Hey guys, before we get started with the intro, I just want to point out that the seven part miniseries on the nutritional pyramid of importance were actually the first seven episodes that I recorded for the podcast. So please bear that in mind when leaving a rating and review. My microphone technique was probably not quite up to scratch and I was still figuring out the process. So please bear that in mind, cheers guys. You know what is up guys, Welcome to the live train perform podcast. I'm your host, Sean cooper of performance functional training. I'm currently the head strength conditioning coach at the world renowned Tiger moisten mm A training camp based in Phuket Thailand. I'm a strength and conditioning coach, nutritional therapist. NLP master practitioner, a former Australian army soldier and combat veteran. This podcast is dedicated to bringing you the tools, knowledge, experience and expertise to allow you to live your life to your fullest, train to your potential and perform at your best. I'm going to do that by providing three different styles of podcast style one is going to be 3-5 part miniseries, 15-25 min episodes, each covering a numerous topics including nutrition, lifestyle, sleep, stress management and training philosophies style too, is going to be me interviewing people at the top of their game, who they are, how they started out where they got to where they're at and what makes them tick.

Style three is all about you guys, I'm going to be answering your questions, you can find that on my Q and a memes, which I'll be posting on my social media platforms. My social media platforms are at instagram at K O B E. S. Underscore Pft at codes underscore Pft facebook is performance functional training and Youtube is at performance functional training. Make sure you like subscribe and follow those platforms. I will be referencing my Youtube channel throughout the episodes. So if you want your questions answered, go onto the men to the Q. And a means that I'll be posting on my social media platforms pop in your questions and I will answer them for you on the podcast. Let's get it. Yeah. Mhm. What is up guys? Welcome to the final episode of the nutritional pyramid of important miniseries during today's episode, we're going to be going into supplements what they are and how I personally use them. So supplements are essentially things that you add to your diet too, basically complement your diet and that's how they should be used.

Now if we look at the history of supplements that haven't been around all that long. However, when we're looking at performance based supplements like protein and glutamine and branched chain amino acids and protein and all that sort of shit, where did most of this information come from? Who pushed this information? It essentially came from bodybuilding magazines. So when I was a young fellow um you know 15 to 2025. The majority of the information that I got came from bodybuilding magazines. They were the authorities in the fitness space for where I grew up. Um I pretty much couldn't get any other information from any other source is just remember that this was pre internet times. So the information that I had available to me was quite limited. The information that I did get. However all pretty much came from the body building magazines, supplement companies owned bodybuilding magazines. So it made sense for them to push their products in those magazines.

So the magazines were essentially a front to say that these athletes are following these training programs and these are the supplements that they use. So awesome marketing and it works because when I was a young lad I pretty much took every fucking supplement that I could afford at the time. So I've played around with all the different types of supplements. The performance based supplements now can supplements add value. Absolutely but not in the way that you would typically think. So I'll talk about the different performance based supplements that have been pushed over the last 15, 20 years or so. But then I also dive into the different supplements that I take that actually add value to my life. Something that these supplement companies and in particular the bodybuilding magazines did really well was their marketing. They essentially ritual is the habit of taking these supplements. So think about the protein powder. Okay these magazines would push the anabolic window which is a thing but probably not as important as a lot of the other foundations of the pyramid.

So the whole idea of the anabolic window was we had this up regulation of protein synthesis. So basically our body was able to digest absorb assimilate and petition those nutrients to go into aiding the reproduction, repair the growth of muscle tissue that we've broken down during a training session. Now. Yes, there is some science to support that. However, that's really what these supplement companies focused on and they ritual is the habit of consuming protein powder directly after a training session. Now that's kind of how it started. And then they actually transitioned into pre workout supplement. So ritual is the habit of taking a pre workout supplement. And this worked really well because essentially these pre workout supplements were loaded with a heap of stimulants and other compounds that you actually felt and could feel working all right. So that kicked off the pre workout supplement market. And then what they actually did was looked at intra workout supplementation.

So this is where branch chain amino acids came onto the scenes. They basically did a really good job at marketing the pre workout supplementation. The intra workout supplementation and the post workout supplementation at the end of the day. They were really fucking good at punching out this information to say that you need to be taking these supplements within this two hour period to get the most out of your training sessions and a lot of that information has stuck around to this day. There's a great story in the book the power of habit by Charles Do Hig, which I recommend reading about the accident, which was a toothpaste that was around in the 1920s. Now what they actually did, their marketing team developed a campaign. That ritual is the habit of brushing your teeth every morning and every night. Now the brilliance of the marketing campaign was the fact that they actually added flavor and chemicals to the toothpaste. So that when you started brushing your teeth, the toothpaste actually started foaming up and you've got this minty flavor.

This had absolutely nothing to do with dental hygiene. It was simply banking on the fact that people could feel that something was happening and it was an absolute hit. Could you imagine now brushing your teeth and not having that minty feeling in your mouth? So the point of that story is that supplement companies have done a really good job at capitalizing on our want of habit habits of things that we make routine every day, it becomes our default patterns. So our brain literally doesn't have to use as much energy, it's using its default mode so that it doesn't have to think about things and utilize energy. Our bodies bodies constantly trying to conserve energy. So whenever you can use these default patterns, the better We can also take advantage of this when I lived in Australia. I typically play rugby season, so we might have 15-20 odd games throughout a rugby season. Now I use these rituals to get my head in the right space before a game. So I'd sit in the change room, I'd listen to music, I'd have a stretch.

I kind of visualize what was going to happen throughout the game. Always put my right sock on, then my left sock, then my right foot, the boot, then my left footed boot, Then a time I write shoelace. That time I left shoelace. So that ritual actually kicked off something in my brain that said, hey man, it's time to go, it's time to switch on, right. So we can actually use these rituals and these habits daily to kind of hack the system. It's an example of this is when I typically have clients that didn't want to get up super early to train because they had kids that they had to get ready for school and get to get to school and get to work and things like that. So by the end of the day they'd be, they'd be tired, they want to go home and just sit on the couch. So a habit that I started implementing with them was as soon as you get home from work, get out of your work clothes, do not sit on the couch, put on your training gear. So the simple fact that they put on their training gear again, kicked off something in their brain. They said, all right, this is part of my ritual. This means that I'm going to I'm going to the gym, I'm going to train, I'm going to kick off something beneficial for me here and the majority of the time that simple little trick had a massive impact and that is a brilliant way of hacking the system.

So I'll talk about habits and routines in another podcast, but essentially my day is structured, my morning routine is pretty similar, my evening routine is pretty similar, my training routine is pretty similar. My routine around eating is pretty similar. I don't want to have to think about this sort of stuff. I want my, my default patterns to take over and I want to build these positive habits that are going to reinforce these positive patterns. Alright, I went off in a little bit of a tangent there, so let's pull it back in, let's get back on track. Another technique that these supplement companies would use and still use to this day is before and after pictures and there's been a lot of companies that have got in trouble for this in more recent years. So basically what they do with the I'm sure you guys have seen them the before and after pictures, they would take these photos whilst these bodybuilders and physique athletes were in fucking great shape and then what they do basically get out of shape each year, not move as much not train.

Put on weight and then they take photos. So basically the before photos were actually the after photos and after photos were the before photos. They did a really good job of convincing people that this is what this person used to look like. And then this is what this person now looks like now that they've been taking these supplements, which is just an absolute fucking fast God. Again, marketing brilliance now that that's a lot. Let's dive into the truth. Is there value and supplements? Absolutely. There can be however, you need to make sure that you've got your big rocks sorted first and again, that's why we're going through the nutritional pyramid of importance. So at the base we have energy balance, then we have macro nutrients and fiber, then we have micro nutrients and water. Then the different diets and calorie, cycling, carb, cycling, nutrient timing, meal frequency, etcetera supplements were at the top of the pyramid here. All right, so there's no point taking all these fucking supplements if you haven't doled in the foundational work yet.

Okay, supplements are literally there to fill in the gaps in your diet. So, an example of how I use supplements is like so if I've got someone who is going through a reverse diet and they're really struggling to eat more food. Maybe their protein is a little bit low, which is quite typical with female clients. Then I'm going to simply add some coconut water and a protein powder into their day. All right. So that's only adding like another 150 calories. So that might be perfect when we're going through a reverse diet and we need to bump her protein intake up. So that's what I'm going to add supplements in another time, then I might use supplements is if someone has a nutritional deficiency, let's say you've got a vegan client, they're not going to be eating any animal products. Creatinine is a compound that our body uses to create energy. A dentist in triphosphate phosphor creating ATP. This is one of our energy systems. This is our short, sharp high intensity max effort.

Energy system burns out really quickly. All right. So, it makes sense to me to supplement with creatine. Now our body makes creating and it can get creating from animal products. However, if you're not eating those animal products then you might be a little bit deficient in creating, creating has actually been shown in more recent studies to improve cognitive abilities. So, adding a creatine supplement to a vegan or vegetarian diet could be a really good idea. Likewise, with B vitamins, a lot of our B vitamins and iron in particular come from red meats and animal products. So, if I've got someone who's not eating that much red meat or animal products then might supplement with iron and B complex and that's basically how I use it. So I take iron tablets and I take a big complex daily because in Thailand I don't eat much red meat. The red meat over here is not great and the red meat that is good is imported from Australia. So it's fucking expensive. Likewise, if I have a client who lives in a cold climate doesn't get much sunshine, then it might be worth supplementing with vitamin D.

Every single person is going to be different here and it's going to come down to looking at everything that they do throughout their day today. All right. So I'm looking at their lifestyle. I'm looking at how much water they drink. I'm looking at how much food they eat in what ratios And if there's any potential micronutrient deficiencies and then I'm using supplements to address any issues that might be there. So, another example is if I have someone who's got some digestive issues, some bloating farts a lot always has tummy rumbles and things like that was eating more than they need to but they're actually losing weight because potentially they've got some digestive issues where their body is not breaking down the foods properly. They're not getting enough energy or not getting enough of the the correct nutrients in the correct ratios, then I might be looking at, you know, they're they're ph balance their acidity balance in their stomach. I might be looking at giving them some probiotics. I might be looking at probiotics. I might be looking at fermented foods and can butcher and things like that to balance out the the gut flora the microbiome to allow the correct ratios of bacteria to actually do their job and break down these foods into their raw materials to provide this energy and to provide the right uh compounds to the body when it needs them.

So what I'll do now is go through my day and I'll give some examples of some of the supplements that I take. So first thing in the morning, as soon as I get out of bed I'll go through my morning routine. I'll make my bed all that sort of shit. Then I'm going to go to my fridge and I'm going to take out my ginger and my team are now I get one of the local ladies to smash that up and put that in a bottle for me. So I'll take a shot of ginger and a shot of tumeric for its medicinal properties which include anti inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Then I'll go through the rest of my morning routine. I'll make myself a coffee caffeine is a good supplement for me. It gets me sharp, it gets me fired up, gets me ready to roll, improved my cognitive function first thing in the morning, Half an hour to an hour later I'll have my probiotics. Probiotics are really good for balancing out the gut bacteria and aiding in the population of good bacteria in the gut when I have my probiotics. I also have my Beast Monkey which is a natural testosterone enhancer.

It's one of the products that I use when I have that. I also have my jin Sang which again has some anti inflammatory antibacterial properties. Then before I trained I'll take my pre workout. Now again pre workouts aren't absolutely necessary. It's just become a habit for me. I enjoy taking them. I like the feeling that it gives me, I like the tingling, I just enjoy taking it. It's one of those rituals that's been around for 15 ideas for me. So I actually quite enjoy taking it now. Important to note that I don't rely on. If I can't have my pre workout then You know I'm not going to shit the bed and not end up going to the gym. Um it's just something that I enjoy doing. And again it's kind of like putting my footy boots on it. It just kicks off that ritual of getting ready to go to the gym. And this is one of those things that you know I've been doing it for 15 years so it's gonna take a little bit of time to To kick that. Now important to note here is that I don't take pre workout all the time. I'll just buy a tub of say c. four or something and I'll take that for a month and then I won't take that for a month.

So basically cycling on and off here and I do the same thing with caffeine also. Then I'll take my branch chain amino acids and my career teen along with some electrolysis whilst I'm training Now. The reason I do that is simply because I probably haven't eaten since maybe six or seven o'clock the night before and by the time I'm training at roughly 10 o'clock in the morning, I'm fast erred and my stores are going to be depleted. So I want to get those branched chain amino acids in just two, send a signal to the body that I haven't eaten anything. My stores are probably a little bit depleted. Let's maybe hold on to some of this muscle and let's not start tapping into that muscle and paring it down. Right after my training session, I'm looking at a one of my super smoothies, so maybe half an hour, 45 minutes after my training session. Once I've kind of calmed down, kicked off the parasympathetic nervous system, pulled my body into more of a relaxed rest and digest state. Then I'm going to have my super smoothie. So my super smoothie consists of full cream milk, I'll have some protein powder, I'll have banana, I'll have spirulina, Cacau, wheat grass, some of those super foods that are going to be low in calorie but super high in nutrients.

Then I'll have some peanut butter and some cheer seeds in there as well. So I'm looking at roughly 800 to 1000 calories in liquid form. Right after my training session when I have that, then I'm throwing in a multivitamin, having a B complex, I'm having zinc, magnesium, I'll have iron and I'll have my omega three fatty acids. So the reason I'm having those micro nutrients at that time is because some of those compounds are only going to be broken down with fat, so fat soluble vitamins are only going to be able to be broken down and absorbed when fat is consumed as well. So there's a fair bit of fat in that in that shape. We're looking at the milk and the peanut butter and the yogurt as well. I forgot to mention that. Typically right off my training session I'm getting a little bit of sun to synthesise vitamin D. Now again this is I'm recording this during the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. So uh this is kind of what I've adopted for my daily routine.

Now obviously when I was working my daily routine was a little bit different. However I do find uh I am a lot sharper and I do feel a lot better when I am outside. I am getting some sunshine and some fresh air prior to going to bed then I'll take quarter seps and racially. Now both of these compounds are adapted genic meaning that they help aid the body's immune system and there's some really good anti cancer properties performance benefits, anti aging benefits And just overall helping to regulate the immune system, which I think in this day and age is super important because stress is one of those things that adds up, becomes chronic stress when it's not dealt with. If stress is not dealt with, it has a major impact on your immune system and 80% of your immune system lies in the gut. So if stress is not managed very well, then that plays, or that wreaks havoc on your immune system, which makes you more prone to catching things. So anything that I can do to help regulate my immune system, keep it healthy, keep it strong is going to be beneficial for me.

So point to note with all of these compounds, all of these properties, all of these supplements is I don't take them all the time. I won't take a protein protein powder every single day. I will literally just look at my day what's happening, how I've been eating and then I'm going to potentially identify any deficiencies that might be coming up. Whether that's, my calories are a little bit low and I've moved the shitload throughout the day or my macronutrients are a little bit off because I've had a heap of fruit for breakfast and some oats and things like that and maybe I haven't had many animal products or protein sources throughout the day, which is then going to mean that maybe I'm lacking uh in some potential micro nutrients because I do throw in some um some vegan stole days and some vegan stole vegetarian style meals as I go, I don't fucking eat meat all the time. Um But I do notice the difference when I am off me for a little bit recently. Got back from a six week trip where I went to Japan, I went to bali, I went back to Australia, saw my family and then I did a yoga course and actually while I was on the yoga course there's a two week intensive course.

I actually just ate vegetarian the whole time was a vegetarian menu. I ate vegetarian, I didn't have any caffeine for two weeks and I felt that I was a little bit off, I wasn't quite myself, I didn't quite have the same snap that I had um with my cognition. Um but once I got back to Thailand I started I started eating meat again. Um then I felt myself um I was just a little bit sharper. Now of course this is anecdotal evidence, but the biggest point that I want to make about this whole nutritional pyramid of importance is that there's no right diet, there's no right way of eating, there's no wrong way of eating, okay. There's only ways of eating that serve you once you understand that your body requires a minimal amount of energy to survive through the day, okay? And then to thrive, then you're going to start manipulating your calories. Once you understand macro nutrients then it's quite easy to manipulate your macro nutrients depending on what you've just done and what you're about to do. Having a basic concept of micro nutrients and what they do for you.

Your body is going to tell you when you're deficient in any of these nutrients. Okay diet meal frequency etcetera. These are all tools to help you um have some structure around your nutrition and the way that you're eating that's going to allow you to put the best plan forward to allow you to live your best life. Okay and then when it comes to supplements it's all about filling in the gaps here. So every single person is going to be different here. Just like your fingerprint is like no others in the world. Same same with your microbiome. Now your microbiome is your gut flora. It's all of the bacteria that reside in your stomach. And each one of these bacteria have a job some of these bacteria going to help you break down certain compounds, some of these bacteria going to help you promote and repair some of these other compounds. So every single person is going to be different. And the point to note here is that your microbiome is going to change throughout your life. There's actually been a lot of research and studies suggesting that people who were born, caesarean section miss out on some of the vaginal microbes that reside in the vaginal canal and that can have a massive impact on your immune system and your ability to build, repair and recover and regenerate these microbes, which affect every other system in your body.

Likewise, with people that haven't been breast fed, there's there's a lot of research and evidence in recent years suggesting that people that were born caesarean section and we're not breast fed and were given antibiotics when they were young Children, they're likely going to have compromised immune systems and could potentially have massive intolerances and other health implications later on in life. So, at the end of the day, you need to pay attention to your own body. Your own signals. And what's going on, awareness is the biggest thing. Once you're aware of something, then you can change something. If you're unaware and you don't listen to the signals of your body, then you could literally be following the diet of the next of the person next to you, who they got really fucking good results with. But that diet is going to wreak havoc on your body. So, at the end of the day, you need to pay attention to what works for you, what you need when you need that and how all these things impact your body and your systems. That is it for the nutritional pyramid of importance miniseries, I hope you guys got a lot out of this.

Unfortunately, it's not one of those topics that I can be black and white with and say do this and you'll be fine or don't do that and you'll be fine. Every single person is different. You need to pay attention. You guys are the ones that know your body better than anyone else. You just need to fucking pay attention to what your body is telling you. Listen to the signs, listen to the signals and go from there. Principles. A few methods are many. There's going to be a lot of people in the space that push their own method. But if you look at the methods that they're pushing their typically trying to sell you something, so beware of that. I want to look back in 2030, 40, 50 years time. Listen to these episodes and be like all right, those principles still fucking apply. They're good to go give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach a man to fish feed him for a lifetime. Your microbiome is going to change your energy requirements are going to change your daily activity levels. Are going to change your basal metabolic rate is going to change all of these things are going to be affected by what's going on in your life. Once you understand these principles, then it's very easy to comprehend how you need to make adjustments and what you need to do.

Moving forward. Living by these principles will allow you to live life to the fullest train to your potential and perform at your best. Yeah, let's get it. If you enjoy the message that I'm delivering, please help me spread the word and like share, save and subscribe to my social media platforms, instagram is at K O B E S underscore pft at codes underscore pft. My facebook is Sean Coba and my business page is at performance functional training. You'll also find performance functional training on Youtube. Go and check that out and please pass this on to your friends, family, Anyone else who would benefit from hearing this message. And if you could also leave me a five star rating and review, that would be much appreciated. Anybody who does leave me a five star rating and review will have precedence when it comes to my Q and A sessions I'm going to be posting on my social media platforms in the coming weeks of questions and answers you guys ask the questions, I will answer them on a podcast episode.

That's it for me today guys, hopefully enjoyed this episode and I look forward to bringing you some awesome content moving forward peace