February Coaches Q&A | ETP#56

[aaron_straker]: 0:25

Oh wow, here we godday guys. welcome back to another episode of Train Prosper Today, Brian and I are doing another special edition coaches. qn were other nutrition, fitness and coaches in the online or even in person space will submit questions they have about things with their clients or even themselves to brind myself. And we are going to through and give best appropriate answers. Of course, full of context in nuance, but before we jump into this Bri. What's going on? How is the boy's trip in Mexico?

[bryan_boorstein]: 0:59

Man, it's a good question. The boy trip in Mexico was fantastic in the sense that, Uh, it's the first kind of group of guys that I've really connected with since moving here over two years ago. Now, so Um, it was just really cool for me to like have guys that I felt like I vibd with really well and uh, you know, never felt like I was the fourth wheel even though these three guys have known each other for like six years now. Um, just a a cool experience. definitely, uh, drank a lot of beer. So, um, since I got serious about like physique hypertrophy training you, I would say, like post cross fit days. I don't think I've drank like this. Um, it's a bad example for all of you. people like you should not do this If your goals are are P physique based. But but I was there and you know, went in Rome, Uh, with these guys that, uh, that also care about fitness. They just don't have physique goals like I have. they have more like performance goals and stuff like that. So um, I had probably like thirty drinks over four days, which is a pretty big number for me. I mean that average is like eight a day. Um. they were spread out so I never really felt hung overver. Which was cool, but um, but still like when you look at the cumutative effect of what like thirty alcoholic drinks has on like to sosterum production and sleep quality, and like all the things down the line like it was an opportunity cost that that I made, and Um. Luckily, it kind of fits in okay with periodization of my training because I'm kind of in this holding pattern week right now where I knew I had the Mexico trip and then the launch of the Follow my program program starts on the fourteenth, So I'm kind of in this weird week between the seventh and fourteenth where I'm just messing around with training and you know, kind of eating some fun foods and not being super strict, so the couple days of drinking actually fit okay into that, and um, that was how the trip was, man I. Got a couple of updates, but let's jump over to you. Tell me something was going on in your world. You're a new Ab and B right

[aaron_straker]: 2:59

I'm in a new air. B. B. the child briefly touch on, but before that the one thing I wanted to say though, because you said like yes, that that alcohol intake is not conducive for physique And I agree a hundred percent with you, the the big kind of elephant in the room, though, like this is the first time you've done it in how many years, three more than three.

[bryan_boorstein]: 3:19

more. Uh, yeah, probably five six. something like that.

[aaron_straker]: 3:23

Yeah, okay, so there's that right. It's the pri, the first time in five years, and then on top of that, even when you remove that, you're more consistent than ninety nine per cent of other ninety nine percent of other people. So like when you marry those two it's water under the bridge like you have metabolic resiliency. I bet your weight was up, maybe two or three pounds, and now a couple days it's going to be right back to where it was type of deal. Because of those other things, I just don't want. because people will hear that and make. Oh well, Brian does it so I can do it. But then they're doing it like every other month or something like that, and it's a completely different situation, so I really just wanted to make that distinction

[bryan_boorstein]: 3:59

Yeah, For sure,

[aaron_straker]: 3:59

with me. Yes, I am in a new air B and B. It is quieter, You will not hear any dogs barking on this episode which I am very very excited about. However, we, one hundred per cent got catfished on this air. B and B. It was listed and described as a one bedroom. We show up. It is a studio and I've I was fucking furious because we. I fer for the listeners whom do not know my girlfriend and I live full timee in Ara, B and Bs. We have for over three years now, and we have similar online businesses and we work from home, so like we'll like. there will be times. Virgine has calls where I'm recording the podcast or something like that, but we would always have at least a a one bedroom so she'll be in the other room. We close it. You know things are fine here there is. You cannot do it. Because one, it's smaller and it's just wide open. So yesterday was kind of held because she had all these calls already prescheduled. I have all my. My majority of my checkens are Mondays, Tuesdays, so I was like literally doing check ins in between her calls because you can't. We can't be speaking at the same time, so it was very very frustrating. Uh, we did bring it up to air B and B for like false advertising pretty much, and unfortunately, because we are in like the Scotsdale tempy area, it's literally peak season here. We book this place back in December specifically for that. There was nothing. There's nothing around like we were pretty much stuck. Um, so we like kind of escalated it. Fortunately, we got a partial refund, but it's it's

[bryan_boorstein]: 5:36

you still have the place. It's not like you have somewhere you to go where

[aaron_straker]: 5:36

we still have the place. Yeah, and it's not like the couple hundred dollars

[bryan_boorstein]: 5:38

you have right. right?

[aaron_straker]: 5:40

make makes me feel better about like drastically rearranging our schedules in all this other shit going on about it. So it's just like A. It's been like the first time in that we've been like fucked in a empty situation, So it's frustrating. We just have to change our workflow and figure it out for only the next month, and then from there you know, I hopeful things will get better, but on a not so negative aspect I realized that there is a a gym close by here and I was like Oh, it looks pretty cool. I'm going to go check it out. So I went yesterday and it was awesome and then I signed up so I have two gym memberships.

[bryan_boorstein]: 6:19

what? What made it awesome? What was the determining factor?

[aaron_straker]: 6:21

It's literally like an o G bodyuilding style. Ja, like tons of cool specialty equipment. Like they have a pit shark. They actually have the glue drive, Uh machine that that was at N

[bryan_boorstein]: 6:31

Yep, Yep,

[aaron_straker]: 6:31

one Right That was there. They had like a. They have a super o g cybex, Um, like cable selectoriz, like Hack squat. That gets a ton of range of motion, just like a bunch of cool and the owner was super super cool guy. It's not packed like the other gym I've been going to. It's like right. it's a. I mean, it's only probably like a mile or two away from this one, but it's really close to the university and it's like beginning of the year. It's fucking packed all the time. Um.

[bryan_boorstein]: 6:56

Mhm.

[aaron_straker]: 6:57

and this place is just like. It's just. it's just chil. it was. It reminded me a lot of the gym in Utah, and I absolutely loved that place, so I was like. You know what. Im. I'm want to give this place my money for the last month. I'm here and come you know, train here, So um, that's what I did and my weight's finally climbing. So that has been. Uh, I'm back to now pre coveed weights and and also a little bit higher. But I mean, I've I ramped up my carbs and stuff too, because I'm like Okay. it's I need to start putting some weight on again. It's just been too long. That's my last update.

[bryan_boorstein]: 7:27

So you're in the one nineties, one, ninety, two,

[aaron_straker]: 7:28

I was one, ninety four point four this morning.

[bryan_boorstein]: 7:31

very

[aaron_straker]: 7:32

Yeah, yep.

[bryan_boorstein]: 7:32

nice, very cool. All right, So I have a couple of other small updates. Um, my nanny has Strapp. She's the sickest person I've ever met in my life. Every as she's gotten coveed twice. I swear she's been sick every two months through the entire year that she's worked for us. Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 7:49

okay, listeners out there. If you are in the Boulder area or you know of someone who is reliable in the Boulder area that wants

[bryan_boorstein]: 7:58

no,

[aaron_straker]: 7:58

to watch Bron's children.

[bryan_boorstein]: 8:02

we're fine. we're fine. She. uh, so we're going to San Diego in a week. Um, she'll be. She'll have five weeks off and then uh, Hopefully she can get right and uh, and we also have the option now of sending my daughter to school if we need to, So so we're going to be okay. Uh, it's just one of these things where it's just so unreliable. you know, like I, I'm supposed to be on a podcast tomorrow and she's probably not going to show up Tomrow either, And Kim has a call at the same time as my adcast, that like she can't move. So then it's like you know, we try my parents, but if they can't come then we, just one of us has to cancel something that's really

[aaron_straker]: 8:33

It's really difficult.

[bryan_boorstein]: 8:33

unfortunate, and this kind of shit just happens like all the time. you know. Um, but on the good news of nanny life, we found a San Diego nanny and she seems awesome and she's uh. she seems super reliable and mature, so uh, hopefully we have coverage for five weeks in San Diego, and it allows me to get really excited about San Diego. I kind of had this trepidation when I was thinking about the trip because I was like. What if? like, what if for con scenario we don't have a nanny. How are we going to like? Enjoy this trip at all. And um, this feels like this huge weight off my chest. Now that we have this part figured out, so when we show up that Sunday, you know, the next Monday starting, I have my workout and my work and I can go for a run or a walk on the beach or like. whatever the fuck I want to do.

[aaron_straker]: 9:16

You're not going for a run on the beach.

[bryan_boorstein]: 9:16

You know it's It's just free. So dude, I'm starting this nos breathing thing. So this was another one of my updates. so I've I've now have now mastered the ability to walk twenty minutes at a brisk pace, breathing through my nose only. And my next challenge is to start running. I'm going to go for two minutes at a time like a four hundred meter. I'm goingnna try and run a four hundred meter breathing through my nose only and try to like, um, decrease pace, but increase distance, Uh, after that and maybe go like six hundred meters and eight hundred meters, And uh, And so I think being in San Diego, where I can do it outside makes it even more enjoyable And this is kind of something I'm I'm like kind of into in pursuing. Now, I got some some cool responses from people on D, Ms. and one dude, uh, just and fourth actually sent me a A. A book basically of of his interpretations of Like Oxygen and other books that talk about mouth breathing versus nose breathing, And uh, so there's a lot of really cool information out there and it definitely is like something that's viable, Um that people use in training and in like athletic pursuits and stuff like this. Um, not to mention the health benefits, so Um, I'm gonna pursue this as like a little side hustle, and it's not going to be enough to to like affect my hypertureph Goals Is just going to be something on the side that I wouldn't even call concurrent training. It's just like walking at a brisk pace while working on oxygen consumption or something like that, But Um, but it's cool and I'm kind of excited about it, so

[aaron_straker]: 10:43

Does that book? Uh, mention any of the health benefits?

[bryan_boorstein]: 10:48

I haven't actually read over his notes yet. He

[aaron_straker]: 10:50

Okay,

[bryan_boorstein]: 10:50

sent it to me and I haven't had an opportunity to read, but he spent me like twenty five pages of notes. So um, so I got of got a like. like. Read through that thing.

[aaron_straker]: 10:57

Yeah, keep us post that. I'm interested in that to see if it. I would imagine this is just like purely conjecture, like resting, heart rate style stuff, oxygen like oxygen.

[bryan_boorstein]: 11:08

purity. I think the word is

[aaron_straker]: 11:10

There you go.

[bryan_boorstein]: 11:10

purity. Like the the amount that your body is able to filter of the c O two and get like more pure oxygen or whatever. Um, that would be my guess, or at least from what I understand,

[aaron_straker]: 11:17

Yeah, really, really cool. Yeah, that's really cool. Please. Please

[bryan_boorstein]: 11:21

Um,

[aaron_straker]: 11:21

keep us up on that as you, digon.

[bryan_boorstein]: 11:24

Yeah, for sure for sure. And then, Um, as you guys probably know, my, the Follow my program program drops on Monday the fourteenth, so it will have dropped. Like when this episode releases. it will have dropped yesterday. Um, and uh. Yeah, What else do I want to say about it? I. I put the first week into the Uh, in Towdify, and uh, it's all sitting there just waiting to to be released. I wrote a blog as well, so if you go to the Paragon training methods Dot Com back slash Brins program, you can read all about the Uh, the, the, The program, and uh what you need to know what to expect. Things like that. so um, definitely check that out, and I think that is it for my updates. I'm ready to jump in some questions.

[aaron_straker]: 12:07

very cool. Let's do it. So this first, there's kind of two questions that up front that were going to kind of pair into one and read. Read the second one right, And the question is what is the order of training? Is it conditioning, then strength in hypertrophy, So that's first question and then kind of the second question Paired into that is a question around. What do you guys think about doing Abs before your primary worko once that you don't basically skip them when you put them at the end, but then more so, at least for like some, some biger compound squad and deadlift, for example, doing Abs beforehand seemingly helps me kind of prime my body for stiffness and core strength. What your thoughts around all the sprine,

[bryan_boorstein]: 12:57

So regarding Abs first, I, I don't think that that's a great idea. I think that it, uh, it potentially can cause it midline fatigue. So what you're perceiving as like, stiffness and strength in your core is actually just your abs having a pump. and and so you're feeling tension there. But unfortunately that's also a weakness. Um, that potentially isn't able to support Uh, your low back in and midline during those kind of more compound axially loaded movements, So Um, I definitely wouldn't do that if you're taking movements like either, with really short rest, accumulating a bunch of metabolites, or even um, or even anything super close to failure. Um, the only reason I could possibly see doing that would be as maybe like some, some bird dogs and stuff like that, as like body prep before squatting and deadlifting, but nothing that would be dynamic. That would cause like blood flow to go to your abs, and and really, uh, like, make them kind of pump up with Uh with fluid So so that would be my thought on the abs thing. Um, but I think the larger question is is the second or the the original one about? Uh, what's the order? Is it conditioning? then strength and hyperchphy. And when I first looked at that question and I was like No, you never do conditioning first Because my first reaction is is if you do conditioning first, you're going to use the glycogen that you need for strength training. You're potentially going to cause fatigue. Uh, usually in your legs, because conditioning work is usually lower body oriented, so imagine like doing conditioning work like going for like a hard twenty minute run and then trying to like squat. Uh heavy, because they said strength and hypertphy. Um, So from my first thought was that's an awful idea. And then I thought about contexts and realize that it really depends on what your goal is.

[aaron_straker]: 14:47

ly,

[bryan_boorstein]: 14:48

If your goal is to get better at conditioning and you're an endurance athlete, then you should absolutely do conditioning first. you should not squat and do hyperjry work. And then try to go like P. R, your conditioning or get better at, you know, oxygen consumption or whatever your goal is during that session. So yeah, if your goal is endurance, you should do conditioning first and then probably rest a little bit and then strengthen hyperch fee. later on, I don't ever think it's a good idea to do a condition conditioning workout and then do heavy strength work. I just, I just think that's a recipe for lack of success in progression and potential injury. Um. so for most people like, if your goal is not conditioning and your goal is either strength or hypertrophy, then you should definitely do conditioning as far away from your training as possible, and possibly not even do conditioning at all, depending on how how strict you are on achieving those strengthen hypergic goals. Um, but essentially whatever you put first is going to receive the priority and that is not just for what type of training you're doing, but even for muscle groups, like if you have a muscle group that is lagging, you can put bicepts and tricepts first in your upper body workout. It doesn't always have to go like bench press row, overhead breass, then by substriceps, Um, so whatever's first receives the primary stimulus and will, uh, re the most training effect.

[aaron_straker]: 16:10

I mean, you really hit the nail on the head, especially with the prior prioritization on the Un. Secondary question, what is your goal? If your goals

[bryan_boorstein]: 16:17

Mhm,

[aaron_straker]: 16:18

well, I want to chase all three at the same time, Will then just kind of understand that you're probably not going to achieve your goals like either with that approach, Unless you're super green. right, Um, divide conquer and then move on to your next priority Is what I would recommend there, and then just to quickly reiterate, Brans said on the first one. Yeah, especially for how Brian and I recommend training abs like I, when when I'm coaching with my clients and myselfel, like I train my abs like I train any other movement, Moderate load for moderate rep range and I try. and you know, basically progressive overload them. I can. I'm not training abs before I go into like a hack squad or something like that. No way in hell, because it's only going to negatively impact my performance on those subsequent movements. Um, what I will do and I, what I have in this current cycle is I have them in between. So yesterday I had abs. I did quads abs tricepts. My abs aren't really going to affect my tricepts type of thing, But I did put it in the middle, so I don't skip it if it was at the end, type of thing. But

[bryan_boorstein]: 17:18

I love

[aaron_straker]: 17:18

yeah,

[bryan_boorstein]: 17:19

that totally.

[aaron_straker]: 17:21

cool. Um, this next one, Brian, uh, I'm going to kick over to you and

[bryan_boorstein]: 17:26

Yp.

[aaron_straker]: 17:26

the question is would love to know how you phase training between hypertrophy, metabolic and neurologic phases.

[bryan_boorstein]: 17:34

Yeah, So most of the time is hyperphy, And then you use metabolic. And what does it say? Neur

[aaron_straker]: 17:42

Yeah,

[bryan_boorstein]: 17:43

neurologic neurologic phases, Um. Basically as needed When when you got to jump out of the hyperchiffy face if the adaptation requires you to get better at something else, so a a good example is like, You know, most people just do hyperchphy. They hate metabol phasescause They're really

[aaron_straker]: 18:04

they're hard. Yeah,

[bryan_boorstein]: 18:04

painful. right. Um, yeah, so so usually when you get a new client, the answer is to start them in a metabolic phase because they probably could be more conditioned, which would potentially help their their hyperphy training with the idea being that you know you can clear metabolites faster between set, so you can, instead of resting three and three or three and a half minutes between a set, maybe you can do two and a half to three minutes between a set, so those thirty seconds that you can do faster, but still get the same um effect from the. Set without being more fatigued from it, Um, allows you to potentially do more sets in the long term, So so the benefit is cumulative, kind of like that over time, Uh I. I have. I'm guilty of that like I. I almost always just wanted to do h. herj ify work. I jumped out and did a strength phe, you know for five weeks, Uh in the fall and and it was cool for a couple of weeks, and then I really didn't enjoy it any morere, and jumped back in a perch fee and felt a lot better. so Um, I know I can benefit from a mettaabol phase and that's something that's going to be coming up in my programming here in the next few months, but as far as order goes, usually what I like to do. Uh, this is just my preference is. Uh, After hyperchphy, I like to do a strength phase and then finish with the metabolic phase, so it might be like like I think, in the future, for me it'll be like a two to four week strength phase and a two to three week metabolic phase. I think I went too long on the strength phase last time, but uh, but it'll be like like that and then, uh. The reason I would put the metabolic phase after the strength is because essentially you're going to lose a lot of the metabolic adaptations when you do the strength phase. Um, you might have had some of them in the hyperchphy phase, but then you jump out of it and you might lose a few of them because you're taking long rest. You're doing low reps stuff like that so you can prime that system, that metabolic system to be more efficient by doing that after the strength phase and then prior to jumping back into hypertrophy again, so that just usually tends to be my preferred order. order of operations.

[aaron_straker]: 20:12

if I'm being completely transparent, this is an area that I don't feel. I just don't have a strong enough education and understanding around what I will be doing when I do hire my next coach is to have someone walk me through these phases with my training, so I can learn first hand, which is exactly how I know that I learn best, which is by doing, but I, I see that the importance in them. I personally just don't have enough experience with them to speak intelligently on them, so I will not in in until I' am able to do so. So I think Brian's answer here is fantastic.

[bryan_boorstein]: 20:48

Swet, let's kick the next one over to you. Do your daily calories or macro splits Change for rest is

[aaron_straker]: 20:55

They do. Um, and this is something that from a from a coaching standpoint I do with my clients once they have reached a certain consistency and in ease of um, like tracking threshold. So it's one of those things that I don't think matters until it does, And I think that Uh, prematurely incorporating this with your clientele will provide more harm than help. However, for people who are very very consistent and modifying their macros on the Cad today standpoint is pretty seamless back of hand to a type, Uh, knowledge and and capability, I do see the the positive, Um. the positive changes in doing so. Here. anything from you on this ombryan

[bryan_boorstein]: 21:41

swet, uh, yeah, I mean I, I usually do too. uh, this light behind me is tripping me out. I feel like there's like the the light of God coming behind me at all times so weird. Okay, uh,

[aaron_straker]: 21:53

better have good answers.

[bryan_boorstein]: 21:58

but I, I mean, I do, mostly because I just find that I am less hungry on unrest day, so I tend to follow more of an intuitive approach, and like Aaron said, I mean we're advanced athletes that know our bodies really well, so for us, I think that it makes sense to be able to do that and kind of understand that we' make up for it by doing more on the training days, and that we're trying to fuel the training in doing so as well, but uh, I think for most people like having. A weekly target of calories is is probably pretty solid. and then, depending on who the client is and stuff you know, maybe it makes sense to split that up with some more or less rest days.

[aaron_straker]: 22:36

Yep, so it's saying it doesn't matter until it does, and it makes it has more importance on. like the deeper you are into a gaining phase, the deeper you are into a calorie deficit where there are new Um problems you're trying to solve With that.

[bryan_boorstein]: 22:52

Cool's next question for you. how do you deal with unmotivated clients?

[aaron_straker]: 22:57

This one is is tricky. in this one. I, I personally think I've gotten much better at with this new year, so in this new year I changed my approach to training or sorry, approach to coaching Um. and it's just to be brutally transparent and honest with my clientele. So, in prior years past I, there are times I've gotten a little bit caught into being like, uh, too much of a cheerleader. Um, And while that is beneficial and I'm definitely not like a. Just you know, why the fuck are you here? If you're not going to do your things, type of coach, it's just me being very transparent with Okay with your current effort and consistency, like you will not reach these goals you have, and that's just me being honest with you, So it depends. Um. I have been working on a lot more mindset stuff with clients and understanding why we have goals. In what, Um, the? the? The real reasoning behind them are. because, if it's just like Well, I want to look sick for summer right, That's that that lasts two weeks and then that's gone. And if that's your only motivation it's going to be. It's going to be wavering over over the coming weeks, so I just try and help them identify their true reasons why they're in this coaching relationship, and then I do my best to be very transparent with them of their current rate of progress, Um, the level of uh commitment necessary, Uh, contextually dependent on the ambitiousness of their goals,

[bryan_boorstein]: 24:27

Totally. I actually, I'm trying to think back, and it's been a really long time since I've had an unmotivated client like. I mean, I, I can't even remember anyone wanting to pay my types of fees without like having motivation to succeed. Right, so maybe it was like in the cross fit days, if you think back to like a member at the gym that's paying the monthly fee, but like you know, isn't coming and wants to cancel the membership or something like that, but I don't think that that's super relevant to this question, so I guess I just I don't have a whole lot to add to that.

[aaron_straker]: 25:02

And some of that does comes with like your experience, and and the client tell you, attract, and some, some, and to some degree like briants, Like your pricing, you know if someone's paying like

[bryan_boorstein]: 25:10

Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 25:11

fifty dollars a month. Or something in in the the They. They do not have enough skin in the game to financially feel the burden of like. Oh, well, I'll just fuck this off. It's what's fifty bucks? A. I don't care about that. Uh, if someone's paying five hundred dollars a month, they generally have now skin in the game to where that uh financial investment is painful. I'm I'm using that near quotes here enough to

[bryan_boorstein]: 25:33

Mhm,

[aaron_straker]: 25:33

not fuck that off. Basically so there is

[bryan_boorstein]: 25:36

Yep, agree,

[aaron_straker]: 25:36

that aspect of it.

[bryan_boorstein]: 25:38

y, uh, this is an interesting question Next. Are you want to take it first? Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 25:42

Yeah,

[bryan_boorstein]: 25:43

do you think personal trainers and nutritionists should be more distinct? Maybe so that personal trainers are not seen as like a one stop shop for everything? fitness related.

[aaron_straker]: 25:52

this is a great great question. And what I really really love about it is we have Brian and myself. who are? I don't want to say, polar opposites, but like Brian is pretty much just from from a professional standpoint, at least stayed and the training side of things, even though he's very knowledgeable and nutrition for for what he does himself, and then kind of myself. Conversely, the complete opposite where I, even though that you know Mo, I have twice, probably three times as long the amount of of knowledge or time spent in training, as opposed to nutrition. I came into the space purely from the nutrition side, and while I have begun to kind of slowly branch over into some of the training side of things, I make it very very upfront and clear with my clientele like we are prob. We are pretty much eighty percent nutrition, twenty per cent training, because that is for an overwhelming majority of people, this massive missing link of things. that's the kind of first first part. I think, the more time you have, the more years in this game, the more time you have to acquire skills in this day and age with the shifting landscapes of things, especially on the nutrition side, Um, things like meal plans, Basic macros like that is only going to get you so far. The, the, the, the landscape of the clientele is shifting. You need to become more educated in functional principles of things, Understanding health at a deeper level. There's just more to learn right, so that the landscapes are shifting and I think it's easier to become a specialist in one area from a pure time and resources standpoint, as opposed to trying to do both at the same time, Um, over time, Once you get into like you know, five, six, seven, eight, ten years, you now have just more time to broaden that and become really really skilled in both. But for my professional standpoint like I would rather be an inch wide and a mile deep, as opposed to fuck a mile wide and an inch

[bryan_boorstein]: 28:03

Hey,

[aaron_straker]: 28:03

deep. right people try and be like

[bryan_boorstein]: 28:05

yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 28:05

specialists, And I can tell you just from my time spent in in Gyems, Um, I have heard some ungodly horrible nutrition advice from personal trainers and I keep my mouth shut on like this isn't my timer place. But like I would recommend getting very, very, very good in one while you explod, or the second from a personal standpoint. First, just my opinion, Of course.

[bryan_boorstein]: 28:32

yeah, I pretty much agree with all of that. I really like the point about how you kind of become more specific as you go on in the industry and that's exactly what's happened with us. I mean, the thing is that like it's just a matter of what level you're playing at, So if you are just getting like a sixty dollar an hour personal training session from twenty for hour fitness, Like that guy that's training you in training, probably knows as little about training as he knows about nutrition. He's basically at. like, I mean, not. This is such as a a bad statement because it's not entirely true. I'm just uh conjecturing here, but probably has a relatively low education. In both. He probably passed like one personal training certification, Has a couple of years of training. He experience himself and that's fine because like everyone started there, Ee was that person when I was like twenty years old too. I was at a gym and I was taking one of one clients and giving out advice because people were asking and they were curious And it's really not that person's fault that they don't know that stuff, because they're just out there trying to learn and like be their best. I wish there was a way that we could get the consumer to understand that this person that's walking around with like a red twenty four fitness personal trainer shirt on isn't necessarily like their best resource for information. Um, so that's that's not exactly the fault of the trainer, so I empathize a little bit with that, but, but yes, to like the major point. I mean, I guess that guy should just focus on training, but he just isn't like an expert in either one, so he's just kind of doing the best he can

[aaron_straker]: 30:09

Yeah, anything from from the coach' standpoint. It's important to be transparent. People think that it's okay to say. I don't know. Like that question. We just got before around. Like how to structure Neurological me. I literally

[bryan_boorstein]: 30:21

right.

[aaron_straker]: 30:21

don't know. And instead of me just trying to you know, letting my ego get in the way of impostor syndrome and trying to like make it up like, I'm just going to tell you like I don't. I don't fuck a no, but I know people who do know. And if like I can get you, Brian or we can go to like cassum, or you know Allan Crerast or something like that, like there are people who do know this and I and that there are people that I look up to in and follow their stuff. But I think that's a big part of it too, From the from from the professional samp of a coach. I, it's okay to say you don't know things, or hey, I, I, I'll get back to with a little bit more resources that will help you type of deal

[bryan_boorstein]: 30:56

One hundred. That's actually really good answer. Probably the context I was looking for

[aaron_straker]: 31:00

perfect.

[bryan_boorstein]: 31:02

cool. Next question for you again right, calculating macros using t d E. That is total daily energy expenditure. If you lift four times a week, how do you account for a super sedentary job?

[aaron_straker]: 31:18

So this one's this one's interesting. It. it's cool because I can tell it's from like a newer coach. Um, and they, when I was new, I was super intotellect. Well, fuck th. this. this person has like a desk job, but they w, but they walk. you know, ten thousand steps on the weekends. Like, how do I know which multiplier to use? Like any of these calculations are literally just step one. They are step one to give you a ballpark starting area to begin collecting data from. And this is the same reason that when people reach out to me, they're like Erir. and I just want like a one time macro console and I'm like No, because it's not going to fucking help you. That's going to help you for like nine days and then you're now on a new path and you need another adjustment style thing all that. T, d e es that those starting calculating macros are a snaps sht, For you to be kiin monitoring trends from you might aim a little bit high, right and then their weight might be increasing a little bit faster than you want, or they want you pull back, or the complete opposite, you might be aiming a little bit low with this initial calculation and then their weight might be slowly sliding over that like fourteen day period, and now, relative to their goals in other biofedback. like hunger satiety, All these different things you adjust. So what I would recommend is four times per week right, accounting for super sedentary job. Like get some hard numbers on that one that I really like to use or is a daily step count? Are we talking about like five thousand steps per day, or are we talking about like two thousand steps per day? That will really help. But regardless, any number you start with is only going to be a snapshot of step one from where you begin collecting data and then making more decisions based off the way they're trending, and more importantly what their goals are. Anything from you? there, Brian,

[bryan_boorstein]: 33:11

Yeah, you know that that smashed it yet. That's exactly what I was going to

[aaron_straker]: 33:15

All right,

[bryan_boorstein]: 33:15

say. Next question. How do you know how much protein someone needs

[aaron_straker]: 33:20

need is is the the so words are important right and this is what my clients learned from me really really quickly. Like what is the context of the question? Because I'll get questions like what are your thoughts and I'm like. Well, I'll tell you what my thoughts are. But what's the context in which you want my thoughts on? Right? And that's kind of what. this.

[bryan_boorstein]: 33:35

right?

[aaron_straker]: 33:36

like. How much protein does someone need to you know? prevent muscle wasting very little. I think it's what. Like, point, six grams per pound of body weight is how much protein like Point three, maybe, or point four. Like that's how much protein

[bryan_boorstein]: 33:47

I think it's even less point four. Yeah, yeah, yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 33:51

someone needs. How much protein do they want to build a muscle? I wouldn't go any lower than a gram per pound of body weight. Um, unless this person is maybe like a plant based or something like that, where that becomes very hard to achieve. Um. What is their goal right? As if their goals like maximizing hypertrophy, I am going to go considerably higher than Um. one gram per pound of body weight, Because, while your rate of progress for muscle protein synthesis kind of reaches a, not a point of diminishing returns, But do you know the the. The correct terminology, Bryant, like, it's like a line that will. Yeah, perfect.

[bryan_boorstein]: 34:32

as some tote, Yeah'll never actually reach A' called an assent tote,

[aaron_straker]: 34:35

it'll never actually reach it. and you kind of getting into like points of diminishing returns. But from a purely on paper, the more protein is better. It's just how high can we go before digestion begins getting affected? Um, Overall, you're reducing total chlor intake because you just can't fit as much carbohydrate in because your protein is so high, type of deal, but it really is relative to the question, so I would generally start around one gram per pound of body weight. I will go up to about one point two. Five is A is a rough target that I like to have for clientele in a calorie deficit. right so it's really relative to your client's goals. But how much do they need on paper? For you know, being a human and not falling to pieces. very little. actually,

[bryan_boorstein]: 35:28

Yeah, totally. I actually allow myself to be at like point eight to point nine of body weight when I'm in a surplus and then in deficit. I try to get at least a gram per pound.

[aaron_straker]: 35:39

Yeah, the important thing here too that this is a stance that I will take often with my clientele is protein I really look at as an opportunity cost. Generally, when you have like as a nutrition coach, you get nutrition clients. people want fat loss Right If we reduce protein, that means we need to give you more carbohydrate and or fat. What is the pretty much main reason that people are coming to you Because uh, they want nutrition help. They're already eating too much carbohydrate and fat. So by taking the lower protein number it, it's like an opportunity cost be cause. You need to put those calories somewhere and from a body composition state standpoint it is very safe to put those numbers on the protein side, because we know that from the protein overfeeding studies you will pretty much never partition those protein calories Um poorly in most contexts Y.

[bryan_boorstein]: 36:42

Yeah, For sure, Exactly how do we deal with a client that is too focused on saying super lean, but wants to add size.

[aaron_straker]: 36:51

you'd be brutally transparent with them. Uh, one thing that I would recommend doing and I'm starting to do a lot of my clients. Eesma, okayy, let's get a dexa scam. It's sixty five to like eighty bucks. Let's get some hard numbers and you get so y like tomorrow right, You get that client to get that Dexas scan and you're like Okay, cool. We'll take this like lean gains approach, type of thing. Um, and in three months we we evaluate how much muscles been put on and when they see Okay, we put on. Maybe I don't know a tenth of a pound of muscle at a two tenth of a pound of muscle in in three months or something like that. It becomes much easier to Um. Make that argument that like, hey, you're this this this focus of staying too lean in adding size like you're It's kind of that that thing. A a man that chases two rabbits catches none. type of deal. Um, that's my what I would recommend there. and then lastly, um, Oh, I forgot what I was going to say. Uh, yeah, okay, Brian, you're up.

[bryan_boorstein]: 38:00

No, you. I actually really do need to get a deck. Have still in my whole life never had one, so I'm going to look into that and see see where one is. Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 38:06

I I love them. I love them. I love them because one of the things that, one of the things I think is the coolest part about it is the lean body mass,

[bryan_boorstein]: 38:15

Mhm.

[aaron_straker]: 38:15

because like you know, we talked about, I had that le. I had that dexa in because like you know, we talked about, I had that le. I had that dexa in like twenty seventeen, when I weighed like two fifteen. That said that I had like twenty seventeen, when I weighed like two fifteen. That said that I had a hundred, and I think seventy three bounds of lean body mass. Now my most a hundred, and I think seventy three bounds of lean body mass. Now my most recent dexer, I was like one, seventy two point eight pounds of lean body recent dexer, I was like one, seventy two point eight pounds of lean body masks, but I was only like a hundred and ninety two pounds or something like masks, but I was only like a hundred and ninety two pounds or something like that. So that. So

[bryan_boorstein]: 38:34

it's amazing. Yeah, twenty seven pounds less or somethinguid. twenty three.

[aaron_straker]: 38:37

yeah, yeah, so I mean, they're just cool to have and then like save on your hard drive and revisit in the future and stuff.

[bryan_boorstein]: 38:44

Yup, Yp, wish I had him ten years ago. Um, yeah, I agree with what you said. I. I just would try to talk to them about how what my story is like, I would. I would use my story and let them know that you know I had to bulk up to what was an uncomfortable we, and you know the sign says you don't have to do that, but me and everybody that I've known have done this and it's just like a temporary thing that you can do in the winter and then you can just cut it down and see what you've grown before summer time. So I'm giving people that kind of that that um, annual trajectory of how it would go and how really it wouldn't affect them negatively. Too much be cause you still get the summer shreds going. That usually helps.

[aaron_straker]: 39:26

the last thing I will add there, and some of this could be purely fear based right. One thing, that I, in this is going to sound potentially counter intuitive for a lot of people building like lean. I don't even to say building musclecause. muscle is lean tissue. It is a grind. It is slow. It is repetitive and the more you have of it, the harder it becomes to get more of it. Getting lean is easy. All you need to do is be consistent and and open up your time scale. And it literally just happens. Building muscle is hard. losing body fat two or two reasonable levels, right to get to like fifteen per cent. twelve per cent. It's relatively easy on paper. Building muscle is significantly harder, so I would just um help explain that, and maybe they are some who thinks like if they put on the the body fat, they can never get back to being lean again or something like that. so just ask some deeper questions. I would also recommend and on where their thoughts are coming from here This next and Brian, I'm going to kick over you, kick over to you.

[bryan_boorstein]: 40:33

Yep,

[aaron_straker]: 40:35

training each body part twice over a ninety period instead of a seveny period. Would this still be considered optimal

[bryan_boorstein]: 40:45

depends how quickly you recover and how much volume you do in each session. Um, I mean, there's so much context that's needed for this question, right, so so like If you imagine if you do your quads on Monday and then they're still sore three or four days later, when if you're on a seven day week, you have to train them again, or else, or else you know, then you won't fit your another session in. so so the prudent move there would be to wait a couple of days. Do them every five days, and now you have really quality quad sessions that you're training them again when they recover. So, um, I think what is optimal is that, Um, like somebody could then say Okay, Well, then I will do less volume at my other session. Uh, so that I don't get as sore and then I'll be able to do them twice in seven days, and I'm like great. Well, if you do them twice over nine days, but you do a little more volume each time, like over the course of thirty six days or seventy two days, or whatever, like, the total amount of trained area is the exact same. so Um, I mean shit, even studies now are coming out like vindicating the bro split being like, it's all about like how much time you need to recover, how much you do, and uh, if you can. If you, if you do a body part, it takes you six or seven days to recover, then it would make sense for you to train that body part every six or seven days. Um, really, it's just volume equated, Like, if you can fit all that volume into one session, So it just to be clear 'cause I don't want people to think that I don't know the science here, Um, it is. It is volume equated, Um, and we know based on the science that anything over ten sets is usually going to be Uh, ineffective. Volume right, it's going to be less effective. maybe not ineffective. but it won't be as effective as the the volume of ten sets per session,

[aaron_straker]: 42:39

Ion?

[bryan_boorstein]: 42:39

So in theory, if you are following a bro split and your, the volume you need for a week is ten sets or less, you could do that all in one session and then you would be fine because you're hitting your weekly volume. Um, of course, the reason you would then split it into two sessions is if you have a body part that needs fifteen sets, then you would have to do a session with eight sets and a session of seven sets or something like that. So so that is kind of a a tangent, but to get back to the point, I mean this is like supernit picking, and I think that just uh, training a muscle group when it's recovered and finding a split that for you allows you to train your muscles when they're recovered for whatever volume you're using. Um, that's go to be the most effective frequency. and Um, I know that takes time. It took me a long time to figure it out, but since I've been designing my splits with each individual body part in mind, and not just being like pushpoll legs, Pushpoll legs are like upper lower upper lower. Um. But since I've been actually thinking about what it takes a body part, Like how certain exercises are more damaging than others. Um, certain muscle groups get more sore and fatigue than others. It, just it's just changed the game, and like, lateral delts can be trained every two days, and you could do six sets every time. and like most people can recover from that, Uh, but you would die if you tried to do that with quads or hams strings. So um, nothing fits into a pretty little box like hey, let's just train muscles twice every seven days.

[aaron_straker]: 44:14

I mean, you really know that er, optimal, right, quotes, Your optimal just makes gross assumptions in many large areas in that Briryan said like, Are you taking those ten sets of that session to like really really hard sets? If so like, especially on like quads or hams strings. getting a second session in like that per week is challenging

[bryan_boorstein]: 44:41

crazy,

[aaron_straker]: 44:41

challenging. and it's in that's also going to us assume that like sleep is eight to nine hours, stressers are managed. Food is really adequate. It's just like it. It makes these gross assumptions and I'll give up us a really tiny as side before we move on on Wednesday. It was the day we moved into this air. B and B. I went to the gym in the morning because I was like Okay. We're going this busy afternoon. I'm going go to the gym in the morning. I had my one of my hard quad sessions that I have over over a like a nine day period and then the day happened. It was a super stressful day. It was probably the most stressed I had ever been because I was like fuck. We can't stay here. We need to get out of this air. be B. I was lay. I like. maybe we'll go to Vegas for the month. Maybe we'll go to Albuquerque. I was looking at like close cities like, maybe maybe we'll go Dallas. It's an eighteen hour drive will spend a month in Dallas. I was literally stressed the fuck out. I. I probably ate three meals of my like normal like five and they were like half ass type meals. That Thursday morning I woke up. My quads were so god damned sore I could barely fucking walk and it took until yesterday so Thursday Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, On the fifth day I was able to like train them again and it was like incredible how sore they were from just stress being super high food coming down. So there's like these things that are seemingly non, you know, directly related. We'll dramatically impact things like recovery times between

[bryan_boorstein]: 46:09

Mhm.

[aaron_straker]: 46:10

training sessions and stuff like that. So that's what I meant with us. The gross assumptions that you have to make with something like optimal.

[bryan_boorstein]: 46:17

Yep, for sure, and that's why having a program that's valuable and allows you to call off the calendar week. if there's like any way in you your life that you can make that work is usually a good idea. I just love the programs that aren't on a calendar weekcause. it gives you that freedom to be like. Even if you have five days a week, and you' like I always have to train on Monday, Tuesday, Thursdayriday, Saturday, or like, it doesn't matter, you can still have a program that has say six days in it. So you have five training days, but you have six, six workouts and then you just cycle through them and it decreases that pressure of being like. Well, I have to do it on this day, or I'm not going to fit it into my week. You can just roll that session over to your next. whatever your next viable training day is, and just keep chugging along. And that seems to help people a lot.

[aaron_straker]: 47:00

Yep, just understanding that like it. It doesn't just because you know we have seventy calendar, doesn't mean things need to fit perfectly into that like listen to your body and push your training when you're recovered.

[bryan_boorstein]: 47:11

The muscles don't

[aaron_straker]: 47:12

Yeah,

[bryan_boorstein]: 47:12

care. Only your life

[aaron_straker]: 47:13

yeah,

[bryan_boorstein]: 47:13

cares. Oh, this is a good question, too. I feel like we can talk on this one. So what is your check in process for online clients training nutrition, sleep, et cetera cheers guys.

[aaron_straker]: 47:27

so what? my favorite thing about this question is, we're getting questions from like people in other countries, which I just I love. I love that. it's I don't know. I feel like the. with one thing this whole travel lifestyle has done is admits, made the world feel smaller for me and

[bryan_boorstein]: 47:40

Mhm.

[aaron_straker]: 47:40

I really really like that. So um, so I, with anal'll just be super transparent around what I do like I said earlier. My ne. My coaching is overwhelmingly nutrition and lifestyle based, so I'm not writing any custom programs for client talents, Not something that I probably will ever offer. If people want custom programs, I will refer them out to people who want to do that and are much better at it than I am. Um. I will have like, um, kind of more off, like off the shelf style programs that I personally built myself. But then what I'm always really big on is like, Hey, this is like the layout. The structure. Let's customize based on things like availability, how you're feeling and then I want to have conversations around that Um. with my clientele, Uh, I, I have a bit of a a hybrid style coaching in that I offer my coaching is one on one. Everyone gets individual weekly coaching checkens. everyone has direct acts direct access messaging to me, Um. I, I personally use my Dunfew client checking system that I sell for other online coaches Like kind of shameless Plug. You can find that on my website. I've sold over a thousand of them to other coaches. It's a really really fantastic system. It's what I use myself literally in my clientele. Um, I keep a word document with them for upcoming, uh, time line style things. I want to know exactly what supplements they're taking and what doses. Um, I want to know. Like recent blood work and whatever, what are? What are our our dates on That? anything we're working on with that same thing. What's our recent decks of What is our top primary goal That we're focusing on what is our top primary bio feedback that we are focusing on That could be sleep that could be managing stress that could be improving digestion. And then I do weekly checkings. I send video reviews F. for my clientele. I monitor a lot of data Um for for spotting trends and helping us make decisions, And then I dig in and ask them a lot more of like a mindset style, things to for, especially for like, uh, facilitation of change, understanding, um, like vices, things like that. I've been asking a lot more of bigger picture life questions around why people are doing things. I've I don't want to kind of um, brag about this by any means, but I've had two clients in the past six months who have like super super high, demanding, incredibly incredibly stressful jobs that we've got them to like quit their jobs and find new jobs. Because like just by asking some questions, one was his doctor also recommended. '. like, so both me and his doctor are basically like it's time to find a new chop. It's not worth what it's doing to you, health and life, and the second one who is going through those paces right now and decided like I'm moving on type thing. So I, I mean that is my process And then I also host a weekly call Live Call with all of my clientele where it's a lot more minde stuff, answering questions in real time. So my, my personal coaching style is a bit of. Uh, get all the one I caught one on one Plus you get everything moved from one on one. Plus we have a bit of a group scenario as well to facilitate questions over other people and just hop on a live weekly call as well. And then also I have a Um education course Um built in kjabi that runs parallel alongside my coaching as well, So I try and throw the throw the kitchen sink at my online coaching

[bryan_boorstein]: 51:09

Mhm,

[aaron_straker]: 51:10

process. To be completely honest,

[bryan_boorstein]: 51:13

that's awesome. Yeah, that sounds great. So as much as yours is, you know eighty percent uh, nutrition, and like twenty percent training. Mine's kind of the opposite, so my check in process is all about figuring out ways to optimize whatever the progression is for the next week of training and uh, I do have a nutrition section on there, too, so I separate my check in form each week into Uh, training programming based questions, nutrition based questions, and then lifestyle type questions and the lifestyle ones you know, like sleep, stress, things like that, Um, the training questions are subjective feedback of things that they're feeling, Uh, generally like incession pos, session, Uh, the next day stuff like that, Um. In in session effort, like I asked them to kind of rate their perceived r, P. E of each session and each movement and stuff like that. Um, just to kind of get a general idea of how much fatigue they're experiencing throughout throughout the week and how much stimulus they're getting. Um, and then the nutrition questions. I, as about their total, what their calories are, Uh, what their scale weight says, and uh, I have one other question on there. Um, I'm not a hundred percent sure what the other one is. I. I, I have only have a few clients where I actually do the dual like training nutrition thing with them. And then I have a majority of clients just do the training thing with me, but I have them answer the nutrition questions. anyway. Um, so that's kind of my set up and my whole goal there is, just like I said to figure out how to optimalally program the next week of training because one of the tenants that I try to follow with my programming for the most part now, unless the client really has that neurotype where they can't do it. But I, I try to get people not to change movements, So if we're not changing movements, it becomes extra important to be able to use that data that we're getting from having everything as a repeating movement. And uh, and then be able to figure out Um, what we need to do with that movement, whether it's increasing weight increasing low Um reps, adding partials, adding a one and a half rap of some sort of res pause set. or or even just work closer to failure. If maybe there're two reps from failure. Maybe we're mov to one up from failure. Things like that. In rare occasions it means well'll, at a set like usually for smaller muscle groups like lateral delts or bicepts. We may add a set at some point, so things like that will occur and all of this is based on kind of a the check in form, and then we have a conversation usually on d, m, uh, voice conversation back and forth, where I kind of update them on the changes I made. They ask any questions that they may have about my changes, and we can kind of get a discussion going at that point back and forth and uh, and then they post videos and stuff throughout the week that I see within the app. And can give them feedback on?

[aaron_straker]: 54:03

I think I think this is probably a good place to cut it on the on the ka. As always, we always think we can get through a lot more in an hour than we do cause we end up.

[bryan_boorstein]: 54:10

Yeah. what do we have? Five? six left? Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 54:12

Yeah, so I think we'll probably end up getting maybe a couple more that pop in and then maybe next week. Well, we'll wrap them up or will do another part to On this

[bryan_boorstein]: 54:20

sweet, Yeah, we can do like, uh, something, plus questions or something like that.

[aaron_straker]: 54:25

perfect. So, as always, guys, thank you for listening to another episode of each train. Prosper for the coaches who submitted the questions. Hopefully, these have been helpful for you, just based on Briryan Ey's experience and in how we run our businesses. So um, I like these episodes. Maybe we'll do uh again in the future if you like it. Let us know and uh with that guys. Have a great rest of your Tuesday or whatever day you are listening to this, Brian. I will catch you next week.