Flex Diet Podcast

Harley Pasternak, MSc nutritionist, is a five-time New York Times best-selling author and celebrity personal trainer with more than 30 years in health and fitness.Does getting in shape really require longer workouts and more fitness data? Celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak joins Dr. Mike T Nelson to discuss short strength sessions, practical nutrition, daily steps, sleep, and the simple habits he prioritizes over fitness trends.Expect to learn how to coach unusual diet preferences without losing trust, why Harley favors short strength sessions, what goes into a useful hotel gym, how he builds steps and meals gradually, where fitness data can become a distraction, and his perspective on protein, fiber and supplement decisions, and much more.Connect with Harley:WebsiteInstagramEpisodes you'll enjoy next:Building a Fitness Empire: Business Lessons, Zone 2 & Recovery Trends with Don Saladino — #403Episode 383: Body Composition, Strength Training, and Sustainable Habits with Martin SilvaEpisode Timestamps:02:13 Beyond Fad Diets04:34 Coaching Food Preferences06:48 From Canada To Hollywood09:47 Designing Hotel Gyms11:59 The Mobile Film-Set Gym14:45 Portable Cable Training19:18 Favorite Strength Machines21:59 Short Workouts On Set23:45 Film-Role Transformations28:22 Motivation And Logistics33:20 Building Simple Habits37:28 Sleep Tracking Basics40:09 Zone 2 And Data Overload43:06 Fitness Versus Attention49:16 Supplements And Peptides51:06 GLP-1 Nutrition Concerns53:25 Fish And Food Choices55:06 Connect With HarleyContent note: Film-role weight-loss examples involved medical monitoring and are not a general weight-loss plan. Views about training metrics and supplements are discussed as the guest's perspective, not individualized medical advice. Get the Daily Fitness Insider newsletter (free): https://www.miketnelson.com/newsletter

Jonah Rosner is a sport scientist, performance coach, and founder of Marathon Science, translating endurance research for runners and hybrid athletes.Does everyone really need two to three hours of Zone 2 each week? Sport scientist Jonah Rosner joins Dr. Mike T Nelson to explore when higher-intensity work makes sense, how to separate cardiovascular stress from tissue stress, and what heat training and blood flow restriction may add to an endurance plan.Expect to learn why time-crunched lifters may benefit from carefully selected intervals, how to separate cardiovascular load from tissue load, why sprinting needs a gradual runway, what heat acclimation may change beyond plasma volume, where oxygen strategies and blood flow restriction fit, and how to interpret heart rate alongside performance, and much more.Connect with Jonah:Marathon Science newsletterInstagram: @rosnerperformanceEpisodes you’ll enjoy next:VO2 Max, Zone 2 Training & the Psychology of Human Performance — Ben Skutnik — #402From Powerlifter to Trail Runner — Paul Oneid & Cody Miller — #393Episode Timestamps:03:00 Zone 2 Versus HIIT05:00 Choosing Safer HIIT Modes08:56 Building Toward Faster Sprints13:30 Quality Density Running Repeats15:48 Polarizing Your Running Training19:36 Heat Training For Endurance26:40 Exercising In The Heat29:48 Cooling And Heat Perception32:27 Cold Water Between Intervals35:10 Altitude And Oxygen Strategies40:35 Exercise With Oxygen Therapy42:16 Blood Flow Restriction Training45:10 Measuring Muscle Oxygen Extraction52:04 Heart Rate Versus Output57:26 Triphasic Training For Runners61:25 Thinking Beyond Training Dogma Get the Daily Fitness Insider newsletter (free): https://www.miketnelson.com/newsletter

James de Lacey is a strength and conditioning coach with an MSc in Sport & Exercise Science and more than a decade of experience in professional sport spanning professional and international rugby/rugby league. He now focuses on combat sports to prepare fighters under Sweet Science of Fighting.Do fighters really need zone 2 cardio? Strength and conditioning coach James de Lacey of Sweet Science of Fighting joins Dr. Mike T Nelson to challenge the "big aerobic base first" playbook for combat sports, from heart rate recovery and short-rest sprint intervals to muscle oxygen (NIRS) data. They also dig into VO2 max, wearables and why AI-written programs often miss the mark.Expect to learn why James questions the “huge aerobic base” approach for fighters, how heart rate recovery and heart rate kinetics can reveal more than time in zones, how short-rest sprint intervals and a simple air bike baseline test can guide programming, what muscle oxygen (NIRS) data can and can’t tell you, why trends beat single data points from wearables, and why generic AI-written programs often miss the mark—and much more.Connect with James:sweetscienceoffighting.comjamesdelacey.comSweet Science of Fighting on InstagramSweet Science of Fighting on YouTubeEpisodes you'll enjoy next:Episode 326: Row Hard, Breathe Easy: Boosting Aerobic Capacity with Dr. Kenneth Jay: Dr. Kenneth Jay on rowing and boosting aerobic capacity (Mike credits Dr. Jay for the bioenergetic testing he mentions in this conversation).Episode 221: Training performance, nitric oxide, blood flow, and more via the NNOXX device with Evan Peikon: Evan Peikon on training performance, nitric oxide and blood flow via the NNOXX device (Mike mentions Evan in this conversation).Episode Timestamps: 03:35 The biggest conditioning mistake in MMA05:50 Why sprints are more aerobic than you think07:46 Do fighters need a huge aerobic base?09:44 VO2 max, muscle limits and oxygen testing11:57 Conditioning trends and training volume15:36 Zone 2, time costs and the 80/20 debate22:10 Heart rate response and recovery between rounds25:43 Mike’s rower test and heart rate recovery28:25 Air bike sprints with short rests31:44 Muscle oxygen and power between repeats34:19 Testing and training each athlete’s limiter41:47 Flexible Meathead Cardio and technical training46:05 Elite athletes, VO2 max and training context50:22 NIRS, oxygen drops and peak power57:18 Why trends beat single test results1:02:56 Wearables, coaching judgment and session design1:06:57 AI programs and generic training blocks1:13:02 Training around life and where to find James Get the Daily Fitness Insider newsletter (free): https://www.miketnelson.com/newsletter

Bryan Krahn has been a personal trainer since 1997, a CSCS since 2005, and a full-time online coach since 2014. He is a fitness writer and the author of two books with Men's Health.Will AI replace online coaches, or only the ones who stop being human? Veteran online coach and Men's Health author Bryan Krahn joins Dr. Mike T Nelson for a candid, unfiltered conversation about paying for expertise, whether coaches should disclose AI use, personal experiences with peptides and TRT (opinion, not advice), and Mike's simple rower-based cardio plan.Expect to learn why paying for expertise makes you a better coach, how Bryan and Mike use (and distrust) AI in coaching and writing, whether coaches should disclose their AI use, why stacking compounds makes personal experiments hard to interpret, how Bryan thinks about TRT and lab markers like HDL, LDL and PSA, and Mike’s simple rower-based cardio plan—and much more.Bryan and Mike discuss peptides, TRT and other compounds from personal experience and opinion. Nothing here is medical advice; talk to a qualified healthcare professional before changing any medication or supplement routine.Connect with Bryan:over50muscle.comBryan on Instagram (@bryankrahn)Episodes you'll enjoy next:Episode 137: Training Straight Talk with fitness writer, and online physique coach Bryan Krahn: Bryan's previous visit to the show: training straight talk from a fitness writer and online physique coach.AI Disclosure, Deepfakes & the Death of Expertise — Dean Guedo & Jeb Stuart Johnston — #404: Dean Guedo and Jeb Stuart Johnston on AI disclosure, deepfakes and the death of expertise (Mike mentions Dean in this conversation).Episode Timestamps:02:25 Online coaching's catch-22: taking clients you may not be set up to help04:16 Bryan's niche: from over-40 clients to the over-50 guy, and why parents and older dads fit06:10 Edge-case clients, referral networks and paying peers for expertise08:06 Why paying for consults still matters, including Bryan's 1999 consult with Charles Poliquin11:35 Why AI still struggles with niche training questions: PEDs, zone two and the Thomas Inch dumbbell17:03 AI inside coaching software, and why chatbots are so agreeable18:53 Would clients be accountable to a bot, and will live coaches last?23:48 Should coaches disclose AI use to clients? Everyday AI wins like soundbars and grill repair27:29 Contest-prep coaches, AI photo checks, and why coaches get second opinions34:32 Peptide offers and appetite-suppressing drugs: personal experiences, not advice39:38 DNP stories and risks as the speakers recount them42:34 Mitochondrial peptides, NAD+ and IV infusions: why stacked self-experiments are hard to interpret49:39 TRT: dialing in the basics first and working with a physician52:41 Lab markers: HDL, LDL and PSA, and changing the marker versus the outcome58:37 Traveling with a TRT prescription: Bryan's border-security story1:01:25 Mike's rower cardio plan: baseline 2K test, progressive six-minute sessions and a smarter four-by-four1:10:58 Should writers disclose AI use? Beating the blank page without losing your voice1:19:06 Wrap-up: coaching availability, training from 50 to 53, and where to find Bryan Get the Daily Fitness Insider newsletter (free): https://www.miketnelson.com/newsletter

Dr. Gregory Kelly, N.D., is Chief Product Officer at Qualia Life, a naturopathic physician, author of Shape Shift, and former editor of Alternative Medicine Review.Detox is more than a liver story—and it is not a juice cleanse. Dr. Gregory Kelly of Qualia Life explains how clearance pathways work together, why mobilizing stored chemicals is not the same as eliminating them, and the thinking behind Qualia 2-Day Detox.Expect to learn why detox skepticism is warranted, how Dr. Kelly thinks about cumulative stress and chemical exposure, what liver biotransformation and elimination mean, why his formulation includes a between-meals binder stack, how sleep and the glymphatic system enter the conversation, and what Qualia’s small symptom-questionnaire study can and cannot establish—and much more.Dr. Kelly discusses his company’s Qualia 2-Day Detox product. Product descriptions and health claims are his views, not independent verification or medical advice; the small study discussed used self-reported symptom questionnaires.Connect with Greg:Qualia on FacebookQualia on InstagramQualia on TikTokDr. Gregory Kelly on LinkedInEpisodes you'll enjoy next:Episode 352: Dr. Dan Pardi on Stem Cells, Supplements, and the Future of Health with Qualia: Dr. Dan Pardi on stem cells, supplements, cognitive performance and health habits at Qualia.Episode 310: Unpacking the Science of Sleep with Dr. Allison Brager: Neuroscientist Dr. Allison Brager on sleep phases, circadian rhythms and performance.Episode Timestamps:05:03 Detox skepticism and why this conversation matters06:35 Why Qualia chose to develop a detox product, according to Dr. Kelly08:08 Who might need detox support, and Mike's experience with wildfire air pollution09:42 Dr. Kelly's environmental medicine background and the "last straw" bucket analogy for stress load12:44 Exposures Dr. Kelly tries to limit: canned foods, strong scents, new furniture, indoor air15:59 Small, consistent changes versus one silver bullet; Dr. Kelly cites biomonitoring studies18:59 Water filtration and drinking-water habits21:32 Larger exposures, the precautionary principle, mold, and skin products24:18 Sunscreen, sun exposure, and not overcomplicating health choices28:39 How Qualia approached the formulation, and an explanation of phase one, two, and three liver pathways33:07 Dr. Kelly's description of the four-step packets: morning and with-meal36:28 The between-meals binder stack, and a weight-loss study Dr. Kelly cites on stored chemicals40:26 The bedtime packet, the glymphatic system, and brain demands when learning new skills44:35 Fat-loss phases, a two-days-a-month approach, and Qualia's small symptom-questionnaire study48:49 Dr. Kelly's pairings for detox days: sauna, gentle movement, hydration, skin brushing, baths54:24 Wrap-up: fitting the routine into your schedule, and where to find more information Get the Daily Fitness Insider newsletter (free): https://www.miketnelson.com/newsletter