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The Fit Perception
The Fit Perception
Balancing The Consequences: Health, Alcohol, and AI
This episode dives into the complex mindsets behind alcohol consumption, fitness, and personal progress. By sharing personal experiences and stories like Tom Holland's journey with sobriety, we explore how alcohol can impact our health goals and the mindset around moderation versus abstinence, and the possible role of AI in our personal health journey.
• Examining the challenges of 'Dry January' and its importance
• Discussing the effects of alcohol on physical performance
• Questioning our mindset around boundaries and progress
• Highlighting the role of personal trainers and emotional connections
• Exploring the potential of AI in the fitness industry
• Concluding thoughts on belief systems and personal resolutions
"Your final takeaway is: If you don't know why you believe what you believe, then it's simply not your belief; it's someone else's."
https://www.instagram.com/fitperceptionspodcast/
https://www.instagram.com/thomas_belliston/
Oh, hi friends, Hello, hello, hello. It's another episode of the Fit Perception podcast Just getting settled in here. So my neck's broken, that's cool. No, it's not actually broken, I just feel like it is. I think I talked about this back when I was doing the Tarzan show. I really jacked up my neck and they said I had some nerve damage. So that's awesome. And now I feel it every second of every day. Yeah, like for real, for real, I don't even know how to describe it.
Speaker 1:It's so weird where everything from my mid back to my skull hurts, um, so that's, that's great, that's great. Everything I do, uh sucks. So, um, working out hurts, running hurts, stretching hurts. Uh, rolling out hurts, uh, so just hurt. You know that's the name of the game right now is hurts. Stretching hurts, rolling out hurts, so just hurt. You know that's the name of the game right now is hurts, and I know I need to go get it looked at. I know I need to go get it fixed. But a lot of time we do, we don't do stuff we know we should do right. So that's cool. No, I do, for real, need to go get it fixed. I'm not trying to complain, I really am not, but it's very annoying and it affects it so much of everything that I do. So that's cool.
Speaker 1:Hopefully next time I'll be able to focus, because obviously I can't because my neck hurts, anyway. So, y'all, I'm thinking I could probably do three of these episodes a month, which is fantastic but also really hard. Just because. So it would not be hard to do this every single week if if I was down to talk about politics all the time, because politics is everything right now and I don't like doing it because it just causes people to get angry over things and frustrated and upset with things that they don't need to get upset about by listening to me. They can go listen to that from everybody else, but I want this to be something where you can take a reprieve from that. Now am I going to get into politics a little bit? That's fine, because I don't do it very much, but, that being said, I don't I really don't want this to turn into a political podcast, because it could.
Speaker 1:It definitely could, like if you were in my house with me and my wife, that's what we talk about all of the time, because, as we talked about, face to face is the only way to have those conversations, because everything gets twisted out of proportion when you just hear it or when you see the clips that you see on social media, cause we know that none of those are actually real. They're used as bait and dramatization and propaganda and what have you? Um, so the only time I have political discussions are with people in person, um, where you can see the emotion in their eyes, you can tell if they're telling the truth, um, and so on. So, um, I, I do, when it becomes like a, a very serious thing, I do kind of like bring it up. Obviously, we talked about, like, the wildfires, we talked about, um, some things that happened in the past, but, uh, I really do try to keep it pretty non political on this, um, just cause I I do want people to have a break from it, because it is all over the place and I don't like that. Um, but what is going on? Um, oh, man, I've. So I, uh, I was watching social media and I love Tom Holland, who is Spider-Man, and he was talking about his dry January experience, and if you haven't watched the clip, go find it and if you need it, I will send it to you because I'm pretty sure I saved it.
Speaker 1:He was in an interview and he was talking about his dry January, which a lot of people are doing. And shout out to you guys for trying dry January. It's really hard to do. If you haven't ever tried it, it's very hard. It is very, very hard to do. Most people don't think that they have a problem until they try, try January and they go oh my gosh, this is so hard. So shout out to you guys, if you're trying dry January and if you're not, great, I love you too. But no, tom Holland is talking about his experience with dry January and he said that it was really, really, really hard and he was like, okay, so if I can get through, what it ended up being is he wanted to prove to himself that he didn't have an alcohol addiction problem Um, because he was very surprised at how hard dry January was, um, and so to prove to himself that he did not have a a addiction and addiction to alcohol, um, he was like, well, this has to get easier, like I have to get to the point where I don't want or feel like I have to have a drink for me to prove to myself that I don't have a problem.
Speaker 1:So he got through January and then it was still really, really hard and he felt like he really needed drinking and so he was like, well, I gotta, I gotta make it through three months. And so he got it through March and it didn't get any easier. And he still wanted to go drink and he still felt like he had to have drinks with dinner. And um still wanted to go drink and he still felt like he had to have drinks with dinner. And um, uh, not not like a point where he was like shaking and and and, uh, you know, going through withdrawals to that extent, but he still felt like when he goes out, he needed to have a drink with dinner or he wanted to go to the bar to have a drink or whatever it was. He still felt like the, the draw was there in, uh, to an extent that he didn't like.
Speaker 1:So he was like, well, I got to make it to six months, got to six months Wasn't any easier. And he was like, okay, I have to make it through a year by a year, for sure it will get easier. And he said about nine, 10 months in. If correct me if I'm wrong, go watch it. I could be wrong on that. But from what I remember, he was like nine, 10 months in he was like, finally it got to the point where I felt like I, I didn't have any sort of like need to drink. And so, uh, he was like, by that point I convinced, or I was convinced that I had a problem and that I did not, did not need alcohol in my life anymore. And I'm I could be wrong on this, but I think he's sober now. I don't think he drinks anymore. Um, so shout out to Tom Holland huge, huge respect for that.
Speaker 1:It is really hard to get to get rid of that If you're used to drinking, you know socially, or whatnot Um, or whatnot Um, and I. So I used to be like kind of like low key about the whole alcohol, non-alcohol thing, um, but as I've gotten more and more involved in fitness, um, I've become more and more of an a-hole about it, like way, way rude sometimes. And I'm not. I don't think I'm a very rude person, but I've caught myself being kind of a dick about it. And it's not it's not because I'm genuinely trying to hurt people, it's because I actually care about people's fitness and wellbeing and um health. And we have this.
Speaker 1:I was talking to a client about it because, um, you know they were when, when you get on a program with me, like if we ever do a program, that's one of the questions I'll ask you is what is your alcohol intake like on a weekly basis, on a monthly basis? Because you have to cut it completely out. Like, if you do a program with me, you're not allowed to have alcohol so that you can be at your peak metabolic health. Hopefully, like that's the goal. Because if you come to me and you say I want to look like this or I want to have this physically, if I want to be able to do this physically, okay, cool, I need your body in performance mode, I need it at the best possible level that it can be, and alcohol is not that. I don't care what it is, any alcohol is not that.
Speaker 1:So, um, anyway, um, so I was talking with this client about it and we have this weird this has to do with alcohol, this is where my mind goes but so it started with alcohol and then it just kind of like went into everything else. Like, we have this weird fascination is not the right word. We have this weird like complex in our brain, I think as humans and I know I have it, um, but we have this weird, like the best way I can describe it is like how bad can I be? What's the? What's the worst that I can do and still be okay? Which is so messed up, it's so dumb that we do this Like what's what's the maximum level that I can drink and be safe? Hey, stupid, don't ask that question. That's a dumb question. Everybody's like. There's not dumb questions, no, there is. That's a stupid question. What do you mean? How many drinks can you have before it's like too much? How about none?
Speaker 1:There's so many studies now, scientific studies and and I can't quote them off the top of my head because you know so many people have done them, so many doctors and and hospitals, and scientific research studies and exercise science studies and neurological studies, and all of these different studies have been done and I should find them and post them because that's a pet peeve of mine and I'm doing a pet peeve hey, stop it. T. But a lot of these studies have been done saying there is no level of alcohol that's good for you, and that includes this nonsense of of the, the wine, right, the? Oh, it's good to have a glass of wine before bed. It's not. They've, they've disproven, like they've destroyed that theory so many times's.
Speaker 1:Hilarious now, where people are just grasping for any sort of excuse to have a drink and it's this mindset of like, yeah, but how bad can I be? That is so. That is such a bad mindset to have. It should be the opposite how good can I be, how extreme can I go to be the best that I can be? And I know we've talked about that before, about being extreme and whatnot.
Speaker 1:But I, like I've become so aggressive about this where, where people are like, yeah, but can I get away with one drink? No, no, you can't stop it. If you want to be in your best health, no, you can't. Now, if you don't care, that's a whole other story. But if you come to me and you want to be in your best health, if you want to lose weight, you want to get abs, whatever it is, usually those are the ones that come through for me is I want to have abs? Okay, cool, you can't have any alcohol, wait. But like I don't drink that much, I don't care. I didn't say a little, I said none, Absolutely zero, because even one drink isn't good. Is it going to destroy you? No, but that shouldn't be the question. That shouldn't be the level that you're getting to. Yeah, but is it going to hurt me a lot? Well, no, but that's a stupid mindset, that's a dumb mindset, like, okay.
Speaker 1:So growing up, I had this teacher, this religious teacher, who brought this up to my attention quite a bit, because in my community I was considered a rebellious child. Okay, um, not rebellious in the sense of a lot of people's rebellion, but for the community I grew up in, which was ultra, very religious, um, lds. I was rebellious. I drank, I messed around sexually, I did like all that stuff like, which is, in my community, not great. That's, that's rebellious, um and uh.
Speaker 1:So so I had this, this really, really wise, uh, teacher that I still talk to to this day. He's an amazing, amazing man. His name is Russ Shout out to Russ Um and I actually saw him, uh, during Tarzan this little side note I saw him during Tarzan and I got choked up just talking to him. Oh, dude, it makes me emotional right now. I love this man. Uh, like he he legit was like a second dad to me, um, where, like, he taught me everything about, like, how to do just like manly stuff, just like how to change tires and how to how to change oil and a lot about. He's a mechanic, so he taught me a lot about cars, but he also taught me, like, how to just be a good dude, um, and he taught me a really valuable lesson one time that has to do with what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1:Sorry, I feel like I'm rambling, but he said that as a, as a parable, as an analogy, if you will. He said you know, there's a, there's a driver, cause everything was driving to this guy. Everything, everything had to do with cars. He said there's a driver, right, or there's three drivers and one one guy who wants to find the best driver in the world to drive him around. And so he says, okay, so we're going up this canyon and there's cliffs and really sharp drop-offs and I want to know who the best driver is. So how would you get me through that? And the one driver says, well, I can probably get you within six inches of that that edge and keep you safe. Um, and the, the edge of the cliff and the, the. The other driver says, well, I could probably get you within like two or three inches of that that edge and and keep you safe, you'll be good. And the other driver says I'm going to stay as far away from that cliff as possible. And the guy was like, all right, that's my driver, which, like I know it sounds silly like no dust, is as far away from the edge as possible.
Speaker 1:But like, translate that to like real stuff. Yo like, why the heck would you want to have a drink If you know that zero amount of it is good for you? It doesn't matter how much of it turns to be bad, all of it's bad. It doesn't matter what the level is that will kill you. What matters is that none of it's good, none of it is good.
Speaker 1:And and it's just like this mindset of like yeah, but how bad can I be? That's so debilitating, like it's so dumb and it drives me crazy that like that's how a lot of society just functions now it's like, yeah, but how bad, how much can I do before something bad happens? How far can I toe the line which, like, I'm all for pushing boundaries, in a sense of like your, your mental capacity and your, your workload, your physical capabilities and, um, you know, pushing the boundaries of like what, what we can do and how far we can go, but not in the sense of, like, what's good and what's bad for you, like, I don't think that that's. That's a boundary that should be tested. I think that's just like a dumb way to live.
Speaker 1:If you want to live a good and like I don't know, uh, well balanced, I guess I don't know, uh, well balanced, I guess kind of life, um, or or a life worth living I know that's such a lame phrase, but like for real, um, I don't know. It's just, it bothers me so much that we're we're obsessed with like, yeah, but how bad can I be? How much sugar can I have? Hey, man, if that's a question, none for you, zero, like, obviously you have a problem. If that's your question, how how much can I have before it gets bad for me? Um, none, that's how much I.
Speaker 1:Just, I like the whole mindset is just backwards If, if you have the mindset of like, yeah, but how good can I be? How much, how much, uh, uh, exercise should I do? Like, those are the things that you should have, okay, so I shouldn't have any great. What are substitutes that I can have? And it like that's if you want to improve, if you want to progress in your life, you have to make that mindset switch of like the the whole, yeah, but how much can I get away with Frickin? None man can I get away with Frickin none man. That's how much. Just make that mindset switch, dude, to be a better version. Like, how much love can you have for somebody? How much capacity do you have to give to other people? Those are the levels that you should be testing. Those are the boundaries you should be pushing is how good can you be? How much good can you do? Um, not, not the other way around. That's it's so.
Speaker 1:Obviously you can tell I get worked up about it, but I just like if we had that kind of mindset, life would be so much better for everyone. Um, and and like okay, so take this whole fricking Tik TOK ban thing that went down, like everybody was so up in arms about it. And like Trump this and Trump that. And like I get that he's a hot topic and people hate him right now and whatever, but like the fact that he was going to ban TikTok hey, dude, that doesn't freaking matter and I know, okay. So, beyond the whole, like that's like presidential overreach or whatever. Like okay, cool, but this whole fact of like TikTok itself. Okay, so I said this to my wife Social media is the fast food of social interaction and connection, like it really is, and TikTok's the same thing.
Speaker 1:Like I had another conversation with like I talk about all this stuff with a lot of different people and then you just kind of get random thoughts about all of these things that happen to me on here. So I apologize, probably doesn't make any sense at all, but that's why I don't go back and listen to these, because whatever, um, but like this whole, like tiktok, but I hope they Freaking get rid of it. I don't care, dude, like I'm not on there at all. And people are like okay, so people come at me and and they want to debate. Hey, dude, if you want to debate, you better come prepared to get absolutely wrecked, cause I don't just say stuff without having like thought about things pretty extensively.
Speaker 1:Um where, going back to this whole like yeah, but how bad can I be? Nonsense, like you can't give me any thing. Anything that's good about Tik TOK that can't be good somewhere else, without just dropping to the excuse of it's easy and convenient. That's what all of the arguments that are good for TikTok and I have really good friends of mine and family that use TikTok Like it's, not like I'm I.
Speaker 1:I have people on my side on this, like like um, everyone I talked to was up in arms and freaking out about this whole. They're going to ban TikTok and you know they banned it and they brought it back and like oh no, no, no. And like it's such a big deal. When that makes me sad that that is such a big deal. The fact that it's a big deal is the thing that makes me sad. I don't care what the platform is. It could be fricking, smack box, whatever. I don't care about the name, I don't care about the platform. I really, really don't. It does not matter. The fact of the matter is it's a problem where and forget the nonsense of like Chinese spies and like what the government was pushing bull crap, like the very thing.
Speaker 1:So take this, for example Go on that time where it was getting banned and you would see so many people say, you know, on Instagram because that's where they had to go, because TikTok was down or whatever They'd be like oh my gosh, I just checked my phone. I opened the app like seven times in three minutes. Hey, dude, you have a problem, you have a serious problem. If somebody was like hey, dude, I just smoked seven cigarettes, I tried to smoke seven cigarettes in three minutes, you go oh, we need to check you into rehab, we need to get you off of that. If they did that with anything else whether it was drinks, whether it was candy, whether it was food, whether it was um, uh, even even like getting on to do work or or literally anything If they told you oh my gosh, I tried to do it seven times in three minutes, you'd be like oh my gosh, are you okay?
Speaker 1:Like, are you all right? And people are like oh my gosh, that's so funny. No, it's not. No, it's not. And we try to make a humor thing out of it because you have a problem. Like you're trying to downplay the fact that it's a massive problem and you don't want to admit it, so you're trying to poo poo to the side. No, it's a huge problem. The fact that you tried to get on it seven times in three minutes. Go to rehab. Like that's crazy, dude. Like that's so freaking that's, I'm going to lose my mind. That's so insane, bro. Like if that was literally anything else, we would legit, your friends would have an intervention. That's freaking bonkers. But because it's TikTok and it's a little cute little where I get my news from or where I get recipes from, it's not an issue. No, it's still a problem, dude, it's still a freaking problem. It's like how did? How? Is that not an issue Just because you found some cool music videos or you found some cool artists or whatever, like? No, it's still a problem. It doesn't change the fact that it's a problem. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:And going back to the whole the whole argument of of how bad can I be? You don't need TikTok. All of your excuses that you have for it, you don't need it. Like I haven't found one. I haven't found one from anybody. I've talked to a lot of people about this.
Speaker 1:There's not one single argument that you can bring up that you can't have without TikTok. Does that make sense? Like the arguments are yeah, but people make money. Hey, it's America. Go make money literally wherever you want If you have the willpower to do it, if you have the drive that you can do it like you can and you don't have to be on TikTok to make money. You can go make money If you have to be a creator, great, go be a creator on YouTube, go be a creator on Instagram, go be a creator on this or that or whatever, which I'm not saying are like necessarily better, but it seems that TikTok is an insane addiction and it is ruining, absolutely, demolishing attention spans, like it's destroyed good music and we won't get into that cause I'll get way too heated. It is absolutely destroyed good music. Um, it has completely obliterated attention spans, um, which is cause enough to just absolutely get rid of it. Um, but like there's nothing.
Speaker 1:There's no argument that people have brought up to me anyway that I've thought of, that you can't do or find or go somewhere else for, like you can, you can find news other places, probably better places you can. You can find artists other places. You can find recipes other places. You can find all of these things that you obsess over or think that you have to have TikTok for you don't, though You're lazy and it's convenient. Oh, I'm sorry, you have to work a little harder to go find it. Oh, no, sad, it took you five minutes instead of 30 seconds. Wow, like it's. So I don't know. I guess I just don't care about being comfortable. I literally don't care about it, especially when it comes at such a cost. Uh and and I know that I'm supposed to treat it like it's not that big of a deal or OT you're making it way worse than it is. No, I'm not, though. I'm really not like.
Speaker 1:The fact that your attention span is 30 seconds long before you have to be bombarded with something else is a big problem. When was the last time you sat down Like I legit mean this when was the last time you sat down with no entertainment, with no books? Even I'm not just saying like, sit down and read a book, I'm saying even more than that Sit down no screens, no books, no music, just sat down in the quiet and just thought about stuff and just were able to control your thoughts and your emotions. I dare you to try that for 10 minutes. 10 minutes is legit. No time, it's no time. It's 10 minutes. Dude, that's from 430 to 440.
Speaker 1:If you can't do that and some people are like, oh I have ADHD, oh I have ADD I respect that. I totally get that. Even with those things, you shouldn't have to look at your phone. Maybe you go and do something, maybe you go clean something, maybe you go fix something. Maybe you go work on something. That's not entertainment demanding.
Speaker 1:If you can't do that, you have a serious problem, like a legit problem, which makes me sad. It makes me sad because I've, I've, I've thought about that before. Where, oh do I have a problem? And I do, I legit do sometimes, where I'm like oh, I gotta be entertained. I have to have something in my eyeballs, I have to be focused on it. You don't, though. You really don't, though, and we have this weird obsession over being like productive quote unquote of having to do stuff all the time, that we've now gotten to the point where we're not even productive. We just have to do random shiz that isn't beneficial at all, under the guise of I have to be productive, I have to do stuff all the time. It's so insane.
Speaker 1:But again, like, how bad can I be? What's the level? How much can I be on social media before it becomes a problem? Is an hour too much? Is two hours too much? Or am I making money from it to make it worthwhile? Hey, dude, it doesn't matter. If you're asking the question how much is too much, you have a problem. Oh my gosh, like anyway. Sorry, that was way too long of a rant? Oh my gosh, like 30 minutes. I'm sorry, pam. See, this is what happens when I'm tired and I don't sleep enough and then I think about too many things. All good, all tired, and I don't sleep enough, and then I think about too many things, all good, all good. Um, so I saw a um, I'm just trying to get myself off this tangent, cause I could go on for legit two hours. I've done it before.
Speaker 1:Um, I saw a thing tonight, actually about an interview that Josh Gad had on a podcast called the armchair expert with Dak Shepard, who I love. I think he's amazing, um, and his wife is honest, so that's cool, uh, anyway. So I saw a, a uh podcast interview did with him where he was talking about how he got on Ozempic. He was on GLP-1s, which is just Ozempic. It's just your insulin or I forget what it stands for, some sort of gastrointestinal something, anyway, so it's like Ozempic.
Speaker 1:He was on Ozempic for a while and then he switched to another one, but he was talking about how he felt like he was cheating his health, where he lost like 40 pounds or something Great. Shout out to him for losing 40 pounds. He's always been overweight, that's kind of been like his shtick, as like the funny fat guy His words, not mine, not mine. He said that on the interview. He's the funny fat guy, his words, not mine, not mine. He said that on the interview. He's the funny fat guy, um.
Speaker 1:And so he felt like after he was doing this, that it was too easy. Like it just came off, like the weight just dropped off of him, and so he felt like he was, he was cheating real health, um, uh, goals, uh, where, yeah, he's always wanted to lose weight, but he knew deep down that this was too easy and and and, like I said before last week, like I'm all for the, the weight loss, I'm all for doing that If it's in a healthy manner, like, if it's if it gets you down the right path, great good, I'm glad, get off of it when you can and continue on that health journey. But it shouldn't be something that's like oh yeah, I did it and now I'm skinny and now I can do whatever I want. He had the right mindset of like I feel like I'm cheating my health goals with this, okay, cool, so now fix it. Now, what are you going to do? Um, and that that type. I loved that type of mindset.
Speaker 1:But it also got me thinking of, like, how we obsess over the, the wrong things, like we obsess over the weight number, we obsess over which, like everybody is guilty of that. Anybody that's ever tried any sort of like fitness anything realizes really quick that we obsess over things, whatever it is, whether it's a number, whether it's, uh, the numbers that you're pushing in the gym, whether it's the body fat percent, whatever it is, you'll obsess over something. It's just that's what happened, um and uh. So it it made me kind of reassess, like going back to just doing simple stuff to be fit and healthy, where you know, like the Ozempic has been a big craze and now and now this, this huge movement with um Robert Kennedy. You know, I'm all for being healthy, I'm all for pushing health and fitness and all that stuff, but like he banned uh, I don't know if he did, maybe I'm off on that, but the, they, they banned red food dye, where, um in food which has been illegal in pretty much every other country other than the United States. It's been illegal in like hair products and like other hygiene things, but not in our food for some reason. Um, anyway.
Speaker 1:So people are like obsess over the food dyes and there's becomes like this this food dye, uh, phobia, and uh, they obsess over seed oils and they obsess over, uh, um, like sugar. And they obsess over diet drinks versus regular drinks, versus zero sugar. Like I'm drinking as I'm literally drinking a zero sugar Dr Pepper right now, why? Cause I like the taste of it. Do I do it very often? No, but I, I wanted one, got one. Um also, I lifted for an hour and ran a 5k, so I can kind of have one. You know what I mean, um, anyway.
Speaker 1:So, like people obsess over these things and like here's the problem with that where that gets churned and blown way out of proportion by social media, like completely out of proportion by social media, where people are like, oh my gosh, I've got to get rid of all of my cereal. I've got to get rid of anything that has red food dye, I've got to get that out. I've got to do all of all anything that has red food dye, I've got to get that out, I've got to do all. Hey, dude, here's the thing If you're not exercising regularly, if you're not sleeping well, if you're not eating or having a knowledge of basic, basic nutrition, how much protein, you should have the kind of carbs.
Speaker 1:You should have the level of fats that you should ingest, then none of those other things matter at all. None of them matter. It's not going to make a difference, like it. It's so frustrating to see it happen on on social media, where people get absolutely obsessed with things that don't matter, like, like people are like I get asked all the time about this whole.
Speaker 1:Like cold plunge and sauna, red light therapy stuff, and and, um, you know, should I go? Should I go cold plunge? Should I go sauna? Like, what should I get for? For? Should I get these type of of um, shoes, even like, what? Like? What's the best protein to get? Like, hey man, I get what you're trying to do, I get that.
Speaker 1:You're trying to like follow these trends that happen on social media. For example, I got a question the other day, um, from my best friend, uh, about L-carnitine, um. Maybe this is a way better example than what I was saying about like L-carnitine, um, which is a, an amino acid. It's a protein. Uh, that that's blowing the up right now. Oh, my gosh, it's the one supplement that you haven't taken that's going to change. It's called the miracle supplement now, um and I'm not making fun of my best friend, like that's literally what's happening on on social media, um, where, where people are freaking out. And and I told him he's like, is it worth taking? Should I like see what it's all about?
Speaker 1:And I was like, look man, like the, the supplement companies that make billions of dollars every year, supplement companies that make billions of dollars every year pick like one or two supplements every nine months ish to a year to really push. Like, if you go back for a while, there, it was magnesium. That was a huge everyone needs magnesium. And then it was before that it was fish oil, and before that it was, I mean, creatine has been pushed for years and years and years, and there's lots of good reasons for that, um, but you know, before that it was iron are you iron deficient? You're probably iron deficient and before that it was vitamin D, and before that, like, it's just like they pick this one or two supplements to really hound into the ground to get people to buy them and freak them out. Oh my gosh, it's the miracle supplement I haven't been taking. Are all these supplements good? Yes, all of them are good to have. You should have them.
Speaker 1:Here's the thing, though I've I've taken L-carnitine injection form I stabbed it in my butt three to five times a week. Form I stabbed it in my butt three to five times a week like massive injection, like a hundred units every. Like the guy wanted me to take it, the my physician wanted me to take it every five, like every day for five days, um, like for three or four months. Uh, and I just didn't like it. Like it. It worked. It did its job, um, which is it really boosts your metabolism. Like your metabolism really gets good with with L-carnitine and I was taking a lot of it, like very, very high dosages of it, not just like, oh, cute, little scoop in my protein shake. Like I was taking copious amounts of L-carnitine and it worked. It worked great. I dropped body fat, I built muscle, my metabolism was insane. So it definitely works.
Speaker 1:Here's the thing, though. Here's the point I'm it doesn't matter if you're not working out consistently, sleeping really well and consistently and eating good food consistently. None of those supplements are going to be a miracle for you if you're not doing the basic things. Going to an ice bath and sauna all the time isn't going to do its job if you're not doing the basic things. Those are the foundations of being healthy Exercise, eating well, protein, carbs, fats knowing what those are and where to get them from and sleeping. Those are your foundations. If you don't have that, none of the other things matter. It's like you're trying to build an ornate house with no foundation it's going to fall apart. All of these things look great and they make your house like amazing, but if you don't have a foundation, it doesn't matter. So next time you see this freaking miracle supplement and the, the one move you're not doing that will change your life, or the one hack that you need to implement, hey dude, none of it matters at all until you consistently do the foundational principles of being healthy Exercise, sleep and eat well. That's it. That's all you have to do to be healthy. That's it. And then, once you have those nailed down, then you're ready for the extra stuff, then you're ready for those supplements, then you're ready for all of the other things that also help. That I'm not saying they don't do anything. That's not what I'm saying at all. But what I'm saying is they don't do what you think they're doing If you don't have everything else nailed down.
Speaker 1:Thank you for coming to my Ted talk. My name is Thomas. Oh, man, guys, I just get, wow, I get way too intense. Huh, yeah, that's awesome. I mean that's what this show should be called intense, with like a capital T on intense, anyway. So let's you know what.
Speaker 1:Okay, I, I'm done, I gotta be done rambling. Let's get into something that really doesn't have anything to do with what we've been talking about. So that's cool, um, but let's get into um, the the devil's advocate. All right, so this has kind of been a hot topic, um, and I really haven't thought about it much until like right now. So this is like legit.
Speaker 1:If you've listened to the podcast, you know that the devil's advocate is where I just like debate with myself or the co-host, if I have one, about a topic or theory, an idea, a concept, and we try to take two different sides and make it as equal and balanced of an argument slash discussion as possible and I haven't, and most of the time I don't, prepare for them. I try to keep it as authentic and spur of the moment and top of the head and real as possible. Um, cause I think that's really important, Um, so sometimes it gets me into trouble, but whatever, Uh, so I, um, I've I haven't really thought about this much, in all honesty, till right now. So, um, ai is a big topic right now. Um, that's, that's all over the, the web, um, all over our culture now, um, and I could make this really general, but I want to make it more specific.
Speaker 1:Where the debate is going to be is AI, artificial intelligence, the saving grace, the savior, if you will, or the downfall of the fitness industry as it pertains to me as like a job, but also in like as a whole, the fitness industry as a whole, specifically, mainly from my perspective as a trainer, where it's my job to to uh, you know when, when people come to me and say, oh, I have these, these fitness or these health goals, I need your help as a quote, unquote expert or professional in this area to get to where I want to be, and I say, okay, cool, well, let's talk about it. Let's talk about your history, let's talk about your um, you know any, any injuries you have or any uh predispositions you have, or any issues or diseases or whatever. Um, uh, autoimmune problems or whatever. Uh, you know we have to go through those so I can give you the best advice of how to get to where you want to be with those things, um, and I think that AI is going to be the downfall of my profession, because I make human errors all the time, so I forget that you have this limitation, or I forget you can't eat that, or you know, um, you come in and in and we work on something, and it's not a perfect workout, it's not totally balanced. Okay, cool, that's human error.
Speaker 1:If AI takes over and it's able to, you just go on whatever an app, or even those mirrors are getting really big now, the workout mirrors where you tune in. It's like a screen that you just follow the workout. There is no error with AI, of food you're going to have, of the grams that you need to have, based off of your exercise amount and your sleep amount. It'll get to the point and I actually do think that it will get to this point where you'll be able to have a tracker that is AI-based, like whether it's a watch or a ring or a necklace or whatever it is, a strap, whatever it is where you'll do it'll it'll in real time. The AI will be able to calculate exactly what you're doing, so that you're not just like guessing how many calories you're burning and then guessing how many calories you need to overdo that. We as trainers are pretty freaking good at knowing to a pretty close, very narrow margin where you need to be calorie-wise, exercise-wise, all those things.
Speaker 1:But if you have AI, it's not going to get very close, it's going to be perfect when, in real time, it'll say oh, you need this many calories today, you just did this much exercise and you had this much exertion, you lost this much water weight, you exerted this much in sweat. Um, so your, your electrolyte levels are here, like, that's the level that we're going to get to with AI, whether it's a chip, whether it's a, an injection that we're going to get to with AI, whether it's a chip, whether it's an injection, whatever it is, it'll get to that point where, in real time, it'll be calculating what you're doing and give you what you need to do next, immediately, where it's like okay, you did this, you had this many steps, you lost this much in sweat, electrolyte wise, like salt wise. This is how you need to balance that out. You need to have you know, 46 grams of protein, probably animal based, and then you need to supplement that with exactly this much carbohydrates, the best source of that would be this and you need to have this many fats, this source of this. You need to have exactly this much water to balance that out. And if you want to lose weight, much water to balance that out. And if you want to lose weight, we need to lower that by this, like it'll be in real time, fam, like real time, which is epic, like that's so cool, but it totally gets rid of a personal trainer, like totally gets rid of it where, where you know it'll get to the point, and I don't I I'm when I say AI, I'm not really necessarily talking about robots like robotic AI maybe, like that'd be dope, but and if there is, they'll be able to watch you do your your exercises and in real time adjust you and say, don't go down that far, you know, move your hips this way, plant your foot, you know, 40 degrees to the left or whatever it is you know.
Speaker 1:And then on the machines, if it's in, like if the AI is in the machines and and in tune with your whatever the wearable is, and I'm this is just me speculating right, like I don't know if the tech is there, I'm sure it is, I'm sure it's being developed already. But this is like where my brain is going as far as, like what could happen with AI in my job. If they have AI in the machines you're using in a chest press, in a, in a leg press and a hack squat in leg extension, whatever it's going to be talking to, whatever you're wearing and being, like okay, you could add five pounds to this and keep the same reps based off of your level of exertion. Like if you don't, if you don, okay, you could add five pounds to this and keep the same reps based off of your level of exertion. Like if you don't, if you don't exercise, you don't know how incredibly dope that is. Like, how insanely cool that is to be. Like okay, so you're at like 80% maximal effort here, um, so that means we can probably add another 15 pounds to this move and stay at the same rep range to maximize. Now you're at 92% of your maximal, whatever you know, and we're reaching up in that heart rate range of 180 or whatever it is. But that'll happen in real time and communicate with the machine that you're using and add that automatically.
Speaker 1:You know, I'm thinking super digital right now, um, and I'm obviously getting super excited about it. I think it's so cool, but like that's where it could go, where your workout could quite literally be perfect for you, like legitimately perfect, where, if you come in and say these are my goals, I want to have bigger glutes, I want to have tighter abs, I want to have, you know, more toned uh, lats, I want to have narrower shoulders, or whatever it is, they'll be like, okay, cool, these are the best exercises. Let's take you through them. Use these machines. While you're using those machines, it's calculating your biomechanics and like, legit, don't need a trainer ever again and you're going to be on track so much faster and you're going to have all of the information you could possibly dream of in real time and you don't have to wait at all. Like it's going to be absolutely obliterate the need for a personal trainer, absolutely obliterate it, to the point where you might have one or two trainers in a gym period just to talk to people, but like you'll have absolutely no need for a trainer.
Speaker 1:I think it'll be the the absolute downfall of the fitness industry as a job for people. Um, but that being said, it'll be the saving grace for the fitness industry because of all the cool things that we'll do Um. So, yeah, I I do think it'll be the downfall of the fitness industry as a job, Um, because there will be literally no need for an instructor or a trainer, um to help people and you say, oh well, with form, no, no, no, it'll fix your form in real time. It'll tell you exactly what you need to change and and in digital format. I'm sure it could like take a recording of you and show you, via AI, what you should be doing, you as a person like you, not just some you know, uh, um and like character like you. It'll generate a video of you doing it correctly and then pair it with what you just did so you can see yourself doing it correctly. Um, like that's crazy dope, but that's legit what AI can do, um. So, yeah, I do think it'll be the downfall of the fitness industry as a, as a career profession, um.
Speaker 1:That being said, there's a lot of problems with that Um I. I think that AI uh is going to be the the savior of the fitness industry as a profession. The savior of the fitness industry as a profession, um, because what people, what people crave and what I found personally from people, um is so I've written a lot of programs, right Online programs, and they're good, they're, they're effective, they're very effective. Um, not in an arrogant, like toot my own horn kind of way, but like I know what I'm doing when I'm running these programs and people have told me like, oh my gosh, these are great programs, I love them, they're really effective, but there's no human connection, there's no interaction, there's no caring about the person.
Speaker 1:Um, where I, um, I'm almost positive that every single one of my clients at some point in our training have said that they like training with me. Yes, because I push them and the workouts are good and effective and they they, you know, feel like they're being successful and they value that. But what they value is that I am connecting with them and caring about them, not just as a workout person where you know I am involved in their life, I am involved in decisions they make, I'm involved in the way that they think about things and they tell me about situations they're in and their interactions with people and relationships and job and all these things. They they get to kind of unload, not in like well, legit, sometimes in a therapy sense, but in a, in a, in a way where it's just like you're, you're conversing with someone who is genuinely interested in what you have to say and in what you're doing, where you know you have these goals Okay, I'm genuinely interested in you making those goals. Um, okay, I'm genuinely interested in you wanting to do something great. I want you to be able to do that, and the process isn't like the like. Achieving it and getting to that goal with AI.
Speaker 1:That's the main thing where, where you either are successful or you're not, and that AI is going to be pretty unforgiving if you don't adhere to what it's telling you to do, um, because it can't, it can't, it doesn't have that emotional aspect of understanding why you wouldn't do what it told you to do to be effective. Does that make sense? Where, like with a lot of my clients, it's not a perfect process. It's not a perfect road to their goal. There's a lot of ups and downs and there's a lot of of uh backtracking. You know, take a step back, take two steps back before we can go forward.
Speaker 1:Um, and I, I love that, I really do. I love being there for my clients that go through that. I, I, I like being the person they can talk to about that and and open up about and I have their back. You know, like, I'm never one that's going to be like, oh my gosh, you didn't do what I asked you to do. Like I'm not training you, no, no, no, I get it, you're human. I'm human too, but guess what? I'm here for you when that happens and I'm going to pick you back up and we're going to keep going.
Speaker 1:Um, so I, I, I don't think that that uh AI will be able to have that capability. Um, and that's the number one, I think I would say the number one reason why people stay with a physical trainer over virtual is because you want to have the physical connection, you want to have the emotional connection. Savior in helping trainers be able to develop better programs for their uh, uh clients in real time, but also show uh the client that what they value is the physical interaction, the emotional interaction. Um, so I, I do think that it will help trainers be better um and and develop better things and develop better programs and nutritional advice and um stay in, in, in, like, helping the clients in real time. I think it will really benefit um, um trainers in that regard and it can kind of save the industry in a sense, where, like if people know that you're going to use something that is almost perfect for them, meaning AI, like, hey, when you come train with me, we're going to use this AI tech to help me develop the perfect program for you, where, in real time, it's going to track exactly how much you're doing and how much effort so that I, that we, can, you know, work with this to to better help your physique and better help this stuff. But I'm also here for you as a human. When you fall down, when you are not able to, you know, uh, stay on track of your, your diet plan, or you're not able to stay, um, committed to these goals or whatever. That's fine. I'm here for you for that. This AI is going to help me as a professional, perfect what I do for you as a client. But I'm also going to be here and I think that will be a huge, huge saving grace for trainers to help people feel comfortable coming in, where it's not just some person, where they actually have something that is very reliable as far as, like, scientifically, it's going to be no bias and no, no emotion involved, as far as just giving you the information, but then they trust that you as a person want what's best for them because you're using this. So I think it really can be a saving grace for the fitness industry as a whole. Anyway, so fun little debate for me. I think it's fascinating, I think it's a big deal, I think it's a real, actual debate that needs to happen, not not just in the fitness industry, but in every industry, cause AI is here, it's like legit here.
Speaker 1:I use it on the podcast to help me edit, um, so, uh, anyway, that's your, that's your devil's advocate. Let me know what you think. Let me know, uh, if you're a fan of AI, text the show. I get those texts. They're fun to read. So I appreciate those of you that do, and you can use that text to tell me that you hated the show. That's great, fine, cool, whatever. You can say what parts you enjoyed, what you disagreed with, ideas for the devil's advocate, ideas for talking points, whatever it is. So your boy doesn't just get on ramblings like he did on this one. You know all good, um, but yeah, texas show, let me know what you think.
Speaker 1:Um, and before you uh head out, let's, let's uh send you off with a final takeaway. So your final takeaway is kind of more of like a philosophical mindset or something to think about. Really, that, in turn, if you think about, will help you in your life. So the final takeaway is meant to be the most important part of the show, or the most useful part of the show, and I really do believe that, after doing y'all, I've almost done a hundred episodes. Next episode will be a hundred, so that's crazy If you've been here from the start. Thank you, I love you very, very much. Thank you for supporting the show, thank you for tuning in and listen to your boy be a crazy person most of the time, um, but that being said, uh, I I really do genuinely believe that these, these final takeaways, are very helpful and can help you live a better life and be a better person.
Speaker 1:So, that being said, there was a man I'm a huge fan of. His name is Alex Hormozy, big fitness guy, um, and I was listening to him talk about, uh, just like growing up and and the way he was raised and and what he's learned after being a, an entrepreneur and being, you know, in the fitness industry and all these very successful guy um, by the world standards or whatever, uh, but, but he said something that's really, really stuck with me and changed the way that I communicate what I think, and he said very simply and it's not anything new, it's not anything new. But your final takeaway is this, something to think about If you don't know why you believe what you believe, then it's simply not your belief, it's someone else's. And that changed a lot of how I talk and how I think about things. I think about things where, if I can't tell you why I believe what I believe, it's not, it doesn't belong to me. It was put in my head by someone else and it's theirs, it's not mine. And and sometimes it's okay to just say that sometimes, like legit. I mean, it's okay to say I believe this because I heard someone say it and I trust them. I might not know all of the ins and the outs and the the, the depth or the scope of this, but I believe it because this person said it and and it's okay to admit that it's their belief and you're borrowing it. That's okay to admit.
Speaker 1:But, that being said, when you say I believe this or I think this and you can't say why, then it's not yours, okay, it's not your thought, it's not your belief, it belongs to somebody else, whether that's a religious belief, whether that's a philosophical belief, whether that's a philosophical belief, whether that's a social belief, a cultural belief, whatever it is, any thought you have, any belief you have about anything. If you can't say at least a vague reason, why, then it's not yours and you shouldn't be saying I think this or I believe this, it's theirs, it's someone else. Whoever put it into your head, it's theirs. And it can be a book, it can be a, a social media clip, it can be a podcast, um, but if you can't say why, and you don't know why, why, and you haven't thought about the why, then it's not your thought and you shouldn't be using it as yours to to spur any sort of action.
Speaker 1:Um, and and what should happen is, when you think about those things and you let that thought kind of stew for a while, it should make you question what you believe, it should make you question the things. That, while it should make you question what you believe, it should make you question the things that you believe, it should make you question your, your wise for most of the things that you do, and reevaluate and and kind of of go through a spring cleaning, if you will, of your value system, your belief system, cause, if you don't have wise, chuck it out or figure out the why and make it yours. Um, because, because, number one, you will have a much stronger confidence in yourself If you know why you believe what you believe and know why you do and think the way that you do. Because if you don't know why you're insecure, you are Because you'll meet somebody like me who's extremely confident in a lot of different areas, and if we go toe to toe on something, I'm going to make you feel very insecure. If you don't have a why to make you feel very insecure. If you don't have a why, because I, before I do pretty much anything, I try to make sure that I have a why, and if I'm not doing something, it's probably because I don't have a why um behind that, that action or that belief or that thought process, um. So, that being said, if you want to feel better about yourself, if you want to feel confident, if you want to feel like you have purpose, if you have drive, if you have ambition, you need to be able to say a why behind your beliefs and your thoughts and your values. Otherwise, it doesn't belong to you, um. So I leave that with you guys. Stew on that, ponder on that, think about that, let that kind of start to just mix into your daily um choices and your thoughts and your actions. Um and it'll. It's crazy what happens when you do that. You, you really start to reevaluate your life in a really positive way. Um, so I love you guys.
Speaker 1:Again, thank you for tuning into the show. Um, next episode, hopefully we'll have somebody on here. We'll try to do something special for a hundred. Again, I can't thank you enough for tuning in. I really do hope that you know that you're powerful, that you're beautiful, that you you do actually matter, that you're beautiful, that you do actually matter. And I don't say those things just to say those things. I really do genuinely mean that every single person has some value and I hope that you feel that deep in your heart and your soul and that tuning into this helps you believe that If you love the show, please share it with people, grow it and hopefully this can be something that that grows into something bigger and and um more valuable. So, um, thank you for tuning in. I love you guys. This is, uh, the fit for reception podcast. I'm your boy T and I'm out, so one Bye.