Flex Diet Podcast

Dr. Ben Skutnik, PhD, CSCS*D, NSCA-CPT*D, is an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and Human Performance Lab Director at Butler University and Head of Nutrition Coaching at Power Athlete.

Dr. Ben Skutnik joins the show to separate fact from fad in aerobic training, debunking zone 2 hype and explaining why VO2 max matters but isn't everything.

Expect to learn why reading scientific literature is its own skill, how uncontrolled variables quietly derail hypertrophy and menstrual-cycle training research, why treating people as fragile backfires, why anecdote in human performance often outruns the research, how "closing the loop" with clients beats chasing mechanisms, what the Norwegian 4x4 method gets right (and what most zone 2 research gets wrong about training zones), and how to actually build VO2 max with the critical power model, and much more.

Connect with Ben:

Power Athlete Coach Bio

LinkedIn

Google Scholar

Episodes you'll enjoy next:

#400 — Build Aerobic Fitness Before Mitochondrial Peptides: AMPK, VO2 Max & Recovery — Dr. Dwayne Jackson: Listen here

#374 — Zone 2 Cardio: What the Science Really Says (Pros, Cons & Better Options) with Kristi Storoschuk: Listen here

Episode Timestamps:

1:46 — Why Ben was recommended for this conversation on cardiovascular and aerobic programming

7:31 — Reading scientific literature is a skill set of its own

14:05 — Hypertrophy training to failure and uncontrolled variables in research

16:27 — Debunking myths about training around the menstrual cycle

18:20 — Human resilience and the danger of treating people as fragile

22:09 — Why consistency beats trying to "hack" optimization

22:40 — Nutrition fear-mongering and overly restrictive diets

27:25 — Changing one variable at a time vs. the "kitchen sink" approach

29:55 — Why anecdotal evidence in human performance is often ahead of the research

34:48 — The ethics of placebo and "closing the loop" with clients

37:34 — The psychology of performance: the NFL kicker example

43:13 — The Norwegian 4x4 method and zone 2 training myths

46:40 — Why most zone 2 research relies on the wrong zone model

52:53 — HYROX, CrossFit, and Goodhart's Law in training

1:05:18 — Is VO2 max overrated? Performance vs. health tradeoffs

1:15:25 — Building VO2 max: interval protocols and the critical power model

1:26:02 — Life-changing results: taking deconditioned clients from VO2 max 18 to 35

1:30:09 — Where to find Ben Skutnik and his work at Butler University and Power Athlete

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Rick Alexander is a depth-psychological counselor, psychedelic practitioner, and interfaith spiritual care provider currently completing his Ph.D. in Mythology/Depth Psychology and a former Naval Special Operations combat medic.

Rick was a Special Operations combat medic until a single psychedelic experience shattered his worldview and sent him back to school to study psychedelic spiritual care. He and Dr. Mike dig into neuroplasticity windows, why “good trip/bad trip” is the wrong question, and what may really be happening in DMT space.

Expect to learn how a rough teenage salvia trip and a later psilocybin experience redirected Rick's entire career, what life is really like as a Special Operations Combat Medic supporting SEALs and Green Berets, why military training narrows emotional range and makes civilian re-entry so hard, how integration (not the trip itself) determines whether a psychedelic experience heals or destabilizes you, what the "third wave" of psychedelic science gets right that the DSM's "hallucinogen" label gets wrong, whether neuroplastic windows could help athletes learn skills faster, and what a brutal 5-MeO-DMT experience taught Rick about his own running form and breathing.

Connect with Rick:

Website

Instagram

Episodes you'll enjoy next:

#47 — Tools to Down-Regulate in Response to Stress (an earlier conversation with Rick Alexander): Listen here

#194 — The Pros and Cons of Psychedelic Compounds with Psychedelic Researcher Rebekah Senanayake: Listen here

Episode Timestamps:

2:49 – Rick's PhD progress and the psychedelic experience that redirected his career

3:38 – A rough first psychedelic experience with salvia at 18

4:46 – The psilocybin experience that "peeled back" his worldview

7:00 – Life as a Special Operations Combat Medic supporting SEALs and Green Berets

8:23 – How military training narrows emotional range and worldview

10:01 – Why veterans struggle to re-enter civilian life after specialized training

13:34 – The double-edged sword: psychedelics can destabilize as easily as they heal

14:32 – The "third wave" of psychedelic science and the flawed DSM "hallucinogen" label

23:49 – Integration: do you have time to process what comes up?

24:43 – "Psychedelic myth-making" and building a new personal mythology

31:05 – Could neuroplastic windows help athletes learn skills faster?

37:01 – Yogic energy channels (nadis) and psychedelics amplifying subtle perception

39:17 – How a brutal 5-MeO-DMT trip changed Rick's running form and breathing

56:16 – What's really happening in DMT space: Strassman, Gallimore, and "reality switch technologies"

59:43 – Henri Corbin's "psycho-cosmology": consciousness and reality as mirrored levels

1:06:45 – "Functional consequentialism": why you shouldn't dismiss someone else's experience

1:10:46 – Where to find Rick and his counseling and breathwork work

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Dr. Dwayne Jackson is a health specialist, medical educator, scientist, and entrepreneur with a PhD in neurovascular physiology.

Mitochondrial peptides may be promising, but they cannot replace the aerobic base that makes their effects measurable. Dr. Dwayne Jackson explains AMPK and mitochondrial signaling, what MOTS-c and SS-31 can and cannot tell us, and why fitness data, training, and recovery come before any experimental compound.

Expect to learn how aerobic fitness supports strength and Strongman training, why lactate clearance and conditioning can become the rate limiter, what AMPK and mTOR signal, how kidney disease changed Dwayne’s perspective on aerobic capacity, where the evidence for MOTS-c and SS-31 is limited, how to design a more useful N-of-1 experiment, and why training, nutrition, recovery, COAs, and third-party testing come before experimental compounds.

Connect with Dwayne:

Website: drdwaynejackson.com

Google Scholar

Episodes you’ll enjoy next:

#396 — Are Your Peptides Illegal? — Rick Collins: A practical look at peptide science, regulation, and the gray market.

#393 — From Powerlifter to Trail Runner — Paul Oneid & Cody Miller: VO2 max, cardiac adaptations, and the transition from strength sports to endurance.

Episode Timestamps:

01:53 — Mitochondrial peptides and the aerobic-training foundation

03:19 — Peptides as training amplifiers, not replacements

04:22 — AMPK, mTOR and mitochondrial signaling

05:50 — Why aerobic fitness supports strength and Strongman training

08:12 — Conditioning, lactate clearance and the rate limiter for strength athletes

10:58 — Wingate tests and overlapping energy systems

15:12 — Kidney disease, mitochondrial dysfunction and aerobic collapse

21:22 — Hypertensive crisis, dialysis and recognizing a major fitness decline

24:48 — Kidney transplant recovery and rebuilding aerobic capacity

28:27 — The evidence and limitations behind mitochondrial peptides

34:55 — MOTS-c, AMPK activation and anecdotal HIIT performance

39:59 — SS-31, cardiolipin and mitochondrial efficiency

48:32 — Why training, nutrition and recovery come before peptides

58:40 — Using performance data to make an N-of-1 experiment more useful

1:01:22 — SS-31 before training, AMPK timing and recovery trade-offs

1:06:07 — SLU-PP-332, exercise mimetics and the gap in human data

1:09:17 — Peptide sourcing, COAs and third-party testing

1:12:02 — Genetics, response variability and sustainable performance

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Emily Werner, PhD, RD, CSSD, IFNCP is Team Dietitian for the Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) and Philadelphia Flyers (NHL), and Nutrition Affairs Sport Lead at Timeline.

Dr. Emily joins Dr. Mike to unpack postbiotics, urolithin A, and why mitochondrial health matters for pro athletes and everyday people alike, digging into the real research behind Timeline's Mitopure and why chasing $200K gadgets rarely beats getting the fundamentals right.

Expect to learn what a postbiotic actually is and how urolithin A differs from other supplements, why old-school and new-school sports dietitians disagree on peptides and supplement fads, how chronic undereating quietly undermines performance in women's sports, what the current human performance research on urolithin A actually shows, how Mitopure is dosed and why urolithin A can't be reliably food-sourced, and why product quality and manufacturing integrity matter more than marketing claims, and much more.

Connect with Emily:

Website: https://www.eateliteperform.com/

Instagram: @emilywerner34

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-n-werner-phd-rd-cssd-ifncp-4a820a97/

Episodes you'll enjoy next:

#377 — Methylene Blue for Mitochondria & Performance: Benefits, Dosing & Risks with Dr. Scott Sherr: Listen here

#382 — Creatine for Muscle, Bone, Brain & Longevity (Plus Caffeine, Dosing, and Safety) with Dr. Darren Candow: Listen here

Episode Timestamps:

2:21 Welcome & introductions

6:09 What is a postbiotic? Pre-, pro-, and postbiotics explained

7:09 Urolithin A: the postbiotic behind Mitopure

8:19 How Emily started consulting for Timeline

10:11 Old-school vs. new-school sports dietitians on supplements

13:53 Peptides, anecdata, and why athletes ignore the data

20:05 The hardest lesson: letting go when clients won't listen

21:15 Money, ego, and athletes chasing $200K wellness gadgets

24:53 Chronic undereating in women's sports

30:48 Nutrition's real job: keeping athletes available to play

33:19 Inside Mitopure: Timeline's flagship urolithin A product

35:06 Mitochondria, mitophagy, and why they matter as we age

38:16 Diet, fasting, and exercise as natural mitophagy triggers

43:36 What the performance research on urolithin A actually shows

53:19 Aging, aerobic capacity, and Emily's 101-year-old grandma

55:40 Mitopure dosing: how much urolithin A and when to take it

57:14 Why urolithin A can't be food-sourced (and can't be faked)

1:03:19 Why product quality and integrity matter in supplements

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Zach Moore is a nutrition and exercise coach based in southern Indiana, coaching clients online and in person.

Zach cuts through the noise of complicated programming and diet protocols to get back to what actually works — minimalist strength training, honest macro-setting, and paying attention to gut health and micronutrient status before chasing anything fancier.

Expect to learn how to build serious strength with far less training volume than you think, why chasing perfect programming conditions is often a waste of energy, how Zach sets carbohydrate and macro targets for real-world clients, when (and when not) to bother with micronutrient or gut testing, and why micronutrients matter even on restrictive or elimination diets, and much more.

Connect with Zach:

Website: zmoore.com

Instagram: @ZachMFitness

Episodes you'll enjoy next:

#388 — What Vinegar & Lifting Really Do To Your Gut: Listen here

#397 — Why Getting Better Never Gets Easier with Cliff Wilson: Listen here

Episode Timestamps:

02:37 Training in a garage gym during a heat wave

03:53 Grip strength, sweat & cold water immersion

06:32 Overthinking training & lessons from old-time strongmen

09:54 Minimalist strength training & the trap bar deadlift

15:13 Go-to lifts & why you must add muscle for body comp

17:42 Progressive overload & long-term strength gains

19:56 How too much program variety kills progress

27:06 Individualizing & dialing in training volume

30:42 Favorite upper & lower body exercises

35:46 Nutrition foundations: informed eating

38:10 Eating enough to fuel training & recomp

44:06 Determining carb needs & setting client macros

48:13 The insulin myth: do carbs turn into fat?

52:40 Meal balance, fat timing & digestion

55:34 Tracking micronutrients with Cronometer

58:13 Gut testing, carnivore & elimination diets

1:02:25 Sleep tips: circadian rhythm, light & temperature

1:04:39 The Shiftwave chair for stress downregulation & sleep

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