Finding Peak w/ Ryan Hanley - Deadlifts Won’t Break You—Weakness Will: Why Lifting Isn’t Optional After 40

Episode Date: December 26, 2024

Spartan philosophy, built in the black-ops lab of business: https://www.findingpeak.comFinding Peak podcast: https://linktr.ee/ryan_hanleyWhat’s more dangerous than deadlifting? Being weak.In this no-holds-barred conversation, Ryan Hanley and fitness coach Jordan Syatt shatter the myths about strength training, aging, and why most guys in their 40s are stuck in a cycle of low energy and bad habits.From testosterone crashes to the silent dangers of sitting too much, this episode is a wake-up call for anyone who wants to live longer, stronger, and better.Join 11,000 leaders on The Finding Peak newsletter: https://go.ryanhanley.comWhat You’ll Learn in This Episode:Why deadlifting is the most functional exercise you’re avoiding—and how to start safely.The shocking truth about low testosterone, what causes it, and how to fix it naturally.The three biggest factors destroying your health (and it’s not what you think).How movement, lifting, and even small habits like walking can radically improve your quality of life.The surprising impact of sleep and how to optimize it without complicated gadgets or gimmicks.Why “Dad Bod” culture is killing your long-term health (and confidence).Connect with Jordan Syatt:Website: https://www.syattfitness.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/syattfitness/Follow and Support the Show:👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with the guy who needs to hear it. Let’s build a stronger, healthier future—together.--Recommended Tools for GrowthOpusClip: #1 AI video clipping and editing tool: https://link.ryanhanley.com/opusRiverside: HD Podcast & Video Software | Free Recording & Editing: https://link.ryanhanley.com/riversideWhisperFlow: Never waste time typing on your keyboard again: https://link.ryanhanley.com/whisperflowCaptionsApp: One app for all your social media video creation: https://link.ryanhanley.com/captionsappGoHighLevel: It's time to take your business workflow to the Next Level: https://link.ryanhanley.com/gohighlevelPerspective.co: The #1 funnel builder for lead generation: https://link.ryanhanley.com/perspective--Episodes You Might Enjoy:From $2 Million Loss to World-Class Entrepreneur: https://lnk.to/delkFrom One Man Shop to $200M in Revenue: https://lnk.to/tommymelloIs Psilocybin the Gateway to Self-Mastery? https://lnk.to/80upZ9This show is part of the Unplugged Studios Network — the infrastructure layer for serious creators. 👉 Learn more at https://unpluggedstudios.fm.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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You thought Christmas was over and here I am giving you another present. This tremendous conversation with Jordan Sigh. One of my absolute favorite go-to fitness thought leaders first caught Jordan's work when he was the personal trainer to Gary Vaynerchuk. Jordan has since gone off on his own and just the way that he delivers kind of It is no nonsense, no bullshit, straight down the middle content that is going to hit you right in the face if you are looking for easy comfort, but not in that like influencer way, not in that like look at how amazing I am way. It is real world, real talk from a guy who has a real family who really works out, who really was a weightlifting champion. but is as he says, I think he says he's like 5, 8.

I mean, so this isn't some like Adonis, you know, gifted by God individual who then tells you all these things you should be doing. This is a real guy doing the work, training real people, and delivering that message in a real way. And it absolutely resonates with me. And I know it will resonate with you. So with all that being said, I give you your last Christmas present, Jordan Sayed. He can curse. He can tell stories. get contextual, all good.

There's no art rails on a conversation. Amazing. Awesome. Awesome. I also really like that. I like a jacket, man. That's like something I would wear. Like, I really like that a lot.

That's awesome. Straight Instagram purchase. Really? Dude, it was late night. It's like Instagram fucking knows when I've had like a beer too and I'm sitting on the couch by myself. It's like it knows. It's like it knows.

It's like he's just enough. Like his inhibitions are down just enough that if we serve this Daddy's going to hit purchase right here. Yeah. I honestly, I bet they do do that on purpose. Like, all right, this time of night. That honestly makes total sense. I'm not even a clothes guy. Like, all my stuff, hand me downs, but like, I love, like, that's nice. I really like it a lot. I've had this for two years. I wear it. So, I live in Albany, New York, so in upstate. Okay. Yeah, yeah. It's cold as shit. And I, my office is in my basement, and there's no heat, like, not, you know, it's not real hot down here. And this thing is beautiful. And you throw it. Throw it. Throw, throw it.

on all the time and um but here's the here's this is a crazy part so i got divorced three years ago and like you you maybe i don't know what your lara is like but my ex-wife like she had her hands in my in my clothing purchases a lot so like since since i've been divorced i got to make all these decisions on my own right okay i've grown man so i can do that i have found and i shit you not the clothes I love the most, and I'm not a big clothes guy either, I buy off Instagram. Flux shoes. I found Flux shoes on Instagram.

Fucking love them. Don't buy another shoe. They're my favorite shoes. Other than I have a pair of nobles that I wear for lifting, but like other than that, flat bottoms. So like zero drop, wide sole. Yeah. Dude, find them on Instagram.

This sweatshers, this is like $45 on Instagram. Like, it just Instagram's got my, like, me so dialed in. It's unbelievable. I just, I just linked up flux because I'm in the market for new shoes. That's perfect. Yeah.

Their trainers are nice, but, um, these, dude, these just zero drop fucking kick around shoes are awesome. I like that. Yeah.

Perfect. Thank you, man. Hey. We're, who knew this was going to be a big, uh, big ad for the Instagram shop. Um,

all right. With all that, uh, being said um dude i i want to i want to talk about something i want to start in a place and and you you take this or wherever you want but like i'm going to hit you with a scenario that i know a lot of dudes my so i'm 43 a lot of dudes my age are dealing with and here's a scenario last january it's cold as shit in upstate we don't see the sun for like six months okay you you you do you still live in new york or where are you now no we're in dallas

Dallas, okay, so screw you, but good for you. I know you used to be in New York when you were with your deal a lot, so you understand the weather and a winter. Yeah, you're up and bun, yeah, yeah. I'm used to that, like, winter drag. Completely used to it. Last January, it's like I hit a brick wall. I just, it was like, I'm like, dude, I'm in shape.

At that time, I was lifting a lot. Like, I'm in great shape. I'm like, I shouldn't feel this way. Mm-hmm. And I hear. one of the gurus, Huberman or someone talk about testosterone and these at-home tests you can do.

So I'm like, fuck it. Like, I'm out of options and I go get it. And my testosterone is 70. Which puts me in the sixth percentile of all men my age. That's wild. I don't think I've ever heard of someone's being that low.

Bro, high protein diet, work out constantly, like, eat good. I do all the things. Like for the most part. Sleep good. Above average, healthy 40-year-old guy. Like way above average. In all other areas, 70.

So I started taking oral... I use a company called Maximus. I don't know. There's a bunch of companies out there. It doesn't matter. So I wanted to start our conversation around, one, the role that testosterone plays, particularly in men's lives.

and outside of like taking a supplement like I do now, it's a it's a natural, it increases the natural production of testosterone in the body before you go TRT. It's like a pre-TRT thing. Like, what can we be doing? Because when I shared this with some of my other buddies that like coach use sports because I coach my kids and stuff,

dude, two or three other than went got tested and they were all super low. And not as low as me, but they were lower than they should be. So, like, what are we not doing? Like, what are the things that guys my age, you know, 830s, early 40s, mid 40s can be doing to kind of, like, it's changed my whole life, man. I'm a completely different dude today than it was a year ago because I figured that out. Where's your test at now? 700.

700? Holy shit. You 10x it? That's crazy. That's, and it's. What are you taking? I could go up and get the bottle. No, it's okay.

No worries. I don't know. It's okay. And it starts, it's like enclidid, E-N-C-something. Okay. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's an, every day I put it under my tongue.

And, you know, it's just like a little tablet or whatever. Just take one a day. And I've been doing it since March. And the last time I got tested was August and I was at 700. That's amazing. I mean, that's incredible. I mean, so. just for context, like generally and whoever, whatever doctor you talk to is going to give you a different number, and I'm not a doctor, but generally like under 200 or 250 is low.

And so to be 70 is very, very, very low. So I'm glad that you got tested and you got on something. And as long as you continue to be monitored by a doctor or a medical professional, that's the most important thing. The major thing is a lot of people, what a lot of guys will do is they'll just say I've got low testosterone in the same way that often women will say I've got a slow metabolism. But they don't actually get checked for it. And so what you did is you did the right thing. You got tested. And that's what you need.

That's like the first step. You have to go get tested. Because a lot of people are very quick to go to TRT route. And I don't have anything wrong with TRT inherently, but that shouldn't be your first step. Like first, let's look at number one is your sleep. Actually, before you even sleep, how's your body fat? Yeah. Like, if you have excess body fat, that's one of the major,

never mind the major risks of dying early, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, so many other health issues from having excess body fat. But if you have high body fat, your testosterone is going to be at risk of being significantly lower. On top of that, drinking a lot of alcohol. Now, some in moderation is fine, but if you're drinking a lot week to week, that's a major problem. And with that often comes poor sleep and often will also come out.

access body fat. So higher body fat, minimal sleep, too much alcohol, smoking. These are all things that just wreck your testosterone and your health as well, but especially your testosterone. They go hand in hand. Not lifting weights. And a lot of dudes for some of my reason hate on cardio, but good cardiovascular health will improve your testosterone as well. So they all go hand in hand. But the major controllable factors are body fat, sleep, alcohol. Biggest one. by far. From there, get that under control. And for you, like, clearly, you're lean, you're strong, you're muscular.

It sounds like everything was already taking care of. There might have been some either lifestyle, whether it was the stress from, who knows, the divorce, stress from whatever it was going on in your life, because stress can have a major impact on as well. Combined with, I mean, if sleep was an issue as well, that also could have severely impacted it. but the major controllable factors, you want to get those taken care of first. For you, since you clearly were in such good shape already, it was probably like, what the fuck is?

Oh, you know, another thing is vitamin D. So if you're not getting sunlight, that can be a major component of it as well. And, you know, you're in Albany, so you were just coming out of winter when you got checked as well. That also probably had a major component assuming you weren't already supplementing with vitamin D3.

Either way, most dudes need to get their basics in check before they start taking anything extra. And this goes for everything. Like this isn't just for testosterone or TRT. This goes for every supplement, like creatine. For some reason, as soon as someone wants to get healthy and fit, the first place they go is GNC or vitamin shop or whatever supplements store.

It's the first thing to do. It's like, how about you go to the gym at least three times a week? How about you get eight hours of sleep every night? How about you get at least try to get one gram of protein per pound of your body weight? Like, do that for a year before you go to the supplement store. Because you're going to drop hundreds of dollars in the supplement store, and then you're not going to fucking use it. And it's in the name.

Like, a supplement, it's supplemental. It supplements an already good diet. It supplements an already good sleep schedule. It supplements an already good workout program. If you're taking these supplements and you're not doing the right thing, then you're not going to make a difference. And before you go get the fat burners and that nonsense, those don't work. If they did, everyone would take them.

If those worked, then GLP ones and we go. OZempic wouldn't be a fucking thing right now if the fat burners work. Stop buying that shit. It's a waste of money. No one ever was like, you know what got me that six pack is the fucking green tea fat burner that I took from, like stop it. Get your stuff in order before you go the supplement route. And then once you've been consistent at least a year, at least.

And usually I like to say three to five years, then you can start doing this other stuff. You're different because you're already in shape. You're already fit. So I'm glad that you got checked. But first get checked and then get everything, all the controllables under control. and then from there you can see what else you need to do. Yeah, I have a feeling that it was stress because that winter I had founded a company

and I exited from it in November of 2023. So maybe like three or four months before that. And there was just a lot of tumult. I think it had to do with stress, but it could have been vitamin D. Dude, we get 66 days of sun here. And I probably wasn't taking enough vitamin D. But man, I was shocked.

When I saw that number, I was like, holy shit. And for those, for guys, for listening, like, I'm a different human today than I was a year ago. Like, just in the way that I feel. It's insane. And then you talk about like that negative and I'd love for you to comment on this. Like it's such a negative cycle, right? So like I'm, my testosterone is not there. I'm feeling down.

So I'm not. I stop working out as much as I want to because I don't have that natural energy. and I'm questioning things, and then you don't start sleeping well. And then, like you said, then you start grasping for solutions. And I hate that. Like, I hate going anything that isn't, like, natural first.

You know, that tends to be my way. And, but you do, it's so easy to start going, well, maybe it's this supplement or maybe I just need, you know, maybe it's because I'm not taking, what's that greens, athletic greens? If I was taking athletic greens, everything would be fine. Yeah, it's nonsense.

So easy to go down that. rabbit hole. Yeah. I mean, the reality is like, it's, it's much easier to take a pill than it is to work out. And it is to put your fucking phone down and go to bed. And it is to stay hydrated and to get your steps in it. It's much easier to take a pill. A lot of people like to point to individual ingredients, like, seed oils or whatever it is, these major problems. It's like, you know what the major problem is compared to any other time in history? Is that right now it's like, you've got Uber eats on your phone. You, you get. You can barely get any movement in before we had to hunt for our food.

Now, you don't even have to go to the grocery store if you don't want. You can order your groceries directly to your door. You don't have to move. You can sit down in front of your blue light phone and look at it all day, all night, and you don't move, you don't lift, you don't do anything physical whatsoever. It's like, it's not the seed oils. That's your problem. It's like you don't move. You don't lift.

You don't train. You don't sleep. Like you are a sloth. That's the problem. Get up. Do something. Stop looking for the most convenient thing and start looking for the most effective thing,

which is movement. Yeah. So you hold a bunch of powerlifting records and have been a power lifter for a while. I would love for you to talk about the impact of moving weight. I played sports, but I always lifted in connection to what I needed to do for that sport. I never was a power lifter.

I just never got into it until COVID hit. and I heard Tim, he was Kobe Bryant's trainer, Michael Jordan's trainer, Tim, fuck, he's got two great books, Reloneless and Winning, and I can't remember his last name, that's going to kill me. That's all right, I'll, like, I'll awkwardly wedge it in in post-production. But, um, I heard him on an interview one time go, like, somebody asked him a question, and he said, guys need to move weight.

And, like, he just stopped. And, like, I think, like, that, That was like, it was so point blank the way he lifted. So I said, fuck it. I'll start deadlifting. So I've gotten really into deadlifting. And I try to explain to my friends the impact that it has on my body in a positive way. And I can't do it justice.

So I would love for you to talk about your journey with power lifting, why you got into it, what it's been like. And then maybe help some of the people listening who maybe just their exercise, though, any exercises you said is good, right? Their exercises maybe just cardio or they're taking like a hit class and why pushing weight or pulling weight whatever is such an important part. You've finally broken loose from work. Three friends, one tea time, and then the text. Honey, there's water in the basement. Not exactly how you pictured your Saturday. That's when you call us, Cincinnati insurance. We always answer the call because real protection, means showing up, even when things are in the rough.

Cincinnati Insurance. Let us make your bad day better. Find an agent at C-I-N-F-I-N.com. Of the mix, of really kind of hitting that, hitting your performance and just being healthy in general. Yeah, I mean, I got into it, I wrestled from when I was eight years old. So I started, and I did a bunch of different sports, soccer, wrestling, baseball, but wrestling was the one that I really, I loved the most, and I started lifting because of that. Listen, it's really important to do cardio as well. That's important.

But if you're not lifting, it's a big problem. It's a big, big, big, big, big problem. If I had to rank the most important first, I would say the most important for health and longevity is going to be walking. It's steps. It's movement. That's by far the most important.

If we look at the longest living people in the world, it's not power lifters. It's not crossfitters. It's not people who do hit or burn boot camp or orange theory. It's the people who walk the most. And we see this in Italy. We see this in France. We see this in Japan.

We see this in Switzerland. The people who walk the most live the longest and healthiest lives. Now, from there, once we have that base covered, it's like, okay, so it's not just about how long we live. It's also about the quality of those years. And the quality of those years, a lot of it comes down to how much strength we have. Right. So if we want to not just elongate our life, but also live a better quality of life,

one of the major things is bone density and as soon as they start talking about that people are like oh dude they just they tune out they want to hear about how to get jacked and how to get ripped but it's like if you have anyone in your life 60s 70s 80s or old or one of the leading causes of death is they fall and it's just a regular fall

but they fall and then maybe they can't get back up they break a hip and over 70% of people who break a hip or break a bone after when they fall after they're like 60 or 70 years old they die because what it takes for their body to recover from that is astronomical So in terms of the quality of your life, you absolutely need to lift in order to maintain that quality. Never mind the metabolic effects of adding more muscle, which is going to burn more calories.

So it'll be easier for you to stay leaner year-round. You'll be able to eat more food without gaining body fat, all these things that people like to hear from the aesthetic perspective. But just purely from a, as an individual, as a human, if you want to actually, if you don't want to have someone living with you or being in a nursing, home like you got to fucking lift weights if you if you want to be able to uh compete with your kids compete with your grandkids if you want to be able to it's funny in the research they they call them adl the activities of daily living something as simple as opening up a jar something as simple as like if you were to fall and you need to grab on to something do you have the grip strength to do that um it's these simple things that when you're younger and 40s i still consider younger but i bet by

the time you get to your 30s and 40s you start seeing kids you grew up with who are adults now like like damn dude like what the fuck like fucking dad boy bro dad but it's dad bad bad bad is like the least of it i mean like like they've got real problems like they they've got getting up a flight of stairs is a problem whole like doing anything and in their mind they still think they're when they're a high school football player high school wrestler high school baseball across that's how they think they are but they're not and it takes a big life changing situation for them to realize it so um if you want to live longer Move. If you want to live longer and better, move and lift.

I get a ton of shit from people for deadlift and they're like, you're 40 years old now. What do you need the deadlift for? You're going to get hurt. And I'm like, I look at them. I'm like, I'm not going to get hurt because I deadlift. Like, just, you know, so you understand where I'm coming. I hear you. But understand my perspective is when we're out on the field fucking around with the kids, you know, in the outside. field, you know, I coach baseball for my sons. And like, I'm like, the reason I can run around and shag fly still is because I do this shit. Like, and it's such a struggle to get through to people. And I, I'm not a fitness expert. It's not my job. I just love it. And unfortunately, I can't stop talking because I have massive ADHD. So I have to tell everyone everything I'm doing and thinking at every moment of every day. That's why I have a podcast. It's like therapy,

essentially. So, you know, like, I try to explain to these dudes. And they're all. And they're All awesome guys, all former athletes. But, like, they're all carrying 20 to 40 extra pounds. And they can't move. They get to the end of practice. And they're, like, exhausted. And I'm like, I could have going for another two hours. And that's not me bragging.

It's... It's the truth. It's I don't want to be hunched over, you know, going and having to get fucking dialysis when I'm 60 years old. You know, I want to still be, I want to be popping with my grandkids. Like, I'm going to be out there helping my grandkids learn how to hit a baseball. Like, that's... And I don't, it's so hard to get through to people. And it's, and it's one of the reasons I was so excited to have you on the show.

I know there's so many guys that listen that are in similar life positions as me. And they're not prioritizing this. And so with all the work you do, all the people that you work with, like, when you're trying to just crack, get your foot in the door with them, right? Like obviously maybe they've reached out so they have an interest, but they're still hesitant. They're still, how do you start to crack that door? What's the mindset is there, is there, is there, is there, like a, I don't want to call it a pitch, but like, you know, hey man, like, it's time you get for fucking ass, like, let's go.

Like, how do we start to get through to those people to show them? You don't have to be a power lifter. You don't need to be benching 400 pounds. That's not what we're talking about. But just get in the gym and move some weights once in a while. Yeah, so I'll talk about that in one second because it's super important. I will go back to, like, the people who are like, you're going to get hurt deadlifting. Listen, injuries happen all the time.

People get hurt stepping off a curb. People get hurt picking up a bag of groceries. Like, it happens all the time. If you think it's dangerous to deadlift, then you should see how dangerous it is to be weak. Being weak is way more dangerous than getting stronger in the gym. And yeah, like, absolutely. You could get injured deadlifting in the gym,

and then you can ideally recover from that. But if you're training smart and intelligently, which is what we'll talk about in a second, your likelihood of getting injured is is teeny tiny, minuscule. You're way more likely to get injured doing something when you're weak. Like trying to pick up a heavy grocery bag or trying to pick up some luggage or playing with your kids or all of a sudden you try and do a sprint or you change direction.

And being weak is a way bigger risk factor for injury than getting strong. So could you get hurt deadlifting? Yeah, especially if you're deadlifting like an idiot. But let's not fucking deadlift like an idiot. Let's do it intelligently. So like you were saying, you don't need to be deadlifting 800 pounds. You don't need to be bench pressing 400 pounds. I'd like you to get in the gym two to three days a week.

And if you want, like, if you are listening to this right now and you can't do 10 good pushups from the floor, you're fucking weak. And that's not a dig. It's just like, cool, let's get you in the fucking gym. Like, you could just start with your body weight. Let's get you doing stuff. Let's get you using your body weight.

Let's get some dumbbells in your hands. You don't need a full gym. You just, like, have some dumbbells, have your body weight. Master your body weight. I mean, realistically, That's how we enter this. Two to three days a week. Master your body weight.

Like, get some good squats in there. Just body weight squats. Maybe holding, put some weight in a backpack. Put some weight in a backpack. Hold the backpack squat. Do some Romanian dead lifts. Do some push-ups. Do some body weight rows.

If you get a TRX straps, you can do some rows that way. Like, just move your body and get stronger. You don't need to be doing 30 sets of exercises. You don't need to be having 12 different exercises per workout. Two to three days a week. Three to five exercises. exercises and two to three sets of eight to 12 reps per exercise, you're good. That's it. Like, do that a couple days a week. It could be 30 to 45 minutes per workout and you're set.

One of the best things, best piece of advice I was ever given. I have a friend who does Spartan races. And I was saying, you know, man, I hate running. I know I need to do it. I don't do it enough a couple times a month probably, but I just don't like it. I was like, but I do want to get out and move more. And he sent me a link for a ruck vest. So I wear 20 pounds in the front and 20 pounds in the back. And when I take the dog for a walk, I just throw the stupid vest on.

And we go around the block a couple times and you come back. And just that simple, I mean, literally nothing. I'm not pushing anything. I'm not pulling anything. I'm just wearing this vest. Going for a couple laps around the neighborhood with the dog. I come back. Dude, no ankle pain.

My foot pain's gone away. I never feel like, like, how many people do you know? Like, they're like, oh, my back is tweaked. I was like, I haven't had back pain in years. This is probably three years ago that you said this. I haven't been back pain in years, years. No back pain. Sitting in a chair all day.

I work in front of a computer. You know what I mean? Like, that's my job. No back pain. And like these simple little things that you can add into your day can, can over time, like compound into crazy benefits for your body. And we just, like you said, We don't prioritize it.

We're like, fuck it. I'll watch another show in DoorDash. The dog can just be on the chain. And it's like, ah, I just want to like shake people sometimes. I'm like, dude, it's there for you. Like, it's this easy. Like, you can do it. But to the deadlifting point, and I just want to go back to this

because it's just on my brain and it's my podcast so I can do what the fuck I want. You know, I'm like mad that I didn't learn about this exercise earlier in my life. I've never found an exercise and, you know, push back on me wherever this is wrong or right, whatever. But I've never found an exercise that you do not have to lift heavy, right? That doesn't have to be heavy. You just proper form, right? Work through the exercise, with proper form your entire body.

Like I get done, my grip is stronger. My shoulders are stronger. My back is stronger. My legs, my glutes, my hips, my abs, my quads, my hamstrings, my calves. my calves, my feet, like all the way down. One exercise, right? Once a week, you know, because I'm not trying to be trying to break any records, right? Once a week, I do this exercise.

Once a week is all you need. Once a week, it's all you need. Two more than the mat and you're more like the injured. Yeah, and I've never come across an exercise. And like you said, you can do RDS. You can just do the exercise with no weight. Like you said, just use your body. And I just try to push my friends to say,

guys, it's not where you start. I'm not advocating in any way, not being a fitness professional, this is where you start. But don't knock until you tried it. Because it changes. Like all of a sudden, you walk into a room

and your shoulders are pulled back for the first time in 20 years because you have the back strength and the posture to actually do that. Now people look at you differently. They talk to you differently. You find people more, you know,

just your entire way that you operate when you when you have that that full body strength you start to notice how people interact with you because you're not slumped over you're not wearing clothes that are three sizes too big because you're trying to hide something that you don't like right you're you're just in this better position which then equates down to the way you speak to your spouse the way you speak to your kids the way you handle situations like I just can't advocate for this enough guys and so so I guess what are other exercises that that we can be doing once we get past body weight when we're getting started that these guys can get started with their things deadlifting i think is a little more advanced probably but like what are some of the lifting isn't more advanced man

it's it's all about it's all about their variation that you use and where you start like when i'm working with someone who's brand new like i'll often just i'll put it this way what is it deadlift like what is it Like in the most basic form, what is a deadlift? Just pulling weight. Standing up. You pick something up off the ground. It is the most functional exercise in the entire world because all you're doing is picking something up. That's it.

How much weight can you pick up? That's what a deadlift is. So I think everybody is, I would hope everybody listening is advanced enough to be able to pick something up off the ground. And it doesn't have to be a barbell with 400 pounds. it could be a 10 pound, 15 pound, 20 pound kettlebell. Right? It could be dumbbells. It could be doing an RDL with a reduced range of motion.

Rather than starting on the ground, you start at your hips. Either way, you could do an elevated deadlift, so it's a shorter range of motion. But pick something up. Like, let's pick shit up that's important because you're going to pick stuff up in everyday life. So I'd rather you learn how to do it properly and get strong in that range of motion. So I would say starting with a kettlebell deadlift or dumbbell Romanian deadlifts, really, really great starting point for people who don't know how to deadlift and haven't done and don't feel confident yet.

So if you don't know what those are, fucking Google, YouTube, kettlebell deadlift, dumbbell Romanian deadlift. Like, you're going to figure it out really quick. From there, I would say goblet squats, another dumbbell or kettlebell exercise. I mean, if we're talking about, you're talking about the confidence you get from deadlifting, there isn't a single exercise that I've found increases people's confidence more than deadlifting. When you hit a deadlift personal record and you lift more. weight. You feel like you are on top of the world and you could beat John Jones and a fight. It's just

like you feel like you could just be an absolute demolition monster, which transferred into your everyday life. I mean, when you pick something up that you've never lifted before, you hit a PR, it's just like it's one of the greatest feelings ever. And it will carry over into your everyday life mentally, physically and emotionally. Another great one is any type of squat. And the sort of the the analogy or the metaphor here is like squats are very much like life and that when life gets you down you got to stand the fuck back up you got to carry the load and stand back up with that weight you can't just let it crush you and so yeah you could do it with a barbell or just hold a dumbbell or kind of out right in front of your chest and do squats like it's a great starting point

lunges are an amazing thing bulgarian split squats are amazing they're a little bit more advanced but reverse lunges static lunges forward lunges these are all amazing um those are the major lower body exercises I recommend. Deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, squat, and lunges. Those are the major ones. There are many other exercises, but those are the priority, especially when you're beginning. And even as an advance, like those are your compound. Those are the major lifts that you do. Upper body pushups, I think everyone, everyone, men and women, should be able to do 10 pushups relatively easily.

I think there's just like everyone should be able to do that. from there we can do like dumbbell bench press if you want to do barbell bench press you're welcome to overhead press barbell dumbbell whatever umbell rose lap pull downs i think i would i would like it if everyone is able to do chin-ups obviously that's a little bit more advanced i will say i think the two greatest moves for confidence deadlifts and chin-ups like when you can strap some weight around yourself or when you get your first ever chin up like oh my gosh you feel on top of the world uh so chin-ups or weighted chin-ups, lap pull-downs, dumbbell rows, barbell rows, seated cable rows. These are all like, and these are the exercises you'll use your entire life.

Like, they're really great strength training is very boring over a lot. You do the same shit. You just try and get stronger with it over time. So you do the same things over and over and over and over again. You have to be ruthlessly consistent with the basics, nonstop. I think one of the major reasons people struggle either to get started, or to stay consistent is because they have this idea that they're supposed to look like a bodybuilder or look amazing or be like a professional athlete within a week, two weeks a month.

And this is why we see huge numbers of people going to the gym in January and then by January 16th, they're gone. And that's not a made-up date. Like there are, one of the cool things about fitness trackers that we have now is we can track when people start being consistent with their exercise and when they fall off. And January 16th is like the fall off date for the vast majority. of people. They, and it's because they're like, I'm going to do it every day. I'm going to work out seven days a week and I'm not going to have a fucking carb ever again. And after two weeks of January, they're like, all right, I can't do this anymore.

It's like, okay, well, what if instead of going every single day, you went two to three days a week and you did that for five years straight? Like, you'd be better off than 98% of the people in the world. So stop trying to go seven days a week. Stop trying to go as hard as you possibly can. Just go a couple days and be consistent. And that ruthless consistency will yield tremendous results. So I go to this absolute steakhead gym.

It's my favorite gym I've ever been to. It's called ABC Fitness. Shout out if anyone's listening locally here in the Albany area. And it's filled with 22-year-old steakheads. Just steakheads everywhere. That's all it is. There's like two chicks and 200 steakheads. And they're just flexing in the mirror.

And I love it because I'm like the old guy there. And I'm surrounded by all this energy because they're all slamming weights and slapping fives and flexing and shit. I love her. I think it's great. I'm 100% it's why your test went up because you're around all that.

Just osmosis. Like that's fair. Yeah, it is. So it's like their sweat and testosterone and I just 100% have and you're around all these 22 year olds who are just like their test is going crazy.

That's why your test went up. So I hit my personal deadlift goal or my post general deadlift PR 465. Nice. Pull it. So happy. It took me two years to get there.

You know, bam, just felt fucking amazing. Oh, Put it down. Great lift, solid, felt amazing. And the kid behind me comes up because it's, and he got like six deadlift platforms kind of all near each other, comes up, slap, he's like, dude, great lift.

Was that a PR? He's like, yeah, it's like awesome work. Turns around. He's got, he's got, uh, 5005 pounds on 10 for 10. Fuh, like this, right? It just rips 10, like, just blows me. And I turn around, I look at him. I'm like, bro, you couldn't have waited like five a minute?

Like, you just couldn't have given me like five minutes before you just like through my shing, you know, we're laughing or whatever. It's the worst. Just leaps out way more than your pee. Yeah, it's the way. And I was like, oh, humility. That's what that feels like. Gotcha, right?

And I just do my daily dose. I want to transition to sleep because you mentioned it a couple times. And about six months ago, I started wearing a whoop strap. Oh, right. I usually like this stuff because I find sometimes you overindex on the numbers, less on the accruity. However. I have found by being diligent in the journaling feature of like what I do and how it impacts my sleep,

it's been insane what I've figured out impacts and doesn't impact my sleep. And then it has helped me. I was getting on average when I started like five and a half, six hours of sleep. And now I'm getting like 715, say, now that I start really tracks. I feel great. And frankly, my body like. Like, seven, seven, 15 is really just where my body's like, hey, you're up, right? It's not, like, I'm not trying to get more.

But talk, maybe talk to me about just how sleep impacts our overall fitness and our energy and all these different things. Because I do not think there is enough conversation outside of the fitness and wellness world about, I think people are like, I get six hours sleep. I'm just one of those people. And I'm like, no, you're fucking not. Like the number of people from my research that are actually can live off five, five and a half, six hours sleep consistently and be successful, I think is very small versus the people who try to pretend like they can live off that. And they just get used to this constant state of tired. Yeah. And then they're always over-caffeinating.

And what a lot of people don't understand is that many of these people who say that they only sleep four or five or even six hours a night, like, okay, are they taking Adderall? Are they taking vivance? Are they on methamphetamines? Like there's like if you're prescribed that, that's fine. But people are prescribed testosterone and you'd probably want to know if someone was taking testosterone to see like what's going on from a muscular growth perspective. It's like if someone is on that, then they have an advantage in that they are literally on a methamphetamine to keep them awake more.

It's like, okay. So that's, if you're not taking those, then you're going to be more tired if you're not getting sufficient sleep. It's just important to be aware of that. Not to mention the genetic component, but what's been, you're 100% right in terms of, so I have a Garmin, I track sleep, I track a lot of stuff as well. I don't like to pay attention to the numbers very much because I'd rather just go based on how I feel. What I will say has been a massive eye-opener. It's the first time you don't tell it when you drink or anything. You're not saying, hey, I'm drinking right now. When I drink alcohol and if it's just like one beer or a couple beers or one to two beers or like one

glass of wine um i don't notice a difference but if i go past that my garmine knows it knows that i drank too much and my sleep quality will be shit which is crazy because it that's it took that consistently of realizing oh and i want to look into this more and a lot of times people they say I'm going to drink so I can get a good night of sleep. Well, just because you get tired when you drink doesn't mean you're getting high quality sleep. Your sleep quality actually goes to shit when you drink. So not only you're getting the negative effects of alcohol, you're also getting the negative effects of lack of sleep. And I mean, this is sort of a crude analogy, but it does work.

It's like, okay, if you have your laptop, right, and I'm on my laptop right now, or your phone for whatever, the example is. You use your phone all day. It might have a lot of productivity with it. You get a lot done. But if you don't charge it, it doesn't matter how productive you were the day before because now you can't use it again. It's gone. The battery's over. If you are not charging your battery, if you are not getting enough sleep, then it doesn't mean your workouts are worthless. It doesn't mean your nutrition is worthless, but it does mean that your battery will not go up to 100% anymore. your battery maybe it'll get up to 25 or 30% it's like okay so you're putting in all this work and you're now more tired and you're only getting like a 30% charge like what the fuck is the point

of that and for what by the way so you can scroll on instagram more so you can look at like at porn so what for what for what are you what are you lacking in this sleep for what really is going into your life that is making your life better because not that you're only getting now five, six hours of sleep. Put your phone down. Go to bed. And it will actually, it will massively enhance your ability to make progress. And it will take you from a 30% charge to a 90 to 100% charge. So since I've been tracking, so I have a diagnosed hyperactive bipolar. So I'm constantly either hyper manic or manic at all times, including right now, which I think I'm somewhere in the middle. And I did a test. So I've never been

been a big pot smoker, but I really, there are days when even when I'm doing all the right things, I get to the evening and like the body, my body does not, like, if I'm hypermanic when I get, if I jump to hypermanic late in the evening, I literally just can't calm down. Like, my brain is going a thousand miles on hours. It's not like I can do for it. And I've tried a bunch of different stuff. So my doctor actually said, try, try pot, right? Try smoking. She's like, try a little Jay before you go to bed. And I was like, yeah, okay, I'll try anything, right? It's, No problem. So what I found is, yes, it does narrow my world and it does help me calm down.

But to your point, I get shitty-ass sleep. So it's like, okay. So would I rather ride the panic wave, maybe come back downstairs and get a little more work done and then just eat the fact the next day that I'm going to be a little tired and maybe be productive or I'm zero productive when I'm high and go to sleep a little earlier. but then sleep like shit throughout the night, which I have literally the cool thing about this is it literally shows you where you're at and when you drop into REM so I can see for the first four hours of sleep,

I'm basically not even recharging. It's like to your analogy, the battery's plugged in but no juice is getting into the moment. Correct. Yes, exactly. To my girlfriend's chagrin, the number one indicator of high quality sleep, sexual activity before bed. Number one, out of all the things I've done, and that is not a joke.

I'm not trying to be funny, although it may be for some people, and it may be unfortunate for some of the women out there if you're not into that with your husband or partner or whatever. But the number one, number one absolute positive indicator, and my whoop strap will confirm it, is sexual activity before bed, drop almost immediately into high quality sleep, and will sleep for a tremendous amount of time, and I'll be 90, 100% recharge.

And guys, if you aren't doing some of the things that Jordan I are talking about, you most likely haven't felt 90 to 100% recharge in a while. The first time, I saw like 93% on my whoop for recharge. Dude, it was like being 15 years old again. My brain is functioning. I'm like ready to crush the day. I'm like doing push-ups in between calls. I'm like, let's fucking go.

Like, oh my God. it's crazy guys we operate i think most people are probably just operating 40 to 60 percent sleep recovery and they just think that's normal and it doesn't have to be that's the scary part correct it doesn't have to be and i also think people and by the way i struggle with this is um constant dopamine coming in through social media and scrolling and so when you were talking about either being hypermanic or or smoking weed um something that that i try and do is like because the default is any, any boredom, pick up your phone, facing your phone. It's like, keep the phone away and, like, pick up a book.

Or, like, if you can, like, go on a walk, listen to an audio book. Something that doesn't have light in your face. And it's a, it's reading a book, you still get a dopamine hit, but it's not like scrolling on Instagram or TikTok. It's a much, much, much less of a hit. And that can be super helpful for improving the sleep, like the bedtime routine, which can then help get better. sleep as well. Yeah. Yeah. It's, uh, the, the whoop strap, when I first got it, it was kind of like a

Hail Mary pass. Like, hey, I'm struggling to kind of figure out why I'm low energy and the testosterone thing. And I was like, I've heard people talk about it. It's not super expensive. I'll try it. And I can't take it off now. Like, I'm, I'm, it's also becomes, and I think we all need to find these things in our lives. Like, it becomes a reminder. Hey, do the right thing, man. Like, Correct. You're going to get yelled at in the morning if you don't do the right thing. Like, it's going to blink in your face. Hey, you didn't do the right things yesterday or last night or whatever.

Like you were screwing around. You had three beers instead of zero beers or one beer, right? Like, and it has started, you know, the first couple months, it definitely doesn't change what you do. But like, as you start to feel better more consistently, you're like, maybe I don't need to have a drink tonight. Maybe I'm good. Like, I don't need to do that. Like, I'm all right. I would rather wake up.

It's not worth it anymore. It's like at first you think you can't live without it. It was funny. I remember I worked with the client. This must have been 2016, 2017. And she came to me and she was having like 12 to 15 drinks a week. And she was like, I'm not willing to give it up. I was like, okay, I mean, that's up to you.

For the first three months, she made zero progress. Didn't lose any weight. And she was like, what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck? And I was like, here, I have a challenge. You didn't want to give up 12 to 15 drinks a week, which is. fine but here's what i would say is if you can't give it up for 30 days then i would say you've got a drinking problem um so how about for 30 days just no alcohol just for 30 days after 30 days go back doing what you're doing she's like fine in 30 days she made more progress and like she made a

huge amount of progress way she literally made none in the first three months they were together huge amount of progress and she was like holy shit she was like it literally was all it wasn't just the alcohol was the alcohol and then what she did after she drank all the alcohol and then And so from there, she didn't quit alcohol altogether because it was still important in her life, but she went from 12 to 15 drinks a week to like three to five drinks a week. And then she continued to make amazing progress while still being able to drink in moderation. And so what happened there was it took her feeling and getting the results to finally be motivated enough to realize that that amount of alcohol just wasn't worth it for her.

So it's people wonder, it's like, well, how do you get motivated? It's like, well, you don't wait for motivation to happen. You've got to take action and then from those that action you get results and from those results, then you get motivated to take more action. It's people wait for the motivation. It's like if you're waiting for motivation, you're going to be waiting forever. You've got to take action when you're not motivated. And then from there you get results and then with those results you get more motivated.

Yeah, it's like it's almost as if we're waiting for something to give us permission to make the change. Right. Like I had a buddy say to me one time and this was a while ago. You know, I'll, you know, and he had all the thing, overeating. big pot smoker, big drinker, and he's like, I'll change when something happens to me. And I'm like, bro, what the,

what's that stupid? You're going to change when you have a problem, like an artery burst or a fucking aneurism, then you're going to change? Like, why don't we, like, why don't you just dial it back 10% and see how much better you feel? Like, right to start there.

And, you know, again, I'm not a fitness professional and I'm no one's coach, so I'm not trying to, like, make people, you know, I'm just trying to help him. But, like, it, that, I do, feel like a lot of us are sitting there, you know, excusing away things we know are maybe excessive, right? And again, I'm not going to judge anybody. I like to have a few drinks. You know, like I said, I will occasionally, when I do need to land the ship, still, you know, spark of a J or something just because I know that that will help me at certain times. But I use them as

tools. I think I'm in as tools, not as I'm doing this because I need to change my mental state. It's more like, you know, there are tools in the tool belt to help me be successful. as much as I can. And if I understand the impact that they have on me, then I can use them accordingly as necessary, right? If that makes sense. Versus like, I need some life event to happen to give me permission to start making changes in my life.

It's like, that's not the right way to look at it. Yeah, I also feel like for someone saying that there is a very often people don't think it's going to happen to them. Like, oh, that's not going to happen to me. That wouldn't happen to me. People have this false idea. that like that happens to other people not to me and a really common one with this is blood pressure I talk about blood pressure all the time because it it's literally called the silent killer

because in the United States it kills over 700,000 people a year and it's because they don't know they have it they have they don't know that they have it there are no symptoms of a high blood pressure and so you you maybe you grow up and you hear like your dad has high blood pressure and so all of that but you don't you don't think that you're ever going to have it and you often might not even consider yourself as someone who maybe you're your fit and you work out and da-da-da-da high blood pressure doesn't discriminate it doesn't matter if you're fit and healthy like that can help but there are genetic components to it there's so many things that that impact it outside of your current health habits or your body weight like there are people who are overweight who

have good blood pressure and there are people who are super lean and look healthy and fit that have very high blood pressure um and people just have this idea that oh it's just it's not going to happen to me. And so if that's you, I mean, good luck. Like, because you're gambling. You're gambling with your life. And you're giving yourself a gamble being like, well, that's not going to happen to me. It's like, I pray it doesn't happen to you.

I truly pray it doesn't happen to you. But statistically, at some point, it's going to happen. Like, something's going to happen statistically. Like, otherwise, like, people would be living forever. So, and we can look at the data, look at the statistics. and if we look at your health habits, look at your body fat, like your diet, like you're going to become a statistic sooner rather than later if you don't at least start checking it.

Jordan, you have, in my opinion, the best, most honest, real Instagram account when it comes to health, wellness, fitness, mindset that I've come across. I'll fanboy for just a second and let everyone know. I've been a fan for a very long time. I think the way you approach it, I obviously love your style. but, dude, I just pray that you keep doing this work. And it doesn't seem like you're going to stop, but I pray that you do because I think your voice

and your approach is what we need right now. We need more people who are cutting through so much of the bullshit, so much of the nonsense. And I just appreciate the hell out of you, man. This conversation I've been waiting for for a while and just so glad we got. I talked to another four hours, but I want to be respectful of your time and of the audience.

If people want to just get into your world, where's the best place? And if they want to work with you, how do they do that? Yeah, so I'll start. Thank you for the kind of words. I sincerely appreciate it. It means the world to me. I wouldn't think about hiring me or buying anything from me. I would just find my free content first and see if that's helpful because that's really everything you need before you decide if you want to pay me.

I have a podcast, the Jordan Siat podcast and my Instagram, Siat Fitness. If you could put it in the show notes, that'd be great. Everything will be in the show notes, guys. Yeah, that's it. Thank you. Awesome. I appreciate the hell out of you. Thank you so much.

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