Muscle Expert Podcast | Ben Pakulski Interviews | How to Build Muscle & Dominate Life

Today Mastin Kipp,the creator of Functional Life Coaching(TM) and best selling author of Claim Your Power, joins us to discuss emotional resilience, trauma and forging your own destiny.  Mastin was named one of Oprah’s 100 super souls, has mentored under Tony Robbins and even had a successful career in the music industry.  In this episode he and Ben have an in depth conversation about how Mastin left the music industry and found a career in personal development.  They discuss traumas, coping techniques, and how to take control over your circumstances and succeed at your purpose.

4:00- The science behind finding your purpose and how it improves your health.

7:30- Finding your purpose.  How Mastin found his purpose in helping people find their purpose.

16:00- Primal threat, the reason “rock bottom” propels success.

18:15- Community and micro biome, two of the biggest movers of your mindset.

23:15- The mindset of success.  How truth, love, and positivity will accelerate your life and body gains.

27:00- The similarities between bodybuilding and emotional resilience. 

31:30- Methods of coping.  How to find healthy way to cope.

35:00- Everbody has trauma.  How do we start addressing it on a personal level?

45:45- Finding emotional fitness.  How Kipp helps people stay on track once the have found emotional clarity.

48:30- How deep seeded traumas can unconsciously control your actions and success.

51:45- Mastin’s trauma and how it unconsciously shaped his career.

The Nootropics Expert joins the Muscle Expert today to discuss hacking flow state.  David Tomen dove into nootropics after being diagnosed with adult ADD, he has since become one of the world’s leading experts on hacking your brain.  Join David and Ben as they discuss hacking flow-state, a state of focus that results in complete absorption in a task.  Ben and David also discuss some great nootropics that they have both had good results with as well as ways to support neurotransmitter function.

This podcast is brought to you by Four Sigmatic.  Use code Muscle for 15% off your mushroom order!

Time Stamps-

7:00- Why David started experimenting with nootropics and became the authority on optimizing your brain.

9:45- Defining flow-state- how to optimize your chances of getting into a productive, meditative state.

22:30- Caffeine and state.  Is coffee keeping you from optimal productivity?

32:50- Supporting brain function.  How to figure out your bottleneck and how to fix it.

37:30- The primary neurotransmitters and their functions.

46:45- Nutrition and brain health.  What steps can be taken toward having a healthy brain.

50:15- Improving brain health and neurogenesis.

55:30- A super nootropic? The potential benefits of methylene blue.

59:45- Nicotine as a nootropic.

61:45- What the drug giveth the drug taketh away.  Finding nootropics with limited negative effects.

64:00- Hacking memory.  Supporting memory along with productivity.

69:45- Supporting acetyl choline.  How much Alpha GPC can you take?

74:15- Supporting focus.  Is there a miracle nootropic or do you just need to support brain health?

79:45- Nootropics to limit or avoid.

84:00- Supporting sleep with tart cherry juice and magnesium.

Today we have Quantified Bob joining us to demystify biohacking.  Bob fell into biohacking to optimize his entrepreneur lifestyle and started tracking his results from different experiments.  Years later that has evolved into a successful biohacking blog and even a facility in New York.  Bob shares with us his greatest tips for getting rid of environmental pollution including VOCs, EMFs and how to clean up your air in a city filled with pollution.  Ben and Bob also discuss some great biohacking tech that Bob uses daily and has even incorporated into his facility in NYC.

4:30- How Bob fell into running a biohacking blog.

7:40- Understanding your environment.  The steps Bob takes to mitigate VOCs, EMFs, and more while living in one of the largest cities in the world.

16:30- Mitigating the environmental burdens of living in a big city.  How to shield yourself from EMFs and Wifi signals.

23:30-  Hacking your water.  Which purifiers give your the most bang for your buck?

27:00- Using air purifiers and ozone to purify your air and mitigate mold and how Bob monitors his in home air quality.

32:30- Qualifying environmental data.  Figuring out if your environmental hacking experiments are actually increasing your quality of life.

37:00- Quantifying your biological age.  How accurate are telomere tests?

41:15- Manipulating your CNS.  How Bob is using a NeuFit to hack his training and train his nervous system.

47:15- Hacking your brain.  Are nootropics, nutrition, or tech the biggest needle mover?

49:30- Tech in biohacking. Light therapy, structured water and Brain Gauge.

61:50- Short term hacking with ketone esters.

64:30- What Bob is most excited about in the biohacking space, manipulating your body’s frequency.

Christina Rice of the Wellness Realness Podcast joins us today to discuss how nutrition and relationships helped her overcome anxiety and depression.  Listen in and hear her and Ben discuss how you can live a great life by treating your body well and cutting out negativity.  They discuss parenting, nutrition, relationships and much more in this great, casual conversation between health experts.

This episode is brought to you by Four Sigmatic Mushrooms.  Upgrade your health and live your greatest life with mushroom supplements.  Use code Muscle for 15% off at checkout.

2:30- How Christina and Ben both approach wellness in very similar ways. 

4:15- How Christina fell into fitness “bodybuilding style” and the necessity of enjoying training.

6:30-  How Christina found health and fitness trying to escape anxiety and depression.

14:45- What Christina found contributed to her poor mental and physical health in high school and college.

17:00- “How’s your mind?”  Chasing happiness through junk food only leads to more depression and health problems.

19:45- Health education.  The problems with our modern health information.

23:00- Nutrition changes everything.  How going gluten free gave Christina more energy, a clearer brain and a better life.

29:30- The importance of paying attention to your bodies signals rather than based on the advice of “health coaches”.

31:45- Real life vs marketing.  How social media has “filtered” how we receive health advice.

37:00- Genetics and diet.  What can you learn from your genetic expressions to develop a personalized diet.

42:00-  Christina’s Paleo Diet.  Grass fed beef, wild salmon and organ meats!

45:00- Removing inflammatory people why you need to take control of your environment to optimize your health. 

47:00-  How Christina mitigates stress by going outside and being in nature as well as with essential oils. The power of breathing to calm your mind and energy.

55:30- Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, it is that we are actually powerful beyond measure.  The feeling of inadequacy prevents people from truly living to their potential.

63:30- BPak on parenting.  Become a great person to raise great kids. 

67:20-  Good nutrition, good people and great self. Christina’s advice to help you live your greatest life in your greatest body!

Today we have on Baylor Professor and Advisor to the ISSN, Dr. Darryn Willoughby.  Dr. Willoughby is a competitive bodybuilder and researcher.  He is currently researching the effects of exercise and nutrition on physical, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms.  Ben and Dr. Willoughby discuss muscle protein synthesis, the scientific thought process and whether there is a need for supplementation.  Dr. Willoughby shares his protein and supplement regimen as well as what he is excited about in the world of exercise science research in this science deep dive episode.

This episode is brought to you by Thrive Market.  We have been LOVING Thrive’s new meat selection.  Eat like Ben and order the Premium Cuts Beef Box and don’t forget to use code Muscle Expert for 25% off and a month of free shipping!

6:30- How the scientific thought process evolves.  How Dr. Willoughby forges the path for new discoveries in science.

9:45- Exploring exercise research methods. Should we study the average population or the optimized?

12:30- Limitations in research.  Tech, time, and money. Just because a study comes up with a finding we cannot take that as gospel until it is further backed up.

21:45- What influences muscle protein synthesis?

25:30- What else, besides protein, influences our bodies ability to build muscle?

31:45- How to optimize protein synthesis. What influences mTOR?

36:00- How Dr. Willoughby tests protein synthesis in a lab.  Is protein synthesis gradient or binary?

44:30- The influence of your current protein synthesis state on your future state.

50:30- How different types of training influences protein synthesis.

56:00- How androgens and testosterone influence muscle protein synthesis.

59:00- How to upgrade your androgen receptors.

66:30 What how much test is too much?  Is there a point that the negative outweighs the positive?  Ben and Dr. Willoughby discuss HRT limitations.

70:30- “Make the most of what you’ve got don’t just take more”. What the guys think about drug based bodybuilding culture.

74:00- Do the work.  It’s not testosterone by osmosis, you have to put in hard, focused work for growth.

75:45- Supplementation- Why you need to supplement to support weaknesses not just a blanket protocol.

78:00- How much protein do you need to ingest for optimal growth?  Dr. Willoughby’s personal supplement protocol.

Dr. Tom O’Bryan, leading expert on autoimmunity joins us today to discuss the factors contributing to autoimmunity. Ben and Tom discuss the dietary, environmental, and biological factors that lead to autoimmunity. Topics covered include how to transition your diet versus going cold turkey, the effect your micro biome has on your genetic expressions, your CNS’s effect on your overall health and how grains and gluten affect your gut. This episode is brought to you by Four Sigmatic Mushrooms. Upgrade your brain with Four Sigmatic Mushrooms and use code Muscle for 15% off your order. Go to FourSigmatic.com/muscle for your discount. 2:20- Why Encinidas is the center for health and wellness. The yogi mentality. 5:00- Morality vs religion. The approach of Paramahansa Yogananda. 11:00- How your psychology is affecting your health and your susceptibility to autoimmunity. The contributors to autoimmunity genetics, environment, and intestinal permeability. 22:45- What are the triggers for autoimmunity? 25:00- Your gut bacteria contributes 100-150x more genes than your human genome. Are we just vessels for colonies of bacteria? 28:00- Why you need to make friends with your microbiome. 29:45- How much does a parasympathetic state affect your ability to heal yourself? 38:00- Understanding intestinal permeability. What triggers leaky gut? 44:00- Keto, vegetarian, or paleo. Which if any are the best for feeding your micro biome. 46:15- Are grains something everyone should avoid? 49:40- Transitioning your micro biome to fit your dietary choices. 56:40- Mitigating LPS in your blood on a ketogenic diet. 57:00- Lipid-Raft Transytosis. How LPS enters the blood even without leaky gut. 1:00:00- Can you determine if LPS is entering through leaky guy vs LRT? 1:02:00- Where does LPS come from and how can we mitigate it? 1:05:00- How Glyphosate and Astrazine are destroying our guts. 1:06:45- Dr. O’Bryan’s docuseries on autoimmunity. 1:08:40- Celiac and autoimmunity. 1:12:30- How can we save the planet? Dr. O’Bryan’s take on the environment.

Dave Palumbo introduced the bodybuilding world to keto way before it was a fad. His findings on macro balancing and nutrient absorption have challenged the paradigm around the bodybuilder diet. Ben and Dave discuss how Dave stumbled upon the ketogenic diet, how he is trying to change the thought process behind diet in the bodybuilding world, cheat days and their thoughts on the current state of bodybuilding as well as who the next big names could be in the sport. 3:15- How Dave accidentally found the ketogenic diet and started using it in bodybuilding. 8:45- Why the “bodybuilding diet” isn’t the best diet for bodybuilders. 11:00- How Dave became one of the biggest dudes on the planet. Why you should put more focus into food absorption not more food. 13:30- Dave’s findings on the ketogenic diet and getting shredded. 17:45- Is it optimal to build muscle on keto? 19:00- Carbs and cortisol. Which moves the needle more, food or sleep? 23:30- How Dave manipulates his clients diets. 27:20- Dave’s muscle gaining diet. 29:00- Simplicity in diet. Why Dave is all about simplifying diet. 32:00- How long is necessary to get into ketosis. Are there any “shortcuts” to speed up the process? 37:45- Pulling the fat lever. How Dave approaches changing fat intake during contest prep. 39:50- Prescribed cheat days. Are refeeding days necessary or just a reward. 42:00- Post bodybuilding evolution- how Dave’s life has changed since he stopped competing. 48:45- The mentality behind being a giant human. 52:30- Dave’s strategy for losing pounds of muscle and getting healthy post career. 54:45- What does Dave think of the sport of bodybuilding these days.

Danny Vega aka Keto Counter Culture joins us today to continue our deep dive into the Ketogenic Diet. Danny has been keto for over 2 years and has recently incorporated a carnivore keto diet. He and Ben discuss the use of exogenous ketones to increase focus and performance, the effectiveness of a ketogenic diet for everyone including pro athletes, how to minimize the keto flu, and his and Ben’s recent foray into building muscle on keto. Go check out Danny on The Ketogenic Athlete Podcast and @ketocounterculture! This episode is brought to you buy Thrive Market. Check out ThriveMarket.com/MuscleExpert for 25% off your first order and free shipping for a month! Go pick up all of your keto or non keto grocery needs. 2:00- How Danny got into keto and made a smooth transition from a carb based diet. 5:45- How Ben’s keto adaptation is going. 8:00- The Carnivore Keto Cut. Danny’s new keto program that helps people get into ketosis. 10:45- Upping the adaptation process. How fasting can minimize the keto flu and help you adapt quicker. 11:30- Exogenous ketones. Using keto supplements for mental clarity and as a preworkout. 12:50- Keto as a tool. Why you should try keto to master your body and better enjoy food. 15:00- The need for fiber in a ketogenic diet. 20:30- Danny on avocados and carnivore diet. Why you need high quality foods and micronutrient optimization when on a carne diet. 27:30- What Danny’s diet looks like. 29:30- What does your food eat? The importance of a natural diet for the animals that you eat. 30:30- Satiety on a keto diet. Are you actually hungry or just not full? 34:45- The need to find a diet that works for you. Detaching from being a diet zealot and attaching to finding a diet that works for your body. 36:20- More on Danny’s current diet. 40:30- Some interesting things that Danny and his family eat as a fat based family. 45:45- Sustaining through a long workout on keto. 52:00- High level performance and the ketogenic diet. How viable is keto for pro level athletes? 55:30- Focus and keto. 64:45- Blood testing and keto. The experiments Ben wants to do with his keto experiment.

Dr. Dominic D’Agostino is one of the world’s leading researchers on the ketogenic diet. Dr. D’Agostino is a researcher and assistant professor at the University of South Florida’s College of medicine and consistently works with the military and NASA to develop ways for soldiers and astronauts to stay energized and sharp while on mission. Ben and Dominic go deep on how to best adapt to fat for fuel, how to supplement fats and ketones for optimal performance both physically and mentally as well as discuss who the ketogenic diet is for and optimal nutrition for keto. This episode is brought to you by Thrive Market! Go to ThriveMarket.com/MuscleExpert for 25% off your first order and free shipping for a month. Go stock up on all of your fats! 6:30- What is the best way to get keto adapted as quickly as possible? 10:15- How much fat is too much fat in one sitting? 12:45- The viability of exogenous ketones vs other supplemental fats such as MCT’s. 21:00- What’s the appropriate dose of exogenous ketones? 25:00- Shout out to Quest Nutrition for helping to bring keto into the mainstream. 27:30- Dom’s recommendations for ketone esters. 31:00- The negative effects of exogenous ketones. 33:00- The fourth macronutrient? Can ketones be used for food? 37:45- Ketone salts. When should you use extra ketones and when should you focus on diet? 51:45- Should we be concerned with the acidity of a ketogenic diet? 55:30- The consciousness behind keto. How elevated ketones alter your mental state. 1:03:50- Oxidative stress implications of the ketogenic diet. How much should you try to limit the side effects of transitioning to keto? 1:07:45- The effects of cortisol on getting into ketosis. 1:20:30- Cancer and the ketogenic diet. What Dr. D’Agostino is excited about in his research. 1:26:00- Nutritional ketosis and cancer treatment. How we are finding that the ketogenic diet helps battle cancer. 1:33:30- Is keto right for everyone? 1:35:20- Why Dominic is incorporating more fruits into his diet.

Dr. Benjamin Bikman, one of the world’s leading minds on the topic of insulin sensitivity joins us today to discuss the ketogenic diet and the importance of lowering insulin.  Ben and Dr. Bikman dive deep on the western diet and how it has created a myriad of insulin disorders.  Listen in to hear how to reset your insulin sensitivity and how to run optimally on a low carbohydrate diet. This episode is brought to you by Four Sigmatic. Check out Ben's favorite Mushroom Elixer, Lionsmane for enhanced cognitive function, better concentration and improved memory.   Go to FourSigmatic.com/Muscle or use code Muscle at checkout to receive 15% off of your order! Time Stamps: 2:15- Why it is important to eat a low insulin spiking diet. 8:25- What is the process of losing insulin sensitivity?  Is it over consumption in youth or a natural occurrence? 14:15- What happens in your body when you have chronically elevated insulin levels? 18:45- How does elevated blood glucose impact our mitochondria? 24:45- Is it possible to reset your bodies insulin sensitivity? 29:30- The ketogenic diet and insulin sensitivity.  How low should your blood glucose levels be? 37:30- Can an athlete perform at peak performance on ketones?  The glycogen sparing aspects of fat adaptation. 44:45- What happens when you train with elevated insulin? 48:45- Insulin and the kidneys.  How insulin creates that swole feeling and the risks associated with it. 51:00- Protein consumption and elevated insulin levels. 55:30- Fructose vs glucose when it comes to insulin. 61:00- How cortisol influences insulin resistance. 66:45- Insulin and longevity.  Can a low carbohydrate diet increase longevity? 69:15- Does the ketogenic diet harm the micro biome? 71:00- What Dr. Bikman eats.  Does he follow a ketogenic diet?