get into the main topic of the episode, first by discussing how many workouts you should do each week and discuss some basic workout split options (34:00). Then they discuss how many exercises should you do each workout and what factors would influence that number (47:20). Going deeper, how many total sets should you do each workout (58:30)? Going even deeper, they discuss how many reps per set should you be doing and how equipment selection can influence that number (66:05). Instagram @darienmatt and @eade96

Darien & Hayden answer some more questions in this episode! Before they get into that, they begin the episode by talking about COVID-19 and how gyms are reopening in the majority of Ontario in a couple of days and the safety precaution measures being implemented (0:20). Question 1: What are some of your biggest pet peeves that people will say about health and fitness (9:00)? Question 2: Is there a difference between training for strength vs training for bodybuilding (29:00)? Question 3: What are the pros and cons of working at GoodLife? Pros start at (41:45). Cons start at (51:05). Question 4: How can I lift so much weight yet the heaviest thing are my feels (1:08:55)? Instagram @darienmatt and @eade96

Having a coach is important (and arguably mandatory) for a lot of different physical sports out there. At the same time, people often use "coaches" more often than they think in their day-to-day lives. A consultant or a doctor are other examples. Essentially, asking a question to someone in a specific field and getting their opinion and knowledge on a subject to help better yourself is a small (yet beneficial) part of coaching. Darien & Hayden begin the episode by differentiating between a trainer and a coach (1:50). Darien then asks Hayden what the benefit is of having a coach, specifically during that 1 hour training session (9:00). Darien switches over to his current experience with programming and how he is having some challenges (15:20). They talk about how silly some "Instagram" workouts are, and how they could be potentially beneficial for a client given that they are programmed into a routine correctly (21:20). It comes down to ensuring the client is not only making progress, but also enjoying their time spent with you. The relationship you build between client and coach is another important factor that helps drive consistency (32:00). Darien also brings up the other side of the story which is what happens when you don't hire a coach and how that is perfectly alright as well (42:00). Hayden then talks about how a coach can look at that individuals program through a different lens and ensure that they are making progress that is applicable to the real world (i.e., making progress that will help them in their day-to-day lives) (49:00). Q&A Time! How do you deal with gym intimidation (59:00)? How do you know when to increase calories and transition from fat-loss to muscle-gain (64:55)? What supplements do you recommend for both fat-loss and muscle-gain (75:05)? How do you lift heavier when you are working out by yourself (81:20)? Instagram @darienmatt and @eade96

Staying on the topic of home workouts, Darien & Hayden continue the conversation by talking about how and where to start working out at home. As usual, the episode begins a bit off track (although one could argue that this is actually very much on track) by talking about the best kinds of cereal (2:20). Once that gets off of their chest, they truly begin the episode on the topic of resistance and why resistance training is important (4:00). Since we're all limited to the type of resistance available to us (i.e., a lot of us don't have access to heavy weights at home) then one thing we could do is change our current programming to instead focus on our weak points (8:30). It's difficult to identify where your own weak points are unless you are able to see yourself from a third person view. They recommend recording your own lifts from different views (like your back and your side) so you can start to see exactly how your body is moving from a 360 degree perspective (18:00). They shift the conversation into body weight exercises, starting with a standard lunge and the ultimate importance of unilateral leg movements (21:30). At the same time, practicing the skill of a squat is essential as well and they go over a couple progressions for bilateral leg movements (30:00). The conversation then changes to upper body movements, beginning with some exercises for your back (34:00). They move onto exercises for your chest and shoulders, starting with the most basic body weight movement, push-ups (43:00). Once they go through the bread and butter movements required for home workouts, they begin to talk about how remaining consistent with body weight exercises will internally convince you to invest more time and money into fitness to continue progression (52:00). They end the episode by discussing cardiovascular training (running, jogging, etc.) and mobility (56:30). Instagram @darienmatt and @eade96