Alex Viada and Dr. Jordan Shallow are back for another great episode of the Muscle Expert Podcast. This time around they join Ben in discussing what it takes to be great. Being an elite athlete has it’s struggles and for these three it is no exception. This episode they talk about staying focused during the lulls of the process, the evolution of your training, what separates good from great and how Ben stays motivated now that he isn’t training for the Olympia. 2:10- Why Alex has decided to participate in a double Iron Man race. Pursuing an end result that looks impossible from the outside. 5:15- The Process. How to approach an impossible task. How to prepare for worst case scenario when pursuing a world class endeavor. 9:45- Earning the right to be world class. 12:35- The highlight reel vs the buildup. Why it takes discipline and dedication to achieve crazy feats not just what you see on Instagram. 15:00- How to know what’s next. When is it time to change your process? 17:00- Information is always good. Finding out what doesn’t work for you is just as important and finding out what does. 19:15- How to take inventory of your training and where you stand. 23:15- “If you love it let it kill you.” The mentality of becoming the best version of yourself. How being told that he “has great potential” is what drives Alex. 27:15- Pursuing your passion. Why so many people don’t strive to fulfill their potential. 31:30- How the guys found what drives them. 35:30- How to deal with the loss of what drives you. 36:45- Motivating your clients to do the not glamorous part of the process. 39:00- Dealing with your haters and using your failures. 42:30- The next step mentality. Dealing with what is out of your control. 43:30- What separates good from great. 44:50- The importance of failure. 47:00- Finding your motivation. Navigating the struggle to get motivated when you don’t have an end goal. 49:00- Excellence is a transferrable skill. How to move your drive from one skill to another. 50:00- Changing from a solo sport to group goals.

Philip Mckernan works with some of the highest functioning people on the planet, from Olympians to CEOs, the Pentagon and entrepreneurs just to name a few. Philip helps them find a work/life balance and clarity in what they should be doing. Tune in to hear Ben and Philip discuss what it takes to find clarity, the steps you need to take to get out of your way and pursue what you are meant to be doing and how to look in the mirror and determine if you are REALLY happy. Time Stamps- 2:06- Finding Clarity- Philip reveals the secret to finding clarity and removing the obstacles of pursuing what you know you should be doing. 5:21- Recognizing where you are at. Philip gives some great insight on eliminating the excuses that limit your growth. 9:36- One Last Talk- We all tend to exaggerate things in our own mind. Philip tells the story of the divergence between your perception of events and others. 12:51- Assessing your life. “Am I really happy? The most important word in that sentence is REALLY. 14:51- Making your decisions based on what you know not for what you don’t. 16:11- How to get out of your head and figure out what you should be doing. 19:51- Clarity vs. Detail- Too many of us get hung up on the details of executing change in our lives. 22:21- Getting out of your own way. Your ego leads you to believe that your life lacks clarity but the reality is that it is much closer than you realize. 24:11- Finding the feeling of deserving happiness and success. Accepting fear into your journey rather than trying to overcome it. 26:36- How Philip dealt with failure and using that pain to drive him forward. 28:51- Money doesn’t buy happiness. Do the results outweigh the pain of doing something that doesn’t fulfill you. 33:21- Breaking the pattern of your life. In order to improve your quality of life you have to address your fears. How your past stories interfere with your personal relationships. 37:31- Overcoming expectations. Is it possible to meet others expectations and live your authentic life? 42:36- Facing yourself in the mirror with the hard questions. 44:51- Finding a coach. Do you need one to be successful? 49:21- Coalescing your passion and your skillset. 53:06- Setting the best example for your kids.

Coming to you from the Fitness Business Summit in San Diego we have Dr. Andy Galpin. Dr. Galpin is a researcher at Cal State Fullerton who is leading the conversation on muscle fiber type training as well as a cohost of the Barbell Shrugged Podcast. His lab is biopsying and analyzing muscle fibers one at a time. Today on the Muscle Expert Podcast Dr. Galpin gives us a crash course on influencing your muscle fiber type, how muscle fiber nuclei influence your gains, bias in research and MUCH more! 4:00- How Dr. Galpin’s research is changing the way that we think about fiber types. 8:00- Training your muscle fiber types. How you can change your training regimen to influence your dominant fiber type. 12:10- Testosterone use and how it influences your muscle’s nuclei. 14:30- How Dr. Galpin’s research is changing the way we think about muscle building. 17:10- The difference between how muscle fiber types react to stimulus. 21:30- How Dr. Galpin is challenging the paradigm in fiber type research. 24:00- An example of the bias of research. How group findings can be skewed by outliers. 29:00- Dr. Galpin’s philosophy on influencing the fitness industry and coaching. 31:00- A crash course on AMPK and MTOR. How each of those proteins influence muscle growth and fat loss. 38:50- Dr. Galpin’s book Unplugged: Evolve from Technology to Upgrade Your Fitness, Performance and Consciousness. His “Nothing Mindless” philosophy on on your goals. 40:00- Adaptation vs Recovery. How optimizing recovery prohibits adaptation and which to pursue for your goals. 46:00- How much time do you need to recover from really hard training? 48:00- Embracing the suffering. Andy’s advice on adaptation, don't over optimize, take some days to struggle through as your not peak self. 50:45- What is lactate and how does it influence your training? Is it responsible for fatigue and soreness? 56:35- Does Carnitine supplementation work?

On today’s episode we are live with Mark “Smelly” Bell and his brother Chris Bell answering your questions about the ketogenic diet. Mark is the host of the Power Project, inventor of the Sling Shot, a retired powerlifter and still coaches some of the top lifters in the sport. Chris is a seasoned filmmaker whose focus is on bringing fitness into peoples lives through education. He is the man behind “Bigger, Faster, Stronger” and is currently working on a nutrition documentary on nutrition. We dive into what got Mark and Eric into the ketogenic diet, how the carnivore diet works for them, and how Mark came up with the Sling Shot. Time Stamps: 2:00- How Mark and Chris switched their nutrition to the ketogenic diet and the benefits that they see from it. 6:50- Exercising your will power. 8:30- Figuring out the ketogenic diet for your body. 16:45- Performance on a keto diet. Are you able to still physically perform at your top level on keto? 21:30- Cheat Meals. Just because you are in ketosis does it mean you can eat whatever is kepo friendly? 24:25- Addiction to carbs. How addictive are carbs and sugars? 27:00- How long to stay in kept. Is it possible to diet flexibly with keto? 31:00- Overcoming the keto flu. 32:55- How Mark invented the Sling Shot and struggled to get it to market.

John Amaral is the go to energy worker for Celebrities, Athletes, and Billionaires. On this episode of the Muscle Expert Podcast, John and Ben introduce us to the energy that controls our existence. John gives great insight on how emotional energy can influence or even cause injuries, prohibit cellular communication, and keep you from living your greatest life. Make sure to listen to the end to catch some easy ways to take inventory of your inner body and heal past injuries. Time Stamps: 4:30- Bridging the gap between the physical and energy world. How John Amaral found the energy world and started his career. 10:10- John’s first experience with energy work, how connecting his body and energy allowed him to truly experience his senses for the first time in years. 11:15- Measuring the energy world. Applying science to woo woo and the effect of human consciousness on the world around us. 15:10- The system of the mind and body. Examples of physical manifestations of energy. 18:30- Our body’s communication network. Can cells communicate through energy? 20:35- Breaking the patterns of old injuries. If the body replaces all of its cells every five years then why do injuries hang on? 24:50- Where to start with energy work. 28:30- A dive into energy states. Are you low energy, neutral, or an energy rich individual? 31:30- The patterns of physical manifestations of emotion. 36:30- Where to start with energy work. 38:45- How to become more aware of your mind/body connection. 44:15- Expectations of energy work. The steps to take to lead an energy rich life. 49:15- Take daily inventory of your inner body. We spend so much time taking inventory of the external, but the internal can be even more important. 51:10- Stress management. How to deal with stress and eliminate the physical effects of it. 55:20- Energy work from a distance. 1:01:04- What is next for John Amaral?

Pedram Shojai, the author of the New York Times Best Seller, The Urban Monk, joins us to discuss the disconnect between eastern and western cultures. Pedram is the constant evolver, leaving college for the monkhood and leaving that to rejoin western culture to study the effects of mindfulness, start a successful business and become a dad. Pedram shows us the steps to start living a more mindful life in the modern world, how to overcome living a results based life and the benefits of running a conscious business in today’s world. 4:00- “Most people don’t understand that they are making 80 percent of their decisions under duress.” Pedram tells us how to set up mindfulness rituals to get around your own mind. 7:50- The mechanics of Qi Gong. How Pedram started quantifying what happens during Qi Gong meditation once he left the monkhood. 11:00- The benefits of bringing mindfulness into your life and how to integrate eastern practices into western life. 13:40- The story behind Pedram leaving college to join the monkhood. 18:15- Why Pedram is challenging western cultures attachment to the result. 20:05- The steps to take to develop a mindful, reflective life. 25:30- Pedram’s biggest takeaways from being a monk and his struggle to overcome searching for the result to enjoy the process. 30:00- Everyone has an ego. Here’s the importance of balancing that ego with humility. 32:00- Conscious Capitalism. How Pedram is running a successful, conscious business. 36:00- The myth of scarcity. The benefits of running your business based on value. 38:30- Constant Evolution. How to continue pushing the envelope and remove your ego from your relationships. 40:30- Get up and do it. How Pedram lives a life of purpose and adventure. 45:15- Avoiding the “Not Now” mentality in your relationships to be present for both others and yourself.

Dave Tate, one of the top powerlifting coaches in the world and founder of Elite FTS, sits down with Ben to discuss a variety of topics. Discussed are the lessons learned from fitness and how they translate to running a business, raising kids to become the greatest version of themselves and the mentality of being world class. 1:15- What lessons from fitness translate to running a business? And how to keep your ego from interfering with your business. 5:00- Dave’s advice on running a business and managing people. Saving your “Emotional Bandwidth” for what’s important. 8:10- Why did Dave pursue strength sports and what drove him to be successful. 9:05- Accountability and responsibility. How to raise a generation of kids with integrity. 11:50- The correlation between raising kids and developing employees. How to rely on other people to keep your business functioning. 15:22- Dave’s advice on how to become a world class strength athlete.

Welcome to the Muscle Expert Podcast Dr. Dan Pardi! Dr. Pardi is the founder of the HumanOS heath mastery plan and an expert on sleep optimization. Ben and Dan look into the effects that sleep deprivation has on hormones and body composition. They discuss the variables of sleep, how it is influencing brain recovery and neuroplasticity. Lastly Dr. Pardi tells us about his new health mastery course HumanOS. 3:30- How much is sleep influencing body composition? 5:20- What is leptin and how is it effected by sleep and diet? 8:00- Obesity is one of the biggest health risks facing the US population. How not getting enough sleep could be a primary contributor to that epidemic. 10:55- Reasons why sleep deprivation is becoming more prevalent. 13:00- Light’s effect on our circadian rhythm and how modern life is interrupting it. 15:00- Resetting your circadian rhythm in 30 minutes a day. 19:45- The blueprint of your sleep cycles. 24:00- Food on sleep. How your diet effects your sleep cycles. 28:45- Why we sleep. The theory on how Interleukin-1 and TNF-Alpha effect neuroplasticity. 30:00- How sleep meds effect the types of sleep you are getting. 33:15- Dr. Pardi’s research on ways to hack your sleep. 36:20- GHB to treat insomnia? 43:15- A deep dive on optimizing your brain. Dr. Pardi’s advice to function at your highest potential. 49:40- How to hack your BDNF production. 52:40- Dan’s advice to live your ultimate life. 54:45- The HumanOS health mastery course. What Dan is doing to teach positive health behaviors. 1:01:45- Three books Dan recommends.

Chris Kresser is a renowned speaker, author, and pioneer in the world of chronic pain. His goal is to transform the world of healthcare, by examining the impact of epigenetics, and nutrition on the microbiome. His interest in the subject began after contracting a tropical parasite overseas. Since then, he has battled a debilitating chronic pain condition that left at the hands of the healthcare system. Kesser knew there had to be more than conventional treatment and prescriptions to heal his body. He turned to the gut. Since then, he has made a name for himself as the health coach to extraordinarily high functioning CEOs, entrepreneurs, and top tier athletes. Teaching them how to maximize their health from the very foundations of their physiology. Hear Ben and Kesser discuss why epigenetics are the most influential variable in your physiology. How submitting your body to unreasonable amounts of destructive stress, can destroy your results. 5:00 - Welcome Chris Kesser to the Muscle Expert podcast. He traveled the world as a life long surfer, only to contract a tropical virus that would change his world forever. 8:50 - “Treatments are almost worse than the disease.” Hear how Kesser decided to take matters into his own hands by starting from the inside, out. 11:30 - Excessive medications and antibiotics are destroying the microbiome. Learn why you must feed the good bacteria, in order to reap the optimum benefits of your probiotics. 14:30 - Life with a healthy gut, and chronic pain. How the symptoms of Kesser’s condition evolved overtime by gradually mental, physical, and spiritual homeostasis. 20:00 - Influencing mitochondria and variables in energy production. Learn what you can do to shock your mitochondria into producing more energy for your body to combat the “lulls” in your daily routine. Could Keto or Fasting be the solution? 24:25 - Adaptive stress v. Destructive stress; how obsessively overtraining can hinder your body, and performance. Why you should be training smarter, not harder. 27:00 - What are Epigenetics and how they have shaped you from minute one. Why some believe A.I. could be the future of medicine — and why for Kesser that isn’t the case. 36:30 - “Bring your attention to the present moment.” Kesser’s recommendations for relieving stress, in the most physiologically beneficial way possible. 41:00 - Overtraining and withdrawing from your metabolic reserve. Why you need to start looking at your body more like a “bank account.” The ultimate goal: stay out of the red. 44:00 - Making the deposits, and getting your body’s foundation right. Discovering that there is no universal formula — only the one that works for your body and lifestyle. 48:00 - Building Testosterone levels based on the HPTGA axis. Why low T levels may be associated with issues in the pituitary gland and hypothalamus, stress and overtraining. 57:00 - High cortisol, fasting and nutrient splits. Ben and Kesser talk about the balancing act of macronutrients and mitochondrial energy production. Why you may not need as much protein as you might think. 1:05 - Reinventing healthcare to fight chronic disease. Kesser believes that the future lies in the hands of well trained, authentic, health coaches.