Vital Metabolic: The Art and Science of Strength

On today’s episode of Vital Metabolic, hosts James Wheeler and John Parker talk to Coach Karen Smith about body weight training, how the pandemic has changed her working style, the most important components for strength training, and more. 

Episode Highlights: 

• John and James begin by talking about how their exercise habits have changed over the last year, and how they appreciated being able to get outside and exercise. 
• They talk about how to get the correct amount of protein in your diet, and what a big difference it can make for people. 
• 9:10 - John talks about the adjustment he’s making to his workouts as the seasons change. 
• 10:50 - They talk about the importance of everyone having a balanced diet. 
• 11:15  - They introduce their guest, Karen Smith, who is an iron maiden like Rebecca Rouse. 
• 11:50 - Karen lives in Texas, and while she was lucky enough to not lose power during the snowstorm, she knows many people whose homes have sustained damage. 
• 14:40 - Karen is used to intermittent fasting, so she wasn’t worried about running out of food during the snowstorm. 
• 16:45 - Karen has been doing online training for many years, so it wasn’t a difficult transition for her when the pandemic started. 
• 18:00 - Karen has been in fitness her whole life, and she was a cheerleader, a gymnast, and a runner as a kid. 
• 19:45 - Karen talks about how she helped to rehab a friend of her daughter’s who also cheers and who had pulled a hamstring muscle right before try outs. 
• 24:00 - Karen, John, and James discuss how it feels to train other trainers to improve what they do. 
• 25:45 - James asks Karen about the start of Strength First Body Weight training, and what she did to assist with writing the manual. 
• 28:19 - James talks about the need to be well-rounded in order to pass SFB training and get the certification. 
• 29:42 - There is a strict progression in body weight training because you have to build a solid core of strength before you can up the difficulty. 
• 31:30 - Karen talks about tactical pull ups and the strictness of the form, including the fact that you can’t use your thumbs because you can’t put your thumb through a solid wall. 
• 35:00 - Karen travels so much that she often lives out of a suitcase everywhere, including in her own home. When the pandemic started in the US, she flew home in mid March and didn’t leave again until July, and it was the longest she’d been at home for 7 or 8 years. 
• 37:32 - Karen gave herself tendonitis years ago from doing pull ups incorrectly, and she’s been working since then to get her body back to that point. 
• 39:00 - They discuss how body fat percentage is vital in doing pull ups, especially in terms of the number of reps you can do. 
• 42:15 - Karen loads people with external weight before they can do a single pull up because it makes getting to being able to do a pull up faster. 
• 45:45 - Karen has done certification trainings where people come in after a day or two and think they’re getting sick because of the strain they put on their bodies. 
• 47:00 - Karen talks about the power of visualization, especially when she was training for the Iron Maiden. 
• 50:22 - Now that Karen has been training for over 20 years, she has started thinking about her retirement. 

3 Key Points:

• There is a strict progression in body weight training because you have to build a solid core of strength before you can up the difficulty. 
• Karen has been doing online training for many years, so it wasn’t a difficult transition for her when the pandemic started. 
• Karen loads people with external weight before they can do a single pull up because it makes getting to being able to do a pull up faster. 

Tweetable Quotes: 

• “The physical aspect is one thing, but the mental aspect is the greatest gift.” - John Parker
• “As soon as I was able to travel again, I was hustling.” - Karen Smith
• “I really got into visualization when I was training for the Iron Maiden...I would lay in bed and visualize the challenge. I didn’t want to just get up and try it, I knew I was going to wake up that day and do this.” - Karen Smith

Resources Mentioned: 

• James Wheeler: Instagram
• John Parker: Instagram
• Email: [email protected]
• Karen Smith: Instagram

Rebecca Rouse: The Iron Maiden

On today’s episode of Vital Metabolic, hosts James Wheeler and John Parker talk to personal trainer and Instagram fitness guru Rebecca Rouse about starting her own business, the importance of strength training, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted her approach. 

Episode Highlights: 

• 4:30 - John and James introduce their guest for this week’s episode, Rebecca Rouse. 
• 6:00 - Rebecca talks about how Equinox trainers are all trained in exactly the same way so that it’s universal across the board. 
• 8:00 - Rebecca was a manager at Equinox, and she talks about how she went about hiring trainers. 
• 10:45 - James emphasizes the importance of relating to clients as people in order to help them be successful. 
• 12:30 - Rebecca left Equinox in August 2020 and started her own brand called Semper Stronger. 
• 15:00 - The large majority of Rebecca’s clients are middle-aged women, but she does also train some military professionals. 
• 16:25 - Rebecca has a background in gymnastics, which she did very seriously until she was 14. 
• 17:10 - She hasn’t done any competitive power lifting, but she does Olympic lifting competitively. 
• 18:20 - John and James discuss how perspectives on weight training for professional athletes have changed over the years, and that it’s become much more prominent for athletes across various sports. 
• 22:20 - James says that he likes to introduce his clients to using kettle bells because they are universal and can be used anywhere. 
• 24:10 - Rebecca talks about her Strong First certifications and shares her various lifting numbers. 
• 28:00 - John talks about the difference between kettle bell sport and a hard style bell. Kettle bell sports are designed to be held with one hand, and it’s meant for endurance. Hard style is meant for maximum energy expenditure and is intended to be held with two hands. 
• 30:00 - Rebecca believes that when it is safe to return to in-person gyms again, there will probably be a 50/50 split of people who choose to continue working out from home and those who choose to return to the gym in person. 
• 33:30 - Rebecca feels that the pandemic has accelerated her personal plans and goals; she initially planned to start her own gym about 5-10 years down the road, but the pandemic motivated her to start her own business now. 
• 36:10 - Rebecca talks about her Instagram fame and how that has contributed to her success and advancing her career. 
• 37:50 - They discuss how it’s important to follow good people on social media who are actually knowledgeable and aren’t pushing products that don’t work or can be harmful. 
• 40:00 - John talks about the importance of having medical professionals like chiropractors, acupuncturists, physical therapists, etc. to refer personal training clients to who need it. 
• 42:00 - They discuss how particularly in the women’s fitness space there is an overemphasis on cardio on top of intense strength training. 
• 46:00 - Cross training is good, but as personal strength trainers John, James, and Rebecca all agree that it’s their job to be open about what cardio can do for your body but that strength training is a base from which to build upon. 
• 49:00 - They talk about HIIT training and how it can potentially be harmful and cause injuries, and that by itself it often doesn’t help to make real changes to the body. 

3 Key Points:

• John and James discuss how perspectives on weight training for professional athletes have changed over the years, and that it’s become much more prominent for athletes across various sports. 
• Rebecca feels that the pandemic has accelerated her personal plans and goals; she initially planned to start her own gym about 5-10 years down the road, but the pandemic motivated her to start her own business now. 
• Rebecca believes that when it is safe to return to in-person gyms again, there will probably be a 50/50 split of people who choose to continue working out from home and those who choose to return to the gym in person. 

Tweetable Quotes: 

• “I tried to make sure during the hiring process that the people I was bringing onto my team were hard workers and had the drive to build their own success.” - Rebecca Rouse
• “To be a successful coach, you have to be obsessed.” - James Wheeler
• “As a gym owner, it’s important to explain the difference between working out at home and in-person to your clients.” - John Parker
• “It’s important to refer out early and refer out often.” - John Parker

Resources Mentioned: 

• James Wheeler: Instagram
• John Parker: Instagram
• Email: [email protected]
• Semper Stronger Instagram 
• Rebecca Rouse Instagram

On today’s episode of Vital Metabolic, hosts James Wheeler and John Parker speak with Mike Sousa, owner of Brick House Strength & Conditioning. They discuss the Strong First training method and certification, how Mike structures his time with clients, his favorite recovery hacks, and some of his best tips for new trainers starting out their business.

Episode Highlights: 

• 1:45 - The new year is a good time for people to refresh your habits.
• 2:05 - Locomotion Athletics is doing alright and has so far weathered the storm of the pandemic, going digital like many companies have.
• 3:30 - James is hoping to get involved in Strong First coaching.
• 4:30 - The pandemic has given John an excuse to go outside more, which he has appreciated, including trying bow hunting.
• 5:15 - Businesses have to be adaptable or they’re going to fail.
• 5:45 - With at home/virtual training, figure out what makes it fun for you.
• 7:50 - Things like elimination diets or cycling through habits in that way can be helpful for you to rediscover what an appropriate balance is for you.
• 9:10 - Mike Sousa is the owner of Brick House Strength & Conditioning, which he literally  built with his own hands.
• 12:20 - Mike structures the training at his facility in blocks.
• 14:31 - There are blocks of time where people can show up anytime within that block, which has helped reduce stress in his clients about showing up at a specific time.
• 15:45 - Mike sometimes has specific programs for individuals, and they’ll come in and do that program, but he also caters to individual needs on a daily basis like if someone has back pain and needs to adjust that day’s plan.
• 17:00 - This structure allows Mike to flow through the people and provide individualized attention.
• 18:05 - Standard group training can be an issue when everyone there is at a different level.
• 18:50 - Training in this semi-personal setting but being able to watch other people train can be encouraging and motivating.
• 20:57 - Mike builds his client base primarily through word of mouth because it creates a stronger community and doesn’t cause a revolving door of clients that he wants to avoid.
• 21:20 - Mike has also been part of networking groups and highly recommends it for small business owners.
• 24:45 - Mike watched Strong First develop and was part of the first ever certification course.
• 28:20 - The philosophy of Strong First is simple, not easy.
• 31:20 - Mike uses the concept of ladders to build his training program, where when you increase your weight on a movement, you slowly increase the number of reps.
• 34:50 - Mike used this method in his own training for how he accomplished double snatching a pair of 40kg kettlebells.
• 36:10 - People have a mindset that they’re afraid they’ll lose their gains, but you’d be surprised what muscle memory can do.
• 38:34 - Mike recommends at least 4-6 months of training ahead of time for a level 1 kettlebell certification in Strong First.
• 40:07 - If you’re new to Strong First, Mike recommends going to a one day workshop to try it out first.
• 41:41 - From the outside, the Strong First certification community can seem intimidating, but James says they’re some of the nicest and most helpful people he’s ever met.
• 42:48 - James also loves the strength test (or the “not-so-weak” test) where you have to prove your mettle.
• 46:20 - Mike thinks he’s taught upwards of 30 one day courses with Strong First.
• 47:44 - Mike appreciates teaching with Strong First because when he’s running his home gym, it’s only him, he’s there all day by himself, but he gets to meet people and have assistance and be with the community at Strong First events.
• 48:50 - Mike uses heat exposure in saunas to support recovery and has his own sauna at home that he uses almost every night.
• 50:05 - The initial discomfort of the heat in a sauna is good in the long run because it  builds resilience, toughness, and focus. 
• 50:26 - You have to learn breathing techniques to stay in the sauna for an hour, and sometimes during the week Mike supplements the sauna with a 3-5 minute cold bath.
• 52:05 - Cold and heat exposure are the most biologically consistent “biohacks” there are.
• 53:12 - After attending Strong First seminars, Mike started to come up with a simplified way of approaching it with 3-4 lifts you do each month: a 5-rep lift, a 3-rep lift, and a 2-rep lift.
• 54:05 - Within those reps, you’re in charge of the weight you use within it.
• 57:05 - Program design is the most data-driven and scientific aspect of the industry.
• 57:53 - Mike’s advice to new trainers is to not do everything alone—get a financial advisor, a bookkeeper, etc.
• 58:28 - You don’t have to buy every piece of equipment right away.
• 1:00:25 - Strong First gets you in it for the long haul, and it will make you stronger when you’re older because it’s not breaking you down but building you up.

3 Key Points:

1. Both Strong First and the way Mike trains allows for autonomy and personalization in how you progress through the program.
2. With this method, you’re less likely to lose your gains over time.
3. Mike’s simplified Strong First method is adaptable to many types of training, not just kettlebells.

Tweetable Quotes: 

• “The goal when you train with an inter-level kettlebell is not to stay there. The goal is to get stronger.” –Mike Sousa
• “Simple, not easy. Quality over quantity. Instead of doing 1 set of 15 you’re doing 15 sets of 1. Your setup is a rep in itself, your step down is a rep. You focus on your setup & step down, the execution of the lift is gonna be a lot easier & it’s gonna be safer.” –Mike Sousa
• “You shouldn’t always be comfortable in life. A little bit of uncomfortableness & a  controlled uncomfortability, that’s a good thing. So a sauna, being in 190 degrees initially doesn’t feel good or even sound good but you learn to adapt.” –Mike Sousa
• “I like the old school methods with the new school science behind it.” –Mike Sousa
• “You don’t have to throw 20 things at a training session to keep your client engaged. They'll be engaged if they see that you’re providing quality content. They see results not by more exercises but by consistency.” –Mike Sousa

Resources Mentioned: 

• James: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• John: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• Email: [email protected] 
• Website: www.vitalmetabolic.com 
• Mike Sousa: Instagram
• Brick House S&C: Facebook
• www.strongfirst.com/quality-mile-deep-strength-program 

On today’s episode of Vital Metabolic, hosts James Wheeler and John Parker speak with Aisha Zaza, a CrossFitter, marathon runner, and new mom. They discuss fitness during and after pregnancy, nutrition when breastfeeding, and the inevitable emotional roller coaster of it all. Aisha also discusses her episode of Ultimate Tag on FOX!

Episode Highlights: 

• 1:00 - Aisha is a CrossFitter, marathon runner, and new mother.
• 2:39 - Aisha’s example of motherhood was her own single mother where she would have to do everything alone.
• 3:50 - She feared that parenthood would mean she would never have time to train for marathons or keep up with the things she cared about.
• 6:08 - Aisha stopped running at 15-16 weeks, mainly because her bladder couldn’t handle it.
• 6:44 - Along with the emotional changes, Aisha experienced her diet and cravings changing dramatically.
• 8:15 - When you’re pregnant, it feels like this is how it’s going to be forever, but that’s not true.
• 8:55 - Aisha would tell her pregnant self that it’s okay to have these feelings even if you aren’t necessarily in a safe space to express them, and you aren’t alone.
• 10:00 - She still ran when she could, but she was a lot slower and more out of breath.
• 11:10 - Any movement you can manage during the first trimester is good movement.
• 12:00 - Aisha feels very lucky to not have experienced postpartum depression, but found she had prepartum depression.
• 13:20 - Aisha didn’t give herself a hard time when she didn’t eat as well as usual, but also doesn’t want to suggest that women should use pregnancy as an excuse to eat anything.
• 15:05 - Aisha predicted that she would gain 25-30lbs during her pregnancy, but ended up gaining 42lbs.
• 16:25 - So much of what you gain is fluid, including 8 extra pints of blood, so you lose some weight quickly.
• 17:02 - Aisha believes she recovered from pregnancy and birth the way that she did due to the activity level and fitness she maintained.
• 18:25 - It’s possible to get moving again too quickly after pregnancy, when there’s literally a gaping hole in your body and you can do permanent damage to your pelvic floor.
• 21:37 - For breastfeeding, Aisha is conscious of eating her body weight in grams of protein and ounces of water, and a little more than that in carbs.
• 22:10 - Aisha is still taking a multivitamin and prenatal vitamin, along with red raspberry, vitamin C, and magnesium.
• 26:25 - Aisha was on the show Ultimate Tag on FOX and came in second.
• 30:38 - Aisha has a running stroller and is excited for her daughter to be big enough to take running.
• 31:02 - Aisha began hiking while pregnant and has taken her on hikes since she was born, in addition to sometimes wearing her while weightlifting.
• 32:55 - Aisha plans to run in the San Diego Marathon next summer.
• 34:10 - Aisha loves team sports and what kids can learn from them.
• 37:25 - She is working on training courses for pregnant women.
• 38:15 - As an everyday athlete adapting to pregnancy, Aisha realized she already had her niche.
• 40:27 - What has kept Aisha grounded is recognizing that we all have similar experiences even if we haven’t communicated them.
• 41:50 - It’s very easy to fall into the trap of comparison online.

3 Key Points:

1. Movement during pregnancy is good, but you also have to recognize your body’s new, temporary limits.
2. You can accept your body’s changes, your diet changes, and your emotional changes without guilt, while still not using them as an excuse.
3. If you open up about your experiences and struggles, you will almost always find that you’re not alone.

Tweetable Quotes: 

• “Those things would get me super anxious. I loved my life & my lifestyle & I wanted it so badly to stay the same. I was resisting that change so hard, which made it even more draining because on top of just being super emotional, now you’re fighting the experience.” –Aisha Zaza
• “I think I was able to recover the way I did because of the activity that I kept up during my pregnancy. So not only did it make me in better shape throughout my pregnancy and it helped in my recovery process, it was the biggest thing that I could do for my mind.” –Aisha Zaza
• “The full human experience is based on a spectrum of feelings, and sometimes I think that we are told that happiness is to feel, and that when we’re upset or when we’re sad, that is to fix. And that’s not to fix. That’s also to feel.” –Aisha Zaza

Resources Mentioned: 

• James: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• John: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• Email: [email protected] 
• Website: www.vitalmetabolic.com 
• Mel Robbins’ Five-Second Rule
• Aisha Zaza: Website Facebook Instagram Twitter Pinterest

On today’s episode of Vital Metabolic, hosts James Wheeler and John Parker speak with Lindsay Price, NFL cheerleader and online personal trainer. Hear about how she approaches training her all-female client base, how she balances training with being a professional dancer  and cheerleader, and her philosophy around nutrition.

Episode Highlights: 

• 1:10 - Lindsay has 17 years of dance training and has experience dancing professionally and as an NFL cheerleader alongside being an online trainer and nutrition specialist.
• 2:28 - Lindsay developed a love of weightlifting and changing her body, along with mindset and lifestyle work that intersected with personal training.
• 3:10 - She realized she could perhaps serve her clients better, and serve more clients, by moving her business online.
• 3:53 - The biggest obstacle was trusting herself to take the leap.
• 4:58 - Lindsay knew she wanted to work with women and decided to choose that niche, with an ideal client of her “old self.”
• 5:56 - When she was a teenager, she didn’t know how to diet correctly or know how to be healthy long-term.
• 7:00 - She started to feel bad, with bad gut health, hormonal changes, and more, so she transitioned into holistic healing.
• 9:04 - It isn’t about just being ripped all the time, but it’s about being healthy and sustainable.
• 9:55 - Lindsay’s nutrition recommendations to her clients aren’t especially strict because she wants them to be intuitive about their own bodies.
• 10:45 - Strict meal plans aren’t sustainable and don’t result in lifestyle changes.
• 11:45 - One of the biggest obstacles Lindsay’s clients face most often is their own mindsets.
• 13:38 - Lindsay has her clients imagine the end result of where they want to be to motivate them to propel through their own resistance.
• 15:00 - Lindsay dislikes running but loves walking and aims for about 10,000 steps/day.
• 17:34 - Most of her dance training is cardio.
• 18:27 - During the football season, Lindsay balances her personal training work by being very deliberate about taking her rest.
• 20:15 - On game day, Lindsay’s nutrition involves feeling as light as possible while still knowing how many calories she needs to perform optimally.
• 21:04 - Lindsay is strategic about her calorie intake, particularly for recovery.
• 21:28 - Lindsay doesn’t usually track her macros but eats an average of 2,000-2,400 calories and follows general strategic guidelines for things like protein and carbs.
• 23:00 - People who eat a plant-based diet have the most trouble meeting their guidelines for protein intake.
• 23:55 - Lindsay doesn’t usually suggest protein supplements, she prefers the nutrients come from whole foods.
• 26:42 - Sometimes it’s hard for people to accept that they have to eat more in order to achieve the lean muscle mass they’re looking for.
• 27:12 - It’s less about weight loss than it is about body recomposition, and it has to be addressed individually with each client.
• 32:30 - For Lindsay, it depends on accountability and knowing what your client needs.
• 34:00 - The responsibility for your success starts with who you choose as your coach.
• 35:55 - People should look for a coach who will be honest and transparent with them.
• 36:30 - The best trainers are the ones who keep it simple, aren’t overly focused on marketing, and build a business of referrals.
• 38:08 - Lindsay foresees a continued shift to online training in the wake of the pandemic.

3 Key Points:

1. Training can be less about tracking stats and more about trusting yourself and your body to intuitively understand what it needs.
2. Be sure to take your rest and to eat enough to support your body through recovery.
3. Every single person’s needs and goals are going to be different, so it’s important to know your client and tailor your recommendations to them.

Tweetable Quotes: 

• “That’s a question that you have to ask yourself. Is the risk/reward worth it? Where do you actually want to be in 5 years? And to me it’s not worth it.” –Lindsay Price
• “I just began really trusting myself, trusting my body, and I know that if I stayed consistent for so long, especially as a professional, you just know what your body  needs.” –Lindsay Price
• “It’s very hard for women to accept the fact that they have to eat more for the body they’re trying to achieve. Because oftentimes we’re told that that body means we have to be challenging ourselves & when we think of challenge, some people think of starvation.” –Lindsay Price

Resources Mentioned: 

• James: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• John: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• Email: [email protected] 
• Website: www.vitalmetabolic.com 
• “The Cost of Getting Lean” article
• Lindsay Price: Website Facebook Instagram

On today’s episode of Vital Metabolic, hosts James Wheeler and John Parker speak with Clifton Harski, trainer and Director of Education for the Pain-Free Performance Specialist Certification. Hear Cliff share his tips to help new trainers get started and build their businesses, the pros and cons of online training, and whether you should spend time on Instagram marketing.

Episode Highlights: 

• 1:10 - Clifton Harski is the Director of Education for the Pain-Free Performance Specialist certification with previous Vital Metabolic guest John Rusin.
• 3:29 - Cliff’s business has been going well; he’s been working on the curriculum for the PPSC full-time and training their presenters to do the presentations.
• 4:16 - The business Cliff was previously a part owner of prior to COVID had to close.
• 7:35 - If Cliff was a new trainer starting right now, he would split his time between personal training and group fitness.
• 9:07 - In group training, you need to be able to fix someone’s form and come up with a solution very quickly, and that experience can be really helpful in one-on-one training. It also allows you to see many more and a wider range of people.
• 11:05 - You can also use the group setting to get to know people and develop them into higher paying 1-on-1 clients.
• 12:55 - A lot of marketing wisdom will tell you to hyper-specialize, but it’s better for a trainer to have range and be more general in your approach until opportunities to focus more present itself.
• 16:55 - You need to define what an “online trainer” means to you and your business; do you provide a program as a workout provider, or are you actually actively training people, providing feedback and coaching?
• 18:40 - Clifton did online training in 2012-2013, and started every client on the same 4 week program where the workouts were done live so he could see how the person moved before providing coaching and moving into the next phase of the training.
• 23:00 - Whether you’re doing online coaching, 1-on-1, small group, or large group training, you need to have a realistic expectation of deliverables.
• 25:35 - There are some Facebook groups that do reviews of the potentially shady social marketers claiming they can grow your following.
• 28:30 - People are so grateful for follow-up after a session.
• 30:10 - Go experience other facilities and other trainers and see how they do things, so you can generate ideas of what would be useful to apply to your own business.
• 32:13 - Set the expectation with your clients that you will be punctual, so you expect them to be too.
• 33:15 - Meet your client where they’re at in terms of communication; a millennial may prefer to text, but a client in their 70s may only want to use phone calls.
• 34:15 - Cliff predicts that after COVID, there is going to be a consolidation of who’s offering what; whatever businesses survive this are going to end up thriving.
• 35:20 - Convenience is the biggest factor in getting clients.
• 36:20 - Technology is catching up to allow virtual training to become so customized that it will begin to rival in-person training.
• 40:15 - Some trainers are even offering at-home gym designs, helping people build their own gym space.
• 41:05 - Instagram trainers give potential clients a false expectation.
• 42:00 - A lot of people who seem successful on Instagram actually aren’t, because they may have a lot of followers but they have very low engagement.
• 44:10 - Social media is saturated with trainers, and it’s likely time to start exploring other business models like a referral system.
• 46:00 - Decide if investing in Instagram is actually worthwhile to your business or if it is just going to feed your ego.
• 46:35 - Two examples of good Instagram use are John [last name?] and Kyle Dobbs because they both provide actionable, educational content.
• 48:23 - Think about the aspects of social media that you like, and start there with your content.
• 50:55 - PPSC is hoping to dominate the in-person education space.
• 51:35 - In 2021, they have an aggressive schedule of 10 events per month.

3 Key Points:

1. New trainers should gain the broad experience of group fitness classes so that they can see a large volume of people.
2. Don’t implicitly trust shiny Instagram business coaches and marketers; instead, experience other facilities and trainers firsthand to see what ideas it gives you.
3. Drive your Instagram strategy from what you enjoy about social media.

Tweetable Quotes: 

• “If you are only doing 1-on-1s, that can be extraordinarily tiring. You’ve got to be the energy guy that brings them up the entire time, whereas with group, oftentimes the group can give you energy as the instructor and you feed off of it.” –Clifton Harski
• “The benefit for a lot of people with online training is that it’s lower cost for consumers. They pay less for it. But if you’re doing true coaching, it might cost you more of your time, which as a trainer means we should be charging even more.” –Clifton Harski
• “The #1 determiner of if someone signs up for you is convenience.” –Clifton Harski
• “Find the positives with the social media so that you can be consistent in your messaging, that you can help more people and the people will come to you.” –John Parker

Resources Mentioned: 

• James: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• John: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• Email: [email protected] 
• Website: www.vitalmetabolic.com 
• Pain-Free Performance Specialist Certification: Website
• Clifton Harski: Website Facebook Instagram Twitter 
• John Rusin: Instagram
• Kyle Dobbs: Instagram

On today’s episode of Vital Metabolic, hosts James Wheeler and John Parker speak with Natalia, known as the Qigong Lady. Hear about the benefits of a qigong practice, both on its own and as a complementary practice to other forms of fitness. Learn about how Natalia discovered qigong, why the practice isn’t for everyone, and how you can get started.

Episode Highlights: 

• 1:49 - Natalia is originally from Russia and now lives in Abu Dhabi after traveling around quite a lot.
• 2:40 - Natalia began her qigong practice when she was living in Thailand.
• 3:06 - She was curious about tai-chi, energy practices, and spirituality, but she had trouble finding tai-chi classes and found qigong instead.
• 4:59 - With healing practices like qigong, it’s really about drawing energy into the body and controlling it, unlike strength and conditioning which is about the output of energy.
• 5:30 - Qigong is deeply spiritual and you aren’t going to build on your practice if you only focus on your body.
• 7:10 - Qigong is a broad practice that means working with energy, and there are different forms or branches that exist underneath it. Some can be considered martial arts, others healing practice, and more.
• 8:16 - Natalia practices medical qigong, in which the forms are very dynamic and are integrated into your body’s movements.
• 10:50 - Natalia uses qigong as her main fitness practice, but sometimes adds things like yoga practice; qigong complements every form.
• 13:00 - In group classes, Natalia teaches the form she studied the most, but if a private client comes to her with a specific issue, Natalia chooses the qigong forms that would be most beneficial.
• 15:16 - John has seen people doing qigong in the five minute breaks people take between weightlifting sets to balance their energy.
• 16:09 - Qigong allows you to choose what will work best for you each day.
• 17:46 - Each form of qigong uses a different style of breathing.
• 20:05 - Natalia combines individual and group classes, as well as workshops.
• 20:54 - She started with qigong somewhat later in life, as an adult, but she believes it came to her at exactly the right moment.
• 22:28 - She sees common injuries or conditions from people who come in for general qigong practice, including postural misalignments and other internal blockages.
• 23:01 - Everything in the body is connected, so an injury may not have originated in the spot where the pain is, but in a connected joint that isn’t as mobile as it should be.
• 24:00 - An injury means a blockage in energy or a break in the flow of your chi.
• 26:35 - Qigong has been growing because people are realizing they need to find alternative ways of finding flow and healing.
• 27:25 - People often have perceptions of tai-chi or qigong as being done by old people in a park, but having Natalia be a representative for it makes it more accessible.
• 28:00 - The pandemic has actually helped Natalia’s business because people suddenly had the time to dedicate to trainings and helped people realize they needed to focus more on their health.
• 30:53 - Natalia is a perfectionist and wanted to go as deep into qigong as she could as fast as she could, but she had to learn to be patient and listen to her body.
• 31:48 - It’s important not to practice to the point of fatigue every day or else you won’t have anything left for the next day.
• 33:15 - Natalia thinks the industry is doing well and wants it to reach more people, but qigong isn’t for everyone because it requires patience and dedication over a longer period of time.
• 34:00 - It’s about increasing the awareness about it and making it accessible to those who want to learn.
• 35:15 - Natalia’s practice looks different every day depending on how she feels, but the typical length of practice is 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• 36:26 - She ran online classes back in December but is running another series this month.
• 37:20 - She also offers a lot of free classes on the White Tiger Qigong Youtube channel.

3 Key Points:

1. Qigong integrates a physical practice with a mental and spiritual practice.
2. It is a broad term with many types of qigong practice, meaning it can complement any other fitness practice and can be adjusted to fit any person’s needs.
3. Natalia hopes to make qigong practice more accessible and to spread awareness.

Tweetable Quotes: 

• “Everything happens because of the intention. Because of that deep, spiritual aspect of qigong. If you just do the form and you call it qigong but you focus only on the body, you won’t be building much of qi.” –Natalia
• “Qigong is very diverse. You are taught different things in different forms and different meditations. And on a daily basis you choose what works best for you.” –Natalia
• “In our culture, we think that more is better. Especially with exercise, people run themselves into the ground until they’re no longer physically able to do that... I tell my clients that we always leave the session with a half a tank of gas left.” –John Parker

Resources Mentioned: 

• James: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• John: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• Email: [email protected] 
• Website: www.vitalmetabolic.com 
• Natalia: Website Facebook Instagram 
• White Tiger Qigong: YouTube

On today’s episode of Vital Metabolic, hosts James Wheeler and John Parker speak with Maverick of Field House. Learn about the Field House’s training philosophy, Maverick’s approaches to nutrition and recovery, and the importance of treating the people you train as students, not clients.

Episode Highlights: 

• 03:25 - Maverick of Maverick’s Field House is a US Air Force veteran. The Field House has been open since 2014, and he is a Level 1 and Level 2 and is a Kettlebell Kings rep.
• 04:42 - Maverick thinks 2020 has exposed what the fitness world is likely to become and transitioned to Zoom immediately.
• 05:30 - They had been building their online presence for the past two years which really laid the foundation for pivoting to all-online classes during COVID.
• 07:55 - Maverick started working out in middle school after getting shoved into a wall and getting a concussion.
• 09:17 - He trains with people stronger than him as motivation so he never plateaus.
• 10:15 - His CrossFit coach was the one who suggested he start using kettlebells.
• 10:50 - What is the Beast Tamer challenge?
• 13:10 - The kettlebell community provides a lot of camaraderie and support.
• 15:35 - People need to get to the point where they know their number is good enough; the point should be a life of movement rather than being sedentary.
• 17:40 - Whatever you weigh, you should be able to move a certain percentage of your body weight, depending on your goals.
• 19:45 - Maverick has Field House specific benchmark goals for clients, including the Bodyweight Complex, 25 goblet squats at half your body weight in 1 minute, and 10 snatches on each side with half body weight.
• 22:46 - There are three factors of strength that are consistent with every sport: grip strength, leg strength, and core strength.
• 24:00 - Maverick doesn’t promote working out, he promotes training; it’s a different mindset.
• 26:00 - Your body doesn’t care how you move, just move well, move often, and move with intent.
• 28:19 - Think of the people you work with as students, not clients.
• 29:24 - For recovery, Maverick thinks of the seven P’s: Prior proper planning prevents piss poor performance.
• 29:45 - Maverick uses a WHOOP wearable.
• 30:50 - He uses a grafton tool for recovery while in the shower.
• 31:30 - Maverick also uses a Marc Pro.
• 32:05 - He recommends a CBD muscle rub before training.
• 32:50 - Maverick uses netcon supplements; make sure any supplement you take is as clean as possible, with all-natural ingredients and no synthetics.
• 35:29 - All of us can do anything we want to accomplish with just a little bit of drive.
• 37:20 - Maverick eats exclusively to perform, making sure he gets enough calories to train, about 100g of protein, and he trains within his means.
• 38:40 - After watching the documentary Gamechangers about eating a plant-based diet, Maverick decided to try it. He ended up eating around 100-150g of protein a day and didn’t lose any muscle mass or strength.
• 40:20 - Maverick has always done intermittent fasting and he thinks it’s the best thing you can do.
• 41:30 - Maverick doesn’t deprive himself, but advises you to understand the consequences of what you eat and accept them. If you go to New York and don’t eat a slice of pizza, you’re a fool.
• 43:45 - The core of Maverick’s diet is to eat nutrient-dense foods.
• 47:10 - Field House will be doing a single kettlebell training program for 5 weeks online.
• 47:47 - For any programs you sign up for, the videos get sent to you personally by Maverick in order to build a coach-student relationship.
• 48:15 - There is also a 5 week calibrated strength and conditioning program.
• 49:10 - They are launching a 3 day a week monthly subscription for people who only own one single kettlebell.
• 49:51 - Field House is also launching a live online class.
• 51:30 - Maverick will be writing a book about the philosophy of the Field House.

3 Key Points:

1. Cultivate a life of movement and continuing education about fitness.
2. Eat to perform, and train within your means to aid in recovery.
3. The relationship between the trainer and student is important to prioritize.

Tweetable Quotes: 

• “If you’re trying to get strong, never lift with anybody who’s as strong as you. You’re only going to be as strong as the strongest person in the gym, and if that’s you, you’re gonna plateau.” –Maverick
• “We kind of get lost in the vision of what strength is supposed to be for every given person. I find that the universal definition of strength is that you should be able to look in the mirror, feel good about yourself, be a good husband or wife & be a useful person.” –Maverick
• “You just need to have enough calories in you to maintain the physique & structure you want. If you want to build lean muscle mass, do your data based on you because your DNA is different than anybody else in the world. What works for me is not going to work for you.” –Maverick

Resources Mentioned: 

• James: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• John: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• Email: [email protected] 
• Website: www.vitalmetabolic.com 
• Sponsor: Kettlebell Gains Apparel
• Sponsor: Great Lakes Giriya
• Sponsor: Vivo Barefoot
• Sponsor: Revive CBD
• Anti CBD muscle rub: https://iloveanti.com/product/anti-2000mg-cbd-muscle-rub/
• Maverick’s Field House website: https://mavericksfieldhouse.com/ 

On today’s episode of Vital Metabolic, hosts James Wheeler and John Parker speak with Jeremy Malecha of Biocanic. They discuss the benefits and pitfalls of collecting health and fitness data, uses for wearable trackers, the future of this technology, and more. Listen to hear about Jeremy’s health journey and where his passion for data began.

Episode Highlights: 

• 5:38 - Jeremy Malecha is the CEO and co-founder of Biocanic.
• 6:43 - Biocanic is a tool that James uses for his home coaching and personal training clients to help him design training plans.
• 7:13 - Jeremy got interested in data tracking and optimization as far back as childhood because he was fascinated by human performance.
• 9:20 - As he reached his mid-30s, he started noticing his own declining health including elevated blood sugar levels, chronic back pain, headaches, and low energy.
• 9:50 - Jeremy’s wife was training to be a functional diagnostic nutritionist and used him as a guinea pig.
• 10:37 - Jeremy used to be a runner but had to quit endurance workouts because of his back issues.
• 11:08 - He was stuck in trial and error trying to figure out what workouts, supplements, etc., would work best for him.
• 12:14 - Jeremy took the mediator release test, which tests for food sensitivities, found out he was sensitive to beef, cut it out, and lost 8% of his body fat in 30 days.
• 13:00 - The test takes multiple vials of blood and measures your immune and inflammatory response.
• 16:40 - Jeremy recommends starting with a food sensitivity test, especially for someone not working with a coach for personal guidance.
• 17:44 - He recommends doing this test even if you don’t think you’re experiencing any symptoms, because you could be unaware of sensitivities.
• 21:20 - Jeremy has also done hormone tests as a way of finding the cause for why he was resistant to weight gain and had high blood sugar.
• 23:06 - Cortisol levels are a great indicator of your overall health.
• 24:04 - Jeremy’s dutch test flagged high estrogen and issues with estrogen disposal, and was told to take dim as a supplement.
• 25:30 - Ultimately, dietary changes were more effective for Jeremy than supplements.
• 27:01 - Overall, Jeremy is primarily a carnivore with fatty fruits and some vegetables on weekends.
• 28:11 - Jeremy also took a microbiome test and had resistant h-pylori, c-diff, CIBO, low good gut flora, and other issues.
• 30:39 - John likes the data that comes from wearables but worries about people becoming orthorexic.
• 31:09 - Jeremy likes the Ora ring and notes that people need to be wary of wearables’ ability to detect sleep stages accurately. 
• 34:55 - The use for wearables for data tracking is to see if something has caused a dramatic shift in your normal rather than honing in obsessively on small details.
• 37:07 - Jeremy thinks the technology for wearables will continue to improve and get more accurate over time.
• 38:27 - A company is developing a smart toilet that can run daily urinalysis and microbiome analysis.
• 40:17 - Jeremy hopes that where this is headed is the accessibility of this data to the mass population to help inform dietary and health decisions.
• 41:20 - Biocanic is useful for monitoring lab tests, programs, supplements, and more, and lets you add your data from wearables.
• 42:19 - Integrative and functional approaches have overlap and seem similar but are different and personalized.
• 43:12 - Wearables give you accountability.
• 46:49 - Intake assessments should be shorter and easier to do, both for the client and the practitioner.
• 48:20 - Biocanic is now trying to solve more and more pain points for its users.
• 48:50 - Biocanic is also trying to compare and overlay data from multiple sources to find more correlations people might otherwise not detect.

3 Key Points:

1. Health and fitness data helps to tailor treatments and dietary plans to your specific needs.
2. Wearable technology provides accountability to those trying to stick to health plans.
3. Collecting health data is empowering more and more people to take control of their wellness.

Tweetable Quotes: 

• “I was trying to figure out what would get to my personal body composition and strength goals. It was never really effective because it was never coherent. It was that cycle of trial and error that everybody gets caught into.” –Jeremy Malecha
• “If you don’t test, you’re just guessing, you might think you’re fine with certain foods—’Oh, I feel fine’—but you really don’t know what your optimal is.” –James Wheeler
• “How do people actually get to that point where they understand that there is a difference in how much you pay for food and how it affects you, your behavior, and your overall health.” –Jeremy Malecha

Resources Mentioned: 

• James: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• John: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• Email: [email protected] 
• Sponsor: Kettlebell Gains Apparel
• Sponsor: Great Lakes Giriya
• Sponsor: Vivo Barefoot
• Sponsor: Revive CBD
• Biocanic: Website Instagram Facebook
• Mediator Release Test
• FDN Conference

On today’s episode of Vital Metabolic, hosts James Wheeler and John Parker break down the “big three” in powerlifting: The benchpress, back squat, and deadlift. Learn about variations you can do to accommodate your personal strengths or injuries and the key movements you should master.

Episode Highlights: 

• 1:10 - The Big Three in powerlifting are the three main lifts judged in a meet.
• 1:29 - The three main lifts are the back squat, deadlift, and benchpress. 
• 3:20 - What these movements have in common is compound movements, using multiple joints.
• 4:55 - Strength training should fit the person; no one movement is good or bad.
• 5:45 - Lifting is a great way to measure how strong you are getting over time.
• 6:25 - You need to take a lot of things into consideration to make sure you have good form when bench pressing to avoid injury. 
• 7:28 - Genetically, some people are going to be better at certain movements than others. 
• 8:45 - Variations to help ease shoulder injuries include doing a dumbbell bench press, including a foam roller bolster to help give you better range of motion, or pressing down to a small degree.
• 10:10 - The “landline” press is an alternative if bench pressing is painful.
• 10:30 - It’s important to develop the horizontal movement pattern necessary for bench pressing, and you can do this simply by training with push-ups.
• 12:10 - Another option is the cable pulley press, which gives you an integration from your toes to your fingers, with the whole central nervous system working together.
• 15:23 - These variations that change the angle of the press is important for maintaining shoulder health.
• 18:08 - The back squat is the “undisputed champion” of lower body training.
• 18:23 - The motion of a back squat is similar to jumping.
• 18:45 - The back squat is one of the most complex movements and it is overused.
• 19:45 - James would give a back squat to advanced athletes who are looking to build mass, but their end goal should be the starting point for how and why they do back squats.
• 20:12 - There are a lot of variables to how each individual does a back squat.
• 20:45 - James looks at a new client’s crawling pattern for coordination, their jump for power, whether they can do a pull-up for overall strength, how long they can do a passive hang from a bar to test grip, and some squatting to test mobility.
• 23:25 - James gives a box squat to a client who’s 6’6” to provide additional stability. 
• 24:40 - Leverage the eccentrics in your back squat; lighten the weight you’re lifting and focus on the tension in your lower body to work the muscle while keeping yourself safe.
• 26:20 - You’re the strongest isometrically, second strongest eccentrically, and third strongest concentrically.
• 26:55 - The barbell front squat takes some of the load off the spine and shifts it to the quads, and builds the anterior core strength.
• 28:10 - James sometimes uses wrist straps to help in front squat deadlifts for those with limited wrist extension.
• 31:10 - Low bar back squats have become popular because of power lifting as a sport.
• 32:05 - James is more of a high bar back squatter, but John prefers low bar; it depends on whether you are more hip dominant or more quad dominant.
• 35:20 - The hip hinge is the most important movement in training because it opens up the options for you once you master it.
• 36:15 - James will start a beginner with hip bridges on a bench so they can start to feel their hamstrings and glutes work.
• 40:10 - John’s main exercise for hip hinging is the single leg deadlift.
• 40:38 - The single leg deadlift allows your center of gravity to stay in line as opposed to you having to navigate around your knees, which can cause lower back issues.
• 41:57 - John took a year break from deadlifts and only did kettlebell swings.
• 42:29 - Don’t be afraid to take a break, especially if you’re developing overuse injuries.
• 42:55 - James suggests varying your workout with kettlebell front squats or heavy dumbbell front squats.
• 43:16 - 25 reps with half your body weight is a huge feat of strength for the average person and it’s a good test.
• 43:44 - The point is to do functional movement patterns that suit your body and fitness level.
• 46:32 - A key benefit of powerlifting is learning how to lift appropriately.

3 Key Points:

1. Every exercise you do should ideally be tailored to your body in order to maximize its benefit.
2. Consider your end goal when determining what exercises to focus on in your training.
3. Variation in your exercise routine is key for avoiding overuse injuries.

Tweetable Quotes: 

• “Changing the angle of presses is vital for shoulder health.” –James Wheeler
• “The back squat. I think it’s kind of the undisputed champion of lower body training.” –John Parker
• “As we start to get older, we need to figure out what’s the endgame, what’s the reward, what’s the risk?” –John Parker
• “There’s a difference between competing and health. If you’re competing in a sport, you have to benchpress, you have to back squat, you have to deadlift, because that’s a portion of your sport.” –James Wheeler

Resources Mentioned: 

• James: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• John: Facebook Instagram Twitter
• Email: [email protected] 
• Sponsor: Kettlebell Gains Apparel
• Sponsor: Great Lakes Giriya
• Sponsor: Vivo Barefoot
• Sponsor: Revive CBD