Fitness Lit Breakdown with Dr. Nick Trubee
72 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 months ago - ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsHave you ever read peer-reviewed scientific research on exercise & fitness topics? I’m going to go out on a limb and say, NO... Here’s the disconnect. Most research done in this field is focused on improving our knowledge and understanding in all things exercise with hopes of bringing this knowledge to the masses. However, most higher-level academic research is written in a technical and complicated dialect that only those in the professional field can read and decipher. So my goal is to take the complicated and messy and bring it to a relatable level. Each week I’ll give you my take on fitness related evidence-based research and show you a practical way to introduce the bottom-line findings into your personal fitness and health. The research is there to improve your life. It just takes a trained eye to find the gold.
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Episodes
Finding yourself skipping workouts? Here's why and how you can make that all change.
December 04, 2023 17:00 - 15 minutes - 10.6 MBYour brain is hard wired to keep you safe, to keep you alive. It doesn't necessarily care if you are alive and thriving. You know what I'm talking about... ahem survival mode. Your nervous system is so hard wired for survival that your brain will do everything it can to keep you comfortable and using as little energy as possible. Think about it, how many times have you skipped a workout because the house was warm and cozy, it was dark and dreary outside, your slippers were already on for goo...
Keeping fitness simple with Coach Keri
October 04, 2023 16:00 - 38 minutes - 26.2 MBIt's easy to fall under the logic of complicated = better/more valuable. When in reality keeping things simple and focusing on consistency and patience tend to be the best recipe for long term success. At some level we all know this, and we play against our human nature as the long game is the most challenging one to play. Keri and I both own our own online fitness businesses and share the perspective of keeping things simple and mastering the basic controllables... Hone in on your current ...
The low-down on rest intervals for single-joint & multi-joint exercises. Hint, there is a difference.
August 01, 2023 11:00 - 32 minutes - 22.5 MBFirst, let's set the expectation. If you reduce the rest interval between sets of a given workout, your capacity noticably decreases over the course of your working sets. What does get taxed, however, is your aerobic energy system. When rest intervals are lengthened, your ability to produce the desired reps over the course of many working sets is spared which results in a higher training volume. Moral of the story, shorter rest intervals improve your aerobic energy system, longer rest interv...
Season 3, Ep. 9 with Zak Kanary - A garage gym dad doing work!
June 30, 2023 11:00 - 47 minutes - 32.4 MBA dad with 4 kids under 8 years old shares some tangible and actionable advice about life and fitness. Things definitely change after having kids, and shifting expectations, the way things look, and having gratitude for all of it may change the way you approach exercise and movement in your daily life. "This is who we are now" is a simple but powerful statement that Zak shared and how that has been a game changer for not only him, but his entire household. You can let time and kids be your ...
High intensity Low volume versus Moderate intensity High volume, is one better than the other?
June 23, 2023 17:00 - 28 minutes - 19.4 MBAthletes & everyday functioning people have a time, whether it's in season or on vacation/travel, where training time is decreased compared to the typical routine. And with that less training time we start to worry at what point will I start to see decrements in my abilities, things like strength and muscle size? This investigation dives into comparing two groups of training, one using high intensity with low volume training, compared to moderate intensity and higher volume training. The kic...
Will squatting past parallel increase muscle size more than squatting to 90 degrees? Relationship between hypertrophy (increase in muscle size) and range of motion.
May 02, 2023 17:00 - 47 minutes - 32.5 MBYou've been in the gym where the person next to you is completing half reps of a bicep curl or squat and you wonder, is that helping or hurting? First and fore-most I typically recommend working through a full and available range of motion for every movement. Personally I want to be strong through the entire range, regardless of how little or large of that range I'm using. However, when it comes to hypertrophy, or increase in muscle size, is there an optimal range of motion for each muscle g...
Craig Gilkes, kettlebell master from the school of max unbroken swings
March 11, 2023 18:00 - 41 minutes - 28.9 MBCraig has a wealth of knowledge in the health & fitness industry. Over the years of applying his craft & his gift, he has pared down the need for flashy objects & complex training programs. With mastery comes simplicity and the utmost respect for the basics. It's not just about what is accomplished on a single day of training, but what is accomplished every day of training, day-in and day-out. Craig shares his training style and passion for movement throughout this episode with the underlyin...
Chad Trudo: The Director of Strength & Conditioning at Aurora University
March 09, 2023 12:00 - 35 minutes - 24.7 MBAnother round with my fitness consigliere, Chad Trudo. We had all the intentions of breaking down a newly published research article on the topic of countermovement jump performance. However, many tangental conversations occurred, that in my mind were much more usable and fundamental in the world of exercise and strength & conditioning. Chad and I dove into banter on the topic of neuromuscular fatigue with tools to assess and understand the data and how to apply the information to your advan...
Dr. Hannah Brandt
March 09, 2023 01:00 - 38 minutes - 26.7 MBA big thank you to Dr. Hannah Brandt for being a guest on the show. Hannah and I share a similar career story, as we were both previously institutionalized professionals turned entrepreneurs. Hannah's background is in physical therapy where practicing in the current "one size fits all" model never settled well with her values and style of practice. Which lead to her own flourishing practice of online health coaching and personal training. Dr. Hannah has an impactful backstory with her own pe...
Using RPE vs a percentage of your 1-rep max in your training
February 22, 2023 18:00 - 24 minutes - 16.6 MBThere have been countless research studies done on understanding training outcomes based on working at differing percentages of your 1-rep max. It's tried and true. But it may be leaving out a very important detail. It does not take into account your level of preparedness the day of training. We all have had days where (for example) 100 pounds feels light and effortless on the bench press. Then next week comes along and the same 100 pounds feels like 200 pounds. If you were to use a percenta...
Hannah Johnson of @runthismomlife
January 27, 2023 11:00 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBThank you to Hannah for cutting into your bedtime and being a guest on the podcast! For those of you who don't know, most of my episodes for this show are recorded "late" in the evening (~8pm) after the kids are down, so if rambling on a tangent occurs you now know why. On this episode we dive into conversations centering around fitness and family. Both of which can take a considerable amount of time from the day, but when done harmoniously, everyone can benefit. Hannah also gives some insi...
Tyler Friedrich: Stanford University's Director of Olympic Sports Performance and Applied Sport Science.
January 20, 2023 18:00 - 42 minutes - 29.1 MBThere is so much to unpack from this episode with Tyler. I'm very grateful for all the insight he shared regarding his approach to training extremely high caliber collegiate athletes. And at the same time realized how simple the foundational structure the training principles are based upon. The real beauty is the art and nuance Tyler applies every day when working with his athletes. We dive into conversations regarding the nervous system and how to best approach stimulate the body to compe...
Steps per day matter to get the most out of your workout
December 31, 2022 18:00 - 34 minutes - 24 MBWow, what a great paper to break down for the last episode of 2022. This investigation has some hard-core truth to the benefits of moving our bodies throughout the day and how that can actually influence the health outcomes of our workouts. Not following along? Let's look at it from this perspective, you average 2500 steps per day or 8500 steps per day, perform the same hour jog on the treadmill, does your metabolism on the days following show a difference? Do the steps you take per day have...
How to engage your nervous system using contrast
December 15, 2022 15:00 - 18 minutes - 12.9 MBThis is one of my favorite methods to improve no matter your current level. As we all know, we are bound by the law of diminishing returns... the more we improve and enhance our abilities it requires more and more effort to continue the climb. And as we approach the top end, the level of effort only returns small improvements. However, there are ways in which we can engage our nervous system to improve things like strength, power, and work capacity without increasing our muscle size. It's al...
Mixing strength & aerobic training, how much of each should you do each week?
December 02, 2022 12:00 - 34 minutes - 23.9 MBShould you spend more time focusing on strength training or aerobic training related to maintaining your fitness and hormone levels? This is a common and important question to ask yourself, and the answer will likely be very individualized based on you, your level of fitness, your training history, etc. The study in reference (sited below) looked at breaking down training into 3 groups: Strength training 3 times per week and endurance training 1 time per week; Strength training 2 times per w...
S2, Ep. 29: Jim Laird - Achieve your goals by hammering the fundamentals
November 16, 2022 18:00 - 41 minutes - 28.4 MBThis has been an episode I've looked forward to for some time. I could sit and chat with Jim for hours on just about anything, but when it comes to fitness you might be surprised where the conversation goes. You might think we dove into discussions around certain exercises or specific volumes to apply for specific training outcomes, etc. But you'd be wrong. Those types of things are important and certainly have their value, but what most people need in their training is much more basic. A qu...
A body-builders approach to training may surprise you... The grey area in training & movement with Brandt Gess
October 25, 2022 17:00 - 44 minutes - 30.5 MBYou may have pre-conditioned thoughts about how a body builder approaches their day and time in the gym setting. But I'm challenging you to open up your mind to a totally different perspective. There is so much to unpack in this episode with Brandt Gess. We dive into conversations about daily training/movement from a slightly different perspective. Let me explain... The workout on the sheet may seem black & white, but it's in the grey area where the results lie. It starts with a checklist th...
S2, Ep27: Tom Wymer, Strength coach & athletic trainer
October 18, 2022 11:00 - 44 minutes - 30.6 MBTom has a really cool background in the world of exercise, that of an athletic trainer and a strength coach. Currently, most of his time & efforts are geared towards training and programming athletes and average joes on the online space. From these experiences, Tom has some great advice and tips for improving your workout game at home. On this episode we dive into topics ranging from the essential workout equipment for the home-gym (must haves) to conversations about how much time do we real...
Keeping fitness simple and sustainable with William Wallace
October 11, 2022 16:00 - 35 minutes - 24.6 MBWhen you type in Williamwallacefit on Instagram you'll come across a man with an incredible physique and work ethic. You'll wonder how he got there or if you're capable of having similar results. And what you'll learn about William's every day routine will likely surprise you... it's kinda "boring." I don't mean that in a negative way by any stretch of the imagination, but it would look eerily similar on paper, week-in and week-out. He's built a rock solid foundation for his routine, all hin...
Is muscle soreness the best indicator for improvement?
September 27, 2022 17:00 - 26 minutes - 18.1 MBWe've likely all been sore after a workout. Especially if we are new to exercise or back in a routine after a hiatus. We also tend to get sore post exercise when incorporating new movements or when performing more work than we typically perform. However, what about after all of those workouts where no soreness was noticeable. Does that mean the workout done the day(s) previously didn't add to the goal of improvement? Does soreness need to occur for our physiology to adapt to handle a greater...
Season 2, Ep. 24: Trading training ideas & philosophies with Dr. Josh Elzey
September 23, 2022 11:00 - 41 minutes - 28.8 MBI really enjoyed getting to know Josh and trading ideas and training philosophies during this episode. He and I both share a fear that helps drive our efforts for functional real-world strength... getting "old." Not that age necessarily creates the fear, but it's the fear of being trapped in your own body that many associate with getting older. However, he and I both know that approaching movement and fitness in a ruthlessly consistent yet sustainable way creates a life without boundaries. B...
Training thoughts from the day - Assess your readiness for movement
September 08, 2022 17:00 - 14 minutes - 10 MBThere are some days where the stars align and your body and brain are ready for structured movement. Then there are other days where you feel like exercise is the last thing you want to do... maybe because you're too tired, sore, lethargic, feeling lazy, etc. However, most of us know that some movement would likely make us feel better, but how much movement will get us to that place of feeling good. This episode will help you connect the dots with action based tools to help you know when to ...
Are you using RPE to improve your training?
September 04, 2022 10:00 - 15 minutes - 11 MBRating of perceived exertion, or RPE, is a method used to assess how hard something believes to be working. The original purpose was used more for aerobic training and testing to assess someone's capacity for work as it aligned with physiological measurements such as heart rate, VO2, blood lactate, etc. The scale used in this scenario ranges from 6 - 20 (6 being minimal effort and 20 being max effort. The same strategy can also be used in resistance training, often with a scale of 1 - 10 (10...
The 3 V's of training... Volume, velocity & variation
August 29, 2022 10:00 - 13 minutes - 9.49 MBAfter I record an episode, I always have a million & one ideas rush through my brain on areas I should have elaborated more or aspects I left out that were important. So as part of that, I have been writing these down and will be using as a what I'm calling "Training thoughts from the day" episodes. I'll use these to try & make sense of the web of thoughts I go through when reading all the literature I report on for this podcast. I'll do my best to keep these short but highly effective in de...
Season 2, Ep. 20: Kristofor Healey, the indispensable man.
August 24, 2022 18:00 - 42 minutes - 29.4 MBA very special episode with Kristofor Healey, former Special Agent with the Department of Homeland Security and current author, podcast host and entrepreneur. Kristofor is someone I look up to as a man of pure integrity, purpose and tenacity, truly embodying the essence of those descriptors. We discuss how those terms have driven him professionally as a Special Agent & entrepreneur, and personally as an athlete, trainer, father & husband. His daily dedication and application of fitness and t...
Rest between sets vs. rest between reps... Will the result be different?
August 11, 2022 19:00 - 28 minutes - 19.5 MBWhat if you kept the resistance, volume, and overall rest time the same, but altered how the rest time is taken, would you expect a different result after 10 weeks of training? I love this topic because it shows a flaw when only using volume (reps x sets x resistance) to track training over time. Volume can be the same on paper, but what will not be presented are critical variables such as time under tension, velocity, and intention to move a resistance quickly. This is the basis of this epi...
Post-activation potentiation with Chad Trudo
July 29, 2022 10:00 - 37 minutes - 25.6 MBBringing back the man, they myth, the legend, Chad Trudo - The Direction of Strength & Conditioning at Aurora University. In this episode, Chad and I break down a recent article on post-activation potentiation. The theory behind this tactic is the use of a traditional exercise followed by a high velocity movement with hopes that the traditional exercise primed the nervous system to perform better during the high velocity movement. Kind of a mouthful there, but the idea has some real prowess ...
Barbell bench press vs Dumbbell bench press... Which one is best?
July 21, 2022 10:00 - 40 minutes - 28.1 MBOk, so you're walking into the gym, and it feels like chest day. Should you choose the Barbell or the Dumbbell for bench press? Which one is going to offer the best workout for the pec major, anterior deltoid and triceps? Or are they both the same when it comes to the overall goal of your efforts... to get stronger and grow the size of your muscles. This episode walks through 3 separate research articles to provide an answer to all of your questions. And I bet you'll be surprised by the answ...
Breaking down Fitness Myths with Dr. Peyton Vickers
July 11, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 53.1 MBA totally uncut, unscripted discussion with an expert critical thinker of the fitness world, Dr. Peyton Vickers. There are so many instances where we've been told that squatting is "bad" for your knees, or there is a "perfect posture" or a "perfect technique" for every exercise. But have you ever questioned those bold statements? There are so many myths in the fitness world that it has become difficult to distinguish the truth from the oversimplified lies. Or we fail to realize that there i...
Exercising in the heat... how can this make us more "fit"?
June 28, 2022 16:00 - 34 minutes - 23.5 MBIf you've ever exercised when it's hot outside, you've likely noticed that whatever was easy in cooler temperatures is now quite challenging when it's hot. Why is that? Our body can do some amazing things to adapt to hotter temperatures, but also needs some time to acclimate. Research has shown that 1 - 2 weeks of exercising in the heat allows for your physiology to make some key changes. In this episode we dive into the details of how our bodies cool themselves during exercise, what physiol...
How much variation is too much variation?
June 19, 2022 17:00 - 32 minutes - 22.3 MBShould you be doing the same movements over and over, month by month? Or, should you be sprinkling in some variety along the way? Even better yet, should every workout look different than the last? These are all great questions and many of which have been asked countless times. But are the words variety and progressive overload mutually exclusive? Or is there a deep relationship there that holds some truth? It sounds like you better tune in and find out! I think you'll walk away with a bette...
Creatine supplementation for brain health?
June 03, 2022 01:00 - 23 minutes - 16.3 MBYou've likely heard (or even experimented) with supplementing with creatine to enhance your exercising capacity. It is well documented that creatine supplementation of anywhere between 5 grams per day to 20 grams per day alongside a resistance training program has been shown to improve muscle size, muscle strength, or a combination of the two. But does the brain use creatine for normal functioning? If you asked me this question 6 months ago, I would respond "I have no idea." After some resea...
Improving maximal strength & explosive strength with KB Swings
May 19, 2022 17:00 - 26 minutes - 18.3 MBIf you heard you could improve your maximal strength & explosive strength by a 12-minute workout done 2 times per week for 6 weeks, would you do it? No, this isn't a fake proposal or a punchline to get you to buy a product. It's what can happen if you focus on the kettlebell swing. This episode reviews an article (and one of the few at that) that compares kettlebell swing training to the jump squat exercise to see which enhances your capacity to improve strength and power. I think you may be...
Bulletproof your body for running with Dr. Jamie Mraz
May 02, 2022 11:00 - 33 minutes - 23 MBIf you've ever incorporated running into your exercise routine, you know how challenging it can be to stay injury free. Running is a unique mode of exercise due to its repetitive nature & demand on the bones, tendons & muscles. With each step your body experiences 3-4 times your body weight! Crazy right!? For this episode, Dr. Jamie Mraz details a quick and easy "test" that you can perform to see if your body is ready for the demand of running. She also dives into how to implement running in...
Breathing strategies for resistance training
April 25, 2022 17:00 - 31 minutes - 21.4 MBHave you ever focused on how you breathe during exercise? For some people, it's the last thing that comes to mind, especially when lifting weights. But is there a best practice for breathing while resistance training? There are many strategies out there, some that even involve not breathing (Valsalva maneuver). The goal of breathing (or not breathing) is to increase intra-thoracic pressure (pressure around the spine) to best maintain posture & technique during the movement. With that, pressu...
4x World Record Holder in kettlebell swings, Sergeant Major Steven Burkett
April 13, 2022 00:00 - 37 minutes - 25.8 MBWhat does the person who holds 4 world records in the kettlebell swing do each night? He has a hard time sleeping because he's too excited to get the kettlebell back in his hands for more. In this episode I chat with Sergeant Major Steven Burkett of the United States Marine Corps (aka sergeantmajorkettlebell on Instagram) and dive into what keeps him coming back for more. There is so much to unpack in this episode, from learning to thrive on self-competition, finding what you love about move...
Which leg exercise also engages the core muscles most?
April 06, 2022 17:00 - 29 minutes - 20.2 MBIf you've spent some time in the gym, you've likely tried a barbell squat, a Smith machine squat, and a leg press. You were probably thinking only of which of those is going to best improve lower body strength. But! Did you ever stop and think which of those 3 may best engage my core muscles as well!? This episode dives into some new research asking that exact question. You may have a guess as to which one of those three will engage the abs and lower back extensors the most, but you're going...
Lifting to failure is overrated.
March 28, 2022 17:00 - 34 minutes - 23.8 MBWe've discussed many times about the pros and cons of lifting to failure, but most of those conversations have revolved around using higher relative resistances (closer to your 1 rep max). So, what if we compared using a higher resistance and a lower resistance and lifted to failure and not to failure in each scenario? Do you think strength improvements were the same? What about improvements in muscle size? Like the saying I use all the time, can we do "less work" but still get the same resu...
Do men & women use different muscles during the squat?
February 28, 2022 12:00 - 35 minutes - 24.1 MBThere are some obvious differences between men & women related to exercising physiology. Hormonal, anatomical, and relative strength to name a few, but is there a difference in how each engages specific muscles during exercise? Some recent evidence may provide a window into this as a recent article shows differences in how men engage the hamstring muscles during the lowering phase of a squat compared to women. Now this may be important to note as injury risk to the knee tends to be higher in...
Season 2, Episode 5 - Dr. Nicole Lussier, PT, DPT on the topic of ruptured tendons, rehab and beyond
February 21, 2022 12:00 - 33 minutes - 22.7 MBRuptured tendons are quite the serious event, that involve pain, discomfort, and months of rehab to return to normal functioning. But normal functioning is not always the goal for many. Most people want to achieve levels of fitness above and beyond where we were pre-injury. In this episode Dr. Lussier provides some excellent training ideas that are easy to implement into your own training if you are dealing with a muscular/tendon injury and want to keep the train rolling & continue excelling...
Squatting barefoot vs shoes - Is there a difference?
February 12, 2022 18:00 - 31 minutes - 21.8 MBHow does your body react to squatting in shoes versus barefoot? Will joints like the hip and knee move differently? Will muscles of the quad and lower back engage differently? There is a division in the research where some articles will show that the shoe allows for a more upright torso posture and provides the ability to get further into the squatting position. Other research will state that there is no real difference between the two situations. I dive into a current article where both sid...
When "more" might actually be "more"
February 05, 2022 12:00 - 37 minutes - 25.5 MBWe've chatted about this topic before, and with more work, more time is spent on the backend recovering for the next workout. But what if you shorten the timeline, say a training bout of 8 weeks where you aggressively kick up the amount of work you perform. How much "more" is "more" related to what you can expect out of improving your strength and muscle size. How many sets per week for a specific muscle group might you actually need? How much relative weight do you need to lift? How quickly...
Bench press time... Should you work through a full range of motion or not?
January 20, 2022 11:00 - 30 minutes - 21.2 MBThis is a very interesting episode that has some heavy hitting take away messages for listeners of all abilities. How does working through a full range of motion compare to working through partial ranges of motion related to improvements in strength and bench press speed? That may seem like a question that doesn't have much real-world impact, but I think you may see the light after listening to this episode. Some abilities transfer to all scenarios of fitness while others may not depending o...
Reps to failure or leave a few in the tank?
January 14, 2022 01:00 - 31 minutes - 21.8 MBThe age-old question, how much work do I need to do to achieve the desired result? The goal should always be the least amount possible. But there is so much data out there that supports training to failure every set to get stronger. There is also information out there that shows keeping repetition velocity high throughout working sets is important. So what should you believe? This episode dives into the latest research comparing "reps to failure" to "leaving a few reps in the tank." I think ...
Core Strength... What is the "core" and how can you train to improve it best?
December 24, 2021 15:00 - 42 minutes - 28.9 MBThis is a special episode where I sit down with Chad Trudo, Director of Strength & Conditioning and Human Performance for Aurora University. We discuss one of his previous manuscripts covering core strength and ways to assess your core strength. You do not want to miss this one! You will walk away with many applicable training methods that you can try in your own fitness training. We cover and explain a working definition of the "core." Move into discussion on feasible ways to assess your c...
How much rest time is enough?
December 09, 2021 12:00 - 31 minutes - 21.8 MBWhat's more important, the amount of work you prescribe for a workout, OR, the amount of time you rest in between sets? That's a tough question, and my hope is that you're thinking both hold their own weight when gearing up for a workout. We all know the feeling of being exhausted after a set and knowing we need a few minutes to rest before we're ready for the next. But how much time is enough? Because the goal is to come back to the next set as prepared as we were for the first. I hope I've...
To gain muscle and improve strength, should you lift fast or slow?
December 02, 2021 17:00 - 29 minutes - 20.4 MBThere is a ton of research on this topic of repetition velocity. But what is the consensus? Should you be focused on slow eccentric? Fast concentric? Some combination of both? The article under review for this week provides some excellent insight to both sides of the speed argument, and even dives into separating the repetition all together. This is probably the episode the has the most take away use-able messages that you can apply to your training today to start seeing improvements. As alw...
Improve muscle size & strength with slower repetitions
October 21, 2021 16:00 - 30 minutes - 21.3 MBWe've previously discussed many ways to improve muscle size and strength, specific to increasing the load and volume and decreasing rest intervals, but what about changing the speed at which we lift objects? How would a faster eccentric contraction compare to a slower eccentric contraction in an exercise like the bicep curl? Obviously a 1 second lowering phase would be easier to complete compared to a 4 second lowering phase, but what goes on physiologically to improve size and strength betw...
Bicep curl vs. Dumbbell row: Which will improve bicep muscle size better?
September 27, 2021 17:00 - 30 minutes - 20.8 MBThe bicep muscle has always been a prime physique muscle. It is primarily responsible for flexing the elbow, which we all know, is involved in infinite upper body movements. But if we're looking to enhance the size of our biceps, should we focus our efforts on the bicep curl, or some version of a rowing exercise (i.e. dumbbell row)? Previous research has shown that performing only multi-joint exercises compared to performing both multi-joint & single-joint exercises revealed essentially no d...
Squat vs. Step up - Will lower body strength improve differently?
September 03, 2021 17:00 - 32 minutes - 22.5 MBContinuing the theme of bilateral (two-sided) & unilateral (one-sided) training, how might specifically training the step-up exercise differ from the barbell squat? Will overall lower body strength improve either way? Will the squat allow for more strength improvements compared to the step up (and vise-versa)? There is some very interesting findings from this weeks episode as we go further in depth to seeing what actually happens to changes in leg strength between a group specifically traini...