The Lift Free and Diet Hard Podcast dives deep into the science and practice of living a strong, healthy, and intentional life. Hosted by Andrew Coates, the show brings together inspiring guests to share insights, stories, and practical advice that empower listeners to build confidence, make informed choices, and stay resilient in their fitness and wellness journeys. Every episode encourages thoughtful exploration of what it means to lift free, diet hard, and live fully.
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#372 Dr Lauren Colenso-Semple - Debunking Hormone Balancing, Menopausal Myths, and Women’s Training Misinformation
Thursday, June 12, 2025 • Duration 52:00
Dr Lauren Colenso-Semple is garnering a lot of attention for her excellent myth busting media. Lauren joins to share:
-Why “balancing hormones” is nonsense
-If there’s any evidence to support general training prescriptions around women’s cycles
-Do weighted vests help with bone mineral density
-Can we “build” bone health as we age
-Why we are seeing a lot of questionable or outright bad information on popular wellness podcasts
-Why there’s been an explosion in bad information about menopause
-Do women lose muscle when training fasted
-Clearing up misconceptions about cortisol
-And much, much, more
00:53 Debunking Hormone Balancing Myths
02:08 Impact of Lifestyle on Hormones
07:28 Menstrual Cycle and Training Myths
22:05 Fasted Training and Muscle Loss
27:50 Complexity in Fitness Narratives
28:39 Navigating Menopause: The Perfect Storm
31:06 Menopause Misinformation: A Growing Concern
32:35 Debunking the Weighted Vest Myth
41:15 Effective Strategies for Bone Health
44:49 The Importance of Consistency in Physical Activity
I’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into making these new episodes valuable for you. You can help me get these great guests and their knowledge in front of more people by:
-Subscribing and checking out more episodes
-Sharing on your social media (please tag me - I promise I’ll respond)
-Sharing with the friend you think of who needs this episode
Follow Andrew Coates:Instagram:@andrewcoatesfitness
Join My Email List:www.andrewcoatesfitness.com
Get the RP App at www.rpstrength.com/coates - use the code COATESRP
Use Code ANDREWCOATESFITNESS to save 10% off at https://justbitememeals.com/
Use MacrosFirst for tracking nutrition https://www.macrosfirst.com/
Go to www.knkg.com/Andrew59676 for 15% off your KNKG bag.
#371 Dr. Spencer Nadolsky - Food Noise, GLP-1 Drugs, and Why Obesity Is So Prevalent
Tuesday, June 10, 2025 • Duration 48:27
Dr Spencer Nadolsky is an industry leading obesity physician who joins me to cut through the noise and confusion about:
-Why obesity is so prevalent
-Food Noise
-GLP-1 agonist medications like Ozempic
-GLP-1 medication effects on addiction
-Debunking misinformation about LDL cholesterol risks
-Can we influence the distribution of body fat?
-What is Lipidema (hint - the fibrous lower body fat like tissue some women struggle with)
-Why some people have different metabolic rates
-Debunking common misconceptions about doctors, including incentives around prescribing medication
-And much more
00:40 The Genetics vs. Environment Debate on Obesity
02:26 Appetite Dysregulation and GLP-1 Medications
05:47 Food Marketing and Ultra-Processed Foods
08:53 The Controversy Around GLP-1 Agonists
09:45 Weight Bias and Obesity Stigma
12:11 The Future of GLP-1 Medications
16:48 Metabolic Health and Obesity
22:37 Genetics and Fat Distribution
25:16 Health Risks Associated with Obesity
27:55 Understanding LDL Cholesterol and Its Risks
29:00 Thresholds for LDL Cholesterol Levels
30:24 Personal Experience with Lipid-Lowering Drugs
31:47 Introduction to Lipedema
32:25 Challenges in Treating Lipedema
#370 Pat Basil - How To Train To Improve Consistency, Strength, Power, and Explosiveness
Thursday, June 5, 2025 • Duration 51:12
Pat Basil is a CSCS with a Masters Degree in Exercise Science and an Undergraduate Degree in Psychology, a great combo for knowing how to merge the training prescription with the relationship and mindset to get people to act and change.
Pat joins me to share his thoughts on:
-How to create the sweet spot of training stimulus to create adaptation
-Why you can make great progress with more consistency and less total work
-Why focusing on keeping the streak alive helps
-Why he doesn’t care if you get bored and why changing up your training every 4 weeks is a bad idea
-What is rate of force development, why it matters, and how we can train it
-Why training power and explosiveness is important for everyone
-Plyometrics, jumping, the difference between them, and what really matters
-And much more
01:15 Training Intensity and Stimulus
03:58 Misconceptions in Fitness Media
06:26 Consistency and Effective Training
13:21 Psychological Barriers in Training
22:24 Rate of Force Development
26:24 Handling Everyday Physical Tasks
27:07 Training for Functional Strength
30:27 Understanding Plyometrics
34:28 Programming Plyometric Exercises
40:10 Tools and Techniques for Explosive Training
44:30 Staying Active and Enjoying Exercise
I’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into making these new episodes valuable for you. You can help me get these great guests and their knowledge in front of more people by:
#369 Chris Powell - Navigating Significant Weight Loss
Tuesday, June 3, 2025 • Duration 01:03:17
Chris Powell is a lot more than just the host of the ABC Series Extreme Weight Loss (Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition). Chris is a highly educated, evidence based, and deeply empathic coach who works with people struggling with significant weight loss.
Chris shares:
-The biggest mistakes people make when trying to lose weight
-Helping people change their beliefs about what they can accomplish
-Could a show like his even be made in today’s landscape?
-What conditions and behaviours were necessary for people to keep the weight off that they lost
-The risks vs the rewards of significant fat loss
-Some of the negative aspects of social media attention and if he would go back and keep the genie in the bottle of the fame from his show
-How the show and his work has positively changed lives, told stories, and inspired people to change
-The importance of keeping promises to yourself
-Some dangers of social media attention, the people who don’t understand boundaries, and problems with sharing kids on your social media
-And much more
00:26 Mainstream Media and Fitness Industry
04:20 Biggest Mistakes in Weight Loss
10:27 Psychological Barriers to Weight Loss
12:38 The Role of Identity in Transformation
18:15 Extreme Weight Loss Shows: Could They Exist Today?
23:46 Maintaining Weight Loss: Key Factors
32:02 Risks of Rapid Weight Loss
34:01 The Importance of Muscle Maintenance
34:24 Guest Introductions and Upcoming Episodes
#368 Dr. Sean Pastuch - How to Change Your Narrative About Your Pain
Thursday, May 29, 2025 • Duration 57:11
Dr Sean Pastuch is an industry leader in helping people not accept a life limited by pain, but getting people back to doing what they love.
In this episode Sean shares:
-His insights into why we don’t need to accept pain as part of life
-Thoughts on how to change our story about pain
-How to get back to doing things we love in life
-How our relationships affect our experience of pain
-Insights on recognizing and changing our rigid identity around what we can or can’t do
-4 steps to becoming a high performer in life
-Why not trusting yourself to follow through can be damaging
-And much more
01:22 Discussing Pain Management
02:21 The Impact of Pain on Life
04:24 Challenging Pain Narratives
06:21 Active Life's Approach to Pain
07:27 Personal Stories and Examples
15:56 Understanding Pain and Its Signals
26:00 The Role of Environment and Relationships
29:17 Identity and Flexibility
31:13 The Comfort of Identity and Fear of Failure
32:11 Sports Analogies: Performance Under Pressure
34:29 The Pressure Drill: Building Mental Toughness
38:27 The Four Steps to Becoming a High Performer
41:11 The Importance of Keeping Promises to Yourself
53:16 Setting Boundaries and Saying No
53:45 Opportunities with Active Life
#367 Matt Wenning - Biomechanics, Strength, and Mental Toughness
Tuesday, May 27, 2025 • Duration 53:50
Matt Wenning is a rare combination of high level education (Masters Degree in Biomechanics) and high level competition success (3x World Champion powerlifter and multiple record holder). Matt joins me to share his thoughts on:
-Biomechanics, specifically practical and tactical nuance, and underrated ideas he feels aren’t utilized often enough
-Why he feels variety is important but how to apply variety
-Why experienced lifters may benefit from thoughtful variety in their programming and why newer lifters benefit more from more time focusing on consistent skills
-How to train for power and explosiveness
-How to get strong
-How to develop grit and mental toughness
-And much more
02:35 The Importance of Gym Environment
06:22 Biomechanics and Training Variety
13:12 Strength Training and Injury Prevention
23:15 Plyometrics and Practical Applications
28:44 Concerns About Long-Term Athletic Performance
29:02 The Reality of Genetic Gifts in Fitness
29:32 The Importance of Patience in Strength Training
30:09 Practical Tips for Everyday Strength
30:33 Stress Management for Firefighters
31:12 The Role of Recovery in Strength Training
32:29 Understanding Muscle and Strength Development
38:25 The Importance of Exercise Variation
41:40 Mental Toughness and Physical Limits
47:21 Developing Grit and Consistency
I’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into making these new episodes valuable for you. You can help me get these great guests and their knowledge in front of more people by:
#366 Dr. Caleb Burgess - How Being Healthier Helps You Recover Better From Injury
Thursday, May 22, 2025 • Duration 51:18
Dr. Caleb Burgess is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach who joins me to discuss:
-How being an overall healthier person means you typically have less pain and recover from injury better
-How repetitive movements and sustained postures may lead to injury risk
-Why slouched positions aren’t inherently risky for injury, but lack of variety of movement may be
-If exercise technique has any relationship with pain
-If it’s ok to play up the placebo effect of some treatments if someone feels better
-And much more
00:57 The Overestimation of Specific Treatments
01:32 Holistic Health and Pain Management
03:24 The Role of Lifestyle in Recovery
03:50 Belief and Placebo in Therapy
09:09 Challenges in Patient Beliefs and Expectations
12:57 The Power of Placebo and Ethical Considerations
19:39 The Importance of Movement and Posture
27:08 Understanding the Construction Worker's Physical Demands
I’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into making these new episodes valuable for you. You can help me get these great guests and their knowledge in front of more people by:
#365 Brad Schoenfeld PhD - How To Build Muscle: Hypertrophy Masterclass
Tuesday, May 20, 2025 • Duration 49:04
Brad Schoenfeld, PhD is among the worlds leading researchers in the field of muscle hypertrophy, a tenured professor, and author. Brad is measured and nuanced in his breakdown of popular muscle building beliefs and myths.
Brad joins me to share a researched backed breakdown of:
-Why we can build muscle with rep ranges outside the classic 8-12 reps.
-The benefits of training at different rep ranges.
-Are higher reps more fatiguing than low reps.
-Is fatigue really a serious issue in training.
-What the research really says about volume.
-The difference between effective and optimal for training volume.
-Are metallic stress and muscle damage relevant to muscle growth.
-How muscle memory works.
-Does lifting tempo matter.
-The frustrating things about muscle hypertrophy Brad sees popular and circulating in the industry.
-Plus much more.
01:05 Debunking Muscle Building Myths
01:40 Research Insights on Rep Ranges
03:29 Practical Implications of Training Loads
14:44 Volume and Muscle Hypertrophy
23:31 Mechanical Tension and Muscle Growth
25:25 Introduction to Muscle Hypertrophy Research
25:52 Mechanical Tension: The Primary Factor
26:16 Metabolic Stress and Muscle Damage
29:37 The Role of Satellite Cells
31:09 The Pump and Mechanical Tension
33:15 Misconceptions in Muscle Hypertrophy
#364 Joel Jamieson - The Optimal Balance of Strength Training and Cardio For Longevity
Thursday, May 15, 2025 • Duration 45:50
Joel Jamieson is a world leader on performance conditioning, heart rate variability, and energy systems.
Joel joins the podcast to educate you on:
-The optimal balance of strength and cardio.
-Is VO2 max trainable and how important is it for longevity.
-Can you do too much strength training to where it negative affects longevity.
-Where do we see diminishing returns on strength training.
-How does cardio reduce risk of major lifestyle disease like cardiovascular disease.
-Why Joel has shifted his focus from coaching elite MMA athletes to longevity science.
-Does how you do cardio and strength in relation to each other matter.
-How cardio enhances strength training.
-An introduction to heart rate variability and how it may help with your health and longevity(we have a deeper dive planned for a future episode).
-Strategies to promote parasympathetic nervous system activation.
-Why cardio needs to be more frequent than strength training.
-And much more.
01:00 The Impact of Overtraining on Longevity
03:41 Research Insights on Training Frequency and Longevity
05:59 Cardio and Strength Training for Optimal Health
08:01 The Role of Social Interaction and Lifestyle in Longevity
14:23 Cardiovascular Health and Disease Prevention
17:04 The Importance of Muscle Mass in Disease Survival
19:11 Personal Reflections and Shift to Longevity Focus
22:09 Holistic Lifestyle Interventions for Longevity
#363 Aram Grigorian - How Fashion Magazines and Social Media Messed Up Your Body Image and Relationship with Food
Tuesday, May 13, 2025 • Duration 54:41
Aram Grigorian is a dear friend and one of the most generous and selfless professionals in the industry.
Aram joins me to share his thoughts on:
-Why he thinks people would benefit from tracking their nutrition (there’s a lot of nuance here).
-Why people are often resistant to tracking.
-Self limiting beliefs.
-How fashion magazines, social media, and even your mom’s language and actions messed up your body image and relationship with food.
-Why creating time to cook is a major obstacle for many people.
-How to be empowering and empathic.
-Having tough conversations with aging parents about their lifestyle behaviours.
-And much more.
01:00 The Importance of Nutrition Tracking
04:48 Challenges and Misconceptions About Tracking
14:56 Practical Tips for Food Tracking
22:38 Changing Narratives and Overcoming Beliefs
27:48 Challenging Beliefs and Routines
28:56 The Disempowerment in the Industry
30:28 Empathetic Empowerment
31:34 Critique of Performative Empathy
32:07 Personal Stories and Parental Influence
34:39 The Impact of Diet Culture
36:10 Navigating Misinformation and Personal Responsibility
39:03 Coaching Women and Body Image
40:25 The Role of Strength Training
44:08 The Complexity of Individual Health
45:31 Empathy and Realistic Goals in Fitness
36:12 Misconceptions and Stigma Around Lipedema
39:50 Debunking Myths About Doctors and Pharmaceuticals
45:46 Metabolic Rates and Obesity
I’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into making these new episodes valuable for you. You can help me get these great guests and their knowledge in front of more people by:
-Subscribing and checking out more episodes
-Sharing on your social media (please tag me - I promise I’ll respond)
-Sharing with the friend you think of who needs this episode
Follow Andrew Coates:Instagram:@andrewcoatesfitness
Join My Email List:www.andrewcoatesfitness.com
Get the RP App at www.rpstrength.com/coates - use the code COATESRP
Use Code ANDREWCOATESFITNESS to save 10% off at https://justbitememeals.com/
Use MacrosFirst for tracking nutrition https://www.macrosfirst.com/
Go to www.knkg.com/Andrew59676 for 15% off your KNKG bag.
-Subscribing and checking out more episodes
-Sharing on your social media (please tag me - I promise I’ll respond)
-Sharing with the friend you think of who needs this episode
Follow Andrew Coates:Instagram:@andrewcoatesfitness
Join My Email List:www.andrewcoatesfitness.com
Get the RP App at www.rpstrength.com/coates - use the code COATESRP
Use Code ANDREWCOATESFITNESS to save 10% off at https://justbitememeals.com/
Use MacrosFirst for tracking nutrition https://www.macrosfirst.com/
Go to www.knkg.com/Andrew59676 for 15% off your KNKG bag.
35:21 Concerns with Rapid Weight Loss
37:21 Psychological Aspects of Weight Loss
39:12 The Role of Accountability in Weight Loss
43:27 Navigating Public Attention and Social Media
53:52 Parental Influence on Children's Body Image
I’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into making these new episodes valuable for you. You can help me get these great guests and their knowledge in front of more people by:
-Subscribing and checking out more episodes
-Sharing on your social media (please tag me - I promise I’ll respond)
-Sharing with the friend you think of who needs this episode
Go to www.knkg.com/Andrew59676 for 15% off your KNKG bag.
I’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into making these new episodes valuable for you. You can help me get these great guests and their knowledge in front of more people by:
-Subscribing and checking out more episodes
-Sharing on your social media (please tag me - I promise I’ll respond)
-Sharing with the friend you think of who needs this episode
34:24 Training Variables and Individual Differences
36:40 Eccentric Training and Muscle Damage
40:24 Gender Differences in Training Response
43:06 Genetic Ceiling and Muscle Memory
46:17 Aging and Muscle Maintenance
I’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into making these new episodes valuable for you. You can help me get these great guests and their knowledge in front of more people by:
-Subscribing and checking out more episodes
-Sharing on your social media (please tag me - I promise I’ll respond)
-Sharing with the friend you think of who needs this episode
25:15 Understanding the Parasympathetic Nervous System
25:46 Sympathetic Nervous System in Action
26:43 Impact of Stress on the Body
28:51 HRV and Measuring Stress
32:25 Balancing Exercise and Recovery
38:33 Adaptive Stimulus in Cardio and Strength Training
42:55 Upcoming Events and Resources
I’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into making these new episodes valuable for you. You can help me get these great guests and their knowledge in front of more people by:
-Subscribing and checking out more episodes
-Sharing on your social media (please tag me - I promise I’ll respond)
-Sharing with the friend you think of who needs this episode
I’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into making these new episodes valuable for you. You can help me get these great guests and their knowledge in front of more people by:
-Subscribing and checking out more episodes
-Sharing on your social media (please tag me - I promise I’ll respond)
-Sharing with the friend you think of who needs this episode
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