David Mychajluk is one of the coaches who’s done the most to help get me back on track after a big health setback. He is strong and can make you stronger. I’ve learned a lot from him; you will too. My friend and coach David Mychajluk:
CD: What do you know to be true about fitness that no one else agrees with?
DM: I don’t know that people don’t agree I just don’t think they see it this way; fitness is just movements performed at a relative intensity and with some form of resistance. Any movement can become an exercise if it’s providing enough difficulty to adapt to. So you don’t want to limit yourself to just exercises, because in the world of human movement, exercises are a small slice of the pie and often counterproductive to how the body is meant to function. Deadlifting and benching is fun, but carrying a large rock you had to pick up for a few meters and then climbing a tree makes more sense in terms of function. The first two being considered exercises and the other considered carrying a rock and climbing a tree. However if carrying the rock and climbing the tree is hard enough, you get sore and tired, then you adapt and grow from it just like the exercises of bench and deadlift.
CD: What is an exercise that you love? Anything you hate?
DM: One I love is a muscle up. I don’t hate any, they can all have benefit. It’s the why behind the exercise that matters.
CD: Could you share a recipe? What fits somewhere in the sweet spot of tasty and healthy? What’s your favorite protein?
DM: Oxtail Soup — Oxtail, bok choy, mushrooms, onion, garlic, sage, green onion, oil of choice. Slow cook for 8+ hours. Side of homemade sourdough.
Sweet spot: I’m a fan of this post workout (when I use it) shake: Orange juice, raw milk (1:1 or 1:1.3) 4-5 tsp cane sugar, 1tsp vanilla extract, 2 raw eggs, blend it well so sugar is dissolved. It taste like an orange creamsicle and it’s a highly anabolic post workout treat.
Favorite protein is anything that contains collagen/gelatin (like oxtail soup).
CD: What is the most overrated and underrated supplement?
DM: Most overrated is fish oil I’d say, underrated would be a tie between Magnesium and Thiamine. These two have been a game changer for me personally. Magnesium is required for all cellular processing and Thiamine, well here are some benefits:
Improves insulin resistance ➜ Performance enhancer ➜ Powerful anti-fatigue ➜ Enhances gut motility ➜ Improves mental clarity, alertness ➜ Anti-cancer ➜ Increases CO2 ➜ Antioxidant ➜ Ups dopamine output ➜ Vital for stomach acid secretion ➜ Prevents cognitive decline ➜ Improves diabetic complications. Benfotiamine, fursultiamine, HCL, TTFD, prosultiamine and allithiamine all have a ton of utility.
CD: What metrics do you use to measure progress?
DM: I weigh myself and my food daily. This works for me as I can easily get off course. Aside from that my metric for improvement is: are my goals getting closer are further in all domains? As far as universal measurements for performance and longevity, I’d say would be the balance between them both which is mostly subjective. It’s easier in my opinion to sway to the extreme of one side, which of course comes with certain outcomes. Riding the razors edge between the two is harder in my opinion because it requires the ability to switch between both mindsets and nervous system states. This requires not just physical training but mental training as well.
CD: How do you bounce back from workouts?
DM: Honestly, blue light blocking glasses after sundown, finish dinner 2 hours before bed, go to bed the same time every night, wake same time every morning. Consistency is what works and recovery happens when you sleep. All recovery efforts should be to reduce inflammation and support great sleep.
CD: What’s the best fitness advice you’ve ever received? Who first got you into this part of your life?
DM: Best fitness advice “Here’s the thing, it all works until it doesn’t. Then you change it up.”
Actually I did with a buddy on a whim, but I ended up loving it and a year after I started my grandmother passed away from poor medical treatment which lit a fire inside to learn and teach health.
CD: Any current projects or links that might interest readers?
DM: Dr. Thomas Cowen, Dr. Ray Peat, and Anabology literature collection.
CD: In closing, could you please share two truths and a lie about fitness?
DM:
I’m more about efficiency over volume these days.
Bland boiled chicken is the best tasting food on earth.
I eat a good amount of sugar each day.
CD: Guess the lie in comments below! Thanks, coach, for taking the time chat about fitness. And thanks, readers, for reading.
Vale Tudo continues to grow, with a spike in traffic yesterday. A lot of people were interested in Bronze Art for a Golden Age so if you haven’t read it, please check it out.
#2 has to be the lie! I've always wanted to build a good obstacle course out on the farm around the perimeter which would be a mile long. Something that has stations, push ups, rope climb, balance beam, dirt mound climb, pull-up bar, monkey bars, just different stuff. Maybe when I retire it'll be a project to work on. I have several buddies that are cops, they want me to put in shooting stations too, now that would be really fun. We just acquired a bigger piece of land 110 acres. May do it there instead, a little more wild out there. Functional strength and formal lifting are both important. and fun.
DM recommends Magnesium L-Threonate.
My coach recommends Magnesium Glycinate.
Is one better than the other?