Building Lifelong Athletes

Jordan Rennicke, MD
  • 4.8 (13)
  • MEDICINE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The Building Lifelong Athletes Podcast has one simple goal... to help keep you active and healthy for life. Whether you are a competitive athlete, fitness enthusiast, or just a weekend warrior, this podcast will help you be at your best by delivering practical and actionable information. From cholesterol management to exercise programming, this podcast covers every topic any lifelong athlete needs to know about. Jordan Rennicke, MD is a dual board certified physician in Family and Sports Medicine, has worked with thousands of athletes from all walks of life, and has a passion for learning, teaching, and helping people achieve their goals.

  1. 1D AGO

    BLA 167: The New Dietary Guidelines for Americans

    The new 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines just dropped, and the internet is already losing its mind. But are they actually that bad? Today, we are taking a look at the actual document—ignoring the online rage for a second—to see what the government is actually recommending. We walk through the shift to an "inverted pyramid," the surprisingly higher protein targets, and the controversial stance on saturated fats versus "healthy oils." We also look at the new emphasis on "eating real food" to combat chronic disease. Let's cut through the noise, look at the text directly, and see if these new rules can actually make us healthy again.Stop stressing over every health detail & start living! My FREE 'Necessary Nine' PDF cuts through the noise, giving you the essential things you need for a healthy life.➡️ Download Here: https://www.jrennickemd.com/necessaryninepdfCHAPTERS:00:00 - Intro: The Internet is Mad00:19 - The New "Inverse Pyramid"00:58 - The Core Message: "Eat Real Food"01:20 - America's Chronic Disease Crisis02:35 - New Protein Recommendations (1.2-1.6g/kg)03:39 - Dairy & Gut Health04:08 - Fruits & Veggies: Eat the Rainbow04:51 - Healthy Fats & The Saturated Fat Controversy05:30 - Grains & Limiting Processed Foods06:31 - How to Spot Added Sugars07:12 - Alcohol & Sodium Updates07:58 - Guidelines for Infants & Pregnancy09:15 - Chronic Disease & Low Carb Diets10:36 - My Take: The Saturated Fat Contradiction12:35 - The "Processed Food" Problem & Incentives14:29 - Conclusion: Will This Actually Change Anything?SELECTED REFERENCES:https://cdn.realfood.gov/DGA.pdf*Disclaimer*This podcast is for entertainment, education, and informational purposes only.The topics discussed should not solely be used to diagnose, treat , or prevent any condition.The information presented here was created with an evidence based approach, but you please keep in mind that science is always changing and at the time of listening to this there may some new data that makes this information incomplete or inaccurate.Always seek the advice of your personal physician or qualified health care provider for questions regarding any medical condition.

    16 min

  2. FEB 10

    BLA 166: Carnivore Influencer Changes His Mind?

    Carnivore influencer Dr. Kiltz recently revealed a shocking update about his heart health, sparking a massive debate in the nutrition world. In this episode, we dive into his story with empathy and use it as a teaching moment. We'll break down what his test results actually mean, explain the difference between a Calcium Score and a CT Angiogram, and discuss why "feeling fine" isn't always enough when it comes to heart disease.Stop stressing over every health detail & start living! My FREE 'Necessary Nine' PDF cuts through the noise, giving you the essential things you need for a healthy life.➡️ Download Here: https://www.jrennickemd.com/necessaryninepdfCHAPTERS:00:00 - Intro00:51 - The Problem with Online Polarization02:10 - Dr. Kiltz's Health Update: CAC Score & Colitis02:44 - Why "Feeling Fine" Can Be Dangerous04:06 - The Road Construction Analogy: How Plaque Hides06:02 - What is a Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) Score?07:22 - Understanding Calcium Score Ranges08:48 - The "Blind Spot" of Calcium Scores09:20 - CT Coronary Angiogram Explained10:35 - Dr. Kiltz's New ProtocolSELECTED REFERENCES:Original video: https://youtu.be/UzYd2Zf9Gn8?si=zJXiRfnJiS3laai9https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacadv.2025.101686*Disclaimer*This podcast is for entertainment, education, and informational purposes only.The topics discussed should not solely be used to diagnose, treat , or prevent any condition.The information presented here was created with an evidence based approach, but you please keep in mind that science is always changing and at the time of listening to this there may some new data that makes this information incomplete or inaccurate.Always seek the advice of your personal physician or qualified health care provider for questions regarding any medical condition.

    23 min

  3. FEB 3

    BLA 165: Can A Medication Reduce Heart Attacks By 25%?

    A recent paper just dropped claiming an injection can cut heart attack risk by 25%—even for those who have never had one before. But is this a medical breakthrough or just expensive hype? In this episode, I’m diving deep into the Vesalius trial to separate the science from the headlines. We’ll break down how PCSK9 inhibitors work (using a baseball analogy, of course), analyze the impressive relative risk reduction, and honestly discuss the "gray areas" like mortality benefits and the diversity gap in the data. My goal isn't to be a guru, but to help you cut through the noise so you can make evidence-informed decisions about your heart health. Let's dive in. Stop stressing over every health detail & start living! My FREE 'Necessary Nine' PDF cuts through the noise, giving you the essential things you need for a healthy life. ➡️ Download Here: https://www.jrennickemd.com/necessaryninepdf CHAPTERS:00:00 - Intro00:30 - Nerding Out on History: Statins & Previous Trials01:03 - The PCSK9 Context: FOURIER & ODYSSEY02:40 - Mechanism of Action: The "Catcher's Mitt" Analogy03:47 - Vesalius Trial Design & Demographics06:06 - The Endpoints: What is MACE?07:16 - Addressing the "Big Pharma" Funding08:28 - Primary Results: LDL Drop & 25% Reduction09:34 - Absolute Risk vs. Relative Risk (The Real Numbers)10:12 - Number Needed to Treat (NNT)11:13 - The Mortality Question: Did it Save Lives?12:06 - Safety Profile: Diabetes, Brain Fog & Muscle Pain13:16 - Limitation 1: The Mortality "Provocative Signal"13:57 - Limitation 2: The Ezetimibe Head-Scratcher15:23 - Limitation 3: The Diversity Gap15:52 - Bottom Line: Guidelines, "Big Rocks" & The Future SELECTED REFERENCES:https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2514428https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1801174https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1615664 *Disclaimer*This podcast is for entertainment, education, and informational purposes only.The topics discussed should not solely be used to diagnose, treat , or prevent any condition.The information presented here was created with an evidence based approach, but you please keep in mind that science is always changing and at the time of listening to this there may some new data that makes this information incomplete or inaccurate.Always seek the advice of your personal physician or qualified health care provider for questions regarding any medical condition.

    21 min

  4. JAN 27

    BLA 164: Is Whey Protein Really A Waste?

    The internet loves a good absolute black and white story. Today, I'm reacting to a viral clip claiming that whey protein is essentially "trash" and only 18% usable by the human body. Stop stressing over every health detail & start living! My FREE 'Necessary Nine' PDF cuts through the noise, giving you the essential things you need for a healthy life.➡️ Download Here: https://www.jrennickemd.com/necessaryninepdfCHAPTERS:00:00 - Intro00:40 - Who is John Jaquish?00:58 - The "Dirty History" of Whey Protein02:51 - Is Byproduct the Same as Trash?04:15 - The Claim: Whey is Only 18% Usable05:52 - Investigating Net Nitrogen Utilization (NNU)06:30 - Hunting Down the "Ghost Paper"09:14 - Digestibility vs. Usability (The Morifuji Study)11:27 - The $105 Solution12:37 - Are Essential Amino Acids Better Than Whey?14:46 - The Breast Milk Logic Test16:48 - Is Plant Protein Really Garbage?19:58 - Don't Let Perfect Be the Enemy of Good22:38 - The "So What?" Test: Mechanisms vs. OutcomesSELECTED REFERENCES:https://doi.org/10.1080/15502783.2023.2263409https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20614926/https://pubmed-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.usu01.idm.oclc.org/?term=Lucà-Moretti+M&cauthor_id=14964348https://www.jaquishbiomedical.com/products/fortagen?variant=33067984093266Original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ia-doSc_OA*Disclaimer*This podcast is for entertainment, education, and informational purposes only.The topics discussed should not solely be used to diagnose, treat , or prevent any condition.The information presented here was created with an evidence based approach, but you please keep in mind that science is always changing and at the time of listening to this there may some new data that makes this information incomplete or inaccurate.Always seek the advice of your personal physician or qualified health care provider for questions regarding any medical condition.

    26 min

  5. JAN 20

    BLA 163: Does Running Give You Arthritis?

    You've heard it a thousand times: "Running destroys your knees." It intuitively makes sense—friction, load, wear and tear. But here is the thing: you aren't a car, and your joints aren't tires. In this episode, we dive into a massive meta-analysis of over 114,000 people that suggests recreational running might actually protect your knees from arthritis. We'll break down the specific mileage where the risk flips, why "just slowing down" might be bad advice, and the practical "big rocks" you need to keep running for life. Let's get into it. Stop stressing over every health detail & start living! My FREE 'Necessary Nine' PDF cuts through the noise, giving you the essential things you need for a healthy life. ➡️ Download Here: https://www.jrennickemd.com/necessaryninepdf CHAPTERS:00:00 - Intro: Welcome & The "Wear and Tear" Myth02:16 - The "Car Tire" Fallacy: Why You Aren't a Machine02:49 - The Data: What 114,000 Runners Tell Us03:23 - Sedentary vs. Recreational vs. Elite Runners04:03 - The Limit: When Running Becomes Destructive (57 Miles/Week)04:39 - The Sponge Analogy: Inflammation & Metabolic Health06:29 - Why "Just Slow Down" Can Hurt Your Knees07:50 - The 3 Real Causes of Knee Arthritis08:47 - Action Step 1: The 10% Rule10:10 - Action Step 2: Strength is Non-Negotiable10:51 - Action Step 3: The Cadence Check11:25 - The 24-Hour Pain Rule12:52 - Disclaimer SELECTED REFERENCES:https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2017.7137https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6395418/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2556152/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18550323/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22729505/ *Disclaimer*This podcast is for entertainment, education, and informational purposes only.The topics discussed should not solely be used to diagnose, treat , or prevent any condition.The information presented here was created with an evidence based approach, but you please keep in mind that science is always changing and at the time of listening to this there may some new data that makes this information incomplete or inaccurate.Always seek the advice of your personal physician or qualified health care provider for questions regarding any medical condition.

    13 min

  6. JAN 13

    BLA 162: Does Coffee Cause A-Fib?

    For years, we've told AFib patients to cut the caffeine. But new data from the DECAF trial suggests that might be wrong. In this episode, we’re trying a new format: first, the highlights from my latest video, and then a podcast-exclusive deep dive. We’ll explore why coffee might stabilize the heart, break down the earlier CRAVE trial, and look at the nitty-gritty methodology that changes how we interpret these results. Let's dive in. Stop stressing over every health detail & start living! My FREE 'Necessary Nine' PDF cuts through the noise, giving you the essential things you need for a healthy life. ➡️ Download Here: https://www.jrennickemd.com/necessaryninepdf CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro: The New Format 00:01:31 - The DECAF Trial (Video Start) 00:02:32 - Why We Thought Coffee Was Bad 00:03:25 - Study Design 00:04:23 - Results: Coffee vs. Abstinence 00:05:34 - 3 Proposed Mechanisms 00:06:50 - Limitations (Video Version) 00:08:05 - Practical Takeaways 00:08:38 - Podcast Deep Dive: The CRAVE Trial 00:09:50 - PACs vs. PVCs 00:11:07 - Activity & Sleep Findings 00:12:10 - DECAF Methodology Details 00:15:20 - The Open Label Limitation 00:17:12 - Summary & Final Thoughts SELECTED REFERENCES: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41206802/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24009307/ https://www.acc.org/Latest-in-Cardiology/Articles/2021/11/08/12/02/sun-8am-crave-aha-2021 Disclaimer This podcast is for entertainment, education, and informational purposes only. The topics discussed should not solely be used to diagnose, treat , or prevent any condition. The information presented here was created with an evidence based approach, but you please keep in mind that science is always changing and at the time of listening to this there may some new data that makes this information incomplete or inaccurate. Always seek the advice of your personal physician or qualified health care provider for questions regarding any medical condition.

    20 min

  7. JAN 6

    BLA 161: How We Understand Osteoarthritis Is Changing Forever

    What if osteoarthritis isn't just 'wear and tear'? We've been told OA is inevitable, but new research shows it's an active inflammatory and metabolic disease we can actually treat. In this deep-dive, I break down the massive paradigm shift in how we understand OA, the surprising metabolic connection, and the actionable lifestyle therapies that target the root cause of the inflammation. Stop stressing over every health detail & start living! My FREE 'Necessary Nine' PDF cuts through the noise, giving you the essential things you need for a healthy life. ➡️ Download Here: https://www.jrennickemd.com/necessaryninepdf CHAPTERS:00:00 - Intro00:14 - Is Osteoarthritis (OA) Really "Wear and Tear"?01:03 - Deconstructing the "Wear and Tear" Misnomer02:35 - The New Model: OA as a Disease of the "Joint as an Organ"03:20 - The 3 Key Players: Cartilage, Subchondrial Bone, & Synovium04:33 - Why OA is Not One Single Disease (Heterogeneity)06:06 - Inflammation as a Central Driver, Not a Side Effect06:41 - The Vicious Cycle: How Inflammation Begets Inflammation08:20 - A Critical Distinction: OA Inflammation vs. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)10:34 - The Pain Paradox: Why X-Rays Don't Match Patient Symptoms12:06 - Meta-Inflammation: The Systemic Link to Joint Failure14:03 - The "Smoking Gun": The Link Between Obesity and Hand OA1Game-changing- The "Double-Hit" Hypothesis of Obesity16:40 - How Type 2 Diabetes Creates a Toxic Joint Environment (AGEs)17:47 - Mechanism 2: Insulin Resistance in the Joint19:10 - Mechanism 3: Dyslipidemia (Lipotoxicity)19:40 - Mechanism 4: How Hypertension May Starve the Cartilage21:31 - The Gut-Joint Axis: A Unifying Theory24:25 - It's Not Just Bad Signals, It's an Absence of Good Ones25:50 - The Surprising Role of GLP-1 in Protecting Cartilage27:16 - Translating This New Science Into Practice28:02 - Foundational Therapy: Anti-Inflammatory Diets28:44 - Foundational Therapy: The Metabolic Benefits of Exercise29:56 - The Future of OA Pharmacology30:35 - Potential Drug Target: GLP-1 Agonists (Semaglutide, etc.)32:39 - Potential Drug Target: Senolytics ("Zombie Cell" Killers)33:38 - The Major Hurdle: We Can't Treat What We Can't Measure34:26 - Summary: Bringing It All Home36:11 - The Future: Precision Medicine for OA Phenotypes37:48 - Outro SELECTED REFERENCES:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3366018/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12145975/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6350005/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3956093/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4930555/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12307352/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40179178/https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Osteoarthritis-treatment-via-the-GLP-1-mediated-FXR-Yang-Hao/1f42f8588677bd24fddafc7d3f0e5c3f7b2ce29f *Disclaimer*This podcast is for entertainment, education, and informational purposes only.The topics discussed should not solely be used to diagnose, treat , or prevent any condition.The information presented here was created with an evidence based approach, but you please keep in mind that science is always changing and at the time of listening to this there may some new data that makes this information incomplete or inaccurate.Always seek the advice of your personal physician or qualified health care provider for questions regarding any medical condition.

    39 min

  8. 12/30/2025

    BLA Extra: The ONE Thing To Focus On In 2026 For Your Health

    The "New Year, New Me" mentality often leads to us trying to change 17 different habits at once, which rarely ends well. In this brief episode, I'm sharing my single tip for 2026: be intentional. We discuss why massive overhauls often fail, how to set flexible goals that you can reevaluate every few months, and why I'm personally shifting my focus from physical metrics to social and spiritual health this year. Stop stressing over every health detail & start living! My FREE 'Necessary Nine' PDF cuts through the noise, giving you the essential things you need for a healthy life. ➡️ Download Here: https://www.jrennickemd.com/necessaryninepdf CHAPTERS:00:00 - Intro00:18 - The Problem With "New Year, New Me"00:40 - Be Intentional About 202601:28 - Why Year-Long Resolutions Fail01:53 - The "What's Next?" Strategy02:11 - Prioritizing Social & Spiritual Health02:39 - Outro   *Disclaimer*This podcast is for entertainment, education, and informational purposes only.The topics discussed should not solely be used to diagnose, treat , or prevent any condition.The information presented here was created with an evidence based approach, but you please keep in mind that science is always changing and at the time of listening to this there may some new data that makes this information incomplete or inaccurate.Always seek the advice of your personal physician or qualified health care provider for questions regarding any medical condition

    4 min
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4.8
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

The Building Lifelong Athletes Podcast has one simple goal... to help keep you active and healthy for life. Whether you are a competitive athlete, fitness enthusiast, or just a weekend warrior, this podcast will help you be at your best by delivering practical and actionable information. From cholesterol management to exercise programming, this podcast covers every topic any lifelong athlete needs to know about. Jordan Rennicke, MD is a dual board certified physician in Family and Sports Medicine, has worked with thousands of athletes from all walks of life, and has a passion for learning, teaching, and helping people achieve their goals.

Information

  • Creator
    Jordan Rennicke, MD
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    169
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Copyright 2024 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Building Lifelong Athletes