This past January several of the NBT team members and I met up for sun and camaraderie at the Flō Retreat Center, in Uvita, Costa Rica. Flō is run by strength coach, Ben House, PhD, who's been on the podcast once before. Previously we talked about his work with clients and the effects of hormones on building strength and lean mass. It's now a year later and we're continuing the conversation.

On this podcast, Ben is joined by myself, Dr. Tommy Wood, Megan Roberts, and Dr. Lindsay Taylor for a discussion of some of the practical and philosophical aspects of strength training and public health. Ben also shares his strategy for evaluating scientific literature and explains why everyone can benefit by building muscle.

Here's the outline of this interview with Ben House:

[00:00:00] Hikecast with Kim House.

[00:00:07] Flō Retreat Center, Uvita, Costa Rica.

[00:03:03] Addictions.

[00:05:27] Indicators of longevity: grip strength, leg strength and muscle mass, VO2 max.

[00:08:46] Megan's transformation.

[00:09:47] Fat free mass index (FFMI).

[00:10:02] Muscle mass and mortality; Study: Abramowitz, Matthew K., et al. "Muscle mass, BMI, and mortality among adults in the United States: A population-based cohort study." PloS one 13.4 (2018): e0194697.

[00:13:27] FFMI Calculator.

[00:16:16] Working as a personal trainer.

[00:17:56] Getting a PhD: Learning how to learn.

[00:21:32] Glycogen shunt; Studies: Shulman, Robert G. "Glycogen turnover forms lactate during exercise." Exercise and sport sciences reviews 33.4 (2005): 157-162; and Shulman, R. G., and D. L. Rothman. "The "glycogen shunt" in exercising muscle: a role for glycogen in muscle energetics and fatigue." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 98.2 (2001): 457-461.

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