Wits & Weights | Strength & Fat Loss Over 40

This is another Q&A episode!

Today I’m answering five questions from members of the Wits & Weights Facebook community covering training, nutrition, and health.

Questions:

1. I want to build my glutes. How many times a week should I train them? Is once a week too little?
2. How would you train and coach someone differently who struggles with insulin resistance?
3. What do you think about carb cycling? Is it beneficial to load up on carbs and calories and reduce fat on the workout days (mostly before and after the heavy lifting session), and reduce carbs and calories a lot and increase fat on the non-lifting days, assuming you maintain protein and your weekly calorie deficit? I am aiming for body recomposition. Will I feel increased performance during workout and avoid metabolic adaptations?
4. Are refeeding days okay when you are in a fat loss phase? Like one day a week when you intentionally eat at maintenance as opposed to a deficit?
5. I have a client who has gastrointestinal issues from having her gallbladder removed and heard that fat intake shouldn’t be higher than 30%. The question is, how do I stay within that 30% if her body needs fat to produce hormones? She is suffering from poor digestion, falling asleep periodically and can’t sleep a full night. So I know there is a hormonal imbalance.

Episode resources:

• Join our Facebook community (FREE)

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

A few months ago, I joined Kevin McShan on his incredible and prolific podcast, Let’s Have This Conversation, and he’s returning the favor today to talk about how to thrive while living with a disability.

Kevin McShan is a graduate of St. Clair College’s Journalism, Print and New Media Program. Kevin has an extensive history of promoting employment equality for individuals with disabilities most recently, as the Job Developer and Enhanced Employer Support Facilitator with the YMCA of Windsor-Essex County. He also continues the effort of promoting inclusion for people with disabilities through his motivational speaking efforts.

Through Kevin’s experience in sports, journalism, podcasting, and advocating for those with disabilities, he brings an exciting blend of education, experience, and entertainment to the motivational speaking industry.

You'll learn all about:

• Kevin's story and how he brings seemingly unlimited energy to the world
• Advice for someone facing adversity to overcome any obstacle
• How business leaders and individuals can foster a culture of inclusion and diversity
• How to achieve equity and equality for individuals with disabilities in the workplace
• How to thrive while living with a disability
• How to stay physically active while living with a disability
• Why fitness is so important
• Unique nutritional considerations to complement fitness and lifestyle
• Kevin's advice for someone living with a disability on how to get started with fitness
• What he has learned from producing so many podcast episodes and talking with so many people

Episode resources:

• Kevin's website - kevinmcshan.com
• Find Kevin on Twitter - @McShan819
• Download the Lets Have This Conversation podcast
• Check out the Lets Have This Conversation YouTube channel
• Watch the episode on video here

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

This one is for all the men listening to the show. I am joined by my man Carl Berryman for a conversation about being a man, from fitness to communication to expressing your feelings and everything in between.

You MUST check out Carl's podcast, Inspired by Impact, where he delves into all areas of your life to apply the strategies you learn in the gym OUTSIDE the gym to be a better man.

Carl is a Personal Trainer turned Men’s Movement Advocate. He is a man who had his world crumble around him, was able to put back the pieces, and simply wants to share his strategies for success so that other men don’t have to suffer the same fate he did.

You'll learn all about:

• Carl's background from personal trainer to Men's Movement Advocate
• The concept of the Mental Muscle-Up
• Why men make up 80% of suicides
• Why women initiate 70% of divorces
• What's wrong with the fitness industry
• Why men don't know how to communicate with their partners
• Why men can't express their feelings
• What emotional intelligence means for a man
• Getting into the best shape of your life
• The importance of accountability for self and loved ones; shouldering suffering
• What Carl does for fun
• The best books for men to become better men

Episode resources:

• Find Carl on Instagram - @ignitetheimpact
• Download the Inspired by Impact podcast
• Watch the episode on video here

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

On today’s episode I am joined by Yosh Stoklosa, whom I’ve known for many years through our association with Romeo Athletics (in Enfield and Avon, Connecticut), him as a coach and trainer and myself as a long-time member.

We talked about coaching, the fitness industry, optimal health, and training, including programming and Olympic lifting.

Yosh is a Certified Sports Performance Coach and Personal Trainer at Romeo Athletics in Connecticut. Through his professional career as a Behavioral Counselor and Group Fitness Coach, Yosh learned about the importance of mental health and wellness, and now serves as a guide and mentor to others on their own fitness journey.

You'll learn all about:

• Yosh's background in fitness, coaching, and mental health
• His approach to training, programming, and coaching others
• Lessons as a Behavioral Counselor that apply to fitness / personal training
• What optimal health looks like
• The current state of the fitness industry
• Who benefits the most from hiring a coach (is it everyone?)
• Advice for someone who wants to go it alone to get started, be consistent, and find success in their training
• Top 3 priorities/tips regarding training
• How someone finds purpose (to stick with the plan / optimize their health)
• Olympic lifting (why someone would learn, benefits, why you enjoy competing)

Episode resources:

• Find Yosh on Instagram - @the_yo5h
• Find Yosh at Romeo Athletics (in Enfield and Avon, Connecticut)
• Watch the episode on video here

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

This is the first Q&A episode ever for Wits & Weights!

I'm covering four training-related questions from followers of our Facebook group (Wits & Weights) and plan to do more episodes like this to answer your questions there and on Instagram (follow me at @witsandweights), with a shoutout to you (if you want)!

And if you like this Q&A type of episode, let me know and I'll do more of them to release on Fridays between my other episodes. Just email me ([email protected]) or direct message me on Instagram.

Questions:

1. What would a solid strength training protocol for women over 40 look like?
   
   
2. Another woman over 40 here. I have been lifting with progressive overload for a year and I have not been able to progress as much as I would like. It’s not that I don’t want to go heavier; I just don’t feel safe in doing one rep, let alone 4-6. What are my options?
   
   
3. Does research show a difference between a 3-day full-body strength training schedule vs. breaking it up into a 4- or 5-day split such as Push/Core, Pull/Calves, Legs/Core, Full Body?
   
   
4. What are your recommended pre- and post-workout nutrition strategies?

Episode resources:

• Join our Facebook community (FREE) to watch future episodes LIVE (days or weeks before they come out on the podcast)

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

I was honored to speak with Alison Bladh about women’s health, particularly during menopause, to help demystify the associated affects on weight, brain and heart health, sleep, stress, and other symptoms to empower women to take control of their health.

Alison Bladh is a registered nutritional therapist and beauty therapist living in the wilds of Sweden after falling for the charms of a Viking man!

Alison worked in the health and wellness industry for over 30 years specializing in menopausal women’s health and currently runs an online clinic helping women worldwide manage the negative symptoms of menopause.

Her mission is to support her clients with individualized changes to diet, health, mindset and lifestyle so they can harness their hormones and get their confidence and sparkle back.

Alison supports busy, midlife women who are stressed, depressed, gained weight, and have lost their confidence…because all women, no matter what age, deserve to reclaim their health and feel great. Every woman has the right to feel and look amazing in midlife!

You'll learn all about:

• The spark that inspired Alison to help women get their sparkle back (her mission to help women during midlife/menopause)
• Menopause and its importance (especially regarding hormone reproduction)
• Why there is a stigma attached to menopause
• Why weight gain occurs during midlife/menopause and what can be done about it
• How someone can modify their lifestyle to manage the symptoms
• How to sleep better and manage stress
• How to improve bone health
• How to improve hair and skin
• The importance of blood sugar and how to regulate
• How to improve brain and heart health
• The story of a client who got her "sparkle" back (the steps/process)
• How all women can embrace menopause positively for a long, happy, healthy life

Episode resources:

• Alison's website for free downloads - alisonbladh.com
• Find Alison on Instagram -  @alisonbladh
• Watch the episode on video here

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

Today is a first for the show because we are doing a coaches roundtable with 5 amazing people in my inner circle—whom I would consider friends at this point—who are making an impact on peoples’ lives—both active and aspiring nutrition coaches and personal trainers.

These incredible women and men each have a unique perspective on health and fitness and agreed to come together despite being in different timezones all around the world, to share their experience and expertise to help you thrive and achieve physical self-mastery.

After all, that is the mission of this podcast and why I’m constantly looking to bring on experts who share that mission, even if we use different paths to get there.

We will be covering nutrition and training, women’s health, navigating social situations, tracking your food, endurance sports and ultra-running, how to be more consistent, and longevity, just to name a few.

You'll learn all about:

• Managing stress and "getting out of your head" to achieve your goals
• How to navigate social situations and still enjoy your lifestyle
• Setting up your environment and support structure for success
• Why tracking your food can be helpful
• Ultra-running training and fueling your endurance training and events
• Celebrate the small wins and focus on consistency more than intensity or volume
• How to "peacefully" achieve and sustain your fitness goals
• Healthy from a longevity perspective: unique health hacks
• The importance of nutrition vs. training

Episode resources:

• Find Elaine Tarbell on Facebook (mention WITSANDWEIGHTS to get a free in-person training consultation) -  https://www.facebook.com/TarbellsBarbells
• Find Michele Moe at moestronger.com (click BOOK CONSULTATION for a free strategy call)
• Find Aaron Cartridge at his website to get a free Train for Your First Ultra guide
• Find Michele Clark on Instagram - @minutri_michele 
• Find JC on Instagram - @jc_middle_man
• Watch the episode on video here

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

Prepare yourself for some deep insights about entrepreneurship, leadership, online coaching, the fitness business, mindset, and more from today’s special guest.

I am extremely excited to be joined by the amazing Lauren Tickner.

Lauren is ranked as Forbes Magazine’s #1 business coach for 2021…and a Forbes Top 10 Entrepreneur in 2020.

Lauren now works with her team at Impact School to help their clients implement systems and gain freedom in their businesses.

You'll learn all about:

• Lauren's story from content creator to online fitness coach to high-impact business coach
• Core principles for finding success with online programs
• How her fitness journey has impacted her business mentality/strategy
• How fitness and business are similar
• The value of systems and how to amplify them for business or life
• If someone loves fitness but dreads the idea of running a business
• The importance (or not) of having a niche market / unique approach / ideal client
• How someone who has a full-time job, feels overwhelmed, and wants to cut through the distractions becomes an entrepreneur
• What distinguishes an average leader from a successful / high-impact / inspiring leader
• The big mistakes people make that hold them back from success in their online business
• How a solo practitioner starts to build their team
• The value of resilience and how we embody that in practice
• How people seeking out coaching find someone authentic who they can trust

Episode resources:

• Find Lauren on Instagram -  @LaurenTickner
• Find Impact School on Instagram - @Impact_school
• Find Lauren on Facebook
• Watch the episode on video here

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

Today we are digging into shifting your mindset to achieve self-mastery and live your best life through things like identity, habits, productivity, and of course as always on this show, how those tie back to your fitness and health.

My guest is Monica Ricci. Monica has been facilitating positive change for over 20 years. She founded Catalyst Organizing, LLC in 1998, working with individuals, business owners, and business teams to help clarify priorities, achieve goals, create organization, and improve productivity.

In the world of productivity, Monica has been an author, blogger, speaker, radio host, and frequent TV guest on many local morning shows as well as Fox & Friends, CNN.com, and HGTV.

Today, she uses her experience and talents to facilitate positive change and transformation through coaching, speaking, and social media.

Monica lives a nomadic life, coaching via Zoom while traveling the country. When she isn’t moving to a new city, she enjoys strength training, cycling, baseball, rock and roll, and high-quality butter.

You'll learn all about:

• Monica's personal story and how you got interested in coaching
• Why "Day Thirteen" was pivotal
• How someone develops a skill or habit over time to create positive outcomes (the Law of Accumulation)
• The science of habit building and making progress
• Micro-stepping to create new habits
• The Exercise Myth and the right approach for someone trying to lose fat
• How identity drives behaviors
• The courage to be an outlier
• What self-mastery looks like
• The identity-to-behavior transformation
• How you help people create significant shifts in mindset

Episode resources:

• Find Monica on Instagram -  @remakingmonica
• Find Monica on Twitter - @monicaricci
• Monica's website - monicaricci.net
• Watch the episode on video here

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

Whether you're trying to lose extra weight, switch to a fat loss phase after building muscle, get lifestyle lean, or finally achieve success with your new year’s resolution, this episode will help you get there.
 
You will learn everything you need to know about fat loss so you can lose the weight and keep it off sustainably, efficiently, and in a way that actually improves how you look and feel for the long term.
 
This is NOT a “rapid weight loss” prescription. This is a “fat loss for life” approach that I use with clients that you can use on your own with a little bit of knowledge, practice, and accountability.
 
Also, I'm starting my own 12-week fat loss phase the week this episode goes live and will be adhering to these principles, so if you want to follow along and see updates of my journey, make sure to join our free Wits & Weights Facebook community. I also made a Fat Loss for Life Guide I can send you after joining the group.

Just check out the links below to join our free community or apply for one-on-one coaching. Enjoy the episode!

You'll learn all about:

• The 3 principles that make fat loss possible, easier, and maintainable
• The most important behavior to maintain muscle during fat loss
• Which macro is the "body composition" macro and how much you need
• What data to collect to maximize your results and consistency
• What to do before you actually start a calorie deficit
• How fast you can and should lose weight
• The most important consideration when selecting foods during a fat loss phase
• The easiest way to boost your metabolism during fat loss
• What you're doing TOO MUCH of, and what to do instead
• The simplest way to reduce overall stress and also belly fat!
• How to avoid diet fatigue

Episode resources:

• Download the Fat Loss for Life guide that goes with this episode by joining the Wits & Weights Facebook community
• Download the MacroFactor app (use affiliate code WITSANDWEIGHTS to extend your trial by an extra week)
• Join our Facebook community if you'd rather watch the video

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏