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Hosts:

Kevin Larrabee (Twitter), Jonathan Fass,

and Leigh Peele

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• BlackStarLabs.com (Home of ICE BCAAs and Ultra Peptide 2.0. Tell them The FitCast set you!)

FitCast NEWS

• I was Once Fat…What is Your Story?
  • Will hit on this next week
• Donations
• Shout out to Seth and his 500 pound Tb DL
• Kevin gone did orderin sum bookz and vhssss
• What up Leigh?

Mailbag

• (From Mark) Our dear friend Tracy is at it again. Here she’s getting some free marketing for her NY club from a local news station. The crap that comes out of her mouth, though… it’s priceless. My favorite quote is… “I knit the muscles and re-engineer the muscular structure against genetics, against problem areas, to really give women what they want.”http://ny1.com/content/ny1_living/health/103135/celebrity-fitness-instructor-opens-up-tribeca-studio/Default.aspx
• Nice site. just found it after seeing Tracy Anderson for the first time on CBS Early Show. I searched “Tracy Anderson workout bullshit” and you site came up. Keep up the good work. -Kevin Mullins
• First off, I admire your work and appreciate that you’re always on a path towards self-improvement. I am a 55-year old female, 5 foot 4 inches and 180 pounds. I have been eating clean, weighing and measuring all my food, and maintaining a calorie range of 1200-1400 with a 40/30/30 split. I am doing 3 days of total body high-rep weight training and 3 days of interval cardio for about 45-60 minutes 6 days a week with one rest day. I am changing my workouts every 3 weeks and feel like I’m doing everything by the book. Nevertheless, the scale hasn’t budged. I dropped 2 inches the first two weeks and have seen no progress in the scale or my measurements in the last 3 weeks. What gives? I’ve had my thyroid checked and the doctor relayed that everything is normal. I’m feeling frustrated and could really use some help. Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer!!Sincerely,Laura
• Here’s a question for Jon. In the latest Mythbusters artical on T-Nation Mark Young discussed how muscle weakness may not actually be due to a weak muscle.  He mentioned how the thoracic nerve in the neck can cause shoulder weakness.  I tried the exercise he recommended and it worked instantly.  I was able to do shoulder presses and side lateral raises for the first time in a long time.
  I was wondering if Jon could elaborate on this issue and if there are any other exercises that I should be doing or avoiding to help get my shoulder stronger.
  On a side note.  What actually happens when you “throw your arm out” while playing softball. And is there anything that I can do immediately to regain arm strength after this happens.
  Thanks,
  Eddy R, NY
• Hi, all. I’ll get straight to the point, but first I have to say that I love the show. I have a couple of questions: First, you talk a lot about clients having poor glute strength. How do I know if this applies to me, and what do I do about it? Are there other commonly-weak areas that I should be looking out for? Also, how do I go about finding a “real” (i.e. not commercial) gym? I’m in Chicago, so I know they exist, but am not sure where to start looking for them. Thanks for all the great information!
  Anna
• Hello Kevin! I love your show and I have been listening since the beginning. I have a question about how to lose muscle mass. I have been training (weight programs and intervals for cardio) for almost a year now. I have gone from 155 to 125 (I’m 5’4″). I don’t know the body fat numbers but I have lost a lot of fat and gained a lot of muscle. Now that I am the size that I want to be, I feel that some part are too muscle-ly for the look that I want, specifically my shoulders, biceps and calves. How can I lose some of this muscle mass but still remain active and maybe even continue to improve my fitness.Thanks a lot,- Jesika
• So I see this phrase all over the place “Exercising without accurately monitoring your intensity is like driving a car without a speedometer”. How true is this? Could the FitCast team please discuss the necessity of HR monitors? When, if ever, is it a necessity and when is it just more gadgetry distracting from the real goal, working out.
  On a related note if you can get Mr. Fass to go off on one of his tangents where he morphs into Dr. Fass that would be great. Love it when Dr. Fass starts hurling knowledge like 500ton nuclear warheads. I walk away singed but smarter. -mark
• What are your thoughts on barefoot training? I tried jumping barefoot but it was too painful so I’m jumping roping in socks in the meantime. I’ve been deadlift in flip flops and I do feel it made a difference in my form in a positive way. I recall seeing Arnold squating with flip flops on and I’ve read some recent articles about training barefoot or with flip flops and I wanted to get your 2 cents.ThanksMatthew
• Hello,What are your thoughts on JUST chocolate milk as a post-workout drink for a natural bodybuilder wanting to something effective and affordable? -Chris Allen
• Hey Kevin &co. (whatup, Leigh?)I love the deadlift. But I’m having a problem. The “grippy” part of my gym’s brand spanking new trap bar is like coarse grit sandpaper. Between the rough grips and the amount of weight I’m pulling, my sets leave my hands shredded. Blisters under calouses, and they never heal before the next deadlift workout.I’ve thought about wearing gloves, but… I can’t quietly mock people for wearing gloves if I’m wearing them too. Today, in a back corner of the gym, I found these little straps with metal hooks. You wrap them around your wrists and then hook the hooks under the trap bar grips. I gave them a try, and not only did it help my hands, but it also made the weight I was pulling feel much lighter.

  Clearly this is a cheat, and I’m not feeling real proud, but at the same time, with the weight I’m lifting, my hands never get healed. Can you guys tell me how using the grips alters the effect of the lift, and tell me if I’m negating the total body impact of the deadlift? Is it enough to just add more weight? I could tell my forearms weren’t getting the same workout.

  Thanks guys. I look forward to the podcast every week. Keep up the good work. -MT

• Hi Yall… (Kevin…try a Texas accent this time). I have a personal question related to how to break up with your trainer, in a GOOD way. I’ve been training with a gentlemen for the last year who had done a good job in regards to getting me into working out (I lost a BUNCH of weight in 2008 with a medical ketosis program with no exercise, he followed up by getting me addicted to exercise). But I’m finding that I’m outgrowing him… he is inconsistent, has me on no plan and just makes up the training during our sessions, with about 40% of his time spent texting or joking around with other trainers. He recently told me he is going independent (he currently works for a gym) and he wants me to follow him… however…I do not feel like it is in my best interest to do so. HOW do I tell him that I want to stay at the current gym (close to home) and not hurt his feelings/ hurt his chances of being successful independently… a buck a minute is a lot to pay to have someone screw around for 20min…BUT I do love the guy and don’t want to offend him. BTW, insert obligatory “you guys are great, thanks and all that” here :)…