The Mind Muscle Connection

Epizode

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  How, Why, When I Use Maintenance Calorie Days During Fat Loss For Clients | Ep 777 14.09.2026 28min

  Welcome to the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast! Maintenance calorie days can be a useful tool during a fat loss phase, especially when it comes to managing diet fatigue, supporting training performance, and improving long-term adherence. In this episode, I break down how I use maintenance days with clients, when to use them, and how to set them up without slowing fat loss unnecessarily. I also cover how maintenance days affect your weekly calorie deficit, how to structure lower-calorie and mai...
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  Muscle Growth Is a Slow Process and You're Making It Slower | Ep 776 11.09.2026 25min

  In this episode, I explain why building muscle is such a slow process and how poor training and programming can make it even slower. I go through seven common training and programming mistakes that can hold back muscle growth and keep you from getting the most out of your training. I also share how I approach training frequency, exercise selection, training intensity, exercise execution, and rep ranges when the goal is to build as much muscle as possible. This episode will help you identify w...
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  How to Get The Most Out Of Your Training During Fat Loss | Ep 775 07.09.2026 27min

  In this episode, I explain how to approach training during a fat loss phase while keeping performance and training volume high. I also talk about how I can balance my calorie deficit, training demands, and recovery during this phase. I talk about total calories, carbohydrates, meal timing, and higher and lower calorie days, along with how I can manage training intensity and recovery while dieting. This episode will help you better understand how to balance fat loss with training performance a...
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  Four Scenarios Where The Scale Doesn't Tell You What's Going On | Ep 774 04.09.2026 34min

  In this episode, I explain why the scale doesn't always tell you everything that's happening with your body composition. Four different scenarios show how you can maintain, gain, or slowly lose weight while still making meaningful progress. I also discuss why muscle gain takes longer than fat loss and how that affects what you see on the scale. You'll also learn which other metrics give you a clearer picture of what's actually going on. This episode will help you better understand what your s...
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  Weight stable doesn't automatically = adequately fueled | Ep 773 31.08.2026 32min

  In this episode, I break down why having a stable body weight doesn’t automatically mean you’re adequately fueling your body. I discuss who is most at risk of underfueling, some of the signs to look out for, and how staying too lean, high training output, and chronic dieting can contribute to the problem. I also cover what you can do to improve energy availability and better support your training, recovery, and overall health. This episode will help you understand why stable weight doesn’t al...
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  Exploring Peptides for Health, Recovery, and Performance with Dave Marsh | Ep 772 28.08.2026 57min

  Welcome to the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast! Peptides are having a moment, promising to boost recovery, metabolism, body composition, and performance. In this episode, Dave Marsh and I break down what they actually are, the categories, and how to source them safely, along with what Dave has learned firsthand using them for recovery, body composition, and performance. We also get into MOTS-c, GLP-1s, nutrient partitioning, muscle growth, and where peptides fit into the bigger pic...
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  You Can Build Muscle In a Deficit, But You Need To Know These Things | Ep 771 24.08.2026 21min

  Building muscle in a calorie deficit is possible, but your ability to do so depends on several factors. In this episode, I break down how resistance training, the size of your deficit, your current muscle mass, body fat levels, protein intake, and hormone status affect your ability to build muscle while losing body fat. I also cover how to set realistic expectations, when maintaining muscle should become the priority, and why spending time outside of a deficit is important for continued progr...
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  Training Volume, Progressive Overload & Building More Muscle with Steve Hall | Ep 770 21.08.2026 1h 3min

  Welcome to the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast! How much training volume can you actually recover from and when is it too much? In his 14th appearance on the podcast, Steve Hall breaks down how he manages extremely high training volumes, recovers from hard sessions, and uses the logbook without letting it dictate his training. We also discuss how he adjusts his training to manage fatigue, maintain performance, and keep progressing at an advanced level. We also get into his nutrition a...
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  How To Periodize Your Training | Ep 769 17.08.2026 41min

  Welcome to the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast! Training periodization is about adjusting your training throughout the year based on your goals, nutrition, recovery, and life situation. In this episode, I break down how to structure different phases around lifting, cardio, or a combination of both. I also cover how nutrition affects training, how to approach training during fat loss, and how to use hypertrophy, strength, body part specialization, and cardio-focused blocks throughout the year. ...
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  Do You Need To Change Your Training Based On Your Menstrual Cycle? w/ Dr. Alysha D'Souza | Ep 768 14.08.2026 1h 16min

  Welcome to the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast! Cycle syncing sounds like it should work but the research doesn't back it up. In this episode, Alysha D'Souza and I break down what actually happens across the menstrual cycle, from how estrogen and progesterone affect muscle growth to what her own training study found when she tested cycle syncing head to head against a normal training split. We also talk about why tracking your cycle matters even if you're not chasing fertility, what coun...
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  How Much Training Do You Need To Do Per Week For Muscle Growth? | 767 10.08.2026 32min

  Welcome to the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast! Training volume is one of the biggest factors to consider when building muscle. In this episode, I break down how to think about weekly sets, how much volume most people need, and what factors determine how much training you can actually recover from. I also cover why the quality of your training matters, how to track volume, how to spread your sets throughout the week, and when it makes sense to adjust your training. This episode will help yo...
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  Check These 7 Things Before Decreasing Calories Further In Fat Loss | Ep 766 07.08.2026 39min

  Welcome to the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast! When fat loss slows down, there are other things to look at before cutting calories. In this episode, I cover seven things to check before lowering your calories again. I dive into adherence, daily movement, cardio, stress, meal timing, maintenance days, gut health, diet quality and training. Small improvements in these areas can make a meaningful difference in your results while helping you maintain muscle, recover better and stay consistent. ...
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  A Tool To Measure How Stressful Your Fat Loss Phase Is | Ep 765 03.08.2026 34min

  Welcome to the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast! Fat loss requires a calorie deficit, but there is a point where low energy availability can start creating more stress on the body. In this episode, I break down how to estimate the stress of a fat loss phase using the energy availability equation and what it can tell you about whether you may be under fueling. I also explain the limitations of this equation, why body fat levels and individual differences matter, and the signs to look for when a ...
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  3 Reasons You Aren't Getting As Lean As You Want | Ep 764 31.07.2026 26min

  Welcome to the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast! Getting leaner isn't always about eating fewer calories or pushing harder. If fat loss has stalled, there's usually a bigger reason behind it. In this episode, I break down the three biggest reasons people struggle to get as lean as they want. We cover the physical, mental, and skill based factors that can hold you back, why your body may need a break from dieting, and how improving your habits can set you up for better fat loss long term. If you...
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  Why Women Are More Likely To Body Recomp with Brandon DaCruz | Ep 763 27.07.2026 1h 37min

  Welcome to the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast! Body recomposition is possible for everyone, but women are generally in a better position to pull it off than men. That doesn't mean it's simple, or that you should stay in a recomp phase forever. In this episode, Brandon Dacruz and I break down the physiological and practical reasons why women recomp so well, from body fat levels to estrogen's role in muscle recovery. I also explain how to find your "fighting weight," how long to stay in a small...
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  Benefits and Trade Offs Of Each Nutrition Phase | Ep 762 24.07.2026 43min

  Welcome to the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast! Body recomposition is possible, but that doesn't mean you should stay in the same nutrition phase forever. Whether you're in a fat loss phase or a building phase, each has a purpose and each comes with trade-offs if you stay there too long. In this episode, I break down the benefits, goals, and common mistakes of fat loss phases and building phases. I also explain why nutrition periodization matters, how to know when it's time to transition, and...
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  Women Often Have a Larger Stress Response to Calorie Deficits | Ep 761 20.07.2026 34min

  Welcome to the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast! Fat loss always comes down to being in a calorie deficit, but that doesn't mean everyone responds to dieting the same way. In this episode, I explain why women often have a larger stress response to calorie deficits and what that can look like during a fat loss phase. I’ll also cover why pushing harder isn’t always the answer and how your starting point, recovery, training, and nutrition can all play a role in your results. If you've ever felt li...
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  The Three Biggest Factors That Determine Your Maintenance Calories | Ep 760 17.07.2026 23min

  Welcome to the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast! Many people want to increase their maintenance calories, but only a few factors actually make a meaningful difference. In this episode, I break down what determines your maintenance calories and what actually influences how high they can get. Body size, muscle mass, activity levels, dieting history, and genetics all play a role, along with why metabolic adaptation isn't permanent and what you can realistically do to increase your maintenance calo...
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  The Stress Bucket Explained: How Stress Affects Fat Loss, Muscle Gain And Health | Ep 759 13.07.2026 34min

  Welcome to the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast. We all deal with stress, but most people underestimate how much it affects their progress in the gym and their overall health. In this episode, I explain my stress bucket analogy and how it can help you understand why progress can become harder when your total stress load gets too high. I also cover what you can do to better manage stress so your body is in a better position to recover, adapt, and make progress. If you're having a hard time...
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  15-10-5 Lifting Protocol, Resting Heart Rate, HRV, Muscle Growth and More with Bryan Boorstein | Ep 758 10.07.2026 54min

  Welcome to the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast! In this episode, Bryan Boorstein is back on the podcast for another great conversation about training, recovery, cardio and hypertrophy. We discuss how Bryan uses recovery metrics like resting heart rate and HRV to monitor readiness and why long-term trends matter more than focusing on any single data point. We also get into his current training approach, including his transition away from full-body training, the upper/lower split he is usi...