Max Larocque (@MaxLarocqueFit) is a personal trainer, life coach, co-owner of F.R.E.E Fit gym in Edmonton, and host of the Squats and Sober Thoughts Podcast. He’s a deep thinker and has a huge heart. He leads by example with his own fitness and self-improvement and leads others towards the same healthy lifestyle.

This episode was eye opening. Max helped me realize something I’ve personally been thinking about for almost 2 years. There are so many connections to fitness and life and mental health that it’s no longer possible to separate these things, and this is exactly what we spoke about in this chat.

We also spoke about body dysmorphia, addiction, neurodivergence and how all of this is tied to mental health and fitness and everything in between.

Sit down, settle in, and enjoy, because you’re about to learn a few things that might change your life.

To keep up with Max, follow him on IG, visit F.R.E.E Fit gym if you’re in the Edmonton area, and check out his podcast.

The best way to support the podcast is to share the episode with a friend. You can support yourself and the podcast by applying for 1:1 online coaching here.

Grab my FREE Protein Cheat Sheet here.

Join 1000’s of others in receiving the best fitness tips, tools and tactics for free via the Sunday Meal Prep newsletter.

Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify. It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.

Website danielyores.com

Connect with me on Instagram @danielyores

Connect with me on X @danielyores

Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Dane Palarino (@dadbod_sculptors) is a driven entrepreneur, sponsored athlete, and the visionary behind Dad Bod Sculptors. After hitting rock bottom in his early 40s, despite his career success, Dane embarked on a transformative health journey that saw him shed over 30% body fat and regain control over his life.

Dane now dedicates his life to helping men over 35 conquer the challenges of aging, balance the demands of family and work, and achieve peak physical condition. His mission is to guide men through their own transformations, empowering them to reclaim their health, confidence, and become the heroes their wives, kids, and families need them to be.

The “Dad Bod” is not just about how you look. It’s about how you feel, how you perform, and how you show up for the most important people in your life. It’s ok to love yourself as you are, but part of that should also constantly be trying to improve yourself in all aspects.

Dane’s been through it and now he’s helping others get through it as well. It starts with fitness but it is about SO much more than fitness. Fitness is simply the gateway to improving every other aspect of your life.

There is an absolute ton to take from this episode, and it should have you fired up to take action and make big changes in your life. I hope you do.

To keep up with Dane and everything he’s got going on, follow him on LinkedIn, IG, and on Youtube, and check out his website.

The best way to support the podcast is to share the episode with a friend. You can support yourself and the podcast by applying for 1:1 online coaching here.

Grab my FREE Protein Cheat Sheet here.

Join 1000’s of others in receiving the best fitness tips, tools and tactics for free via the Sunday Meal Prep newsletter.

Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify. It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.

Website danielyores.com

Connect with me on Instagram @danielyores

Connect with me on X @danielyores

Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

I turned 30 over the weekend! Getting old, or just getting started? All a matter of perspective…

I sat down to reflect, as one does, and came up with a list of 30 things I’ve learned related to fitness and beyond.

The entire premise of this podcast is that fitness lessons are synonymous with life lessons, and this episode is a great embodiment of that. As I go through each of them, they are all interrelated and relevant in the gym, and in many areas of life.

It’s a great exercise to reflect on things you’ve learned and even better to then share them with others. That’s what it’s all about. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

The best way to support the podcast is to share the episode with a friend. You can support yourself and the podcast by applying for 1:1 online coaching here.

Grab my FREE Protein Cheat Sheet here.

Join 1000’s of others in receiving the best fitness tips, tools and tactics for free via the Sunday Meal Prep newsletter.

Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify. It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.

Website danielyores.com

Connect with me on Instagram @danielyores

Connect with me on X @danielyores

Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Semaj Hunter (@semajhunterfitness) is an online fitness & nutrition coach, father, family man, and a person who genuinely loves helping others. He mainly works with general population clients and bases his coaching on sustainability, and finding the right solution for each individual.

*we had some slight connection issues during recording causing some lag, so if you notice some strange pauses, that’s what happened*

Semaj is a thinker. It’s very obvious that he’s been a coach for a long time and helped so many people because he has such a broad perspective, yet is also able to distill concepts down to their simplest forms. Which is actually a great reflection of the central theme of this conversation: decisions.

Every day we are faced with hundreds or thousands of decisions. Each one moving us slightly further or closer to our goals. But every decision has pros and cons, and every decision that moves us further from our goals, isn’t necessarily a bad thing - and in the long run may even be the thing that moves us closer.

Semaj and I speak at length about how to evaluate information and options in order to make smart choices. Choices that aren’t always easy or obvious. But choices that you’ll look back on and be thankful for.

I really believe you’ll want to listen to this episode several times, and keep it saved to revisit as needed. Semaj is a phenomenal coach, and an amazing person to learn from.

To keep up with Semaj, follow him on IG, and visit his website.

The best way to support the podcast is to share the episode with a friend. You can support yourself and the podcast by applying for 1:1 online coaching here.

Grab my FREE Protein Cheat Sheet here.

Join 1000’s of others in receiving the best fitness tips, tools and tactics for free via the Sunday Meal Prep newsletter.

Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify. It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.

Website danielyores.com

Connect with me on Instagram @danielyores

Connect with me on X @danielyores

Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Patrick DiBello (@patrickdibellofitness) is an online fitness coach and hybrid athlete. He’s learned from and trained under some of the absolute best coaches in the world and has since been giving it back to everyone who wants to build strength, endurance and mobility while living a healthy lifestyle.

A hybrid athlete is certainly a bit of a recent buzzword, but it refers to a person who is training to be very strong in the gym, and also have elite levels of endurance. Two things that are typically separated - you’re either a strong dude, or run marathons, but not both. Patrick does both. We spoke a lot about how he organizes his training and his life in general to accomplish this, and how you can begin to implement it.

Patrick has also trained extensively in calisthenics, or bodyweight exercises. There’s a misconception that since it’s “just” bodyweight, it’s somehow easier. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Many calisthenics exercises are extremely advanced and difficult to even attempt. Patrick gives an incredible lesson on how to start and progress with your calisthenics training from wherever you’re at.

There’s a ton to learn from Patrick and I feel this episode only scratched the surface. Definitely follow him on IG to keep up and keep learning more, and send this episode to a friend to spread the love.

The best way to support the podcast is to share the episode with a friend. You can support yourself and the podcast by applying for 1:1 online coaching here.

Grab my FREE Protein Cheat Sheet here.

Join 1000’s of others in receiving the best fitness tips, tools and tactics for free via the Sunday Meal Prep newsletter.

Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify. It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.

Website danielyores.com

Connect with me on Instagram @danielyores

Connect with me on X @danielyores

Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Jeff Pachtman (@jeffpachtmanfitness) is a personal trainer and online fitness coach who works with people around the world who want to change their life. Losing the last 10lbs is cool, but losing the first 50 is life changing, and that’s where Jeff specializes.

Jeff has been through the ringer of diet fads and tried all of the methods. After years, he finally found what works, and how to communicate that to people just like you. We spoke about Jeff’s journey through figuring this all out and how he got through it.

It’s no secret that there are endless ways to lose weight. They all are different ways of getting at the same thing, but packaged in so many different ways. Some of them are outright dumb - but many of them have validity to them. We speak about how to navigate this, and find what’s best for you.

You’ve probably started several diets before, and maybe not stuck to it. Jeff gives some amazing advice for how to actually stick to your plan. This is perhaps the most important information you need to hear.

Jeff is an amazing coach and also creates phenomenal fitness content, please follow him on IG to keep up with everything he has going on.

The best way to support the podcast is to share the episode with a friend. You can support yourself and the podcast by applying for 1:1 online coaching here.

Grab my FREE Protein Cheat Sheet here.

Join 1000’s of others in receiving the best fitness tips, tools and tactics for free via the Sunday Meal Prep newsletter.

Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify. It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.

Website danielyores.com

Connect with me on Instagram @danielyores

Connect with me on X @danielyores

Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Before anything - at the very end of the episode I badly misspoke and said that lean bulking is a bad idea. Of course this was a mistake and I mean to say dirty bulking. But this is a 1 take show and a 1 man team so I wasn’t about to re-record the whole thing for that small mistake, onwards!

I know it’s tempting to want to get as big as possible, eat as much as you can, have little regard for body fat, and really see how big and strong you can get - but I highly suggest you avoid this.

Eventually, you’ll want to stop and lean out again, and then this is where you’ll want to spend most of your time thereafter. It would be much healthier, and overall more effective if you just stay lean and slowly bulk up over a longer period of time.

The 5 mins of happiness you get from hitting an all time high weight and strength is not worth putting on the necessary body fat to do this. I spoke about my recent experience with this, why I did it, what I regret about it, and what I would do instead.

At the end of the day, I hope you learn from my mistakes and avoid this trap, ultimately leading to greater success in your own health and fitness.

The best way to support the podcast is to share the episode with a friend. You can support yourself and the podcast by applying for 1:1 online coaching here.

Grab my FREE Protein Cheat Sheet here.

Join 1000’s of others in receiving the best fitness tips, tools and tactics for free via the Sunday Meal Prep newsletter.

Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify. It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.

Website danielyores.com

Connect with me on Instagram @danielyores

Connect with me on X @danielyores

Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss

Asad Sayal (@asadwuzhere) is a personal trainer and strength coach located in Toronto, Canada. Asad works with clients to make them stronger, happier, and more resilient in their body and in their life.

Asad and I met at a few seminars in Toronto and it was quickly obvious that he’s one of the trainers who really knows his stuff, and communicates it well. During the conversation we found that we also have similar philosophies on training and life and all that all intertwines, which is really what it’s all about.

In this episode we discussed some of those training and life philosophies, and also some thoughts on the fitness industry as a whole. Most importantly we spoke about some detailed training information.

“Tempo training” may be something you’ve heard of, but if you’re unfamiliar with what it is or how to use it to your benefit, this is the episode for you. We discussed all you need to know about how to implement, when and how to do so, and why you should be using this.

It’s not an exaggeration that this episode may change how you train forever, for the better. So listen closely. To get in touch with Asad or ask any questions, follow him on IG.

The best way to support the podcast is to share the episode with a friend. You can support yourself and the podcast by applying for 1:1 online coaching here.

Grab my FREE Protein Cheat Sheet here.

Join 1000’s of others in receiving the best fitness tips, tools and tactics for free via the Sunday Meal Prep newsletter.

Share this episode with a friend who would enjoy or benefit from it! Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes or rating on Spotify. It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.

Website danielyores.com

Connect with me on Instagram @danielyores

Connect with me on X @danielyores

Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss