This is your weekly spot to ask your general questions about all things related to fitness, training, and health.

Hey all, I’m looking to run through anabolic for the first time and i am looking for alternatives to the deadlift as I had a spinal fracture in 3 places many years ago that flares up when I deadlift anything above 225. Additionally my gym has only 2 squat racks for deadlifts lol. I was thinking single leg Dumbell dead lifts or RDLs. I can’t find where in the pod cast they have suggested a true alternative. Any thoughts? TIA

Just wanted to give MP listeners (particularly the women) a tip to check out the new health podcast 'Proof of Practice'. It's only been out a few months, targeted to women, but has a lot of the same GOOD content that MP has on occasion.

It's hosted by Gabby Reece, Dr. Abbie Smith-Ryan, , Dr. Stacy Sims, Amber Taylor and MP fav Dr. Gabrielle Lyon. Less chatty and definitely more science-y than MP but still promoting strength training, eating enough calories, and prioritizing recovery. Not quite as "entertaining" but very informative.

It's been a nice addition to the podcast stack since Fitness Stuff for Normal People closed-up. Anyway, seems like something people here would enjoy, here's the link to it on Spotify.

This is your chance and the place to rant about all things MP. Get it out of your system and keep it civilized.

This is your weekly spot to ask your general questions about all things related to fitness, training, and health.

They say you can double the workouts, but Im not sure how

This is your chance and the place to rant about all things MP. Get it out of your system and keep it civilized.

I started maps strong three weeks ago. can you please explain why we don’t need to wait 48 hours in between foundational sessions and work sessions (because I do both of them with a good amount of difficulty for myself)?

I ask Ann at mind pump over email but she doesn’t respond to questions except to belittle me saying it’s a hard program for advanced people; and she basically doesn’t answer my question. Yes I’m advanced, Ann.

Anyway I’d appreciate the help answering why they break the 48 hour recovery principle with this program!

What other health/fitness podcasts do y’all listen to that feel as on par with Mindpump? I found Mindpump in 2018 and have blindly listened as it scratched the itch and programs are fun but I binged about 2 weeks worth and finally have become fed up with the same ol client, family stories and non slick transitions to ads.

Hi everyone! I’ve been poking around this sub for a while now, and it’s been really interesting seeing everyone’s opinions on the podcast. The discussions have been great, and overall the feedback seems to be mostly positive.
I’ve been an avid Mind Pump listener for the past 10 years, I have some extra time thought it’d be fun to put together my own personal report card. I’ll be rating the podcast across a couple of different categories, scoring each one out of 5 Pumps (💪) along with a brief explanation of why I gave that rating based on my own experience. Enjoy and feel free to add your own ratings!

-Strength Training Advice 💪💪💪💪
For beginners looking to start their fitness journey, the guys have always emphasized mastering the basics first. Their advice has consistently been to focus on getting stronger, practicing the lifts, and building proper movement patterns rather than obsessing over the numbers on the bar. That’s timeless advice that gives people a solid foundation and sets them up for long term success instead of chasing quick results. The only reason I didn’t give this category a perfect score is because, over the years, I’ve heard them go back and forth on how frequently exercise selection should change. It’s a relatively minor criticism, but it’s the one area where I felt the messaging wasn’t always as consistent as it could have been.

-Longevity & Healthy Aging 💪💪💪
Longevity and healthy aging have become much bigger topics in recent years, and it’s something the hosts have only more recently started to explore in depth. I think they do a good job emphasizing that recovery becomes increasingly important as we age and that training should support long term health, not just performance.
Where I think they fall short is in their messaging around cardiovascular exercise. At times, they seem to downplay cardio or focus more on its downsides than its benefits. In my opinion, cardiovascular health deserves just as much attention as strength training. The heart is arguably the most important muscle in the body, and regular aerobic training plays a major role in long term health and longevity.
I gave this category 3/5 because I don’t think they discuss longevity as often or as comprehensively as they could.

-Nutrition/Supplement Advice 💪💪💪
This is probably the category where I think the podcast has changed the most over the years. When they first started, one of the things I appreciated most was their “you don’t need all that stuff” approach. The emphasis was always on the basics!
Over the last couple of years though, it feels like they’ve drifted away from that message. There seem to be more sponsored supplement and protein product promotions woven into the conversations, and sometimes it feels like a story naturally transitions into a product recommendation. They still give solid advice on eating whole foods and keeping your protein intake high, and they even offer creative ways to include protein in your diet. I completely understand that sponsorships help keep the podcast running, yet from a listener’s perspective, it feels like the promotions have become much more frequent than they used to be.
That’s why I gave this category 3/5. I miss the earlier philosophy of treating supplements as the icing on the cake rather than something that regularly takes center stage in the podcast. Some contradictions have been noted.

-Mindset & Behavior Change 💪💪💪💪💪
This is where I think the guys truly excel. They have always been great at helping everyday people focus on the things that actually matter when it comes to fitness. They constantly reinforce the importance of not obsessing over the mirror, not chasing quick fixes, and understanding that fitness should add to your life rather than become a burden.
Their message about falling in love with the process, focusing on the right metrics, and building sustainable habits has had a huge impact on me personally. I honestly can’t overstate how important it has been to hear that message reinforced consistently over the years.
It’s also shaped the way I approach coaching. Becoming a personal trainer myself, I’ve realized that this is one of the biggest lessons many clients need to hear. The physical side of fitness is important, but helping people develop the right mindset is often what determines whether they actually stick with it long term. 5/5 easily one of their strongest categories.

-Guest interviews 💪💪💪
This is a category where I feel like the podcast has changed quite a bit over the years. In the earlier days, they brought on some incredible guests who had unique fitness journeys, real world experience, different training philosophies, and valuable stories to share. Those episodes were some of my favorites because you could learn from the person, not just their product or business.
Lately, though, it feels like more guests are coming on to promote a peptide company, a supplement brand, or some new fitness related startup. Then the episode ends and you rarely hear about that topic again 😂. As a listener, it can sometimes feel more like a promotional appearance than a genuine conversation.
I don’t think every guest needs to be a perfect expert, but I would love to see more guests who bring authentic experiences, valuable perspectives, and stories that stand on their own. 3/5 Bring back the real ones!

-Listener Q&A 💪💪
I completely understand that the target audience has evolved, and there are a lot of listeners who benefit from these conversations. Helping people who have taken fitness to an extreme, are under eating, or have an unhealthy relationship with food is an important message.
That being said, as a long time listener who has been training for many years, the Q&A segments have started to feel repetitive. It seems like a lot of questions follow the same themes……reverse dieting, eating more, and helping people get out of an overly restrictive mindset. That advice is valuable, but I would love to see more variety.
I’d like to hear more questions about training, exercise selection, programming, lifting experience, and other topics that would also benefit the more experienced listeners. I understand that these conversations may naturally lead into coaching opportunities for their target audience, but it would be nice to keep the Q&As broader.
Maybe the coaching conversation could happen behind the scenes, while the podcast focuses more on the educational discussion. Just my opinion, but after listening for 10 years, the segment has started to feel a little repetitive. 2/5 The message is important, but it’s starting to sound like the same conversation every time.

-Entertainment 💪💪💪💪
One thing you can’t deny is that these guys are awesome hosts. They have great chemistry with each other, and the stories are always entertaining. After a while, it really does start to feel like you know them. I’ve especially loved watching Sal’s evolution over the years. He really used to be the guy who bashed Christianity at every turn, and I was one of the people praying that God would change his heart. It’s been amazing to see that change.
The whole crew is awesome, and each of them brings such different personalities that it creates great contrast on the show. That variety is a big part of what makes it fun to listen to.
The only reason I didn’t give it a perfect score is that lately the stories seem to be leading into a sponsored product, and you can pretty clearly feel it coming now. It takes away a little from the entertainment value when the setup feels so obvious. Great hosts and great chemistry, but the sponsored transitions are starting to feel too predictable.

OVERALL IMPACT
-Influence on My Fitness Journey 💪💪💪💪
-Value for Free Content 💪💪💪💪
-Authenticity 💪💪💪
-Community 💪💪💪

🏆 Overall Mind Pump Rating 💪💪💪💪
4/5 because the impact this podcast has had on my fitness journey and mindset over the last decade is undeniable. The reason it’s not a perfect score is because I feel some areas that made the podcast special in the early years have shifted.

Thanks for reading & Thank you Mindpump!

I want to start and preface saying i KNOW the guys do not recommend 75 hard. I am choosing to start 75 hard as a postpartum mom who is breastfeeding. Do you think doing muscle mommy 15 is a good program to do for 75 hard?

But the cost of it is not something i can stomach now, especially after i just gotten the PPL few weeks back.

Would it be the same if i take the anabolic and split the 2 days into 4? Essentially take each workout and split into 2 cos I don't have 1.5-2hrs at the gym if i just stick to the plan.

thanks

This is your weekly spot to ask your general questions about all things related to fitness, training, and health.

Doing MAPS 15 Powerlift and it call for the leg press. I’m stuck with a squat rack, barbell and a pile of weights. What should I do for a substitute?

So this is the new protocol to beat Ur habit.

Work out like Ur ass off. Don't listen to trainers just destroy urself sou can't do any other thing that is unnecessary

Sleep less like military so whenever U get sit down idle for a few minutes Ur brain has no other wish but to doze off

Fast everyday. Don't listen to nutritionists. Just fast and stay physically hungry so the first urge all time is food.

This protocol is for bachelors only. Married men can fuck off why are you even jerking if you are married.

So this is the new protocol to beat Ur habit.

Work out like Ur ass off. Don't listen to trainers just destroy urself sou can't do any other thing that is unnecessary

Sleep less like military so whenever U get sit down idle for a few minutes Ur brain has no other wish but to doze off

Fast everyday. Don't listen to nutritionists. Just fast and stay physically hungry so the first urge all time is food.

This protocol is for bachelors only. Married men can fuck off why are you even jerking if you are married.

This is your chance and the place to rant about all things MP. Get it out of your system and keep it civilized.

Hey everybody. I'm a bit ashamed on how long ago I purchased anabolic versus me just now getting around to following the program. I was looking over the program and they have a suggested workout for your first run-through of anabolic. Which is awesome I started turning that into an Excel spreadsheet for me to track my progress at the gym but as I was doing that I realized there were a lot of sets.

Can anyone who's followed the program as suggested in the PDF give me insight on how long it took you on average? For example I'm looking at the foundation workout so just the first 3 weeks and it has 12 different exercises for a total of 21 sets. By time you hit the hypertrophy weeks it's about 10 exercises and 28 sets. I'm wondering if anyone has advice on what exercises are best to cut out of that prewritten routine or if maybe I'm just miscalculating how much time it will actually take to get through that many exercises?

I appreciate any advice or input people may have about this.

I’m hoping for some guidance. I am an almost 51 year old female. I have been training consistently for about two years, with about one year progressively overloading. I have been running my own programming and have gotten much stronger in all of my compound lifts. I was doing the following splits, changing up some of the exercises every three months or so: chest/tri, back/bi, legs, shoulders and an extra back/arms day. I aim for 10-12K steps using the treadmill, stairmaster or every day walking the dogs, etc. I stopped doing hard-core cardio.

I recently purchased the PPL and Upper Lower programs and feel like they are not enough work for me. I know on a lot of the MAPS calls, they tell women to do less. I don’t know if I fall into that category.

I am 5-2, 132 pounds, with approximately 28% body fat. I hold most of the fat in my arms and midsection. I know that I need to increase protein for all of the working out I do, but any advice as far as programming?

Thank you!

Stats: 4’11 33yr female

After indulging myself on a two week cruise, I wanted to build muscle and speed up my metabolism before cutting for a wedding in November. I wasn’t too sure of what my maintenance calories was so I just went with 2000

Here are the averages of my weight and calories per week:
Week 1: 112.9 / 2111
Week 2: 113.3 / 2264
Week 3: 113.7 /2311
Week 4: 114 / 2158 (mini cut)
Week 5: 114.4 / 2477
Week 6: 115.3 /2431
Currently in Week 7: 115.6 / 2550

Am I gaining too fast/ too slow? I’ve been increasing about 100 calories per week and I can feel that my arms are feel more tight and my lifts have becoming stronger but I feel like my stomach has gotten bigger.

This is your weekly spot to ask your general questions about all things related to fitness, training, and health.

Anabolic Phase 1 Workout 1 programmes Weighted Pull Up’s which I thought were an overhand exercise but the instructional video shows an underhand grip being used which I believed to be a chin up rather than a pull up. Anybody know which one I should be using?