Ask the Trainers: Your Fitness Questions, Answered (Part Two)

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Transcript: Ask the Trainers: Your Fitness Questions, Answered (Part Two)

Season 8, Episode 23  | August 20, 2024

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Welcome to Life Time Talks, the podcast that’s aimed at helping you achieve your health, fitness, and life goals. I’m Jamie Martin, editor-in-chief of Experience Life, Life Time’s whole life health and fitness magazine. And I’m David Freeman, director of Alpha, one of Life Time’s signature group training programs.

We’re all in different places along our health and fitness journey, but no matter what we’re working toward, there are some essential things we can do to keep moving in the direction of a healthy purpose-driven life.

In each episode, we break down various elements of healthy living, including fitness and nutrition, mindset and community, and health issues. We’ll also share real, inspiring stories of transformation.

And we’ll be talking to experts from Life Time and beyond who share their insights and knowledge so you’ll have the tools and information you need to take charge of your next steps. Here we go.

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This episode is brought to you by NYU Langone Health. Every pickle baller and mountain biker, biathlete and triathlete has something in common, a goal. So when you visit NYU Langone Health, their experts don’t just ask, where does it hurt? They ask you why it matters. To learn more, visit nyulangone.org/sportshealth or call 844-888-8301.

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What’s going on everyone? We got a fun topic today. We’re gonna be talking about asking the trainers the frequently asked questions that we get. And we got two special guests today that I’m gonna have Jamie dive into here shortly. But a lot of the questions that we get around exercise, training and movement, we’re going to be able to answer today. And most of these questions are guided towards progressing towards one’s goals. So without further ado, Jamie, who’s our special guest we got today?

Yeah, we’ve got two of them, as you said, and they’re both at the same Life Time club, which we’re excited about. We have Sean Toy and Joe Clark with us. So, Sean Toy is a seasoned fitness professional with a decade of experience in the industry. He has numerous certifications in personal training and works with a diverse range of clientele, including special forces soldiers and those with medical considerations. He is the lead general at Life Time Chestnut Hill and serves as the area director for Life Time’s Athletic Country Clubs in Massachusetts.

He also sits on the Heart Health and Wellness Council at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. And Joe Clark is a certified personal trainer whose experience also spans a decade. He holds advanced certifications in nutrition, sports performance, functional training, and orthopedic exercise. Joe partnered with Life Time in 2023 and is now the personal training lead at Life Time in Chestnut Hill. So, hi guys, thanks for like coming from the East Coast where I’m in the Midwest, David’s in Texas. We’re all over the country right now, which is kind of fun.

Thanks for having us. You guys got better weather than we do here so.

I don’t know about that in Minnesota. Uhh, I don’t know. Minnesota is probably comparable.

We’re just so sporadic. We’re sporadic, so it’s kind of inconsistent.

Well, these kind of episodes are our favorites. We bring on different experts from across the organization. Sometimes it’s nutritionists. Sometimes it’s dynamic personal trainers and fitness professionals like yourselves. And it’s amazing, I mean, as you all know, and David, you know too, like we get questions all the time from members and from just people who are interested in health and wellness. And if we can do our part to clarify a few things and offer some insights, that’s what we’re here to do today. So Davis, did you want to kick us off with that first question?

Yeah, and always we’ll lead so y’all don’t got to guess who should be answering the question. Y’all can always tag team it. So, we’ll kick it off with this first question. I’ll throw it at you, Joe. Here we go. What are some proven strategies for staying accountable when it comes to health and fitness goals?

So yeah, that’s a great question. I think we get a lot of that as fitness professionals. So a few of them, I like to look at the why, right? So, finding people’s why that they’re so motivated to change themselves for the better, right? So, whether it’s divorce, whether it’s health related issues, I really like to tap into my clients and really get to know them at a very deep level so I can understand their true why and help them stay consistent with that. I also see with the, you know, staying accountable and all that is prioritizing time. A lot of people will set themselves up for success, but won’t really prioritize it in their daily life schedule. We all have different schedules, so I think prioritizing time is absolutely key to that. And then another reason why accountability is huge and staying accountable on that front is tracking. Tracking macros with nutrition, tracking habits on the LT training app, which I love to lean into. And then programming, right? A lot of the time, people just go into the gym guessing. They don’t have a plan of attack. They don’t know how to track things on the back end. So, in regards to accountability, those three things for me are huge. And I really like to get into it with my clients and have that positive energy. Day in, day out, whether it’s a 5 AM session, same energy as when I leave around 6, 7 PM right? They need to know I’m just as vested in their accountability as they should be on the back end of the side of here.

I love that. So let’s recap it a little bit. You said you like the tap into the why, like what it is that you’re doing, why you’re doing these things. And you had different tools that you threw out there too, from an accountability beyond the four walls of Life Time. You mentioned the Life Time training app. So, being able to tap into them beyond the session, giving them resources and making sure that they’re tapped in. Is that, is that what I’m hearing?

Yeah, absolutely. I think every layer we can get into it to hold them accountable, whether it’s personal, whether it’s tracking them on the LT training app. And just also giving them the knowledge that they can really understand it all. Because if they don’t understand the basis of how they can hold themselves accountable, it really won’t stick. So, if we can provide that for them and help them learn along the way, that’s been the most successful way they can stay accountable and they get closer to seeing their goals.

Well, I’m going to throw the second question over to you, Sean. How can I gain motivation? And how do I know the motivation style that works best for me? How do you help people with that?

Yeah, motivation is tough, right? I think it comes internally. And so, one of the things that I think about is what specifically someone is working out for. it kind of speaks a little bit to the why. But it also has to come from an internal desire to seek some change, right? And that means that somebody is either ready now because of a health condition or they maybe have something coming up like an event, like a wedding, those are super common. But finding, kind of, what is so important to you specifically is really going to be that intrinsic motivator as well as being ready to actually make that change. Those things are, I think are super important. I also, when we talk about how do we help like manufacture motivation, I don’t think that there’s like phrases and ways to like, get someone exactly where they need to be. I always think about how can I set a target for you that’s within reach that you can work towards every day and get that response to success. So, I can help you solidify the habit and be there to support you throughout that process. That’s really what it comes down to for motivation. Obviously, you know, as a trainer, it’s my job to help motivate people. One of the biggest ways that I’m able to do that for the people that I’m fortunate enough to work with is I just make them happy to see me, right? Exercise is hard enough. Getting into the gym is hard enough. But if you’re genuinely happy to see me and I can help make your day better while also getting you a little bit healthier, I’ve absolutely won as a trainer.

Well, I think that’s such an important point because what you’re saying is you know you are an accountability person for them too, but you’re also somebody that they have come to trust, right? And if they trust you and then they enjoy spending time with you and they want, that’s a motivator in and of itself. This person is championing me, right? And you’re giving them a plan at the same time. As someone, you guys are all trainers, you, David, are included in all this, I’m the one who’s like, OK, I’ve worked with a trainer before and that’s been a key for me. If I don’t have that connection with my trainer and I don’t, it’s like, if it’s not the right fit for me and that kind of goes back to the motivator style that it’s time to move on because you’re not going to make the progress or probably be motivated to continue making the choice to show up day after day.

Yeah, just to piggyback off what you just said, Jamie, the relationship and trust is built a lot within that space. motivation is one of those funny words I like to say just because it’s always forever changing. What motivates you today might not motivate you tomorrow. So as the individual who might can spark that fire with inside of you, that’s a different conversation. But the dope part about it, it’s already within you and having an individual to be able to bring it out of you is the art of what we do as coaches or life changers, as I like to say. So, good stuff there. Great response there, Sean. So, let’s reverse it this time. I’m gonna lead now with you, Sean, so Jamie can hit you next, Joe. Is that cool?

Cool. Thank you.

OK.

Let’s talk about intensity. A lot of people are always thinking, you know, more is more versus less is more. So, when it comes to intensities of workout, what should the intensity be at? And then how often should individuals be going all out?

Yeah. So I think it’s a great question, right? Because a lot of times people come into the gym, and specifically for a trainer, they’re looking for someone to actually push them incredibly hard and further than they would be willing to push themselves. And it’s sometimes that may be correct, but it really depends on who’s in front of you. So, when we do like a proper intake, when I’m working with a client, it’s understanding their injury history, like what their training age, how long have they actually trained for, what are some limitations that they may have like in mobility, so that that way I make sure that I’m programming the correct intensity. I think one common misconception is that you need to go all out. Whereas it’s much more important for me to work with somebody and increase their intensity incrementally over time. So, like a phenomenal personal trainer is someone that is actually systematically looking at your program, starting you somewhere in a lower intensity at the start of a program and progressing you through into a higher intensity as you make neural adaptations, as you learn the correct movement patterns to make you at like the right specific time, be able to hit those PRs, be able to max out, be able to get really strong. And the coolest part for me is like, when I help you max out, that’s the new data that I get to bring into your next program to adequately understand, OK, I’m gonna work with you at 70 percent of your max, in your program, and then bring you up to your max and allow your body to actually rest and recover because it’s really about that consistency over time that gets someone their results. And if you push too hard too soon, it can deter you from continuing to exercise. It can make you too sore to come in on a consistent basis. And the worst possible thing is it could derail you with injury and it just takes you one step further away of what your goal was. So I really think it’s like, it’s a little bit of science, it’s a little bit of art, and you gotta figure out how to correctly program for that client, just based on their individual needs. And that comes from just really, really good data that you can get from them in the beginning.

That’s a great response. That’s a golden moment right there. Mic drop moment early for us, I feel like. The dope part about what you said, Sean, which I feel anybody who’s listening, whether they are a coach, whether they are a client, potential client, is — one, be patient and don’t associate a great workout to just the feeling of intensity alone. What might come off as boring, you just said it, like setting the foundation around mechanics, motor control, how your body’s moving in space. You threw out two words there, training aids, like for people to understand what that is. If Jamie started training when she was 10 and she’s now, 20. You like what I did there, Jamie? She’s 10 years as far as in her training days. Yes, Jamie, you’re 20 today. So just knowing how much experience has now come within their training goes a long way, too. And you said adaptation. I love that. Your body adapting to new stimulus things that it probably hasn’t been introduced to in a while or first time being introduced to. And mechanics first, right? Then being consistent with those mechanics, then and only then now can we start to increase with the intensity. So the way you framed that up was amazing. So, coaches listening, take a page out of Sean’s book there, potential clients, athletes listening, make sure your coaches are bringing this to the table. Alright, Jamie, I’m gonna throw it over to you.

Alright, Joe, this one’s for you. And this one came from the LT Talks inbox. So straight from a listener. What’s the difference between compound and isolation exercises?

Yeah, that’s a great question. We also get that a ton in this industry. So, I like to break it down as simple as possible, right? Compound exercises include multi-joints, multi-muscle groupings. So your squats, your deadlifts, your bench press, your pull -ups. The isolations revolve one single joint, right? So your isolated bicep curl, tricep extension, seated leg curl. So compound movements are definitely a little bit harder to achieve. They require definitely more patient. You can do more load with it. Whereas when you go into isolation movements. Lighter weight movements are easier for people to complete. It’s a crucial though, I think in our opinion, I think Sean would agree when programming for people, we want to include both of these when we see fit, right? A lot of the time people might look at a compound movement like a squat or a deadlift and be really intimidated by it. They might not know how to do it well. And that’s where as coaches, we have to be very, very good with cueing them and making sure they’re doing the movement safely. With that intimidation factor, a lot of the time, we want to have a positive environment to show them how to do it right, do it well, and then progress through it. It’s also fun to throw little bit of some isolation movements in there too with some compound lifts. You might want to superset with an isolation movement with a bicep curl. I think for us, right, people kind of going back to that motivation factor. We wanna have them doing exercises they like to do. We also want them feeling motivated and disciplined to do the right stuff. So, with programming, compound lifts and isolation lifts, we wanna have them disciplined enough to do it in the program where discipline bridges — is the bridge from goals to results. Right, so I’ll say that again. Discipline is the bridge between goals and results. So if we know that clients are disciplined enough to understand what a compound exercises and isolation exercise and they can do it with us in session and also the programming that we do outside of the session, they’re going to be way better off at seeing their goals.

Anybody, if I’m hearing you correct, would be able to benefit from either or compound or isolation, mixing that within their programming. Obviously, both yield great benefits and then just being thoughtful within the why behind it, as you said earlier, and then I like what you said with discipline, discipline. The application when no one’s looking, keeping the integrity of those items too. Am I hearing you correctly on that?

Yeah, absolutely. Discipline’s a big thing and I think it can go hand in hand with motivation, but with discipline, that consistent habit can be done at a very consistent time and done frequently well.

Alright, let’s do tag team back again. Joe and Sean. So the way this is gonna work, I’m gonna give you two different scenarios that I want you to answer. First one, we’ll go to Sean. Second one, we’ll go to Joe. So, an individual coming back from a cardiac event. Alright, some type of heart surgery or cardiac arrest with their heart, right? Sean, that’s how you’re gonna attack it. How should they approach their workout? And then same question, different item. Joe, someone coming back from an injury, OK? So, Sean, you go first with the cardiac event. Joe, get ready to be in the hole here with the injury comeback. What we got?

Yeah, absolutely. So, it’s nerve wracking, right? You look at some of the leading causes of death in the hospital, a lot of it comes from cardiac related events, right? And so, it’s an incredibly common thing that we see all the time in the gym. First and foremost, the most important thing is to make sure that someone has medical clearance and that they’ve gone through cardiac rehab. The very first step of cardiac rehab is that stress test. After that stress test, the clinician and their team will actually give you exercises that will help you increase the strength of your heart, right? Like the heart to muscle, you can get hypertrophy, you can get that growth, and you can recover that heart. So, they will then bring you through those phases, and then they actually retest you. So, they’re able to see the first test, how well you progressed throughout it. After you’ve gotten that test and you’re free and clear, you are ready to come back to the gym, it’s really important to understand and ask your doctor what things you should be doing and what things you should be a little bit cautious of. If you’re completely cleared, my best suggestion is come back, start with some aerobic exercise. I really like to have people either do swimming, I like them to do recumbent bike, I like them to spend time on a rower and do it at a low intensity below their anaerobic threshold, right? Below a high enough heart rate that we have to be concerned about high heart stress. And then it’s just being strategic about the kinds of exercises when it comes to strength training that will have a little bit less tax on the heart. So, you kind of talked a little bit about these compound versus isolation movements. So, compound movements, you have to exert a substantial more amount of energy. And a lot of times you can just move a whole bunch of weight, that deadlift, that squat, right? It’s incredibly important to understand that your body actually braces when you pick up something heavy and it puts pressure on your body, right? We need to be incredibly careful and intentional about not loading things too heavy, too soon. So, if someone’s coming back from a cardiac event, my best suggestion is to start with some body weight exercises, reestablish a baseline, relearn those neuro pathways, learn how to squat properly, use that time to address and clean up some of those squat patterns that may not be perfect. Some of that lunge pattern, correct some muscular imbalances while your heart is recovering. So that way, as you get stronger, you’re in an even better spot mobility wise to actually take yourself back even above where you were when you had that cardiac event.

Great response. Joe, you got the injury.

Yeah, absolutely. So, with injuries, it depends really what it is. But to Sean’s point, right, I think it’s very crucial that they consult with their medical professional, their doctor, make sure they get clearance before coming into the gym. Now, a lot of the time with injury, a lot of these people are coming from a physical therapy world. Something that I’ve done really well in my career is I like to talk to that client about what their injury is, the extent of the surgery if they had it, and then also loop in the physical therapist to see kind of what they’re doing in their program to help them get back on track, right? Because coming into the gym again, doing work outs, going into the whole training regimen, that can be intimidating for somebody that had a prior injury. So, I want to make sure that the physical therapist and myself as a Dynamic Personal Trainer are very well aligned to their progression, right? Everybody’s a team on getting them to feel better, move better, and progress back to their normal state. And I think a lot of the time with injuries, sometimes we see it’s a right shoulder or a left knee. We have to be very cognizant of not trying to do too many bilateral movements like Sean said with compound lifts where it’s heavier loads, really trying to push and pull heavy weights. That’s too soon, too quick. We wanna pull back a little bit, address the areas above and below whatever the joint might be, figure out some isolation movements to get those areas stronger, and then strategically build in a pathway for their success where they don’t feel pain, they can move weight very well, safely. I think for a lot of people, sometimes they jump back into it too quick, they’re excited, or they just don’t really get the right guidance, but we wanna make sure they feel comfortable with it and see great progression without getting re-injured.

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Before I pass it over to you, Jamie, I just like, I always like to recap a lot of what people are, what both of you just said so people can digest it. So a lot of the resources that are available within our facilities help support a lot of what we’re talking about too. When you think of recovery space that we have, when you think of sauna, some of our locations with cold plunges, it’s so many great benefits that are at the fingertips of a lot of our members and even if you’re not a member, how you could probably access some of these resources, too. So, with that, that’s the full thought-out process that we definitely wanna continue to encourage is, is more than just the workout. A lot of the things that have been mentioned from both Joe and Sean here are understanding the things that go on beyond the workout. They said, yep, consult with your physician, make sure not only are you properly recovering after your workouts. Just all these things play a crucial role in recovery, whether it is from the cardiac event or an injury. So just want to put that out there too. There’s a lot of resources beyond the workout that we definitely want to be able to tap into.

That really alludes to, like both of you are saying, it’s like, it’s a team effort here and you need to have a support system in place, right? Whether it’s you’re coming back from the cardiac event or you had a different, you know, a physical injury to a joint, you know, the fact that you’re, both of you, like you gotta work with these other teams to make sure that we understand the full scope of what’s going on with any given individual. Because again, we’re all unique and if we don’t understand, if we try to apply a general approach to this, that may not work for, know, it might work for one person but not another. So I really appreciate that, you know, being a collaborative team and that’s one thing I’ve had personal experience with that. My dad had a cardiac event and that was his experience, having to work with the combination of people and that was critical to him getting back and moving in a healthy, safe way. So, thank you both for that and for being collaborative along those lines. I have the next question and I’m going to go right to you, Sean. And I think you both should jump in on this because I think there’s opportunities here. “I’m used to working out on my own, but my results have stalled. How might working with a personal trainer help jumpstart my efforts? Or why am I working with a personal trainer jumpstart my efforts?”

I think sometimes it can be incredibly daunting tasks to really get the results that you’re looking for. I think people think that it’s actually much more complex than it really is. And I’d probably say that because I spent so much time actually training people and being involved in fitness. But the nice thing is, we actually have the answers for most things, right? Whether it’s recovering from an injury or weight loss or getting stronger. There is so much good exercise science out there that will tell us exactly what to do. What I talk a lot about like art meeting science, right? It’s we understand the science, but the art is how can I help you actually implement that science in a way that works for you consistently so that that way you can get to the goals that you need to get to. And so it’s a super collaborative approach. Where is your starting point? Where is your baseline? What are some of the things that you’ve done in the past? Overviewing things like nutrition, right? To understand what you’re actually doing. We have like a phenomenal team of corporate dietitians here. We just launched a food sensitivity panel, a test where you can actually go do the test at home, send it in, have a conversation with one of our registered dietitians from the corporate office, and they can set you up for success. So it’s like, we have those answers, which is phenomenal. So, we can take some of that stress away from like, oh my gosh, how am I going to do this? We know. It’s just helping you implement it. And a good coach is that passenger in your car, right? I always say like, I’m the navigator and you’re the driver. You’re driving the car. It’s my job to help you get to the destination. Sometimes we may take some detours and that’s OK, but I’m with you every step of the way until we get to where we need to go.

Joe, what would you add to that?

Yeah, I mean, Sean hit it on the head. I think what trainers bring to the table, we have so much passion for what we do. We absolutely love it. And I think it shows day in and day out with our sessions. I love seeing my clients, whether it’s first thing in the morning or late at night, and them being able to put a smile on their face knowing they’re going to get a good session. It helps with their motivation because sometimes they may not feel motivated to come in. So that’s where we kind of hit that front, knowing, hey, there’s discipline behind this. Let’s stay consistent with our schedule. And I think we inspire them a lot, too. When it comes to the fitness world, a lot of people really don’t have an idea on how to stay inspired, but we bring that in with the energy day in and day out, where our expertise just shines forward. We showcase why we do what we do and why we love what we do. I think from accountability, direction, and intensity, from those parameters as well, we provide a lot of value in having you guys understand what you should be doing, why you should be doing, giving you the right direction on where to see the goal be hit, and then the results happen thereafter. I love with my clients to show a path to success, kind of show them the whole program on when they can expect to see the changes from doing the things that I tell them to do. I think building that trust right off the bat with them is very key, and something that Sean said that I really liked is you’re in the car with them. I tell my clients all the time, I like to tell them I want to know your body almost or better than you know your body. So, we’re in this together, making the results together. I’m doing those reps mentally with them each and every single time. And I think when that happens, results happen a lot quicker. And it’s a really cool environment to see such great relationships be forged naturally. And then for years and years, whether they train with you for 10 years, if they train with you for one year. You’ve just built such a long lasting relationship that they can thank you for all the results they saw.

Well, with that, I mean, I do one thing we’ve talked about in the podcast before and probably on one of these Ask the Trainer or Nutritionist things is, you know, obviously they’re working out with you maybe two to three hours a week if they’re seeing you two to three times, or maybe it’s one time a week. There’s all this other stuff that’s happening in all those other hours of the day. So how do you each approach like staying connected with those people outside of that time together? Or like how important is it for you to, you know, do check-ins, to connect with people, and just let them know that they’re on your mind and that to help hold them accountable in another way.

I think it’s incredibly important. A lot of my clients that I’ve worked with for a very long time, I’m very fortunate to be able to see a couple more than a couple of times a week, sometimes two, sometimes three times a week. And when you do that, you actually see people more frequently than they see their best friend. Like you become a really like an integrated part of their life. You become super, you become close, right? It’s important, obviously, to be able to keep track of what they’re doing and offer them motivation and help outside of the gym. I’ve done all sorts of stuff that has been helpful, whether it’s sending my clients programs on off days, which is something I’m always willing to do. I think it’s super necessary. Helping them when they’re going away on vacations, understand OK, you’re going away on a vacation. What hotel are you going to? Let me do a little homework. Let me find out what kind of stuff is in that gym so that that way, like, I know you’re set up for success and you don’t have to be nervous about getting derailed. Also, allowing people, like, the ability to take some time. So, I think one thing I always notice is, let’s say someone is going away, they may be nervous about getting derailed, but saying, listen, you’ve earned this. You get to go and enjoy some of your time when you’re not in the club. So, I think it’s just really being collaborative and really meeting the clients where they’re at. If they need that extra support, give them that extra support because you’d be so surprised at what an impact that would make and how you can really make them get results from it.

Yeah, absolutely. I think just to piggyback off that, yeah, Sean hit it on the head, I think outside of the gym, it’s so crucial for us to stay in contact with our clients. I mean, they mean the world to us, right? We see them more so than sometimes friends and family. So, I think with the clients that we don’t see as often, one of my clients who I see four days a week, I really know he’s staying accountable to his program, I see him four times and then we check in, he does his LT training app stuff. But the ones that we don’t see that often, maybe the once a week, the twice a week, I always like to send a little text, whether it’s a GIF or a meme. Try to lighten the atmosphere a little bit, but just to know and have them understand, I’m in their corner with them, right? They understand that I’m watching them even when I might not be with them physically. So, it gives them a little bit more desire to stay accountable to getting closer to their goals. And it really curates such a good relationship. I tell them all the time, text me when you need me. If you have any questions, please feel free. My phone’s always open. Now, some of them take that up, some of them don’t, but it’s just offering that. I think that just eases the burden of their stress about working out and staying consistent. So, any way we can help and be there on the back end, we’d love to do that.

If there’s one question that you’ve gotten recently that you’d like, this is becoming a more common question that I’m hearing, what would that be and what would your response be? Let’s start with you, Joe.

One question. OK. I would say, how can I lose all this fat around my midsection if I can see you once a week, right? Like, it’s oftentimes, they ask a question that I find oftentimes unattainable from that side. We’re like, sure, we can help you get to that goal. But, you know, to answer that question, it’s gotta be more in-depth. It has to be a more comprehensive solution. A lot of times with the New Year’s resolutions coming around, a lot of the time, if it’s visceral fat, if it’s just getting in better shape, they’ll ask me a question, hey, how can I do this on a once a week plan? And that’s where as a fitness professional, I’ll come in and say, it’s a little bit more comprehensive than that. Let’s get you set up with the right programming and expertise behind it.

How about you, Sean?

I think one of the most common questions I get. So, you know, at Life Time, we have the in-body machine and the in-body machine is great, right? So we’re able to look at someone’s data, whether it’s body fat percentage, skeletal muscle mass, intracellular, extracellular water rights. But the main two numbers that we usually look at are muscle mass and body fat percentage. And so, when I have someone come in a lot of times and they have a weight loss goal, they will lose some muscle mass in the process of losing some weight, right? And I always get, but isn’t that bad? And I always say, I wish that I had the ability to help you not lose a little bit of muscle while we were losing some weight. But unfortunately, it just doesn’t work like that, right? And it’s almost impossible to build muscle and to lose body fat at the same time just because of the caloric deficit. So, I try to explain the process of the energy input and the energy output and what we’re eating and how we’re exercising. But I get that a lot is basically, you know, why can’t I lose body fat percentage and build muscle at the same time? And I said, you know, if I figure that out, I think that might be my ticket. But as of right now, what we do our best to do is we do our best to maintain a healthy amount of muscle mass while you’re in a caloric deficit by emphasizing the right amount of proteins when people are exercising and doing the right kinds of exercise when you’re in here. And that’s the best that we can do to get you to where you need to be.

Alright, David, now you can go to the mic drop moment if you’re ready.

I thought you wanted to hear what I’m getting in the clubs too.

Yes, you should answer too. Gosh. You know, I really am the interviewer here in this one. OK, you got it. What’s the question you’ve been getting, David?

We got this big O word that’s out. O-Z-E-M-P-I-C. So I mean, we got a lot of folks thinking that this is the solve. And more importantly, what you probably heard throughout a few different iterations of the conversation from today is it’s a plan. This isn’t the solve. You still have to have a plan within any kind of weight loss treatment that you’re going to start to incorporate. And with that, people get excited because they like, this is the magical, you know pill or injection, whatever it may be. So I always encourage them is like habits or habits. So don’t think a pill or injection is going to now create better habits. And I think a lot of times people get caught up in the aesthetics and all these other things, but thinking of overall longevity and vitality and health and wellbeing, the discipline behind what it is that you’re doing daily from the workouts, from what you’re, what you’re fueling your body with, from the recovery. I always continue to encourage that no one thing is going to solve all those other things. So, that’s the one thing that I’ve been getting a lot of recently, just because I think it stirs up so much excitement that now I don’t have to do as much work because I have this as a solution and no, you still have to do the work. And this is just helping support that program, if you will.

I think, I mean, that goes back to kind of the foundations of why we do this podcast, why we have a magazine, why we focus on education so much at Life Time, because, you know, when it comes down to it, you know, sustainable change really comes down to the foundational pillars that we talk about, you know, regular movement, healthy eating and good movement, sleep, stress management, you know, having healthy connections. It’s, you know, sometimes it feels like we’re a broken record, but all of those things play roles in, you know, you know, what we’re doing in overall health for the long term. So you know, it kind of comes back to the why behind what we do, hopefully. And we know that there’s always going to be these things that come up and get people excited. But, we want to be there to help people have, make sure the foundation’s in place as well, no matter what that is. So I don’t know, Sean, Joe, anything else to add on top of that?

You guys hit it out of the park, I would say.

We try most episodes, you know, we try. Alright, David, over to you for our mic drop moment.

OK, so Sean, Joe, what we always do at the end of our lay-along episodes is we do a mic drop moment. This is kind of as fun so people can have a inside look at how you would probably respond to a random question that you’re not probably prepped for or maybe you are prepped for. So here we go, mic drop moment. I’ll kick off just because I see Joe at the top right of my screen. I’ll kick off with you, Joe. Joe, if you could only do one exercise, for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

Ah man, I would say pull-ups. Right? You keep good posture and, you know, aesthetically on the beach, not too bad. The only thing that might be lacking on the back end is the chicken legs. But you know what? If that back looks pretty damn good, I can lean into my strengths there.

Love it. OK, so we got the pull-up. OK, Sean is going to be different. So you can’t be prepared for this one. It has to be random, it has to be coming off the top to see how you respond to this. OK, here we go. Your cheat meal. Simple, huh?

What’s my cheat meal? Oh man.

Number one go to.

Number one go to my, my wife’s family is from the Amalfi coast in Italy, like straight from the Amalfi coast in Italy. And when they make chicken cutlets, it is phenomenal. So I would definitely just say my wife’s chicken cutlets all day. No question.

Well, I mean, protein is, I mean, that’s not a cheat. That’s like, want you to eat that. Is that the cheat meal though?

It’s fried and it usually comes with pasta.

I mean, I see what you’re doing there. You can tell he’s a coach. He’s cheating with protein. I love it. Alright. Alright.

Oh my gosh. I love it.

So, Jamie, back to you to let us know where we can find both Joe and Sean.

Yeah, we want to make sure people can connect with both of you. So Sean, people can find you on Instagram. It’s @dynamictraining_cth, right? And Joe, you are @joeclarkfit. And you know, obviously if people are in Massachusetts in the Chestnut Hill area, they can come and visit you there at that Life Time location. Anywhere else you would point people?

No, we were fortunate enough to get some shout outs on the Life Time trainers page. There’s a lot of phenomenal coaches that are on that Life Time trainers page. So definitely worth a follow. Amazing tips. We’ve had, we’ve had our very own coach, Kenny Neff. He is an absolute beast, given good coaching tips that are on there recently. So if you’re looking for an additional fantastic resource, that’s the one.

And I will add, I know Joe and I were talking about this before we hit record. Joe just contributed to an article at experiencelife.lifetime.life. So people can also find lots of insights from, these trainers as well as including David, you too, I’m not forgetting about you again, at Experience Life. So thank you both so much for taking the time to come on with us. We appreciate what you’re doing and how you’re working with so many clients to help move them forward towards their goals. So thanks a lot, guys.

Thank you guys for having us. We appreciate it.

For sure. You gotta go check out that Chestnut Hill Alpha facility. Y’all just gotta revamp Alpha facility. Sorry, had to get that in there too. So go check.

Yes sir.

Alright, thanks, guys.

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Thanks for joining us for this episode. As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on our conversation today and how you approach this aspect of healthy living in your own life. What works for you? Where do you run into challenges? Where do you need help? And if you have topics for future episodes, you can share those with us too. Email us lttalks@lt.life or reach out to us on Instagram @lifetime.life, @jamiemartinel, or @freezy30 and use the hashtag #LifeTimeTalks.

You can also learn more about the podcast at experiencelife.lifetime.life/podcast.

And if you’re enjoying Life Time Talks, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you like what you’re hearing, we invite you to rate and review the podcast and share it on your social channels too.

Thanks for listening. We’ll talk to you next time on Life Time Talks.

Life Time Talks is a production of Life Time Healthy Way of Life. It is produced by Molly Kopischke and Sara Ellingsworth with audio engineering by Peter Perkins, video production and editing by Kevin Dixon, sound and video consulting by Coy Larson, and support from George Norman and the rest of the team at Life Time Motion. A big thank you to everyone who helps create each episode and provides feedback.

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