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The Peter Attia Drive

#196 - AMA #32: Exercise, squats, deadlifts, BFR, and TRT

The Peter Attia Drive

Peter Attia, MD

Health & Fitness, Medicine, Fitness

4.7 • 7.3K Ratings

🗓️ 21 February 2022

⏱️ 19 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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Episode Description:

In this “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) episode, Peter shares his current workout regimen and how he incorporates blood flow restriction (BFR). He walks through the mechanics and fundamentals of some of his favorite lifts including squats, deadlifts, and hip thrusters and stresses the relative importance of each in the context of longevity. He touches on the relative importance of muscle size vs. muscle strength and discusses the impact of fasting on muscle mass and the potential tradeoffs during aging. Peter then dives into the topic of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for both men and women, starting with a clinical discussion around how he actually replaces testosterone in patients. He explains the targets of this therapy as well as the risks and benefits, and he gives his interpretation of current data on the association between TRT and heart disease.

If you’re not a subscriber and listening on a podcast player, you’ll only be able to hear a preview of the AMA. If you’re a subscriber, you can now listen to this full episode on your private RSS feed or on our website at the AMA#32 show notes page. If you are not a subscriber, you can learn more about the subscriber benefits here.

We discuss:

  • Peter’s current exercise routine [2:25];
  • How Peter incorporates blood flow restriction (BFR) into his workouts [5:45];
  • Relative importance of muscle size vs. muscle strength [16:45];
  • Comparing squats to deadlifts and why both are important [22:00];
  • Squatting technique and fundamentals [31:15];
  • Important cues to look for while lifting weights [38:30];
  • Proper mechanics of a deadlift [42:00];
  • Hip thrusters as an alternative to the squat or deadlift [44:00];
  • Split-leg work for simulating activities of daily living [47:00];
  • The impact of fasting/calorie restriction on muscle mass and the potential tradeoffs to consider [49:45];
  • Testosterone replacement therapy: considerations when contemplating TRT and Peter’s approach with patents [54:30];
  • Data on the association between TRT and heart disease [1:04:15];
  • TRT for women—risks and benefits [1:06:45];
  • Impact of fasting on testosterone levels [1:13:45]; and
  • More.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hey everyone, welcome to a sneak peek, ask me anything, or AMA episode of the Drive Podcast.

0:16.5

I'm your host, Peter Atia.

0:18.3

At the end of this short episode, I'll explain how you can access the AMA episodes in full,

0:22.9

along with a ton of other membership benefits we've created.

0:25.9

Before you can learn more now by going to peteratia-md.com forward slash subscribe.

0:31.5

So without further delay, here's today's sneak peek of the Ask Me Anything episode.

0:36.6

Hey everyone, welcome to Ask Me Anything episode number 32.

0:43.9

I am joined today for the very first time on this podcast by Nick Stenson, who you'll

0:48.9

get to know during this episode, but basically Nick has been working with me, well, often

0:52.4

on for 10 years, but he's been working with me specifically around the podcast since we decided

0:56.6

to do this, which is coming up on four years ago.

0:59.6

It was in the spring of 2018, I think, when we made that decision.

1:02.7

And Nick is going to be taken over for Bob on the AMA.

1:04.6

It's a totally different vibe, but we had a field day.

1:08.2

I felt this was probably a little bit more conversational, and the hope is that because

1:11.5

Nick is, quote unquote, a layperson and doesn't have the technical background that Bob does,

1:16.2

that maybe he'll be interrupting me more and asking more questions, and maybe that will

1:19.8

provide a more valuable experience.

1:21.3

So in today's episode, we talk about a bunch of things.

1:23.7

We started off by doing some follow-up questions on blood flow restriction, which we had some

1:27.6

great questions following the podcast with Jeremy Linnike.

1:30.5

I think we go from that then into talking about some of my favorite lifts, so squats,

...

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