The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

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   Number 1: Building a Fitness Empire: Business Lessons, Zone 2 & Recovery Trends with Don Saladino — #403

   Don Saladino is a New York-based coach and health entrepreneur who has trained A-list clients like Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and Blake Lively since founding Drive495 in 2005. Don Saladino has spent nearly three decades training A-list stars like Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman — and in this episode, he shares the single business lesson he wishes he’d learned sooner. He and Dr. Mike also dig into why Don closed his $2M-overhead NYC gym, how tracking respiratory rate reshaped his approach to Zone 2 training, and the sobering personal loss that changed how he views performance enhancers. Expect to learn why Don stopped over-certifying and started looking at what’s leaking in his business, how he built 17 years of trust with a client like Ryan Reynolds, the real financial toll of running a NYC gym (think $1M rent and $2M overhead), what tracking respiratory rate taught him about Zone 2 training volume, his honest take on performance enhancers at 49 (natural), and the personal loss that reshaped how he views unsupervised PED use, and much more. Connect with Don:WebsiteInstagramYouTubeEpisodes you'll enjoy next:#402 — VO2 Max, Zone 2 Training & the Psychology of Human Performance — Ben Skutnik: Listen here#397 — How Elite Bodybuilders Think About Problem-Solving, Business and Nutrition with Coach Cliff Wilson: Listen hereEpisode Timestamps:2:26 — #1 Business Lesson: Stop Over-Certifying, Start Looking at What’s Leaking5:43 — “Content Is King, Distribution Is the Kingdom”8:35 — Take Risks Early: Betting on Yourself Before Responsibilities Pile Up10:58 — Learning Business Over Breakfast: The NYC Advantage12:01 — The Art of Adding Value Without an Agenda13:32 — Working With Ryan Reynolds for 17 Years: Trust, Humility & Knowing You’re Replaceable21:12 — What It Really Takes to Work With High-Profile Clients26:26 — Actors vs. Athletes: Which Is Harder to Train?28:39 — Performance Enhancers: Don’s Honest Take at 49, Natural36:31 — Tracking Respiratory Rate & Rethinking Zone 2 Volume38:37 — Closing the NYC Gym & Pivoting to Digital43:35 — The Real Cost of Running a NYC Gym: $1M Rent, $2M Overhead44:32 — Business Lessons You Can’t Learn at Harvard46:09 — The “Integrated Wellness” Facility Trend: Is Anyone Actually Getting It Right?1:05:26 — The Rise of Recovery Studios: New Happy Hour or Legit Wellness?1:08:44 — A Personal Loss & a Stark Warning on Unsupervised PED Use1:16:27 — Where to Find Don Saladino Get the Daily Fitness Insider newsletter (free): https://www.miketnelson.com/newsletter

   September 08, 2026·1h 21min
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   Number 2: Episode 404: Whole-Body MRI, CT Scans, and What Imaging Can Tell You — Matthew Paul Clemons, MD

   Matthew Paul Clemons, MD, is a diagnostic radiologist specializing in nuclear medicine and body imaging. He is Head of Nuclear Medicine at Radiology Partners Houston and a rectal and prostate cancer specialist. Whole-body MRI promises a detailed look under the hood—but what can a quick screening scan actually see, miss, and send you chasing? Dr. Paul Clemons explains why a whole-body MRI is a limited study, how incidental findings can lead to further tests, and why standard screening remains the better choice for most people. Expect to learn how MRI creates images and why scan protocols take time, why open MRI systems can have important image-quality limits, how PET/MRI adds functional information, why CT and MRI can be complementary rather than redundant, how radiation and implanted devices factor into decisions, why spine findings do not always match symptoms, when conservative care deserves consideration, and where DEXA versus MRI can be useful for tracking body-composition trends. Episodes you'll enjoy next:#237 — Demystifying Body Composition Testing with Dr Grant Tinsley and Dr Eric Helms: a practical companion discussion on body-composition measurement and its limits.#159 — Advice, Mentorships, Askholes, and Diagnostics: An Interview with Dr. Adam Sumarski: a related conversation on diagnostics and imaging in sports medicine.Episode Timestamps: 1:50 Whole-body MRI and preventive screening 2:52 How MRI works: magnets, noise, and safety 7:05 Open MRI, magnet strength, and image quality 9:05 MRI sequences, scan time, and diagnostic protocols 11:47 Why whole-body MRI is a limited screen 12:46 Incidental findings and downstream testing 13:57 High-risk screening, rare genetic conditions, and lung limits 17:53 Sensitivity, specificity, and standard screening 24:15 PET/MRI and where whole-body imaging has a clinical role 27:05 Why MRI and PET/CT systems are expensive to install 31:59 MRI safety, implants, and pacemakers 36:36 CT versus MRI: why one scan can lead to another 38:52 Whole-body CT, radiation, and its limits 43:47 Back-pain scans: why an image may not explain symptoms 51:44 Physical therapy, surgery, and warning signs 58:46 Evaluating evidence for peptides, stem cells, and biologics 1:05:47 Choosing an orthopedic surgeon for athletic goals 1:15:24 DEXA versus MRI for body-composition trends Get the Daily Fitness Insider newsletter (free): https://www.miketnelson.com/newsletter

   September 21, 2026·1h 22min
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   Number 3: AI Disclosure, Deepfakes & the Death of Expertise — Dean Guedo & Jeb Stuart Johnston — #404

   Dean Guedo is an Edmonton, Alberta-based online nutrition coach and strength/nutrition professional with roughly a decade in fitness, athletics and strength sports, and Jeb Stuart Johnston is a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach and the Charleston, SC-based founder of Food on the Mind, specializing in emotional eating and food obsession. Dean and Jeb join Dr. Mike T Nelson for their yearly AI check-in, getting into whether creators should disclose AI use and why deepfaked video is a very different beast than AI-assisted writing. The conversation ranges into dead internet theory, why so much hard-won fitness expertise never made it onto the internet at all, and why demanding physical skills may become more valuable, not less, as AI accelerates. Expect to learn whether creators should disclose their AI use and why deepfaked video is a fundamentally different risk category than AI-assisted writing, why LLM writing may have already "peaked" and regresses toward the average, why fitness's hard-won oral tradition (Charlie Francis, Louie Simmons, old forums) never made it onto the internet at all, why oral defense of your own thinking may be the most AI-proof skill you can build, and why demanding physical skills could become more valuable — not less — as AI accelerates, and much more. Connect with Dean:Instagram: @walk.more.kingWebsite: getfluxed.caConnect with Jeb:Website: foodonthemind.comInstagram: @jebstuartjohnstonNewsletter: Tangential, Inconsequential, Existential and Experiential (Substack)Episodes you'll enjoy next:Episode 136 — Flex Diet, Phys Flex, Metabolism and Nutrition Research for Compound Performance (Jeb and Dean interview Dr. Mike T Nelson): Listen hereS2 Ep 28 — High Flux Model and More for Fat Loss and Client Coaching, an interview with Dean Guedo and Jeb Johnston of StrongerU: Listen hereEpisode Timestamps:01:35 Welcome to the podcast & guest introductions03:15 Should you disclose your AI use?06:32 Deepfake video vs. AI-assisted writing: a different risk category07:53 AI's exponential growth and the "singularity" question11:11 What is "AI slop," and does it actually matter?12:42 Why LLMs regress toward average (and the Reddit problem)15:15 Falsely accused of "AI slop" for your own writing style21:36 "Automate your business with AI" — the wrong things to automate25:23 Dead internet theory: has AI writing already peaked?26:34 Why AI can't reason about truly novel, hypothetical situations28:37 Hemingway's unfinished-thought trick and "open-loop" thinking with AI35:06 Why weird, opinionated writing might be AI-proof44:49 Fitness's lost oral tradition: Charlie Francis, Louie Simmons, old forums47:03 Stoner, the trivium, and teaching without teaching48:06 Oral defense as the AI-proof assessment56:08 Research vs. coaching: the application gap (Norwegian 4x4, tabata)1:07:26 Will AI push us back toward hard physical skills?1:15:00 Where to find Jeb & Dean Get the Daily Fitness Insider newsletter (free): https://www.miketnelson.com/newsletter

   September 14, 2026·1h 20min
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   Number 4: VO2 Max, Zone 2 Training & the Psychology of Human Performance — Ben Skutnik — #402

   Dr. Ben Skutnik, PhD, CSCS*D, NSCA-CPT*D, is an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and Human Performance Lab Director at Butler University and Head of Nutrition Coaching at Power Athlete. Dr. Ben Skutnik joins the show to separate fact from fad in aerobic training, debunking zone 2 hype and explaining why VO2 max matters but isn't everything. Expect to learn why reading scientific literature is its own skill, how uncontrolled variables quietly derail hypertrophy and menstrual-cycle training research, why treating people as fragile backfires, why anecdote in human performance often outruns the research, how "closing the loop" with clients beats chasing mechanisms, what the Norwegian 4x4 method gets right (and what most zone 2 research gets wrong about training zones), and how to actually build VO2 max with the critical power model, and much more. Connect with Ben: Power Athlete Coach Bio LinkedIn Google Scholar Episodes you'll enjoy next: #400 — Build Aerobic Fitness Before Mitochondrial Peptides: AMPK, VO2 Max & Recovery — Dr. Dwayne Jackson: Listen here #374 — Zone 2 Cardio: What the Science Really Says (Pros, Cons & Better Options) with Kristi Storoschuk: Listen here Episode Timestamps: 1:46 — Why Ben was recommended for this conversation on cardiovascular and aerobic programming 7:31 — Reading scientific literature is a skill set of its own 14:05 — Hypertrophy training to failure and uncontrolled variables in research 16:27 — Debunking myths about training around the menstrual cycle 18:20 — Human resilience and the danger of treating people as fragile 22:09 — Why consistency beats trying to "hack" optimization 22:40 — Nutrition fear-mongering and overly restrictive diets 27:25 — Changing one variable at a time vs. the "kitchen sink" approach 29:55 — Why anecdotal evidence in human performance is often ahead of the research 34:48 — The ethics of placebo and "closing the loop" with clients 37:34 — The psychology of performance: the NFL kicker example 43:13 — The Norwegian 4x4 method and zone 2 training myths 46:40 — Why most zone 2 research relies on the wrong zone model 52:53 — HYROX, CrossFit, and Goodhart's Law in training 1:05:18 — Is VO2 max overrated? Performance vs. health tradeoffs 1:15:25 — Building VO2 max: interval protocols and the critical power model 1:26:02 — Life-changing results: taking deconditioned clients from VO2 max 18 to 35 1:30:09 — Where to find Ben Skutnik and his work at Butler University and Power Athlete Get the Daily Fitness Insider newsletter (free): https://www.miketnelson.com/newsletter

   August 31, 2026·1h 37min
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   Number 5: Getting Back to Nutrition Basics: Gut Health, Micronutrients & Training with Zach Moore

   Zach Moore is a nutrition and exercise coach based in southern Indiana, coaching clients online and in person. Zach cuts through the noise of complicated programming and diet protocols to get back to what actually works — minimalist strength training, honest macro-setting, and paying attention to gut health and micronutrient status before chasing anything fancier. Expect to learn how to build serious strength with far less training volume than you think, why chasing perfect programming conditions is often a waste of energy, how Zach sets carbohydrate and macro targets for real-world clients, when (and when not) to bother with micronutrient or gut testing, and why micronutrients matter even on restrictive or elimination diets, and much more. Connect with Zach: Website: zmoore.com Instagram: @ZachMFitness Episodes you'll enjoy next: #388 — What Vinegar & Lifting Really Do To Your Gut: Listen here #397 — Why Getting Better Never Gets Easier with Cliff Wilson: Listen here Episode Timestamps: 02:37 Training in a garage gym during a heat wave 03:53 Grip strength, sweat & cold water immersion 06:32 Overthinking training & lessons from old-time strongmen 09:54 Minimalist strength training & the trap bar deadlift 15:13 Go-to lifts & why you must add muscle for body comp 17:42 Progressive overload & long-term strength gains 19:56 How too much program variety kills progress 27:06 Individualizing & dialing in training volume 30:42 Favorite upper & lower body exercises 35:46 Nutrition foundations: informed eating 38:10 Eating enough to fuel training & recomp 44:06 Determining carb needs & setting client macros 48:13 The insulin myth: do carbs turn into fat? 52:40 Meal balance, fat timing & digestion 55:34 Tracking micronutrients with Cronometer 58:13 Gut testing, carnivore & elimination diets 1:02:25 Sleep tips: circadian rhythm, light & temperature 1:04:39 The Shiftwave chair for stress downregulation & sleep Get the Daily Fitness Insider newsletter (free): https://www.miketnelson.com/newsletter

   August 04, 2026·1h 17min
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