Q&A: Empathy in stressful situations; and answering listener questions about fiber, tight muscles, and core stability

Explicit content warning

06/08/20 • 46 min

Welcome to this live episode of the Muscle Intelligence Podcast, where Ben and Ash talk about standing together at this moment in history and share some amazing diet and fitness wisdom! We kick things off thinking about all that is happening right now with the backfire against racism, talking about the need for empathy, and how we should use this moment as an opportunity to lend each other support. Ben gets into the core tenets of his workout goals next, speaking about his threefold aims in areas of strength and hypertrophy, mobility and stability, and cardio. In answer to a listener question about beating stiffness, Ben talks about meeting the problem from the inside out by breathing, walking, and meditating. Another listener question encourages some recommendations about what fiber sources to consume while avoiding leaky gut foods and Ben gets into his preference for things that beat inflammation like fermented veg, things from the Cruciferae family, and, of course, avocado and berries! Some other great talking points from today’s show are the potential imminent eruption of the Yellowstone volcano, the pitfalls of social media, how Ben got to where he is by mastering what he initially sucked at, and a whole lot more!

Today’s amazing episode is sponsored by Wild Alaskan Seafood Box. If you’re into great food, taking care of yourself, and only putting the best quality food into your amazing vessel, Ben highly suggests visiting wildalaskanseafoodbox.com/ben and using the code ‘BEN’ to get $25 off your next order!

Timestamps

The pitfalls of social media: facades, hateful comments, & the skew fan/host dynamic. [0:20]
Getting over prejudices and the need for empathy between humans beyond race. [3:30]
The potential impending eruption of the Yellowstone volcano and what it could mean. [10:00]
Ben explains his 3 workout aims: strength/hypertrophy, mobility/stability, and cardio. [11:51]
How Ben builds dynamic movement, a fourth aim, into his existing three already. [17:50]
Ashleigh’s current workouts focusing on muscle contraction, boxing, and skipping. [18:33]
People’s tendency not to listen to Ben’s workout advice, to their detriment! [20:01]
Gut motility; how Ben got so good at certain things: because he used to suck at them. [21:35]
How far Ben has come since being a skinny guy who knew nothing about exercise. [23:13]
Improving mobility through breathing, walking, and meditating. [26:00]
Paying attention to how you walk; the foot’s role in knee, hip, back, and shoulder pain. [29:30]
A deeper look at Ben’s morning breathing practice and its effects on pain and mobility. [32:41]
Ben’s thoughts on healthy fiber sources: fermented veg, Cruciferae, berries, avocado. [34:25]
Quick thoughts on what to eat to manage allergies; avoiding histamine foods. [35:55]
How to maximize hypertrophy and Ben and Ash’s morning workout styles. [37:43]
Ben’s thoughts on being a life coach and more on his coaching mentorship. [40:02]
Looking at identity, beliefs, and habits for attaining your goals. [42:22]
All the great seafood Ben has been eating from Wild Alaskan Seafood Box! [43:07]

Timestamps

The pitfalls of social media: facades, hateful comments, & the skew fan/host dynamic. [0:20]
Getting over prejudices and the need for empathy between humans beyond race. [3:30]
The potential impending eruption of the Yellowstone volcano and what it could mean. [10:00]
Ben explains his 3 workout aims: strength/hypertrophy, mobility/stability, and cardio. [11:51]
How Ben builds dynamic movement, a fourth aim, into his existing three already. [17:50]
Ashleigh’s current workouts focusing on muscle contraction, boxing, and skipping. [18:33]
People’s tendency not to listen to Ben’s workout advice, to their detriment! [20:01]
Gut motility; how Ben got so good at certain things: because he used to suck at them. [21:35]
How far Ben has come since being a skinny guy who knew nothing about exercise. [23:13]
Improving mobility through breathing, walking, and meditating. [26:00]
Paying attention to how you walk; the foot’s role in knee, hip, back, and shoulder pain. [29:30]
A deeper look at Ben’s morning breathing practice and its effects on pain and mobility. [32:41]
Ben’s thoughts on healthy fiber sources: fermented veg, Cruciferae, berries, avocado. [34:25]
Quick thoughts on what to eat to manage allergies; avoiding histamine foods. [35:55]
How to maximize hypertrophy and Ben and Ash’s morning workout styles. [37:43]
Ben’s thoughts on being a life coach and more on his coaching mentorship. [40:02]
Looking at identity, beliefs, and habits for attaining your goals. [42:22]
All the great seafood Ben has been eating from Wild Alaskan Seafood Box! [43:07]

Previous Episode

The differences between self-improvement and obsession: hacking your brain function with Matt Gallant

Today’s guest is Matt Gallant, the savant-like and incredibly successful entrepreneur and CEO of BiOptimizers who has turned his life into a brain and body biohacking experiment! He is here to talk about all his practices and the supplements he uses to perform at a super high level. We begin by considering a theme that plays out through our whole conversation – the fine line between being hyperfocused and neurotically obsessed and the role gratitude plays in this.

From there, we chat with Matt about the value of doubling down on one thing and how doing extensive personality tests can help in this respect. We turn our attention to the meat of our conversation next – neurofeedback, a method of clearing the limbic system of traumas and the central place it occupies in Matt’s biohacking practice. The intensive, days-long neurofeedback challenges Matt embarks on are taxing on the nervous system and we hear about the compounds he uses to help him withstand them, many of which are produced by his own company! He speaks to the extremely positive impact that his biohacking experiments have had on his relationships, well-being, and business.

We are proud to say that BiOptimizers is the sponsor of our show today, and we spend the last moments of our exchange talking about a few more of their products that help to fortify the digestive tract and the benefits of this. BiOptimizers is a leader in supporting a "biologically optimized state of health" through their range of gut-health and digestive support supplements and other related products. Peruse their products at bioptimizers.com and use the code MUSCLE10 for a discount; Ben specifically recommends their MagTech product, since magnesium is a mineral vital to so many health processes that many of us are deficient in - go to magbreakthrough.com/muscle to learn more.

Timestamps

Introducing Matt Gallant and his work in biohacking his brain and body! [0:17]
The benefits of an amazing magnesium product by BiOptimizers! [1:53]
Managing the line between hyper-focus and obsession by practicing gratitude. [6:35]
Matt’s gift for ideation and how he has learned the power of focusing on one thing. [9:02]
How personality tests and experimenting can help you find & focus on your strengths. [14:25]
Aligning your purpose, passion, and proficiency for optimizing your business. [16:44]
The thrill of biologically optimized systems, not to be confused with maximized ones. [20:11]
Healing from trauma and how its legacy has fueled Matt’s drive to optimize. [24:06]
How these small traumas burn brain RAM and Matt’s ideal RAM level. [29:02]
Learning to control your state by doing neurofeedback and other training types. [30:50]
What Matt would tell his younger self at the moment his dad traumatized him. [35:00]
The double-edged sword of aspirations: achievements at the cost of self-abuse. [36:00]
Matt’s experiences and lessons learned doing neurofeedback boot camps. [39:09]
Boosting the nervous system by taking ketone ester, magnesium, and more. [40:40]
Using lion’s mane and other compounds for neurogenesis and neuroplasticity. [47:02]
Being cautious when taking compounds that affect receptors like CBD and caffeine. [49:52]
How to take magnesium for the nervous system and brain function. [51:12]
Being calm but alert: the optimal alpha state. [52:30]
Safe neurofeedback cycles ad other brain hacking methods like TMS. [53:38]
How Matt’s neurofeedback has had positive effects on his life and relationships. [55:38]
Breathing, mantras, gratitude, visualization: Matt’s meditation practices. [58:48]
Proteolytic enzymes and products from BiOptimizers that maximize digestion [1:03:03]
Stress’s effects on the digestive tract and how to fortify it using BiOptimizers. [1:08:19]
Parasympathetic/sympathetic types of exercise, biohacking, neurotransmitters, emotions, lifestyles, supplements, brainwaves. [1:10:22]
Where to access BiOptimizers and a special product for days of bad eating! [1:15:10]

Next Episode

Understanding the metabolic approach to cancer with Dr. Nasha Winters

With the general risk of cancer only set to increase during the current generation, we face the hard reality of these dangers lingering in our lives. Dr. Nasha Winters is an expert in the integrative approach to fighting cancer and having successfully warded off multiple bouts with the disease in her own life, is positioned well to speak on the dietary and metabolic ways we can reduce risk and strengthen our resilience to it. Dr. Nasha joins us for this episode of the Muscle Intelligence podcast to share this philosophy, talk a little about her book The Metabolic Approach to Cancer and share a whole lot of wisdom on a number of adjacent and related issues! We start off with some basics, chatting about the building blocks of a good diet and how fasting can fit into this. Dr. Nasha also shares her own story and the difficult challenges she faced before she even became an adult, with a teenage cancer diagnosis. From there we chat about protein in a healthy diet, removing gluten and whether soy is as healthy or unhealthy as we often seem to hear. We also get into the damaging effects of too much exercise and the potential for exercise addiction; Dr. Nasha promotes an individual approach to movement and exertion, as there are many different physical needs that we have in order to flourish. We finish off our chat on the topic of pollution and how to purify our bodies from its harmful effects. Join us to hear it all!

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Timestamps

Dr. Nasha's early life and health issues from a young age. [4:53]
Dangerous practices around radiation and cancer screening. [10:30]
The simple dietary approach that Dr. Nasha takes with her patients. [13:22]
Starting from a clean, local and high-quality foundation for what you eat. [18:13]
The varied responses to fasting across different types of metabolic systems. [21:25]
When to lengthen a fast to three to five days and the effects that start to emerge. [25:19]
Protein intake amounts and balancing short and long term objectives. [28:53]
Basics to avoid and the real dangers of modern gluten. [32:40]
The actual health status of much-debated soy products. [38:18]
Our addiction to gluten and the answers that are readily available to solve the problem. [41:11]
The final addiction; over-exercising and the serious damage this can do. [45:07]
Environmental factors that influence our health and risks of cancer. [47:43]
Ways to dilute and reduce the pollution we encounter on a daily basis. [53:22]
Dr. Nasha's sauna practice and the natural methods we can all access to sweat healthily. [58:58]