Dynamic Dialogue with Danny Matranga - 264 - Q + A: should you take pre-workout, sodium, cardio for fat-loss, advice for gym newbies, bodybuilding on a budget + more!

Episode Date: February 17, 2023

There is NOTHING more valuable to a podcast than leaving a written review and a 5-Star Rating. Please consider taking 1-2 minutes to do that (iTunes) HERE. You can also leave a review on SPOTIFY!Train with Danny on His Training App HEREOUR PARTNERS:  Ice Barrel: The best cold water immersion and recovery solution on the market HERE! Use the CODE: Danny to save $125!Legion Supplements (protein, creatine, + more!), Shop (DANNY) HERE!Melin makes the BEST hat's on earth. Try one using the CODE DANNY to save 20% HERE!Get Your FREE LMNT Electrolytes HERE! Care for YOUR Gut, Heart, and Skin with SEED Symbiotic (save with “DANNY15) at SEED.COM Take your love of sports to the next level with UNDERDOG FANTASY and play with danny HERE! (CODE: DANNY for first deposit match up to $100!)RESOURCES/COACHING:  Train with Danny on His Training App HEREI am all about education and that is not limited to this podcast! Feel free to grab a FREE guide (Nutrition, Training, Macros, Etc!) HERE! Interested in Working With Coach Danny and His One-On-One Coaching Team? Click HERE!Want Coach Danny to Fix Your S*** (training, nutrition, lifestyle, etc) fill the form HERE for a chance to have your current approach reviewed live on the show. Want To Have YOUR Question Answered On an Upcoming Episode of DYNAMIC DIALOGUE? You Can Submit It HERE!Want to Support The Podcast AND Get in Better Shape? Grab a Program HERE!----SOCIAL LINKS:Follow Coach Danny on YOUTUBEFollow Coach Danny on INSTAGRAMFollow Coach Danny on TwitterFollow Coach Danny on FacebookGet More In-Depth Articles Written By Yours’ Truly HERE! Sign up for the trainer mentorship HERESupport the showSupport the Show.

This episode is brought to you in special part thanks to our awesome partners over at Ice Barrel. If you're like me, you want to get the absolute most you can out of your fitness and out of what it is that you're doing in life. I like to make sure that I'm recovering well and prepped for hard workouts. I like to make sure that my cognition is sharp and I like to make sure that I'm doing what I can to maintain my long-term health. And cold water immersion is a phenomenal tool I use and have used for a while to help me do this. Cold water immersion or taking ice baths is a great way to improve your recovery and performance. Just a few short sessions a week can really make a difference in how you recover.

It can increase and improve your heart rate variability. It can enhance performance. It improves mood and brain function. It also provides an awesome boost of energy and focus because when you hop in an ice bath and you get this amazing vasoconstriction effect and your body starts releasing epinephrine and norepinephrine, it kind of lets you re-enter the world awake, energized, excited, and enthused. And I would much rather take an ice bath in the mid-afternoon, especially if I had a hard training session in the morning, than consume more caffeine. Ice Barrel allows me to do this in a super sleek, aesthetically pleasing packaging. It's a beautiful barrel that comes with a matching lid for keeping the ice cold and water inside clean, a nice step-up stool, a cover. It's portable and durable, and it comes

in a beautiful matte black and a gorgeous tan. I have the matte black out on my patio, and I absolutely love the way it looks with my patio and I absolutely love the way it looks with the fencing I have around the yard, but you can put this inside, outside, on the front porch, on the back porch, in the side yard. It's quite portable. It's very durable. Like I said, the design is super, super sleek and it's very easy to drain to make sure that you are only getting in to cold, clean water designed to help you improve your performance, improve your recovery, enhance the way your brain feels and functions throughout the day. This is an amazing one-time cost tool that once you have it, you use it a couple of times a week. It is one of the best investments you can make in your health. And again, if you want to improve your cognition

and performance, and you have those midday lulls, or you want to be more present for your family or for your friends when you get off of work, and you don't want to caffeinate, temperature modulation like ice baths or cold exposure or sauna heat exposure can be really valuable for increasing that subjective sense of well-being and bringing you back to a place of alertness in a really chaotic world. It's also great for just cultivating resilience. I find I'm much tougher. Again, this is a more anecdotal thing, but I find that I am much tougher, ready to face the day's tasks when I am consistently exposing myself to the elements. Call it bromeopathy, call it anecdote, but I will tell you one thing is for

sure, cold water immersion has made a huge difference for my health and well-being in just a few short sessions a week. And Ice Barrel is the sleekest, best looking, cleanest, and most affordable way to do it reliably. You can head over to icebarrel.com slash Danny to take advantage of their 100% satisfaction guaranteed with again, a 30 day money back guarantee and save 125 bucks on your Ice Barrel using the promo code Danny. So again, icebarrel.com slash Danny and check out using the promo code Danny to save 125 bucks. This episode of the podcast is brought to you in proud part thanks to our partners Seed. Seed makes the best symbiotic on the market. A symbiotic is a prebiotic and a probiotic. It's not just a supplement or a pill loaded with random bacterial strains that may or may not be clinically proven to work

in humans. And it's not just fiber. Seed is a symbiotic capsule that contains a unique pomegranate husk prebiotic fiber that feeds the clinically proven to work in human microorganisms inside the capsule. It's pretty amazing. Actually, it's this unique emerald green capsule that looks like a rare gemstone. I love taking my seed every morning because it just looks so damn cool. But the other thing that's amazing about seed is it's delivered on a basis that allows for all of the microorganisms to be alive, meaning they're active fluorescent units. So when you look at them, you see, oh my gosh, these microorganisms, these probiotics are actually still alive by the time I ingest them.

So I can get the most benefit possible from my probiotic supplement. And again, seed uses the most clinically proven to work strains, clinically proven to work in humans. For example, seed has 3.3 billion AFUs of dermatological health promoting probiotics. That means 3.3 billion AFUs of dermatological health-promoting probiotics. That means 3.3 billion microorganisms who have been shown in the research to clinically enhance the health of your dermatological microbiome, your skin, not just your gut. 5.25 billion for cardiovascular health. 8.05 billion for micronutrient synthesis and nutrient absorption. And of course, 37 billion AFUs from specimens shown to improve digestive health, gut immunity, and gut barrier integrity. Seed is

amazing. And in addition to being so evidence-based, it's also vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, shellfish-free, sesame-free, glyphosate-free, corn-free, and does not use binders, fish free, sesame free, glyphosate free, corn free, and does not use binders, preservatives, and is compliant with Prop 66. So that is one hell of a product that you can get shipped directly to you. They even have a brand new PDS-08 formula. This is their new pediatric symbiotic formula that is specific for children and teens with no observed side effects of GI distress. It's engineered to survive digestion, even in your kiddo's stomach, and it contains five grams of prebiotic fiber per serving. So an awesome thing you can work in there for your kids. When you go to seed.com,

listeners today are going to save 15% off their subscription by checking out with the code Danny 15. This is the only probiotic supplement I would consider taking. And if you're interested in improving the health of your gut, skin, and overall wellbeing, I'd look into seed as well. This episode is brought to you in part thanks to some of our amazing partners like LMNT. LMNT makes the best electrolyte product on the market. In fact, I've actually started drinking my LMNT each and every morning before I have coffee so as to optimize my circadian biology, make sure that I'm hydrated and make sure that I'm getting ahead on my water intake throughout the day and not reliant on stimulants, but instead being somebody who's

reliant on hydration and the proper balance of minerals and electrolytes. If you want to feel your best all day, mentally and physically, it's imperative that you stay hydrated. LMNT provides a balanced ratio of sodium, potassium, and magnesium to support brain and body hydration. This combination of electrolytes improves health, performance, body, and brain performance, mind you, helps to reduce cramps and soreness and get you more hydrated. There's no sugar. LMNT is sweetened with stevia. It's perfect for exercise and perfect for the sauna because the flavors are natural, tasty, delicious, and not overpowering. And if you're like me, you'll use them multiple times a day across your training sessions to get hydrated

early to replenish after sauna use. And again, it's not just me. LMNT is the official sports drink of Team USA Weightlifting, and it's used by athletes in the NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball, as well as athletes like you and I looking to take your fitness to the next level. My favorite flavors are definitely the raspberry and citrus. When I put a box together, I try to load up on raspberry and citrus. And when you put your box together, you can get a free sample pack containing all of Elements' amazing flavors like mango chili, citrus, raspberry, orange, and more. To get access to this free gift with purchase, scroll down to the show notes and check out using the special link for Dynamic Dialogue listeners.

to the show notes and check out using the special link for Dynamic Dialogue listeners. What's going on, everybody? As always, I'm your host, Danny Matranga. Welcome to the Dynamic Dialogue podcast. In today's episode, I'm diving into the mailbag of questions that you guys have left for me over on my Instagram. You can follow me there at Danny Matranga. Same thing on YouTube, same thing on TikTok, same thing on Twitter. All of those links are in the show notes. Great way to get your question featured on the podcast where I just have so much more ability to go into depth. We have some great questions today specifically about pre-workout for beginner and intermediate athletes, pre-workout supplements specifically. We'll talk about salt as a mineral, sodium intake more generally in electrolytes. We're going to talk quite a bit as well about muscle growth

and getting leaner, specifically bodybuilding on a budget, what one can do to get leaner using tools like cardiovascular exercise, and then some more tips for gym newbies, anybody who's new to the gym and wants to feel more comfortable. So without further ado, let's get into question number one. This question comes from Melissa Goat. And the question is, do you recommend pre-workout for beginners? If so, which one? And I do recommend pre-workout, but not in the conventional sense. I think a lot of people who have a supplement affiliation the way I do with Legion have a vested financial interest in communicating to you that you should take as many of these supplements as possible. And I want you guys to know that first

and foremost, while I do get financial compensation through working with these companies, I would never recommend something to you that I thought had a greater trade-off for your long-term health, meaning if you weren't doing this thing and you added it in, it would have to be better for you in the long-term than it would worse. And I think with pre-workout, I think using it all the time, at least four to five days a week, would make your health worse because of the caffeine. I think a lot of people are really dependent on caffeine and they use too much as is. And when I talk to people who use pre-workout and energy drinks,

they often also drink coffee. And it's not that I think pre-workout is any better or worse than coffee. It's just the cumulative amount of caffeine. So if you're already a beginner weightlifter, okay, and you start slamming back a ton of pre-workout and you're already drinking coffee and maybe energy drinks here and there, there's a much greater likelihood that I will be kind of ingratiating you into a lifetime of caffeine dependence by saying, yeah, take pre workout. It helps. It does help the ingredients in pre workout do help. I use legions pre workout with caffeine because it does help. But I do think the long term, you guys ought to know that caffeine dependency is very real. And adding more in just to get your workout done isn't an ideal

strategy in the long term for your mental health, for your sleep, for your ability to get your workout done isn't an ideal strategy in the long term for your mental health, for your sleep, for your ability to get things done. Caffeine is a drug and becoming more and more dependent on it not only diminishes its efficacy because it's a helpful drug, but it can create dependency. So I do recommend pre-workout for lifters. If you can balance the caffeine consumption in the long term, which I find many people can't. So there are stimulant-free pre-workouts. Legion makes a fantastic one. They make their pulse formula that has 135 milligrams of caffeine, I believe. Sorry, that's 175 milligrams of caffeine. And they also make a stimulant-free version, which contains

zero caffeine. I think 175 milligrams of caffeine for a caffeine-sensitive adult pre-workout will help a ton. For somebody who's more caffeine adapted, they might not feel it and opt for two scoops of stimulant-rich pre-workout. And if you're adding that to caffeine and coffee, that could be a little bit deleterious. So I don't think you should add two scoops of a pre-workout into your routine if you're planning on working out for a long time. In fact, I'd leave it out altogether and opt for a stimulant-free version. Because if you can avoid becoming reliant on caffeine, I think it can make a really big difference. And when I got introduced to pre-workout, they didn't really make caffeine-free pre-workouts. They made pump products,

which were products that contained vasodilators, but they didn't make pre-workouts like Stem Free from Legion, which contains nootropics like Alpha-GPC to help with focus, as well as fully evidence-based dosages of L-citrulline, beta-alanine, and betaine. So these are things that are going to enhance your performance independent of caffeine. You won't get that huge jolt of energy that you get from caffeine, but if you're taking a lot of caffeine anyway, you probably don't get that effect. So if you're new to lifting and you're not a huge caffeine person, I try getting the stimulant free version and I would try getting the non-stimulant version or the stimulant-free version in the version that has stimulants. I try a scoop of the version with stimulants and I try a scoop without.

See how you tolerate it. If you're very caffeine sensitive, you can just get the stim-free. If you're caffeine tolerant, you can try two scoops and reducing your caffeine intake elsewhere. But more generally in the long term, I'd recommend foregoing highly caffeinated beverages all the time. And I think that the stimulant-free pre-workout from Legion is awesome, especially if you want to enjoy your coffee. And if you want the two-scoop effect, the full dosage, the double dosage, then do a scoop of the stimulant-free and a scoop of the non-stim. I think that would be great, especially if you're new. Because when you're new to this,

it's easy to want to throw a bunch of things into the mix. It's really easy to get excited. It's really easy to just kind of go head over heels for the supplements because they're so beautifully packaged. They're so wonderfully marketed. I've done this, trust me. I've taken every pre-workout with some of the most crazy stimulants, stuff that's now banned. And if I could go back in time and tell my young self one thing, it would probably be, hey, bro, cool it on the caffeine and just get these ingredients that improve performance because you want that more than you want a crippling caffeine addiction. Next question comes from Ronnie Faith. And this question is, do you track or worry about salt? I mean, I don't need a ton of processed crap, of course. So the question here is, do I worry about my sodium intake?

And this is from somebody who is acknowledging, hey, I don't need a ton of processed food. So many of you are athletes. Many of you are wondering, should I monitor my sodium intake? Should I supplement with electrolytes that contain sodium? Do I need to be worried about upper end sodium? And the first thing that I will tell you is this, that sodium has a bad rap in large part due to hypertension and high blood pressure. And a lot of people in America do have high blood pressure, and they should very much monitor their sodium. And I think more generally, as a health-conscious

person, you should pay close attention to your sodium. But sodium does play a valuable role in human health. It's an essential mineral. It's vital for maintaining fluid balance and balance with the other electrolytes. We'll talk more about those in a minute. It's involved in the function of your muscle and nervous system. So it works to help you contract musculature and create force. It's also incredibly important for your brain and athletes do need more sodium than the average person, especially endurance athletes. Now, the RDA, and again, I'm not a doctor, so take all of this with a grain of salt and run everything I say through the litmus or through the lens and filter of your actual medical practitioner, right? But,

okay, the RDA for sodium intake for adults in the United States is about two and a half grams, 2,300 milligrams. And that isn't all that much if you eat a ton of processed food. That's why I picked this question because the number one place Americans get their sodium is from processed foods. Many processed foods like canned soups, snacks, anything frozen, anything in a bag, anything with like chips contain a substantial amount of sodium, right? And even sports drinks like Gatorade, a lot of kids will drink Gatorade. A lot of adults will drink Gatorade because it contains sodium, right? So like a lot of beverages contain sodium, specifically sports beverages, but most sodium intake in the diet is coming from processed foods. And then of course,

what you put salt on. So a lot of home cooked foods. But if you don't eat a lot of processed foods and you're mindful of your health, like a lot of people are, and actually use low sodium seasonings, it's not uncommon to see individuals who are sodium deficient, who eat extremely clean. When you pair that with the fact that you need about two and a half grams a day and more if you're super active, I have found a number of adults who are getting substantially lower than their, let's say, optimal level of sodium intake. For me, I like to start my day off with a half packet of LMNT electrolytes. That contains a good amount of

sodium. A full gram packet or a full packet contains a gram. So I split that up into a half gram and I have that right in the morning when I wake up to train. I get sodium, potassium, and magnesium. We'll talk about the rest, but I find I am much more hydrated when I start my day with salt and water. I hold onto water better. I feel much more pumped and ready to go in the gym. I don't need to caffeinate as early. I find it interesting that we talked about caffeine first here because one thing I can say for sure is when I start my morning off with LMNT and the electrolyte and a lot of water and then push my caffeine back about 90 to 120 minutes. Like Andrew Huberman has suggested before on his podcast, I have much better energy throughout the

middle portion of the day and I don't hit a lull. I feel quite hydrated and able to do my resistance training in the morning with stimulant free pre-workout. Occasionally I'll have like a half scoop of stimulant rich pre-workouts, only about 80 milligrams of caffeine, right? When I wake up and then I will backload about two hours later, a double shot of espresso and that'll be it. But having salt and water and actually being hydrated gives me a lot of energy to train. Of course, it's energy for my tissues to contract better when I'm hydrated, but also my brain. And I think people forget the endurance athletes, right? Like marathon runners, they obviously need a lot of sodium because they sweat so much.

Okay. But strength athletes like weightlifters, they have a lot of fluid loss through sweat that oftentimes we don't think about because we're not out in the elements running. So replacing some of that fluid and sodium could be valuable and that your sweat tastes salty because you're losing these electrolytes. Okay. So if you don't have the right amount of sodium, it's pretty much impossible to maintain the fluid balance in and out of your cell walls, right? So if this isn't just some random nutrient, this is a pretty essential nutrient that the body knows what to do with. Okay. But it's not the only electrolyte that matters. We also have electrolytes like potassium and magnesium and both potassium and magnesium are in LMNT. And I'm a pretty big fan

of magnesium. I actually take a magnesium before bed in the form of magnesium bisglycinate. Magnesium is something that's used in a variety of different biological reactions. And potassium, which is commonly found in bananas and sweet potatoes, you'll often times hear potassium thrown into the mix as it pertains to cramping. Oh, you're cramping, have a banana. Well, it does seem that magnesium and potassium specifically can help with muscle cramps and contraction. And those three compounds, sodium, potassium, magnesium, they're all minerals and they're all classifiable as electrolytes. So they're all included in that formula. And I do not track my sodium, if I'm being completely honest. I find that generally I'm between 3,500 and 4,500 grams a day. Now, I do train most days. I'm pretty active.

I have a moderate sweat rate, and I often will use sauna and spend a lot of time outdoors, so I know there's fluid loss. Now, my blood pressure is good. I'd say it's actually great. It's very much in range. My aerobic health is good. My weight is normal, and I don't have any signs of cardiovascular disease. So I might be a candidate for having slightly more than the RDA of sodium. That does not mean you are a candidate for having more, especially if you

have high blood pressure or medication that might preclude you from including an electrolyte or having more than 2,300 milligrams or about two and a half grams of sodium in your diet every day. Hey guys, taking a break from the show to tell you about our amazing sports nutrition partner, Legion. Legion makes the best evidence-based formulas for sports performance, sports nutrition, recovery, and fat loss. I don't recommend many supplements. In fact, I think you can get the majority of the nutrition you need from a whole foods diet. But let's be honest, many of us are either on the go and need assistance, or quite frankly, we're not going to settle for average and we want to get the absolute most we can out of our training. So Legion is the

company I go to for all of my supplement staples, whether it's creatine, which I get from their product Recharge, my protein that I get from either Whey Plus or Plant Plus, two of the best tasting proteins on the market. They come in a variety of flavors and they don't have a ton of fillers and gum. Just Whey made from grass-fed cows from Ireland in a plant protein blend with a fully comprehensive dose of amino acids. I like to take a pre-workout. Sometimes I like it with caffeine. Sometimes I like to take a pre-workout. Sometimes I like it with caffeine. Sometimes I like to enjoy coffee in the morning and have my pre-workout later without caffeine. Legion makes both. Both the pre-workout with caffeine and without come with

a full dosage of clinically effective ingredients like beta alanine, betaine anhydrous, and l-citrulline to help you perform your best. They also make a phenomenal greens powder loaded with one of my favorite things, reishi mushroom, and a men's and women's multivitamin that contain a few different things that men and women might need for their unique physiology. So when you think of your vitamins, your fish oil, your pre-workout, your protein, all of the things that many of you take every single day, I'd encourage you to check out Legion. They have an amazing line, wonderful products, wonderful flavors, naturally sweetened, no dyes and colors. You can't go wrong. You can shop using the show notes below or by going to legionathletics.com and checking out using the promo code Danny. That will save you 20% and it will actually help you get two times points

towards future orders, which you can use the same as cash. Pretty cool, guys. So head over to legionathletics.com and check out using the promo code Danny to save on all your sports supplement needs. Back to the show. What's going on, guys? Coach Danny here, taking a break from the episode to tell you about my coaching company, Core Coaching Method, and more specifically, our a one-on-one fully tailored online coaching program. My online coaching program has kind of been the flagship for core coaching method for a while. Of course, we do have PDF programming and we have app-based programming. But if you want a truly tailored one-on-one experience with a coach like myself or a member of my coaching team, someone who is certified, somebody who has multiple years of experience working with clients in person, online, somebody who is licensed to provide a macro nutrition plan, somebody who is

actually good at communicating with clients because they've done it for years, whether that be via phone call, email, text, right? This one-on-one coaching program is really designed to give you all the support you need. With custom training designed for you, whether you're training from home, the gym, around your limitations and your goals, nothing cookie cutter here, as well as easy to follow macronutrition programs that are non-restrictive. You'll get customized support directly from your coach's email, or they'll text you, or they'll WhatsApp you. We'll find the communication medium that best supports your goals, as well as provides you with accountability in the expertise you need to succeed as well as biofeedback monitoring,

baked in accountability support, and all of the stuff that you need from your coach when you check in. We keep our rosters relatively small so that we can make sure you get the best support possible. But you can apply today by going over to corecoachingmethod.com, selecting the online coaching option. And if we have spots available, we'll definitely reach out to you to see if you're a good candidate. And if we don't, we'll put you on a waiting list. But we'll be sure to give you the best shot at the best coaching in the industry. So head over to corecoachingmethod.com and apply for one-on-one coaching with me and my team today. What's going on, guys? Taking a break from this episode to tell you a little bit about my coaching

company, Core Coaching Method. More specifically, our app-based training. We partnered with Train Heroic to bring app-based training to you using the best technology and best user interface possible. You can join either my Home Heroes team, or you can train from home with bands and dumbbells, or Elite Physique, which is a female bodybuilding-focused program where you can train at the gym with equipments designed specifically to help you develop strength as well as the glutes, hamstrings, quads, and back. I have more teams coming planned for a variety of different fitness levels. But what's cool about this is when you join these programs, you get programming that's updated every single week, the sets to do, the reps to do, exercise tutorials filmed by me

with me and my team. So you'll get my exact coaching expertise as to how to perform the movement, whether you're training at home or you're training in the gym. And again, these teams are somewhat specific. So you'll find other members of those communities looking to pursue similar goals at similar fitness levels. You can chat, ask questions, upload form for form review, ask for substitutions. It's a really cool training community and you can try it completely free for seven days. Just click the link in the podcast description below. Can't wait to see you in the core coaching collective, my app-based training community. Back to the show. Okay. This question is from Jane Lizalena. And the question is,

tips for somebody who's new to the gym and working out alone. So this is a really good question that I think at the beginning part of the year, you know, we're still very much in the first quarter of the year. I'm recording this on February 9th. A lot of you are still sticking with your New Year's resolution. So kudos to you. A brief applause for those of you who have made it this far. I hope you continue on your fitness journey, moving forward, not quitting, keeping your head up. But I understand that getting to the gym can be really challenging and intimidating for the first couple months. And even as somebody who's gone to gyms for years, I still get a little gym anxiety when I go to a new gym. I don't have nearly as much as I used to get, and I'm pretty darn good at keeping to myself, but I totally understand

feeling a little anxious. So what can you do about it? Well, the first thing you can do is to get a pair of headphones that are reliably charged in ear or over ear or wired, whatever you're comfortable with, and put those in and play something that makes you feel at ease. One thing I find that happens for a lot of people when they get to the gym, they drink a shit ton of caffeine from pre-workout. We talked about this already. They get a little anxious from that alone. And then they start bumping extremely aggressive, fast paced music with either violent or, you know, a kind of explicit lyrics, the kind of stuff designed to get you hopped up and aroused. And I'm not saying to listen to like elevator music or spa music, but maybe you have a podcast like this one that you enjoy, or you have an audio book that you're

learning and you can play something a little bit less intense as you just arrive. Okay. That, that's something that works really well for a lot of people that I've talked to just before you get to the PR songs, the super intense songs and the really heightened state of caffeination, just show up. Okay. Show up. Maybe you have the pre-workout in hand. Maybe you're sipping on it. I know you're supposed to drink it 20 to 30 minutes before you work out. So get about half of it in before you get there. Don't slam all of it. And if you're super anxious, reduce or go to stim free, find a playlist podcast or audio book that soothes you or relaxes you and helps you focus, not music that gets you super, super hyped right when you get there.

And then again, you asked specifically about working out alone. So we'll talk about that too, but you are never alone in most gyms. There's lots of people there. And if you get into the routine of going at largely the same time each and every day, you'll probably find that you start to recognize a lot of the people there. And one of the best things you can do, I'm not very good at this because I have a terrible case of resting bitch face. And I work out really early with very few people in the gym. And the ones that are in there are all about business, just like myself. So we're there to work. But if you want to have more positive interaction, a simple smile will almost never get ignored. And as long as you're tasteful and not like walking up to people mid set,

a smile and a wave or a smile and a nod will eventually help you build a community between yourself and the people who go to the gym at the same time as you, which is a fantastic way to begin to feel more comfortable in the gym. You begin to form community and it will also help with your adherence. If you're concerned about being watched by other people or the way you're performing an exercise because you're new, this is really, really common and just feeling like, man, I'm kind of out of place. I remember when I learned how to swing a golf club, going to the driving range and swinging was kind of intimidating because I was like hitting the ball all over the place, sometimes where I wanted it, most of the time

nowhere near where I wanted it. And I would worry that other people would see me hitting the ball sporadically all over the driving range. And that really helped me click with the notion that a lot of people aren't comfortable going to the gym and just trying out exercises, especially exercises that are more advanced than a golf swing, like a squat or a deadlift, some of these really advanced exercises. So something that I noticed a lot of girls, especially girls, but guys too at the gym would do when I worked in a corporate gym setting was they would use the group exercise room when there wasn't a class in session and kind of section themselves off away from the main weight room floor to just build a little confidence. And it was always cool to watch

people who started in that room where it's a little more quiet and secluded. A lot of times they bring weights in there with them so they could have that privacy, eventually get out onto the gym floor. And very few of them just stayed in there in perpetuity. Some just prefer it. But I think if you can find a little area in your gym where you can kind of carve out some space for yourself and you feel like you have the privacy you want, maybe you feel a little bit less on stage. I know a lot of people report feeling like they're almost on stage when they go to the gym. And that's not the case, but that's how they feel. So you have to be somewhat empathetic because a lot of perception is reality largely. So if you feel that way, it's kind of going to be your world. So finding a little spot that you can

tuck yourself away and warm up and get going or even train just there for a while until you feel more comfortable, that can be really helpful. Finding a gym partner, especially somebody who's slightly more advanced than you a little bit further along on their fitness journey. So valuable, such a, such a good thing to do. If you're in a position to do that, a friend, a family member, a coworker, somebody who will join you, uh, instantly going to increase adherence, probably going to increase your output might make your sessions take a little longer, but that's okay. It's totally a valuable trade-off. Another great option, if you have the means for this, is to hire an in-person personal trainer. Such a fantastic tool. You get so much respect from the other people at the gym when you have

a trainer. People are, I found, substantially more polite and kind to you because they know you're tight with the staff. They're very respectful. They see you working hard and taking it seriously. A lot of people at the gym, when I worked in a corporate setting, would just be so stoked to see new people coming in with trainers. And they'd stop by our sessions all the time and introduce themselves and be like, oh, that's Dan. Dan, he's a great trainer. He's the man. He's here in the morning early. And I think about all those interactions where my clients got exposed to really kind, thoughtful, helpful people who were just making sure that they knew, Hey, you're secure here. You're, you're cool here. We're stopping and saying hello and getting a trainer kind of gives you a little status at the

gym. So that could be a really good way. And then the last thing, last tip I really have for you, if you're new is to get a program, hopefully one that's at your fitness level. So if you're moderate to intermediate, you could do our Home Heroes app program at home or at any gym. Our Elite Physique is definitely a little bit more advanced for people who've probably got at least a year's worth of lifting experience under their belt, but that one's fantastic. We've got eBooks, obviously one-on-one online coaching. Find something, some kind of program. And we have everything from no cost sample programs on the core coaching method website to obviously our flagship one-on-one coaching products. We have, so we, there's no way after this that you would have to go to a gym with

no plan, but go with a plan and you'll automatically feel a little more at ease because you know what you're supposed to be doing. I really, really believe that. Okay. Next question comes from Patler Gute. And the question is, if you can give me advice for college bodybuilders who want muscle and are focusing on their studies, what would it be? And so the first thing I would say is bodybuilding and being a college student actually go together pretty well, except for the fact that food is really pricey and college students tend to be broke. But one of the best things about bodybuilding in college is you're kind of in that peak anabolic window and opportunity of your life. You have like the most sex hormone, growth hormone,

testosterone's flowing around, floating around through your bloodstream, helping you grow, helping you recover. It's a great time to train hard because most people are super young and healthy and ready to get after it. A lot of colleges and universities have cafeterias that you pay for access to that don't limit how much food you can get. So it can be possible to, on a college meal plan, get a lot of food and build a lot of muscle. But one thing I've found is a lot of bodybuilders really struggle because the options at their university kind of suck. So then they're in a position where they have to buy a lot of the foods to support their bodybuilding journey,

which can get expensive very fast. So focusing on low cost proteins, like lean cuts of beef, poultry, certain kinds of canned fish, dairy, eggs used to be cheap. They're not now. Protein powders actually come down quite a bit cost-wise. Protein powder is a great option and healthy whole grains, right? Things like rices, oats, breads, even certain pastas. You can buy your vegetables and fruits frozen and organic if you like or non-organic. There's lots of ways to get micronutrient-dense plant matter. So find a way to keep your fridge stocked with foods that will promote muscle anabolism. So protein, calories, carbohydrate to train and hard and perform. I'd say only buy the supplements you know you absolutely need. Vitamin D, magnesium, fish oil slash omega-3. Those are kind of the health ones. Obviously,

you could throw a multivitamin and it greens in there, but if you're eating healthy, I might not necessarily spend the money there. If you're eating lots of fruits and vegetables, you might be able to get away with it. A probiotic would be great, but again, pricey, kind of something that I think you kind of have to have your bases crossed first. Creatine for sure. Now, when you're young, you should focus a lot on compound movements, building strength that will last a lifetime, but also you're just going to be in a great position to gradually add more weight to the bar. So I would focus a lot on getting stronger, progressive overloading in a traditional sense, accumulating volume, focusing on contracting your muscles hard, training close to failure with great technique, not falling into the ego trap that a

lot of younger lifters will fall into. And then perhaps the biggest thing that holds a lot of young lifters back is not prioritizing their sleep appropriately and not really giving it enough credit for just how big of a difference it's going to make in the long run with your results and your progress. So definitely forego the parties, focus on your sleep, training and studies. If you can get a job and pursue that. I never did fraternities. I never did parties. I never went out and drank in college. And I ended up graduating financially and professionally a lot further ahead than many of my peers. And I've had a tremendous sense of pride looking back on that. I don't feel like I missed anything. I'm proud of the fact that I worked really hard to develop my body and develop my business and set myself apart financially from

most people my age. I have things now in my mid-20s that many people would not have, I wouldn't have thought it was possible for me to have these things. And it came from cultivating discipline in college through bodybuilding and sticking to what mattered to me at the time, which was getting an education, changing lives through fitness, building a personal brand and growing my knowledge and kind of cutting out the noise and a lot of the destructive habits that many college students engage in, like rampant drug abuse, tons of alcohol consumption, going out and partying, going out late to the bars. All those things are fun. All those things are cool. And I probably sound so lame right now, but I would say, dude, lean

really hard into focusing on what you're actually at school to do and building some muscle. Last question comes from Ria K. And the question is, how to split my cardio and weight training for fat loss? So simply put, weight training is integral for fat loss because you're holding on to more muscle when you weight train in a deficit than if you just do cardio. And whenever you want to lose body fat, it's really important to try to hold on to as much muscle as you reasonably can, because the more muscle you lose, the less you're going to like the physique that you have once you get lean most of the time. Additionally, you're going to lose some metabolic rate. Now, a lot of people overestimate how much

a pound of muscle contributes to daily metabolism compared to other organs like the liver, kidney, and brain, but it does make a difference and you don't want to lose it. So the best way to do this, in my opinion, is to follow this particular approach. Always do a 10-minute cardio warmup. That will give you a pretty solid aerobic base. So you train five days a week. That's 50 minutes of low-intensity cardiovascular exercise. That will help with fat loss. That will get your steps up. Do 20 to 25 minutes of low intensity exercise, aerobic exercise after your upper body sessions. That will get you to about 90 to 150 minutes. After that, you can add any amount of standalone walks or one to two HIIT sessions that are on rest days. Standalone walks can be whenever. HIIT sessions have to be on rest days, shouldn't come before a leg session. That's how I use cardio for fat loss. It gets me

a baseline of 100 minutes a week of a low-intensity steady-state cardio. If I add walks in, I always blast way past 150 minutes, which is the recommended amount. And you can add unlimited amounts of low intensity walking to simply burn more calories and enhance the rate of fat loss. And then if you like, you can add that HIIT session to burn even more calories and less time. Okay, guys, I hope you found this Q&A episode helpful. If you did, be sure to subscribe to the show, especially if you're listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you're listening on one, be sure to leave a review for the podcast on that specific podcast servicer. It would mean a lot to me and help more

people find the show. Thanks so much for tuning in and I'll catch you on the next one.