In episode 26 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast I’m joined by dr. Mike Israetel for a conversation about performance enhancing drugs and various circumstances where their usage may or may not be appropriate.

Topics discussed with time stamps:

4:30 Basic overview of what performance enhancing drugs (PED’s) are

9:06 Mike’s thoughts on teenagers taking PED’s within a couple weeks or months of training

22:45 A discussion about trying to impress women by taking PED’s and the type of physique that is appealing to most women

30:24 Mike’s thoughts on people being frustrated with not seeing results after 1-3 years of training because they don’t know how to train and eat properly and taking gear as a “shortcut” to achieve a physique perfectly achievably naturally

44:40 Young “trainers” using PED’s and using their physique as a justification that they know what they are doing and a general discussion about what to look for when you’re looking for a coach

54:07 Impostor syndrome and the value of taking care of your own physique as a coach

58:39 Unethical practices some trainers do

1:00:57 Coaches who work with enhanced posting their results and insinuating that other coaches who don’t produce similar results are doing something wrong

1:09:40 My main take-aways from the episode

The Iron Culture podcast episode Mike was on:

https://youtu.be/sgnLDVlfnzU

If you are interested in being coached by me, email me:

[email protected]

You can find Mike at:

https://www.facebook.com/michael.israetel

https://www.instagram.com/rpdrmike

https://renaissanceperiodization.com

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

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In episode 25 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast I’m joined by Adam Tzur of the Sci-Fit website for the first part of many episodes where we will take a deep look at various aspects of a ketogenic diet.

Topics discussed with time stamps:

3:10 Adam’s background, what made him start this series and how the data collection went

11:12 What is ketosis, how it differs how ketoacidosis and how is it typically measured

19:20 What should the macronutrients ratio be in a properly set up ketogenic diet and how does activity levels influence them?

23:21 Does a high protein diet “kick people out” of ketosis?

29:50 Missing the forest for the trees when following a ketogenic diet (eating “empty calorie” high fat foods, chasing ketone levels etc)

35:07 The most common conflicts of interest when it comes to studies examining ketogenic diets and supplements

50:00 How to determine if a study is actually trustworthy or if it’s been influenced by bias?

Resources mentioned:

https://sci-fit.net/carbs-protein-ketosis-research/

https://sci-fit.net/investigation-keto-scientists-companies/

https://www.lowcarbconversations.com/?p=4154

http://www.closenutrition.com/?p=670

You can find Adam at:

https://sci-fit.net/

 https://www.facebook.com/TheSCIFIT/

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/

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In episode 24 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast I’m joined once again by Ábel Csabai of The Sustainable Self Development Center to discuss commonly seen nutrition practices that are more or less necessary and  / or productive.

Topics discussed with time stamps:

5:26 The biggest reason for confusion - focusing on methods and not understanding the principles

14:53 Lack of knowledge and experience and not having empathy for others

21:20 Things that are absolutely necessary - calorie deficit, sufficient protein, sufficient micronutrients

24:03 Things that are not necessary but are probably helpful - having carbs + EAA intra-workout, drinking a protein shake after a workout, having casein / slow absorbing protein before bed, weighing yourself on a scale every day, avoiding alcohol completely etc

28:12 Things that are possibly helpful but likely not necessary - eating “clean foods only” and avoiding “processed” foods, eating the same foods and meals over and over again - eating “bland” foods even when trying to gain muscle, avoiding diet drinks and anything that’s “sweet”, eating every 2-3 hours etc

38:08 The necessity of tracking your macros

45:42 Being more laid back due to being more educated and seeing the big picture

47:34 The difference between doing something because you want to and doing it because you think you have to

54:22 People trying to suffer for the sake of suffering and avoiding anything sweet or anything that tastes good

58:42 Things that are unlikely to be helpful and are probably harmful - bulletproof coffee, “juicing” for detoxing, stupid diets (snake diet and co. ), injecting various substances into your body (snake venom, pee and so on)

1:04:04 You are NOT fragile  - stop being so afraid of and stop trying to identify things that are “wrong” with you

1:14:45 Stay open minded and assume that someone with more experience than you knows something you don’t

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

https://soundcloud.com/abelcsabai

https://www.instagram.com/susdvc_abel/

https://www.facebook.com/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.

Episodul 23 a podcastului marchează prima mea aparență ca invitat în limba română, în episodul 2 a podcastului The Fit Podcast, cu Răzvan Delibașa.

Time stamps:

5:47 Cum am ajuns să colaborez cu Mike Israetel?

7:56 Care sunt cele mai mari provocări și obstacole ale clienților mei pentru a-și atinge obiectivele?

11:07 Din punct de vedere al antrenamentului, care e abordarea mea pas cu pas cu clienții?

14:58 Tipare de mișcare vs exerciții specifice

19:34 Compromisul între varietate și progres măsurabil

23:43 Ce înseamnă specificitatea?

26:23 Din punct de vedere al nutriției, care sunt recomandările mele pentru un client nou?

29:45 Proteine la fiecare masă

35:27 Fructele ca și gustare

37:10 Rezerve de proteine vs rezerve de carbohidrați și grăsimi

39:04 Practicalitatea când vine vorba de porțiile de proteine pe parcursul zilei

41:02 La ce trebuie să fie atenți oamenii când își aleg un antrenor personal?

Întrebări sau sugestii pe mail:

[email protected]

Mă puteți găsi pe următoarele canale de social media:

https://www.instagram.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotaktme

https://www.facebook.com/szotakandras

The Fit Podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCShG3WrXVNaa1hWSmOeSm-g/

Pe Răzvan îl găsiți pe:

https://thefitbaker.ro

https://www.facebook.com/thefitbaker.ro

https://www.instagram.com/thefitbaker.ro

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In episode 22 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast I finally bring on board one of the pioneers of the evidence based fitness community, the man who needs no introduction, Lyle McDonald.

Topics discussed with time stamps:

3:39 A discussion about The DIETFITS trial by Gardner et al. 2018 and low carbs vs low fat diets in general

33:51 Menstrual cycle 101 and the impact of different phases on bodyweight and hunger levels

41:55 Setting up a female’s fat loss diet - determining energy needs

45:02 Determining macronutrient intakes – protein overfeeding and body recomposition

54:26 Determining fat and carbohydrate requirements and manipulating them based on training or rest days

1:07:04 Individualization and fitting the diet to the person and not the other way around

1:17:50 Manipulating macronutrients to match different phases of the menstrual cycle

1:26:53 The main take-away of the episode

Further reading:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2673150

You can find Lyle at:

https://bodyrecomposition.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.

Episode 21 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast is part two of my conversation with Marty Kendall and Vincent Sparagna, where we dissect the topic of satiety.

Topics discussed with time stamps:

1:15 What is satiety and why is it important?

6:50 Lessons learned from almost half a million days of MyFitnessPal data

10:33 Vincent’s pedantic critique of Marty’s definition of satiety (lol)

16:44 The limitations of using self-inputted MyFitnessPal data

25:16 Protein’s effects on satiety

46:01 How long does it take to develop a nutrient deficiency and should we eat seasonally?

51:33 My top 3 take-aways from the episode

Further reading:https://optimisingnutrition.com/2018/10/09/calculating-satiety/

https://optimisingnutrition.com/2018/05/17/how-much-protein-do-you-need-to-optimise-satiety/

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 Marty at:

https://optimisingnutrition.com/

https://www.facebook.com/optimisingnutrition/

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

You can find Vincent at:

http://scienceandiron.net/

Get all the previous podcast episodes:

http://themuscleengineer.podbean.com/

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

Episode 20 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast is an in-depth dive into the topic of nutrient density with Marty Kendall and Vincent Sparagna.

Topics addressed with time stamps:

3:05 Marty’s intro and the Janury challenge he has put out

17:00 What is nutrient density and why is it important?

21:18 Potential issues with the nutrient density ranking

25:03 Why do some foods many consider nutrient dense (such as nuts, avocado, dairy) rank lower in Marty’s nutrient density scale?

29:21 The importance of keeping calories in mind even when focusing on nutrients

36:43 The highest ROI food sources when it comes to nutrient density

41:45 How does bioavailability influence the nutrient density of common foods?

45:48 The benefits and cons of a carnivore diet

57:15 The nutrients that are hardest to get in and might be worth supplementing with

1:02:16 Nutrient requirements for someone that is physically active vs sedentary

1:04:55 My top 3 take-aways from the episode

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 Marty at:

https://optimisingnutrition.com/

https://www.facebook.com/optimisingnutrition/

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

You can find Vincent at:

http://scienceandiron.net/

Get all the previous podcast episodes:

http://themuscleengineer.podbean.com/

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

Episode 19 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast is a roundtable discussion dissecting the topic of deloading, which was originally released as episode 99 of Abel Csabai’s Sustainable Self Development podcast.

In this episode Abel, Vincent Sparagna and myself pretty much beat to death deloading in an episode that’s – in my obviously biased opinion – the most in-depth yet practical discussion on the matter.

Topics addressed with time stamps: 5:24 – What is deloading and what’s the purpose behind it?

9:54 –  Are deloads necessary or could you get away with not taking them?

12:20 – Is there a need to pre-schedule deloads?

20:36 – “Reactive” deloads; pros and cons

36:00 – The psychological impact of deloads

44:28 – Building up volume over the weeks up to your MRV, overreaching and then deloading

53:38 – Issues with purposeful overreaching and hitting your MRV

1:01:06 – How each of us likes to use deloads in practice

1:13:22 – Cardio during deloads

1:15:53 – How should you manipulate your food intake during a deload?

1:20:30 – The summary of what we discussed and my practical suggestions  / take-aways

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 Ábel at:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzGVKv513I6Zb0u3mLsL_7w

https://soundcloud.com/abelcsabai

https://www.instagram.com/susdvc_abel/

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

Get all the previous podcast episodes:

http://themuscleengineer.podbean.com/

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

Episode 18 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast marks my first appearance as a podcast guest, having been featured on episode 98 of Abel Csabai’s Sustainable Self Development podcast, where we discussed progressive overload and different methods of progressing your training.

Topics discussed with time stamps: 2:41 My background

8:35 – What should we know about progressive overload

14:41 – The advantages and disadvantages of progressing in weight

21:48 – What to do when you can’t keep adding weight

25:17 – Progressing by adding reps

39:28 – The utility of down-sets (dropping the weight in subsequent sets)

42:34 – Adding sets over weeks (progressing in volume)

49:16 – Issues with adding sets

57:35 – My final recommendations for easy and practical progression

1:01:35 – Where can you find more about me?

1:03:50 My top 3 take-aways from this episode

If you want to apply for 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 Ábel at:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzGVKv513I6Zb0u3mLsL_7w

https://soundcloud.com/abelcsabai

https://www.instagram.com/susdvc_abel/

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

Get all the previous podcast episodes:

http://themuscleengineer.podbean.com/

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

In episode 17 of The Muscle Engineer Podcast I’m ridin’ solo, and look back on the last 2 episodes, giving what I considered to be the top 3 take-aways from each. Enjoy!

Topics discussed with time stamps:

1:06 A mini-rant on so called “evidence based” people dismissing anything that’s not published in a scientific journal

Episode #15 key lessons

3:28 #1 Don’t be afraid to try something out, even if it doesn’t have scientific backing and if it works for you, stick with it

6:25 #2 Something can be helpful short term, even if it’s unsustainable long term

9:29 #3 The value of synchronizing your food intake with your ancestry, the season we’re in and daylight hours

Episode #16 key lessons

14:10 #1 Insulin sensitivity is only good up to a point and increasing systemic IS with GDA’s might not be the best idea

16:55 #2 Choosing nutrient dense fat sources and having higher fat rest days

21:18 #3 The importance of sleep for improving insulin sensitivity and your overall health

Get in contact with me:

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.