Epic Q&A - 30 Nutrition & Training Questions Answered with Spartan Efficiency | Ep 300 - Wits & Weights | Fat Loss, Nutrition, & Strength Training for Lifters

Episode Transcript
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Philip Pape (00:01):
Have you been hitting the gym for years but
still don't look like you lift?
Are you confused by all theconflicting advice about protein
timing, cardio killing gainsand whether creatine is worth it
?
Like King Leonidas facing theseemingly infinite hordes of
fitness misinformation, do youwish you could just cut through
it all with a simple this isscience.
Today we're celebrating our300th episode by standing

(00:25):
against the Persian army offitness myths, not with 300
Spartans, but with 30 razorsharp answers to your most
burning questions about buildingmuscle, losing fat and
optimizing your metabolism.
From whether Instagramphysiques are achievable to
killing junk food cravings andtraining to failure, we're going
to cover it all today with thebrutal efficiency of a Spartan
phalanx.

(00:45):
So prepare yourself for glory.
I mean gains, because tonightwe dine on protein.
Welcome to Wits and Weights, theshow that helps you build a
strong, healthy physique usingevidence, engineering and

(01:08):
efficiency.
I'm your host, philip Pape, andtoday we are nerding out and
celebrating a massive milestoneour 300th episode.
That is right 300 episodes ofscience-based, no-nonsense
fitness and nutrition advice tohelp you build muscle, lose fat
and optimize your metabolism,and so much more.
And what better way tocelebrate that than to channel

(01:31):
our inner Spartans from ZackSnyder's visually incredible, if
historically questionable, epic300.
Just as King Leonidas and his300 elite warriors held the
narrow pass at Thermopylae,we'll be using the narrow pass
of scientific evidence which ispretty narrow at times given all
the influencers that are outthere to fight back against the

(01:54):
Xerxes of fitness myths, theimmortal supplement hucksters,
the cardio and carb fear mongersand the eat clean or die
zealots.
We may not have rippling CGIenhanced eight packs, we might
not fight in anything but redcapes and leather speedos, but
we do have some weaponspeer-reviewed research evidence,

(02:16):
practical experience that arefar more effective in the real
world.
Before we dive into this battleagainst fitness myths and
confusion, I want to take amoment to thank you taste of
what people are experiencingwith the show.

(02:47):
We have one review from MatkoHaig who says Philip helped me
with my workouts.
I was afraid to push moreweight because of my injuries,
but that's what helped me feel alot better.
I listen to all of his podcastsnow.
Love to hear that when someonetakes the advice and helps
improve their life with it,including getting past some of
those fears.
Another reviewer, jeff, saidPhilip does a fantastic job

(03:08):
breaking down the fitnessindustry and helping listeners
navigate weight loss moreeffectively.
His recent episode on how carbs, fats and proteins function in
the body was especiallyinsightful.
I highly recommend his podcastfor anyone looking to deepen
their understanding of fitnessand nutrition.
Yeah, that was a fun one, thatepisode.
We explored what happens whenmacros go into your body.
I love to nerd out on thatstuff.

(03:28):
Then we have a review fromAlblamb.
Love the research-based adviceand the vantage point from an
engineer.
Feel like we speak the samelanguage.
Super informative if you'relooking to learn how to actually
learn how the body works so youcan create the adaptations you
desire and not waste time onlies and fad diets.
Definitely worth a listen.
So those are just a taste ofthe reviews that have come in

(03:51):
and I want to thank everyonewho's ever submitted a review.
If you want a shout out and Ihaven't given it to you hit me
up, send me an email.
Philip1l at witsandweightscom.
Every time I hear from alistener, it just makes my day.
It motivates me to keepcreating content that helps you
achieve your goals.
All right, let's get intotoday's q a extravaganza,
because we are tackling an epicnumber of 30 questions Ranging

(04:15):
from supplements and training tonutrition, to recovery.
It's all the things.
Some will be quick, others alittle bit more detailed, but
I'm going to try to keep themvery Efficient and actionable so
you can apply them right awayif they're relevant to you.
Just real quick, before weactually get into the questions.
If you have a question aboutanything in this realm, I want
you to go to witsandweightscomslash question.

(04:37):
That's the easiest way to getit to me and then I will
definitely answer it personallyvia email and on a future
episode, and I'll give you ashout out.
You can let me know if youdon't want that.
Again, go to witsandweightscomslash question and I'll help you
out.
All right, spartans of the iron,let's prepare for glory.
Today, as Delios would say, theOracle's words stand as a

(05:00):
warning.
Except in our case, the Oracleisn't some mystic priestess with
questionable fashion sense, butour very own listeners who've
sent in their burning questions.
I organized these into somecategories and we'll approach
them with the precision of aSpartan at least I hope so and
instead of spears and shields,we're going to have research and
evidence.

(05:20):
Remember no retreat, nosurrender is great for the
movies, but knowing when toadjust your approach is really
the smartest strategy when itcomes to fitness.
So let's start our battleagainst misinformation with some
supplement questions fromHelene, and she asked question
one is creatine only for peoplewho lift?
Absolutely not All right.

(05:41):
Creatine is pretty amazing, oneof the most studied supplements
.
It is known for how it benefitsyour training and your
performance, but it hasadvantages for anyone who wants
to boost performance in generalnot just lifting, including
includes athletics, sprinting Umand it also has cognitive
benefits that we're discovering.
Studies show that it may helpwith brain function, especially

(06:01):
when you're stressed or sleepdeprived, kind of in a way that
we see adaptogens help somepeople like ashwagandha.
So, whether you are lifting oryou want to just have more
mental energy, I think creatineis great for anybody of all ages
.
You take five grams a day.
If you want the cognitivebenefits, you potentially want
to take more 10, 15, perhaps 20grams a day.
Kind of depends on your size aswell, but it is one of the few

(06:22):
supplements that I recommend toeveryone and has solid evidence
behind it.
Question two is caffeinenecessary when you lift?
No, it's not necessary,nothing's necessary.
Is it helpful?
Yeah, I think caffeine is oneof the best pre-workouts that
exist.
That's totally natural.
It's found in black coffee andit's found in a lot of
pre-workouts.
We know from the literature itcan increase your power output.

(06:44):
It can improve your endurance,it can enhance your focus.
I mean, anybody knows this Idrink caffeine in the morning.
I can tell that's my mostfocused time of the day.
Obviously there's other aspectsand reasons why you don't have
to do it.
It's like you don't have to eatbefore you train no-transcript.

(07:10):
But for training purposes, takeit 30 to 45 minutes before.
Remember that it hasdiminishing returns if you drink
it a lot and you get adapted toit, but it can be a good tool.
So yeah, it's not necessary,but it can be a helpful tool.
Question three which macro isthe most important?
So this is like asking whichwheel on my car is most

(07:32):
important.
Right, they're all necessary.
But if I had to rank them, I'dsay that protein is definitely
at the top in terms of physiquedevelopment.
We know it is essential tomaintain and grow muscles.
It has a high thermic effect,meaning it burns more calories
when you eat it.
It satiety, so it fills you up.
But really you want to balanceyour macros for your goals and
that usually looks like a goodbalance of protein, fats and

(07:52):
carbs.
Carbs fuel performance andrecovery fats, support hormones
and hormonal health.
The most important macro isprobably the one that you're
currently neglecting, and for alot of people that is protein.
For others it might be carbs.
So take a look, track your food, know what targets are and you
can get in the ballpark in termsof muscle protein synthesis.

(08:25):
It maybe gets a little bitoverplayed in terms of its
benefits, because if you'reeating enough overall protein
that 0.7 to one gram per poundof body weight you're already
getting plenty of leucine.
If you have it from whole foodsources or whey protein, whey
protein is very high in it andfor most lifters, if you you
know, isolated leucinesupplementation has minimal
added benefit, kind of like EAAs, right, you're kind of wasting
your money on that.
You might as well just buywhole protein, enjoy eating food

(08:48):
and definitely creatine, likewe mentioned before.
If you're fasted training,which I recommend to almost no
one a small dose might provide atheoretical benefit, but then I
would again just have protein,just regular protein anyway,
because some people don'tconsider that breaking the fast.
Regular protein anyway, becausesome people don't consider that
breaking the fast.
But yeah, it's found inpre-workouts.
So if you use, like LegionPulse, for example.

(09:09):
L-leucine is in there, alongwith a couple other
evidence-based compounds that weknow can be helpful for a
little bit of a boost inperformance.
All right.
Next question Number five iscreatine safe for people with
high blood pressure?
So this is a good one.
Another creatine question,because people wonder about the
efficacy, the safety, some ofthe symptoms.
The research currently saysthat it does not impact blood

(09:31):
pressure in most healthy peopleand some actually show
improvements in cardiovascularmarkers.
Obviously, if you havepre-existing hypertension,
consult your doctor.
This is not medical advice.
Any supplement you're going tostart, you should know your
conditions, what the potentialside effects are.
Talk to a doctor, monitor yourblood pressure.
If that's a concern when youbegin supplementing, start with

(09:52):
a lower dose, stay well hydratedand also remember that creatine
causes you to retain water,which is normal.
It's not a blood pressureconcern by itself, but for
anything you're concerned about,it's good to consult a doctor
and also track these things.
Get the blood markers whatevermakes sense.
Take your blood pressure, allright.
Question number six ATP versuscreatine.
Why do some people, likeFrank's saying, use ATP instead,

(10:14):
and is it a viable alternative?
All right, atp, which isadenosine triphosphate
supplements, that is the let'scut out the middleman approach,
since creatine works by helpingyour body generate ATP faster.
However, oral ATP supplementshave really low bioavailability
because your digestive systemjust breaks down most of it

(10:36):
before it even reaches yourmuscles.
There are studies that showsome modest performance benefits
, but they're very inconsistentand they typically require much
higher doses than creatine.
Why did Frank Zane use it?
Well, the supplement industrywas very different back in the
golden era and not everyone hadaccess to the research we have
today.
So if you want results thathave been proven by decades of

(10:56):
research, stick with creatine.
It's cheaper, it's betterresearch, it is more effective.
That's my answer.
All right, question seven areessential amino acids, eaas,
actually beneficial for musclegrowth or are they just
expensive pee?
I would say more the latterprobably a waste of money.
They might support muscleprotein synthesis if you're

(11:16):
training fasted or you have lowprotein intake.
In fact they probably do a tinybit.
But if you're consumingadequate protein throughout the
day, your total protein then theEAAs don't really provide any
benefit.
Um, they're, you know, a wasteof money.
They're not magical musclebuilders.
Your body will use what it needs.
It'll excretes the rest If youhave sufficient protein.

(11:36):
If you're not training fasted,you don't need them at all.
Even if you are training fastedI alluded to earlier, you still
probably could just haveprotein before and or after and
not quote unquote break the fast.
But that is not my world.
I don't recommend trainingfasted.
Just in general, I recommendhaving protein and carbs.
So put the money toward qualityfood, evidence-based
supplements, like creatine we'vebeen talking about, uh, and

(11:56):
which is the last time we'regoing to mention it and the one
exception, I think, is maybevegans or those with very
restricted diets who'd struggleto get complete protein, in
which case I would try toaddress the protein issue itself
.
All right, so let's move on tosome training questions.
Question number eight howeffective is training with heavy
bands compared to free weights?
So bands, they are just a.

(12:18):
They're like a rubber band.
They're a way to createvariable resistance.
They're easier at the bottom,they're harder at the top, like
when they are stretched.
That is a strength of them.
It's also a limitation, becauseif you're trying to do some
rehab, some isolation work, likepull-aparts, for example, band
pull-aparts or some of theshoulder stuff that I use a band

(12:38):
for in my house, I actually dothat.
They're great, but they can'treplicate, for example, the
consistent tension of freeweights throughout a movement's
full range of motion.
Again, that's not a bad thing.
I've done a combination ofweights and bands as well.
You can put bands on a deadliftor bands on a squat.
That's called accommodatingresistance, and if you just
isolate them, though, and youlook at the studies, they show
consistently that free weightsproduce superior strength and

(13:01):
hypertrophy gains to bands.
But bands are great for travel,for home gyms.
I mentioned accommodatingresistance, rehab, all of that.
They're a valuable tool in yourarsenal.
I don't think they're acomplete replacement for free
weights, but you can argue withme on this.
There are band-centric programswhere there's a lot of thought
behind it.
You're using special types ofbands.
It's really good programming.
I'm not gonna be dogmatic aboutit, but for the vast majority

(13:23):
of people, just stick with freeweights and you're going to have
great results.
All right.
Question number nine Do youreally have to lift heavy just
to avoid having a dad bod?
I don't know how to answer thisone.
I'm going to say do you have to?
Depends on how we define heavy,and if we're saying above, say,
80 or even 90% of your 1RM, doyou have to no.

(13:45):
I think progressive resistance,progressive loading, lifting
well above 30% of your 1RM,focusing on hypertrophy, could
absolutely get rid of the dadbod if combined with proper
nutrition, because ultimatelyyou probably need to lose fat.
You need to build muscle, youneed to lose fat.
However, I think the mosteffective route to that for
someone new is to use compoundlifts, fairly heavy, to focus on

(14:08):
strength First.
I talked all about this in lastWednesday's episode strength
versus hypertrophy.
Check that one out.
You've got to build muscle andmaintain muscle when you're
dieting.
You've got to avoid excessivefat gain and lose fat if you're
overweight.
You want to progress and beconsistent, right, you don't
have to be a power lifter.
You don't have to be alwaysstrength focused on one or Ms.

(14:28):
You have to challenge yourmuscles regularly and keep your
nutrition in check and you candefinitely get rid of the dad
bod.
So it depends on your goals.
Go check out episode two, 97,on strength versus hypertrophy,
for deep dive into that.
All right.
Question number 10, what is theadvantage of range of motion or
ROM in lifting?
Should you focus on skeletalrange of motion or muscular
range of motion, which is safer?

(14:49):
This is an interesting one,because I really don't use those
terms, I just use range ofmotion in general.
You know full ROM full range ofmotion typically builds more
muscle because it createsgreater mechanical tension
throughout the movement and youhit the shortened and lengthened
portions of the muscle, eventhough we know you could also
get great results from focusingon just parts of the range of

(15:09):
motion, and sometimes we do itdeliberately right.
Full ROM doesn't always meanmaximal ROM.
It means the optimal ROM forthe specific exercise and also
your individual.
You know biomechanics.
So for compound movements,skeletal ROM, like getting full
depth in a squat, is veryimportant.
For an isolation exercise,muscle ROM, like feeling the

(15:30):
stretch and contraction, mightbe important, and you know
safety comes from proper formwithin your capabilities and
forcing yourself into some rangethat your body cannot handle.
That.
That's where injuries happen.
But the best approach is mastertechnique and then increase ROM
as you get better at thatspecific lift so that you're
full ROM for most movements.

(15:51):
All right, number 11, do youneed to lift heavier and heavier
to keep gaining muscle, or isthere another way to progress?
All right, this is a confusingthing for people because we talk
about progressive overload,which is is a non-negotiable
Like.
You have to.
You have to progressivelyincrease the challenge to
continue gaining.
But getting heavier on yourweights is just one form of that

(16:14):
.
You can increase your volume,which is sets, times, reps.
You can even improve yourexecution quality, especially
when you're newer and get moreefficiency from your lifts and
have results that way.
That's more of a neuromuscularthing.
You can shorten your restperiods.
You can increase just your reps.
You can even add frequency.
There's a lot of ways the bodyresponds to novel stimuli, right

(16:35):
Increased challenge in all ofits forms.
So as you advance the weightincreases are going to naturally
slow down.
You can't just forever getstronger, but you can keep
progressing and build yourmuscles slowly over time and
then build strength and thenbuild muscle, build strength and
kind of periodize over time toget bigger and stronger until
you pretty much hit your geneticlimit, which, I'll be honest,
most people never do.

(16:55):
So the answer is no, you don'tneed to.
It's a great and simple way todo it when you're new.
But then eventually you go intoadvanced forms of progressive
overload, which I've talkedabout in the podcast.
If you go topodcastwitsandweightscom you can
search all our episodes and youcan look for progressive
overload and you'll see somegood episodes on that, all right
.
Question number 12, can you growmuscle purely from mechanical

(17:16):
tension or do micro tears in themuscle need to occur?
Ooh, I like this one becauseagain last week I talked about
strength versus hypertrophy andthe importance of mechanical
tension across the full spectrum.
Mechanical tension is theprimary driver of hypertrophy,
that's the increase in musclesize, in muscle mass, which
supports both strength andhypertrophy.
Past the newbie phase,microterrors, which is muscle

(17:38):
damage, it's more of a sideeffect than a requirement or an
input.
Studies show you can buildmuscle with minimal muscle
damage.
And what's called the microtear theory.
It's been somewhat overstatedand that's why things like
soreness are not a reliableindicator of effective training,
because your muscles adapt tothe tension that you play on
them, regardless of whetheryou're sore afterward.

(17:59):
So I would just focus again onprogressive overload, consistent
training, rather than chasingmicro tears.
Question 13, what's the dealwith vibration plates?
Are they effective and whoshould and shouldn't use them?
All right, vibration plates,man, I think these have been
around in some form or anotherfor decades.
They are something you want tolaugh at, but then, at the same

(18:21):
time, they may not be completelyuseless for things like
improving blood flow, enhancingrecovery, providing some low
intensity activation for peoplewho are deconditioned, maybe for
warming up, maybe forincreasing circulation in
injured areas, maybe as an entrypoint for people who are just
extremely limited mobility, butthey're not going to replace
what we should be doingResistance training, progressive

(18:42):
resistance training to buildstrength and muscle.
I frankly don't give them asecond thought.
I wouldn't even look into them.
For most people I wouldn't evenconsider them.
However, maybe you found aspecial case for them.
If you have bone density issues, for example.
It might be a negative forthose things.
I have no idea, so I don't knowmuch about them.
I don't recommend them toanybody.
This is not the podcast reallyto get into that.

(19:03):
Maybe I'll change my mind inthe future.
That's all I have to say on it.
Number 14, when doesovertraining actually start?
Is it just beyond the pump oris there a real threshold?
All right.
So overtraining, what is it?
It's a clinical syndrome thatdevelops over months.
It's not just something thathappens over a few days or weeks
.
What most people experience inthe short term is actually

(19:25):
called overreaching.
That's where your performancedips and then it resolves in a
week or two once you back off alittle bit on your training or
you increase your recovery.
Maybe you need to eat more,maybe you need to sleep more.
Whatever it might be Trueovertraining, which most people
do not experience, it's verysystemic, so you're going to
have persistent fatigue.
You're going to have decreasedperformance Even when you're

(19:46):
rested.
You're going to have mooddisturbances, a higher heart
rate, hormonal disruptions right, there's not like a universal
threshold.
It's very complex, based onyour training history, your
ability to recover, your life,stress, like all of this stuff.
I recommend monitoringperformance metrics and markers
of recovery and biofeedback.
And if your performance isconstantly declining, despite

(20:09):
having addressed adequate rest,adequate nutrition, adequate
carbs, adequate sleep, you'relikely overreaching and should
scale back.
But again, this is differentthan overtraining.
I think overtraining is kind oflike the chronic version of
lots and lots of overreaching.
All right.
Question number 15, getting ushalfway through here.
How do concepts like go tofailure, go heavy or go home and

(20:31):
forced reps impacting naturallifter versus an enhanced lifter
?
All right, so I'm not an expertin enhanced lifting, that is,
using anabolics and other uhmedications and compounds to get
an edge.
Enhanced lifters are obviouslyable to recover a lot from
higher training volumes, fromhigher intensities.
They have artificially elevatedcapabilities to do that.

(20:54):
If you're natural, training tofailure on every set can lead to
overreaching.
Because you don't have thatenhanced recoverability, you're
going to have central nervoussystem fatigue, you're going to
have increased injury riskwithout the gains to go along
with it, right?
So research at this point isclear that stopping one to two
reps short of failure in mostsets is going to optimize the

(21:15):
stimulus to fatigue ratio andit's even further from failure
on bigger, heavier lifts.
Occasional failure sets arefine, right, like we do them all
the time.
If you're doing barbell curlsand you go to failure, that's
great.
Intensity techniques, forcereps, even cheetah reps, those
are all valuable tools.
Myo reps, rest, pause, dropsets.
But I would use themstrategically.

(21:36):
I would use them potentiallyjust on the last set or the last
exercise after you focused onthe main priorities of your
strength or hypertrophy program,maybe during deload weeks.
It's the accumulated volumeover time that's going to build
your muscle, not again how oftenyou go right to failure or feel
destroyed after each workout.

(21:56):
Question number 16, what is thethreshold for overtraining and
how do you know you've crossedit?
So we touched on overtraining afew questions ago and I
mentioned that there's nouniversal threshold.
I also mentioned the warningsigns like performance decreases
, chronic fatigue um, thatdoesn't get fixed with sleep,
elevated heart rate, et cetera.
But I wanted to bring it uphere again because the thing I

(22:20):
think you should be focusing onis having productive training
and really having a lot ofrecovery and space.
Recovery and space and I usethe word space to mean some of
you are just doing too much.
Even when you're liftingappropriately, you're then
filling in the days in betweenwith lots of running or lots of
cardio or, yeah, maybe you'renot sleeping enough, maybe

(22:40):
you're not eating enough, maybeyou're under eating and then
doing the wrong program whileyou're under eating.
So tracking recovery metricslike HRV could be helpful and
your biofeedback on scoresscales of one to 10, like your
sleep, your stress, your hunger,your digestion and so on, your
mood, even your libido, and whenthose scores are failing,
despite the adequate rest andnutrition, that is when you've
crossed the line.
That is the threshold to me.

(23:01):
Question number 17,.
Should beginners traindifferently than intermediate or
advanced lifters, or isprogressive overload always the
answer?
Okay, so I'm going to say yesto both.
In other words, progressiveoverload is the principle no
matter what, but the way thatyou train, the method that you
train, will change based on yourbeginner, intermediate or
advanced.
To achieve progressive overload?
Great question, because I'dlove to make that distinction.

(23:24):
Training's gonna evolve withyour experience.
Beginners are gonna benefitmost from learning proper
technique, having moderatevolume but high frequency.
That means you're squatting alot or you're benching a lot
because you can recover quickly,focusing on the compound lifts
because they're very efficient,they use more muscle mass, they
recruit more muscle fibers,going heavier and focusing on
strength and training your fullbody, usually three days a week,

(23:45):
and you're going to progressnot just weekly but every
session as you master thesemovement patterns and develop
that neuromuscular efficiencymedia.
And you need more volume.
You need weak point training.
You need potentially body partsplits right, you need more

(24:06):
accessory work, you need moremedium and lighter intensity
work for the main lifts and soon Once you become advanced.
Now you need periodization,specialization, specific
recovery strategies likestretching out your training
weeks.
There's so many things you knowbase and peak development,
mesocycles and so on butprogressive overload remains the
same principle, no matter whoyou are.
It's just how you implement thechanges right and a beginner is

(24:29):
going to add, you know, fivepounds to their squat every
session.
An advanced lifter might addfive pounds every six months to
a year, right.
So they're still progressing,but the training variables that
drive the progress shift as youadvance.
All right, so let's move on tosome nutrition and body
composition questions.

(24:50):
Now we've got question 18.
How realistic is it to bemuscular with six pack abs?
Is everybody on Instagramreally on steroids?
What about those 40 or older?
Can they achieve that?
Look naturally, all right.
The Instagram physique, which Iget flooded with it in my search
tab, no matter, even if I tryto search for things that have
nothing to do with it,eventually it works its way back
to just flooding me with theseincredible bodybuilder style

(25:14):
physiques.
They're pretty much allenhanced, right, and the massive
muscles, they're shredded absall year round, right For for
natural lifters.
That is not sustainable.
You might get to that point fora brief period and if you want
to do that, fine, have fun withit, figure it out.
It's fun to do that.
But the influencers most ofthem are enhanced.
Most of them are usingfavorable lighting or angles.

(25:36):
Many of them are justmaintaining a specific pose or
angle or condition.
Briefly, for the photos.
Actually, I appreciate some ofthe influencers who show what
they look like five minutesapart based on two different
poses and lighting.
You know, one case they lookkind of frumpy and flabby and in
the other case they're likejacked.
You get it right.
It's all manipulation.
But having said all that, beingmuscular with visible abs, you

(25:59):
know, not necessarily dice-likelike you know, totally shredded
with vascularity, but reallysolid abs, it's totally
achievable, naturally, even over40.
There's no age limit.
I know a guy whose podcast Iwas on.
He's in his 80s, he's acompetitive bodybuilder and he
has abs.
It's just having enough muscleand low enough fat, which takes

(26:21):
years to do.
You're not going to just revealyour abs immediately Now.
Could you cut fat downsignificantly and reveal abs
without spending too much timebuilding muscle, possibly based
on your genetics, but for mostpeople you got to train your abs
and there are effective loadedways to do that, and then you've
got to diet down to have lowenough body fat to show them.
But trust me, I mean myself.

(26:41):
I'm in my forties and everycycle I go through of building
muscle, the abs are more andmore visible at a higher body
fat.
So it kind of takes precisioninitially, but then you can get
a pretty impressive physiquewell into your fifties, sixties,
beyond, by doing the things wetalk about.
Question 19,.
Can you lift big without eatinga ton of carbs, or do you need

(27:01):
them for performance?
Oh, I love questions aboutcarbs.
You can absolutely lift heavyon lower carb intakes, right.
Just look at any strengthathlete in weight class sports
who minimize carbs when they'recutting.
Look at myself right now.
I'm in a fat loss phase on verylow calories, intentionally so,
because I'm going aggressivelyfor a mini cut and I'm still

(27:23):
lifting heavy.
Doesn't mean I'm going to hitPRs, right.
There's a reason that carbs arethe preferred fuel for
high-intensity exercise.
They efficiently convert, orthe carbs are converted to ATP
and that helps with thoseexplosive movements.
And studies always not alwaysconsistently show that moderate
to high-carb intake optimizesperformance for lifters and

(27:43):
helps you build more muscleversus lower carb diets period.
However, the individualresponse matters.
If you're say, quote unquoteketo adapted I kind of cringe at
the term, but you're ketoadapted or you prefer low carb
for other reasons, you candefinitely make gains, but then
you have to really pay attentionto your total calories, your
protein timing, the carbs thatyou do have strategically around

(28:04):
your workouts and maybe usingonly targeted, periodized
approaches when you're talkingabout low carbs, but if it's not
like a dogmatic thing that youfeel you have to follow, just
eat your carbs.
It's going to help you performbetter.
You could definitely lift bigin a fat loss phase while you're
not eating that many carbs.
You just may not increase yourstrength or muscle, but you're
definitely going to hold on toit.

(28:24):
All right.
Question 20.
We're getting there Two-thirdsof the way through here.
Is it true that cardio killsgains or muscle?
What about heart health?
Is walking enough?
So cardio only kills gains whenit creates a deficit in your
recovery, when it impedes youfrom recovering or when it

(28:44):
exacerbates your calorie deficitto push you into an extreme
where you lose muscle.
Now it's almost hard to getthere for a lot of people,
because when you do too muchcardio, your body will actually
compensate by lowering yourmetabolism, but then what that
ends up doing is forcing you toeat less to maintain a deficit.
That's what I mean, not thatthat cardio itself gets into a

(29:06):
deficit.
So moderate cardio, especiallywalking.
Walking, yeah, it's a form ofcardio, but cycling, swimming,
can absolutely enhance recovery.
They can help with your workcapacity, with your conditioning
.
They can support muscle growthby helping with nutrient
delivery, with blood sugar, withinsulin sensitivity, the list
goes on.
For heart health, walking isthe foundation.
If you're hitting that like7,000 to 10,000 steps a day, it

(29:29):
is ideal, and then adding inonce or twice a week some
sprinting, is a solid approach.
Any other cardio it's really upto you how you're able to
manage the recovery program.
It in keep it from beingintense and separate it from,
like your leg workouts and,ideally, from your training days
.
But no, it's not gonna killgains unless it kills recovery.

(29:49):
Question 21, why do we alwayshave room for dessert, even when
we're full?
Is there a biological reasonfor sweet cravings?
Okay, and I joked, I think Ijoked and I said oh, you mean
the dessert chamber, like myfamily's joked about for years,
where you could even be stuffedfrom dinner and somehow still
have room for ice cream or thatpie, thanksgiving anyone, or the
holidays.

(30:09):
So this is calledsensory-specific satiety, in
case you want to label itBasically your taste buds.
They get bored with similarflavors but then they respond to
new ones that are sweet, thatare novel.
The food science industryabsolutely knows this phenomenon
because our brains evolved toprioritize energy-dense foods,
especially sugar, when they areavailable, because they were

(30:31):
rare in our evolutionary past.
And sweet foods also triggerdopamine, that's your
pleasure-reward chemical, andthat creates a feedback loop
that makes you want to eat more.
Right?
So, physiologically, yourstretch receptors in your
stomach might say you're full,but your hedonic hunger system
that's the pleasure-based eatingoverrides those signals.

(30:52):
When having protein first,having a drink of water, that
reduces this effect whencompared to, say, starting with
carbs or fats.
So, yes, the answer is yes,there's a biological reason for
this, but it doesn't mean youhave no control.

(31:14):
Question 22, how do you killcravings for junk food and
actually feel satisfied withhealthy choices?
So I thought this was a naturalsegue from the last question.
This is both physiological thatmeans your body, your biology,
it's also psychological in yourmind, which are connected.
We know this.
So the first thing is to ensureyour diet has enough protein,

(31:35):
which you want anyway.
It keeps you full, it's greatfor muscles, et cetera.
Enough fiber, which helpsstabilize blood sugar.
It's great for your gut, foryour digestion, also for satiety
.
Fiber which helps stabilizeblood sugar it's great for your
gut, for your digestion, alsofor satiety.
And people on carnivore aremissing out on that benefit.
And also enough fat, becausefat does increase satisfaction
in terms of mouthfeel, taste andso on.
And so cravings often hit whenwe are under eating satiating

(31:57):
nutrients.
It's interesting, right,because you would think it comes
from eating too much or eatingthe wrong things, but it's under
eating the things that we need.
So that's why I like additivenutrition adding in the things
that we want and need.
The second thing is addressingyour habit loops, and that is
identifying the triggers foryour cravings and then create
new routines around those,having a pattern, interrupt or a

(32:18):
swap.
And then, third, you want togradually replace foods with the
additive approach.
You've got ultra-processedfoods.
Replace them with morenutritious whole foods that have
similar taste profiles andexperiences.
Right, kind of like roastedchickpeas might give you a
similar experience as potatochips, and your palate is going

(32:40):
to adapt over time.
It's going to get used tothings.
You're going to eventually notreally like some of those
ultra-processed foods orrestaurant food.
Anyway, your body is going torebel as you're eating more
nutritious foods.
And of course, the last thingand I should have started with
this, but don't make any foodforbidden.
There is no bad food.
There's no good food, becausewhat you're doing is you're
increasing the psychologicalweight or value of the food.

(33:01):
Instead, you want to plan theoccasional indulgences in rather
than have them reactively, soit avoids decision fatigue and
you just have them as part ofyour plan.
Consistency is always going tobeat perfection and the
sustainable changes like thisare going to win over
deprivation every time.
Number 23, is spot reduction offat a myth?

(33:22):
What actually happens to fatduring exercise?
I mean, this is kind of aloaded question.
It could be a whole episode byitself.
Spot reduction itself islargely a myth.
When your body needs energy,it's gonna release fatty acids
from your entire fat stores,regardless of which muscles
you're working, and fat ismobilized based on hormonal
signals.
It has nothing to do with localmuscle activity.

(33:42):
What happens during exercise isyou create a little bit of an
energy deficit in the moment,and that prompts your body to
release fatty acids into thebloodstream for energy, in
addition to the energy you get,of course, from glycogen, from
glucose, and the fat istransported to your muscles to
be oxidized for fuel.
There are studies that showthis very tiny increased blood
flow and lipolysis in areas thatare trained directly, like your

(34:06):
abs, but the effect is so smallthat it can't possibly create
spot reduction.
So the most effective approachagain is going to be a calorie
deficit through diet, throughtraining Resistance training
helps preserve muscle and buildmuscle, and don't overthink
trying to reduce anything in aparticular area.
Question number 24, can targetedexercises build muscle in a

(34:28):
specific area even if they don'treduce fat in that spot?
So again, I wanted to seguefrom the last one, because this
is an absolute yes.
So while, like, spot reductionis pretty much a myth, spot
enhancement is a real thing.
If you think of it that way, itwill give you the physical and

(34:51):
the physique result you'relooking for without the
necessity of spot reduction.
You can target your biceps byusing more bicep curls.
You can target your glutesthrough squats and hip thrusts.
You can target your abs throughloaded ab work.
Right, the caveat is that thereare genetic factors.
You may not have a six pack oran eight pack.
You may have a seven pack.
You may have something wonkythere, you can't do anything

(35:13):
about that, but you can addmuscle there and then you can
lose fat, kind of like we talkedabout earlier.
Right, and the more muscle youhave, the higher body fat you
can carry and still see andimprove the appearance of that
area.
And also, by the way, when youhave more muscle it kind of
stretches out the skin and thefat in a way that is usually
also aesthetically pleasing,even when you don't lose fat.

(35:33):
That's why I'm a big fan ofgaining and building muscle in
certain periods.
All right, question number 25.
Can you bulk without eatingtraditional carbs, eg just
protein, eggs, milk, et ceteraand will you still gain fat?
So you're saying basically, lowcarb or no carb, kind of keto,
carnivore, things like that.
I would say I'm going to beopen-minded here and say yes to

(35:55):
both questions.
You can gain muscle on a lowcarb or ketogenic diet, provided
you have a calorie surplus andyou have plenty of protein diet,
provided you have a caloriesurplus and you have plenty of
protein.
And there are some studies thatshow some comparable gains
between lower carb and highercarb.
But most show a gap where thehigher carbs tend to allow you
to produce or build more muscle.

(36:15):
But there's always nuances inthe variables.
So again, that's why I'm alwaysopen-minded about this and
think a flexible approach iswarranted and not to just say,
no, you can't have carbs at all,but for the vast majority of
people, having more carbs isgoing to help you build more
muscle and it just makes for amore flexible diet anyway more
enjoyable diet for most people.
For fat gain you're going togain fat if you're in a surplus,

(36:36):
no matter what the macros are.
So that has to do with energybalance period.
Now, if you have more carbswhile you're gaining weight,
there is a chance that more ofthe energy surplus goes toward
muscle and you'll actually gainless fat than if you were low
carb.
So that is true, but it stillhas to do with the surplus.
It still comes down to propertraining, protein timing,
nutrient partition, strategiesthat can minimize fat while

(37:00):
maximizing muscle, the way we'vetalked about before when we
talk about at what rate to buildand how to do it.
So I think the bottom line iscarbs can make bulking easier
and more performance optimal,but they're not quote unquote
mandatory.
All right, question number 26.
Should bulking and cutting besaved for years, three plus of
lifting or should you startsooner?
I struggle with how to answerthis because it's going to

(37:22):
highly depend on the person andwhat they want to do.
For some people, bulking andcutting can be a lot of fun when
I work with clients becausethey have my help and they can
lean to me when they hitplateaus and such.
We will have a couple months atmaintenance and then lean into
a cutting phase or a bulkingphase, depending on what they're
going for.
But that's also partly becausethey have my support.

(37:44):
They have some accountabilityto fall back on, or those in our
physique university same thing.
If you're doing it on your own,I still also think you can do it
.
I would say at the beginning itwould be helpful to be at a
slight, very tiny, tiny surplusto make sure you're fully
recovered and find your new andtrue maintenance calories while
you're training, to giveyourself all the resources you
need to train for strength inthose first three to six months,

(38:06):
and then I would go into a fatloss phase.
Again, I have plenty of clientswho never trained before they
start training with me.
We spend two months inmaintenance and then go into fat
loss and it just depends onwhat you're ready for how many
calories you're able to eat,based on your metabolism,
whether you are starting verylean or you have a lot of weight
to lose, struggling to progress, et cetera.

(38:27):
Right, some people don't likebeing in maintenance because it
feels like they're not doinganything, and it takes its own
form of psychological control,in which case even small bulk
and cut cycles could be a goodway to test the waters.
So I would say no, it shouldn'tbe saved for three plus of
lifting.
I think that there's no shouldabout it.
It depends on what you want.
I would say experiment and seehow it goes and make sure you're

(38:52):
in control and you're trackingyour food and all of that,
because otherwise it's actuallygoing to be a lot harder.
All right, question 27.
Why are people still afraid offat, which I think you mean like
fat consumption and what arethe negative effects of avoiding
it on recovery, strength andhormones?
So we don't talk about fat asmuch as protein and carbs.
And there was like decades ofmisguided dogma on fat, like the

(39:15):
low fat craze of the eightiesnineties.
I grew up in the eighties so Isaw a lot of that with the snack
wells and the Olestra,disgusting like synthetic fat
and all this stuff.
Um, the move toward margarineinstead of butter and all that
which we know.
There was like a back backlashin the other extreme, which
always happens, but it's likevery deeply imprinted in the
public consciousness, despite itall being based on flawed

(39:36):
research.
Okay, consciousness, despite itall being based on flawed
research.
There are consequences when youchronically avoid fat,
predominantly to your hormoneproduction, especially
testosterone and estrogen.
Also, fat helps you absorbfat-soluble vitamins A, d, e, k,
so it's going to make that lessefficient.
It can impair your cellmembrane function.
It can make you moreinflammatory.
It can decrease your satiety.

(39:58):
It could increase yourconsumption of sugar to
compensate because of the lackof flavor, because you have no
fat.
So for strength athletes like,having adequate fat, which is
usually above a half gram perkilogram of body weight, let's
say, is going to affect, or Ishould say having adequate fat
is good for recovery andperformance.
Having adequate fat could startto eat into that.

(40:20):
So if I have a client in adieting phase, I never want them
to go below like rock bottom.
Probably 20 grams, maybe 15grams if they're super lean and
we're really pulling out all thestops Like that's rock bottom.
But usually people are in the20s and 30s at a minimum and
sometimes often above or farbeyond that.
Dietary fats, monounsaturatedomega-3s are great, but even

(40:43):
some saturated fats in your dietare great and certain fats
actually support what we callthe inflammatory resolution
process.
That helps with trainingadaptation.
I know it sounds weird, but youget an inflammatory response
from training.
Having adequate fats helps youget over the hump of that
inflammation and come back toadapt back to a lower

(41:05):
inflammation state.
I don't know if I've evertalked about this on the show,
but it's kind of an interestingmechanic that goes on.
So the solution isn't like ahigh-fat diet or a keto, it's
just a balanced approach.
I like roughly 30% of caloriesfrom fat as a starting point and
then you can go a little bit upor down depending on your
preference.
All right, so we are going towrap up with three final

(41:27):
questions about mindset.
So question 28,.
What podcasts do you enjoy?
All right, why is this undermindset?
Because to me, the mind is alsoits own metaphorical muscle
that needs to be flexed andgrown, and I think learning and
education is a massive part ofthat.
So thank you for the question.
So there are some I'll saylonger fitness podcasts like

(41:50):
Stronger by Science, ironCulture, revive, stronger, that
I enjoy.
I listen to a few new newspodcasts here and there, like
the journal.
I listened to economic podcastslike planet money and
freakonomics.
I've got some friends in theindustry, like Jeff Hain, whose
podcasts I follow.
I like fun educational podcastslike how, um, what's it called?

(42:13):
Oh, stuff, you should knowthat's what it's called.
Let's see some other strengthpodcasts like starting strength,
if you can take Mark Ripito'shumor and political views.
Barbell Logics podcast, whichis called Beast Over Burden.
I like Business Wars.
I like Buzzcast.
As a podcaster, conan O'BrienNeeds a Friend is hilarious If

(42:33):
you guys like Conan and hisbrand of humor.
And then a few other businesspodcasts like creator, science
and honestly, that is just thetip of the iceberg.
I have a ton of podcasts in myqueue.
I don't listen to every episodeof every show.
I am very selective, based onthe content, the title.
I do listen, sometimes at like1.25 speed.
I don't want to go faster thanthat or else I'll miss it.

(42:54):
I like to listen while I walk,while I lift, and I get a lot of
inspiration that way.
The common thread to me ispeople who are kind of changing
the mold, using mental models,developing frameworks,
developing systems,evidence-based thinking.
You know, if somebody gets toooff the wall with the claims, I
tend to unfollow them.

(43:15):
But if there's a good story, ifthere's a great topic, if
there's some really extensiveresearch that's been done, I'm
all over that, all right.
Question number 29.
What is the biggest trainingmyth that refuses to die?
I think my biggest offenderhere is still the idea that
women will get bulky fromlifting weights, when in reality
most people women, men need towork incredibly hard just to

(43:37):
gain modest muscle.
Trust me, I know from personalexperience and I am a man and my
testosterone level is just fineand I eat a lot of carbs and I
do my bulks and still it's astruggle to really put on lots
of muscle mass, because it's atime-based process that you have
to just put effort into and notworry about getting bulky.
Most women will benefit a lotfrom maybe not a huge surplus,

(44:01):
but a little bit of a caloriesurplus to build muscle for
about six to nine months andjust try it.
Do it for me and report backand tell me how great it feels
to get strong, to increase yourlifts consistently, to have
enough energy, sleep, to havebetter stress mitigation all of
the things in a way that you'venever experienced before.
And then you also fill out yourclothes more aesthetically and

(44:24):
then, when you lose some fatafter that, you all of a sudden
look lean in tone, like youwanted in the first place, and
not bulky.
So that is the biggest trainingmyth that refuses to die that I
wanted to answer.
Today I've got about 50 more inmy back pocket, all right.
And the last question is what isthe biggest nutrition myth that
refuses to die?
And the one I have to go withhere is that any food is good or

(44:47):
bad and you have to cut outfoods to get your results.
So many diets still todaycarnivore, keto, even
intermittent fasting, to a senseare depriving yourself
unnecessarily, and I want togive the power back to people
listening to know that theirmeal timing, their frequency all
of that is super flexible andwhat you eat is super flexible.

(45:09):
As long as you bring in and addin the macronutrients and
micronutrients that support youand your body and how you feel
and perform, it's going tonaturally work itself out and
result in the balance andtheents that support you and
your body and how you feel andperform, it's going to naturally
work itself out and result inthe balance and the foods that
you need and want.
Don't listen to the fearmongering about seed oils or
plants being toxic, or carbs, orchemicals or additives or

(45:32):
artificial sweeteners or any ofthat, because if you are
consuming 80, 90% whole,nutritious foods, your body
easily handles whatever else youthrow in it.
You have a naturaldetoxification system there.
That's.
Another thing is detoxes, don'tget me started, and you don't
have to overthink it.
Just track your food, becomeaware, add in sufficient protein

(45:52):
and fiber and nutrients andyou'll be golden.
People get hung up so much onthese diets and restricting
themselves that they beat theirhead on a wall for years and
years and years.
You don't have to do that.
Just track your food and shiftit toward the things that your
body needs.
All right, I don't want to makethis episode much longer than it
has to be.
I got through the 30 questionsfor you guys.

(46:13):
I hope you enjoy them.
I picked the ones that werekind of more general, that that
more more most people would beinterested in.
And as we close out episode 300, I want to thank you all again
for being part of this journey.
You know, unlike the 300Spartans who met a terrible end
at Thermopylae sorry for thespoiler If you haven't seen the
movie or read history um, ourbattle here against fitness

(46:35):
misinformation will continue,for I want to say forever?
I hope not, but we are in thistogether.
I have your support.
You have my support.
We are allies.
We're not immortals, but we areintelligently trained listeners
and lifters and we're going tofight on for hundreds more
episodes to come.
Whether this is your firstepisode you've ever heard or

(46:55):
you've been doing this for awhile, the principles are all
the same Progressive overload,adequate recovery, sufficient
energy and food, an energy ofbalance appropriate to your
goals.
It's the basics, it's thefoundations.
Sleep, stress those are thefoundations.
Tracking and measuring theright things for awareness.
The specifics, the methods ofhow you implement them are going

(47:16):
to evolve as you progress andthey're highly dependent on you
and figuring out what works foryou.
That's what we do in mycoaching program, whether it's
one-on-one or the PhysiqueUniversity.
That is what we do.
There is help you discover whatworks for you.
But the fundamentals endure andI'll leave it at that.
So if you enjoyed today's epic30 Q&A episode, which they're
not all like this, a lot of themare shorter.

(47:37):
They're not all like this.
A lot of them are shorter.
They're very focused topics,but I thought this would be fun.
If you have your own question,submit it at witsandweightscom
slash question.
You will get a personal replyfrom me and I'm going to feature
your question on an episode,either a Q&A or as its own topic
.
I'll let you know and I'll giveyou a special shout out if you
want it.
That's witsandweightscom slashquestion, or click the link in

(47:58):
the show notes.
Until next time, keep usingyour wits lifting those weights
and remember that your fitnessjourney is a lifelong campaign
where victory comes throughconsistency, not a single heroic
moment.
This is Sparta.
I mean, this is Philip Pape,and I'll talk to you next time
here on the Wits and Weightspodcast.

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Epic Q&A - 30 Nutrition & Training Questions Answered with Spartan Efficiency | Ep 300