Order of Man - OoM 024： Working Out AND Pigging Out with Chad Holtkamp

00:00:00.000 Your level of fitness is a cornerstone of your responsibilities and duties as a man.

00:00:03.660 But if you're anything like me, it can be difficult to maintain consistency at the gym

00:00:07.180 and with what I eat.

00:00:08.420 So this week, my guest and I talk about what you can do to build a consistent nutrition

00:00:12.000 and fitness program, why you should track everything you're doing, and my favorite,

00:00:15.880 how you can eat more pizza and ice cream and still reach your fitness goals.

00:00:19.760 You're a man of action.

00:00:21.140 You live life to the fullest, embrace your fears, and boldly chart your own path.

00:00:25.300 When life knocks you down, you get back up one more time, every time.

00:00:30.000 You are not easily deterred or defeated, rugged, resilient, strong.

00:00:35.060 This is your life.

00:00:36.180 This is who you are.

00:00:37.560 This is who you will become.

00:00:39.260 At the end of the day, and after all is said and done, you can call yourself a man.

00:00:45.100 What's up, guys?

00:00:45.920 Welcome back to the Order of Man podcast where we talk about all things manly.

00:00:49.320 My name, if you don't know this already, is Brian Michler, and I am the founder of Order of Man.

00:00:53.160 Of course, we've got a great show lined up as we always do, but I am a bit biased,

00:00:57.360 so take that for what it's worth.

00:00:58.420 Let me make you aware of a couple of things before we get started today.

00:01:02.500 First things first, thanks, guys, for the support of the show and the blog.

00:01:05.380 I do want to thank you for leaving the reviews that you have.

00:01:07.840 It helps get the word out about the show, and you know that I believe that more men need

00:01:11.860 to hear what it is we're having conversations about.

00:01:14.280 I do ask that you keep the reviews coming, keep the sharing alive, and know that I am doing

00:01:18.480 everything in my power to give guys like you and me and give ourselves a voice and a mission

00:01:22.480 into becoming the best men that we can be.

00:01:24.120 So, also, you can connect with me on just about any social media platform that you would like.

00:01:28.360 Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, Instagram.

00:01:32.300 I'm sure I missed some.

00:01:33.400 Just check it out at Order of Men.

00:01:35.140 But the one that I'm having the most fun with right now is Periscope.

00:01:38.280 If you are not joining the conversations that we're having over on Periscope, you are missing out.

00:01:43.240 Connect with me there.

00:01:44.160 I just did a scope yesterday on what it means to be a better leader, and I took insights,

00:01:49.120 suggestions, and ideas from the members of our Facebook group.

00:01:52.340 Check it out on Periscope, again, at Order of Men.

00:01:55.280 All right.

00:01:55.640 As always, show notes are available at orderofman.com slash 024.

00:01:59.720 Lots of insights today and some great resources that you'll want to check out if you can't

00:02:03.700 do it right now as you're listening to this show.

00:02:05.780 But for now, let me introduce you to our guest today, Chad Holtkamp.

00:02:09.240 He is the author of the new book, Workout Pig Out, A Year of Losing Fat, Gaining Muscle,

00:02:13.640 and Eating Lots of Ice Cream, which is what we're going to be talking about today.

00:02:17.300 What I like about the book is that it is extremely practical.

00:02:20.100 He chronicles over a dozen diet and different exercise plans that he followed throughout

00:02:24.300 2014 and shares them with us, what worked, what didn't, and also everything in between.

00:02:29.420 Chad also runs the blog Home Gym Strong, and he spends a good deal of his time working

00:02:33.180 out in his home gym.

00:02:34.480 He's a successful recruiter for a large professional firm, but today he is here to talk with us about

00:02:38.980 fitness and nutrition.

00:02:40.660 Please welcome Chad Holtkamp.

00:02:43.000 Hey, Chad.

00:02:43.540 Excited you're here.

00:02:44.140 Thanks for joining us today.

00:02:45.060 Thanks, Ryan.

00:02:45.700 Glad to be on.

00:02:46.580 You just wrote a new book called Workout Pig Out, which I'm excited about because those

00:02:50.500 are two things I actually really enjoy.

00:02:52.280 So we're going to have a good conversation about it.

00:02:53.880 So tell me the premise behind the book that you just wrote.

00:02:56.860 Well, the book is a chronicle of a lot of the diet and exercise plans that I followed

00:03:01.440 throughout 2014.

00:03:03.260 It wasn't planned as a book when I was going through them.

00:03:06.480 It's just stuff that I do in my daily life.

00:03:08.580 I try something, see what happens as far as diet, workouts, and then move on from there.

00:03:14.660 And I tried over a dozen different plans from the likes of Dan John, Pavel Satsaline,

00:03:20.000 Lyle McDonald.

00:03:21.320 And at the end of the year, I was like, wow, I did some really interesting things this year.

00:03:26.120 So why don't I write about it?

00:03:27.360 And here we are six months later, and the book is out.

00:03:30.940 Nice.

00:03:31.280 Yeah.

00:03:31.500 And so what was the vision?

00:03:33.700 I mean, it's nice.

00:03:34.560 One of the things that I know about you is that you chronicle and you document everything.

00:03:38.880 It seems like you're pretty meticulous about that.

00:03:40.960 So why turn that journal into a book?

00:03:43.700 Because if I'm understanding correctly, it's more of a journal type format of all the things

00:03:47.100 that you've done over the past year or so.

00:03:48.680 Yeah.

00:03:48.800 It's pretty much kind of a memoir, but more along the health and fitness aspect of things.

00:03:52.940 Last fall, I was listening to some podcasts.

00:03:56.420 James Altucher has a really cool podcast.

00:03:59.400 He had Steve Scott on, who is just blowing up Kindle with all of his different books.

00:04:04.700 And I was like, wow.

00:04:05.400 You know, I went to school, and I minored in writing, and that's what I wanted to do for

00:04:10.200 a living.

00:04:11.200 Things intervened over the years, and I've been in corporate recruiting for quite a while

00:04:15.820 now.

00:04:16.220 But the desire to actually write is still there.

00:04:19.160 And so when I heard Steve's podcast on James's show, I was like, that's kind of cool.

00:04:23.300 And then I thought back to, like, what could I actually write about?

00:04:27.020 And then I'm like, well, I just did all these diet and exercise things throughout this whole

00:04:31.300 year.

00:04:31.780 So why don't I start there and see what happens?

00:04:35.140 So what was that process like?

00:04:36.460 Because I'm sure as you were documenting all this stuff, you weren't writing it down in

00:04:39.880 like editorial format.

00:04:41.420 So what was the process of transcribing all of those notes and that information over now to

00:04:47.320 a readable format?

00:04:49.160 Well, the thing I've been doing since 2010, since I've been really focusing on diet and

00:04:53.900 exercise, is I put all of what I eat and what I work out, my workouts, all in my iPhone.

00:05:01.000 And so I have all of these notes from the last five years in my phone.

00:05:05.040 So I just went back on a daily basis.

00:05:07.040 I'm like, okay, I looked at what I had done, and I remembered back to the plans that I was

00:05:12.360 on.

00:05:12.860 I have this really crazy memory.

00:05:14.640 I remember things that most people probably wouldn't or probably shouldn't.

00:05:20.380 It's kind of a curse and a blessing because I don't forget things.

00:05:24.280 And so when I was going back through my notes in my phone, I just plotted it out monthly.

00:05:29.660 So I started with February.

00:05:30.980 I'm like, okay, this is what I ate.

00:05:33.160 This is what I did.

00:05:34.040 So I just wrote about it and then just went on for the rest of the year.

00:05:39.320 That's cool.

00:05:39.700 So what happened in 2010?

00:05:41.900 Because you said that's when you started documenting this information.

00:05:44.660 Was there some pivotal moment in your life?

00:05:47.160 Was it a culmination of a lot of events that you started to track this or get into better

00:05:50.220 shape?

00:05:50.580 What was the deal in 2010?

00:05:51.820 In 2010, I had finished up working a crazy job.

00:05:56.000 It was awesome.

00:05:57.280 It worked for a great firm, but I was working 50, 60 hours a week.

00:06:01.940 I wasn't working out, and I got engaged at the time.

00:06:06.060 So I was like, I've got to get in shape for my wedding.

00:06:08.480 So I started looking at all these different plans, and I'm like, there's no way I can keep

00:06:13.760 going the way I am.

00:06:14.860 So I started just putting everything I ate in my phone, keeping track of things.

00:06:18.600 And I started out this new diet, Lyle McDonald had one called Rapid Fat Loss.

00:06:23.780 I mean, I really wanted to start big.

00:06:26.660 So I went with that and just tried to keep track of all the different things that I ate

00:06:31.300 and tried to figure out what the results were.

00:06:33.420 How difficult was it to start tracking everything?

00:06:36.600 Were you pretty good from the beginning, or did it take a lot of discipline to continue

00:06:39.560 to do that?

00:06:40.140 You know, I write every day.

00:06:41.720 I've actually been journaling.

00:06:43.620 That's a program called The Artist's Way.

00:06:45.680 That's from a lady named Julia Cameron.

00:06:47.640 And I actually started doing that on a daily basis in October of 1995.

00:06:54.140 Wow.

00:06:54.720 Yeah.

00:06:55.020 So I've been doing it every day.

00:06:56.680 So writing down what I eat wasn't that big of a step.

00:07:00.460 Actually getting into my phone was probably the toughest part.

00:07:03.460 But once you have a few days of meal plans, you just kind of copy and paste and move from

00:07:08.060 there.

00:07:08.940 Right, right.

00:07:09.880 What are some of the benefits?

00:07:11.080 I know that journaling and writing on a daily basis, at least consistently, is a trait of a

00:07:16.820 lot of successful men.

00:07:17.960 What have you noticed as being the benefits for yourself in doing that?

00:07:21.420 You can just keep track of where you were at a certain period and remember, okay, that worked.

00:07:29.580 Let's try that again.

00:07:30.700 Or that didn't work.

00:07:32.060 So let's not do that again.

00:07:33.800 Sure.

00:07:34.240 I want to go back to something you said about memory.

00:07:37.320 You said you have a really good memory.

00:07:38.700 Is that just something you were born with?

00:07:40.620 Or are there some things that you've done to improve your memory?

00:07:43.340 That would be a huge skill set for every man to develop.

00:07:46.200 You know, I wish I could figure out why or how I can do it.

00:07:49.520 But it's just always been there.

00:07:51.220 Even back in junior high, high school, I could always remember the exact dates, what people

00:07:57.000 were wearing, whatever one did, and things like that.

00:08:00.240 It's kind of scary.

00:08:01.680 People used to test me sometimes and like, what happened on such and such a date?

00:08:06.500 And I would be able to tell them pretty accurately.

00:08:10.060 Really?

00:08:10.600 Yeah.

00:08:11.840 There's a...

00:08:12.320 Yeah.

00:08:12.620 Go ahead.

00:08:13.200 Go ahead.

00:08:14.000 Yeah.

00:08:14.480 I know there's some people that can do it to a T.

00:08:16.700 They don't forget any dates.

00:08:17.940 I'm not that advanced.

00:08:19.800 I can remember certain dates and things like that.

00:08:23.000 But yeah, it's kind of a...

00:08:24.900 Like I said, it's a curse and a blessing at the same time.

00:08:27.200 Yeah.

00:08:27.780 That's an interesting skill set.

00:08:29.260 I met a gentleman last year sometime and he said, I can memorize any number at least

00:08:35.640 up to, you know, 30 characters or whatever.

00:08:37.960 Wow.

00:08:38.700 And so I said, okay, you know, let me test you.

00:08:40.880 He's like, yeah, sure.

00:08:41.520 Give me a number.

00:08:42.100 So I wrote it down and I gave him the number and he just jotted it out, just rattled it

00:08:47.120 off.

00:08:47.360 And he actually got every one of those right.

00:08:48.860 And he taught me some of those tricks.

00:08:49.940 So I know memory is something that can be developed, but it sounds like you had this blessing

00:08:54.280 and curse of being born with the ability to remember things.

00:08:56.980 Yep.

00:08:57.160 So what are some of the things that you have tracked?

00:09:00.760 I know you obviously you tracked your workout and some food.

00:09:03.540 Is there some specific things that you've tracked that maybe would be beneficial for

00:09:07.780 men who are listening to start tracking when it comes to their fitness and nutrition?

00:09:11.480 You know, it's really just do it for a couple of days and then keep doing it for more a couple

00:09:17.200 of days.

00:09:17.560 And then once you have a couple of weeks in your under your belt, it's, you know, it's

00:09:21.220 that whole habit of 21 days to make a habit.

00:09:24.740 Once you get in the mode of doing it, you just keep doing it and then just watch, watch

00:09:31.380 the results.

00:09:32.060 I also weigh and measure myself as you'll see in the book every week.

00:09:36.320 So I know exactly, okay, last week I ate this, I lost weight.

00:09:41.280 Last week I ate this, I gained weight.

00:09:42.960 So you can kind of fluctuate and just kind of pinpoint where you need to tighten things

00:09:48.860 up or you can let loose a little bit.

00:09:50.700 Do you weigh yourself weekly or do you do it every day?

00:09:54.140 I do it weekly.

00:09:55.720 Yeah.

00:09:55.900 Every Friday morning I get up, that's the first thing I do, weigh myself, take all my

00:10:00.020 measurements.

00:10:01.020 I think I need to be doing that because I do it every day and it's like my mood is dependent

00:10:06.480 upon what I weigh any given day, which I think for guys can vary so much in a 24 hour

00:10:11.300 period that it's just not even fair to do that.

00:10:13.780 Yeah, it's really up and down.

00:10:14.680 I did it on a daily basis for a while and it was just so all over the board.

00:10:19.800 So yeah, I just do it once a week now.

00:10:21.400 Some people say do it every two weeks, but I just try to do it every week just because

00:10:25.040 I'm in that mode and it's the way I've been tracking things for, like I said, the last

00:10:29.380 five years.

00:10:30.140 So what happens when you mess up?

00:10:32.880 Because I know after a year of doing this, there's times where you've gotten off track

00:10:37.260 a little bit.

00:10:37.820 And how have you gotten back on track and re-motivated yourself to do the right things?

00:10:42.120 Yeah.

00:10:42.760 Originally, the title of the book was On Track and Off the Rails because sometimes that

00:10:49.040 happens.

00:10:50.120 Life gets in the way and you just ride through it.

00:10:54.260 Like if you're end of the week, you know, like, oh man, I had a really bad week.

00:10:58.580 Just get through the weekend and then start over on Monday.

00:11:01.580 Get back on track.

00:11:03.080 Don't beat yourself up over it.

00:11:04.420 Just things happen.

00:11:05.760 And then, you know, one week out of a 52 week period is not going to make or break you.

00:11:11.200 Right.

00:11:11.360 It's not that big a deal.

00:11:12.840 Let's go to the title of the book, Workout, Pigout.

00:11:16.860 It almost alludes to the fact that you can pig out if you work out correctly.

00:11:22.080 Is that right?

00:11:22.780 Is that wrong?

00:11:23.720 Give me a little bit idea about the reasoning behind the title of the book.

00:11:26.700 The title is just that.

00:11:29.140 A lot of people like to be able to eat, but they still want to look good.

00:11:34.400 So you just have to find that balance between the two.

00:11:38.280 I work out a lot and I eat a lot.

00:11:42.560 But at the end of the year, they balance each other around.

00:11:45.840 So I've found what works for me.

00:11:48.300 And it's something that, you know, it's a combination of sometimes I'll do intermittent

00:11:52.040 fasting.

00:11:53.120 Sometimes I'll do daily fasting.

00:11:55.400 Other days I'll eat a horse.

00:11:58.680 And it depends on what the mood is and how my measurements are going and what's really

00:12:05.420 going on in my life.

00:12:06.260 You know, if it's something that I'm excited about and celebrate, I'll let loose a little

00:12:09.700 bit.

00:12:09.880 But if it's something I need to, like I'm going to the beach in a couple of weeks or

00:12:13.100 something like that, I'll tighten things up.

00:12:15.340 Right.

00:12:15.580 When you say you work out a lot, what does that mean?

00:12:18.000 What does that look like for you?

00:12:19.340 Right now I'm on a program.

00:12:21.800 Dan John has a plan called the 40-day workout.

00:12:24.700 And I'm doing it, let's see, four times a week.

00:12:29.100 I've tried it before with five days a week, but that's just a little too much.

00:12:32.600 I'm almost 43 and my recovery isn't what it used to be.

00:12:36.600 So I found that four days a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, works a pretty

00:12:42.160 good schedule for me.

00:12:43.340 Do you work out in the mornings or do you work out in the evenings?

00:12:46.120 What works best for you?

00:12:47.400 A lot of times we actually have a home gym.

00:12:49.760 That's kind of my niche right now.

00:12:52.360 Originally I started out just focusing on, I have a blog called Home Gym Strong and just

00:12:58.420 working out.

00:12:59.260 We have a treadmill in the basement.

00:13:00.480 We have all the weights, barbells, kettlebells, everything like that.

00:13:03.720 So originally I was walking on the treadmill for about 30 minutes every morning.

00:13:08.600 And then at the end of the day or over lunch, since sometimes I work from home, I would do

00:13:13.140 the weight workout.

00:13:14.300 But lately on the 40-day workout plan that I've been following, I've just been working

00:13:18.800 out with the weights and the kettlebells for about half hour, 45 minutes in the morning.

00:13:24.040 So I'm sure you're familiar with Tim Ferriss, right?

00:13:26.700 And obviously he's big into fitness and nutrition, and he talks a lot about just experimenting

00:13:32.240 and trying different things.

00:13:33.220 It sounds like that's what you're doing, is you're just trying to do a lot of different

00:13:36.940 things to see what works best.

00:13:38.240 Yeah, exactly.

00:13:39.140 And like I said, I wasn't planning on writing the book about it.

00:13:42.320 It was just something that I've been doing for the last several years.

00:13:45.620 And I had the idea, I got the inspiration to write the book.

00:13:48.940 So I was like, well, that's something I know and something I can write pretty quickly.

00:13:52.720 And so far, so good.

00:13:55.000 Let's talk about what I think primarily are the motivators, or maybe not necessarily the

00:14:00.200 motivators, but the reasons why somebody, a man would want to work out.

00:14:03.600 And the two that I see as being the biggest are, number one, weight loss, and then secondary

00:14:08.420 is muscle gain, right?

00:14:10.080 Exactly.

00:14:10.600 Would you add anything else to that?

00:14:12.420 Just general longevity.

00:14:13.860 I mean, I want to live to be 100.

00:14:17.460 And they're, I don't know, the easiest way for me right now is to stay in shape.

00:14:23.240 Right.

00:14:23.600 Yeah, that makes total sense.

00:14:25.140 Total sense.

00:14:26.120 What are some of the best workouts that you've come across?

00:14:29.640 Let's break these down each one.

00:14:31.040 So for weight loss, what are some of the best foods that you've run across as far as losing

00:14:35.420 weight?

00:14:36.340 You know, a lot of it's, you know, the standard chicken.

00:14:39.240 I eat a lot of beef, a lot of pork.

00:14:41.300 Uh, I eat a, probably, probably eat more than I should as far as that.

00:14:45.840 Probably eat about a pound, sometimes a pound and a half of meat a day.

00:14:49.500 And then I also, um, lately I've been adding in sweet potatoes in the evening.

00:14:53.600 I'm pretty much addicted to sweet potatoes after listening to some podcasts and things

00:14:59.260 like that.

00:15:00.120 I know I was doing the low carb for a while, but adding in the sweet potatoes, just it's

00:15:05.160 definitely a, a nice motivator at the end of the workout.

00:15:08.280 Yeah, definitely.

00:15:09.100 What are some of the podcasts that you listen to on fitness and nutrition?

00:15:12.540 Uh, Ben Greenfield has a really cool one, Ben Greenfield fitness podcast.

00:15:16.940 Um, Matt Stone had one, one, one 80 degree health.

00:15:20.460 I believe that's what it was.

00:15:21.460 He had Scott Abel on, um, a couple of times and Scott's a really big in the, um, the bodybuilding

00:15:27.420 industry, but he's got a lot of sensible, um, ideas around, you know, food and nutrition.

00:15:33.040 So I've been trying to add in a little bit more of his, his ideas lately.

00:15:36.620 Yeah.

00:15:37.060 And what we'll do is we'll make sure that we link up all those suggestions in the show

00:15:41.040 notes.

00:15:41.320 Cause a lot of times people are listening to this on their way to work, that are working

00:15:44.760 out, whatever it may be.

00:15:45.640 And that way you can just go to the show notes and get some of these links and resources

00:15:48.300 that, uh, Chad, you're talking about.

00:15:50.340 Sure.

00:15:50.680 How about, uh, working out what types of workouts for building strength for building muscle?

00:15:56.840 A lot of it's just the, the basic barbell stuff.

00:15:59.600 Um, like I said, I have a squat rack barbells, all the plates.

00:16:03.100 Um, I was on a program at the end of the last year, um, where I was doing a lot of deadlifting

00:16:08.080 and a lot of kettlebell, uh, work and I actually, um, bumped, bumped up my deadlift quite a bit.

00:16:14.180 So really?

00:16:14.780 Yeah.

00:16:15.160 I did about.

00:16:15.680 It seems, it seems like lately there's a huge push.

00:16:18.920 I mean, I know they've been around forever, but it seems like more and more kettlebells are

00:16:22.380 becoming more and more popular lately.

00:16:24.380 Did you see that as well?

00:16:25.980 Yeah, I started out with kettlebells in 2008.

00:16:28.860 I went through a CrossFit phase and I got introduced to them and then I just kind of

00:16:32.420 put them out off to the side because I didn't have them at home.

00:16:35.320 Um, and then in, I think 20, late 2013, I bought a set and then an early 2014, which

00:16:42.060 was chronicled in the book as well.

00:16:44.000 Um, I, I took a course through a company called strong first and learned how to actually use

00:16:49.620 them properly because kettlebells, they're, they're deceptively simple because they're

00:16:54.940 just a giant ball of iron.

00:16:56.940 But if you do them wrong, well, like anything, you can really hurt yourself.

00:17:01.220 So it's best if you're going to pick up something like that, learn how to use it from somebody

00:17:05.840 who knows how to do it.

00:17:07.360 Yeah.

00:17:07.540 It seems like they're, obviously they're so free that you could really injure yourself

00:17:12.860 if you're not doing it because there's not a lot of structure or support or mechanics

00:17:17.200 unless you know exactly what you're doing.

00:17:18.820 No, it's all about, you know, keeping your back tight.

00:17:22.100 Right.

00:17:22.640 And keeping it straight and instead of bowing it or arching it over.

00:17:25.860 Yeah.

00:17:26.540 I know I do CrossFit and I do it five days a week.

00:17:29.780 And so there's a lot of kettlebell movements in CrossFit.

00:17:33.040 And I see a lot of guys that really, I mean, obviously you want to push yourself, but they're

00:17:38.040 pushing maybe a little too hard at the, at the risk of losing their mechanics, which in

00:17:43.520 turn, uh, risk injury, I think.

00:17:45.720 Yeah, exactly.

00:17:46.360 I, I usually do them in about, um, mostly in sets of 10, sometimes I'll do 15, uh, a

00:17:53.180 couple of times that it, uh, sets of 20 just to really get a really killer cardio burn.

00:17:58.100 And yeah, I, I prefer the, the, the 10 to 15 rep range per set.

00:18:03.300 What are some of the different types of kettlebell workouts that you personally do?

00:18:08.580 Cause we do kettlebell swings, which right under your legs, over your head, but I'm sure there's

00:18:12.740 an infinite number of rep schemes and ways that you can work out kettlebells.

00:18:17.160 Yeah.

00:18:17.300 For the most part, just starting simple with the kettlebell swing, the two handed kettlebell

00:18:21.500 swing is great.

00:18:22.740 Uh, and then moving to the hand to hand swing, uh, do the, the one arm swing and then do the

00:18:29.780 double kettlebell swing.

00:18:31.240 Um, that's pretty much the, the variety that I've been trying with the, um, the latest workouts.

00:18:35.700 And then what does your cardio look like?

00:18:38.020 Um, I, I'm actually training right now for a Spartan race, a beast.

00:18:41.620 Yeah.

00:18:41.760 And, uh, so obviously it's a lot of body weight in the Spartan with the obstacles.

00:18:47.820 Um, so we do a lot of strength training and, uh, barbell work.

00:18:51.780 What are some of the conditioning things that you've noticed as being successful that guys

00:18:56.040 can implement in their, in their workout routine?

00:18:58.040 It's really simple.

00:18:59.080 I know a lot of people hate it, but low intensity, steady state cardio on the treadmill, just

00:19:03.860 walking for 30 minutes, keeping your heart rate, you know, fairly low.

00:19:07.500 I usually try to keep mine around one 20 to one 25 for my age, um, which is pretty low

00:19:13.900 intensity.

00:19:14.320 It's like 60% or something like that, I think.

00:19:16.620 Right.

00:19:17.200 Right.

00:19:17.640 So just doing that for about 30 minutes and it's more of a mental thing.

00:19:21.820 If I do it first thing in the morning, it's, it's not really a tough workout.

00:19:25.920 It's just something I can go downstairs, throw on a podcast or just walk and think and, and

00:19:31.020 clear my head before I start the day.

00:19:32.700 When you say a lot of people don't like it, why is that?

00:19:35.760 Why do you, what, what is it?

00:19:37.020 There's just a lot of anti, I don't know, the last few years, anti steady state.

00:19:42.320 It's just like, it's, it's a waste of time and things like that.

00:19:45.040 And I'm like, sure, I can see that.

00:19:46.640 But it's also, you know, like I said, it's, it's a way for me to clear my head and not

00:19:49.960 really have to kill myself first thing in the morning.

00:19:52.800 Yeah. 0.93

00:19:52.980 You know, it's, it's really funny.

00:19:54.240 That actually reminds me is I actually like to do yard work.

00:19:57.060 Like I like to be outside.

00:19:58.460 I like to mow the lawn.

00:19:59.320 I like to just be outside working.

00:20:01.100 And I have friends who'll say, Oh, why don't you just get somebody to do that for you?

00:20:04.280 And my thought is, yeah, I could, I mean, I could pay for that.

00:20:07.480 That's not a big deal, but it's actually refreshing for me to be able to go out there and like

00:20:13.400 you said, clear your mind, not really focus on things that are too difficult and just

00:20:18.160 use it as a time, almost like a form of meditation.

00:20:20.720 Yeah, exactly.

00:20:21.720 In a way.

00:20:22.140 Yeah.

00:20:22.580 Are there some resources that, I mean, obviously I'm going to make sure that we, we give the

00:20:27.340 links for the book, but are there some other personal resources that you're using on nutrition

00:20:31.300 and fitness that we should be aware of?

00:20:32.880 You know, lately, like I said, I've been checking out Scott Abel stuff.

00:20:35.900 I believe it's scottabel.com.

00:20:37.660 You have some cool thoughts about, you know, adding in, not being afraid of carbs, keeping

00:20:43.180 carbs in the diet, um, which is something that I haven't really done, uh, over the last

00:20:47.580 several years.

00:20:48.120 It was more, I mean, even, um, like very heavy keto, like really, really low carb, almost

00:20:54.500 zero carb for a while, but adding in, um, the carbs back in, I noticed a lot better,

00:21:00.620 um, mental state, I guess.

00:21:03.380 Yeah.

00:21:04.040 Yeah.

00:21:04.400 That makes sense.

00:21:05.040 It's, it's, it's all in moderation, right?

00:21:06.860 Yeah.

00:21:07.300 What are your, what are your thoughts on like the paleo diet?

00:21:09.960 You know, I've, I tried, like I said, I started with CrossFit back in 08.

00:21:14.140 Uh, I was doing the zone for a while and then paleo started coming in and I like it in theory

00:21:20.020 because it's a, it's based around whole foods and things like that.

00:21:23.380 But all the stuff around, you know, oh, you can't eat certain things because caveman didn't

00:21:30.180 eat them.

00:21:30.680 I'm like, and they're like, yeah, you look at all the people in like the, the native

00:21:36.700 cultures around the world and, and I look at them and I don't see them as being ripped

00:21:41.460 to shreds.

00:21:42.620 So I'm like, yeah, it's, it's a tool, but it's, and I use it for, you know, concentrating

00:21:48.280 on a whole food aspect of things like real food, but I don't get into the whole dogma that

00:21:52.960 I can't, I can't do this and I can't do that because it's not paleo.

00:21:56.460 So it's interesting to me because eating clean, which is basically the premise of, of

00:22:01.580 paleo and a lot of other diets as well.

00:22:03.240 I mean, it's just, it's just proper nutrition is enough.

00:22:06.020 Like it's enough just to eat clean.

00:22:07.800 But I think what happens is it's got to be packaged and, you know, productized and make

00:22:13.800 it sellable.

00:22:14.380 And so we wrap words around it, like the paleo diet to make it more marketable is what

00:22:19.000 I think.

00:22:20.140 Yeah.

00:22:20.540 And there's not a whole lot of information out there that a lot of men don't know.

00:22:24.500 I mean, basically we know, Hey, we should not eat a ton of meat.

00:22:28.480 We need to eat fruits and vegetables. 0.50

00:22:30.340 We don't need this sugars.

00:22:32.060 Like we know that stuff, right?

00:22:33.680 But then us actually implementing is, is where the challenge is.

00:22:36.860 Yeah.

00:22:37.000 I've even, I started eating carrots again a few weeks ago and I was like, wow, these

00:22:41.900 are actually pretty good.

00:22:43.200 I haven't eaten carrots in years because they're not technically paleo if I remember

00:22:47.120 right.

00:22:48.040 Um, oranges as well.

00:22:49.500 I mean, I, you know, just peeled off a great big fat navel orange a couple of weeks ago

00:22:54.780 and I was like, wow, this is really good.

00:22:57.360 Yeah.

00:22:58.280 And it's like, you know, if it tastes good and it comes out of the ground and it's, it's,

00:23:02.220 it should be something you could eat.

00:23:03.860 It's fine.

00:23:04.420 Yeah.

00:23:04.580 It's consumable.

00:23:05.460 Yeah.

00:23:06.060 What is, when you talk about pigging out, what is your favorite thing to pig out on?

00:23:10.320 Um, yeah, I love pizza and I love ice cream.

00:23:16.660 Uh, that's part of the, the reason the book is, is subtitled eating lots of ice cream because

00:23:22.020 I can just demolish a carton of ice cream in one sitting, um, with, uh, even blinking

00:23:27.820 an eye.

00:23:28.420 What's your bet?

00:23:29.060 What's the best flavor of ice cream that we need to look at?

00:23:31.340 Um, you know, anything gooey with caramel and nuts and either vanilla or chocolate, but

00:23:38.220 as long as it's gooey and caramely and nutty.

00:23:41.280 Yeah.

00:23:41.880 That's what you go with.

00:23:42.740 Yeah.

00:23:43.280 So I was talking with a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago and he said that there's been

00:23:48.220 some studies out and I don't know whether this is true or not.

00:23:50.520 And I'd like to see if you know, he said that after a hard workout, science is showing that

00:23:56.120 within the first, you know, 30 minutes to 60 minutes after a workout, it doesn't really

00:24:01.320 matter a whole lot what you put into your body because of your metabolism and everything

00:24:05.780 still burning so fast.

00:24:07.140 But after that, you want to be very cautious.

00:24:09.040 Is there truth to that?

00:24:10.440 I think there's a little bit.

00:24:11.580 I'm not a scientist.

00:24:13.520 Um, yeah, but it's, it's one of those things where I did try that a little bit last fall

00:24:17.740 when I was getting into the really, really heavy deadlifts.

00:24:20.560 Um, I would, you know, open up a carton of, uh, Talenti sea salt caramel gelato and just

00:24:27.820 eat a pint of that after I worked out and it didn't kill me.

00:24:31.740 I don't know if it was really that great for my body comp, but I sure felt good afterwards.

00:24:36.440 As, as you were going through the past year or so of documenting everything and, and, and

00:24:41.600 writing it all down, what was, cause you do it in months in the book is you basically

00:24:47.140 got it broken down into months.

00:24:48.680 So is that what you did?

00:24:49.740 Did you focus on one metric or one thing at a time and then just study that for a month?

00:24:55.120 Um, tell me a little bit about how you decided what you would, uh, focus on and, and, and

00:24:59.460 experiment with.

00:25:00.540 As far as the workouts, um, I pretty much base my workouts around the beach.

00:25:05.840 My wife and I go to the Caribbean once or twice a year.

00:25:09.900 And then we also go to Florida and spend some time at a beach house in Florida.

00:25:14.720 So, um, in April we were going to the Caribbean.

00:25:17.580 So January through April, I'm trying to get into beach shape after the holidays.

00:25:23.420 So, and then once we get, I, and then once we're at the beach for that week, I don't

00:25:28.080 work out.

00:25:28.700 I just eat like crazy, probably gain around 25, 30 pounds just because I'm, I'm putting

00:25:33.120 carbs and bad stuff back into my system.

00:25:36.420 And then I spend the next, um, couple months, you know, trying to, to get back to where I

00:25:41.680 was before the beach and then an even better shape.

00:25:44.320 And then Labor Day comes up and we're at the beach in Florida.

00:25:47.740 And then later on after that, I'm done with beach season.

00:25:50.720 So I just concentrate on the rest of the year and trying not to, uh, you know, totally

00:25:54.960 go off the rails over the holidays.

00:25:57.040 But I imagine there's a lot of fitness experts.

00:26:00.320 If you haven't run into this already, I'm sure that you will, that, that probably will

00:26:04.800 say things like, you know, putting on 20 to 25 pounds and then getting in shape and then

00:26:09.300 losing it and getting in shape.

00:26:10.520 Like, what does that do to your body?

00:26:12.940 How does that impact your body from a health perspective?

00:26:15.280 You know, I don't have a lot of the blood tests to, to back anything up.

00:26:20.180 I just look at my body comp and that was the thing that I noticed over the last couple of

00:26:25.120 years.

00:26:25.360 I would, I would, I would diet down and then I would get back up and then I would diet

00:26:29.020 down and get back up. 0.96

00:26:30.540 And mentally it wasn't the best way for me to go.

00:26:34.200 So lately this year I've actually been trying to not diet down and just kind of keep things

00:26:40.640 more in moderation and see how things work.

00:26:43.560 I mean, I'm not as, as ripped as I was, but I feel a lot better and I'm actually, I think

00:26:48.880 I'm stronger than what I was.

00:26:50.560 Interesting.

00:26:51.260 Yeah.

00:26:51.500 It seems to work better for me when I can maintain consistency and that's not just in

00:26:55.740 health.

00:26:56.040 That's in business and my family.

00:26:57.620 I mean, you name it, that just works across the board.

00:26:59.600 Yeah.

00:27:00.240 For guys, it's really easy for us to lose weight really quickly.

00:27:05.380 Like if I wanted to, I could probably lose 10 pounds this week.

00:27:08.280 Oh, easily.

00:27:09.600 And so, but my wife gets upset about that because she can't. 1.00

00:27:12.420 Yeah.

00:27:12.920 And so I found that moderation and then just being very consistent and occasionally I might

00:27:18.120 have a slip because I enjoy ice cream too.

00:27:20.840 Occasionally I might have a slip, but I think like you said, moderation is probably the most

00:27:26.020 advantageous way to stay healthy.

00:27:28.420 Yeah.

00:27:28.900 Cause like I said, I'm in it for the long haul.

00:27:31.260 I'm, I'm going to be 43 in a couple of weeks and I want to live to be a hundred.

00:27:35.580 So I've got a ways ahead of me.

00:27:37.420 So I don't want to, you know, get, uh, get too far out of shape, but then I have a long

00:27:43.060 life ahead of me.

00:27:44.060 I hope.

00:27:44.540 Yeah.

00:27:44.900 What was your favorite chapter as you're going through this?

00:27:47.080 Like one that stands out to me is vodka and pickles.

00:27:49.400 Oh yeah.

00:27:49.640 And you wrote, you write about that a couple of times, either tell me about that or was

00:27:52.960 there another part of the book that you really enjoyed that we need to be aware of?

00:27:56.280 That is actually a workout, um, from Pavel and it's basically, um, heavy deadlifts and,

00:28:02.120 and kettlebell swings and just a lot of that leading up to a even heavier workout later in

00:28:07.680 the, in the year and in the book, uh, called kettlebells and deadlifts.

00:28:10.840 So I started that in October, did that for three months and that was, that was pretty

00:28:16.560 enjoyable.

00:28:16.920 It was, it was where I was getting more into the moderation of things.

00:28:20.360 I wasn't really worrying about, Oh, I need to lose weight for the beach or I need to lose

00:28:24.100 weight for this.

00:28:24.740 I'm just, I just focus on getting stronger.

00:28:27.360 And that was my main motivation for that, um, that three month period.

00:28:31.140 So I noticed Chad, that you had a goal of a 405 pound deadlifts.

00:28:35.820 So I'd like to know about that because that's actually one of my goals is to break 400 this

00:28:39.220 year.

00:28:39.580 So I'd be really curious as to where you started, what you did and did you make your goal?

00:28:45.240 I started at 365.

00:28:48.200 I think I've done 380 or 385 sometime in the past, but I started a little more conservatively.

00:28:53.240 I'm like, okay, my, my max is 365.

00:28:55.940 So I started the vodka and pickles program, did that for about five weeks.

00:29:01.140 Ramped up my, uh, my deadlift to about 385 after that program.

00:29:06.580 And then I started on the kettlebells and deadlift program, uh, for the next six weeks

00:29:11.800 and, um, ramped it up.

00:29:14.140 And I, I did it Christmas Eve.

00:29:16.540 My goal was to, uh, to hit 405 while we were on, um, Christmas break.

00:29:20.960 Uh, went to the gym, actually went to a gym, um, LA fitness and loaded up the barbell.

00:29:26.800 Um, I got 405.

00:29:28.680 Nice.

00:29:29.180 Well done.

00:29:29.680 Well done.

00:29:30.380 That's cool.

00:29:31.100 That's exciting to, to reach your goals and to hit those things.

00:29:34.340 So a cup, Oh, go ahead.

00:29:35.740 It was, yeah, it was just one of those things for, for someone I'm six, four and about two

00:29:40.080 25, two 30.

00:29:41.460 So 405 for someone my size isn't really that heavy, but, uh, cause usually they, they figure,

00:29:47.900 you know, double your body weight or two and a half times your body weight or something

00:29:50.600 like that.

00:29:51.080 But getting four plates aside for anybody, I think is a pretty, pretty good, uh, pretty good

00:29:57.460 accomplishment.

00:29:57.900 Well, and at six, four, you've got a long ways to carry that bar.

00:30:01.460 I do.

00:30:01.900 I definitely, I definitely, cause I'm five 10 and I've got short legs.

00:30:05.700 And so it's a whole lot easier for me than it is for somebody who's, you know, six inches

00:30:09.740 taller than I am.

00:30:10.480 Yeah.

00:30:10.560 So for guys that are looking at either getting started with some fitness and nutrition that

00:30:16.860 are listening to this show, or maybe they feel like they've reached a plateau on where

00:30:20.160 they are with those goals.

00:30:21.580 What's one or two actionable steps that they can do today to get them on track to what they

00:30:26.980 want to be?

00:30:27.740 First off, get your diet in order.

00:30:30.500 It's easier to start with that and then add in things.

00:30:33.940 Um, so if you're, you know, if you're eating crap, stop eating crap, just, just clean it 0.53

00:30:38.760 up a little bit, you know, whole foods, real food kind of thing.

00:30:42.220 Get that in, in check and then just start out slowly, depending on what, um, available

00:30:47.560 time you have.

00:30:48.180 Like if you have time in the morning, maybe just start walking.

00:30:50.720 Um, if you have a little bit more time, maybe, and, uh, and can get to the gym in the morning

00:30:56.180 or can build your own home gym.

00:30:58.200 Um, maybe add in some, some barbell stuff or some kettlebell stuff.

00:31:02.020 Uh, just really depends on what your time commitment is.

00:31:04.860 I mean, some guys have zero time.

00:31:07.060 I know I've been there and in my life, but if you have the time, just start slowly two

00:31:12.740 days a week, three days a week, add it up, you know, go from there.

00:31:16.640 Do you recommend that with your nutrition as well?

00:31:18.820 I mean, you say stop eating junk, is it just a matter of gradually phasing it out or do

00:31:22.700 you recommend cold Turkey?

00:31:24.100 You can do it either way.

00:31:25.180 It depends on what your, your, your motivation is.

00:31:28.800 If you have the motivation, you can pretty much do a cold Turkey, but if you're just gradually 1.00

00:31:33.460 getting into it, that's, that's fine too.

00:31:35.200 I mean, it's not something you have to do overnight.

00:31:38.160 Right.

00:31:38.700 Whatever's going to work for you, that's going to be the best way to do it.

00:31:41.400 Yeah.

00:31:41.520 Cause we're looking longterm.

00:31:43.200 Uh, I mean, if you're, if you're trying to diet for a reunion or a party or a wedding

00:31:48.720 or something like that, then you can try a little more, um, fast paced fat loss or whatever.

00:31:54.700 But if you're just trying to get in general shape to start slowly, you don't want to burn

00:31:59.260 yourself out.

00:31:59.920 You want to keep it going and have it be something that you want to can do for a consistent basis,

00:32:05.580 um, for years to come.

00:32:07.360 That's a really good advice is just that consistency is what's going to make it, make it work over

00:32:11.960 the long haul for you.

00:32:12.840 Yeah, definitely.

00:32:13.460 Consistency is key.

00:32:14.340 So I've got a couple other questions as we wrap things up.

00:32:17.080 The first question, which I've got to tell you, I didn't prepare you for, so, um, I don't

00:32:21.520 want to throw you on the spot too much, but in your opinion, what does it mean to be a

00:32:25.580 man?

00:32:26.080 To be a man?

00:32:27.160 Yes.

00:32:28.000 To show up every day and just get things done.

00:32:32.280 Um, I look back on my dad, my dad worked for the phone company for 40 years.

00:32:37.420 He was a lineman outside summer, winter, didn't matter.

00:32:42.260 He just showed up, he went to work.

00:32:44.780 I never heard him complain about, you know, the weather being cold or the weather being

00:32:48.260 too hot.

00:32:48.780 He just did it.

00:32:50.360 And I think that's what we should all aspire to is just live life and get things done.

00:32:55.760 Awesome.

00:32:55.920 Well, it sounds like you're also somebody who's living that by documenting all this stuff,

00:32:59.720 experimenting, trying new things, and then of course getting your book out there.

00:33:02.420 So congratulations to you for doing that as well.

00:33:04.880 Thanks.

00:33:05.360 So if somebody's listening to this today and they want to learn more about what you're doing

00:33:09.080 or pick up the book, what is the best way to connect with you and get access to Workout

00:33:13.860 Pigout? 0.94

00:33:14.380 You can check out my website at chadvholtkamp.com and you can just connect with me there.

00:33:20.680 I have a lot of different, um, uh, the book is going to be up there.

00:33:24.040 I'll also have a link to my homegymstrong.com website.

00:33:28.120 A lot of the different fitness tips and things that I've tried over the years are available

00:33:32.380 there as well.

00:33:33.220 And you can pick up the book on Amazon.

00:33:34.720 Awesome.

00:33:35.620 We'll be sure to connect that information in the show notes and let guys know where

00:33:39.140 they can go to connect and reach out with you.

00:33:42.220 Chad, thanks a ton for sharing that information.

00:33:44.200 I know you're busy, so I really appreciate you carving out some time to be on the show

00:33:47.620 today and give us some tips on nutrition and fitness.

00:33:50.640 Thank you.

00:33:51.120 Thanks, Ryan.

00:33:51.540 Appreciate being on order of man.

00:33:53.940 There you go, guys.

00:33:54.840 I hope that gives you some valuable strategies and insights into how you can improve your fitness

00:33:58.420 and nutrition game.

00:33:59.640 I know that I really struggle with, and we talked about this a bit in the podcast, which is

00:34:03.020 consistency in these areas.

00:34:04.660 So I'm walking away with some great tips that I know will be really helpful as I prepare

00:34:09.780 for my Spartan race the end of this month.

00:34:11.740 So I ask that you wish me luck with that.

00:34:13.460 Again, if you need to pick up any of the resources that we talked about today, go to

00:34:16.420 order of man.com slash zero to four.

00:34:19.220 And if you enjoyed the show or learn something new, head over to order of man.com slash iTunes.

00:34:23.760 Show us the love, show us some support by leaving your rating and review.

00:34:27.140 I will try to read your review in an upcoming show.

00:34:30.280 If you do remember to connect with me on Periscope this week to access the live streaming

00:34:33.860 videos, including the leadership Periscope that we did yesterday.

00:34:36.860 And again, we're going to talk all about how to become a better man next week.

00:34:40.360 I will be having a conversation with a fellow podcaster about what it means to be a better

00:34:44.080 father.

00:34:44.720 I know a lot of guys listening to this, myself included are in the position and wanted to

00:34:49.280 get some resources and information about being a better dad.

00:34:51.420 I grew up without a permanent father figure in my life and so did my guests next week.

00:34:55.400 So we both have some very interesting and unique perspectives into this area.

00:34:59.400 So make sure to tune into that.

00:35:00.800 Guys, I look forward to talking with you next week, but until then take action and become

00:35:04.400 the man you were meant to be.

00:35:06.340 Thank you for listening to the order of man podcast.

00:35:09.280 You're ready to take charge of your life and be more of the man you were meant to be.

00:35:13.320 We invite you to join the order at order of man.com.

Order of Man - September 01, 2015

OoM 024： Working Out AND Pigging Out with Chad Holtkamp

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