Muscle Expert Podcast | Ben Pakulski Interviews | How to Build Muscle & Dominate Life

Latest Episodes:

89- Dr. Andy Galpin- Muscle Fiber Type Training, Research Bias, Adaptation vs. Recovery and much more Mar 19, 2018

Show notes

Coming to you from the Fitness Business Summit in San Diego we have Dr. Andy Galpin. Dr. Galpin is a researcher at Cal State Fullerton who is leading the conversation on muscle fiber type training as well as a cohost of the Barbell Shrugged Podcast. His lab is biopsying and analyzing muscle fibers one at a time. Today on the Muscle Expert Podcast Dr. Galpin gives us a crash course on influencing your muscle fiber type, how muscle fiber nuclei influence your gains, bias in research and MUCH more! 4:00- How Dr. Galpin’s research is changing the way that we think about fiber types. 8:00- Training your muscle fiber types. How you can change your training regimen to influence your dominant fiber type. 12:10- Testosterone use and how it influences your muscle’s nuclei. 14:30- How Dr. Galpin’s research is changing the way we think about muscle building. 17:10- The difference between how muscle fiber types react to stimulus. 21:30- How Dr. Galpin is challenging the paradigm in fiber type research. 24:00- An example of the bias of research. How group findings can be skewed by outliers. 29:00- Dr. Galpin’s philosophy on influencing the fitness industry and coaching. 31:00- A crash course on AMPK and MTOR. How each of those proteins influence muscle growth and fat loss. 38:50- Dr. Galpin’s book Unplugged: Evolve from Technology to Upgrade Your Fitness, Performance and Consciousness. His “Nothing Mindless” philosophy on on your goals. 40:00- Adaptation vs Recovery. How optimizing recovery prohibits adaptation and which to pursue for your goals. 46:00- How much time do you need to recover from really hard training? 48:00- Embracing the suffering. Andy’s advice on adaptation, don't over optimize, take some days to struggle through as your not peak self. 50:45- What is lactate and how does it influence your training? Is it responsible for fatigue and soreness? 56:35- Does Carnitine supplementation work?

87- Live with Mark “Smelly” Bell and Chris Bell- The Ketogenic Diet, Addiction and Mark Bell’s Sling Shot Mar 16, 2018

Show notes

On today’s episode we are live with Mark “Smelly” Bell and his brother Chris Bell answering your questions about the ketogenic diet. Mark is the host of the Power Project, inventor of the Sling Shot, a retired powerlifter and still coaches some of the top lifters in the sport. Chris is a seasoned filmmaker whose focus is on bringing fitness into peoples lives through education. He is the man behind “Bigger, Faster, Stronger” and is currently working on a nutrition documentary on nutrition. We dive into what got Mark and Eric into the ketogenic diet, how the carnivore diet works for them, and how Mark came up with the Sling Shot. Time Stamps: 2:00- How Mark and Chris switched their nutrition to the ketogenic diet and the benefits that they see from it. 6:50- Exercising your will power. 8:30- Figuring out the ketogenic diet for your body. 16:45- Performance on a keto diet. Are you able to still physically perform at your top level on keto? 21:30- Cheat Meals. Just because you are in ketosis does it mean you can eat whatever is kepo friendly? 24:25- Addiction to carbs. How addictive are carbs and sugars? 27:00- How long to stay in kept. Is it possible to diet flexibly with keto? 31:00- Overcoming the keto flu. 32:55- How Mark invented the Sling Shot and struggled to get it to market.

86- John Amaral- The Connection Between the Energy World and Our Physical Selves Mar 15, 2018

Show notes

John Amaral is the go to energy worker for Celebrities, Athletes, and Billionaires. On this episode of the Muscle Expert Podcast, John and Ben introduce us to the energy that controls our existence. John gives great insight on how emotional energy can influence or even cause injuries, prohibit cellular communication, and keep you from living your greatest life. Make sure to listen to the end to catch some easy ways to take inventory of your inner body and heal past injuries. Time Stamps: 4:30- Bridging the gap between the physical and energy world. How John Amaral found the energy world and started his career. 10:10- John’s first experience with energy work, how connecting his body and energy allowed him to truly experience his senses for the first time in years. 11:15- Measuring the energy world. Applying science to woo woo and the effect of human consciousness on the world around us. 15:10- The system of the mind and body. Examples of physical manifestations of energy. 18:30- Our body’s communication network. Can cells communicate through energy? 20:35- Breaking the patterns of old injuries. If the body replaces all of its cells every five years then why do injuries hang on? 24:50- Where to start with energy work. 28:30- A dive into energy states. Are you low energy, neutral, or an energy rich individual? 31:30- The patterns of physical manifestations of emotion. 36:30- Where to start with energy work. 38:45- How to become more aware of your mind/body connection. 44:15- Expectations of energy work. The steps to take to lead an energy rich life. 49:15- Take daily inventory of your inner body. We spend so much time taking inventory of the external, but the internal can be even more important. 51:10- Stress management. How to deal with stress and eliminate the physical effects of it. 55:20- Energy work from a distance. 1:01:04- What is next for John Amaral?

85- Pedram Shojai- The Urban Monk on Mindfulness, Consciousness, Business and the Flaws of “Clearing Karma” Mar 12, 2018

Show notes

Pedram Shojai, the author of the New York Times Best Seller, The Urban Monk, joins us to discuss the disconnect between eastern and western cultures. Pedram is the constant evolver, leaving college for the monkhood and leaving that to rejoin western culture to study the effects of mindfulness, start a successful business and become a dad. Pedram shows us the steps to start living a more mindful life in the modern world, how to overcome living a results based life and the benefits of running a conscious business in today’s world. 4:00- “Most people don’t understand that they are making 80 percent of their decisions under duress.” Pedram tells us how to set up mindfulness rituals to get around your own mind. 7:50- The mechanics of Qi Gong. How Pedram started quantifying what happens during Qi Gong meditation once he left the monkhood. 11:00- The benefits of bringing mindfulness into your life and how to integrate eastern practices into western life. 13:40- The story behind Pedram leaving college to join the monkhood. 18:15- Why Pedram is challenging western cultures attachment to the result. 20:05- The steps to take to develop a mindful, reflective life. 25:30- Pedram’s biggest takeaways from being a monk and his struggle to overcome searching for the result to enjoy the process. 30:00- Everyone has an ego. Here’s the importance of balancing that ego with humility. 32:00- Conscious Capitalism. How Pedram is running a successful, conscious business. 36:00- The myth of scarcity. The benefits of running your business based on value. 38:30- Constant Evolution. How to continue pushing the envelope and remove your ego from your relationships. 40:30- Get up and do it. How Pedram lives a life of purpose and adventure. 45:15- Avoiding the “Not Now” mentality in your relationships to be present for both others and yourself.

84- Dave Tate- A Conversation with a Personal Hero Mar 09, 2018

Show notes

Dave Tate, one of the top powerlifting coaches in the world and founder of Elite FTS, sits down with Ben to discuss a variety of topics. Discussed are the lessons learned from fitness and how they translate to running a business, raising kids to become the greatest version of themselves and the mentality of being world class. 1:15- What lessons from fitness translate to running a business? And how to keep your ego from interfering with your business. 5:00- Dave’s advice on running a business and managing people. Saving your “Emotional Bandwidth” for what’s important. 8:10- Why did Dave pursue strength sports and what drove him to be successful. 9:05- Accountability and responsibility. How to raise a generation of kids with integrity. 11:50- The correlation between raising kids and developing employees. How to rely on other people to keep your business functioning. 15:22- Dave’s advice on how to become a world class strength athlete.

83- Dr. Dan Pardi on Sleep Optimization, Increasing Brain Neuroplasticity and the HumanOS Mar 08, 2018

Show notes

Welcome to the Muscle Expert Podcast Dr. Dan Pardi! Dr. Pardi is the founder of the HumanOS heath mastery plan and an expert on sleep optimization. Ben and Dan look into the effects that sleep deprivation has on hormones and body composition. They discuss the variables of sleep, how it is influencing brain recovery and neuroplasticity. Lastly Dr. Pardi tells us about his new health mastery course HumanOS. 3:30- How much is sleep influencing body composition? 5:20- What is leptin and how is it effected by sleep and diet? 8:00- Obesity is one of the biggest health risks facing the US population. How not getting enough sleep could be a primary contributor to that epidemic. 10:55- Reasons why sleep deprivation is becoming more prevalent. 13:00- Light’s effect on our circadian rhythm and how modern life is interrupting it. 15:00- Resetting your circadian rhythm in 30 minutes a day. 19:45- The blueprint of your sleep cycles. 24:00- Food on sleep. How your diet effects your sleep cycles. 28:45- Why we sleep. The theory on how Interleukin-1 and TNF-Alpha effect neuroplasticity. 30:00- How sleep meds effect the types of sleep you are getting. 33:15- Dr. Pardi’s research on ways to hack your sleep. 36:20- GHB to treat insomnia? 43:15- A deep dive on optimizing your brain. Dr. Pardi’s advice to function at your highest potential. 49:40- How to hack your BDNF production. 52:40- Dan’s advice to live your ultimate life. 54:45- The HumanOS health mastery course. What Dan is doing to teach positive health behaviors. 1:01:45- Three books Dan recommends.

82- Chris Kresser- Influencing Your Mitochondria with Sleep, Nutrition and a Healthy Microbiome Mar 05, 2018

Show notes

Chris Kresser is a renowned speaker, author, and pioneer in the world of chronic pain. His goal is to transform the world of healthcare, by examining the impact of epigenetics, and nutrition on the microbiome. His interest in the subject began after contracting a tropical parasite overseas. Since then, he has battled a debilitating chronic pain condition that left at the hands of the healthcare system. Kesser knew there had to be more than conventional treatment and prescriptions to heal his body. He turned to the gut. Since then, he has made a name for himself as the health coach to extraordinarily high functioning CEOs, entrepreneurs, and top tier athletes. Teaching them how to maximize their health from the very foundations of their physiology. Hear Ben and Kesser discuss why epigenetics are the most influential variable in your physiology. How submitting your body to unreasonable amounts of destructive stress, can destroy your results. 5:00 - Welcome Chris Kesser to the Muscle Expert podcast. He traveled the world as a life long surfer, only to contract a tropical virus that would change his world forever. 8:50 - “Treatments are almost worse than the disease.” Hear how Kesser decided to take matters into his own hands by starting from the inside, out. 11:30 - Excessive medications and antibiotics are destroying the microbiome. Learn why you must feed the good bacteria, in order to reap the optimum benefits of your probiotics. 14:30 - Life with a healthy gut, and chronic pain. How the symptoms of Kesser’s condition evolved overtime by gradually mental, physical, and spiritual homeostasis. 20:00 - Influencing mitochondria and variables in energy production. Learn what you can do to shock your mitochondria into producing more energy for your body to combat the “lulls” in your daily routine. Could Keto or Fasting be the solution? 24:25 - Adaptive stress v. Destructive stress; how obsessively overtraining can hinder your body, and performance. Why you should be training smarter, not harder. 27:00 - What are Epigenetics and how they have shaped you from minute one. Why some believe A.I. could be the future of medicine — and why for Kesser that isn’t the case. 36:30 - “Bring your attention to the present moment.” Kesser’s recommendations for relieving stress, in the most physiologically beneficial way possible. 41:00 - Overtraining and withdrawing from your metabolic reserve. Why you need to start looking at your body more like a “bank account.” The ultimate goal: stay out of the red. 44:00 - Making the deposits, and getting your body’s foundation right. Discovering that there is no universal formula — only the one that works for your body and lifestyle. 48:00 - Building Testosterone levels based on the HPTGA axis. Why low T levels may be associated with issues in the pituitary gland and hypothalamus, stress and overtraining. 57:00 - High cortisol, fasting and nutrient splits. Ben and Kesser talk about the balancing act of macronutrients and mitochondrial energy production. Why you may not need as much protein as you might think. 1:05 - Reinventing healthcare to fight chronic disease. Kesser believes that the future lies in the hands of well trained, authentic, health coaches.

81- Bonus Episode- Mind Pump Pt 2- Humility, Integrity, and the Ego: Finding Meaning and Intention in Life’s Most Trying Moments Mar 02, 2018

Show notes

It is part two of Ben’s conversation with the guys at the Mind Pump Podcast — who believe that the secrets to success are humility, “growth mindedness,” and integrity. Sal says, after years of ego-driven decisions, he has learned that you “don't debate to win, you debate to learn.” Learn why you need to check the ego at the door and “get comfortable with being uncomfortable.” Life is a lot more than weight-room, as far as these men are concerned. In the midst of his many business ventures — Ben is still able to maintain a “great relationship” with his spouse, and makes time for weekly morning dance parties with his children. Hear how Ben has transformed his world view, in the attempt to lead a more fulfilling and intention-driven life. Time Stamps 1:00 - When to abandon an idea & when to run with one. Ben tells the mind pump team that “if it’s good then you gotta do it.” What it takes to start a business, and give it all that you have. 4:00 - Balancing your life, how Ben maintains success in his many business ventures and keeps a great relationship with his family. 9:40 - “I know that I am wise because I know nothing.” Getting comfortable with being open, and checking your ego at the door. How Paul Check opened one host’s eyes to what “prayer” actually does for the human body. 17:50 - Your ego can run you, or you can run it. Hear how Ben has taken a step back to examine his ‘Why,’ personally and professionally. 22:50- Are you masking your “dread” with poor nutrition and mindlessness? Your physiological and psychological relationship with your body are equally vital to your success. Learn why all decisions should be made based on integrity. 29:30 - Hear Mind Pump host, Sal, talk about the moment he started to examine everything in his life. 36:25 - “My kids saved my life.” Hear how the once ego-driven professional body builder was unable to “find the anger” in the gym, after having — not one — but two children. 45:53 - What makes Ben uncomfortable? How time has transformed this fitness professional’s introspective goals. 53:00 - Teaching your kids to embrace the challenge. How “using your words” — is the key to a successful life, and how the guys integrate this ideology in their own parenting styles. At the end of the day, everything you do should “be done with love.”

80- Brandon Lilly- The Rise, Fall and Life Lessons from One of Powerlifting’s Biggest Names Mar 01, 2018

Show notes

Becoming the best in the world has it’s consequences. Brandon Lilly is a retired world class powerlifter and a major reason for the raw movement in the sport. He is the creator of the cube method and currently trains many world class lifters. Hear how the journey out of powerlifting has been one of Brandon’s biggest challenges and greatest triumphs. From surgeries to depression Lilly has dealt with it all and has great life lessons to share in this conversational episode between two legends. 2:40- How collapsing on stage changed the trajectory of Brandon’s life. 6:30- The decent. How coming down the mountain can be just as hard as ascending it. 9:35- His new drug. How social media gave Brandon a high even when he was at his low. 12:00 The Champion Mindset. Laser focus and drive is what is necessary to be a champion but what does it do to those around you. 15:40- How a childhood incident made Brandon give two middle fingers to the world and why it took him years to change that mentality. 17:05- How Brandon got into powerlifting and his advice to aspiring powerlifters. 21:05- Stop and smell the roses; the journey is what makes the destination. 23:55- Living without labels. The discussion turns to how labeling yourself can put you in a self-fulfilling box. 29:30- Escape vs. enlightenment- Brandon’s experimentation with drugs and how changing his end goal changed everything. 32:00- The Hero’s Dose- How Brandon used a high dose of mushrooms for self-discovery and to overcome depression. 34:20- Brandon’s transition from geared powerlifting to raw and how it changed the sport. 41:40- The ego can cause you to do crazy things. Including turning your mentor into your nemesis. 45:10-Ben and Brandon discuss how to use your haters for personal growth. 48:10- Why gratitude is so important and completely changes your perspective. 50:30- What Brandon is doing now that he has retired from powerlifting and his extreme practices to rehab his knees. 57:00- Wrap Up. Ben and Brandon talk life lessons and must hear take aways.

79- Dr. Bryan Walsh- The Detox Doctor on the Four Phases of Detoxification, Detox Nutrition, and Best Detox Practices Feb 26, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Bryan Walsh, a former trainer, bodybuilder and expert on detoxification. Dr. Walsh goes deep into the science of detoxification including the four phases of detox, best practices to optimize your bodies natural way of eliminating toxins and the nutrition behind detoxification. Dr. Walsh is the author of the Fat Is Not Your Fault and Metabolic Fitness plans and shares some great, practical tips on detoxing for muscle gain, fat loss and more. Listen to the very end to hear Dr. Walsh’s best resources to educate yourself on health and wellness. Congratulations to our ATP Prize Pack winner iTunes user Slagermeister. Please email Luis@BenPakulski.com to claim your prize! Time Stamps: 3:10- The reason Dr. Walsh started his career in healthcare and what keeps him motivated in his research. 4:55- Phase zero and phase 3 of detoxification. How Dr. Walsh came across these phases and it changed his career trajectory. 9:12- Everyone is toxic! How do we limit our exposure and detoxify from that toxicity. 11:34- Do we know that the toxins in our body are effecting our biochemistry and is it dose dependent? 14:56- Things to avoid. The different types of endocrine toxins. 18:57- What are the phases of detoxification? 23:40- Reasons to support the phases of detox. 25:06- Why Phase Zero is so important. 27:09- What to do if you find out that you are toxic. 31:27- Should you detox if you are trying to lose fat and gain muscle. What you need to know if you are. 36:12- How to ensure that your body is optimized for detoxification. 43:14- How to detox estrogens? Is it possible to use a detox program for hormones? 43:58- Where to find Dr. Walsh’s detox programs Metabolic Fitness and Fat Is Not Your Fault. 47:11- Dr. Walsh’s best resources for detox information.

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