September 25, 2021

In Part 1 of my two-part discussion with Tom Digan, I got put in the hot seat just a bit as Tom picked my brain about how to assemble the very best workouts and exercises to achieve the ideal combination of fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle tactics for both lifespan and healthspan.

I also got a chance to delve into Tom's unique body of knowledge regarding the surge in home fitness trends and fitness apps.

Today, during Part 2 of my podcast with Tom, we talk more about in-home fitness, nutrition, and fitness trends and cautions.

There are plenty of workout and fitness apps out there, but there's a reason that I recently partnered with Tom's company “Ladder” for the launch of my new training program Boundless, which is unlike any training experience I’ve ever created. Boundless on the Ladder app is a fully structured training program delivered to you fresh each and every week, utilizing my Minimum Dose Methodology, which maximizes cardiovascular endurance, strength, and stamina in the minimum amount of time, to help you burn fat, gain muscle, and get in the best shape of your life. Each week you’ll have 5 workout days, one active recovery and mobility day, and on Sundays, you’ll even get a special biohacking tip from me, all inside of the Ladder app. Every workout has guided movement videos and coaching queues as well, so you can master each movement and stay motivated.

You can download Ladder now in the iOS App Store. When you get it, you are not only are you getting an amazing workout program delivered conveniently to your phone, you’re also getting the benefit of real accountability and community. The Ladder app makes it super easy to not only chat with the other members of Team Boundless, but also send me one-on-one messages to ask me training questions, get nutrition tips, and keep me updated on your progress. This type of personalized fitness consultation and coaching with me usually costs thousands of dollars, but you can get full access to me and my training programs for only $60 a month by subscribing to Ladder.

So you’re tired of planning your workouts, want to finally achieve an incredible physique or you need the accountability of a community to get in shape, Team Boundless on the Ladder app is for you. Download Ladder in the iOS App Store now, join Team Boundless, and try your first week of workouts for free by clicking here.

So who is Tom?

Tom Digan is the Co-Founder & President of Ladder, a fitness technology company based in Austin, TX. Prior to joining Ladder full-time Tom spent over a decade working in the hedge fund industry as a Partner at a $1B+ AUM investment firm located in New York. Tom holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and was a Forbes 30 under 30 honoree. Ladder Teams is a social fitness experience for people who are passionate about fitness and need help planning and maintaining a progressive training program. With Ladder Teams, avid fitness-seekers can access a complete strength training program on their phone, learn from an expert coach, and engage with a community who share a passion for fitness.

During Part 2 of my discussion with Tom Digan, you'll discover:

-Why you should beware of the influx of instant fitness experts in the age of Instagram…07:40

• Study from Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research on perceptions of personal trainer's competence
• Gym rats peddling a 30-minute per day program to look as they look
• Ben got his first personal training certification at the age of 16
• Spent thousands of hours as a personal trainer before launching the podcast, any type of social media

-Ben's criteria for promoting products…15:04

• Hapbee
• If it actually works, Ben will give it a shoutout
• Self-testing, self-experimentation
• Research on PubMed and Sci-Hub
• Examine Research Digest
• Alan Aragon's Research Review
• Network of physicians, functional medicine doctors, scientists, authors who may know something about somethings
• Structured water
• Handheld water vortexer
• Won't pitch something primarily because of monetary gain

-How important is nutrition to reach one's fitness goals…22:15

• “Abs are made in the kitchen”
• Drop in visceral fat is best achieved through exercise
• Boundless by Ben Greenfield
• Qube program by Quicksilver Scientific
• Pumpkin puree from Amazon
• Baby food from Serenity Kids (15% off with code BEN)
• Eliminate all vegetable oils from the diet
• Mediterranean Diet (Olive Garden doesn't make the cut)
• Benefits of fasting: intermittent, quarterly, yearly, etc.
• Plants, herbs, spices are very prominent in healthy diets
• Paleo autoimmune or Carnivore diet for a short time to detox, but not necessarily forever
• Eat in a parasympathetic state: breathing, laughter, relaxed state
• Avoid processed foods (don't assume it's healthy because it's at Whole Foods)
• Indulge in the “good stuff”

-Where Ben stands on the macros vs. calories debate…39:50

• Carbs derived from processed foods will be processed by the body than natural foods
• Study on starchy foods on postprandial glycemic response and appetite
• Sacredness of food: where did it come from, how was the animal treated?
• The Most Important Book About Money I’ve Ever Read – Sacred Economics: Money, Gift & Society in the Age of Transition With Charles Eisenstein.
• Blindly fitting the macros without considering where they came from

-The ideal ratio of calorie deficits vs. refers…48:00

• Cronometer app
• Cycle cutting calories and refeeding throughout the week
• Study on rigid vs. flexible dieting

-What should protein levels be when dieting and normal consumption…50:45

• Normal day for most people depending on how much muscle they are trying to gain is 0.55 g-0.8 g of protein/ lb. of body weight

-Fitness trends and biohacks Ben is excited about right now…52:18

• BFR training
  • Vasper machine
  • Kaatsu bands (use code BEN to save 5%)
  • BFR bands (use code BEN to save 10%)
• TRX suspension trainer
• Cold and heat training
  • Sauna
  • Cold bath
• Light therapy
  • Joovv
  • Sunlight
• Electrostimulation
  • Is This The World’s Most Efficient, Biohacked Workout? The New Full-Body Electro Muscle Stimulation Science by Katalyst (& How To Build Muscle In 20 Minutes) With Bjoern Woltermann.
  • Katalyst full-body electro-muscle stimulation suit
• Grounding and earthing
  • Ultimate Longevity earthing mat

-Ben's thoughts on tech-driven fitness…57:15

• Carol bike
• Rowing machine
• Tech is good for people who don't ordinarily workout
• FightCamp at-home boxing
• Loneliness, Community-Building, Introversion, Church, Monogamy & More With Chris Kelly Of Nourish Balance Thrive, with Chris Kelly.
• Mix it up with outdoors activities
• Disable Bluetooth on devices as much as possible

-What to expect from the Boundless program on the Ladder app…1:02:45

• Supportive of minimal effective dose of exercise
• Ben has vetted hundreds of apps, Ladder is the one that meets his approval
• Keep things as grounded to nature and ancestral living as possible
• Body by Science by Doug McGuff

-And much more!…

Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.

Resources from this episode:

– Tom Digan:

• Ladder app

– Podcasts And Articles:

• Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast
• Secrets Of The Billion Dollar Meal, Peptides For Tanning & Erections, Holotropic Breathwork, MDMA, Ketamine, Addiction Recovery & More With Khalil Rafati.
• Carnivore Diet Myths Debunked, Hard Questions About Meat Vs. Plants, Are Broccoli Sprouts Really Bad For You & Much More With Dr. Paul Saladino.
• The Most Important Book About Money I’ve Ever Read – Sacred Economics: Money, Gift & Society in the Age of Transition With Charles Eisenstein.
• Fire & Ice: Tips, Tricks & Biohacks To Maximize The Benefits Of Sauna, Hyperthermia, Cryotherapy & Cold Thermogenesis.
• Is This The World’s Most Efficient, Biohacked Workout? The New Full-Body Electro Muscle Stimulation Science by Katalyst (& How To Build Muscle In 20 Minutes) With Bjoern Woltermann.
• Loneliness, Community-Building, Introversion, Church, Monogamy & More With Chris Kelly Of Nourish Balance Thrive, with Chris Kelly.
• The Complete Guide To Interval Training
• Sunlight Makes You Skinny & Blue Light Makes You Fat: 11 Ways To Biohack Light To Optimize Your Body & Brain.
• What Is The Perfect Human Diet? Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced Meal Plans From Ben Greenfield That Tell You Exactly How To Eat For Your Unique Body.
• The Latest Research On Fasting: What 9 New Studies Say About Fasting’s Effects On Fat Loss, Satiety, Insulin Resistance, & More.

– Books:

• Boundless by Ben Greenfield
• Body by Science by Doug McGuff

– Gear:

• BFR bands (use code BEN to save 10%)
• Kaatsu Bands (use code BEN to save 5%)
• Joovv
• Clearlight Sauna
• Hapbee
• Vasper
• Morozko Forge
• TRX Suspension Trainer
• Katalyst
• Carol bike
• Rowing machine
• FightCamp
• Structured Water Filter
• Handheld Water Vortexer

– Other Resources:

• PubMed
• Sci-Hub
• Examine Research Digest
• Alan Aragon's Research Review
• Qube by Quicksilver Scientific
• Pumpkin Puree
• Baby food from Serenity Kids (15% off with code BEN)
• Cronometer App
• Ultimate Longevity Earthing Mat
• Is What You See What You Get? Perceptions Of Personal Trainers' Competence, Knowledge, And Preferred Sex Of Personal Trainer Relative To Physique
• Visceral Fat
• The Impact Of Starchy Food Structure On Postprandial Glycemic Response And Appetite: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis Of Randomized Crossover Trials
• Flexible VS. Rigid Dieting In Resistance-Trained Individuals Seeking To Optimize Their Physiques: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Upcoming Events:

• Join me and my wife Jessa at Runga for The Gathering. Click here to grab one of the very limited spots we have open to the public for The Gathering at Runga (October 7-9, 2021).
• Keep up on Ben's LIVE appearances by following bengreenfieldfitness.com/calendar

Episode sponsors:

–Kion Aminos: Building blocks for muscle recovery, reduced cravings, better cognition, immunity, and more. 

– Ladder App: Introducing Boundless, Ben Greenfield’s exclusive workout program available only on the Ladder app.

–Organifi Green Juice: Now you can get all your healthy superfoods in one glass…with No Shopping, No Blending, No Juicing, and No Cleanup. Get a 20% discount on your entire order when you use discount code BENG20.

–Levels Health: Levels is currently running a closed beta program with a waitlist of 100,000+ people, but you can skip that line and join Levels today by using the link levels.link/BEN

–Lucy Nicotine Gum: If you are looking for a cleaner and tastier alternative to other nicotine products, then this product is for you. The gum comes in three flavors – Wintergreen, Cinnamon, and Pomegranate – and the lozenges in cherry ice. To save 20% on any order, just use discount code BEN20.

–The Boundless Cookbook: Optimize your physical and mental performance with nutritious and delicious Greenfield family recipes.

Do you have questions, thoughts, or feedback for Tom Digan or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!