Fitness in the Future: Technology Meets Tradition at XGym

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Futurist Society, where, as always, we're talking in the present, but talking about the future. I'm your host, Dr. Awesome.And today we have PJ Glassy, who is the founder of XGym. Thank you so much for joining us, PJ.Honestly, I'm so glad to talk with you because I have been on my own personal fitness journey and I know that you're incorporating a lot of technology into what you guys are doing at X Gym. So tell us a little bit about what you're doing.

Yeah, well, we have a 21 minute workout twice a week, and that's equivalent to about seven hours of traditional training. Because of the research I've done and the experimentation that I've done over the years since 1998.I actually started back in, gosh, 1989 when I graduated with my exercise science degree from SPU and then trained people mostly out of their homes. So they were my guinea pigs. And I'm a research nerd, so always reading studies and coming up with ideas to try new things.And so with their help, I developed the methodology that is a huge time hack and it's also safer.And so it's kind of a jump into the future per se, because traditional training sets and reps was invented by Eugene Sandow in 1891 and everyone's still doing it, but we're 2025. And so I wanted to develop something that is more present.But I've also got a lot of thoughts about the future and where things are going because we're always changing. I mean, the X Gym is a gym for personal training and small group training and online training and our exercise app. But we're also a lab.And so we're always trying new things and constantly evolving.And the future is just super exciting because we look completely different than we did 10 years ago, and we're gonna look completely different in 10 years from now. I've got some, some thoughts on how that's gonna look, but right now it's the best. And that's our commitment is just to keep evolving and improving.So we're always the best.

So what are you doing differently than the traditional gym? When you say that the regular type of workout is sets and reps, what are you guys doing differently?

So what everyone else besides us is doing nowadays is sets and reps. So you do like 8 to 12 reps and 3 to 5 sets. And in between every set you're resting for, you know, at least two minutes and then you do it again.And that's really time consuming. And so people would rather have something that takes less time.Unless you're a bodybuilder or a gym bro and you really like working out at the gym and that's fine because, you know, if that's, if that's your social network and you get your enjoyment out of that, great.And so also bodybuilders need to do traditional training, because traditional training was invented by Eugene Sandow, who was a famous European strongman that came over here from Europe and made a whole bunch of money doing strongman shows. And all the other guys back then in the late 1800s were skinny dudes. Obesity wasn't a problem back then, but dudes were skinny.Eugene wasn't, he was jacked. And Eugene was getting all the chicks. And so these guys wanted to get chicks. And so they say, hey, teach us how to work out like you.And he, at first he said no because he didn't, you know, want it to affect his income and didn't want competition. But they wore him down and he sold it to them. And sets and reps were born.So when you think of sets and reps, you think of ballistic, you know, fast motions. And that's the perfect way to build big muscles. And that's what it was invented for, is for building, getting people jacked.And but most people nowadays don't want that. They are, especially in our main age group, which is like 40 to 60 years old. Those people are past that phase of their life.And I was in that phase when I was younger, but now I'm out of that phase. And so we service those people. So the people who are younger that still want to get jacked should do traditional training or CrossFit.CrossFit's kind of in between traditional training, bodybuilding and X Gym. Because you can get to the point at CrossFit, you could look like a lightweight bodybuilder, but you're not going to look like a pro bodybuilder.You just need the lots of that takes like 10 to 15 hours at least per week. And then if you want to go pro, it's going to be a full time job. So ours is a time hack.And we're not doing traditional reps where you're doing fast ballistic motions, especially with heavy weights. We're doing controlled motions, almost like tai chi, but with resistance. So it's time under tension instead of ballistic reps with heavy weight.So instead of a traditional set that takes about 10 seconds, our set takes about 3 minutes and is without any rest.When you look at a traditional set of traditional ballistic reps, what you're going to see with the physics is a rest at the top of every rep because of the momentum. You're not contracting at the top anymore because you've built so much momentum. Now you're changing direction to go back down.All it takes for the muscle cell to refuel is a quarter second and you get that with between every rep. So while it's great for bulking and pretty good for strength too, and some power, it's awful as far as his endurance goes or cardio.And so when you take that rep and you slow it down and you stop before you get to the top and you stop before you get to the bottom or control it in any way, we have seven different methods where we control the rep and stay in tension the entire time without that quarter second rest between every rep. And you do that for three minutes, then you can get to complete muscle failure, which is strength training. But along the way you've been doing endurance training. And so you get both strength and endurance instead of just strength and bulk.But you're not getting the bulk because of the endurance aspect. And so what you end up getting is really strong and good endurance and muscle tone and definition, but without the bulk.So our people get as strong as a bodybuilder, but without looking like a bodybuilder. Our people look like the COVID of men's fitness instead of the COVID of flex.And that's really the difference, but with all the benefits of functional strength endurance that they can actually use in the real world.

So what is like a. A normal rep or set look like just in practice? Like it. Is it just like bench press or what is it?

Sure, yeah, it could be done with any exercise.We're more functional and bench press is pretty functional, but we're using more free motion stuff, you know, like our cable machine that actually has a winch instead of a weight stack where or suspension training. I'm sure you're probably familiar with TRX system.Ours is just different because it uses a climbing rope and Prusik knots, but it's kind of the same suspension training idea. And so we're doing free motion stuff which is a lot more functional in very controlled manner.So one of our methods, the starting method and the one that I like everybody to try if they're gonna sample this kind of methodology and thought process is to do seven seconds up, seven seconds down. So if that were like a bicep curl, for instance, you're going to do it that differently too, with form. So let's just say it's a barbell.You're going to do a barbell bicep curl. Everybody can picture that. What you do is you lean forward a little bit, so you shoot your butt back a little bit.So when you look straight down, you can see your eyes are above your toes. And then you're going to keep your elbows back behind your spine.And then you're going to start the rep where Your forearms are 45 degrees up, so they're not straight down, they're up a little bit. Then you're going to take seven seconds to get to the top.And because your elbows are so far back, even at the top, you're going to be limited in your range. So it looks a little more like this instead of this, like a, like a, a gym bicep curl.You're stopping here because your forearm runs into your bicep because your elbows are so far back and you still have tension at the top. And then at the bottom you come down to 45 degrees, so you still have tension at the bottom.And you take seven seconds to get to the top and then seven seconds down to return to the bottom for three minutes. Now you're probably, if the weight is, if, if you've picked the right weight, you're going to be able to go about two minutes.And then on that last minute you're doing splinter techniques because you can't get to the top anymore. So now you're doing pulses, you're doing holds, you're doing, you're doing alternate wrist curls.You know, do these things in this partial wrap as high as you can go, maintaining tension.So you can really go beyond failure in a way, a full range range of motion failure and keep going with contraction to get even more muscle fibers involved. So more muscle fibers are benefiting from this endurance and strength that they're getting.But at the end is when it's strength training, when you can't get to the top anymore. Now you've moved to strength, now you're getting power and strength out of it. Whereas up to that point you're getting more endurance training.So you're really getting both. Or if you wanted to, a pushup. And everybody can do a pushup.There's no equipment required, so you just go down on the floor and if you can do it from the toes, that's how you start. And then all the way down at the bottom.You're going to start at the bottom where you're lightly touching the floor with your sternum only, so your hips are a little bit tight and your thighs are off the floor. Everything is off the floor except your sternum. And it's a very light touch at the bottom, like two pounds.Then you take seven seconds to get to the top of your pushup range, but your elbows are still bent at the top. You're not all the way up till arm lockout, they're still bent at the top.Then you take seven seconds to get back down to that light sternum touch, and then seven seconds back up. Most people that can do 50 pushups of traditional pushups can do about four of these.And then when you can't get to the top anymore, you stay in tension and drop to your knees and continue. And then when you can't do it from your knees anymore, when you're even too tired for that, you go to your hips.So now it's like a back arch at the top and you keep going. Now you're focusing on how heavy your palms are instead of the range.And that range is going to continue to get smaller as you keep fatiguing more and more until there's just literally nothing left after about three minutes because you're focusing on how heavy you can make your palms and which keeps you in tension. So that's another one that's pretty easy to understand and picture and to do. And then that slow motion protocol is our first one.And then the next one is stop motion. So now instead of slow and smooth, up and down, you're stopping seven times along the way.So you're, you're breaking up that same range of motion into seven different sections, which, where you're stopping, it's usually like an inch ish, kind of every inch or so you stop. It's a complete stop. It could be as fast or as slow as you want, but it has to be a stop, so it can't be a bounce. And then the other one is more.Another method, just to just give you an idea of what I mean by different methods, is mid stops. So you start at the bottom, you go up to the middle, you hold it for four seconds completely still.Then you go quick to the top, back to the middle, hold for four seconds, quick to the bottom, up to the middle. So you're only ever stopping in the middle, but it's a little quicker motion to get a little More explosive. And those are three of the seven.So cycling through these seven methods gives you nerve training as well as muscle training, endurance and strength. But the main purpose of that is to keep you in the innervation phase. So it's mostly nerve training and out of the bulking phase.That's why we switch everybody every seven weeks. And so our clients are more interested in toning definition and functional fitness and not bulk.So that's why we try to keep them in the innervation phase, which has to happen first before the hypertrophy or bulking phase can happen. And doing that, switching it every seven weeks by method and exercises keeps them in this innervation phase.So they're toning and defining while getting stronger, but not bulking.

What does that mean? The innervation phase?

Anytime you do a new movement, your nerves have to learn how to do it. And that takes about four to six weeks.So switching everybody every seven weeks, we start flirting with the hypertrophy phase because we have completed the nerve training phase and the nerves have got all their benefits. But we're also toning and defining and we don't, we don't stay in it long enough to start the bulking phase, hypertrophy phase.And so because the innervation phase, the nerve learning phase, has to run its course before the hypertrophy phase can start, we switch it off. So people keep, spend most of the time in the nerve phase. Now that also increases coordination exponentially. So our people get really good at sports.They get good at the sports that they're already doing. And then sports, what they, they just take up for the first time. They're good just day one and everybody's amazed. Kind of like a gymnast.You know, gymnasts are really good at any sport they, they pick up on. They've never played baseball before, but you have, you hand them a bat and a ball and emit.And they're going to play really well because they've done this free motion functional fitness all of their life. And their nerves are very highly trained and they're, they're going to be very precise and very good at new and new things.Same with our people because of this nerve training effect that we're cycling through.

And are you incorporating any technology into this?

Yeah, so our technology changes all the time, but some of the stuff that we have right now is a vibration platform, whole body vibration, which is really great for nerve training, but it also, it's kind of like turning up the gravity. So it's kind of like doing exercises on Jupiter because if you can do 10 pushups on the floor. You'll be able to do three on our vibration platform.So it's kind of another time hack. But it's also a good nerve hack and a muscle hack. It gets deeper in the muscles, it trains more fibers.And then we have a, what we call our surfboard. It's an electronic board that wobbles so you're standing on it. Or you can do lunges or pushups or a whole bunch of stuff.And then we have our quadra slide that we invented that's it's like a squat machine, but it's attached to the wall with a linear bearing. It goes straight up and down. And the pad is shaped to the curvature of your spine.And so you can come with your feet, come out from the wall, which is a little easier on the. On the knees where people need. Need that. But it's really easy on the back because it's just like a squat.Getting all the muscles of a squat, but without a big, heavy barbell resting on your neck. And you're leaning forward and can cause, you know, back issues or knee issues.And then our favorite, My favorite machine is the, what we call xcreme machine. So X because of X jam and then scream because people scream and because it's very extreme. So it's kind of a play on three different things.But it looks like a traditional machine, a cable machine. But if you were to find this machine in Jim, it would have a weight stack. I took the weight stack out.I put an electric winch in there with a load cell and a digital readout. So instant biofeedback. People can watch it and see how hard they're pulling. And the client has one job. Pull as hard as you can the entire time.And then the trainer has the remote to the winch. So then we can make it go forward back. We can change the speed based on what method we're in, based on the client's form.And we usually just do little choppy motions with the button so we can really hyper focus on their form. And as soon as their form starts to suffer, we've only gone an inch, so it stays really safe. And we just stop everything. They're still pulling now.We're correcting their form while they're still contracting and pulling as hard as they can. And then we can continue with our little button.And so with most of our other exercises, like body weight suspension training exercises will take three minutes. This one takes one minute to completely cook them because there's no easy reps. There's no easy phase. There's no easy part of the range of motion.It's 100% the entire time through the entire range of motion. And so essentially it's isokinetics, but with us controlling that speed and motion. So those are just some examples.And then we have a lot of other gizmos and gadgets and things that we have had to invent over time, because our experiments that I wanted to do, there wasn't anything that existed, so we had to create it. So we have a lot of other equipment. But, you know, the Axiom's been around since 1998, and I've been experimenting with all these methods since 1989.So there's been a lot of trial and error. And we have our own kind of scientific method, if you will, where I come up with an idea based on the research.And I'm always really excited about it. I think it's going to be wonderful and it's going to change the world. And then 90% of the time, it doesn't work how I thought it would.But that's okay, you know. Well, okay, now we know it doesn't work. Let's. Let's keep trying new stuff.So if it makes it past me and it does work on me, then I try it on my friends and family. And then if it makes it past them, it works on them.Then I try it on my trainers, and then if it works on them, then I try it on certain members that have been with us for a really long time that are really. They love new stuff and trying. Trying things.And then if it works on them, we all sit down and we decide, is this as good as one of our methods and splinters, or is this better than whatever our methods and splinters? If it's as good, sometimes, we'll adopt it into the program because it's a welcome change for everybody.If it's better, sure, we're going to throw something else, something out and replace it with this. And that's the method that we use. And so 99% of the experiments don't make it through all those phases, but the ones that do are amazing.And sometimes we need new technology that we don't have yet, and so we'll create it. And I also use other technology to help with that, like my Athos shirt and shorts, which is.Which has electrodes in them that sense the intensity of muscle contractions. And it covers all the major muscles in my body.So I can do an exercise and a new exercise or a new piece of equipment or whatever it is and see in real time on the app what's going on and the intensity of the muscles. And a lot of the times I'm surprised because I think it's going to be this, but it's actually that. And so we can refine a lot better that way.And then, you know, just for our own training with certain people and members, depending on their goals, we'll use blood flow restriction cuffs. We'll use the power dot electric stem, you know, for certain areas of the muscles that aren't being activated.And lots of different things that do exist that we didn't invent, but, you know, biohacking type stuff that was used to get better results. And then, you know, we're doing a lot of fitness testing.We have a $12,000 scale that measures their muscle mass and segments them into different areas of their body, showing fat and muscle mass in those areas. And then we have our Pinoa unit where we can very accurately measure VO2 max.So there's a lot of gizmos and gadgets that we have that really kind of isn't on other trainers radar yet that help us refine and personalize everything for everybody.

So wearables are super interesting to me and I love that idea of having some sort of shirt that measures muscle action potential or contraction, I guess you could say. You know, I'm, I'm. I'm obviously wearing an Apple Watch. I have a glucose monitor.I think this is like a relatively new technology that has now been absorbed into the culture. Which one of these you think is going to have staying power? And where do you see progress happening?

Yeah, well, my favorite wearable is my Apple Watch. I don't wear it much because it's also a phone, the version that I have. And I just don't want a phone attached to my skin and my wrist all day.But when I'm working out, I put it on because it's a good heart rate monitor for me.I used to have to wear a chest strap because for some reason, you know, my Garmin watch and every other watch that I tried didn't take a very good pulse while I was training, especially if I'm using my. My arms. But. But this Apple Watch Ultra is remarkably good. And so I don't have to wear a chest strap, which is great.And there are lots of other wearables which are, you know, a lot of them are really good ideas too. As far as the future goes. I think wearables are here to stay.I think it's going to be a lot more clothing that we're going to be able to wear because that tech is going to get a lot better and that's going to get a lot better fast. So I think there's also going to be sensors that we can wear. You talked about your cgm, it's probably in your tricep, right?

Yes.

Yeah. And those are great. In the future it could be a watch that, that gets it from your sweat or it could be a patch.And I think one of the really cool things that we can look forward to in the future is AI powered robotic personal trainers. So they're going to be great spotters.They're gonna, you know, with lidar or whatever, maybe just visual, they're gonna be able to tell your form and when to spot you, how to spot you. And if you think about pairing up your, the wearables. So the like the clothing that we mentioned will be a lot better in the future.It'll measure a lot more muscles, it'll be a lot more accurate and that'll be tied right to, that'll just Bluetooth to the AI robot. And the robot can say, ah, your left bicep and let's do this and here, let me help you with this angle so we can get better.And then that clothing will, could also have electric stim, so it's sensing muscle contraction, but it can also stimulate with electric impulses. So if your right biceps, it's called a bicep because there's two heads.So if the outside head of your right bicep is lagging behind and your AI robot trainer isn't able to coach you effectively enough because you don't have enough kinesthetic awareness to be able to activate that boom. Now the clothing takes over and gives you a little electric stem to stimulate that.And so the clothing is working with the robot, your spotter and your coach and to maximize these workouts and for whatever goals. You know, if it's bodybuilding, great, it's customized for that. If it's our methodology, great, it's customized for that.And then that AI robot could also be a really great personalized nutrition, health and anti aging coach because you know, it knows you, it has all your info, all your data.It can, it has your personal nutrition preferences, likes, dislikes, allergies, intolerances, and so it can give you really good specified coaching customized for you. And so it can be that as well.People it now it's not all going to be robots because we're pack animals and robots don't scratch the itch we have for relating to each other. So there's going to have to be humans involved. But this AI is going to take over a lot and it's completely scalable.So I already have an AI page on my website where people can go. It's a chatbot that's programmed with my book and hundreds of my blog posts over the years.So people members can go to that page and ask me questions 24 7, 365 and get pretty good answers. But this is nothing compared to what it's going to be in 2035.You know, it could be, it could be a hologram PJ that they can, they can pull up at home and, you know, he's.They can put me in a chair next to them and we can be talking in a conversational style about anti aging coaching, nutrition, health, all sorts of things based on my knowledge base. That actually might even be more accurate than me sitting there because I forget stuff, right? I don't remember everything I ever said, but AIPJ does.So and AIPJ also remembers every single detail about that person, which I can't do. And so the coaching could be incredible.But they're still going to want to interact with a human, you know, with real PJ from time to time because we have that, that innate desire for human connection. And there's, there's some, there's a certain amount of.We can't explain it yet, but you know, there, when, when you're in the room with somebody, there's the energy that you feel that you don't feel with us right now, remote. If we were in the same room doing this podcast, there would be a different feeling.And it's, it's something that we can't measure yet, but there's something there. You know, Einstein called it the field, and he was totally excited about it, you know, right before he died.So we didn't really get to hear much more about it, but. And Christians like me just call it God.I mean, it's just, he's in the room too, and there's this connection because he created us to be pack animals that need that. So it's not going to be all robots, but they're certainly going to help and the AI is certainly going to help.And then, you know, I get really excited talking about this future stuff because, you know, it's just so fun to talk about. But another thing that, that we might see is smart toilets.So, you know, when you, when you go to the bathroom and you do your Thing the toilet can be analyzing the poop and the pee and your microbiome because you know, 25% of your poo weight is actually microbiome from your, from your intestinal tract.And so you know, it can be analyzing all that stuff and it can be calculating what you're deficient in and you know, if you're getting enough protein, it's all, it's all calculated based on your goals and what you want to do and anti aging or whatever you tell it.And then heck, you know, it could even do, it could be even an in home vitamin dispensary, you know, where it's, it's mixing you liquid vitamins that you can drink, you know, your own custom blend or, or 3D printing capsules or you know, whatever. And then we already mentioned the sweat based monitoring. So glucose monitoring, blood sugar monitoring, lactic acid monitoring.So that could be a patch or a watch or some other kind of wearable that can, and then give you instant feedback on what's going on. So if I want to know my lactic acid level and I'm optimizing my intensity, boom.I just look at whatever readout I have that's telling me that in real time.And then there's the patches to transdermal delivery of things or micro needle patches that you can put on where you can get doses of whatever for that way. And then it's just so much, but it's just so fun to think about. And I think it's all going to be, it's all going to be a real thing.I mean people are going to be sleeping in, in chambers in the future with hyperbaric oxygen red light therapy grounding sheets.

Are you incorporating any of that in your own life?

Yeah.

What are you, what are you doing and like what are you trying to accomplish?

Well, for me it's mostly anti aging and health stuff. So I will be, I've just got daily habits. I, you know, I stack my habits.So like when I'm brushing my teeth, I am standing in front of a red light therapy machine. And then if I'm in my sauna, there's infrared and there's other light going on there plus the heat.And then you know, I've got a pillowcase that's a grounding pillowcase so I sleep on that.And if I've got a ache or pain somewhere, you know, like I went too hard and ran too much or whatever it is, then I'll, I'll get out my red light pen and, or I'll use some DMSO.

What is DMSO?

DMSO is a product that is. There's a lot of different ways to use it. What a lot of people do, they can use it just by itself and it absorbs really fast through the skin.So it kind of gets rid of the skin barrier.And you kind of have to be careful with it because if you don't know how to use it and you know, I slather it on my elbow to heal my elbow and then I put on long sleeve, a brand new long sleeve shirt that hasn't been washed. It's gonna suck the dye from my shirt into my bloodstream. So it can be kind of dangerous. So people can't just willy nilly use this stuff.But you know, if I've got a, if I've got a sore muscle because I had a really great workout and I want to get. It's called delayed onset muscle soreness doms. And I wanna get rid of doms faster. I'll use some gmso.You know, rub that on there and, and it will absorb quickly into my body and into that muscle and it helps reduce that soreness. But it can also be a delivery system. So for instance, if, if I want to deliver.

What does that acronym stand for? The dmso.

I forget. I'd have to look it up. But you, it's easy to Google. Okay. Super common. You can even buy it on Amazon. It's not something that's secret or anything.Yeah, dimethyl something sulfate or something like that.

What kind of metrics are you looking for in your own life? Are you, are you focusing on body fat percentage? VO2 max. Like what, what are you, what are you trying to focus on?

I am focusing on functional strength and endurance. So VO2 max is, is a helpful measure.That's why we have our, our fancy machine that does it really accurately because, you know, it's good for people to know. And body composition is also a helpful measure. And that's why we invested so much in our scale.And I don't really use either of those things anymore because I kind of know where I am. I mean, I've been doing it for so many years. I know that I'm always between 8 and 10% body fat. I don't vary that much at all.

That's good.

I know.

Oh my God. I'm trying to, I'm like, I've been on my own health journey. Like I've been trying to lose weight and lose body fat and I lost like 20 pounds.I lost like 10% of body fat, but I am just, I cannot get below 20% of dry. Like, a lot of it is diet. Like, I'm not super religious about my diet, but I'm not super unhealthy either.I have like a meal service that delivers meals to me, but I like to go out to eat. What, what are your secrets?Like, if you could, if you could talk specifically about the body fat percentage, because that's something that I'm working on.

Yes. So everyone is different. And the main thing with body fat percentage is discipline.So first of all, there's genetics involved, and I have average genetics.And so I have to work harder than somebody who is, you know, really blessed with a mesomorph body type and, and, and a really high metabolism and they can eat whatever they want. You know, we all know those people and we want to punch them in the face, but they, they exist. And that's a real thing.You know, about 1% of the population out there until they're in their 60s can eat whatever they want, and they're just not gonna get, gain any, any fat. And then there's, you know, the other 10% of the population that can build muscles, they just look at a, at a dumbbell and they get bigger biceps.But, you know, I'm not that guy. So I have to work harder. I, and that's just the cards I've been dealt. And some people are on the other end of the spectrum.I'm kind of in the middle of the bell curve.And some people, you know, we talked about the, the right side of that bell curve, but then the left side of that bell curve are the endomorphs who genetically have a really hard time gaining muscle, but they gain fat really easily, and they have to work harder at it than I do. So you kind of determine which where in the bell curve you are, and then you adjust accordingly.And there also, some people are not supposed to have a six pack. And so if, you know, if that's, there's, there's people I know who are my body fat, but they don't have a six pack.And they're looking at me and they're saying, well, why do you wear the exact same body fat and why don't I? And so. Well, genetically you store fat in different ways in different places. So I got lucky. You're not as lucky.And, but the, you're optimally healthy, so just give that up. Give up the six pack. Because you could get to a six pack, but you'd have to be 3% body fat.Now you're not healthy, now you're going to be cold all the time because you're way below what you should be naturally and you're going to feel awful and it's not going to be worth it. So the keys are find what works for you.I usually recommend the Mediterranean diet for people first because that's the easiest one and it works for the majority of people, but not for everybody. And you have to find what works. So that's your first experiment is the Mediterranean diet. But the experiment has to be very strict.You can't kind of do the Mediterranean diet. It has to be a hundred percent all in for three months to determine if it's working for you or not.And what I tell people is how much you commit depends on what your results end up being. So if you commit 50% to the Mediterranean diet, you'll never know if it's going to work. It probably won't even change you.If you commit 75% to the Mediterranean diet for three months, you'll get a little better results if it's the one that's working for you. If you commit 90% to the Mediterranean diet, you'll probably get a good idea if it's working for you or not.But the difference between 90% and 100% is exponential. So if you put all those numbers on a chart, it's exponential, it's not a straight line.So when you go with 100% commitment now, you know that's the only way you can biohack yourself and do your own controlled experiment is to go all in and just tell yourself, okay, three months, this is what I'm doing, no exceptions, no cheats to find out if this is going to work for me or not.And the med diet does work for most people it's great and it's pretty easy to do and it's pretty easy to maintain and continue for the rest of your life if it works for you and it's a good anti aging diet. Now the hardest diet to do is the keto. That happens to be what I do. Actually mine's more modified because I eat more protein than classic keto.But I am that low carb because I have found that's what works for me. For other people it's a lousy idea because they need more carbs based on their own genetics and metabolism and all that stuff.And for certain age groups it's a lousy idea. For kids it's a lousy idea. I mean we're all born Keto. And when we're nursing, we're keto. But. And that's perfect for a baby.But when we get out of that phase and we're a kid and we're running around and we need lots of energy for climbing trees.And also because of our age, it's a horrible idea for a kid to be keto, unless they're epileptic or they have some sort of neurological condition where they need to do it for the. For those benefits. But me, you know, I'm 59, and it's perfect for me in, in this phase of my life. And it's also convenient because I'm never hungry.But more importantly, because of my own experimentation, I have found keto to work best for me mentally, physically. Now, I used to be a competitive tower runner where I was running up the inside stairwells of skyscrapers.And while I was doing that sport, I had to have carbs. But then when I stopped doing it after 10 years of doing it, I. That's when I went keto and my time slowed down.You know, like the Columbia Tower here in Seattle, it's equivalent to 72 floors. And while I was eating carbs, you know, more of a normal kind of. It was low carbish, but I was eating enough.I was doing that, that building in eight and a half minutes. And then when I started keto, it went to nine and a half minutes, boom, practically overnight. Because I'm. I'm under.I'm using a different fuel source. I'm using fat is a fuel instead of carbs as a fuel. But for that particular sport, you gotta have carbs as a fuel.So it really depends, you know, it depends on lots of stuff. But I'm not tower running anymore. I love the mental clarity and the constant energy I get.And I don't get hungry anymore because that's, you know, that's annoying if I'm right in the middle of something and I'm on a. I'm on a roll, I'm in the zone and I don't want to have to stop to eat. I don't have to being. Being low carb than I am because I don't have those blood sugar ups and downs.So for me, it's great, but everyone's different and you got to experiment and find out. But like I said, the takeaway from this is you have to be 100% committed to your experiment to really find if it works or not. Now, there's an.There's another benefit to that. Anytime that you can do 100% for three months now, you are exercising your prefrontal cortex, which is where we find our willpower.And you're focusing and you're doing mindful eating, and you're staying on track, and you're literally exercising that willpower muscle and making it stronger.So at the end of that three months, even if that diet didn't work for you, and now you want to try another diet, it's going to be easier trying the other diet, because now you have more willpower and your PFC has gotten all the benefits of it. Even if your body didn't, your brain did. And so that's another way to think about it, about hunkering down.Because once you get a stronger pfc, now you're able to focus, there's less add in your life, and you can, you can get stuff done better and more efficiently. And so those brain benefits are amazing. So you can look at it that way, too.

I appreciate that. I have never gone 100% in on my diet, to be quite honest with you.I've gotten close, but it's just so hard, you know, it's so hard, but we're gonna, I'm gonna work on it. We're getting close to the end of our time here.If there was one thing that you could tell our audience about what the future holds for exercise physiology, what would you say that is? What, what is going to be the next wave of exercise?

Well, we talked a lot about all the gizmos and gadgets and wearables and everything like that. And it, yeah, great, embrace it, because go forward and just use it all.You do have to be careful about EMFs, electromagnetic frequencies, so you want to be mindful of the gear that's producing too much of that, because that's not good for your cells and for your body. But here's the bottom line. All of that is a supplement. And I, I, it's a body supplement. It's a fitness and exercise supplement.It's not the main thing. The main thing is getting to complete muscle fatigue in whatever you're doing.So if it's cardio, you're getting complete muscle fatigue with your heart.I mean, not to the point where you kill yourself, but, you know, you're getting to your max and your heart is just cranking and that, that's the benefit. If it's for strength, you're doing that same thing with your muscles. You can't complete that last rep.The full range is not possible on the last rep. Then, you know, you're at Complete fatigue. And so there's no substitute for hard work. And there never will be a substitute for hard work. Everything else is a supplement.So this is just a supplement to hard work. You can't get it. We're never going to be able to get away from it. We're, we're created a certain way.And this stuff, all these gizmos and fun gadgets that we have all, if we, if we looked at the whole time timeline of human existence, it's just a, it's not even a dot on that timeline. So we haven't adapted to it even if it is effective. But just embrace the technology, but don't think of it as a replacement.Same thing with supplements in a diet. The reason that they're called supplements is because they're designed to supplement a good diet, not replace a good diet.In fact, supplements only work if you're on a good diet.If you're eating McDonald's all day, you can take all the supplements in the world and they're going to do nothing for you unless it's to, to correct a deficiency. Like vitamin D, for instance.You know, if you're, if you're eating McDonald's all day and you're indoors all day and you're not getting any sunlight, then yeah, a vitamin D supplement is going to help you. But what I'm talking about are more of the nutritional supplements and anti aging and biohacking kind of stuff where they're gonna do nothing.You're just wasting your money unless you get your diet in line. Same thing with exercise and the wearables. So that would be the takeaway. There will be no substitute for good hard functional work.But these will certainly help. And it makes it more fun because you put on a wearable and now you're motivated and you got instant biofeedback.And it's fun to have a suit on that that gives you stem and that measures and gives you that biofeedback. I have a lot more fun working out with wearables and gizmos and gadgets than just out in the woods with lifting logs.You know, it's just, it's way more fun.

Yeah, I agree. The gamification of fitness has really been such a blessing for me.Me looking at my huge watch in my, my tracking my numbers and trying to outcompete myself, that has been something that has really pushed me to the next level. So I would really recommend everybody take a look at that stuff. But thank you so much, PJ for being on our show today.I Always end with three general questions about future motivation. That kind of stuff, just to see what everybody else is thinking about. The first one of which is, where do you gain your motivation from?A lot of mine comes from science fiction. I'm looking at utop. Science fiction is like where I want this future to hold for myself as well as my kids.And for you, it might be something different. So where are you gaining your motivation from?

My motivation, I'm getting that daily from my own goals. So my goals are to be a good example so I can help more people. It's just about I want to help people.And so things like this podcast, you know, it's helping people.And anytime I can have the opportunity to do that is great, but I have to be the shining example, because I can't be a super unhealthy, obese guy walking around talking about this stuff. I have to be the example and inspiration. And as far as motivation goes, it's those goals, of course.And I have them posted on my mirror so I never forget them. I have them memorized, too, but I see them and it triggers the motivation. And then it's every time that I can help people.Like right now, it's super fun and I get a dopamine bump. And so I am just trying to find opportunities for dopamine bumps every day to keep me on track and keep me motivated.And it all ties back to my goals. So I would recommend that people do write down their goals and post them and see if it. If it. If they get a dopamine hit from that.If they do, great, find a way to bump it every day.

That's awesome. I really appreciate that.I try to focus on my goals in different ways as well, but once you start achieving that dopamine feedback loop, that's where it really starts becoming fun. So next question is. I know we talked a little bit about what we think the future holds for fitness and for exercise physiology.Where do you hope that it holds for us and for our kids?I feel like I could give you an example of things that I see coming down the pipeline, but that's very different from what I hope comes down the pipeline. What do you hope comes down the pipeline?

What I hope is for better health. So, you know, looking and feeling fit is great, but really the bottom line, most important thing is health.So our country is arguably the least healthy country on the planet, yet we have the most personal trainers of any country on the planet. So that's kind of weird, right? But I think it's because of that junk food and ultra processed foods is so ubiquitous. It's so easy. I mean it.Anywhere you live in the country, chances are a thousand feet from where you are, you can get junk food. And so that's a problem. And it's also highly addictive.But if we can get back, because you go back in time a hundred years and we didn't have junk food on every corner and people were healthy, they're way healthier. And so I just want to get back to that. And that's kind of my hope and dream, is that we can. And, you know, I'm.I've got lots of ideas and ways to do that, but so do other people.But I think if people focus on health instead of getting jacked or how they look, but just say, okay, today I'm going to get a little more healthy than yesterday. And then every time that they lift their fork to their mouth, they're asking a question, is this bite going to make me healthier?Now, of course, there's times where they're going to answer no, because they're at a wedding and they're taking in cake and whatever it is, you know, or they're just having fun with friends, fine, then the answer can be no, but it should be yes most of the time. And that's kind of what I, what I hope for everybody is just this whole health, health focus.

That's great. I really like that. So, last question.There's a lot of stuff that's coming out in exercise physiology in regards to technological breakthroughs or advancements, but I feel like that's happening in every single field, whether it's medicine, robots, whatever. Outside of your own field, what do you find yourself being drawn towards that you just can't get enough of? For me, it's robots.Every time I see a humanoid robot, I want to click on the video and watch what it's doing, even though that's outside of medicine. But what about for you, pj?Like, outside of exercise and physiology and health, what are you following that is rapidly progressing that you just can't get enough of?

I think I would just have to go with. I'd have to steal your idea. Because robots are just so fascinating to me and it's so exponential and it's going to continue to be exponential.So we think they're cool now, but next year, oh, my gosh. And five years from now, wow. So I'm excited to actually get robots for xgym. And there's always going to be a human there.That's you know, I'm making that rule right now.But whether they're just walking around or whether they're at a station, like a lifeguard, you know, sitting on, on the chair, just observing and, and just giving people that human element. But I'm just super excited for that because I think it, that just could be amazing.And I'm so excited to see the exponential advancement in that, in that field.

Yeah, I totally agree. And especially for a robot that can do our dishes or to do our laundry. Oh my God, it's going to be great.

Well, the cool thing, yeah, because. And they're going to be all plugged into to, you know, AI, of course, and they're going to update every night because they have to charge.And then while they're updating, they're also, they're also getting the, you know, new AI tech.And so we'll be able to talk with this super wise intelligence instead of, you know, logging on to Grok and asking and typing in questions, we'll just be having conversations.Now the scary part of that is, well, there's lots of scary parts, but the thing that I caution people about is don't form a relationship with it because it's not a sentient human. So make sure that you keep treating it. I mean, when I'm using AI, I can be rude sometimes. I'm never polite. That's my rule. I'm never polite.I never say thank you. I never said please. I never say us. I never say we. It's. I constantly make sure that I'm treating it like I would a hammer.It's just a tool so I don't get sucked in to a relationship with something that's not a human.

Good to know. Yeah. I mean, for our AI overlords that are watching this from the future, I've always been nice to you, so just don't, don't be mad at me.Thanks so much, Vijay. Thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate having you on and giving us a little taste of what the future holds in regards to our health.And for those of you guys who are tuning in on a regular basis, if you guys don't mind liking and subscribing, that would really be helpful. Really appreciate it. And for our regular subscribers, I will see you again in the future. Thank you everybody. Have a good day.