Chris Williamson’s YouTube podcast has featured a variety of internet personalities this year. In a recent episode, he hosted Mike Israetel, an exercise scientist who shared his ideas on different approaches to losing fat. Their conversation also includes the topic of cardio, as Williamson wants Dr. Mike’s advice on it. As always, the exercise scientist is very responsive to his ideas and keeps them brief and simple, saying:
“It sucks, next question.”
Despite the lighthearted banter, the exercise scientist then discusses how cardio is best seen outside of the sports context, as it becomes a different scenario whether added to the schedule of a professional player or a casual enthusiast.
He also takes into account three factors: preference, convenience, and time cost, as he reminds cardio enthusiasts that any physical activity, such as keeping track of the number of steps taken each day, can be as helpful as any workout. While Dr. Mike is a huge supporter of step trackers, he does not want to oversell them, as he says:
“If you have to get 11,000 calories every day is a part of your plan, that’s what my current amount—11,000 steps a day. What ends up happening is, can I get on the treadmill and do 11,000 steps? Sure, but also I can talk to Mr. Nick Shaw, CEO of RP, and do a business meeting while I’m hands-free on my phone and walk around my backyard.”
The exercise scientist emphasizes that, aside from cardio, any physical activity that boosts step count can significantly help with fat loss and weight maintenance. This will also allow them to accomplish their regular day-to-day activities without feeling weary from the cardio they previously performed, allowing them to keep up a simple and healthier lifestyle.
Dr. Mike then outlines the overall intensity of cardio and other routine physical activities. He emphasizes that pushing too hard on hill sprints or lifting workouts may burn more than 100 extra calories in a 24-hour period, but the overall ability to shed fat and lose weight will be less beneficial to the body, as the individual should focus more on sustainability.
While these strenuous exercises may not be preferred by many, walking, swimming, or using an elliptical will burn the same number of calories without putting the individual in danger of injury. Dr. Mike emphasizes the various forms of physical exercise and what a person prefers, saying:
“Different is great. What you don’t want to do is do the same thing over and over that you hate, especially if it’s high impact and high intensity. Like, every time your feet hit the concrete, your knees are like, ‘I hate you. What the f*** are you doing to me?’ and you will be like, ‘Wow! My knees are gone, but I’m leaner,’ not sustainable, not good.”
He goes on to say that the “winning formula” involves burning calories through various forms of activity, such as walking, swimming, or biking every other day. The entire process is not just about the calories that these workouts burn over time, but also about keeping the user’s body consistent and doing something they enjoy rather than a monotonous cardio plan.
While maintaining an appropriate level of physical activity is beneficial to one’s overall health, there is an optimal amount of sets that every fitness enthusiast should strive for when looking to maximize muscle growth in the gym.
Dr. Mike Israetel’s Optimal Way to Maximize Muscle Growth
There are numerous approaches accessible for any gym-goer to adapt to their daily workout routine. However, because many people neglect leg day owing to the side effects of the workout program, Dr. Mike Israetel once offered the exercises that each individual should undertake to acquire the most muscular gain for those elegant quads.
He focuses on three significant leg workouts with notable set numbers, beginning with 6-7 sets of the leg press and progressing to the hack squat and Smith machine high bar squat. According to Dr. Mike, an individual’s body can only endure this much stress on its muscles through the aforementioned activities, since he is serious about the intensity and will not advise any of his followers to exceed that limit.
He then concentrates on MRV, or maximum recoverable volume, which is the number of sets a bodybuilder can complete for a certain body region over a week while remaining fully recovered for the following gym session. Dr. Mike also advises not exceeding 20 sets each week, since it might negatively impact the individual’s recovery process.
