#335 ‒ The science of resistance training, building muscle, and anabolic steroid use in bodybuilding | Mike Israetel, Ph.D.
Release Date: 02/10/2025
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The Peter Attia Drive
In this “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) episode, Peter brings together his most up-to-date thinking on cardiorespiratory fitness into a single, practical guide designed to help listeners structure training for maximal impact on healthspan, lifespan, and long-term independence. He explains why cardiorespiratory fitness is one of the strongest modifiable predictors of longevity, clarifies what zone 2 training actually represents and how it differs from higher-intensity work, and addresses persistent confusion around exercise volume, intensity, and time constraints. The discussion covers how to...
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#378 ‒ Women’s health and performance: how training, nutrition, and hormones interact across life stages | Abbie Smith-Ryan, Ph.D.
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Abbie Smith-Ryan is a leading researcher in exercise physiology whose work focuses on how training and nutrition influence body composition, metabolism, cardiovascular health, and women’s health across the lifespan, with particular attention on perimenopause and post-menopause. In this episode, Abbie explains how early exercise and play help build the foundation for bone health, muscle development, and cardiorespiratory fitness in girls, as well as how puberty and menstruation shape athletic performance, motivation, and recovery. She also explores how women can tailor training and...
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#377 ‒ Special episode: Understanding true happiness and the tools to cultivate a meaningful life—insights from past interviews with Arthur Brooks
The Peter Attia Drive
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#376 - AMA #78: Longevity interventions, exercise, diagnostic screening, and managing high apoB, hypertension, metabolic health, and more
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#374 - The evolutionary biology of testosterone: how it shapes male development and sex-based behavioral differences, | Carole Hooven, Ph.D.
The Peter Attia Drive
Carole Hooven is a human evolutionary biologist whose research centers on testosterone, sex differences, and behavior. In this episode, she explores how prenatal testosterone orchestrates male development in the body and brain, how early hormonal surges shape lifelong behavioral tendencies, and what rare natural experiments—such as 5-alpha-reductase deficiency—reveal about the biology of sex differentiation. She discusses distinct male and female aggression styles through an evolutionary lens, how modern environments interact with ancient competitive drives, and the implications of...
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The Peter Attia Drive
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#372 - AMA #77: Dietary fiber and health outcomes: real benefits, overhyped claims, and practical applications
The Peter Attia Drive
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Mike Israetel is a sports physiologist, competitive bodybuilder, and co-founder of Renaissance Periodization, where he coaches athletes and professionals in diet and weight training. In this episode, Mike shares his journey from powerlifting to academia, breaking down the core principles of resistance training, including exercise selection, volume, intensity, and frequency. He debunks common misconceptions about strength training, explains how to structure an effective program for beginners and advanced lifters, and provides candid insights into his experience with anabolic steroids, discussing their effects on muscle growth, performance, and health risks. This conversation offers a deep dive into the science of building muscle, the realities of bodybuilding at the highest levels, and explores the potential of AI-driven breakthroughs to advance human performance and longevity.
We discuss:
- Mike’s academic journey, and early experiences in powerlifting, personal training, and sports physiology [3:30];
- Mike’s transition from powerlifting to bodybuilding, and his scientific and artistic approach to sculpting muscle and optimizing aesthetics [9:15];
- The value of strength training, time efficiency, and how it differs from endurance training [14:45];
- Neurological fatigue in strength training: balancing recovery and pushing the limits [26:15];
- The relationship between training intensity and volume, why muscle growth is not linear, and how different approaches affect results [35:00];
- Sustainable and effective approaches to maximizing muscle growth: training close to failure while minimizing fatigue [40:00];
- An efficient and effective resistance training program for beginners with limited time [49:00];
- Advice for finding a good trainer [1:06:30];
- Troubleshooting training plateaus: optimizing exercise selection, intensity, and recovery for muscle growth [1:13:30];
- The impact of genetics, age, and lifestyle on muscle growth [1:27:45];
- The importance of nutrition, protein intake, and consistency in both training and diet for muscle growth [1:31:00];
- The use of anabolic steroids to boost muscle growth: doses, drug combinations, and side effects [1:35:45];
- Long-term impact of steroid use: muscle retention, genetics and individual variability, and impact after discontinuation [1:52:15];
- Trade-offs of long-term usage of supraphysiologic doses of testosterone: health, performance, and Mike’s future plans [2:00:45];
- The potential for AI-driven medical breakthroughs to reverse aging and disease [2:07:30];
- The role of AI in accelerating drug development, advancing human longevity, and overcoming biological limitations [2:19:45];
- The philosophical implications of simulated reality, the impact of robotics on human labor and economics, and the challenge of predicting the future [2:25:15];
- Would having kids change Mike’s philosophy around anabolic steroid use? [2:32:15];
- The role of GLP-1 agonists in bodybuilding and general weight management, and the moral and philosophical debates surrounding their use [2:35:45]; and
- More.
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