Dr. Cam Sepah is a world-class debunker of fads, gimmicks, and pseudoscience. He has saved me a fortune and possibly my life by quashing my unrelenting enthusiasms for health and fitness ideas before they have adequate evidence to support them. But when ideas make it past his skeptical and discerning standards, you can be confident that they’re valid. He is in the small minority of the healthcare world actually concerned with optimizing health. He takes seriously the idea that we can all be better versions of ourselves. I want my performance to be optimal, not adequate or satisfactory relative to an average. Here is the rare doctor who wants that too. So I turn this edition of Vale Tudo over to Dr. Cam Sepah. What’s on his mind and what are his priorities for exercise, nutrition, and other ways to be our best?
Reflecting
Cardio is overrated. There's NO NEED to do extra "Zone 2 cardio" for 3 hours/week on top of weight lifting. If you're lifting weights for 45 min 4x/week, that's 3 hours. If you're 35yo, Zone 2 is ~110-130 BPM, which you'll be in 80%+ of the time if you're not sitting around between sets.
It's also not Lindy. The Hadza, one of the last remaining hunter-gathers, are doing Moderate intensity (55–69%) activity, mostly in the form of walking, for 115 minutes/day, and Vigorous (70–89%) for 20 min/day, and High Intensity (>90%) for only 4 min/day. The lesson here is to focus on walking and doing some very brief HIIT weekly (or in the bedroom regularly).
Training
There’s no better single measure of health/fitness strength & endurance for a man than pull-ups. It punishes strong men for being overweight and skinny men for being weak. Here are my Male Pull-Up Standards:
0: not a man
1-4: boy
5-9: teen
10-19: man
20+: leader of men
Deadlifts have high injury risk and should not be done by anyone who isn't competing as a powerlifter. Even heavy squats are unnecessary. I prefer hex bar deadlifts and lighter squats, both of which are easier on the back.
Fueling
How to eat healthy on $3.51 without cooking: - 1 can sardines ($1.42) - 1 cup tomato sauce ($0.40) - 1 avocado ($1.67) - 1/4 tsp Tajin/seasoning ($0.02) = 574 cals: 30g protein, 41g fat, 13g net carbs, 17g fiber = 2g potassium! 410mg calcium, 130mg mag = 1.7g omega-3s!
My favorite protein is Wild Argentinian Red Shrimp. I consume (but do not necessarily recommend) Raw Golden Kefir.
Supplementing
Th most overrated supplements are Tongkat Ali, Fadogia Agrestis, & Ashwaghanda, which are shilled by Soyfluencers as testosterone boosting herbal supplements. The research is clear that do not meaningfully increase testosterone to an appreciable degree, and cause a myriad of side effects including crashing estradiol, testicular toxicity, and Post-SSRI-Sexual Dysfunction-like symptoms.
The most important supplement in my opinion is Vitamin D3, which should be taken with K2, A, & E (tocotrienol form) for optimal synergy, like in our doctor-prescribed Building Blocks multivitamin. Even if you live in a sunny area like LA, our study showed 66% of men here were Vitamin D deficient, and 100% suboptimal. Unless you're literally outside all day, you need to supplement.
Measuring
As a clinical health psychologist, I believe it's important to avoid pathological perfectionism and anxiety by over measuring. I generally only measure things that I'm actively working on changing. For most people, stepping on a scale daily and looking at themselves undressed in a mirror is enough to self-monitor. It can be useful to use Cronometer temporarily to dial in diet, or track your sleep if you have insomnia, etc., but not on an ongoing basis. Annual bloodwork as part of a routine doctor exam is also generally helpful.
Recovering
Eat, relax, and sleep. There's no trick to sleep except getting in bed early enough to get sufficient sleep, and to try to wake up without an alarm clock.
Connecting
I am the CEO of Maximus. We provide doctor-prescribed protocols that will safely & effectively double your testosterone, blood flow, and hair/beard growth. Our flagship King Protocol does this without injections or TRT that causes testicular shutdown, shrinkage, or infertility, using an oral medication. We validate this with at-home lab testing analyzed by a third party, which proves that it works or your money back. Check me out on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Closing
Thank you, doctor, for taking the time to answer my questions (in your case, not just these questions, but also my constant flood of questions on every conceivable health topic. You have the patience of a saint). I previously wrote about my results with Maximus in T: Why does it matter? What do I do about it? but in short: every adult man should join. Measure your testosterone and then boost it. Maximus provides a safe, convenient solution. As I wrote in Low T is Unnatural, there’s nothing “natty” about surrendering to today’s status quo:
One of the signs of success of any weightlifting program is the first time someone questions if you’re “natural”. It is a false dichotomy. In the 21st century, it would be nearly impossible to avoid all of the xenoestrogens artificially suppressing testosterone – they are in pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, cleaning products, plastics, dental sealants, receipts, dust, laundry products, carpets, shampoo, building materials, and toys. They are literally in the water. They are in the air. In short, due to modern manufacturing processes, they are functionally unavoidable. So hormones are under attack compared to past generations and compared with younger people who have had less exposure. Passively accepting this is unnatural. Retaliating with hormone improving behaviors (such as adequate sleep and weight management) as well as pharma restores your optimal – and natural – testosterone level.
Disclosing
I’m (Chris DeMuth Jr) an investor in Maximus.