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2912: SS-31 Peptide Benefits: Why Ben Pakulski Says This Is the Most Exciting Peptide Right Now

Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

Release Date: 07/30/2026

2945: How to Actually Build Your Glutes: The Exact Diet and Training Blueprint show art 2945: How to Actually Build Your Glutes: The Exact Diet and Training Blueprint

Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

use code LAUNCH for 40% off BONUS: If you buy MAPS Abs & Butt - on the next page you get to pick Muscle Mommy 15 or Muscle Mommy for free. Your Choice. INCLUDED: The Butt Building Diet Guide & Women's Supplement Guide & At-Home Version (Dumbbells only) You want round, full glutes and a tight waist. So why is what you're currently doing making neither happen? In this episode of Mind Pump Show, Sal, Adam, and Justin tear apart the most common mistakes women make when trying to build their glutes, starting with the big one: eating 1,200 calories and calling it a fitness plan....

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2944: Low Reps vs. High Reps — Which Actually Builds More Muscle? (The Answer Surprised Us) show art 2944: Low Reps vs. High Reps — Which Actually Builds More Muscle? (The Answer Surprised Us)

Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

MAPS Abs and Butt: https://mapsabsandbutt.com Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15).   In this episode the guys break down the low reps vs. high reps debate — covering why both build muscle equally when intensity is matched, why low reps build maximal strength better and high reps build strength endurance, why low reps are easier to recover from, and why doing both in phases produces the best long term results. They also get into Sal starting...

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2943: Your Bulk Is Not Working! Here Are the 5 Signs You Are Doing It Wrong show art 2943: Your Bulk Is Not Working! Here Are the 5 Signs You Are Doing It Wrong

Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

MAPS Abs and Butt: ⁠ https://mapsabsandbutt.com⁠ Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15). In this episode the guys break down the signs that your bulk or reverse diet is not working — losing weight on the scale, still feeling hungry, strength not going up, energy not improving, and sleep not getting better. They cover why strength is the single best metric to track during a bulk, why under eating during a supposed surplus leads to binge cycles on...

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2942: You Cannot Shrink Yourself Into a Better Body show art 2942: You Cannot Shrink Yourself Into a Better Body

Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

Maps Abs and Butt 40% off, a free Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15 program, a build your butt diet guide, and a supplement guide. Find everything at htpps://mapsabsandbutt.com with code Launch. You cannot shrink yourself into a better body. You have to build it first, then reveal it. That's the whole thesis of this Mind Pump Show episode, and the guys spend every minute proving it with real client stories, hard science, and the kind of blunt coaching most trainers are too scared to deliver. The Guys break down exactly why starting with a cut is the most common, most damaging mistake people...

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2941: Are Artificial Sweeteners Bad for You | The Real Problem Nobody Talks About show art 2941: Are Artificial Sweeteners Bad for You | The Real Problem Nobody Talks About

Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

MAPS Abs and Butt: https://mapsabsandbutt.com Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15).   In this episode the guys break down the real dangers of artificial sweeteners — why they are unlikely to be physically dangerous despite all the scaremongering, why they simply do not work for weight loss in real life outside of controlled settings, how they change your perception of palatability so that water and whole foods start to taste bland, and why...

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2940: The Real Reason Your Butt Won't Grow (It Is Not Your Genetics) show art 2940: The Real Reason Your Butt Won't Grow (It Is Not Your Genetics)

Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

MAPS Abs and Butt: https://mapsabsandbutt.com Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version, and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15).   In this episode the guys break down the real reason most women never build the butt they want — and it has nothing to do with effort or genetics. They cover why you cannot shrink your way to a bigger butt, why high rep burn workouts and kickbacks produce almost no results, why the exercises that feel the best in your glutes are often the worst for building...

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2939: This Forgotten Exercise Builds Your Back, Bulletproofs Your Shoulders and Boosts Your Bench show art 2939: This Forgotten Exercise Builds Your Back, Bulletproofs Your Shoulders and Boosts Your Bench

Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

MAPS Abs and Butt: https://mapsabsandbutt.com Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version, and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15).   In this episode the guys break down why the cross-bench dumbbell pullover is one of the most forgotten and underrated exercises in the gym — covering how it trains a fundamental human movement pattern tied to throwing mechanics, why it fixes shoulder problems that nothing else touches, how it builds like a compound lift despite being an isolation movement,...

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2938: The Right (and Wrong) Reasons to Fast.  Most People Are Doing It for the Wrong One show art 2938: The Right (and Wrong) Reasons to Fast. Most People Are Doing It for the Wrong One

Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

MAPS Abs and Butt: https://mapsabsandbutt.com Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version, and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15).   In this episode the guys break down the right and wrong reasons to use fasting — not for body composition, not for anyone with a history of restricting, but specifically for spiritual purposes, breaking food attachment, gut health issues, autoimmune conditions like psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis, and before or during chemotherapy. They also cover a...

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2937: The Best Workout Program To Grow Your Butt & Reveal Your Abs show art 2937: The Best Workout Program To Grow Your Butt & Reveal Your Abs

Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

MAPS Abs & Butt:   Abs and glutes. The two most requested body parts, the two most commonly undertrained. In this episode, Sal, Adam, and Justin break down the brand new MAPS Abs and Butt program and talk about WHY so many people fail to develop these areas, even when they're putting in the work. The answer isn't what most people think, and the guys are blunt about it.   If you've been frustrated by a flat butt or abs that won't show no matter how hard you train, this is the episode that explains exactly why, and what to do about it.   00:00 Intro 00:22 MAPS Abs and Butt...

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2936: If You Love Working Out, You Probably Need to Hear This show art 2936: If You Love Working Out, You Probably Need to Hear This

Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

MAPS BOGO: https://mapsbogo.com Buy one get one free — mix and match any of the top 10 most popular programs (Anabolic, Aesthetic, Performance, 15 Minutes, Anywhere, Symmetry, Starter, Muscle Mommy, Powerlift, 40+).   In this episode the guys break down 5 signs that fitness fanatics specifically need to eat more and move less — feeling chronically worn out, sacrificing more important things for workouts and diet, staying super lean all the time with no flexibility, not improving any objective performance metric in a long time, and workouts no longer being joyful. They also get into...

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More Episodes

In this episode the guys sit down with IFBB pro bodybuilder and science-driven performance coach Ben Pakulski for a wide-ranging conversation on peptides, performance, identity and the hard lessons of a 20-year bodybuilding career. Ben breaks down the peptide landscape — why he's optimistic about the science but deeply cautious about sourcing (90%+ of research peptides come from China with no quality guarantees), the most exciting peptides he's currently working with including SS-31 for mitochondrial repair, and myostatin inhibition and where the science actually stands. They also cover Ben's origin story — going from 160 pounds at 17 to 240 by 19 purely naturally, getting cut from a baseball team at 12 and how that shaped everything, the culture of his Toronto gym and what hard training actually looks like, the Arnold Classic story where he competed sick all night with vomiting and diarrhea and still got second. Ben shares how bodybuilding was never his identity — just something he did — and why leaving the sport felt like relief rather than loss. They also dig into GLP-1 use, the looming frailty epidemic, genetic testing for coaching, why the guys fixed their training plateaus through gut health and hormone optimization, and why Ben thinks the hard work of getting fit is the actual prize — not the physique.

 

MAPS Upper Lower: https://mapsupperlower.com

Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Two days left on this offer. Four day split, male and female versions, workout videos and live coaching with Cole.

 

SPONSORS

Ketone IQ: https://ketone.com/MINDPUMP

30% off subscription orders plus a free gift with your second shipment. Also available at Target stores nationwide.

 

GUEST LINKS

Ben Pakulski: https://www.benpakulski.com

Ben's Podcast — Muscle Intelligence: available on all major platforms

Instagram: @bpakfitness

 

LINKS

Mind Pump Store: https://mindpumpstore.com

Maps Fitness Products: https://mapsfitnessproducts.com

Instagram: @mindpumpmedia

0:00 - Intro

1:58 - The peptide landscape — incredible potential, serious sourcing risk

5:14 - SS-31 for mitochondrial repair and why Ben's dad is on 10mg three times a week

9:04 - Mots-C vs SS-31 — why people respond differently and what might explain it

10:17 - Myostatin inhibition — what the science actually says about building muscle without training

13:32 - Gene therapy for myostatin in Mexico and what Ben's friends actually reported

15:28 - Why putting on muscle through shortcuts doesn't build confidence — only the process does

17:54 - Why physical stress and psychological stress are disconnected in modern life — and why that matters

22:05 - Getting cut from a baseball team at 12 and how that shaped everything

24:06 - The four master skills Ben teaches his kids — body, finances, communication, emotions

25:51 - How Ben transitioned out of pro bodybuilding without an identity crisis

28:58 - Going from 160 to 230 pounds naturally at 17 — the real story

33:01 - Getting a Muscle Tech contract at 19 by just walking around a show

38:03 - Training culture at Gold's Venice vs his Toronto gym — what hard work actually looks like

43:36 - Why headphones in the gym killed community — and why CrossFit understood something bodybuilding missed

48:24 - The Arnold Classic sick story — vomiting all night, competing anyway, getting second

55:28 - First steroid cycle at 19 and what it actually did

1:02:43 - How Ben's business pivoted through Covid and why coaching replaced digital programs

1:06:32 - Warrior and monk — how Ben learned to wield intensity as a tool rather than let it control him

1:13:06 - GLP-1 use in bodybuilding, the looming frailty epidemic and the gut motility problem

1:23:07 - Genetic testing for coaching — seeing constraints before clients hit them

1:31:05 - Sal's gut health and testosterone story — 15 pounds of muscle from a parasite cleanse