Have you ever felt frustrated with your fitness journey, convinced that you’re the problem despite following all the guidelines? You’re not alone, and I’m here to tell you that it’s often the system that’s broken, not your body. In this milestone 100th episode of The Holly Perkins Health Podcast, I reflect on my 30-year journey coaching women and share invaluable workout tips that can transform your approach to health and fitness. This episode is packed with insights tailored specifically for women over 35, addressing the unique challenges we face in midlife health.
Have you ever felt frustrated with your fitness journey, convinced that you’re the problem despite following all the guidelines? You’re not alone, and I’m here to tell you that it’s often the system that’s broken, not your body. In this milestone 100th episode of The Holly Perkins Health Podcast, I reflect on my 30-year journey coaching women and share invaluable workout tips that can transform your approach to health and fitness. This episode is packed with insights tailored specifically for women over 35, addressing the unique challenges we face in midlife health.
Throughout my career, I’ve witnessed countless women struggle with weight loss, often feeling defeated by their efforts. I want to empower you with three golden rules that can significantly change your body composition and overall wellness. First, let’s debunk the myth that more cardio is better. Effective cardio should be targeted and structured to truly benefit your energy levels and fitness goals. Second, carbohydrates are not the enemy! They are essential for energy, and understanding how to distribute your macronutrients properly is critical for optimal nutrition for women. Finally, I emphasize the importance of progressive overload in strength training. This principle is vital for building lean muscle for women and ensuring continued improvement in your toning workouts.
Throughout this episode, I also share surprising discoveries from my practice, like the effectiveness of moderate steady-state cardio for targeting belly fat and the benefits of certain protein sources over others. These insights are not just theoretical; they are grounded in real experiences and results. Whether you’re navigating menopause workouts or looking for fitness motivation, this comprehensive guide will encourage you to embrace a more nuanced approach to your health journey.
Join me as we explore how to eat for muscle, clean eating tips, and the role of creatine for women. Together, we’ll tackle the complexities of women’s health, including PCOS and fitness, and how your period can influence training. This episode is designed to motivate and inspire you to take charge of your wellness journey. Let’s redefine what it means to be fit and healthy in midlife!
Get FREE lifetime access to my 4-week Strength Without Stress program today! This unique program helps you build lean muscle and reduce inflammation—without the fatigue from long or intense workouts. All you need to do is post a review of my podcast, grab a screenshot, and upload it at: hollyperkins.com/review
This offer won’t last—soon it will sell for $197. Don’t miss your chance to grab it free!
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This is it, 100 episodes and I still honestly cannot believe it. When I started this podcast, honestly, I hoped that it would just reach a few women who needed to hear a different message about fitness and about their bodies. And what has happened since has genuinely moved me. The conversations, the community, the women that I have met who are transforming their bodies and their lives at every age. Today, in honor of this big milestone, I'm sharing the workout tips that I've talked about the most over these past 100 episodes. The ones that keep coming up again and again. Because after 30 years of coaching thousands of women, I know these are the tips that actually change everything. You can get a lot wrong, but if you get these tips right, you'll actually start getting the energy, the health, and the muscle that you want. So keep listening. Hello and welcome and thank you for being here. I just took a look at the podcast statistics and last month was our highest number of downloads ever. So welcome to you if you are new around here and welcome back if you've been listening as always. I so appreciate you and I'm just thrilled to be able to do this labor of love and put this information out into the world, which is something that obviously I'm so passionate about. And if you are brand new, I'm Holly Perkins and I'll help you improve your body composition so that you are at least you 70% lean mass, write that down, so that you can reduce your risk of disease and you can stay in the game of life and out of the rocking chair. And today's episode is an important one. It really is the CliffsNotes version of the past 100 episodes and the workout tips that actually change your body based on What I absolutely know to be true, and this includes some new revelations over the past 100 episodes, but also the things that I know without a doubt after 30 years of being in practice. If you've been pushing through the HIIT workouts, doing everything that the social media influencer tells you to do, and you feel like you're still not seeing the stronger you leaner, athletic body that you want, it's so important that you know you are not the problem, you are not broken. I've said that over and over and over in these 100 episodes. Most of the time, the system is broken, not your body. And I know this to be true because once we fix the system, my clients in every decade of age, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and yes, even 80s, start to see the body change that they want. And so if you're struggling and you're doing all the things, this episode is going to touch upon where you should start to start seeing changes. By far the biggest upset that I hear from new women that come into my community or new clients is that they feel they are doing everything. They are following the guidelines the experts told them to do. They are working so hard and yet they're either stuck or they're not getting the results they feel they should be getting. And if so, if that's you, today's episode is perfect. In this episode, you'll learn why cardio is valuable, but more is not the answer for getting lean and what to do instead, why carbs literally are your best friend, and how macro-based eating is the missing link for most women over 40, why progressive overload is the non-negotiable that separates The women who plateau from the ones who keep evolving and, my favorite, the most surprising things that I personally have discovered over the past 100 episodes and these are things that have shocked even me. I believe that you are capable of far more than what the fitness industry has told you. I have spent 30 years in the trenches with real women coaching women over 40, women navigating hormonal shifts, women who have been lied to by diet culture, and high intensity trends. And what I've seen over and over is that when a woman gets the right information and applies it consistently, Her body responds every single time. The women in this community prove it to me every single week. My most successful clients are the proof that you can do it too. So in honor of 100 episodes, here are the workout tips that I've talked about the most because they matter the most when it comes to changing your body. In preparation for this episode, I took a moment, about a week. And I spent a lot of time reflecting back on my career over the past 30 years. And there are a few really pivotal experiences when I said, holy SHIT, this changes everything. And these major ahas for me came after years and years of education, certifications, research. trial and error as I was troubleshooting my own frustrations, and honestly, the times when I was completely confused. And when I look back and distill it all down, it always came down to these three areas. Number one, I was always tired, run down, completely depleted, when what I really wanted was to feel strong and full of energy and unstoppable and vibrant. I wanted to feel up to every challenge and every adventure that life offered. But what I noticed back then was that I was afraid to say yes to a lot of adventures because I knew my energy wouldn't be there for me. Number two, I was working out so hard in an effort to become more fit. but literally was spinning my wheels when what I wanted was to feel fit and athletic and to be able to tackle any workout at any time. I was very active and would be engaged in a lot of different activities from rock climbing to yoga to Pilates to swimming to running to sprinting to bicycling. I would go on mountain climbing expeditions and I wanted to be up for every single challenge. yet. I was always fighting my body and I never ever felt fit or prepared for life or for those adventures. And number three, despite always trying to lose weight, I actually looked puffy and fluffy and honestly unremarkable. When what I wanted was to look lean and fit to reflect all of my effort in the gym, in some ways I was fit. But I certainly did not look like it. Despite working so hard during my workouts, my physique didn't reflect it. And so there were these pivotal moments when boom, I changed my approach to each of these areas. And then all of a sudden things changed. And I can remember distinctly the various moments when I looked in the mirror and my jaw dropped. Because I looked leaner seemingly overnight, or I noticed myself moving about my day, and I actually felt good for a change. I could fly up a flight of stairs, or I could run across the street and I felt incredible. Or I would wake up one day and notice that my arms or my thighs were noticeably tighter, stronger, and more toned. And it was in those moments, those ahas, They were the turning points when I finally knew the truth of what actually worked. And those moments became the principles that I still teach to this day because I know they work because I applied them to my clients all these years later. And they work miracles for you too when you get them right. And as I look back upon the past 100 episodes of the Holly Perkins Health Podcast, And I recall the thousands of hours that I have spent reviewing the research. I see that these same principles still stand true and are the foundational practices that help my clients and my listeners transform their bodies. Now, certainly, I hope that you will listen to every single episode I've ever recorded. And if you just want the highest level golden rules of how to change your body, These are it. With some also specific workout tips thrown into each area. These are the golden rules that I live by and I know for sure create magic for myself and my clients. And they will for you too. So if you learn nothing else from me ever again, and you stop listening, which I hope you don't, take these three concepts to heart, apply them and watch your body change in incredible ways. The first golden rule around here is that more cardio is not the answer, but getting your cardio right works miracles. Take that to heart and write it down. See, many women believe that the path to fat loss runs through the cardio room. More hit, longer runs, back-to-back classes, higher heart rate, more sweating, more, more, more. The mistake is thinking. that if you're not dripping with sweat for 45 minutes at a minimum, you don't feel that you've done enough. And that is absolutely not true. I know that from myself and my clients. In fact, I actually started getting the best results when I started doing less. Sweat, high heart rate, and effort are not the barometers of an effective workout or the path to getting lean or losing weight. That's what you see on social media because it looks cool and it's impressive. But in real life, for real women, especially after 40, this kind of cardio backfires, leaving you hungry, depleted, and inflamed. Here's what I've seen in 100 episodes of working with women. Chronic high-intensity cardio elevates cortisol. And elevated cortisol... especially in women over 40 whose hormones are already shifting, actively breaks down lean muscle tissue and signals your body to hold on to fat as a protective mechanism. Now, it's a very long mechanism and the biology is very interesting, but this is what happens when you really distill it down. And lean muscle is the engine of your metabolism. It's what keeps you burning calories that rest. It's what protects your joints, your bones, your ability to function as you age. And when you sacrifice muscle at the altar of cardio, you are not losing fat. You're losing the very tissue that makes fat loss possible in the long term. I often say to people, if you're doing too much cardio, the wrong kind of cardio, or just crushing yourself with cardio, You're literally destroying. The muscle that you tried to build yesterday and the muscle that you say you're eating all of this protein to build. Cardio can ruin it all when you do it the wrong way. Now remember there was a big but because cardio is still super important. What I've learned and taught over the past 100 episodes is that there are two distinct kinds of cardio that you want to focus on and each has very different. benefits. So I personally think of them as almost two completely different kinds of cardio workouts. Yes, you need cardio in order to be optimally healthy and fit, but the mistake is using cardio for fat loss or weight loss or thinking that it's going to lead to a higher level of fitness. It usually doesn't. What I know to be true for women is that you will get the best results when you structure your workouts each week as separate doses that have one specific goal. You should have strength and muscle building sessions in your week, i.e. resistance training, and then you should have cardio sessions in your week, a completely different animal. And the cardio is to be divided up by two different types of sessions, which I'll review in a minute. And then in a given week, there should be other activities that you love. Maybe you like yoga for mobility or dance for fun or Pilates for flexibility or core strengthening. There are those other activities. But this means that each workout is dedicated and solely focused on that modality. A strength session is a strength session. It's not hybrid. It's not boot camp. It's not getting your heart rate up while simultaneously trying to pick up a heavier dumbbell in a class. Those are very different modalities. Instead, schedule out your week to be focused on each modality, strength, cardio, or mobility and flexibility, or other activities that you just love and enjoy. And this is in contrast to, let's say, a boot camp class where you think you're going in to lift heavy, but you're also moving very quickly to get your heart rate up while also working on agility or power or jumping or plyometrics. When you dilute a stimulus, you get a diluted response. And that's my biggest problem with these types of classes. You don't really accomplish anything. The fittest women that I know all do it the way that I'm describing. They have their strength-focused days. And in fact, some of them have resistance days that are focused on strength and resistance days that are focused on endurance or power. You can even divide up your strength training sessions so that each session is very specifically targeted. at one of the five components of fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, body composition, and cardiovascular fitness. And now, of course, you can do whatever you want, but don't be surprised if you don't achieve the performance or the appearance or the results that you're going for. The reasons why cardio is valuable are, number one, it promotes recovery and healing. from your strength sessions. Number two, it improves glucose regulation on a systemic level. And this is where I think the magic is. This means that it improves how your body manages carbohydrates and your blood sugar when you do it right. When done at a true moderate intensity, cardio teaches your body to burn fatty acids instead of carbohydrates through a process called beta-oxidation, which increases mitochondrial density and it improves the enzymes involved in the metabolic process. And that is super important. It's almost like when you do cardio right, it changes your biology. And when you do get it right, you'll see it right away, almost immediately. And lastly, cardio improves your muscles capacity to store energy in the form of glycogen. which is a converted form of glucose. So the right cardio actually teaches your muscles to better manage store energy and resist depletion of it. Each week, you'll want a mixture of two kinds of cardio, moderate steady state cardio and what I call managed intervals. Now, just to be crystal clear, there's a difference between interval training and high intensity interval training. That is hit. I am a fan of interval training. It's got big benefits. That's why I call it managed intervals. Moderate steady state cardio is the magic. This is where so much happens. And most weeks, this is all I personally focus on because if you're doing your strength training right, Strength training also provides an interval-like training effect for your cardiovascular system. I get a lot of interval training during my sets because my intensity goes up so high, then I recover. Moderate steady state cardio means that you're engaging in an activity that is constant. So like walking on a treadmill, where you keep your heart rate within a range of 70 to 75% of your true maximal heart rate. So it's effortful. but it's also a bit easy and it's also never hard. This type of cardio feels as if you could do it forever, but you wouldn't want to because it's effortful enough. And I'm going to reveal something shocking at this end of the episode, which is what I've learned after 100 episodes of this podcast and working with the women that have come to me as a result of this podcast. And that is This type of cardio, moderate steady state, is the one that is selectively targeting belly fat in my clients. You'll hear other experts say it can't be done, but guess what? It can. I'm seeing it in the DEXA scans and the photos of my clients. And when you get moderate steady state cardio right, it is magic. The second kind of cardio that is important. but in my opinion, less so, is some kind of managed interval training where you engage in an activity where you can manipulate your effort at specific time intervals. You want to alternate between moderate effort and hard effort, but not maximal effort like you would do in sprints or HIIT. For example, you could be walking outside at a steady state, comfortable, moderate intensity for two to three minutes, and then you could jog for two minutes at an effort level or speed. where your heart rate reaches about 80 to 85% of your true maximal heart rate. Now listen, before you go there, I know that there are some very respectable, loud influencer and expert voices in social media promoting the notion of sprint training and HIIT training for women, especially in midlife and beyond. I am not saying they're wrong. What I'm saying is... it is risky business on a number of levels, which I'm not going to get into here. And in my experience, the risks outweigh the benefits because you also have to get it so precisely right. And most women aren't watching their actual heart rate when they're doing it. Most women just don't even have the knowledge of their own heart rate response. And then one last thing, in my experience, the majority of women that I work with, a lot of women, I would say, 50% or more either have thyroid issues or some form of an autoimmune disorder or symptoms, and that is where it gets really to be risky business. And so that is why I find that managed intervals is way more effective. These two kinds of cardio are important for cardiovascular health, improving your fitness level, and for improving body composition. But notice... I did not say they are for calorie burning or for sweating or for just getting a good workout, right? So the key workout tips here are number one, schedule your steady state and interval sessions each week away from your strength sessions. Number two, use a heart rate monitor so that you can accurately target your heart rate zones. Number three, The ratio of steady state to interval sessions each week depends on your goals, your fitness level, and your health. In general, you want about three steady state sessions and one to two interval sessions each week. Okay, up next, I'm going to reveal two more golden rules, the approach to nutrition that rocked my world, and the type of workout that is non-negotiable. if you want to feel and look your best and be a powerhouse as you age. But first, I would love to tell you about one of my favorite brand partners that has become instrumental to me and to hundreds of women in my community over the past 100 episodes. One of my superpowers I've cultivated over the years is quality sleep. I consider myself a champion sleeper, and my husband would back me up. And I have finally mastered this area of my life without a doubt. And let me tell you, it is a game changer. Can you imagine what your life would be like if you slept great every single night? One thing to realize is that sleep changes as you get older. In your early 20s, you could stay up late. get four or five hours of sleep, and somehow still function the next day. You'd power through, grab a coffee, and be totally fine. But that doesn't really work anymore as we get older, does it? Somewhere in your 30s, sleep stops being optional. You feel when it's off, you get the brain fog, the shorter patience, the sluggish workouts, and the sense that you're just not fully firing. And this is one reason why I love Beams Dream. powder. I didn't want something that would knock me out or leave me groggy the next morning. I just wanted real deep restorative sleep. Dream is made with a powerful blend of all natural ingredients, reishi, magnesium, L-theanine, apigenin, and melatonin. And I am not the only one. Beam has already improved over 28 million nights of sleep, helping people across the country wake up and feel their best. If you're in that stage of life where you just can't push through bad sleep anymore, this is exactly what you need to be trying. Go to shopbeam.com forward slash hollyp and use my code hollyp to take advantage of my exclusive offer for up to 40% off Beam's Dream Powder. This is the best discount that Beam gives out, so make sure that you tell your friends too. Even if they don't listen to this show, if they want to fix their sleep, they've got to try Beam. So remember, go to shopbeam.com forward slash hollypea, use code hollypea, and you can get Dream for up to 40% off. Try it today. The second golden rule that forever changed my life and will do the same for you is realizing that your body needs carbohydrates. They are your secret weapon. and macronutrient-based eating is often the missing link for many women. When you start paying attention to your macronutrients, everything changes. And I remember the moment it clicked for me. I was honestly, genuinely shocked by how quickly and effortlessly my body responded when I increased the percentage of carbohydrates that I was eating each day. That shift was the key that unlocked everything for me. Because for the first time in my life, my sugar cravings disappeared. Food cravings disappeared. I started sleeping better. My digestion and elimination was better. I wasn't bloated all the time. I could actually see my body changing day by day. you inflammation and body fat literally seemed to fall away with ease. This is not hyperbole because so many of my clients say exactly the same. There is a reason why those of us in the know talk about choosing the foods that you eat each day so that you land on a macronutrient distribution at the end of each day. It is by far the most powerful, effective, easy way to change everything about your biology, your energy, your workouts, and your results. The mistake of the decade is believing that carbohydrates are the enemy and that cutting them is the fastest path to fat loss or weight loss. The mistake is eating low carb, feeling depleted, struggling through workouts, and wondering why you can't change your body. It's maddening. And I understand why you've been led to believe that it's the path because for almost 30 years now, it's been the loudest diet trend. And mark my words, we're turning a corner. We're starting to see the actual associated biological problems and fallout that are the result of eating too few carbohydrates. We are starting to see. that a low-carbohydrate diet is actually the cause of PCOS, insulin sensitivity issues, and a lot of unstable blood sugar issues that so many women in midlife are facing today. And this is one of the topics that I have come back to the most across 100 episodes, because the misinformation about carbohydrates is relentless, and it is genuinely hurting women. Carbohydrates are your body's preferred fuel for everything. It's how you were designed to operate. Carbohydrates replenish muscle glycogen after a big workout. They support recovery and critically, they protect the lean muscle tissue that you're working so hard to build. And listen, macro-based eating isn't about obsessing over the numbers because you don't even have to get it perfectly right. It's about understanding what your body actually needs in order to perform and recover. When you get your macronutrients right for your goals, protein to build and repair, carbohydrates to fuel your training, fat to support your hormones, everything changes. Your energy improves. Your strength during your workouts improves. Your body composition improves. Inflammation goes down. Food, appetite, and hunger cravings are gone.That is the framework that actually works. It's not about restriction. It's about choosing your foods strategically so that you are always fueling to keep your blood sugar regulated and give your body and your organs the resources that they need. So the workout tips for this golden rule are number one, start incorporating high quality, high nutrition, whole food carbohydrates with protein. at every meal and snack. Number two, aim for a macronutrient distribution of 50, 25, 25 each day. If that's a new language for you, the 50 means 50% of your daily calories coming from carbohydrates, 25% of your daily calories coming from protein, and 25% of your daily calories coming from fat. So you're getting equal amounts of protein and fat. Double the amount of carbohydrates as per the total amount of calories that you're eating each day. And number three, refine your skills and gradually work on getting more precise, not from a place of like control or obsession, but because you notice how much better you feel with every passing day as you tinker with and you get those macronutrients dialed in. And beyond the value of carbohydrates, eating according to macros also ensures that you're getting the right amount of protein and fat each day. It is the best way to give your body the resources it needs to keep your blood sugar balanced so that you have more energy and you experience way less hunger and food cravings each day. And if fat loss is one of your goals, eating a 50-25-25 macronutrient distribution will literally Thank you. melt the fat off before your eyes. It is by far the best way to structure your nutrition. Up next, I've got the third golden rule and some of the most shocking things that I have personally discovered during these 100 episodes. But before that, I want to tell you about something that's happening right now. As of today, the doors to the Body Composition Project Essentials are open for a limited time and we are now accepting applications. I am looking for 12 women who want to build muscle and lose fat at the same time and who don't need the support of my guided coaching program. The Body Composition Project Essentials will give you my proven strength, nutrition, and cardio programming to help you improve your body composition on your schedule and your timeline. You can learn more and submit an application now over on my website at hollyperkins.com forward slash essentials. Golden rule number three that appears over and over in the past 100 episodes is the type of workout that is non-negotiable. If you want to feel and look your best and be a powerhouse as you age. Progressive overload strength training is the non-negotiable workout that separates the women who plateau. from the ones who keep evolving. And the biggest mistake that women make is doing the same workout with the same weight loads at the same intensity for months and months, maybe even years, or changing up their routine all the time. So you've got to be consistent. That's what matters. But it's important that you're very conscientious to introducing a new stimulus when you need it. but not too frequently. If you're consistent, that matters. But consistency without the right progression really is just maintenance, not change. See, your body's job is to adapt. And when you do the same thing week after week, your body gets efficient and it stops changing. Progressive resistance training, gradually increasing the resistance your muscles are exposed to. is the mechanism behind every meaningful result that I have witnessed in 30 years of coaching. So much so, I believe that it is the only thing that actually matters when it comes to changing your body. If you get everything else wrong, but you're increasing your weight loads over time on the same core movement patterns, you will witness incredible adaptation. And so you ultimately the biggest factor. is your weight load when it comes to building meaningful muscle, especially for women in midlife and beyond. And this doesn't mean that you have to add weight every single workout. In fact, I've noticed that a great cadence is increasing your weight loads every two to three exposures to each movement. So for example, let's say you do goblet squats as part of your Monday workout. And you increase the weight load on that exercise today. You would then keep that same weight load for two to three workouts, two to three exposures of goblet squats. And then you would increase your weight load again. This pattern works really great. And the way I see it play out in my programming is if goblet squats appear only on Monday, that means... you would wait two to three weeks before increasing your weight load again on goblet squats. Then if you can increase the weight load on one to two different exercises each workout, you'll see improvements in your strength, your muscle quality, muscle definition, and muscle size. And so for each workout, you want to be actually increasing the weight load. And then on a different workout, you would select different exercises to increase the weight load on. You don't have to increase your weight load on every single exercise, every single workout. It won't happen. The current notion is that you should always be increasing your weight loads every single week, every single workout, every single day, et cetera. But in application, as it really shows up in a woman's workout each week, that will never happen. You will fail at that. And so there has to be a more planned approach to when you actually increase your weight loads. But there has to be this forward direction, this increase in these improvements. That forward direction is what signals your body that you need to build muscle. More muscle, more strength, more capacity. And when you pair the signal by picking up a heavier weight load with the right nutrition and the right recovery, your body responds every single time. That progressive challenge in weight load. is what separates the women who plateau from the women who keep evolving. And I've seen it play out across 30 years and 100 episodes of this show. Now, it's really easy to get overwhelmed by how to progress your workouts. And what I've learned is that increasing weight loads is the factor that matters more than anything. Progressive resistance is the non-negotiable that every woman must be doing. If you want to age gracefully, remain independent and feel great for all the years ahead. So your workout tips for this golden rule are number one, select some key movement patterns that you'll repeat week after week over and over in your strength workouts. That doesn't mean every single workout has to be the same, but you'll pick two or four or six key movement patterns that you do every week around. other movement patterns in your strength training. Number two, increase the weight load on those key moves regularly. And it can be small increases in weight load. Even a five or 10% increase in weight load will start bringing you progress. Number three, keep a workout log of some kind so that you can track when it's time to increase your weight loads because you will never feel fully. ready. You have to look at the calendar and your workout log and you have to choose into exposing your muscles to a heavier weight load over time instead of thinking that you're just going to wake up one day, show up at the gym and feel ready to increase your weight load. It doesn't work that way. You have to expose your body first so that it adapts. Now, beyond the three golden rules and the workout tips. There have been a few discoveries over the past 100 episodes that have shocked me. These are things I didn't see coming and surprised and delighted me because I wasn't expecting them. And these things prove that while a lot stays the same when it comes to the principles of fitness and nutrition and health, there are new ideas that emerge that are groundbreaking. So here are the four most shocking and surprising discoveries from the past 100 episodes. Shocking discovery number one is the selective reduction of visceral adipose tissue, also known as VAT, of my most successful clients. Through DEXA scans, I started noticing a trend where several of my clients reduced their visceral adipose tissue. Basically, that's belly fat, but it's the deep belly fat. They did that without losing weight on the scale, and that fat loss outpaced the fat loss in the other body areas. This means that their deep belly fat declined more significantly than any other DEXA marker. This proves that you can reduce belly fat in a targeted and intentional way. regardless of other fat loss. This flies in the face of what we have been really regurgitating for a lot of years, that you can't selectively target body areas, or you can't selectively reduce body fat. But my DEXA scans are proving that you can, and it also makes a lot of sense. There are a few other voices out there that are notable experts that have also noticed this. When you get a person's programming right, it can happen. And I knew the reason for this right away is because of the coordinated programming of strength training, cardio, and nutrition. When all three programming structures support each other, I see these major changes in deep belly fat, visceral adipose tissue, otherwise known as VAT, and body fat in general. One of the things that brought it to my attention was I noticed that in my client's progress photos, in a two-week period, for many of those women, the body area that was changing the fastest was their belly fat. It was the body area that showed progress first and that we started seeing the most significant loss of body fat from, and that is wild. And this is because all three components, the strength training, the nutrition and the cardio, each work together in a symphony, if you will, where they improve blood sugar regulation, improve insulin sensitivity, and muscle fueling. It works together to optimize everything. Surprising discovery number two. I threw out my collagen powder when I noticed sprouts of hair regrowth. from regularly using beef isolate protein powder. And this one shocked me. And just to be crystal clear, prior to this revelation, I had been using collagen powder and no other protein powders at the time for a number of years. Now, I had seen the same marketing claims that you see telling is that collagen is a great supplement for skin, hair, nails, and joints. And so For years, I used it religiously. And for years, I never really noticed any benefits. I kept using it because I believed the marketing claims. About 18 months to two years ago, I replaced it with Equip Prime Protein Beef Isolate Powder pretty much every single day. I started blending a full scoop of it in my coffee. And the first thing I noticed is that I didn't have the afternoon caffeine crash, I felt way more level, even though I still felt the caffeine high, it just wasn't as high. But then something truly surprising happened. At the age of 54, it actually might've started at 53, I started getting these tufts of new hair growth, like clumps of sprouts of hair that would... stick out. So much so that my hairstylist asked me why I had these sections of hair sprouts, because it almost looked like I had cut my hair. My nails are the strongest that they have ever been. And my hair is now the longest and the healthiest it's ever been in my entire life in my fifties. And it was undeniable because nothing else in my diet, my life, or my health had changed. In fact, I would say there were things that had changed for the worse because I had just gone through a very eventful year. I'd moved across country and there were a number of things going on in my personal life that my nutrition, my exercise, my other habits probably actually weren't as healthy as they had been in the past. And I know... It was because of the beef isolate protein powder because it has more complete and a more complex amino acid profile when compared to collagen supplements. It's just a heartier, healthier, more complete, better protein. It's a higher quality protein. And so I often say to my clients, if what you want is better hair, skin, nails, and joints, forget the collagen. This is Protein Powder On. steroids. So after a year of talking about this product and recommending it to my clients and being so amazed at what a good product it was, I became an affiliate so that I could offer my clients, my followers, my listeners a discount on the same exact product. You can go to equipfoods.com and use my code HOLLYP to get 30% off of their Prime Beef Protein Isolate. Honestly, I cannot recommend it enough. It's the only protein powder I use and will use for the rest of my life. I use the unflavored, blend it into my coffee, and then I also love the chocolate. I have eight bags in my kitchen right now. Every single one of them I bought with my own money because I got them before I became an affiliate. I say this because I want you to know I genuinely support and love this product. Surprising discovery number three. Creatine isn't just for good workouts. It is a powerful brain supplement that helps me to think and write better. Now, I've been on to creatine for years, going back to the 90s where I used it intermittently because I believed that it would lead to water retention and bloating. I thought that it was going to make me bulky. I thought that it was a bro supplement. And then in the past eight to 10 years, I did start using it again for my workouts. And I noticed a Bye. powerful shift during my workouts. I felt stronger. I recovered faster between sets and I was less sore after my workouts. But then as I've been diving into the research and you may have heard it too, we're now starting to see that creatine is actually a very powerful compound, not just for the ATP production inside of muscles, but for general health benefits. And what I've learned and is that when I have a big brain day, I like to call it, days like today where I'm working on my book, I'm writing, I'm coaching, I'm recording a podcast, and I have to think a lot, like all day long. I struggle on those days if I forget to take my creatine. And when I'm on top of my habits and I take my creatine in the morning every single day, there is a noticeable, remarkable shift in both my brain power. my ability to think all day long, and to just have better energy all day long. And this extends beyond my workouts. So going back a year or two, I would take creatine only on the days just prior to my workouts. And in the past, probably six months, eight months, a year is when I realized that it is a non-negotiable. I'm a bit superstitious about it. I take it. Every single day, every single morning, I try to time it before my workouts. If I'm not working out, I take it anyway. And some days, if I'm taking it in the morning for a workout, I will also take a second dose of five grams later in the day if it's a big brain day. The big discovery is that creatine isn't just for workouts. It's actually proving to be a powerful supplement for general good health, healthy aging, and brain power. And shocking discovery number four, which I feel is the most shocking discovery of all. I truly believe that injectable peptides stand to be the wave of the future if big pharma doesn't steal it from us. Now, this is controversial and I could go down a rabbit hole very quickly here if I'm not careful. And I want to be careful. So I'm sharing my personal views on this topic because it is loaded. The surge in interest around injectable peptides reflects now a broader shift towards biohacking and wellness, which is really fueled in part by the success of clinically approved peptide-based drugs like GLP-1 medications for weight loss and diabetes like Ozempic, etc. Today though Peptides are being promoted for a wide range of uses, far beyond fat loss. And if the early insights are true, I personally believe there is hope for these compounds to be used for other things like muscle growth, injury recovery, anti-aging, and even cognitive enhancements. And here is how I would distill it down after spending. hours and hours and hours researching this topic. Peptides are simply naturally occurring chains of amino acids that regulate many biological processes. And these are things that are already happening within your body. And so companies have been able to chemically create these peptides that you would then inject. The reason why you have to inject them is because they're very delicate and you wouldn't be able to take them. orally because they wouldn't survive gastric juices. So we have to inject them. When you really understand what a peptide is, it's almost like the vitamins and supplements that you can buy at the health food store. Vitamin C is a naturally occurring compound and therefore big pharma can't really patent it and then get FDA regulation. And that is why we have access to vitamin C at our grocery stores. In some ways, peptides are kind of similar, but because they hold such promise, like the GLP-1 medications, Big Pharma is sprinkling their fairy dust on them to turn them into a proprietary medication that they can patent and get FDA approval and therefore make billions of dollars. Beyond GLP-1 medications for weight loss, there are hundreds of different peptides now available through unregulated pathways that have become very popular that people are using for a variety of health benefits. Now, this is unregulated, and therefore we are in an uncertain area. But in my opinion, as I look at it, it appears to be some significant legitimacy around some of these peptides. And more specifically, I'm talking about the applications that are not for weight loss. I do believe that weight loss injectables can be a very powerful tool when they're used responsibly and correctly. And beyond that, what we're discovering is that there are myriad benefits associated with some of these weight loss injectables. But beyond that, we're seeing the potential for other peptides and other applications for soft tissue healing, better sleep, healing gut permeability issues, improving liver function, optimizing cognitive function, and reducing anxiety. Right now we are in the wild wild west and in no way am I suggesting that you self-manage or get onto the gray market as they like to say and dabble in peptide use. What I am saying is this is an emerging conversation that could be Thank you. very powerful and very beneficial for all of us. And I also acknowledge it could be a lot of hype. The jury is out and time will tell, but I can promise you I'm going to be keeping a close eye on this conversation. And I am personally very hopeful that some of these compounds can offer hope to people who are suffering. So in summary, after 100 episodes, these are the biggest insights the best workout tips and the biggest surprises. It has been such an honor to create the show and I want to thank you so much for listening, for being here and for sharing my show with your friends. We've grown so much and it's been a wild ride and I am so looking forward to all of the episodes ahead. So stay tuned for another brand new episode on Tuesday of next week. Stay strong, my friend.