The Muscle Engineer Podcast

In episode 46 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast I welcome back Danny Lennon, for the third time, to discuss our current most interesting nutrition related topic – chrononutrition and how you should distribute calories throughout the day.

Topics discussed:

2:45 A general overview of chrononutrition

12:15 Lifting weights, counting calories and monitoring physical activity and how that might impact food timing considerations

25:20 Theoretical benefits vs the practical aspects of pushing calories towards the latter part of the day

30:05 Can you use caffeine instead of food to entrain a healthy circadian rhythm?

32:05 Early TRF vs a more balanced protein spread for muscle gain / fat loss

42:50 COVID-19 and it’s impact on people’s schedule (shifting most towards a “later chronotype”)

49:40 How can you determine what your real chronotype is?

53:10 Final considerations for the lockdown

56:50 Closing thoughts and take-aways

Resources mentioned:https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-abstract/105/3/e211/5740411

https://www.thewep.org/documentations/mctq

Related episodes:

https://sigmanutrition.com/episode271/

https://sigmanutrition.com/episode296/

https://sigmanutrition.com/episode302/

You can find Danny at:

http://sigmanutrition.com

https://www.instagram.com/dannylennon_sigma

https://twitter.com/nutritiondanny

https://www.facebook.com/sigmanutritionandperformance

If you want to apply for online coaching, email me:

[email protected]

Say “Hi” on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotakandras

Get all the previous podcast episodes:

http://themuscleengineer.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 45 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast is another COVID-19 special featuring Ábel Csabai. We each give updates on the situation in our countries, detail our workout regimen and also offer some advice on what to buy the get the most out of your home workouts, alongside some uninformed opinions about the economic consequences of the lockdown.

Enjoy!

You can find Ábel at:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzGVKv513I6Zb0u3mLsL_7w

https://www.instagram.com/ssdabel

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableselfdevelopment/

If you want to apply for online coaching, email me:

[email protected]

Say “Hi” on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/szotaktme/

https://www.facebook.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotakandras

Get all the previous podcast episodes:

http://themuscleengineer.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 44 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast is a special episode with Ábel Csabai of The Sustainable Self Development Center. Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, we go over how we’re handling the situation, what we’re planning to do with our diets and workouts and more. Enjoy!

You can find Ábel at:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzGVKv513I6Zb0u3mLsL_7w

https://www.instagram.com/ssdabel

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableselfdevelopment/

If you want to apply for online coaching, email me:

[email protected]

Say “Hi” on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/szotaktme/

https://www.facebook.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotakandras

Get all the previous podcast episodes:

http://themuscleengineer.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 43 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast is a meditation on this past year and a compilation of the top 19 things I learned – or rather, re-learned – about training, dieting and life in general.

The lessons:

1. Discipline equals freedom – everything you want is on the far side of hard work
2. Extreme ownership – your circumstances are YOUR responsibility
3. What you most want is to be found where you least want to look
4. The fool is the precursor to the savior
5. Tell the truth; or at least don’t lie
6. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not who someone else is today
7. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped
8. The loads you’re using are irrelevant if your execution is off
9. Progressive overload (getting stronger in moderate rep ranges) is still key – use a logbook!
10. There’s only so much volume you can do in any given session
11. Find exercises that fit YOU and that can be progressed for a long time
12. People should be much more afraid of undertraining than overtraining
13. Genetics are still key, and no amount of hard work will overcome them
14. Drugs don’t just “only help a little”
15. The key to long term weight loss / maintenance is a dietary approach (and a meal frequency) that YOU can actually enjoy
16. The more extreme your goals, the more extreme the sacrifices you have to make in return
17. How many calories someone else eats is IRRELEVANT – move more if you want to eat more
18. Train to get stronger / build muscle; diet to lose fat
19. Sleep is still the most potent ANABOLIC (legal) tool you have at your disposal; the more, the better

“How do you help someone who’s lost? “ video (MUST WATCH! ) :

https://youtu.be/JzkXZAD_cT8

If you want to apply for online coaching, email me:

[email protected]

Say “Hi” on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotakandras

Get all the previous podcast episodes:

http://themuscleengineer.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 42 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast I welcome back my very first guest, Danny Lennon, this time around for a discussion about an essential part of MMA (a side interest of mine), namely weight cutting.

Beside being the host of my #1 go-to nutrition podcast, Sigma Nutrition Radio, Danny is also an educator in the field and as a practician, works with elite combat sports athletes on the exact issue we’re discussing here.

Topics discussed:

4:32 The difference in muscularity between people who have similar “stats”

8:25 Where is the sweet spot between muscle mass, leanness and cardiovascular conditioning; how to decide what’s the best weight class for an athlete?

22:25 How far off the scale weight should you be 1 week out and where is that weight drop coming from?

32:18 Difference in water intake between MMA vs bodybuilding peak weeks

42:42 How much weight can you -or should you – cut in the last hours before weigh-ins?

46:50 Rehydration / refueling - how much can you safely “regain” and what’s the most effective strategy?

55:28 How to deal with anxiety and avoid being bloated before or during a fight?

1:00:40 Would Danny get rid of weight cutting, or what changes he’d make?

1:06:30 Closing thoughts on the episode

You can find Danny at:

http://sigmanutrition.com

https://www.instagram.com/dannylennon_sigma

https://twitter.com/nutritiondanny

https://www.facebook.com/sigmanutritionandperformance

If you want to apply for online coaching, email me:

[email protected]

Say “Hi” on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotakandras

Get all the previous podcast episodes:

http://themuscleengineer.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 41 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast I finally sit down with one of my earliest role models in the industry – Eric Helms.

Eric has PhD in strength and conditioning, and is a research fellow for AUT at the Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand. Along with Greg Nuckols and Dr. Mike Zourdos, he created the monthly research review MASS (Monthly Applications in Strength Sports), which is my go-to resource for keeping up-to-date with the scentific literature. He is also the author of the Muscle & Strength Pyramid books, which are one of my top recommendations for people interested in dieting and training for bodybuilding.

Topics discussed, with time stamps:

5:30 What got Eric into bodybuilding / lifting weights and does he think the reason why people start lifting nowadays has changed?

12:55 Why do most people quit the gym after a couple of months?

19:20 How long should people train initially before deciding the gym is not for them?

24:54 How can you manage social media and following others, while not feeling demotivated by your own progress in comparison

38:14 Eric’s take on the notion that within 3-5 years you can be as big as you’re ever going to get vs the other view that natural bodybuilders need decades to build their best physique

49:45 Once we’ve fallen in love with lifting, how can we prevent falling into the other extreme, where our whole identity is defined by our looks?

1:02:35 Using steroids and other anabolic substances, to compensate for a lack of patience or willingness to work hard, or in an attempt to build a certain physique, to impress others

1:20:30

My biggest lessons from the episode

You can find Eric at:

https://3dmusclejourney.com/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/mass/

https://www.instagram.com/helms3dmj/

https://muscleandstrengthpyramids.com/

If you want to apply for online coaching, email me:

[email protected]

Say “Hi” on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotakandras

Get all the previous podcast episodes:

http://themuscleengineer.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 40 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast I’m joined, once again, by fellow coach and podcaster Ábel Csabai of The Sustainable Self Development Center to talk about how he got into his best shape ever and what can you do to achieve the same.

Topics discussed, with time stamps:

2:10 Life in the last 6 months, and what made Ábel  start a photoshoot prep?

10:25 Why body fat / LBM math never works out and what are the causes of muscle loss during a deep end of a cut?

19:30 Why knowledge isn’t the answer and what changed for Ábel since 2017?

28:25 Justifying self-destructive behaviors and helpful eating habits during a dieting phase

47:40 How can you manage emotional impulses / cravings?

55:43 How did strength levels hold up during the cut?

59:43 How has life changed? Do women want to constantly rape you once you’re very lean?

1:01:50 Our skewed perception of what’s a “good physique” – regular people vs world class natural pros vs movie stars

1:10:10 Closing thoughts

You can find Ábel at:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzGVKv513I6Zb0u3mLsL_7w

https://www.instagram.com/ssdabel

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableselfdevelopment/

If you want to apply for online coaching, email me:

[email protected]

Say “Hi” on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/szotaktme/

https://www.facebook.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotakandras

Get all the previous podcast episodes:

http://themuscleengineer.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 39 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast I welcome back Triage Method co-founder Gary McGowan aka SkinnyGaz.

Topics discussed with time stamps:

4:00 Gary’s thoughts about physiotherapy school, overall experience, likes, dislikes

10:18 Foam rolling, cupping, other “recovery methods” and the notion that “If high level athletes do it, it must be good. “

17:10 If you expect something to help, it probably will

26:53 Heel elevation during squats – why can it be beneficial?

49:33 Spinal flexion under load – “stiff vs mobile spine” theory

1:00:00 Cervical extension during squats - does it really “shut off” the glutes? Should we cue looking down during squats and deads?

1:15:05 Key lessons from this episode

Join the FREE Triage Method Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/triagemilitia/

You can find Gary at:https://www.facebook.com/triagemethod/

https://www.instagram.com/skinnygaz/

https://www.instagram.com/triagemethod/

https://triagemethod.com/

If you want to apply for online coaching, email me:

[email protected]

Say “Hi” on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/szotaktme/

https://www.facebook.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotakandras

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 38 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast is a re-upload from The Science To Muscle Podcast, where I was invited to speak on a variety of training related topics. I had a lot of fun recording this and hope you’ll enjoy it too.

Topics discussed with time stamps:

3:18 – Experience as an intern with Renaissance Periodization and Dr. Mike Israetel

5:20 - Volume prescription for online and in-person clients

8:10 - Adding sets throughout a mesocycle

11:20 - Jordan Peters as an example of being open minded in the fitness industry

15:20 - Prescribing RIR to clients

21:30 - The effective reps model and the recent article by Greg Nuckols

30:30 - Current trends in training frequency

32:00 - Why people use steroids and their effectiveness

41:30 - Considerations on the mechanics of different movements

57:10 - Exercise order based on resistance profile

1:06:30 - Exercise selection for back training

If you want to apply for online coaching, email me:

[email protected]

Say “Hi” on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/szotaktme/

https://www.facebook.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotakandras

You can find Marco at:

https://www.instagram.com/marco.sterpa/

https://www.science2muscle.it/

Get all the previous podcast episodes:

http://themuscleengineer.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just noticed I past the 2000 day mark on Myfitnesspal , so I figured I'd share some key insights, lessons and patterns I noticed throughout the years.

There is an IGTV episode on my profile, if you want a video version.

If you want to apply for online coaching, email me:

[email protected]

Say “Hi” on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/szotaktme/

https://www.facebook.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotakandras

Get all the previous podcast episodes:

http://themuscleengineer.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.