Eat Train Prosper

This one steps away from the training and nutrition stuff to talk about what actually built our careers in fitness. It came out of a question Aaron sat with before he left his software job to coach full time, which was basically, if it takes me ten years to make it, is it worth it? At 30, the answer was yes, and the episode kind of works back from there through the decisions that got us both to where we are now.

The fitness space is a weird one. A ton of people want to work in it...

Another month, another stack of questions pulled straight from the Instagram audience. This one was packed, 21 questions deep, so we skipped updates entirely and went straight into answering them. The range is wide: programming and split design, nutrient timing, eating well on a tight budget, a thoughtful testosterone question from someone with a real medical history, the psychology and physiology of dieting, and a long closing thread on what still excites us about training this far in.

A few of these go deeper than the usual Q&A. There is a full breakdown of whether a 150 pound...

Dynamic Double Progression. A favorite progression model. Here is your short version of it: take standard double progression, where you move up in reps or in weight inside a set range, and lets every set climb on its own instead of forcing them all to move together.

Here is the core of it. You pick a weight, you walk up the rep range week over week, and when you top it out you add a bit of load and start the climb again. What makes it dynamic is that your first set and your third set are...

For the first 5 years of Aaron's coaching business he kept a running doc of every question a client ever asked. Hundreds. The single most asked question was a form of: "What actually counts as a training day?" Sounds simple, right up until you have to draw the line. And that line quietly decides whether you run one set of macros or two, and how you feed a surplus, a deficit, and everything in between.

The definition we keep coming back to is dead simple: a training day is something you need to recover from. That alone drops...

ETP226 comes from a DM question posed to Bryan wondering whether we have taken the "abs are made in the kitchen" idea too far. That question opened up into a bigger one, and it is the question this whole episode chases: for muscle groups like abs and arms, how much does training them directly actually change your physique relative to the extra time it costs you?

We work through it from a few angles. Whether a base of prior ab development carries over through years of compound lifting, how core stability from free weights compares to braced...

Another month, another batch of questions pulled straight from the Instagram audience. This one runs the full range, from how to build a bro split around daily cardio, to the zone 2 discourse currently making the rounds, to a couple of surprisingly good questions from Bryan's nine year old. We take each one in turn and give the honest answer rather than the tidy one.

A lot of this episode lives in the nuance. How to read research when you do not have a science background and whether reviews are the better use of your time, whether an 80/20...

This week we have a slightly different kind of episode. We talk less about the mechanics of training and more about the benefits of using your fitness out in the world, specifically outdoors. We talk about environment, how the right gym or the mountains can pull effort out of you when your own motivation is low.

The back half of the episode revisits the Misogi Challenge and the value of planning something with a real chance of failure, why hard physical challenges reframe everyday life, and how the pursuit of hard things changes from your twenties to...

This one came straight out of the DMs. Aaron gets messages from people who are interested in coaching and they usually lay out everything they have been doing and everything they have tried. The same handful of problems keep showing up over and over again, so instead of answering them one at a time, this episode is the full breakdown.

The whole thing is built around three buckets. Poor metrics, where the plateau only exists in perception because there was never a baseline, a rate of loss target, or any real objectivity built into the approach in...

Episode 222 is our July Instagram Q&A, and per usual the questions did not disappoint. We dig through a big stack covering everything from exercise sequencing and deloads to GLP-1s, telehealth companies, and what we actually learned in our late-stage natty years that still apply.

There is a lot of practical programming talk in this one. Where RDLs should actually go in your session, how to build a minimum effective program on three 45-minute sessions per week, the five exercises we would pick if we could only use five for an entire year, and how to...

We have covered volume a handful of times on the podcast — ETP#167 (Personalizing Your Training Volume), ETP#188 (Quality Volume), and most recently ETP#207 (The Training Volume Model). This one comes at it from a different angle: not "what's the right number of sets," but how that number can change over a training career as skill as a lifter improves.

The whole thing started with Aaron's quads. They used to be the body part he was almost ashamed of, and now they're on par with everything else. Except he only trains them once a week, six sets, and th...

ETP#220 is the part two follow-up to last week's episode, and this is the one we really wanted to get to. We ran out of road last week before doing CrossFit Pacific Beach any justice, so this episode picks right back up there and runs all the way through the rest of the arc: going online, the failed business that taught Bryan everything, the origins of Straker Nutrition, building Undefeated, and Aaron winning his pro card on the first try.

The throughline is the same as part one. Spotting the gap in the market before anyone else...

ETP#219 (Part 1) is all about chasing big goals. If you've listened for a while you know we talk a ton about training, a decent amount about nutrition, and honestly not enough about the prosper side. This episode leans into that third pillar. Between the two of us we've moved across the country (and the world), changed careers, built gyms, build successful coaching and training businesses, and turned pro. With plenty of wins and a fair share of losses along the way. And the behind the scenes of how those things actually came together is where the real value is.<...

ETP 218 is all about progression models. The whole conversation starts from one non-negotiable idea: eventually there has to be real, tangible progression. Most of the "models" people get excited about are really just different ways to make the process less mundane than running linear or double progression forever. And to be clear, LP and DP are still the GOAT. They're proven, time-tested, and they work. We break down what they actually are and why they've earned that status.

The catch with all of these models is that they live and die by consistent form. Heavier weights or...

ETP 217 digs into effort, and the notion that many overestimate their effort relative to their goal.

We've observed a flip over the last decade. Rewind 10-12 years to the CrossFit era and the information was mostly bad, but the effort was 10 out of 10 across the board. Now we have the opposite problem. Quality information is abundant, but the effort has quietly slipped. And that will hold you back.

The other half of this is likely misapplication of the supported evidence. Research that holds true for a natural at 4% body fat gets applied to someone dieting...

Eat Train Prosper #216 is our May 2026 Instagram Q&A. We have 15 questions. Notable questions of likely interest are: a framework for peaking a physique for a photoshoot, Zone 2 cardio before resistance training producing better sessions (question mark), and how much of an effect on gains would being vegan/vegetarian have when done right?

A big thank you as always to all of you who provide us great questions for these episodes.

Timestamps:

00:10:04 - For DB Shoulder press, any advantage to the bench with a shorter back rest? 

00:12:29 - What is the g...

Eat Train Prosper 215 picks up after our longest hiatus ever while Aaron was transitioning back to living in the United States again. Episode 215 covers numerous insights from Bali Pro Camp 3 and an April recap of what we have been focused on during our recording hiatus.

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome Back and Relocation Updates

02:15 Challenges Adjusting to New Environment

04:24 Settling into Salt Lake City

07:21 Weight Fluctuations and Training Adjustments

10:10 Insights on TRT and Body Composition

14:33 Training Progress and New Workout Strategies

18:02 Pro Camp Experience and Training...

In ETP#214 we are bringing back the Training Series with a dedicated deep dive on lateral deltoids. We covered shoulders back in episode 138 in December 2023, but the lateral delt segment got squeezed into the final 10 minutes. A long-time listener called that out and requested the full treatment, so here it is.

Covered in this dedicated lateral delts training episode:

In ETP#213 we get into the realities of training and eating while traveling, something both of us deal with regularly. We cover Bryan's recent training reflections, Aaron's gym experiences across Shanghai and Bangkok, and the techniques and equipment discoveries that came out of those sessions. We also get into how we structure training goals during travel blocks and, just as importantly, how we handle nutrition, from in-trip strategies to resetting your baseline when you get home.

Covered in this episode:

In Episode 212 we answer our March Instagram questions across a full spectrum of training and nutrition topics. We cover how we'd approach movement assessments with in-person clients, managing a reverse diet after significant fat loss, and our takeaways from Scott Stevenson's discussion on mind-muscle connection versus training to failure. Same-muscle-group supersets, rep tempo and the fatigue cost of slow negatives, exercise selection consistency, and the hypertrophy merit of low-rep cluster sets with heavy loads.

On the nutrition side, we address the macros versus calories debate for body recomposition, how we handle missed rep or RIR targets mid-session...

In ETP 211, we dig into Bryan’s recent adventure into his intuitive training Bro Split, and whether ditching the logbook is a sign of experience or a terrible idea. We explore the argument between tracking vs “feeling”, break down the real nuances of progressive overload, and discuss why the stimulus derived might matter more than the absolute weight being used.

We also cover how this training strategy might shift depending on where you are in your journey, and why the answers to some of the biggest questions in training aren't as settled as the fitness industry likes to pre...

Eat Train Prosper 210 is about your environment. And how your environment is either working for you or against you. This week we get into why willpower is largely a losing strategy and how a well-designed environment removes the need for it. We cover ambition contagion, the real cost of where you live and those around you. And why the gym you choose matters more than most people think. If you're constantly fighting yourself to stay consistent, changing your environment might be the actual variable to change the tide in your favor.

Timestamps:

00:00 Episode...

TRT is one of those topics that generates much controversy. You're either being sold on it as the ultimate life upgrade or warned away like you're making some irreversible mistake. Neither is particularly useful.

In this episode, we share our own firsthand experiences with TRT. What led us to the decision, how we each thought through it, and what actually happened versus what we expected. We cover the symptom management vs. optimization debate, physical and cognitive changes, energy, what the long-term commitment actually looks like, and fertility, which for a lot of people is the biggest factor...

Episode #208 is our Instagram Q&A episode for February 2026. Find us on IG to get your personal training and nutrition questions covered in an upcoming episode!

Timestamps:

00:00:28 - Do you like the idea of one main cue for each lift or do you use multiple cues when coaching a lift? 

00:02:17 - I’m seeing so many elite natural bodybuilders using unexpectedly light weights for exercises. Seemingly to increase mind muscle connection?

00:07:16 - Bryan, with this brosplit, how many warm-up sets are you performing per exercise? Also, what are the res...

In ETP 207 we step through our nuanced approach to determining training volume needs. Emphasizing the importance of context and individual factors that influence how much volume a lifter effectively needs. We highlight our proposed Training Volume Model with four main characteristics: quality of execution, capacity and recoverability, enjoyment and sustainability, and availability.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Training Volume Needs

05:29 Updates on Training Regimens

19:58 Determining Training Volume: Key Factors

32:05 Understanding Muscle Group Volume Needs

47:06 The Importance of Enjoyment in Training

57:14 Specialty Cycles and Volume Management<...

In ETP #206 we explore some very plausible ways to defend the Bro Split. Whilst highly criticized in the current landscape of the evidence-based fitness scene there are some practical and enjoyable reasons to experiment and even run your training this way over what could be a very long period of time. 

Timestamps:

00:00 Quick Personal Updates

09:58 Exploring the Bro Split vs. Higher Frequency Training

17:46 Long-Term Training Perspectives and Consistency

25:23 Structuring the Bro Split for Optimal Results

25:56 Optimizing the Bro Split

30:45 The Science of Training F...

Wrapping up 2025 with our final Q&A episode of the year. We’ve got 15 questions answered for you ranging from male and female hormones, 3x weekly programming, whether Ronnie Coleman trained high or low volume, and how we properly differentiate between a warm up set and a working set. A big thank you to all who provide questions and we will see you guys in 2026!

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Celebrating Milestones and Gratitude

00:06:00 - Updates on Life and Training

00:09:18 - Mini cut training principles?

00:10:50 - When Aaron trained at ca...

Apologies for our 4-week hiatus! This week we step through a recent Hot Take from 3DMJ about whether it’s possible to reach your long term physique goals without tracking your calories, macros, or bodyweight every day. We present our various use cases, how and when might apply specifically to you and your goals. An insightful episode to assist you along your respective journey.

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome Back and Updates

06:13 Travel Experiences and Cultural Insights

10:35 Personal Health Decisions: Starting TRT

18:53 Grand Opening of Undefeated Gym

24:34 Ex...

In episode #203 we dig into various recovery modalities, evaluating their efficacy and actual relevance for improving recovery times. Some of the modalities covered in this episode  are infrared and traditional saunas, cold water immersion, hot baths, “active recovery”, yoga classes, compression therapy, manual therapy, sleep monitoring devices, and supplements. We highlight the importance of understanding which modalities are truly beneficial and which are likely overhyped.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Recovery Modalities

12:21 The Importance of Sleep and Nutrition

15:17 Sauna: Infrared vs Traditional

23:21 Cold Water Immersion and Ice Baths

30...

Episode 201 is our October 2025 Instagram Q&A and we are discussing various topics in our fitness, training, and nutrition space.

00:00:00 - Personal Updates

00:13:09 - Do you think someone can still get jacked following the health and longevity plan that you and Jordan laid out?

00:18:40 - Can you elaborate on the Beardsley and Jake theory on training each muscle at least 2x/week or else it’ll atrophy within 2-3 days? Eg you must train iliac, lumbar and thoracic lat EACH within the 2-3 day period. 

00:23:33 - Which region of the traps do...

ETP 201 is a catch-up episode after our three-week hiatus, discussing personal life updates, including a wedding and house hunting in Utah. We dive into Aaron’s emotional experiences of the wedding day, and reflections on health and fitness post-wedding. We also touch on new training methods, goals, and future plans for the evolution of Bryan’s fitness programs, emphasizing the importance of enjoyment and movement quality.

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome Back

02:43 Travel Adventures and Wedding Preparations

05:44 The Wedding Experience

08:26 Post-Wedding Reflections and Moving to Utah

11:15 House Hunting in U...

In milestone episode 200 we reflect on Aaron's first bodybuilding season, and Aaron shares insights on his experience. We cover Aaron’s Pro Show in Hong Kong, the challenges he faced, and the lessons learned about nutrition and gear. The conversation also touches on upcoming life changes, including Aaron's wedding and plans for the future, emphasizing the importance of confidence and taking risks in pursuing one's passions.

Timestamps:

00:00 Celebrating Milestones and Reflections

09:22 Aaron's Bodybuilding Journey

18:20 The Pro Show Experience

26:53 Insights on Gear and Training

42:30 Upcoming Life Ch...

In ETP199 we are talking how to most effectively transition out your bulk or gaining season and into your calorie deficit or shredding season. With the additional wrinkle of really pushing your deficit to achieve a truly defined lean physique. We address your psychological challenges, timing, and how to properly orchestrate deficits. Additionally strategies for  maintaining training intensity while adjusting volume and finally highlighting the most common pitfalls to avoid during your cut.

Timestamps:

00:00 Transitioning from Bulk to Cut

12:12 Understanding the Psychological Transition

24:19 Timing and Strategy for Deficit

Bryan shares his recent birthday experience and its impact on his training. Aaron discusses his upcoming pro debut and the challenges of weight management. The importance of personal goals in fitness and how they affect motivation. Brian's return to deadlifting after an injury and his training strategy. Aaron's experience with weight loss leading up to his competition. The significance of emotional well-being in training and competition preparation. Discussion on the practicality of different training methodologies. The impact of body weight on performance and health. Aaron's plans for post-competition training and lifestyle changes. Reflections on the balance between strength training...

In ETP197, we dive into a full-spectrum Q&A for August 2025. We catch up with a few personal updates, then tackle a range of topics. Technique, cardio planning, adjusting nutrition from labs, sleep strategies, protein intake, and current theories on intra-week atrophy. We explore the growing popularity of Hyrox and much more this month. 

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Personal Updates

00:05:38 - How deep should we go on a fly-type movement for the chest?

00:09:00 - As an avid runner, I’m having soft tissue issues and plan to switch to bike for a while. How...

In Eat Train Prosper #196, we talk with Connor St. Jean, a WNBF Professional Bodybuilder and Online Physique Coach, about his experiences in Natural Bodybuilding, recent competitions, and the particulars of contest prep. We discuss the evolution of natural bodybuilding federations, common misconceptions specifically about natural bodybuilding, and the importance of truly being in contest shape. Connor shares about prep pacing, cardio strategies, nutrition, and the psychological aspects of maintaining physique post-competition. We wrap up with the conversation with some input on movement quality, Connor’s tips for chest pressing mechanics, and his immediate future contest plans.

Ti...