Side Quest Podcast

Adam Fisher has been lifting for over ten years, and working as a trainer and powerlifting coach for the last five.

Making clients stronger is his passion, and he's worked with clients in over ten countries and counting.

Adam Fisher believes the deadlift is the best lift. And, yes, he says "you can fight me on that point."

Aside from lifting, Adam enjoy's fiction, philosophy, television, and a good video game here and there. You can find out more about Adam at his site www.gains.af. And check out his new free product, Deadlift Every Day, at www.gains.af/deadlift-every-day. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• First Episode
• His life as a vagabond
• Retreating into his mental palace
• Learning to speak Danish in Denmark
• Speaking French with a Southern accent
• Living abroad in Saudi Arabia
• Dating someone in the gaming industry
• Ready Player One
• Why he gives up half way with books, games, and TV shows (sometimes)
• Half-assing and whole assing
• Three games he’s jiving on
• My thoughts on Ghost Recon: Wildlands
• WiiU and why Nintendo failed
• Why games annoy me now
• Cuphead
• Journey
• Fun questions
• What value he displays to his clients
• Deadlifting every day
• His soda bulk diet last winter
• Website
• Twitter
• Instagram

Fat loss.

Let's be honest. It sucks. But if you have a goal that you want to accomplish, should you go hardcore and live in a cave like Obi-Wan, shut off from society, to finish your cut?

Or should you be more moderate with your approach?

This question came to me from a listener and Twitter follower. And I answer it in this episode.

Mitch Heaslip aka The Jacked Hipster has been coaching clients online and in-person for a few years. Before he became a trainer, Mitch was a firefighter in rural Canada. And it was while he spent time fighting fires that he discovered the secret power of meditation.

Since his days in the wilds of Canada, Mitch has moved to Texas and now lives there with his wife. Mitch continues to train clients in-person but has also built an online coaching business.

On his blog, The Jacked Hipster, Mitch writes about more than fitness. He writes about how to set goals and conquer the day by setting up powerful morning routines.

Beyond that, Mitch is a huge fan of hip-hop, poutine, and conquering his largest fears.

In this episode we discuss:

• Mitch’s first episode
• The Jacked Hipster
• Digging himself into a hole in his 20s
• Why he got into meditation
• Life is a series of games we play
• Snapchat vs Instagram
• Video vs writing
• What he loves about Twitter
• Bringing back the 90s
• Building off the past in music
• Kanye uses voice as instruments
• 2Pac Poetry
• Hip-Hop history
• D-riding Drake
• The Real Degrassi
• Jay-Z and Nas
• Eminem
• Fun questions
• What he fears right now
• Finding his mission
• Thanos
• Marvel Unlimited
• What his training looks like right now
• Coming off the bench
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook
• NF Playlist

You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand how to determine your calories.

With one simple rule, you can calculate a baseline of calories to consume for fat loss, muscle gain, or maintenance.

Men and women are a bit different, however. But in general, this works for everyone.

Scott Herman has been working in the fitness industry since he was 14. And it's his love of helping people change their bodies and lives that led Scott to start a YouTube channel that now has over 1.3 million subscribers.

If you've ever Googled or searched for an exercise on YouTube, I guarantee you that you've seen or learned from Scott.

After graduating college, Scott headed back to the gym he'd worked at all through High School and worked as a personal trainer while opening a brand new location. It was at this location that he launched ScottHermanFitness.com. And months later, won a contest for Men’s Health magazine and was given the title, “Best Abs on The East Coast.” From that magazine press, Scott entered the fitness modeling realm. And at the behest of one of his clients sent in an audition tape for The Real World. 

After his season on The Real World: Brooklyn, Scott headed back to Massacheutes where he launched his YouTube channel and quickly gained recognition online.

In 2015, Scott relaunched his website as MuscularStrength.com in 2015. And he continues to create content, videos, and makes appearances as a BSN Athlete at bodybuilding and fitness shows worldwide.

But Scott is more than fitness. He's also a huge nerd who loves comics, Dragonball Z, Zelda, and collecting movies.

In this episode we discuss:

• How he got into YouTube
• Struggles of fitness modeling
• How he ended up on MTV’s Real World
• Why he hasn’t done a ton of Vlogging
• Starting his idea factory
• What video games he’s waiting for
• Nintendo Switch
• Battletoads
• What he would be doing if he wasn’t doing fitness
• Creating a community on YouTube
• Which of his four tenets if the most important to him
• Positivity is key
• Bullshit in the industry
• Setting realistic goals
• Meeting people in the industry
• Admiring superheroes
• Matt Damon or Ben Affleck
• Cinema Sins
• Fun Questions
• What rules/guidelines he follows in life
• What nerd toys he collects
• Zelda Three Heart Challenge
• Website
• Twitter
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Instagram

There is nothing I love more than answering questions from readers or social media followers.

And every 1st Thursday of the month, I do just that. Community Questions is a chance for me to answer YOUR questions.

They don't have to be fitness related, either. (Though most are.)

So this month, I had three excellent questions come in:

1. If weight loss is your primary objective, how often should you weigh yourself?
2. What's the significance having 30g of protein in the morning?
3. Is it appropriate to use pictures as inspiration for succeeding goals?

Jorden Pagel returns to the podcast after damn near two years. Jorden and I catch up on everything he's been up to with his business, his personal development, and what side hustle he has now. You can check out episode one here.

Jorden is a Wisconsin-based writer and coach. He uses his experience of losing over 80-pounds to help people dominate their fitness goals. When he's not writing about fitness and coaching clients, you can likely find him deadlifting or watching the Packers. Jorden enjoys the simpler things, like Game of Thrones, Star Wars, yoga pants, and of course, Ben and Jerry's.

In this episode we discuss:

• John Romaniello
• Mass Made Easy
• Time flies
• What he’s learned in two years as a business owner
• 2016 Books of the Year
• Staying focused on your why
• His side job as a financial advisor
• What his day looks like
• His creative process
• Testosterone (101, 201, 301, 401)
• Stress and it’s effect on our health
• Fun Questions
• First time paint balling
• What he’s nerding out on
• His favorite Ron Swanson quote
• His 2017 goals
• Jorden’s Fat Loss Course
• Website
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

They say it's the little things that matter.

And as cliche as that sounds, it's pretty true when it comes to fat loss.

The big things you need to handle are maintaining a calorie deficit and exercise. But there are small things that you could be doing that keep tripping you up on your journey.

And ignoring these trip-ups isn't something you can afford to do. Not if you want to reach your goals.

Don't worry. They're not huge things that would require you to drastically change your life. But small tweaks that can help you realign your goals and get back on track.

Don Brown has been inventing fitness equipment since the 1990s.

He fell in love with fitness in no small part thanks to fitness icon, Jack LaLanne. His first chain of fitness centers was called XERCISE,Inc in Northern NJ. And it was in this gym that one day he ran into a problem with one of his clients.

Don Brown had always been a problem solver, so when his client who had a neck injury couldn't do a simple crunch without pain, Don knew he needed to create a solution.

After some thought, Don had a eureka moment when he bent a paper clip into a "funny" shape and he knew in that moment how to create his first fitness equipment idea.

He left work, went to a Home Depot, and built the first prototype for the Ab Roller that day.

In its first 3 years on the market, The Ab Roller exceeded 100 million dollars in sales. Well over 15 million people have purchased AB Rollers making it one of the most successful consumer fitness products ever. Twelve years after he invented the Ab Roller, he co-invented the AB COASTER which quickly became a huge success. You can see these devices in gyms all over the world. Don Brown is constantly looking for the next big thing in improving and training your core. That's why when Don's friend came to him with an idea for how to make planks more fun, Don jumped at the idea. And with the same ingenuity of his first device, Don created an early prototype of Stealth.

Things have changed since the days of The Ab Roller and Ab Coaster. Now, Don can use sites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo to help fund his new product and get it to the market faster.

Don joins me on the show to talk about The Stealth Core Trainer which turns your planks into an active, fun, and challenging game you can use on your phone.

In this episode we discuss:

• How he got into designing fitness equipment
• Jack LeLanne
• Product Creation in Fitness
• Using Doom as a stress reliever
• Making Planks Great Again
• Sneaking in Fitness
• How Stealth Progresses Core Training
• Core Score
• What crowdsourcing websites offer inventors/entrepreneurs
• TV Infomercials
• Craziest invention he ever came up with
• Fun Questions
• Yoga in the morning
• Almond butter vs Peanut butter
• Turn Your Core into a Joystick
• Where technology will take fitness
• Video for Stealth
• InventWow.com
• GameYourCore (social)
• Stealth on IndieGoGo
• Stealth Body Fitness

This is a subject we've covered before on Coaches Corner. But that was almost 18 months ago and it's still one of the most asked questions I receive.

So I decided to cover the supplements I take, why I take them, and what they do and don't do.

First and foremost: before you buy any supplement, first check with your doctor to see if it is something you need.

The above should be done before you ever buy anything on a shelf. Always. Always. Check with your physician first.

When it comes to increasing your knowledge on supplements Examine.com is the go-to resource for questions or concerns on supplementation.

They cover everything I talk about in this episode and much much more.

In this episode I discuss:

• Creatine
• Vitamin D
• Fish Oil
• Protein
• Pre-workout
• Caffeine
• Labdoor.com