2888: The 6 Best Lifts for Athletic Fitness (That Actually Transfer to Real Life)
Release Date: 06/26/2026
2893: The 5 Best Forms of Cardio Ranked From Worst to Best (The Results Will Surprise You)
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
MAPS Upper Lower: Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes male and female programs, workout videos, exercise demos, coaching videos and live coaching with Cole. In this episode the guys break down the top 5 ways to do cardio ranked from worst to best — running, HIIT, steady state, walking, and playing. Sal shares his return to jiu jitsu after nearly 20 years away, his brother-in-law going easy on him, and why he expects to drop 10-15 pounds of muscle doing it. They also get into California pressuring utility companies to issue contracts to LGBT-certified businesses and the certification process,...
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2892: Upper Lower Split Workout | How to Build Muscle 4 Days a Week
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
In this episode the guys break down their brand new MAPS Upper Lower program — a classic four day bodybuilder split designed for people who want to shape, sculpt and build their body with more volume than a full body routine but without the intensity of programs like MAPS Aesthetic. They cover why the upper lower split is one of their personal favorite ways to train, how the three phase structure prevents plateaus, why the final phase ends with a five by five strength focus, and why they built separate men's and women's versions with different priority lifts. MAPS Upper Lower: Code: LAUNCH...
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2891: How to Heal Your Body Dysmorphia (5 Strategies That Actually Work)
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
In this episode the guys break down how to heal body dysmorphia — what it is, why it's especially common in the fitness industry, and five practical strategies to work your way out of it. They also get into Adam's appearance on Chalene Johnson's podcast and the conversations around gray market peptides and Retatrutide, a new study showing vitamin D and calcium supplements do nothing for bone strength without resistance training, the nuance around blood lipids and saturated fat, and how Scotland fans drank Boston out of beer during the World Cup. They also cover a fascinating discussion on...
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2890: Speed Training for Athletes | How to Sprint Faster Without Getting Hurt w/ Brian Kula
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
In this episode the guys sit down with elite speed and performance coach Brian Kula of Kula Sports Performance, the man who has trained Christian McCaffrey since he was 13 years old, Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown, and dozens of other professional and Olympic athletes. Brian breaks down his Bounce Fire system for building safe running mechanics from the ground up, why strong athletes like Sal who never sprint are actually at higher injury risk than deconditioned ones, how the nervous system is the real reason hamstrings pull, why cold plunges can shut down the nervous system for up to 24 hours...
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2889: 7 Muscle Building Exercises You Have Never Done (But Should Start Immediately)
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
In this episode the guys break down the seven best muscle building exercises you have probably never done — the bent press, circus press, Zottman curls, weighted windmills, heavy overhead carries, heavy trap bar farm walks, and tibialis raises. They also get into AI being used to expose congressional stock trading corruption (56% of congressional stock purchases are on companies directly impacted by bills they later voted on), the whey protein shortage and a new manufacturing technique that makes it taste even better, the history of sketchy old school supplements like Hot Stuff and what was...
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2888: The 6 Best Lifts for Athletic Fitness (That Actually Transfer to Real Life)
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
In this episode the guys break down the six best lifts for athletic fitness — the movements that translate directly to real world performance, sport and everyday life. They cover lunges and sled work, the standing overhead press, trap bar deadlift, one arm rows with rotation and pull ups, hanging leg raises done correctly, and band and cable chops for rotational power. They also reminisce about their worst business failures — Sal's second studio location that cost him 75K to break the lease, Adam's mobile car detailing hustle, Justin's app build, and Doug's story of losing his entire Japan...
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2887: Why Nobody Has the Abs They Want (And It's Not Body Fat)
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
In this episode the guys break down how not to train your abs, covering the five biggest mistakes that keep people from ever seeing results from their core training. They cover why high reps are the wrong approach, how most people are using their hip flexors instead of their abs without realizing it, why short range of motion leaves gains on the table, why rest periods matter just as much for abs as any other muscle, and why avoiding obliques is one of the worst ideas in fitness. Sal shares how switching to resistance training for his abs within 60 days made them one of his best body parts....
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2886: The 5 Steps to Becoming the Fittest You've Ever Been (For Life This Time)
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
In this episode the guys break down the five steps to becoming the fittest you've ever been for life — not just for a season. They cover why fitness should improve your life rather than become your life, the importance of building strength for longevity, moving well and being able to play, and what realistic aesthetics look like for someone who actually has a life. Sal opens up about his own ongoing struggle with making fitness an idol, Adam talks about genuinely letting go of the all-or-nothing mentality, and Justin reflects on the identity shift from performance-based athlete to training...
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2885: How to Get Six-Pack Abs in 4–6 Weeks: Track Calories, Eat High Protein, and Strength Train Your Core
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
Get The No BS 6-Pack Formula: https://www.nobs6pack.com?htrafficsource=libsyn-organic&hcategory=MPSHOW&el=2885 This Episode discusses why visible six-pack abs are rare and emphasizes that abs are muscles that must be built while getting leaner through improved body composition, not just weight loss. It outlines a three-part approach: (1) track everything you eat and drink for seven days without changing habits to establish a true calorie baseline, then monitor waist or body-fat trends; (2) create a modest calorie deficit of about 500 calories, eat about 1 gram of protein per pound of...
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2884: These 5 Exercises Are Almost Never Done Right (And It's Hurting Your Progress)
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
In this episode the guys break down five popular exercises that are almost always done wrong and sending people backward — jump boxes, hip abduction machines, circuits, renegade rows, and ultra high rep training. They also get into the science behind why ketone IQ works (mitochondrial efficiency, BDNF, and clean ATP production with no stimulants), Sal taking his wife to see the horror movie Obsession and deeply regretting it, the SpaceX IPO and the 4,000 new millionaires it will create overnight, 24 Hour Fitness removing basketball courts to add more weight room space, Jacob Collier and the...
info_outlineIn this episode the guys break down the six best lifts for athletic fitness — the movements that translate directly to real world performance, sport and everyday life. They cover lunges and sled work, the standing overhead press, trap bar deadlift, one arm rows with rotation and pull ups, hanging leg raises done correctly, and band and cable chops for rotational power. They also reminisce about their worst business failures — Sal's second studio location that cost him 75K to break the lease, Adam's mobile car detailing hustle, Justin's app build, and Doug's story of losing his entire Japan savings to a fraudulent investment group that got raided by the IRS mid-call. Then they answer questions from Instagram on Bulgarian split squat imbalances, swapping exercises in MAPS 15 Powerlift, which program fixes imbalances and unlocks squat depth, and how to pair sprint intervals with strength training.
No BS 6-Pack Formula: https://nobs6pack.com
Code: 6PACK for 50% off. Full ab building system with two phase blueprints and video demos by Sal. $28.50 after discount.
SPONSORS
Rho Nutrition (liposomal creatine, NAD+ and Glutathione): https://www.rhonutrition.com/discount/MINDPUMP
Code: MINDPUMP for 20% off everything. Liposomal creatine discussed on air as the fix for people who experience bloating from regular creatine.
Paleo Valley (grass-fed fermented meat sticks): https://paleovalley.com/mindpump
15% off automatically applied at checkout, no code needed.
Our Place (non-toxic cookware): https://fromourplace.com
Code: MINDPUMP for 10% off sitewide. Always Pan replaces eight pieces of cookware, forever chemical free, 100 day trial with free returns.
LINKS
Mind Pump Store: https://mindpumpstore.com
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Instagram: @mindpumpmedia
0:00 - Intro
2:28 - 6 best lifts for athletic fitness
3:25 - Lunges and sled work — triple extension, split stance and why sled is the most accessible power exercise
8:09 - Standing overhead press — the squat of the upper body and how it reveals your whole body strength
10:22 - Trap bar deadlift — why athletic coaches prefer it over conventional for most sports
14:38 - One arm rows with rotation and pull ups — pulling strength and the rotational component most programs miss
16:31 - Hanging leg raises — how to do them correctly and why they matter for every athletic movement
18:25 - Band and cable chops — rotational and anti-rotational power for sport
21:15 - Worst business failures — studios, apps, car detailing and Doug's IRS raid story
50:13 - Rho liposomal creatine solving the bloating problem for women
51:43 - Justin's Yellowstone trip and the bear world grizzly feeding park
59:25 - Paleo Valley fermentation process and the Truckee cabin bear break-in story
1:01:22 - Q&A: Bulgarian split squat imbalances — how to even out a weaker leg
1:04:41 - Q&A: Swapping exercises in MAPS 15 Powerlift with weaker lift variations
1:05:47 - Q&A: Best MAPS program for fixing imbalances and unlocking squat depth
1:07:40 - Q&A: How to pair sprint intervals with strength training correctly