Wits & Weights | Evidence-Based Fitness & Nutrition for Lifters Over 40
Philip Pape, Evidence-Based Nutrition Coach & Fat Loss Expert
Wits & Weights is a strength and nutrition podcast where in every episode I put a popular piece of fitness advice under the microscope, find the hidden reason it doesn't work, and give you the deceptively simple fix that does.For skeptics of the fitness industry who are tired of following the rules and still not seeing results. If you've been lifting weights, tracking macros, and doing "all the right things" but your body composition hasn't changed, you're probably overcomplicating it. This is the fitness podcast that shows you how to build muscle, lose fat, and achieve a real body recomp by focusing only on what the evidence actually supports.Evidence-based fat loss coach Philip Pape brings an engineer's approach to strength training, nutrition, and metabolism. Instead of another generic program or meal plan, you get specific, science-based strategies for optimizing body composition, whether you're focused on building muscle, losing fat, or both. The focus is on strength training over 40, hormone health, perimenopause and menopause, and longevity.You've seen the conflicting advice. One expert says cut carbs, the next says eat more. One says train six days a week, another says three is plenty. Building the body you want doesn't have to be this confusing or time-consuming. By using your wits (systems + identity-based behavior change) and lifting weights, you can build muscle definition, improve your physique, and maintain your results for life without rebound weight gain.You'll learn smart, efficient strategies for movement, metabolism, muscle, and mindset, such as:- Why fat loss matters more than weight loss for both your health and your physique- Why all the macros, including protein, fats, and yes even carbs, are critical to body composition- How just 3 hours a week of proper hypertrophy training can deliver better results than most people get in twice that time- Why building muscle is the single most powerful thing you can do for metabolic health, longevity, and aging well- Why perimenopause and menopause don't have to derail your progress when your training and nutrition are dialed in- How shifting the way you think about fitness can unlock more physical (and personal) growth than any program aloneIf you're ready to learn what actually works with evidence-based training and nutrition, hit "follow" and let's engineer your best physique ever!Popular Guests Include: Mike Matthews (author of Bigger Leaner Stronger), Greg Nuckols (Stronger by Science), Alan Aragon (nutrition researcher), Eric Helms (3D Muscle Journey), Dr. Spencer Nadolsky (Docs Who Lift), Bill Campbell (exercise science researcher), Jordan Feigenbaum (Barbell Medicine), Holly Baxter (evidence-based physique coach), Laurin Conlin (physique coach), Lauren Colenso-Semple (nutrition researcher), Karen Martel (hormone optimization expert), Steph Gaudreau (women's strength and nutrition), Bryan Boorstein (hypertrophy coach)Popular Topics Include: hormone health, metabolism optimization, hypertrophy training, longevity and healthy aging, nutrition tracking, best protein powder selection, strength training over 40, women's fitness, perimenopause, menopause, muscle building, body recomp, macros and nutrition tracking
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 11, 2022 • 50min
Ep 7: My Journey to More Physical and Mental Strength and Fitness
I had the pleasure of being on another podcast a few months ago called Finding Your Strength Radio Powered by Romeo Athletics, where I was interviewed by Andrew Romeo. He’s an excellent host, experienced coach, and the owner of my long-time gym, Romeo Athletics.He asked me a ton of great questions about my journey to fitness, how I got into lifting and strength training, different movements and programming, my recent bulk and cut, body recomposition, sustainable nutrition, and other random topics like metabolism, walking, and even the similarities between music and lifting.I think the conversation has some interesting and valuable information for those of you looking to transform your life in terms of strength, diet, and overall fitness.It was a fun interview, and if you want to learn more about Andrew’s podcast, Finding Your Strength Radio, I’ve linked to it below, and I encourage you to check it out and subscribe.Enjoy the conversation!RELATED LINKSFinding Your Strength Radio podcast (Romeo Athletics)💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - A 6-month coaching program for lifters over 40 who are done collecting information and ready to have real human coaches watch their data and know what to focus on each week.📱 Get Fitness Lab (exclusive 20% off) - The #1 adaptive fitness and nutrition app. Daily coaching, workouts, and biofeedback-based guidance to help you build muscle and lose fat over 40.👥 Join our Facebook community - For adults over 40 who want to build muscle, lose fat, and stop following bad advice. Weekly Q&A threads, coaching insights, and real chat with other lifters.👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
Dec 28, 2021 • 29min
Ep 6: Set Your Fitness and Nutrition Habits on Autopilot for Effortless Fat Loss
Today we wrap up our foundational series by diving into some practical strategies, tools, and life hacks to set your fitness and nutrition habits on autopilot.If you’re at all familiar with the autopilot in an airplane—and as a side note, I used to fly small planes years ago and still work as an engineer in the aerospace industry—you know it’s a tool to eliminate constant manual intervention by the pilot.In a similar way, we want to find ways to create consistency with our lifting and eating by using systems and tools to eliminate manual steps, barriers, and—frankly, excuses—that prevent us from taking action and developing solid habits.Given that you have enough to think about between your profession, your family, and the million other things you enjoy, why not put in place some “life hacks” so you can just get to it and make progress! A word of warning—none of this relieves you of discipline and hard work—but a little preparation when you’re more motivated will set you up for long-term success, even when you’re not.In today’s episode, we cover:Establishing a plan for your lifting ritualLocking in your programming calendar to make consistent progressRemoving the most common barriers that prevent you from going to the gym or working outEstablishing a plan for your diet and weight phases, andPlanning ahead for consistent meals and successful nutrition progressTimestamps:00:00 - Intro02:40 - Planning your lifting (gym, training program, lifting schedule/time)06:47 - Planning your programming schedule (next cycle, next week, next day)11:12 - Eliminating excuses by preparing your "go bag" and equipment14:14 - Preparing your workout nutrition15:58 - Planning ahead for your weight change goal18:57 - Meal planning23:31 - Using technology to your advantage26:42 - Bonus accountability tipRELATED LINKSMacroFactor app for food logging and calculating expenditure (use code "WITSANDWEIGHTS" to extend free trial to 14 days)💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - A 6-month coaching program for lifters over 40 who are done collecting information and ready to have real human coaches watch their data and know what to focus on each week.📱 Get Fitness Lab (exclusive 20% off) - The #1 adaptive fitness and nutrition app. Daily coaching, workouts, and biofeedback-based guidance to help you build muscle and lose fat over 40.👥 Join our Facebook community - For adults over 40 who want to build muscle, lose fat, and stop following bad advice. Weekly Q&A threads, coaching insights, and real chat with other lifters.👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
Dec 14, 2021 • 1h 4min
Ep 5: How to Diet Without Being "On" a Diet
Today is the DIET and NUTRITION episode, one of my favorite topics. Although this IS a podcast focused on lifting and getting strong, what you eat—and more importantly, HOW MUCH you eat—plays a huge role in your ability to lose fat (while preserving muscle) or gain muscle (while limiting fat gain).You can’t have one without the other—and I’m going to assume you’re here because you want to get stronger AND leaner, and you want to do it productively without spinning your wheels.I’m very passionate about taking a SUSTAINABLE approach to diet because, like many of you, I’ve personally experienced yo-yo dieting, fad diets, and all sorts of crazy food restrictions and questionable supplements over the years. Only in the last two years or so did I finally make peace with the nutrition gods and realize that proper nutrition is not nearly as complicated or restrictive as I once thought.Today we’re going on a journey together that will equip you with the tools you need to eat a balanced, enjoyable diet for the rest of your life.In today’s episode, we cover:The spectrum of dieting and why traditional diets don’t work over the long-termA balanced, flexible, and sustainable approach that won’t drive you crazyFocusing on what’s important and not sweating the restAn overview of calories and macronutrients, and the phases of weight changeDetermining your individual energy needs for your goal and then adjusting for successThe phases of weight change and how they align with your goals as a lifterAnd finally, a brief foray regarding some specific foods and supplementsTimestamps:00:31 - The importance of sustainability in diet and nutrition02:37 - So many diets...which one to "choose"?06:49 - A more balanced and flexible approach09:29 - Focus on the "big things" to achieve results-----10:02 - #1: Calories (energy balance)23:08 - #2: Macronutrients ("macros")38:20 - #3: Macro targets to meet YOUR goal47:45 - #4: How to ADJUST and keep making progress-----51:01 - Some helpful tips!53:39 - Food ideas58:16 - Supplements (whey protein and creatine)1:01:29 - Recap and next episodeRELATED LINKSMacroFactor app for food logging and calculating expenditure (use code "WITSANDWEIGHTS" to extend free trial to 14 days)💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - A 6-month coaching program for lifters over 40 who are done collecting information and ready to have real human coaches watch their data and know what to focus on each week.📱 Get Fitness Lab (exclusive 20% off) - The #1 adaptive fitness and nutrition app. Daily coaching, workouts, and biofeedback-based guidance to help you build muscle and lose fat over 40.👥 Join our Facebook community - For adults over 40 who want to build muscle, lose fat, and stop following bad advice. Weekly Q&A threads, coaching insights, and real chat with other lifters.👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
Nov 30, 2021 • 29min
Ep 4: The Truth about Metabolism, Cardio, and Fat Loss
Today we’re focusing on the “calories out” side of energy balance with a discussion of metabolism, as well as whether and how we can manipulate this “calories out” side of the equation.We will not discuss diet or nutrition, which is the “calories in” side of the equation. Stay tuned for the next episode. In the meantime, understanding metabolism and especially how to accurately calculate your own energy expenditure sets the foundation for a sustainable approach to diet later on.In today’s episode, we cover:What is metabolism in the context of your total daily energy expenditure?How to estimate your expenditure, which will be useful later for weight managementWhether it’s possible change your baseline metabolism, both short- and long-termThe truth about cardio and its effect on metabolism and fat lossA more efficient, sustainable way to burn fatTimestamps:00:31 - Energy balance and metabolism05:35 - Does more activity really burn more calories?08:44 - Measuring your daily expenditure16:59 - A surprising way to CHANGE your metabolism21:07 - The truth about lots of cardio24:03 - The optimal way to burn fat25:12 - New segment! "The Internet Gets It Wrong Again"27:25 - Recap and upcoming episodesRELATED LINKSBurn: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Really Burn Calories, Lose Weight, and Stay Healthy by Herman Pontzer, PhDMacroFactor app for food logging and calculating expenditure (use code "WITSANDWEIGHTS" to extend free trial to 14 days)💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - A 6-month coaching program for lifters over 40 who are done collecting information and ready to have real human coaches watch their data and know what to focus on each week.📱 Get Fitness Lab (exclusive 20% off) - The #1 adaptive fitness and nutrition app. Daily coaching, workouts, and biofeedback-based guidance to help you build muscle and lose fat over 40.👥 Join our Facebook community - For adults over 40 who want to build muscle, lose fat, and stop following bad advice. Weekly Q&A threads, coaching insights, and real chat with other lifters.👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
Nov 16, 2021 • 21min
Ep 3: Why is Strength so Important?
Today’s episode is all about the “S” word—STRENGTH. What is it, why is it important, and how to get it.If you’re listening to this podcast, it’s a safe bet that you have some sort of fitness related goal. You want to improve yourself physically in some way: build muscle, burn fat, get lean, get strong, improve athletic performance, look good in a bathing suit, or even improve mobility, flexibility, or balance.What if there is one attribute above all others that permeates each of these attributes of fitness—that if you just focus on this attribute for a while as your top priority, it will translate to improvements in all those other attributes?Well you’re in luck, and if I haven’t made it painfully obvious by the title and intro of this episode, that one fitness attribute is…strength!In today’s episode, we cover:What do we mean by strength?Why is strength the most important fitness attribute?Assuming strength is so important, how do you get it?Timestamps:00:31 - It's all about strength01:41 - What is strength?02:53 - Why is strength relevant?06:48 - How do you build strength?08:04 - Resistance training13:47 - Eating enough food15:36 - Getting enough protein16:58 - Stress, recovery, adaptation model18:11 - Bonus tip: physique and aesthetics18:44 - Recap and sneak preview of upcoming episodesRELATED LINKSStarting Strength: Basic Barbell TrainingThe Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life After 40The Fitness Wiki💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - A 6-month coaching program for lifters over 40 who are done collecting information and ready to have real human coaches watch their data and know what to focus on each week.📱 Get Fitness Lab (exclusive 20% off) - The #1 adaptive fitness and nutrition app. Daily coaching, workouts, and biofeedback-based guidance to help you build muscle and lose fat over 40.👥 Join our Facebook community - For adults over 40 who want to build muscle, lose fat, and stop following bad advice. Weekly Q&A threads, coaching insights, and real chat with other lifters.👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
Nov 2, 2021 • 38min
Ep 2: How to Choose a Strength Training Program
This is the episode where we lay out our fitness philosophy and give you steps to take action right away.Strength training is by far the most effective way to increase muscle mass, boost your metabolism, and improve your health in more ways than you can imagine, from mobility, balance, and flexibility to reduced risk of metabolic disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and injury. It also tests you physically and mentally because it’s hard—one of the best reasons for doing it!Today is about getting you moving on a training program right away.We will definitely cover some basic principles of strength training and muscle building, but we’ll save a deep dive into all things strength-related for the next episode, where we’ll examine in great detail WHY strength and resistance training are so important.But today is all about ACTION. Getting you moving and lifting right away. No excuses.Timestamps:00:31 - The effectiveness of strength training02:05 - Understanding the lingo (defining terms)06:56 - Why follow a training program (vs. random exercise)?07:56 - Requirements for an effective strength training program10:40 - The best type of exercise and equipment for strength13:36 - What if I don't have access to a barbell or power rack?16:13 - The importance of the "Big 4" compound lifts18:05 - Proper form and technique21:15 - Choosing the right program33:07 - Your plan of action to START TODAY35:46 - Recap and preview of upcoming episodesRELATED LINKSStarting Strength: Basic Barbell TrainingGreg Nuckols - 28 Free ProgramsAndy Morgan - The Big 3 RoutineBarbell Logic "Gym Shorts" YouTube playlistThe Fitness WikiMyoTape Body Measure Tape💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - A 6-month coaching program for lifters over 40 who are done collecting information and ready to have real human coaches watch their data and know what to focus on each week.📱 Get Fitness Lab (exclusive 20% off) - The #1 adaptive fitness and nutrition app. Daily coaching, workouts, and biofeedback-based guidance to help you build muscle and lose fat over 40.👥 Join our Facebook community - For adults over 40 who want to build muscle, lose fat, and stop following bad advice. Weekly Q&A threads, coaching insights, and real chat with other lifters.👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
Nov 2, 2021 • 12min
Ep 1: Let's Get Strong Together
Welcome to the very first episode of Wits and Weights: Strength Training for Skeptics.If you’re a skeptical, critically-minded person like me, you’ve probably gotten tired of what the modern-day so-called fitness industry has to offer, and you just want to know what actually works.Not only that, you’re probably a busy, working professional with a full-time job or perhaps you own your own business or run several side hustles, so time is at a premium. Can you actually build a stronger, healthier body and maintain a sustainable, active lifestyle?The answer is an emphatic YES.Plenty of everyday folks have figured out what works in terms of exercise, nutrition, habits, mindset, and lifestyle, but there is so much information out there—even from highly respectable sources—that it can be overwhelming to distill it down to a single, focused plan that works for you.That’s why I created this podcast.On this very first episode, learn about my background, the importance of strength, and what you can expect in future episodes.Timestamps:00:32 - Intro02:38 - From sedentary desk jockey to strong and capable07:04 - Why is strength so important?08:18 - What you'll learn on this podcast10:37 - Unique segments and listener Q&A11:47 - Before you goRELATED LINKSFinding Your Strength Radio podcast (Romeo Athletics)💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - A 6-month coaching program for lifters over 40 who are done collecting information and ready to have real human coaches watch their data and know what to focus on each week.📱 Get Fitness Lab (exclusive 20% off) - The #1 adaptive fitness and nutrition app. Daily coaching, workouts, and biofeedback-based guidance to help you build muscle and lose fat over 40.👥 Join our Facebook community - For adults over 40 who want to build muscle, lose fat, and stop following bad advice. Weekly Q&A threads, coaching insights, and real chat with other lifters.👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
Oct 1, 2021 • 1min
Wits & Weights Podcast Trailer
You've cut calories, added cardio, and followed the rules. Your body adapted and pushed back. The problem was never your discipline. It was the advice.Wits & Weights is a top 1% strength and nutrition podcast for people over 40 who want to build muscle, lose fat, and get stronger using evidence, not fads.Every episode puts a popular piece of fitness advice under the microscope, finds the hidden reason it fails, and gives you the deceptively simple fix that does.Host and certified nutrition coach Philip Pape brings an engineering background to metabolism, body composition, hormone health, and training that fits your life.Over 500 episodes, 1 million downloads, and Top 100 on Apple Nutrition.Start with 3 of our most popular episodes:Metabolism 101 (The Science Behind Fat Loss and Muscle Building) | Ep 4214 Ways to Increase Your Metabolism by 500 to 1000 Calories per Day | Ep 23612 Rules of Training Volume to Build More Muscle | Ep 348💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - A 6-month coaching program for lifters over 40 who are done collecting information and ready to have real human coaches watch their data and know what to focus on each week.📱 Get Fitness Lab (exclusive 20% off) - The #1 adaptive fitness and nutrition app. Daily coaching, workouts, and biofeedback-based guidance to help you build muscle and lose fat over 40.👥 Join our Facebook community - For adults over 40 who want to build muscle, lose fat, and stop following bad advice. Weekly Q&A threads, coaching insights, and real chat with other lifters.👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
