Dynamic Dialogue with Danny Matranga - 78 - Home Equipment, Eating At Night, and Depression

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome in everybody to another episode of the dynamic dialogue podcast. As always, I am your host Danny Madranga. And today I have my special guest Cooper pup named after Rams wide receiver. That's my NFL team of choice, the Los Angeles Rams. Cooper pup is my dog. He is named after Rams receiver Cooper Cup, if you didn't notice. They rhyme. And he's sitting here on my lap, licking my hand as we speak. So he's going to be joining us for the episode today. I want to extend a thank you to all of you guys for tuning in. So a little housekeeping here before we get started. What's new in my world, I'm continuing to flesh out my garage gym and why this might be important to you and why it's probably worth talking about, especially considering so many of you are trainers, fitness enthusiasts, hobbyists, whatever you want

Starting point is 00:00:56 to call it, is we are in all likelihood going to see an extension of these shelter-in-place, lockdown, COVID-19-related measures that might limit gym access for a great many of us across the country. For example, out here in California, 41 counties, if I'm not mistaken, don't quote me on that, are in what they call, at least out here, the purple tier. And the tiers are stratified by color. The worst color to be is purple. It has to do with infection rate per capita. But basically what we're seeing here in California is we're not getting a whole heck of a lot better. Now, I know you could make the argument that, well, McDonald's is open and that's way less healthy than gyms. And I would agree with you. And it is relatively unfortunate that we actually have some data that shows that gyms aren't super

Starting point is 00:01:51 unsafe while we keep places open that serve food that is generally associated with poor health when over consumed. But I'm not here to argue about that because I'm not a governor. I'm not a lawmaker. And there's not a whole hell of a lot I can do about it. But what I can do is kind of paint this picture as to what we're seeing here in California and maybe what you're seeing in your state and give you some solutions. So again, gyms are closed in 41 counties here in California, with many other states following suit as COVID-19 infection rates continue to rise and are projected to continue to rise in this coming winter. So it's not looking like it's going to get a whole hell of a lot better anytime soon,

Starting point is 00:02:37 which is really unfortunate because a lot of us want to get back to living our lives. And, you know, this is something that we're going to have to get through together. But one of the things that I talked about very, very early on in this pandemic was the importance of getting home gym equipment. I am still a huge proponent of if it is at all possible to get your hands on some basics. And by basics, I mean, some bands, you could do a lot with bands, a suspension trainer, like a TRX, no matter how well trained by basics, I mean some bands. You could do a lot with bands. A suspension trainer like a TRX, no matter how well trained you are, there are some fabulous exercises you can do with a suspension trainer. Has a very low footprint in your home. Huge fan of at least one kettlebell, preferably a heavy kettlebell. I recommend something around one quarter of your weight, so 25% of your body

Starting point is 00:03:26 weight for men and around 15 to 20% of your body weight for women. You can do a lot with that. A set of dumbbells, both light and heavy. That is the basics. You can do a ton with that. Now, if you were somebody who in April, May, June, were struggling to find gym equipment, I would encourage you to start looking again now because I have noticed there is more gym equipment in stock, which is awesome. It seems to be that the prices have not gone up. They appear to be about the same. That would still make them quite expensive, but it's an investment that I believe is worth it. Many of you won't be paying your gym membership for a couple months, so it might be worth investing in some home equipment in case this extends,

Starting point is 00:04:10 and it's looking like it will, into the new year, and you want to stay fit and you want to stay active. One of the recent pieces I actually purchased for my home gym was a free motion cable column. And in complete transparency transparency it was a five thousand dollar business related expense i am a personal trainer so thankfully for me that is an expense that i can write off on my taxes however even for those of you who aren't willing to drop five grand on a free motion machine you might find spending a hundred dollars on a set of bands goes a really long way. So I know it is frustrating. I know it is agitating. And we all would prefer most likely to go back to the gym in some capacity or at least

Starting point is 00:04:54 be able to. And if that's not the case, you've got to do your best. This is your biannual reminder, I should say, to get yourself some home gym equipment. Seriously, I'm telling you, if you are having a hard time stomaching the investment, a lot of this stuff has a really high resale value. And while I'm not telling you to scalp it like it's a PS5 and buy it and flip it for twice the price, buy it, use it throughout the quarantine. If you can sell it when your gyms reopen and that's what you want to do go ahead and sell it somebody would be happy to buy it i know there's tons of people that will not ever be going back to the gym

Starting point is 00:05:29 as for housekeeping related to podcasting and the mailing list so if you guys are not already on my mailing list i strongly encourage you to join you can do it easily by just going to the link in my Instagram bio, clicking the mailing list, or going to www.coachedannymatranga.com slash email dash sign dash up. That's www.coachedannymatranga.com slash email dash sign dash up. And I have, in all honesty, been slacking on my mailing list. And if you got the email I sent out last week, you'll know it's because I have had a hard time keeping the wheels rolling. I have been dealing with a little bit of anxiety. And you know, for the majority of April through September, a pretty heavy dose of depression. There were days that I had an extremely hard time just getting through the day. And a lot of days where pulling myself out of bed

Starting point is 00:06:31 was the hardest thing I did. And I only talk about it to normalize it, not to seek sympathy. I understand that this stuff is quite common. And I certainly know I'm not the only person in the fitness industry who is dealing with it. and I'm definitely not the only person in the world who's dealing with it. A lot of people are struggling with balancing feelings of anxiety and depression and staying motivated during an incredibly strange time. We had a very tumultuous summer with the racial and justice-related protests, all of the controversy and hullabaloo surrounding the election, the lockdowns, and the particular impact that had on people in the fitness industry was pretty heavy. So we've been an industry that's been hit hard, and I'd be lying if I told you that

Starting point is 00:07:18 at points it felt like my life had been pretty considerably disrupted. And so I have been working with a therapist for months, even precipitating some of these more heavy emotions. But I just wanted to let you guys know that the reduced frequency of the podcast and the mailing list was as much a function of my time as also it was my energy. I just didn't have the juice to do it.

Starting point is 00:07:42 And a lot of times it seemed really daunting and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. But I am back on the horse, hoping to continue to bring you this type of stuff as we move forward here into the new year. I'd love for podcasts to be weekly and I would absolutely love for mailing list correspondence to be the same.

Starting point is 00:08:02 So expect to hear from me more on both of these platforms. And again, if you want to follow me and keep up to date on every piece of content I produce, some of the content that I am most proud of producing is directly mailed out to those of you on the mailing list. So go to the link in my Instagram bio. I will see if I can link that here in the podcast if I remember to when I'm done recording or go to www.coachedaniematranga.com dash email dash sign dash up so without further ado that does it for the housekeeping guys and we are going to get into a little bit of Q&A here before we finish up with just some basic chit chat and I got a great question today um and it is from roomie kravitz and roomie

Starting point is 00:08:49 submitted this through the ask a question for the podcast section of my website and roomie's question is hey danny my husband seems to think that when eating at night after six to 7 p.m., all the food goes to your stomach in terms of fat. Does eating at night really harm any lean results, Flatter Tummy? You are trying to achieve. Thanks. So, great question here, and I think we need to kind of unpack the mechanistic underpinning that drives fat gain. So, we know, generally speaking, that eating too many calories, in particular eating in a caloric surplus, will lead to fat gain reliably in almost all people in almost all instances. If you're eating too much, you're going to gain fat. Your age, your gender, your stress level, your hormonal profile, and your genetics are going to dictate where exactly it is that

Starting point is 00:09:42 that fat gets stored. So for women who are younger, let's say between 17 and 30, there's an impetus for body fat to be stored in the hips and thighs. As women age and hormone profile changes, it might shift more to the abdomen. For men, abdominal fat gain is extremely common with, you know, fat gain on the hips, thighs, and arms being much less common. common with, you know, fat gain on the hips, thighs and arms being much less common. So hormones, gender, age, all that types of stuff has a much greater implication as to where that fat gets stored than when you eat those calories that may set you into a surplus. However, in an effort to do my due diligence, I did look up to see if there was any recent research on the topic, and I found a study from Majid et al. that did find that having a later dinner equated to more fat gain.

Starting point is 00:10:32 Now, to break this down and really take a deep dive, we have to look at this. The study concluded that eating an earlier evening meal, about three and a half hours earlier than a late evening meal, about three and a half hours earlier than a late evening meal resulted in favorable changes in weight loss and waist circumference during a 12-week weight loss program it also offered clinical benefits concerning changes in plasma cardiometabolic risk markers so what we've seen from this particular study again from majid at all is that eating earlier did lead to a favorable is that eating earlier did lead to a favorable body compositional outcome and metabolic health outcome. But why? Does it really mean that eating late into the evening increases these risks? Or is it, again, mechanistic? And I would say it is the latter, right? I think that eating an earlier meal is likely better at mitigating late night snacking. Late night

Starting point is 00:11:25 snacking is one of the biggest issues with regards to keeping caloric intake under control. And so what I mean by that is, let's say that you eat a traditional breakfast between 8 and 10 a.m. and a traditional lunch between 12 and 2. That means you have about four hours, give or take, between each meal, which doesn't leave a ton of time for snacking. But more importantly, it doesn't leave a ton of time for satiety to dip and appetite to really kick up. So imagine now if you had lunch between 12 and 2, having dinner around 9 or 10 p.m. That really extends the duration between meals and it will likely increase your appetite, which would leave one greater likelihood of snacking between meal two and meal three in

Starting point is 00:12:13 this particular example. But also it's probably going to mean you're going to eat a bigger dinner later at night. So that's what I look at here. I don't necessarily look at the time and say, oh my gosh, see, look, eating later at night means more fat gain. I look at, okay, what are some of the mechanistic stuff that happens or changes between these particular outcomes? And one of the things we know is that it does all come down to calories. So that later meal likely led to, in my opinion, my interpretation of the data, it likely led to what I would describe as a greater

Starting point is 00:12:46 overall caloric intake across the day due to snacking between that second meal and that third meal and probably a much larger dinner overall. So eating a little bit earlier, closer to lunch, you might not have as much of an appetite, you might be able to get away with smaller portions, which in time would lead to greater fat loss. For anyone listening, I'm not saying that there isn't necessarily scientific room here to continue to research this type of stuff. It may well be the beginning of a long road to understanding the ways in which chrononutrition, or the time at which we eat, impacts our body composition and metabolic health. But I would look at this mechanistically and say the number one thing you have to look at is calories. Don't sweat the time. If you want to learn more about chrononutrition,

Starting point is 00:13:30 I actually did a podcast a little while ago with my good friend Danny Lennon of Sigma Nutrition. And if you have not yet listened to his podcast, Sigma Nutrition Radio, I would strongly recommend doing that. It is a fantastic resource and I think you guys will like it a lot. It's one of my absolute favorites. So do check that podcast out. Hey guys, just wanted to take a quick second to say thanks so much for listening to the podcast. And if you're finding value, it would mean the world to me if you would share it on your social media. Simply screenshot whatever platform you're listening to and share the world to me if you would share it on your social media. Simply screenshot whatever platform you're listening to and share the episode to your Instagram story or share it to Facebook.

Starting point is 00:14:10 But be sure to tag me so I can say thanks and we can chat it up about what you liked and how I can continue to improve. Thanks so much for supporting the podcast and enjoy the rest of the episode. So that does it for the Q&A session and we will take a deep dive look now into some of the stuff that I think you guys should be including in your workouts if you're working out from home. I'm actually going to outline seven exercises that I think are criminally underappreciated with regards to training with minimal equipment from home. The first one is a Nordic hamstring curl. So for those of you who aren't familiar with the Nordic ham curl, it's the hamstring movement you see where people lock their ankles under something,

Starting point is 00:14:52 squeeze their glutes, and essentially lower their body all the way down towards the floor using just their hamstrings. It is the closest thing you're probably going to be able to get to like the lying hamstring curl machine when training from home. Because remember, that is a predominantly knee flexion exercise. So we're flexing that knee joint. And that's what's really driving the hamstring activation. And a Nordic curl is eccentric lengthening of the hamstring from a flexed position. So it'll make you super sore and it will hammer your hamstrings. But it doesn't train the hamstrings and the glutes in the same way that hip extension-based hamstring work,

Starting point is 00:15:30 which is what most of us are doing, whether we have barbells or dumbbells, with things like Romanian deadlifts. So these are legit. I love them. They're tremendous for the health of your knees by strengthening the eccentric capacity of the hamstring. They'll give you the ability to really load things up.

Starting point is 00:15:45 And again, it's a great departure from things like RDLs where we might want to say, hey, I really want to train my posterior chain, but I don't want to load up a barbell and load up my spine. So check those out. The next one, and this is one that if you've been following me for any length of time, you know I love. This is the hill that I will die on.

Starting point is 00:16:06 I believe that the singular best quad and glute exercise, period, if we're talking bang for your buck, is the lunge. Whether it's a split squat, a walking lunge, a deficit lunge, a reverse lunge, I am a huge advocate for lunging. Not only because it gives us the opportunity to train musculature, which we normally train in a bilateral manner, like the squats and glutes using quads and glutes, using things like squats and deadlifts, into a unilateral fashion where we can really make sure that we're not exacerbating any muscular imbalances. We're working on stability as well as getting enhanced core activation. But I think that lunges can be done in almost any capacity with no equipment at all.

Starting point is 00:16:47 Simply doing walking lunges for distance is an adequate way to train your legs. I don't care how well trained you are. Doing split squats with adequate tempos or added ranges of motion or pauses are fantastic. Seriously, lunges are fantastic. They are tough to beat. Do not skip out on them. Next one you guys can do from home are dips and push-ups. Now dips and push-ups are the two best bodyweight exercises we can do for the pecs. Being able to angle your torso slightly forward and do what we would call a chest bias dip versus a triceps bias dip where the chest and the torso are super vertical will be a little bit better, right? So if you lean forward in your dips, you'll get more pec than if you're totally straight up and down. And of course, pushups are fantastic for the chest, triceps and shoulders.

Starting point is 00:17:35 But one of the things I think we think often about when we're doing dips and pushups is, you know, these are exercises that many of us can do quite a bit of, and they're not necessarily as easier to track your progressions, given that we don't often tend to load them up. And although you can with things like weighted vests and plates and dip belts, it's not necessarily first on everybody's list. So my recommendation for progression of things like push-ups and dips is to set a benchmark in terms of reps. dips is to set a benchmark in terms of reps. So across your training block, do a AMRAP series of push-ups and dips. Again, AMRAP meaning as many reps as possible. And seeing if across your training block, you can increase the number of AMRAP you can do. So maybe in week one, you can

Starting point is 00:18:18 do 10 push-ups and five dips. And then in week two, you do 11 and six. Week three, you do 13 and seven. Maybe by the end, you can do 15 push-ups and eight dips. That then in week two, you do 11 and six. Week three, you do 13 and seven. Maybe by the end, you can do 15 push-ups and eight dips. That is progressive overload. That's what we're looking for. And while these exercises might not load the pec as optimally as something like, say, a cable fly, shout out to FreeMotion for my awesome machine. Can't wait to set that up. They do a damn good job for what many of us have access to, and progressing them is a fantastic way to build strength as well as muscle. Another one I'm a huge fan of has got to be split squats and Bulgarians. So toss this right in there with lunges.

Starting point is 00:18:59 Like I said, everything I've told you about lunges is true here, but again, even more stability, even greater ability to target one side unilaterally, and they take those lunges to the next level. Bulgarians are fantastic, and even just loading up a Bulgarian ipsilaterally with something like a 20-pound kettlebell works extremely, extremely well for packing some serious mass on your quads. So what list of home workouts that kick ass would be complete without pull-ups and chin-ups? Seriously. While they're not nearly as effective for your lats as some of the cable work that a lot of us have become accustomed to, I have to say, they are tremendous for building grip

Starting point is 00:19:40 strength, the arms, and the totality of the back. And you can progress them the same way I told you you can progress push-ups and dips. And again, the investment in something like a dip belt, again, you can probably still buy these on Amazon, allows you to load up almost anything through a little chain that you can do assisted weighted pull-ups with. So you can loop a kettlebell through there, plates, probably not a dumbbell, but you can progressively overload your pull-ups with. So you can loop a kettlebell through there, plates, probably not a dumbbell, but you can progressively overload your pull-ups if you don't have, say something like what I have, a lat pull-down tower. And it works really, really well. And I think you guys will tremendously enjoy the results of getting better at pull-ups. The last one is just band work,

Starting point is 00:20:20 but particularly band work aligned with enhancing metabolic fatigue. We have different avenues and pathways by which we can go about stimulating hypertrophy. And while mechanical tension appears to be the top, which is kind of the confluence of doing heavy weight with good technique and applying it as optimally as we can to the target tissue, building up some metabolic stress or just catching a pump at the very least is good for driving sensation and will stimulate tissue in a different capacity. So doing things like high rep banded lateral raises, banded arm work, specifically maybe

Starting point is 00:20:56 even things like blood flow restriction, banded arm work is a great way to mix it up and catch a pump working out from home, which is something that I think a lot of us miss. And it's really great when you're out here in California and it's 32 degrees in the morning and you're freezing your butt off and you need to heat yourself up. So I am a huge fan of banded work for that reason. And I think you guys will like it an awful lot. So that being said, guys, that does it for today. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you're listening to this episode, stay tuned. I've got a program sale coming your way on Black Friday. You won't want to miss this.

Starting point is 00:21:33 All of my programs and e-books will be discounted so that you guys can get the stuff you need to crush it in the new year. If you want to support the show, consider buying a program or purchasing some supplements from legion athletics using the promo code danny at checkout legion is an awesome sports supplement provider and they've done an amazing job of supporting me supporting the show so you

Starting point is 00:21:56 guys please have an awesome holiday if you're going to see family for thanksgiving be courteous be kind be aware do what you can to mitigate the spread of the virus uh and again tell the people that you're close to whether you're going to see them this week or not whether it's on zoom or in person that you love them that you care about them and that they matter you guys have a great day and i hope to catch you soon you

Dynamic Dialogue with Danny Matranga - 78 - Home Equipment, Eating At Night, and Depression

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