OptiCast - The Optimization Lab Podcast

The Optimization Lab
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Health & Fitness

Most podcasts are just people talking around problems they’ve never actually solved… this isn’t that. OptiCast is what it sounds like when you stop pretending surface-level fixes work and start breaking down why your system keeps stalling even when you’re doing everything “right.” This is physiology-first thinking… mitochondria before motivation, energy before hormones, sequencing before stacking. You’re going to hear things most coaches avoid because it kills their business… why your labs look fine while your output keeps dropping, why your discipline is actually making things worse, why adding more compounds into a mis-sequenced system just digs the hole deeper. Every episode is a live dissection of real failure patterns… the kind you’ve already felt but couldn’t explain… and the decision logic behind fixing them without guessing, without chasing numbers, and without pretending effort alone forces adaptation . If you’re looking for reassurance, this will piss you off. If you’re trying to figure out why your body stopped responding… this is where that starts getting exposed.

  1. 2d ago

    Low Stomach Acid Symptoms, Metabolic Adaptation and Peak Week, with a Nurse Coach

    📲 JOIN THE OPTILAB ENGINE → https://www.theoptilab.com/engine 👨🏼‍🎓 JOIN THE ACADEMY → https://www.theoptilab.com/academy 🗓️ BOOK A CONSULTATION → https://www.theoptilab.com/consultations ⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a recommendation to use any compound. Any compounds discussed may be investigational, and their safety, efficacy, appropriate dosing, long-term effects, contraindications, and drug interactions may not be established. Discussion of mechanism, preclinical or published research, or potential applications should not be interpreted as evidence of proven benefit in humans. Do not purchase, administer, use, or investigate any compound based on social media content. Always discuss health, performance, medications, supplements, or experimental therapies with a qualified healthcare professional. 🎓 ABOUT THIS VIDEO  Vicky Owen lost her period for 11 years after her first bodybuilding prep, that's hypothalamic amenorrhea, and that's where this one starts. So Vicky's the Tiny Titan, she's a registered nurse with a master's in sports nutrition, and she coaches bodybuilders, powerlifters and strongmen without f*****g them up. We get into why getting weaker in prep means something's broken, why I think strength is the best signal you've got for keeping muscle, and what a nurse actually looks for in a check-in, like body temperature, sweat and sleep. Now the gut part is huge: low stomach acid symptoms, apple cider vinegar for stomach acid, and what years on acid blockers can do to your B12, iron and magnesium. Then she explains how her powerlifting world champion ate a shit ton more food and lost weight, which is basically metabolic adaptation running in reverse. Like, I also get into what steroids do to your heart, the cell danger response, and a bikini peak week with ten litres of water and three vodkas. I mean, every paper we bring up is on screen and it's listed below. 🏋️‍♂️ WORK WITH ME  Apply for coaching → https://www.theoptilab.com/ 💪 FOLLOW ME  Instagram: https://instagram.com/optimalnathan  🧠 TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 1:34 The Tiny Titan: nurse, coach, Vicky Owen 3:09 Her first bodybuilding prep and losing her period 7:59 What a nurse sees in a coaching check-in 12:08 Body temperature and metabolism 13:43 Getting weaker in prep: losing strength while cutting 21:19 Low stomach acid symptoms, acid blockers and apple cider vinegar 31:08 When the host can't eat: appetite, ghrelin and leptin 42:25 Eat more, lose weight: metabolic adaptation in a world champion 47:22 Hypothalamic amenorrhea: why women lose their cycle in prep 49:08 Steroids and the heart: what the drugs cost 53:12 The cell danger response 55:56 Peak week bodybuilding: ten litres and three vodkas 58:54 The version of prep nobody posts SOURCES Lifting kept lean mass on an 800 kcal diet: Bryner 1999, PMID 10204826 Energy availability and LH pulses in women: Loucks 2003, PMID 12519869 Acid blockers and vitamin B12 deficiency: Lam 2013, PMID 24327038 Acid blockers and iron deficiency: Lam 2017, PMID 27890768 PPIs and low magnesium, meta-analysis: Cheungpasitporn 2015, PMID 26108134 Vinegar and gastric emptying in type 1 diabetes: Hlebowicz 2007, PMID 18093343 Berberine and mitochondrial complex I: Turner 2008, PMID 18285556 Steroid users, heart function and plaque: Baggish 2017, PMID 28533317 Heart changes through a steroid cycle (HAARLEM): Smit 2021, PMID 36304014 The cell danger response: Naviaux 2014, PMID 23981537 Mitochondrial DNA released by injury: Zhang 2010, PMID 20203610 Psychological stress raises cell-free mitochondrial DNA: Trumpff 2019, PMID 31029929 Peak week practices in bodybuilding, review: Escalante 2021, PMID 34120635 TAGS hypothalamic amenorrhea, functional hypothalamic amenorrhea, losing period from exercise, low stomach acid, low stomach acid symptoms, apple cider vinegar stomach acid, ppi b12 deficiency, metabolic adaptation, eat more lose weight, bodybuilding prep, bodybuilding contest prep, peak week bodybuilding, losing strength while cutting, how to keep muscle while cutting, steroids heart, cell danger response, bikini prep, female bodybuilding coach, vicky owen, tiny titan, the opticast, optimal nathan

  2. 3d ago

    Magnesium Glycinate vs Citrate: Which Magnesium Actually Works? Anxiety, Cramps, And Electrolytes

    📲 JOIN THE OPTILAB ENGINE → https://www.theoptilab.com/engine 👨🏼‍🎓 JOIN THE ACADEMY → https://www.theoptilab.com/academy 🗓️ BOOK A CONSULTATION → https://www.theoptilab.com/consultations ⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a recommendation to use any compound. Any compounds discussed may be investigational, and their safety, efficacy, appropriate dosing, long-term effects, contraindications, and drug interactions may not be established. Discussion of mechanism, preclinical or published research, or potential applications should not be interpreted as evidence of proven benefit in humans. Do not purchase, administer, use, or investigate any compound based on social media content. Always discuss health, performance, medications, supplements, or experimental therapies with a qualified healthcare professional. 🎓 ABOUT THIS VIDEO  Magnesium and electrolytes they can make a real difference in how you feel, but only when you're actually short or you're losing a ton of it. Outside of that, a lot of what people feel is just f*****g placebo. So in this one I'm breaking down why your magnesium blood test can look fine while your stores are low, and who's actually running low, like guys on a diuretic, an acid blocker, or drinking most weekends. Then magnesium for cramps, and why the trials say it barely beats a sugar pill, which is wild 'cause it's what everybody's taking it for, plus the pickle juice for cramps study that actually has data behind it. I'll go through magnesium for sleep, magnesium for anxiety and mood, energy and training, blood pressure and your thyroid, and how magnesium and vitamin D work together. Then the forms of magnesium, magnesium glycinate vs citrate, oxide, chloride, magnesium threonate and malate, and which ones are worth your money and which ones are shit. I also hit electrolyte packets, sodium for guys sweating hard, potassium, salt substitutes, and why salt pills won't save you from overdrinking. Every paper's linked below so you can pull them and read 'em yourself. 🏋️‍♂️ WORK WITH ME  Apply for coaching → https://www.theoptilab.com/ 💪 FOLLOW ME  Instagram: https://instagram.com/optimalnathan  🧠 TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro: magnesium and electrolytes 2:04 Magnesium blood test: why it lies to you 4:09 Magnesium deficiency: who's actually low 4:56 Magnesium for cramps and pickle juice for cramps 8:56 Magnesium for sleep 10:17 Magnesium for anxiety and depression 11:19 Magnesium for energy and training 12:17 Magnesium, blood pressure and your thyroid 13:19 Magnesium and vitamin D (and vitamin D toxicity) 14:34 Forms of magnesium: glycinate vs citrate, oxide, threonate 17:34 Electrolytes: sodium, sweat rate and potassium 20:42 The recap: when they actually change how you feel SOURCES Magnesium stores and testing: Jahnen-Dechent 2012, PMID 26069819; Costello 2016, PMID 28140318; Witkowski 2011, PMID 22064327 Cramps: Garrison 2020, PMID 32956536; Roguin Maor 2017, PMID 28241153; Barna 2021, PMID 34719399; Schwellnus 2011, PMID 21148567; Jung 2005, PMID 15970952; Miller 2010, PMID 19997012 Sleep, anxiety and mood: Mah 2021, PMID 33865376; Schuster 2025, PMID 40918053; Boyle 2017, PMID 28445426; Tarleton 2017, PMID 28654669 Energy, blood pressure and thyroid: Pilchova 2017, PMID 28757913; Zhang 2017, PMID 28846654; Zhang 2016, PMID 27402922; Wang 2018, PMID 29967483 Vitamin D: Uwitonze 2018, PMID 29480918; Dai 2018, PMID 30541089; Marcinowska-Suchowierska 2018, PMID 30294301 Forms and absorption: Blancquaert 2019, PMID 31330811; Firoz 2001, PMID 11794633; Walker 2003, PMID 14596323; Schuette 1994, PMID 7815675; Morishita 2021, PMID 32969946; Mori 2019, PMID 31587548; Lopresti 2025, PMID 41601871; Liu 2016, PMID 26519439; Russell 1995, PMID 8587088 Sodium and potassium: Baker 2017, PMID 28332116; Almond 2005, PMID 15829535; Hoffman 2015, PMID 25551404; Aburto 2013, PMID 23558164; Neal 2021, PMID 34459569; Raebel 2012, PMID 21883995 TAGS magnesium, electrolytes, magnesium supplement, best magnesium supplement, magnesium glycinate, magnesium glycinate vs citrate, magnesium citrate, magnesium oxide, magnesium threonate, forms of magnesium, magnesium for sleep, magnesium for anxiety, magnesium for cramps, magnesium for leg cramps, pickle juice for cramps, magnesium deficiency symptoms, magnesium blood test, magnesium and vitamin d, electrolyte packets, salt substitute, optimal nathan

  3. 4d ago

    Bulks, Cuts, Protein, Habits and Plateaus: Your Questions Answered (OptiCast Q and A)

    📲 JOIN THE OPTILAB ENGINE → https://www.theoptilab.com/engine 👨🏼‍🎓 JOIN THE ACADEMY → https://www.theoptilab.com/academy 🗓️ BOOK A CONSULTATION → https://www.theoptilab.com/consultations ⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a recommendation to use any compound. Any compounds discussed may be investigational, and their safety, efficacy, appropriate dosing, long-term effects, contraindications, and drug interactions may not be established. Discussion of mechanism, preclinical or published research, or potential applications should not be interpreted as evidence of proven benefit in humans. Do not purchase, administer, use, or investigate any compound based on social media content. Always discuss health, performance, medications, supplements, or experimental therapies with a qualified healthcare professional. 🎓 ABOUT THIS VIDEO  So how much protein do you actually need? That's the first thing I'm getting into in this OptiCast Q and A with Aubrey, and there's a lot more. We've got how much weight to gain in a growth phase, which is way less than you'd think, how long a habit really takes to form, how to break a plateau, and how to keep your muscle on a cut. Every question came from you guys, and I'm loving that. Now we also get into sleep, stress, maintenance phases, and what to do when your family thinks your meal prep is like a f*****g cult. I mean, it kinda looks like one. The studies I name are listed below. 🏋️‍♂️ WORK WITH ME  Apply for coaching → https://www.theoptilab.com/ 💪 FOLLOW ME  Instagram: https://instagram.com/optimalnathan  🧠 TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 3:23 How much weight to gain in a growth phase (bulk) 11:01 When to change your plan: trends, not one day 15:42 Overwhelm and building habits that stick 23:54 The one thing that helped me most 26:11 Maintenance phase and diet breaks 27:34 Feeling fat during a bulk 30:26 Staying consistent when life gets chaotic 33:27 When to end a bulk and start cutting 35:55 How to keep muscle while cutting 38:36 How much protein do you need 40:19 How to break a plateau 42:27 Stress and muscle growth 43:44 When family does not support your diet 47:50 Rapid fire: sleep, habits, starting over at 40 SOURCES Protein for lifters: Morton 2018, PMID 28698222 Sleep and dieting: Nedeltcheva 2010, PMID 20921542 Fidgeting and fat gain: Levine 1999, PMID 9880251 Implementation intentions: Gollwitzer and Sheeran 2006, DOI 10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38002-1 Habit formation: Lally 2010, DOI 10.1002/ejsp.674 GLP-1 trials: Wilding 2021 (STEP 1), DOI 10.1056/NEJMoa2032183; Jastreboff 2022 (SURMOUNT-1), DOI 10.1056/NEJMoa2206038 Caffeine and sleep: Drake 2013, DOI 10.5664/jcsm.3170; Gardiner 2024, DOI 10.1093/sleep/zsae230 Four diets: Dansinger 2005, DOI 10.1001/jama.293.1.43 Intermittent dieting (MATADOR): Byrne 2018, DOI 10.1038/ijo.2017.206 Muscle dysmorphia: Pope 1997, DOI 10.1016/S0033-3182(97)71400-2 Training volume to keep muscle: Bickel 2011, DOI 10.1249/MSS.0b013e318207c15d Slow vs fast cut: Garthe 2011, DOI 10.1123/ijsnem.21.2.97 Bigger surplus, same lean mass: Garthe 2013, DOI 10.1080/17461391.2011.643923 Body fat and what you gain: Forbes 2000, DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2000.tb06482.x Stress and strength: Bartholomew 2008, DOI 10.1519/JSC.0b013e318173d0bf Friends and weight loss: Wing and Jeffery 1999, DOI 10.1037/0022-006X.67.1.132 Short sleep and hunger: Spiegel 2004, DOI 10.7326/0003-4819-141-11-200412070-00008 Adding vs subtracting: Adams 2021, DOI 10.1038/s41586-021-03380-y Lifting after 50: Peterson 2011, DOI 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181eb6265 Adrenal fatigue review: Cadegiani and Kater 2016, DOI 10.1186/s12902-016-0128-4 TAGS how much protein do i need, how much protein per day, protein for muscle growth, how long does it take to form a habit, lean bulk, how much weight to gain in a bulk, habit stacking, reverse dieting, maintenance phase, diet break, muscle dysmorphia, how to break a plateau, how to keep muscle while cutting, cortisol and weight gain, sleep and weight loss, building muscle after 50, hotel gym workout, optimal nathan, the opticast

  4. 5d ago

    Anxiety vs Stress: Why Your Intrusive Thoughts Run in a Loop

    📲 JOIN THE OPTILAB ENGINE → https://www.theoptilab.com/engine 👨🏼‍🎓 JOIN THE ACADEMY → https://www.theoptilab.com/academy 🗓️ BOOK A CONSULTATION → https://www.theoptilab.com/consultations ⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a recommendation to use any compound. Any compounds discussed may be investigational, and their safety, efficacy, appropriate dosing, long-term effects, contraindications, and drug interactions may not be established. Discussion of mechanism, preclinical or published research, or potential applications should not be interpreted as evidence of proven benefit in humans. Do not purchase, administer, use, or investigate any compound based on social media content. Always discuss health, performance, medications, supplements, or experimental therapies with a qualified healthcare professional. 🎓 ABOUT THIS VIDEO  Intrusive thoughts are normal, everybody gets them, and the thought itself isn't what turns into anxiety. It's how you judge it, and then what you do to make it go away. So in this one I'm breaking down anxiety vs stress, 'cause stress comes down when the load comes off, but a loop doesn't need a load. Reassurance seeking, checking their activity, replaying the conversation, that shit's what keeps it fed. I go through pure O OCD and why the compulsions are still there, they're just happening inside your head. Then, like, what actually works. Exposure and response prevention, ERP therapy, has the most data behind it, but there's a big f*****g catch on who ran the trials. IFS therapy, internal family systems, looks promising, mostly in trauma. I mean, breathing exercises for anxiety like cyclic sighing helped, and an eight week mindfulness course matched an antidepressant with way fewer side effects. I'll also hit why anxiety supplements won't fix a loop on their own, magnesium for anxiety, vitamin D, where Selank actually fits, sleep, weed and nicotine withdrawal, your thyroid, and why your heart rate can get you turned away at a blood drive. Every paper's linked below so you can pull them and read them yourself. 🏋️‍♂️ WORK WITH ME  Apply for coaching → https://www.theoptilab.com/ 💪 FOLLOW ME  Instagram: https://instagram.com/optimalnathan  🧠 TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro: anxiety vs stress 2:44 Intrusive thoughts: everybody gets them 4:50 Reassurance seeking and pure O OCD: the ritual 7:34 Why anxiety supplements don't fix the loop 9:32 Magnesium for anxiety and vitamin D 11:13 Exposure and response prevention (ERP therapy) 14:06 IFS therapy: internal family systems and parts work 16:04 Breathing exercises for anxiety: cyclic sighing and mindfulness 18:05 Selank for anxiety: what the human data shows 19:32 Sleep deprivation and anxiety 20:35 Weed withdrawal anxiety and quitting nicotine 21:42 Anxiety and your thyroid 22:59 Anxiety heart rate: the blood drive pulse check 24:11 How to stop feeding the loop: the recap SOURCES Intrusive thoughts: Julien 2007, PMID 17240502; Chen 2020, PMID 32777650; Moser 2013, PMID 23966928 Hidden compulsions: Williams 2011, PMID 21509914; Rector 2019, PMID 31430610; Abramowitz 2001, PMID 11434226 Pill versus skill: Craske 2014, PMID 24864005; Foa 2005, PMID 15625214; Ost 2015, PMID 26117062 Nutrients: Cheng 2020, PMID 32365423; Marcinowska-Suchowierska 2018, PMID 30294301; Boyle 2017, PMID 28445426 ERP and CBT: Reid 2021, PMID 33618297; Carpenter 2018, PMID 29451967 IFS: Shadick 2013, PMID 23950186; Haddock 2017, PMID 27500908; Comeau 2024, PMID 38934934; Joss 2026, PMID 41609644 Breathing and mindfulness: Fincham 2023, PMID 36624160; Balban 2023, PMID 36630953; Hoge 2023, PMID 36350591 Selank: Zozulia 2008, PMID 18454096 Sleep: Pires 2016, PMID 27810176; Ben Simon 2020, PMID 31685950; Hertenstein 2019, PMID 30537570 Weed and nicotine: Bahji 2020, PMID 32271390; Taylor 2014, PMID 24524926 Thyroid: Demet 2002, PMID 12505101; Biondi 2008, PMID 17991805 Autism: Hollocks 2019, PMID 30178724 Heart rate: Mancia 1983, PMID 6136837; Chalmers 2014, PMID 25071612 TAGS intrusive thoughts, anxiety vs stress, how to stop intrusive thoughts, ocd intrusive thoughts, pure o ocd, reassurance seeking ocd, exposure and response prevention, erp therapy, ifs therapy, internal family systems, parts work, breathing exercises for anxiety, cyclic sighing, mindfulness for anxiety, anxiety supplements, magnesium for anxiety, vitamin d anxiety, selank, sleep deprivation anxiety, anxiety thyroid, anxiety heart rate, overthinking, anxiety loop, optimal nathan

  5. 6d ago

    What Quitting Nicotine and Weed Actually Does to You in the First Two Weeks

    📲 JOIN THE OPTILAB ENGINE → https://www.theoptilab.com/engine 👨🏼‍🎓 JOIN THE ACADEMY → https://www.theoptilab.com/academy 🗓️ BOOK A CONSULTATION → https://www.theoptilab.com/consultations ⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a recommendation to use any compound. Any compounds discussed may be investigational, and their safety, efficacy, appropriate dosing, long-term effects, contraindications, and drug interactions may not be established. Discussion of mechanism, preclinical or published research, or potential applications should not be interpreted as evidence of proven benefit in humans. Do not purchase, administer, use, or investigate any compound based on social media content. Always discuss health, performance, medications, supplements, or experimental therapies with a qualified healthcare professional. 🎓 ABOUT THIS VIDEO  Nicotine withdrawal symptoms hit hardest in week one, and I'm in the middle of it right now, so I went through the whole nicotine withdrawal timeline and the weed withdrawal timeline with every study named on screen. Nicotine's out of your system in a few days, but Cosgrove's brain scans at Yale show the extra receptors you've built hang around for six to twelve weeks, and like, those empty locks are what a craving actually is. Weed withdrawal symptoms peak on days two to six, and Hirvonen's scans show your CB1 receptors, that's basically your own brake on stress, take about four weeks to come back. So how long does nicotine withdrawal last? I mean, the worst of it's in the first two weeks, and the sleep's one of the big things that drags people back. Then the bridges for quitting vaping, like nicotine pouches are the same f*****g drug, varenicline (Chantix) has got the best data for vapers, store-bought CBD might have THC in it, and the NAC blends fell apart in the trials. I also get into why relapse is the norm, why week two's the week you guard, and what nicotine and vaping do to your thyroid, 'cause that one surprised the shit out of me. Every paper's linked below so you can go pull them and read them yourself, bro. 🏋️‍♂️ WORK WITH ME  Apply for coaching → https://www.theoptilab.com/ 💪 FOLLOW ME  Instagram: https://instagram.com/optimalnathan  🧠 TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:12 Nicotine withdrawal symptoms: night three 1:28 Nicotine half life and the nicotine withdrawal timeline 4:11 Nicotine withdrawal insomnia: sleep gets worse first 5:22 Nicotine withdrawal anxiety 6:47 Weed withdrawal symptoms and the weed withdrawal timeline 9:34 THC withdrawal anxiety and your CB1 receptors 12:00 How to quit vaping: nicotine pouches, gum and Chantix 16:11 CBD and NAC for weed withdrawal 19:41 Relapse: how many attempts it takes to quit 22:13 Nicotine, smoking and your thyroid 25:17 How long does nicotine withdrawal last? The recap SOURCES Nicotine leaves fast: Benowitz 2009, PMID 19184645; Cosgrove 2009, PMID 19487632; Hughes 2007, PMID 17365764 Sleep after quitting: Jaehne 2015, PMID 24797355; Mauries 2025, PMID 39893864 Anxiety and mood: Parrott 1999, PMID 10540594; Taylor 2014, PMID 24524926 Weed withdrawal: Budney 2003, PMID 12943018; Bahji 2020, PMID 32271390; Vandrey 2011, PMID 21296508; Bolla 2008, PMID 18548836 CB1 and stress: Morena 2016, PMID 26068727; Hirvonen 2012, PMID 21747398; Connor 2022, PMID 34791767 Nicotine bridges: Heshmati 2025, PMID 41246258; Lindson 2019, PMID 31565800; Butler 2025, PMID 41288132; Caponnetto 2023, PMID 37403047; Theodoulou 2023, PMID 37335995; Haasova 2013, PMID 22861822 Weed bridges: Freeman 2020, PMID 32735782; Bonn-Miller 2017, PMID 29114823; Lintzeris 2019, PMID 31305874; Gray 2012, PMID 22706327; Gray 2017, PMID 28623823; Gray 2025, PMID 39910268 Relapse: Hughes 2004, PMID 14678060; Chaiton 2016, PMID 27288378; Kenford 1994, PMID 8301790; Ferguson 2009, PMID 19843485; Allsop 2012, PMID 23049760 Thyroid: Asvold 2007, PMID 17620538; Wiersinga 2016, PMID 27184015; Carle 2012, PMID 22651374; Aranyosi 2022, PMID 35566351 TAGS nicotine withdrawal symptoms, nicotine withdrawal, nicotine withdrawal timeline, how long does nicotine withdrawal last, weed withdrawal symptoms, weed withdrawal, weed withdrawal timeline, thc withdrawal symptoms, how to quit vaping, quitting vaping, quit vaping, nicotine pouches, chantix, nicotine replacement therapy, nicotine half life, how long does weed withdrawal last, quitting nicotine, quitting weed, vaping withdrawal symptoms, nicotine receptors, optimal nathan

  6. Oct 25

    Calcium Score, BPC157, DNP and TRT Blood Donation: No Free Lunch

    📲 JOIN THE OPTILAB ENGINE → https://www.theoptilab.com/engine 👨🏼‍🎓 JOIN THE ACADEMY → https://www.theoptilab.com/academy 🗓️ BOOK A CONSULTATION → https://www.theoptilab.com/consultations ⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a recommendation to use any compound. Any compounds discussed may be investigational, and their safety, efficacy, appropriate dosing, long-term effects, contraindications, and drug interactions may not be established. Discussion of mechanism, preclinical or published research, or potential applications should not be interpreted as evidence of proven benefit in humans. Do not purchase, administer, use, or investigate any compound based on social media content. Always discuss health, performance, medications, supplements, or experimental therapies with a qualified healthcare professional. 🎓 ABOUT THIS VIDEO  Your calcium score can come back zero and you can still have soft plaque sitting in your arteries, and that's where this roundtable starts. So I brought back Anthony Castore and Drew Donaldson from the DDT Method Podcast, two guys I actually trust on this shit, and like, every topic lands on the same idea: there's no free lunch. Drew's walking us through his whole cardiology workup. Then I get into why I'd run a cardiopulmonary exercise test instead of another echo, what the Danish data on lifters shows about soft plaque, and why the guy who blasts and cruises all year might be getting the shittier end of the deal than the guy who's running hard cycles. Then it's blood donation on TRT, and why I don't send people to therapeutic phlebotomy by default, which I know is gonna piss some people off. Now DNP, and why it f*****g kills people, plus BAM15 and ATX-304 as the gentler uncouplers. Then Anthony breaks down why icing an injury and popping ibuprofen can stall the repair, like, how he times BPC157 around an injury, and we're finishing on testosterone and the thymus. I mean, every paper we bring up is on screen and it's listed below. 🏋️‍♂️ WORK WITH ME  Apply for coaching → https://www.theoptilab.com/ 💪 FOLLOW ME  Instagram: https://instagram.com/optimalnathan  🧠 TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:13 The OptiCast roundtable: there is no free lunch 1:27 Calcium score zero: why it can lie to enhanced lifters 3:18 Drew's heart scare: echo, ER and a cardiology workup 17:14 Cardiopulmonary exercise test vs echo: the oxygen pulse 21:49 Soft plaque vs hard plaque, statins and the Cleerly scan 30:11 Blast and cruise vs cycles: the Danish steroid registry 44:13 Muscle memory, the TRAVERSE trial and TRT soft plaque 46:26 Jacked vs bodybuilder: minimum effective dose 56:08 TRT blood donation: is therapeutic phlebotomy justified? 1:07:35 DNP: why the mitochondrial uncoupler kills people 1:22:16 BAM15 and ATX-304: the gentler uncouplers 1:41:15 Icing an injury and ibuprofen: inflammation is the repair crew 1:49:40 How injuries heal: blood supply and the extracellular matrix 1:57:14 BPC157 for injuries: what the human data shows 2:05:04 Testosterone and the thymus gland 2:09:34 Everything costs something SOURCES Calcium score vs soft plaque in steroid users: Buhl 2025, PMID 40880090 Low-attenuation plaque and heart attack (SCOT-HEART): Williams 2020, PMID 32174130 Statins and calcium density: Giovannucci 2025, PMID 41201709 Masters endurance athletes, plaque type: Merghani 2017, PMID 28465287 High activity with high CAC, mortality: DeFina 2019, PMID 30698608 CPET vs echo for stroke volume: Alotaibi 2024, PMID 38468264 Danish registry, AAS users and heart disease: Windfeld-Mathiasen 2025, PMID 39945117 HAARLEM, heart mass through a cycle: Smit 2021, PMID 36304014 Muscle memory and myonuclei: Egner 2013, PMID 24167222 TRAVERSE, testosterone safety: Lincoff 2023, PMID 37326322 Testosterone and noncalcified plaque: Budoff 2017, PMID 28241355 TRT erythrocytosis and phlebotomy: Bond 2024, PMID 39212549 Former users, 16-year follow-up: Fyksen 2025, PMID 40759534 Former users years after quitting: Abdullah 2024, PMID 37992194 Blood donors on TRT, 16 US centers: Hazegh 2020, PMID 32176332 DNP case fatality: Potts 2021, PMID 33021407 BAM15 in mice: Alexopoulos 2020, PMID 32409697 BAM15 plus semaglutide: Chen 2024, PMID 38315575 Icing and muscle regeneration: Takagi 2011, PMID 21164157 BPC-157 systematic review: Vasireddi 2025, PMID 40756949 Thymic epithelium androgen receptor: Olsen 2001, PMID 11181545 Androgen blockade and thymic regrowth: Sutherland 2005, PMID 16081852 Androgens and human thymic output: Olsen 2011, PMID 21218609 TAGS calcium score, cac score, coronary calcium score, soft plaque, soft plaque vs hard plaque, ct angiogram heart, cardiopulmonary exercise test, cleerly heart scan, therapeutic phlebotomy, dnp, dnp weight loss, mitochondrial uncoupler, bam15, atx-304, bpc157, tb 500, icing an injury, thymus gland, anthony castore, drew donaldson, ddt method, the opticast, optimal nathan

  7. Oct 22

    Telmisartan, Nebivolol and SS-31: What Steroids Do to Your Heart

    📲 JOIN THE OPTILAB ENGINE → https://www.theoptilab.com/engine 👨🏼‍🎓 JOIN THE ACADEMY → https://www.theoptilab.com/academy 🗓️ BOOK A CONSULTATION → https://www.theoptilab.com/consultations ⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a recommendation to use any compound. Any compounds discussed may be investigational, and their safety, efficacy, appropriate dosing, long-term effects, contraindications, and drug interactions may not be established. Discussion of mechanism, preclinical or published research, or potential applications should not be interpreted as evidence of proven benefit in humans. Do not purchase, administer, use, or investigate any compound based on social media content. Always discuss health, performance, medications, supplements, or experimental therapies with a qualified healthcare professional. 🎓 ABOUT THIS VIDEO  The SS-31 peptide is getting sold as the thing that'll fix your heart on gear, so before I get to it, I went through what steroids actually do to your heart, with every study named on screen. Baggish's 2017 study in Circulation had users pumping out fifty-two percent per beat against sixty-three in guys who'd never used, and the more years they'd been on, the more plaque they had in their arteries. The HAARLEM scans show a short cycle came all the way back after about eight months off, but a career's a different f*****g animal, and like, some of that damage doesn't clear. Now the meds. Telmisartan, the angiotensin receptor blocker, shrank the heart wall more than a beta blocker did at the same blood pressure, and nebivolol for bodybuilding has way thinner hard data than people think, like zero outcome trials in high blood pressure. I also get into high hematocrit and why a blood draw isn't my first move, sleep apnea on cycle, steady state cardio vs HIIT, and the athlete's heart vs a gear heart. And look, SS-31, elamipretide, the ejection fraction hype comes from seven dogs, and the four-week human trial didn't move it for shit. I mean, that's not a fix, bro, it's cover for your mitochondria. Every paper's linked below so you can go pull them and read them yourself. 🏋️‍♂️ WORK WITH ME  Apply for coaching → https://www.theoptilab.com/ 💪 FOLLOW ME  Instagram: https://instagram.com/optimalnathan  🧠 TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:12 Steroids and heart health: what the blood pressure cuff can't see 1:51 What steroids do to your heart: ejection fraction and plaque 4:35 Can steroid heart damage come back? Time off vs a career 7:13 Telmisartan: the angiotensin receptor blocker and the heart wall 8:36 Nebivolol for bodybuilding: the negative data 12:57 What protects your heart: dose, orals, high hematocrit, sleep apnea 17:36 Steady state cardio vs HIIT, and the athlete's heart 21:22 SS-31 peptide (elamipretide) and ejection fraction: the research 25:22 Steroids and your heart: what actually protects it SOURCES What gear does to the heart: Baggish 2017, PMID 28533317; Grandperrin 2021, PMID 34242095; Rasmussen 2018, PMID 30015068 Athlete's heart: Pluim 2000, PMID 10645932 Does it come back: Smit 2021 (HAARLEM), PMID 36304014; Smit 2022, PMID 35014715; Abdullah 2024, PMID 37992194; Abdullah 2026, PMID 42863457; Fyksen 2025, PMID 40759534 Blood pressure meds and the heart wall: Fagard 2009, PMID 19770405; Galzerano 2005, PMID 16364826; Degirmenci 2014, PMID 24668702 Nebivolol: Liu 2020, PMID 33081551; Tzemos 2001, PMID 11479245; Lu 2025, PMID 39713902; Wiysonge 2017 (Cochrane), PMID 28107561; Flather 2005 (SENIORS), PMID 15642700; Conraads 2012 (ELANDD), PMID 22147202 Dose, orals, hematocrit, sleep: Bhasin 2001, PMID 11701431; Thompson 1989, PMID 2915439; Ory 2022, PMID 35050717; Bond 2024, PMID 39212549; Verdegaal 2026, PMID 42474687 Cardio: Cornelissen 2013, PMID 23525435; Costa 2018, PMID 29949110; Molmen-Hansen 2012, PMID 21450580; Matsuo 2014, PMID 23846165; Wisloff 2007, PMID 17548726; Ellingsen 2017 (SMARTEX), PMID 28082387; Kodama 2009, PMID 19454641; Chaves 2013, PMID 23831356 SS-31 (elamipretide): Chatfield 2019, PMID 31061916; Sabbah 2016, PMID 26839394; Daubert 2017, PMID 29217757; Butler 2020 (PROGRESS-HF), PMID 32068002; Schauer 2026, PMID 41596703; Reid Thompson 2021 (TAZPOWER), PMID 33077895; Karaa 2023 (MMPOWER-3), PMID 37268435; Carteri 2021, PMID 33984388 TAGS ss-31 peptide, ss-31, elamipretide, steroids and heart health, can steroids cause heart problems, steroids blood pressure, telmisartan, telmisartan bodybuilding, nebivolol, nebivolol bodybuilding, ejection fraction, low ejection fraction, how to improve ejection fraction, high hematocrit, high hematocrit trt, therapeutic phlebotomy, athlete's heart, steady state cardio, hiit vs steady state cardio, steroids cholesterol, beta blockers for high blood pressure, optimal nathan

  8. Oct 20

    Peptide Research Runs on Blood Tests Nobody Checked

    📲 JOIN THE OPTILAB ENGINE → https://www.theoptilab.com/engine 👨🏼‍🎓 JOIN THE ACADEMY → https://www.theoptilab.com/academy 🗓️ BOOK A CONSULTATION → https://www.theoptilab.com/consultations ⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a recommendation to use any compound. Any compounds discussed may be investigational, and their safety, efficacy, appropriate dosing, long-term effects, contraindications, and drug interactions may not be established. Discussion of mechanism, preclinical or published research, or potential applications should not be interpreted as evidence of proven benefit in humans. Do not purchase, administer, use, or investigate any compound based on social media content. Always discuss health, performance, medications, supplements, or experimental therapies with a qualified healthcare professional. 🎓 ABOUT THIS VIDEO  So a lot of peptide research on human blood levels comes down to one number in a screenshot, and in this episode of Peptides Are Made Up I go after where that number physically came from, like the actual machine that turned a tube of somebody's blood into a digit. A huge amount of what we think we've got on circulating peptide levels came off commercial ELISA kits that nobody's ever independently checked. When Albrecht and colleagues finally ran four irisin kits on a Western blot, all four were grabbing other shit in serum, and the authors wrote that it calls all the previous data from those kits into question. That's a whole literature that's gone. Then I get into MOTS-c, where a validated mass spectrometry method built by a doping lab in Cologne couldn't confirm the levels a commercial ELISA reported on the same plasma, which is f*****g wild. Humanin can't even agree with itself on which way it moves with age, and the same Karolinska group got a clear exercise effect in 2021 and basically didn't in 2026. And look, I'm not telling you peptides are a scam, because a bad assay cuts both ways, and the null results came off the same plates. I finish with the three checks I'd run on any peptide blood test before I'd believe it, like starting with the one line in the methods that says ELISA or LC-MS. Every paper I've put on screen's linked below so you can go pull them yourself. 🏋️‍♂️ WORK WITH ME  Apply for coaching → https://www.theoptilab.com/ 💪 FOLLOW ME  Instagram: https://instagram.com/optimalnathan  🧠 TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:11 The peptide blood test number in the screenshot 1:50 What an ELISA test actually is (vs mass spectrometry) 4:16 Irisin: the paper that burned down a literature 7:08 MOTS-c: same plasma, ELISA vs LC-MS 9:02 Humanin and age: the direction problem 10:44 When a group can't replicate itself 13:02 Peptide research: go check the method line 14:30 It cuts both ways: do peptides work? 15:59 Three checks for any peptide testing claim 18:32 The measurement layer SOURCES Four commercial irisin antibodies on Western blot: Albrecht et al., Sci Rep 2015. PMID 25749243 MOTS-c by validated LC/MS against a commercial ELISA: Knoop et al., Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 2019. PMID 30394592 Acute exercise and circulating humanin and MOTS-c: von Walden et al., J Appl Physiol 2021. PMID 34351816 Mitochondrial-derived microproteins at rest and after exercise: Horwath et al., Exp Physiol 2026. PMID 42349896 Humanin pharmacokinetics in male rodents: Chin et al., Endocrinology 2013. PMID 23836030 Humanin, lifespan and healthspan: Yen et al., Aging (Albany NY) 2020. PMID 32575074 TAGS peptide research, peptide testing, peptide blood test, mots-c peptide, mots-c, humanin, humanin peptide, irisin, irisin hormone, elisa, elisa test, mass spectrometry, lc-ms, western blot, do peptides work, peptides explained, replication crisis, how to read a research paper, peptides, peptides are made up, optimal nathan

See All (145)

About

Most podcasts are just people talking around problems they’ve never actually solved… this isn’t that. OptiCast is what it sounds like when you stop pretending surface-level fixes work and start breaking down why your system keeps stalling even when you’re doing everything “right.” This is physiology-first thinking… mitochondria before motivation, energy before hormones, sequencing before stacking. You’re going to hear things most coaches avoid because it kills their business… why your labs look fine while your output keeps dropping, why your discipline is actually making things worse, why adding more compounds into a mis-sequenced system just digs the hole deeper. Every episode is a live dissection of real failure patterns… the kind you’ve already felt but couldn’t explain… and the decision logic behind fixing them without guessing, without chasing numbers, and without pretending effort alone forces adaptation . If you’re looking for reassurance, this will piss you off. If you’re trying to figure out why your body stopped responding… this is where that starts getting exposed.

Information

You Might Also Like