 Welcome to Mind Pump. We are the top fitness and health podcast right on the top in the world now In this episode we answer fitness and health questions asked by listeners like you and in the beginning of the episode We talk about current events Scientific studies and we have general fun conversation Here's what went on in today's episode of Mind Pump. We start out by talking about colossal poops There was a man that was all backed up and lost Feeling in his legs. So we had fun talking about that. Yeah, then I talked about massage guns and How they may actually cause some problems there was somebody that I talked to that had to get treated for Rabdo. Hey, bro. You're doing it wrong because they went crazy with it Then Adam talked about how he uses his chili bat pad to give him better sleep now What's a chili pad? Okay, so these are pads that go on top of your bed They use water to cool or warm up your bed They make nice white sound so it helps you sleep and you can adjust the temperature of your bed through your phone You actually have two sides on some of these as well So if you have a spouse that likes a warm will save your marriage. Oh, it's great If you like yours cool, you can do that and again, it's water cold. So there's no emf There's no electricity in the pad itself Ladies and gentlemen, this thing is a game is total game changer They work exceptionally well to improve your sleep and because you're an awesome person you listen to mine pump You get a massive discount. In fact, you can get up to 25% off some of their products Here's what you do go to chili technology that C H I Technology comm forward slash mine pump. There's gonna be a code right on the page for your exclusive mine pump discount Then I talked about how oral health is important for heart health Believe it or not, we talked about a company who's making protein from thin air I know it sounds crazy, but it's sounds like magic Justin brought up a new product called the rubby That is it sounds wait for it I talked about electronics and Secondhand screen time believe it or not they're calling something now second hand screen time for children We talked about Airbnb and their new surveillance products to prevent people from ruining homes that they rent And then I talked about magic mushrooms and how they may be used for Marriage therapy far out man Then we got into the fitness questions. The first question was what exercises should you include into your routine to? Flatten your midsection So if you're interested in getting a flatter midsection a better-looking midsection listen to that part of the episode I wanted to look like my earth the next question this person says what are some of the best? supplemental exercises for increasing my strength in the squat the Deadlift the bench press and the overhead press otherwise known as the big four So we talked about strategies to get yourself stronger at those very very important exercises The next question was what are some ways to improve the mind muscle connection? So you might hear us talk about that every once in a while Basically, that means are you able to feel the target muscle you're trying to work in the gym? Because that actually can greatly improve your success So we talked about strategies in that part of the episode and then the final question this person says look I want to squat deeper, but I can't I can't break parallel What can I do? So we give them some advice on how they can get a deeper squat also one day left one day left This is the final day for the 50% off maps split Super sale so map split is the bodybuilding physique competitor bikini competitor body sculpting Workout program it is advanced it's six days a week in the gym But boy does it get people results the before and afters that people are sending us right now are pretty mind-blowing Again, it's advanced, but it is expertly programmed Workout program complete with workout videos exercise blueprints essentially. We're instructing you Throughout the whole work out in your house again. It's 50% off half off Here's how you take advantage of this huge sale that ends in one day go to maps split.com. That's MAPS SPL it calm and use the code split 50. That's SPL it five zero no space for the discount After watching the uh, the old clips of us. I'm really nervous About us even today Because I I think we I thought I was pretty good back then You know say hey, don't fuck with your self confidence. That's the only thing we have dude So that's what makes us special Oh, that's what makes us special dude. It's really There I am okay. We've got we've got video of um Cellucor, we've got the the bfr video That you did with me sal or I did with you whatever God, I look like a fucking statue You're just not moving. Yeah Katrina was making fun of me. I was like, hey take it easy like it's not like I'm you don't You know, I'm gonna defend I'm gonna defend all the bros out there that look like that. Okay I'm not actively doing that Okay, I'm just jack. I'm just fucking so jacked that I'm I'm tight everyone Yeah, just tight when you're when you're that jack the muscles just you can't throw a ball They're flexed all the time or wipe your ass. There's just that you don't have to yeah I'm flexed all the time you get some you get people to do it for you Excuse me. Yeah, but you know what so jack what a different perspective for help me I'm watching it now. It's like now you're loose like an old dad, you know So I'm going like and I look at it and I go fuck. What a douche You know, I'm like god damn. That's what everybody says when they probably we gotta be easy. Come on. We had no Media experience. Yeah, what so ever? So I think we did okay. I didn't even want to watch that video. I watched like two seconds. I'm like, no No, you know, thank you. I just got interviewed actually you and Doug got more handsome Yeah, your grill was fucked up. I didn't realize how fucked up your grill was hard I was like captain gangles I was just like god damn dude Oh, jeez. I mean Justin's way more handsome. I'm still, you know, slaying I was like I was like I had like a Toyota Tercel and I was still getting chicks This is a 99 I'm talking about five years ago guy Slide of hand hey, can you help me find my kid? No, you know what so we had no me at someone interviewed me this morning and asked asked about you know When we started I said we had zero Media experience were terrible. We just we knew how to communicate fitness really well because we'd been doing it for for decades That's basically it. But when I looked at that video, I don't know bro. I feel like Adam and I stepped into a uh a time accelerating vortex. Yes, he did. Wow. It was almost like, uh, You know, uh, Indiana Jones the last crusade But he touches the wrong one he drinks the wrong cup and he's Whoa, he just gets really old and like perishes every 80s movie that has like a yeah that has some clay morphing thing It turns into a skull. I swear dude. It's like dog ears. It's like what's going on I feel like I feel like it's perfect for like a uh like a divorce attorney commercial or like a or like a low testosterone Need testosterone Need a divorce lawyer. Hey, this is what can happen if you have good exercise good nutrition But you get divorced Weathers you a bit Just a little bit. Yeah, dude, whatever. I don't care. You guys just keep that body tight. I don't care That's all matters. I'm wiser. You know what though? I tell you what Doug man, I so we bro. He's a vampire. We're gonna figure this out soon Not only did he look 10 15 years. We're gonna figure this out. Yeah, not the unaging eagle Yeah, not only did he look handsome Back then but also the way he spoke like He did this intro for us at orange theory, which was hilarious our first uh He has the first live event. I think so he watched that video and then you watched a bunch of other old videos Yeah, but I couldn't watch them all the way through like just the first five minutes Wow, like I was just in fact the the orange theory when I watched the longest because I was I was actually watching Doug. I wanted to see because as soon as we came out I was like, oh god turned it off right away. I was like, this is really bad You had your guitar out and everything. Yeah. Hey guys. Listen. It's a campfire Yeah, what a dork. We were a traveling show or some show. It was really bad. Yeah, it was really bad Might as well be a band. I was like trying to get we get up there We we we come out to like some uh the bull's anthem, right? For the whose idea was that? Yeah, that was mine We're all hyped and shit, you know, and then try high-fiving each other up there like missing each other's hands Breakaway pants We're here. You know what don't Okay, here's the the strength that we have I'm gonna call it out right now Is that we think we're awesome? Yeah, that's gonna ruin and we don't give a fuck if you look if you because we think we're awesome But if you keep looking back like that, we're gonna you're gonna realize That you're not awesome and that'll ruin everything. That's what I mean. It ruins the mystique Yeah, I got a nice stop watching I stopped watching I but back to my point with Doug Doug present presented us really well Yeah, Doug's Doug's I felt like he was uh, we looked nervous as fuck. We are all over the place, but Doug was Doug can work a room. He was he was calm. He was calculated from the days when he used to dj at the strip club That's where he learned how to talk Jasmine's up next. Cinnamon coming out right here. Alexis coming up to the stage Get your ones out Oh, yeah Just ruined Everybody Hey, we got uh, we got new bathrooms. Oh, I know I just used it. Please don't fuck it up. Justin. Hey, I'm so scared of that Well, right now. So here's a deal Doug and I go back back there to use the bathroom Doug's like wow already somebody greased up the sides, but appear but it wasn't yeah, it wasn't my uh Tracks, it was it wasn't just it because Justin you're on the you're eating carnival right now I am yeah, so I'm like shitting little pellets. Yeah, I feel like I look reindeer Sitting on there It's really Emasculating now does it stay okay? Uh, let's talk about your poop for a second. Yeah Does it it's in his story? Yeah, my pup Justin Just kidding. I should does it uh, really though Does it does your poop your stools stay like that for the entire time you're eating or is it just like during the transition? Yeah, I I don't really remember so I'll find out. I'll keep you posted You can't remember if you had as as weird as you shit. You couldn't remember Well, it wasn't it wasn't like the big greasy ones like normal. So yeah, it must be like that. Well, there's no fiber There's no very little bulk. Yeah, it's very compact. Yeah. Now. Is it a clean break? You know what I mean by that? Yeah, like you got do you know? Yeah, there's no. Oh god. We don't even go that much It's important sounds asking. Yeah, you blame him. Well, there's no bulk So I would imagine when you go to the bathroom It's just the very little bit of meat that you didn't and I'm done really. Yeah, and it's less frequent too, right? That's what I heard twice I've also heard that when people start carnivore that they get initially they get uh explosive diarrhea Yeah, that's what happened a rogan. Yeah, I've heard that too But not you you go straight you go straight to pebble me and meet, you know, we've got a good past Dude, you just reminded me of something Doug. Can you pull up that uh picture? I want you guys to look at a picture of what and I want you well You have to guess what this is it's a it's an MRI image Okay, so he's gonna he's gonna pull it up for us. This is a joke. No, no, no This is a real where people need to watch our youtube version of this podcast Okay, so there that that right there is an MRI image So I'll give you I'll tell you the context just a little bit to give you an idea That is the that is their midsection a baby Like a weird baby like a seal. Okay, so you see that big dark mass In the middle of the hole. Okay, so scroll scroll down so they could read the title of this article Keep going there it is man loses feeling in his legs and nearly dies Due to colossal poop. Whoa. That's a giant poop. Yes, dude. Oh my god. So apparently there was a man who had Something happened an obstruction or something and was constipated. We should read the article see how long They get it out That's um, how do they get that out? I think they had to surgically Remove that one. No Yeah, there's surgically removed poop like break it up. Yeah, you can't show things up there You can't just vacuum that shit out. Um, I don't know. You know what you might be right though Adam because I don't think it's a good idea to cut into Uh poop because that could cause some serious problems, right? Right, but what does it say Doug? Does it say what the deal was? Oh, here you go. I'm gonna read a little bit Doctors in Australia have intervened after a man became so constipated His fecal matter gave him paralysis in one of his legs. Oh my god. How many days do you go of not pooping before this? So it's a 53 year old man Yeah, and he took himself to the emergency room with abdominal pain. You're too old for that after 27 days of not shitting No, that had been building for three days. That's it. I know that's weird. What three days Yeah, that seems short that seems that seems very that's really short because don't they tell you that's not even that big of a Deal till it starts hitting him about it took out two liters A poop. Wow. What the hell is this guy eating two liters? That's not that abnormal That's the signs of bottle that's almost that that's three liters right there Now is this urban legend because I've actually heard that somebody had this kind of issue It actually backed up so far that it went like back up to the throat. Yeah, no to the mouth No, it's they can taste their poop. That's like that's a south park episode Yeah, I know right I know but like it I heard that really happened to somebody really. Yeah, that can't happen Well, so I mean, okay, so this this can cause big problems, right? Like there was one lady that I I didn't know her but I knew a lady that knew this person Who used the waste trainer? So we've talked about this on the podcast Yeah, no, I've heard of this and and waste trainers are terrible right the atrophy the muscles of the core They don't they're just terrible. Anyway, she had on a waste trainer to make her waste smaller and it caused blockage in Her digestive system actually caused some big problems man. Well, what did you bring up there Doug? Teenage girl dies from heart attack after not going to the toilet for eight weeks. Wow Wow Phobia of toilets dangerous. Oh, she had a phobia of toilets Pooping the in the shower or something. I don't know kept it in actually there was an article I just read did you guys know that I think it was one out of three. So they just huge survey And one out of 30 people on the survey admitted to pooping in the shower One out of 30. Why yes, I don't know. Was it okay now. Where was this study? Yeah, what country what country? Yeah, there's certain cultures that that's acceptable. Where is it acceptable to poop in the shower, Justin? It is I swear, how do you know? Because I've heard this on podcast. I've heard people actually talk all about this Is a thing but mainly in like look at that like like what countries approve shitting in the shower Not like the real metropolitan parts. Really? Yeah, why that doesn't make any sense because it's like, I don't know It's just a hole. It's like a hole. Uh, yeah, I've seen I mean if you know when you manage gyms, you see that We've seen it. Yeah, the gyms. He's different though. I mean, I agree. I'm with you I would never shit in the shower. No, no, that's gross. Yeah. That's terrible Anyway, no, it's not me for that. Didn't know that. Hey, here's another cool message. We're going to move off the poop topic here Yeah, we should have been lost. I could at least So, uh, you know, we were talking about uh, the massage guns and you know How people asking us what their effectiveness is or whatever. Yeah So I was talking to somebody who is uh, somebody DM me who is an ER doctor and said that they've actually had to treat Somebody who used a massage gun so intensely That it gave them a rhabdo rhabdomyolysis. No way. Muscle damage. Mm-hmm What? Yeah, so how much do you have to use that to get that? Well, it can happen with massage, too Right, you can get such you ever seen those those those body work specialists I'll put in quote air quotes or they rake you or and they just bruise their shit out of you It was supposed to be beneficial. No, dude. That's it's too expensive. That's just way too excessive You're causing damage, but anyway, apparently this person told me that Somebody came in they were feeling terrible really really sore And it was from the massage gun that they had pounded their muscles so much It was it was causing breakdown and damage and they had to get treated for rhabdo leave it to crossfit You're gonna take a simple tool like that and just fuck it up. Why you always blame me? Saying they're they're notorious for that Although I would like to know what the person was doing exercise wise before because I would think that that could that has something to do with it, too No, um, that's a good question. I should ask them Yeah But they said that it was that when they wrote up the report or whatever it was due to the massage gun Because that's so weird to me that those I mean, they're they're somewhat intense But I mean I've had a deep tissue massage that you could never use a gun to get that deep before I mean, they're just driving that elbow into you or you know That that gun couldn't put that much pressure if you tried you'd break the damn gun It's have you ever had a deep tissue massage to where you're just you're gripping the table. Oh, yeah Yeah, well, oh, I actually like I like that because what happens a lady walk on me. It was yeah, it's crazy Really? Yeah, I don't like you do a tie like one of those time massage. Yeah I'm not at my pool. I mean Katrina likes the tie massage Yeah, her her her favorite person to go to is a tie massage and she's had me do it that I don't like I don't like it where it's so painful that the entire time I'm clenching But I do like enough to where it, you know When you first dig into like my it or my hips at all right and I feel that a piriformis that initial like But then afterwards you feel the release Nothing makes me more relaxed than that like the initial like oh, it's roughing in there It's just like on a foam roll right when you foam roll an area. That's really bad It hurts at first, but you know you spend 10 15 minutes on that area I mean it feels amazing after you do it the release is is incredible Yeah, I used to have I used to get really bad Tennis elbow from doing jiu-jitsu from all the gripping And I would have to warm up and stretch and ice and after a while was like really a big pain in the ass So I went to I had a body work specialist in my studio And she's like let me work on your forearms She worked on my forearms just my forearms for an hour and a half So I sat down and the way she did it was I sat down In a chair and put my arms up on the massage bed And she just did she just crushed them the craze but the crazy knife now while she was doing it I was thinking to myself This is not this is not right. This hurts. Yeah, I don't I'm probably gonna feel worse You know, but she rented space in my studio. So it was savings. Let her do it. Yeah Gone I had no more tennis elbow one session. I mean it's only gone and a good therapist is like a good trainer I mean like I know how to apply Like you guys you guys have the ability to You know and I like to think I do too when we're training a client You can do matter if it's the first time even you you meeting them you you pick up on signs Right, you can see the way they're moving their face the way they're breathing Like I mean seeing right, you know, how much how much intensity that you need to apply to have an effective workout So if you're trying to be a hard ass, you're just like I'm not gonna say anything. Yeah It's not a good idea But a massage therapist should be able to do the same thing They should be able to you know rub your body and then look and feel how you're Responding to it and know exactly how to and that's when you to me That's when you know, you've got a really good one is when they do that when you feel incredible relief But you're either one not crippling sore from from it or To you didn't feel anything at all because there's to me That's the worst is like I can't do like a sweetest Masha's where it's like so light or someone's like petting you for an hour Yeah, that's like that. I don't have to have a petting in there Yeah, is there a part of your body that you don't like to get massaged? Yeah my traps my armpits wait, that's hold on Let's we got to go back for you. You don't like your traps. Mm-hmm That's the most like so well, I don't like my traps So when I go in I have like like I obviously have got a massage therapist for a girl, right? So she's she's been rubbing me for fucking 10 years now So I I have like I go in and I have very specific instructions for massage therapists. Like I want you to start here I want this is where I like heavy pressure Yeah Still professional But the the only time or the only place I ask for them to go lighter is on my traps sensitive there. Yeah, I'm just sensitive there Everywhere else. I can I can I can handle really heavy really heavy pressure. That's weird. That's the one I love getting my traps Katrina can't handle her legs She's like she she can get you can go super hard and heavy on her upper body traps And but do you touch her legs like that? She's so sensitive. Huh, and you said armpits. Were you serious about that? I'm serious. That's happened to me before like they started venturing inside, you know, like inside My arm like under my arm and like like they started the chest and kind of kept going Hey, what did this sign on the outside say? What are you doing? Yeah? Yeah, I don't know what it said on the outside But I know that I didn't like that and so I was like, oh no, no actually that's the one time I was like, uh-uh, you know, I gave him the Now was it was a ticklish I mean it I don't like it. Oh, you just don't like it. Yeah, it was like It was just uncomfortable. I don't think I've ever had my armpit massage Really when they go up into the pack up in the up there or my pack? But then they kept their fingers kept venturing, you know, like a little further and then okay The other spot is the bottom of my foot because I had I had surgery and everything like on one foot I didn't know this. Yeah. So I stepped on a nail when I was a kid Oh, yeah, that's right and then uh It it it healed up and then it got like, uh, this this crazy Bacteria in there that was like flesh eating and like it my whole leg was like, you know, infected And so I had to like drain it for 10 days or anyways It was like traumatic for me as a kid And I still have scars from where they had to drain it and everything and so every time they get close to that I'm like, yo It sends weird Katrina claims that she can tell everything that I need By starting on my feet. So she starts on my feet and based off of your feet. So that I forget what practice this is But she can tell left side right side all my problems by just rubbing my feet for the first five minutes Wow Yeah, so so when you come home, I always tell her it's black magic and it's bullshit I'll just say you come home from a night with the boys. So let me rub your feet like now Totally. No, why? Yeah, totally Who you talking to wait a minute. Yeah, you're pinky too. Who's Karen? I hate my feet getting massaged can't do it I will I will jump off the bed on like just instinctually because it's so ticklish my feet. Oh, yeah There's so Katrina would say this is you have so many skeletons in your closet. Is that why? Yeah, because they're really ticklish Get out of here My feet are ticklish. Yeah, tell texer. No, I don't like my feet rub. Uh, adam says that they're gonna randomly texture that Hey, hey, my feet. I like them get rubbed. What does that mean? Does that mean she should just get it back? Oh, that's how you can get back from her. Oh A lot of that means something when I was a kid. I used to you know what it is I used to hate being barefoot and I never was barefoot. I think that fucked everything up now Yeah, I mean super sensitive. Yeah, I just stupid now. So I was a kid I don't like to run to the grass barefoot. My dad gets so pissed off. You try and force me Yeah, maybe that's why I'm traumatized. Yeah, you know talk about being comfortable trauma I uh, I restarted up my uh, my chili pad. So I had to switch back Beds here because I've been transitioning back and forth. It's like one night. I get to sleep in My own bed and then one night I'm back on the on the you know spare room And I tell you what it'd been a little while. It's probably been a couple weeks I think that I because it's I'm pretty consistent with using it And I can feel now that you know, it's always anything anything that I Do consistently for a while after a while you kind of feel like, you know, oh, is it making that big of a difference? Oh, I don't know. You just don't really think about stop using stop using something, you know And this goes this applies for almost everything, right? You stop doing it for a while and then reintroduce it back in I did the same thing with my my Felix crazy other day same both of these You know, I I would love to be say that I'm 100 consistent all the time But reality is that sometimes I can't find them when I put them somewhere else or whatever forget about it Get lazy about it. Same thing goes with the chili pad. Like I just hadn't we had been back and forth with the bedroom thing We only have it on one bed Wasn't like I'm gonna undo the whole thing and switch it every fucking time. So it's like I hadn't used it Use it the other night and I swear to god and you're cool. You're cold. You always put it Yeah, I like it really I like it really So I like it really cold and then I like to be bundled up I feel like that makes me I sleep like a baby It does my my brother now has been using it for a while with his with his girlfriend and He he like swears, but he's like the best salesperson of all time I know this what you said last oh, it's uh He raves about it, but he does the same thing he puts it on freezing cold And he noticed the same thing that I did is he says he wakes up less stiff So I I'm I I'm gonna do some research into how The temperature body temperature or the temperature that you sleep in affects Inflammation because I noticed the same thing if I And now I don't put it as cold as you guys do and you guys put it like a I go all the bottom sub zero But but the way I like in mine is like, you know when you're in bed and it's a little warm A little too warm and then you move your leg over to the cool side of the bed Yeah, or the cool side of the pillow. That's how it always feels it always feels like that So I got something weird for you that I notice and so I I have allergies And when it gets really hot and and kind of like mugging the house I just have a hard time breathing and when I'm really really cool what I notice is it it helps my breathing Probably because it constricts the vessels in the no, I don't know It's just it's totally something that I notice and I think that has a lot to do with how well I'm sleeping Now, maybe it's the ac Because it's recirculating and clearing The air is that do you think that's what it is or is it just generally cold? Yeah, no, no, no when when I use when I use the chili pad Oh, just that yeah when it's really cold like so the the house temperature stays about the same Katrina has her she won't let it right now with the baby and so with that she was losing all kinds of control Can ask her to work out The temperature that's fired Oh You put me out of my misery dude This guy don't even have a kid with her right now. He's got to do that. Wait till he's got a kid with her No, I've been sleeping with the window open because the same thing I need it cold and all that But like Courtney's been freezing her ass off and so I should I got to fire it back up again that chili pad That's definitely one of those things where it's like you can Isolate it so it's on my side, you know, and then she doesn't get affected by it But I'm just like dude I get so much better sleep if it's that cold air She does it warm when you do it cold on your side Because that mean you guys don't like hug or anything when you go to hell. No like she's got her space Like we almost have like a wall between us. I mean that's just how it is. Oh, dude. I gotta tell you guys so I've talked about this. I talked about this a long time ago on the podcast that one of the Risk factors believe it or not one of the ricks risk factors for heart disease Is a poor dental and gum health. I've told you guys this right? Yeah, so the When people have bad gum health or whatever Bacteria travels through the bloodstream through the gums And goes to the heart and causes inflammation and and it's a strong connection. It's actually a big deal So this one company came out with this this toothpaste That will uh color your your plaque So you'll you'll use it and it'll show you where the plaque is So that you can brush specifically Where you got black light and everything no, it just shows up It just shows up right there and they use it in a study and they found that people who used it Had had lower risk of heart disease Interesting because they were able to maintain better oral health Um, and then I also talked about how in the past and I read another article on this that Uh things like food intolerances and whatnot might you might actually start those through bad oral health because you're eating food If you have gums that bleed or whatever You know how uh like leaky gut syndrome could cause food intolerances because food part of the Oh wow so getting into your bloodstream because you have sensitive gums right so then then you develop antibodies and now you have Is there any is there anything around that like is there any proof to that they have studies that they really yeah Yeah, yeah, they do that's interesting. Yeah, the heart disease one now. We've known for a little while So uh like gum and tooth health is a big deal for your heart It might even be for the brain Because of all the things that enter into your mouth now I've I've heard conflicting things though on this like on even like flossing and because Obviously we didn't evolve brushing our teeth twice a day flossing every single day, you know thousands of years ago So our diets changed dramatically. Okay, so that's so that's a good point with sugars and things like that and sugar and grains Okay, a lot more grains that makes sense then um, and so and now why it is sugars and grains They they encourage the growth of certain bacteria in the mouth. That's why sugar contributes to to to Yeah, that a lot of people have been making moves to take out their feelings because of like some type of metal or things Oh, you mean the mercury feelings. Yeah. Oh, yeah, that's been around dude If you get if you have mercury feelings, they don't give you mercury feelings anymore But if you have them from a while ago and you want to get them removed you have to go to like a special Dentist that can remove them because of If the aerosol that it can produce or if it if it gets anywhere else can cause big big problems So it's like a big deal if you have mercury feelings and you go to the dentist They they are there's special dentists that will remove was that the only uh metal silver Look at in substance because like I've seen other feelings that like it looked like they put some kind of metal in there Uh, wasn't mercury gold Sure, gold fronts or whatever Anyway, so here's something crazy that may or may not impact I'm gonna pull up the article because uh, it's it was really fascinating to me May or may not impact uh, the fitness space. I think it I don't know. We'll see. We'll see what it does, but their scientists were able to make protein out of thin air What? Yeah, like manna. No, this is crazy this guy. So so no no no check this out So this company uses CO2 water and electricity And apparently it produces this high protein flour like ingredient That contains 50 protein 5 to 10 fat and 20 to 25 carbs Apparently it looks and tastes like wheat flour. It's really interesting. It's a carbon neutral It's carbon neutral. So it's like good for the environment And it's this process that they so what they do is they Extract CO2 from the air using carbon capture technology Then they combine it with water nutrients and vitamins and then they use Renewable solar energy and it makes this this is from the ancient aliens episode I remember them trying to theorize that the Ark of the Covenant was some kind of like crazy machine and then You know, and that's what they're able to then use to spray the stuff up in the air and create manna and all this kind of stuff There's always wacky ideas. I love that show by the way. Yeah, but anyway, how interesting is this right? So it's really interesting Yeah, so they're making literally this this how expensive is the process. Do you know, um, that's a good question I don't know. Um, but because it's uh, so it's only a hundred thousand dollars to make 50 grams of protein Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, but it's carbon. Yeah, everybody would be broke. You can't afford it But we're not gonna make any, you know any carbon No, I found that very fascinating except that they they can make this protein like substance from through that process But it's like a flower. Yeah, so theoretically you could add now. Here's the thing with protein. What's the quality? Yeah, you know, is it good protein? Or is it, you know, like the quality going to be bad to where you have to consume a ton of it Just to get the same effects that you would get from something like, you know, like whey or whatever I saw a pretty cool technology that uh, I don't know if it's on Kickstarter. They actually are in production yet But the name pretty much sucks, but it's called like rubby So r u b I think um, but it's it's an attachment for your bike That's uh, it's a motor. It's like an electric motor for your bike that you could just attach to like underneath your seat on the pole And then this this wheel Goes on top of your wheel and then we'll power we'll power it once you start pedaling it turns it into an electric bike Oh, I'm getting so lazy. I know right? It's so it's so funny I was just having this conversation with my son today on the on the way to school We're talking and it's you know, it's warming up and everything. I'm like, dude. We should We should get some bikes. Let's get some bikes. Uh, so we can ride around. He's like, yeah, let's get electric bikes I'm like, you know, I'm pushing out of the car I know dude. What are we gonna cruise around on electric bikes? Like how lazy to Yeah, they have those like electric skateboards now too. It's like and they got the one with the big You've seen those with the huge wheel in the middle and then yeah, dude people are getting that does look kind of cool Dude, so it's fun though. So I noticed a huge effect on my kids because this week. Oh, there it is right there That looks pretty cool. So, uh, this week like a dust buster because my it is kind of cool though Actually, my kid got in trouble. So we took away electronics and he can't do homework In his room. So he has to hang out with all of us And the first day there was you could see with the prison. Yeah, but the first day you could see withdrawal He kind of not unhappy whatever wanted to go to bed early probably just to get the day over with or whatever But the past few days so two days in We've all been hanging out having good conversation Different attitude different mood And it's man, it makes a big difference dude. Don't you guys notice on yourself? Yeah I always notice a big difference. Yesterday was a good example of this. Yesterday. I was It was a long day I was I started my day really early and I was sucked into a bunch of business stuff And carried into coming home two big things. I noticed And max now is already at that age. We recognize he 100% You like picks up on if I'm looking at my phone I can totally I can totally see that I he notices that I'm not like engaged in him It's super obvious. They actually call that second hand screen time I literally just read an article on this really. Yes, and they're finding that Kids are getting primed to use electronics By watching their parents be on the electronics as babies So when you're on it and your babies with your your kids with you It they're being primed to look at these things their brains are getting wired Potentially wired dude. It's it was around them. So I think I before I mean before max came I talked about how important like the tv screen time for me and how I was going to really monitor that And I like I'd like to think that I did I've done a really good job so far So so well that there's been a handful of times though where I haven't we're like yesterday. I'm admitting that Um, I just was working like crazy. I came in the door. I was still on my phone still working Uh, Katrina was trying to do the dishes. She asked if I would take him real quick So with no hesitation I just grabbed him put him over in his jumper and I was sitting in front of his jumper with him And I had my phone. I was still responding to an email And you I caught a moment where he was looking at me trying to get my attention And he was kind of fussing and he's just such a happy baby He doesn't really fuss that much and you could tell and as soon as I said I like caught myself Put it down off to the side and re-engaged with him And he was like all happy and playful right away. I was like, fuck and that's happened probably I would say four or five times since I've had him where I've caught myself In in those moments and every time I can tell that he can totally tell that I'm engaged with him Or I'm not you know what the challenge as a parent is I'm going to be 100 honest the challenge with the parent is it requires you to do more Shit with your kids It requires you to be up and more active because when you have electronics The kids go on their electronics on their tablet or tv or whatever And you get to relax and you know I get that we all need a little bit of relaxation time And we're tired and we're stressed out from work But so that's the challenge the challenge is Oh my god, I'm so exhausted But you know, what's better for my kid? So you have to constantly check yourself. You know what I mean throw him outside and lock the door old school Do you really? Yeah, sometimes I do actually but uh, I mean I go out there and I'll play Tetherball and I'll jump on the trampoline with him and you know climb or do some shit But then uh, yeah, it's for me. It's really just trying to get him outside as much as I can That does help a lot, but it's totally something I'm always conscious of like it does suck me back in Like I get sucked into my phone and don't realize it. They'll bring it up. They'll point it out to me And it's just it's like it wrenches at my heart I've just I've I've learned now to like I have Own rules now, of course There's exceptions where I break my own rule or you know Trying to hits me like that and I'm also working longer than I expected But typically I'll I'll say okay I normally leave here the studio somewhere between three and four o'clock to go home and I'll stay later if I feel like I have more work that I have to I have to do on my phone So if I know I have stuff to get I have to get done. Yeah, I'll stay here. I'll keep working on my phone Then when I when I head home, I'm done. I'm done with my phone I go home and then I I allow myself the freedom to You know do stuff on instagram or continue to work or whatever After we put him down after his bath at about seven thirty or so so That's kind of what I've done and been out and for the most part I've been pretty successful every once in a while There's an exception the rule where I I fuck up and I'm still working on and but I tell you I notice right away. I've noticed a huge difference The crazy part is when you see the difference in their in their behavior right when they're on the tv or Or electronic for too long or computer They're just not the same. They're not as Engaging they seem to be a little bit down or irritable or irritable Especially little kids you take them off. Definitely the irritation. Yeah, it's like ripping off a band aid And they just turn into a little like monster Oh, we again because this week again because my kid was you know, basically grounded off these things So he's just kind of moping around doesn't know what to do And then after a couple days of that we're all having great conversation. We're having fun We played a card game last night called bs. You guys ever played bs before? Yeah, it's a weird card game. We just learned how to play history But we're playing card games. We're having a great time The kids are going to bed on time and not fighting because they've been moving and active so their bodies feel more ready to go to bed It makes a big difference, but it takes The hard thing is it takes just like anything. It's like nutrition. You want your kids to eat healthy That means you have to deal with them. Yeah If you want your kids to be active Usually it means you have to be active too if you want them to not be on electron That means you have to also not be on electronics which makes it Challenging because what you'd like to do is tell them to do something and then you get to do Whatever you want, but it never works that way. You know, I remember I was talking I think a few months back About air b&b and that shooting that happened in there. Oh, right So this is a big thing that's going on right now with them and I've read another article this morning That that they're trying to crack down and like monitor. So what's happening? Which I think is obvious to all of us It's part of the reason why I think we were hesitant to even think about doing air b&b stuff is The likelihood of the big parties right being thrown in there and that's a major problem that they're trying Of course The murder is what really started to kick this into high gear But this has been an ongoing problem for people that use You know services like air b&b is you know people renting the house and throwing massive parties So they're offering this like this this these three camera setup things and there's different price points and they're basically party detectors and it measures movement humidity and sound and what yeah, and I don't know sound like like in terms of how loud but not capturing actual Right voices and and they exit they don't record. So that's the big thing that everyone freaks out right away Like oh god it's being monitored record is like no none of this stuff is being recorded They're all just sensors just like a smoke alarm or whatever like that And when the noise gets so loud so consistently alarm goes off when the humidity does when there's so much movement going on So it sets an alarm and then Sends a notification over to the owner or in this case the humidity just body heat I don't know I was reading deeper on that like what the fuck does people breathing? What does humidity have to do with it? But I guess if you get a bunch of bodies in a room it's going to change the humidity probably dramatically That's what it is. Yeah, okay If it's the the amount of people as the man of people go up then the humidity and the heat in the room goes up It's probably That's what I speculate. Well, that's smart, you know, I've heard horror stories I've heard lots of horror stories from people where they'll have an air b&b house And it'll get trashed. Yeah, though. It'll get just completely trashed, which is you know, that's sad You know, it's not it's you don't want to do that. It's crazy how people will do that, right? They'll rent or they'll pay for a service just to be assholes. Yeah, I know screw those guys ruins it for all anyway, um Silas Seibin research is of course exploding right the magic mushroom research and I talked to you guys about the applications for PTSD And depression and how these people are going through You know one or two therapeutic Sessions completely cured Yeah, they'll go in and they'll go they'll get therapy with the therapist while under the influence of Silas Seibin and then you know the six months later eight months later a year later still Cured no depression. No nothing. So it's fascinating and it was just a matter of time before this next thing would happen but now they're going to start looking into Uh, Silas Seibin and other psychedelics like MDMA for marriage counseling, which I they were already doing that No, no marriage counseling is is how MDMA was originally used Way back before it was made illegal way when it was first invented The that was the idea the idea was to use it for marriage counseling Um, and then of course it turned into a party drug and they had to ban all that stuff So now they're coming back and saying hey, uh, this is probably going to be a good and I couldn't I think that's brilliant I think it's totally brilliant because You know when you're doing counseling with another person The only way it's going to be effective is if you guys are open and empathetic and and I can only imagine You probably have to completely change the the the environment and consciousness of the person that Accomplished that when they've been married for 10 years and magic mushrooms will get you there You know I'm saying that's for sure. So I that's I think uh, in my opinion And I do you think there's a dark side here I think if you're going to use these substances What from what I've seen with the studies You have to do them in the right setting and you have to do them with a professional therapist Uh doing them on your own could actually do the opposite Actually read a story of a young lady who Read studies. Oh, this helps the ptsd. I'm going to take mushrooms. Did it with some friends Severe trauma. It's it gave a very very traumatic experience because she didn't have that guidance or whatever So I think that's real important, but uh based off of what I'm seeing I think we may be on the cusp of a of a total Breakthrough with mental health treatments Addict addiction depression ptsd Other forms of therapy. I think we may be in the beginnings of like a new Revolution in our ability to cure very much needed. I mean every like there's just so many reports of like, you know Mental illnesses out there in many different versions of it, you know depression and and anxiety and uh, you know Like all these different types of like things that that you just see it all over the place right now It's in massive need of this. I wonder if we're going to see people ruin it though for us. You know, I feel like Yeah, I feel like what sucks is that With the right application And with the right mindset going into it I think it can be incredible and life changing for a percentage of the population And then there'll be another percentage that will abuse it will will rely on it You know as as their source and turn into every weekend thing because they think they need it like And then we'll have all this stuff that will come out to say how it's abused and the other All the bad shit that can come from it. I really hope that that doesn't happen I really hope that it doesn't get Shit on because there will be a percentage of people that will fuck it up Well, it reminds me of that the pharmacist like you watched it I just watched a few episodes and just seen how Like you get you get one doctor and you get a facility like that And then it just turns into this like huge operation. I wish you guys would both watch all of that Oh my god, it's so crazy to see. I've been watching babies. I don't have time. I have my time right now I was a little bit limited, but I've been watching babies instead. I'll check that out next. Yeah, watch pharmacist pharmacist is crazy Babies is fascinating. It's mind-blowing. Yeah All right. Our first question is from brit ethridge What exercises should you include if your routine is to get a flat tight? I keep screwing these things up We're keeping that What exercises should you include in your routine to get a flat tight stomach? All right, flat tight midsection. It's a one of the most One of the most common goals that people have when they work out Number one, you got to get lean. This is the big one. Um, I've worked with lots of clients who that's their goal And but their body fat percentages is too high and regardless of how you train the muscles underneath Uh, your your your body fat, um, it's it's not going to work if you have too much body fat on your midsection Especially men men tend to store Uh body fat in the in the midsection and so they'll work out their core and do all the right exercises And which is great. You get stronger better stability, but you still have the the belly So number one, you've got to get lean number two, you know strengthening all the muscles in the midsection are going to Make your midsection feel tighter anytime you strengthen a muscle It feels Tighter it feels stronger. You know, you know what I'm talking about Like you you poke somebody who doesn't lift weights in their arm and it feels a little flabby Touch somebody's arm who's who works out and you automatically feel that there's muscle there muscles a dense tissue So there's no wrong exercises here. Um, as long as you're doing them, right? Anything from crunches to planks to reverse crunches and in you know, exercises for the obliques They're all going to be really really good. Now. There are exercises that target specifically the muscles that draw in The midsection. Yeah, the tva, right? Um, and this one's uh, uh, this one's a big one for especially for women after they have Uh babies for the first time Years ago. This was a long time ago. I had a trainer that worked for me Um very fit uh young lady and then she got pregnant. It was her first baby Then she had the baby and she got lean pretty quickly because she was she was really into resistance training great metabolism But she she would complain. She's like man, it's so crazy. I'm lean now But I have this like pooch in my lower ab area Even though she was lean, she's like it's not as flat as it used to be And we had another trainer on board and this is this was a long time ago. So Uh, you know back in those days, I think we didn't really understand training the tva as much as we do now But we did have a trainer on staff that was really educated and she goes Oh, are you doing any exercises to strengthen the transverse abdominis? This is a muscle that Surrounds the midsection if you want to flex it right now while you're listening to this podcast Just draw on your stomach. Yeah, it's like when you're at the beach and you want to suck in your stomach That's what that muscle does But when you're when you're pregnant that muscle has to stretch an atrophy to allow room for the baby to grow So when you're done, you have the baby you work at your abs you work at your obliques But if you don't target the tva Um, it may not ever get as tight as it was before where it holds in your organs essentially So like the drawn in maneuver cat cow or like the vacuum pose like things like that would be great even You know in our prime program where you're up against the wall and you're doing that check where we're trying to then You know get your get all points of contact to touch the wall a lot of times you're going to notice right away You know with with where your discrepancies lie and like how to then draw in a little more effectively and get rid of the rib flare and everything else By getting access to the tva. Yep. And the other thing is be patient Uh, the stomach area for most of us is one of the the last places for it to come off. That's true I think uh, we we're always looking for like the the quick answer or the quick exercise It's going to make my stomach look a certain way and the the truth is that both men and women Store body fat in the stomach area And it takes a long time To get a six pack. I mean, uh, I mean you gave that stat sal that was mind blowing not that long ago that there's more millionaires And there are six packs in the world. So it's not easy. Okay. It's pretty fucking hard to make a million dollars It's even harder to get a six pack. So and and a lot of the reason why it's hard It's not because uh, it's it's so difficult that most people can't do it It's just the consistency it takes To get to that just like the consistency it probably takes to become a millionaire is working towards that It's not something that you do overnight. You just got to keep plugging away at it And you'll see incremental change and I think uh, you got it where you got to be careful where uh, I think I have to constantly coach To when I'm speaking to somebody that's chasing this goal Is the the day-to-day fluctuations? Uh, and this is normally what gives people the they get discouraged or they give up or they they make crazy dramatic changes When they didn't need to and you know really easily And and we've all felt this right we've all woke up in the morning and been like, oh wow My stomach looks so much flatter than what it looked like Yesterday in the middle of the day or whatever, you know, the when you eat carbohydrates, you drink water You eat something that could be potentially inflammatory All these things could cause like this this blow in your stomach and make you feel like you're quote-unquote fatter When you're not necessarily fatter It's just your body reacting to those things that I just said And so it gives that illusion and then you either one you give up and think you're failing at your attempt to get a flatter stomach Or two you do something extreme to try and fix it You know, you can't let that get in your head You just got to stay consistent with the process of dieting and staying consistent for a long period of time And it'll eventually get there. Yeah, that was the point I was gonna bring up too like it's a lot of times like, you know that that got that internal inflammation You know from being intolerant to certain types of foods hasn't been addressed and in So, you know, you're gonna carry that with you and it's gonna be pushing on your stomach Meanwhile, you're trying to gain that flat stomach by doing all these exercises by, you know Really trying to target the area and everything but it's like you're spinning your wheels. I actually measured it I've actually measured it in some clients. Uh, I've worked with uh clients that I would also have them work with Uh, somebody who's a food intolerant, you know specialists or somebody who works with the gut And we've actually measured it where we would take a waist measurement They didn't get leaner They didn't lose any weight But they would lose an inch or two inches off their waist because they were able to Change their diet to where they were eating foods that were easier for them to digest Or they saw they, you know bacterial overgrowth issue like SIBO or whatever And it's like, oh my gosh, all of a sudden my stomach is flat and I couldn't get Anywhere near this point with exercise Uh and workouts and stuff because it all I had to do with bloat and with inflammation Now back to the tva The other thing you can do is activate the tva muscle while you do your other core exercises So when you're doing like a crunch your, uh Your instinctually you'll push your abs out a little bit because the abs will pull and they'll try to shorten the distance between your Pelvis and your rib cage and what you'll notice when you do your crunch is your abs come up a little bit You'll see them kind of come up a little higher Try sucking them down While you do your crunch and what you're basically doing is you're activating the tva While you're doing your ab or core exercises So you get the dual benefit of working your core But also activating and strengthening the muscles that keep the waist tight and small and also to, you know An excessive lower back arch and like really addressing postural issues too will help to give you that like Flatter stomach look just by addressing your hips and like where the position is and the cue for both What you just both ended on right now is and I love to teach this. I believe we have a youtube video where we get into this Um, you know, if you're laying on the ground, you're getting ready to do a crunch before you just sit up and do a crunch Actually think to press the low back flat first that will create that draw and that sal's talking about Activate the tva And then do the crunch so you're in a crunch position You're about ready to do your crunch or full sit up before you do it Press the low back flat down. You'll feel your core activate to to hold it hold it flattened down Keep that tense and then sit up. Uh, this will make a big difference Next question is from j.m. 55987. Is a robot or what? Long time long time listener What are some of the best supplemental exercises for increasing the big four lifts? Okay, so the big four lifts are squats bench press overhead press and deadlift and the reason why they're called the big four Is because those four exercises in terms of just bang for your buck results are the best muscle strength Stability functional performance all that stuff. They're just some of the best exercises So you should be doing them and you should be getting good at them And so a lot of people are interested in getting stronger and better at those four lifts because they're just so effective Now I'm going to start with the squat and then I think we can go around with all the different exercises but for me One of the single best exercises I ever did that gave me positive effects on my barbell squats or box squats weighted box squats I remember the first time I did them I think it added something like 30 pounds to my barbell squat So a barbell a box squat basically is like a barbell squat But you have a bench or a box behind you And you slowly lower sit down on the box Don't totally sit back and relax, but you do sit on it Keep everything tight pause for a second or two and then stand back up That made a huge uh difference. Uh, I'm glad squat. I'm glad you went this stretch because I'm going to go a different direction Uh, nothing made a bigger difference for me than a Bulgarian split squat Bulgarian split squat Man, I watched not only my strength go up, but then also my stability at the bottom of the squat. Uh, that was Game changer for me and I and honestly I avoided it for a really long time because Bulgarian split squats were hard for me They were hard. I didn't ego crusher, isn't it? Yeah, it was it was I was embarrassed because I remember doing them inside of A public gym and having a chick right next to me using using heavier dumps to destroy me on Yes, I was so weak in that area and shame on me, right? I should know better. It's what we talk about on the show and Uh, that so I decided okay. I'm gonna really put some energy and effort towards getting good at my Bulgarian split squat And holy shit, man Not only did I see massive straight gains in that when I got up to the point where I was holding on to 80 pound dumbbells and doing that boy Did I see huge strength and stability carries over carryovers into my squat? Yeah And I was gonna say that too. So now I'm trying to rack my brain anything else. No, you don't have to change, bro I think those two are what yeah, I mean that was the the most powerful one in terms of like an accessory exercise besides if I go to the mobility route, so Uh, I mean for me It was really like working on my foot strength and my ankles and so yeah I was thinking like a toe squat or something like that was really helpful for me now for deadlifts One of the things that got me Stronger like measurably with my deadlifts I'll I'll give you two because one of them is actually one of the exercises that we're talking about When my squat would go up my deadlifts would go up So squats actually contribute to a better deadlift quite a bit But because that's one of the exercises in the big four Um, I'll give you something else that I used to do The first time I used bands or chains with my deadlifts I noticed huge gains in the weights that I could deadlift with and the first time I used it was later in life This was not something that was popular Uh when I first started working out nobody did that except for elite power lifters olympic lifters And so the first time I did it I attached bands To the barbell anchored them with something on the floor either the cage or something else Did my deadlifts of course bands increase resistance as they stretch out so the weight is heavier where I'm stronger lighter where I'm weaker and I mean it was like Overnight like I did that and the next time I deadlifted broke through a plateau Yeah, I had a similar experience but with like a deficit deadlift. So I just stacked just started with just like a plate So not very high just maybe an inch or two and then kind of worked my way up to like a small box Uh, but really like my sticking point was you know, like very much from from the get go And so like that really helped me to get even further You know down and deep and really grind my way up and gain access to that strength there at the bottom So we we just recently did an episode where we answered a question related to uh, this exercise and said that we don't think it belongs in the You know top four or five exercises As far as the overall functional or best movements, but here's a place where I I think it has tremendous value And that's the hip thrust I I think getting really good at a hip thrust and really strong at a hip thrust You'll see some tremendous carryover Especially into the deadlift Uh, because a lot of times where that's where people struggle With increasing their deadlift is to get the glutes activated for me Which is the biggest strongest part of of your lower body So getting it to fire properly right out the gate is uh, will help you rip that bar up off the ground So there here's a place where I see tremendous value, uh in the hip thrust now for bench press For a long time now bench press when I was growing up It's not like this any it's not as much like this anymore, but gosh For the first 15 years of my lifting career bench press was the measure of strength It was like You know the question guys would ask each other when they found out they worked out was how much do you You bench and because you're a guy and you want to you know be strong and you want to be cool And so you're just like I want to get a better bench became the most important exercise I was obsessed with it. Oh, yeah as the most important exercise So I got super obsessed with the bench press with the barbell bench press Which meant I neglected dumbbell uh chest press neglected them for a long time because who care nobody asked you How much you could dumbbell chest press nobody cares Then you know one day I I I decided I was just going to get good at dumbbell chest presses I don't remember why I think I watched a movie where somebody was using a dumbbell chest press And they looked really developed. So I'm just going to do that for a while Went back to the barbell and I was stronger I had a huge carryover and it's a very similar movement But because it's dumbbells the range of motion is a little different the stability is a little different Huge carryover to the bench press. So if you want more of a bench Get good at your dumbbell chest press I would actually say for me it was dips and really like um deep dips So if I if I could get down to where I could uh get a little bit past like, you know 90 degrees like neutral sort of range there and really open it up. So I got my chest to to stretch at its its fullest and then You know, I would even stop at the bottom for a couple seconds and then, you know, try to regain access and then You know dig my way out of that You know that that really helped with with you know, like lifting heavy weights and and getting that lock out stronger for sure I'm going to piggyback off of what sal said I uh Dumbbells I used to go back and forth like I'd run, you know a block a training block of four or six weeks of All barbell stuff for a while and then I'd switch to dumbbell and I always I saw great results kind of doing that all the time One thing I'll add to that was uh incline dumbbell press Did did a lot for my flat bench press And I think a lot of that is just because uh, I'm Probably like a lot of people who neglect incline press because we're not good at it Uh, and you know, when you look at all the research around building and developing your chest flat bench, you know wins Uh, when you look at it So you go why waste my time doing so much incline bench when I get the biggest bang for my buck by doing flat bench But the reality of it is the the novelty piece, right? I'm and I'm I'm neglecting that the upper portion of my chest So when I decided to start really focusing on incline presses in general both barbell and dumbbell The carryover that it had to the development of my chest the strength of my chest was tremendous So, you know and piggybacking off what sal said with the dumbbells Uh, yeah, I would say that and then it makes sure you include A lot of uh incline press in there a good goal like a a goal that I gave myself that when I really noticed the difference was Can I catch my incline press up to my flat bench? And when I was getting up to those numbers and rivaling what I was doing on flat bench was when I was feeling really strong Now the last exercise is the overhead press and for me for the overhead press Something that I noticed and this was later on this was relatively recently I'd say over the last maybe five or six years overhead heavy overhead carries Just carrying, you know doing like almost like a farmer's walk, but I'm not holding dumbbells at my sides or kettlebells at my side I'm holding them straight up above my head Keeping everything straight tense and strong and then walking for 30 yards or 40 yards Wow, what a difference that that gave me on my overhead press that lock out that power That I could generate and the stability that I got from that was was crazy. Yeah, I think for me and I've been a big advocate of Rotational strength and the reason being is I mean I hit points where I was bench pressing overhead Pressing to to where I was like getting good numbers But then I would always hit this wall and then I would It would start to decline and I would either like get some kind of twinge you get some kind of like, you know minor injury Uh and then try and ramp myself back up again But I was doing no rotational work at all and once I started to just even do mobility drills with rotation But then start to load that and so I found ways to do that with a macebell or with indian clubs or even You know doing rotational work, you know with cables or You know the landmine or things like that have made a massive impact on the stability of my shoulder Which then you know totally translated to me pressing weight over my head It just felt more secure and like I had it z-press Z-press it was a game changer You haven't said z-press in a while. It's it's been a while. It's a we had a ticker going. Yeah I mean it was you know, you know what you talk about Moments in our career and like you sal this was later for me. Uh, I have only been like the last five years Yeah, I've only been doing the z-press for about five years And you know what and to me like to just for me to add something into my routine or my repertoire of Exercises that makes a a significant impact enough that I can feel or notice a difference. That's a big fucking deal for as long as we've been lifting. Oh, yeah, that's a big deal and Z-press was one of those things and it's kind of similar because of what the thing that you notice with the overhead carries I think that's just the the Requirement of strength and stability that you need in order to do that very similar to the z-press like When you I can't cheat it through the legs at all or even the low back because I'll tip over And so it really forces me one to take the shoulder through full range of motion by dropping it all the way down to my chest And then fully locking out and then being able to stabilize at the top or else I'll tip over So building up my strength on the z-press really carried over into My overhead press where I have a little bit more leverage. I can use a little more English So getting good at the z-press made a tremendous difference on my overhead press Next question is from just walk around it. What are some ways to improve the mind muscle connection? Oh number one Focus on the squeeze The squeeze part of a lift is where you're going to you're most likely to connect And feel a muscle if there's a muscle that you have that you feel like you can't Really connect to or feel Pick an exercise that allows you to have resistance in the squeeze portion the shortened portion of the rep Do that exercise and hold the squeeze for like one two three seconds It's that peak contraction part of the rep Where you're going to start to feel and be able to connect to the muscle and the other part Is a slow down Slow your reps way down go real slow Get to the squeeze hold it squeeze it for two or three seconds Then get back into the rep and then go back through it squeeze it hold it for a couple seconds and repeat Totally agree like I I was immediately thinking of Isometrics and ways of like holding it within the rep where I feel like I didn't have as much access like so I know there there's certain movements that You know if you pay attention enough and you know your body enough You're gonna find that like wow I don't I don't really feel my muscle in this part of the range of motion And you know to to really stop right there and and to then do what Sal's saying And like I want to actively squeeze into that and really like you know gain that access through that Makes it makes a massive difference also like single joint exercises This is where I I would definitely kind of you know steer somebody more to Then kind of slow down like with the compound lifts for a bit kind of concentrate on you know a joint by joint You know type of a you know exercise so that way I can can then really concentrate on each muscle Doug can you can you make a note for this for a youtube for me to do a video on this It's actually just reminding me of something that would be a great youtube Well, you know, I just the great question because it got us discussing something that I haven't thought about in a long time And this was a cue that I used to Consistently try and get clients one of the things that I started to figure out with Clients they they would really struggle With the eccentric portion of the exercise the negative of an exercise It wasn't that hard to get someone to understand when you do a bicep curl to fill it in your bicep Like a couple times of doing that they would get that But the the the natural tendencies of the body when you go to a negative is to just let gravity take care of it and relax And you know one the eccentric portion of the exercise is one of the most important all of the portions are important But it's one of the most neglected And it also focusing on that portion does incredible things for working on the mind muscle connection. So When I would do an exercise with somebody I would I would be talking to them on the concentric portion So while they're flexing the muscle Like sal saying focus on the squeeze and then not only that is after I tell them to squeeze I would tell them resist the way down resist the way down Think about that muscle that I just had you squeeze think about that muscle I just had you squeeze resist the way down with that muscle and keeping them focus on Resisting with that a muscle because it's really easy for them to relax that one and go to the antagonist muscle To let it do the deceleration of the exercise So that was something that uh, I remember having to cue a lot And once a client that light and you could see it when that light bulb goes off Of another example really and I this is probably what I would use is like the tricep push down People would do a tricep push down And uh, they would feel of course they flexed and they feel it in their tricep And then when they let the cable come up A lot of times what's resisting that on the way up is the bicep You know, they let the bicep kind of slow it back down and getting them to understand to flex the tricep Keep it flexed and then resist it with the tricep on the way back Boy getting that getting that down will really help that If you can if you can feel if you can feel a muscle on the negative then you've connected Yes, because that's the harder part to connect right All right next question is from tad mills What advice would you give to someone who wants to squat deeper but can't break parallel? I just did a youtube video Yeah, no, it's what's the it's the latest youtube video right now. It's just uh good just while This drops in a day or whatever. So it was yesterday's so it's live right now. Go watch it. I mean I discuss The three main things mobility Movements that I had to do to get to that point because I was at a point where I couldn't even break parallel And then how I prime now that I've done all the work to get in what do you think is the most general offender? I mean we just say ankles would be a first start these days. Yeah, I I would Either ankle hip. Yeah, it's gotta be one of those two. Yeah, I would say that You know to be honest though, all three I think are just are it's very let's put it this way It's rare that I don't see a problem in all three Most people especially today lack the thoracic mobility because of the forward shoulder and we're on phones and shit like that So very few people have good thoracic mobility And then very we're in we're seated We're sitting at 90 degrees on chairs and couches and toilets and cars All the time so how often are we ever really deep? So hips are almost always there and then again When do we ever do something where we allow the knee to travel? Beyond the toes never and so I think all three are offenders. It's really how bad are you in each one? I don't think I've I've yet to meet somebody That's you know older than fucking 25 years old that they're They're don't have they don't have any mobility issue in hip ankle and thoracic just about how bad it really is Yeah, what one thing I used to do that was uh, just kind of an easy Practice I can even tell you on the podcast and you'll get the idea. So you don't necessarily have to see What's going on is I would take a box That was lower than the person can comfortably normally squat when they're doing squats So let's say they can only go to 90 degrees. I would take a box that would have them go You know four inches below that I would put that behind them Then I would have them without any weight Slowly and controlled Just totally controlled their their descent until they slowly sit down on the box Then they'd stand up however they would so all we would do is we would focus on the negative So I would initially get them to do the negative So where they would get lower than they normally could then they'd stand up However, they don't normally normally stand up and then we would repeat it and what it would do is it was really effective It was really effective because it would teach people to to be able to connect and control That descent process then from there Once I'd they got good at that because what ends up happening is they would go down to 90 and then that extra four inches They'd want to fall. Yeah back down So the focus was slow down control it slow down But because the box is there to catch them They would allow them to and then they'd sit down and then they'd repeat it again I would do the same thing and I'd also use it as like a Step ladder approach where I would have like I'd stack plates to where you know, they could comfortably get Remove one. Yes, slowly kind of work their way down We'd work over this over the course of a few weeks to where we could get down to like Some real depth that they felt like they could own and then also my older clients I would end up using a tool like a trx or something like that where It was actually nice because they could have they felt secure because they could hold on to something Uh, but then you know at that point where they normally felt like they would fall over Uh, they could gain that depth But then I would really try to just cue them to now like really squeeze and and feel feel that in your legs to help drive You know off of your heels and get yourself back up. Yeah now take your time Take your time with this because uh, what happens is some people gain new range of motion because they practice And then they're excited and they push themselves a little bit and then this is where they they hurt themselves It's very common to hurt yourself when you train in a new range of motion Even though you feel like you're strong So the the the idea is to be very very very precautious better safe than sorry kind of approach So when you're squatting to new depths or you're testing yourself Go way easier than you think like way easier like you think you want to basically think to yourself like I could go harder than that Okay, well then stop right there Because the risk of injury is really high when you're testing Uh new ranges of motion and with that go to mind pump free.com and download all of our guides and resources and books They're all totally free you can also find the three of us on instagram You can find justin at mind pump justin you can find me at mind pump sal and adam at mind pump adam