Show Notes

Coach Scott Abel discusses the mindset foundations of long-term success, based on some of the principles found in his book, The Mindset of Achievement, which is available for free at:

scottabelfitness.com/achieve

What you must embrace:

• Three key ideas: keep high standards, be disciplined, and have high expectations.
• You can’t have the “wants” without the do’s! Or, put another way: “No perks without the works”.
• Pressure is perception, but it is also something you can and should invite. Pressure is a sign of growth and challenge.
• You can’t let other people dictate the direction of your process.
• High expectations come with baggage – if you expect a lot for yourself, then you must expect a lot from yourself.
  
• Structure and regimentation are grounding forces. These things are generally mandatory, not optional.
• You can abide in these principles without struggling “against” them. Life happens and you deal with it, and this brings peace of mind.
• Have a passion for yourself, not just this or that product.
• Being truly passionate means not relying on motivation.
• Remember that respect is earned… but yes, this also includes many aspects of self-respect.

LINKS & RESOURCES

Get Scott’s book (for free) The Mindset of Achievement

scottabelfitness.com/achieve

Visit Scott’s Book Catalogue

Follow Coach Scott Abel

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The Cycle Diet Program

Show Notes

Coach Scott Abel discusses testosterone, how it relates to your fitness goals and health, and some of the myths that surround it.

Facts about the master hormone Testosterone

Although testosterone is known to be a male hormone (as a sexual hormone), it is also present and has the same important functions and effects on women.

Testosterone is not just the sex hormone as is widely known, but is also involved in various lesser-known biological functions that affect the body physically, mentally, and somatically. In its natural form, it helps protect/prevent/reduce illness and deterioration in major organs like heart and brain, and strengthens other structures like muscles and bones.

HRT (Hormone Replacement Treatment) has shown to influence components of functional memory and often provides a better recovery rate. It aids the mood by reducing/preventing anxiety, depression, and excessive emotionality. Right amounts contribute to positive mood and disposition.

Middle-aged people just over their 40’s tend to show signs of low T, which affects the quality of life: “not great, not bad… just flat” as Scott points out. They often come barely noticeable as energy levels are affected, as well as virility and vitality.

A Quote from Doctor Morgentaler: “Sooner or later men will develop deficiency of testosterone because the tissues and feedback loops just get weaker or wear away. […] Low T is underecognized and undertreated… there’s no good reason to deprive men of a treatment that can help them regain their mojo.”

According to Scott, you’re not going to be young again, but you’re going to be youthful. Low T is a part of aging, but that doesn’t mean that it should be accepted and not treated. Your quality of life can overall improve with a simple and mostly effective treatment.

Find a good professional to check your levels of testosterone. You can ask for a referral to get to the right doctor. Let them know that you know, and be your own advocate.

LINKS & RESOURCES

Abraham Morgentaler M.D. Books

Testosterone for Life: Recharge Your Vitality, Sex Drive, Muscle Mass, and Overall Health

The Truth About Men and Sex

Scott’s Featured Books

Physique After 50

The Aging Proposition

Understanding Metabolism

More Books!

Follow Coach Scott Abel

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The Cycle Diet Program

Show Notes

Coach Scott Abel discusses how to recognize myths and quackery in the diet and supplement industry.

Quacks in Metabolism

• Scott mentioned the article, “26 Ways to Spot Quacks and Vitamin Pushers”, explaining 15 of them in detail.
• Scott has had clients who ended up in the emergency room from abusing ephedra. Oh, they had six pack abs for a bit, but they also nearly killed themselves.
• In the comments, Perry M posted a link to this old journal article to address concerns about nutrient deficiency: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/24/1/41.extract
• Metabolism and biofeedback are always speaking to the wisdom of the body. There’s a reason Michael Phelps needs 10,000 to 12,000 calories a day. It’s not a weird magic diet. It’s his appetite that tells him that—he only started counting them later on, after the fact.
• “Stress vitamins” are bogus. They’re not the same as prescription drugs.
• Every local corner grocery store is also a health-food store.
• Supplement Paradox: if you put yourself on a diet that involves supplements, it’s actually the hard work and discipline you put yourself through and not the effect of the supplements that’s producing the results over your metabolism, but the credit often go to the supplements. Addition by subtraction is the way.
• The industry tends to “renovate” or replace their customers every five years or so as they wear out. They also change their product names to appeal to the new consumer cycle… the supplement mentality goes on, Scott says.

LINKS & RESOURCES

Herbert, Victor, M.D. , J.D.; Barrett, Stephen, M.D. “26 Ways to Spot Quacks and Vitamin Pushers.” The Health Robbers: How to Protect Your Money and Your Life. Last revision: April 10, 2017.

Scott’s Featured Books

Permanent Weight Loss

Understanding Metabolism

Beyond Metabolism

The Anti-Diet Approach

More Books!

Follow Coach Scott Abel

Main Website

Facebook

YouTube

The Cycle Diet Program

Show Notes

Coach Scott Abel discusses the myths surrounding vitamins and health.

The supplement industry is largely unregulated, and it is governed first and foremost by marketing rather than a real concern for your health.

Scott discusses some findings and research reported in the website Business Insider, and offers his own additional insights and experiences from his work in the supplement industry, and his work with clients who have had less than stellar experiences with supplements.

What’s real and what’s fake about vitamins

• Many new supplements specifically target affluent women. This is a growing trend.
• Back in the early 20^th century, the first vitamins were isolated and synthesized as a response to combat malnutrition. Scott claims that nowadays we have “over-nutrition,” not malnutrition.
• Lies spread faster than truths, especially in the supplement industry.
• Scott likes Michael Pollan’s work. Of particular relevance, here is the fact that real foods may be what’s best, but no one advertises it. You don’t hear huge ad campaigns for apples. You do for supplements, pills, potions, and “snack foods” or other branded food items. But for the basics? No. Because people can’t make money off of those, even if they’re the best choice.

LINKS & RESOURCES

Brodwin, Erin. “The $37 billion supplement industry is barely regulated – and it’s allowing dangerous products to slip through the cracks”. Business Insider (2017).

Visit Scott’s Book Catalogue!

Follow Coach Scott Abel

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The Cycle Diet Program

Show Notes

Scott discusses a recent research on Branched Chain Amino Acids, or “BCAAs”. Scott’s been against BCAAs for a long time, but as the research article notes, “The concept that the BCAAs may have a unique capacity to stimulate muscle protein synthesis has been put forward for more than 35 years” (p. 1)

Back in the 90s, Scott was consulted “behind the scenes” in the supplement industry and what he experienced there has firmly entrenched his opinions that they are pretty much a scam.

BCAAs and muscle protein synthesis in humans: myth or reality?

Key conclusion from the article abstract:

We conclude that the claim that consumption of dietary BCAAs stimulates muscle protein synthesis or produces an anabolic response in human subjects is unwarranted.

Parts of the research even noted that BCAA ingestion can have a catabolic effect:

We can conclude from these two studies that BCAA infusion not only fails to increase the rate of muscle protein synthesis in human subjects, but actually reduces the rate of muscle protein synthesis and the rate of muscle protein turnover. The catabolic state was not reversed to an anabolic state in either study. Further, a sustained reduction in the rate of muscle protein turnover would be expected to have a detrimental effect on muscle strength, even if muscle mass is maintained.  (p. 4, emphasis added)

LINKS & RESOURCES

Wolfe, Robert R. “Branched-Chain Amino Acids and Muscle Protein Synthesis in Humans: Myth or Reality?” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 14.1 (2017): 30. Print.

Scott’s Featured Books

Mindset of Achievement

Understanding Metabolism

The Anti-Diet Approach

Follow Coach Scott Abel

Main Website

Facebook

YouTube

The Cycle Diet Program