In this episode the guys sit down with IFBB pro bodybuilder and science-driven performance coach Ben Pakulski for a wide-ranging conversation on peptides, performance, identity and the hard lessons of a 20-year bodybuilding career. Ben breaks down the peptide landscape — why he's optimistic about the science but deeply cautious about sourcing (90%+ of research peptides come from China with no quality guarantees), the most exciting peptides he's currently working with including SS-31 for mitochondrial repair, and myostatin inhibition and where the science actually stands. They also cover Ben's origin story — going from 160 pounds at 17 to 240 by 19 purely naturally, getting cut from a baseball team at 12 and how that shaped everything, the culture of his Toronto gym and what hard training actually looks like, the Arnold Classic story where he competed sick all night with vomiting and diarrhea and still got second. Ben shares how bodybuilding was never his identity — just something he did — and why leaving the sport felt like relief rather than loss. They also dig into GLP-1 use, the looming frailty epidemic, genetic testing for coaching, why the guys fixed their training plateaus through gut health and hormone optimization, and why Ben thinks the hard work of getting fit is the actual prize — not the physique.

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GUEST LINKS

Ben Pakulski: https://www.benpakulski.com

Ben's Podcast — Muscle Intelligence: available on all major platforms

Instagram: @bpakfitness

LINKS

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Instagram: @mindpumpmedia

0:00 - Intro

1:58 - The peptide landscape — incredible potential, serious sourcing risk

5:14 - SS-31 for mitochondrial repair and why Ben's dad is on 10mg three times a week

9:04 - Mots-C vs SS-31 — why people respond differently and what might explain it

10:17 - Myostatin inhibition — what the science actually says about building muscle without training

13:32 - Gene therapy for myostatin in Mexico and what Ben's friends actually reported

15:28 - Why putting on muscle through shortcuts doesn't build confidence — only the process does

17:54 - Why physical stress and psychological stress are disconnected in modern life — and why that matters

22:05 - Getting cut from a baseball team at 12 and how that shaped everything

24:06 - The four master skills Ben teaches his kids — body, finances, communication, emotions

25:51 - How Ben transitioned out of pro bodybuilding without an identity crisis

28:58 - Going from 160 to 230 pounds naturally at 17 — the real story

33:01 - Getting a Muscle Tech contract at 19 by just walking around a show

38:03 - Training culture at Gold's Venice vs his Toronto gym — what hard work actually looks like

43:36 - Why headphones in the gym killed community — and why CrossFit understood something bodybuilding missed

48:24 - The Arnold Classic sick story — vomiting all night, competing anyway, getting second

55:28 - First steroid cycle at 19 and what it actually did

1:02:43 - How Ben's business pivoted through Covid and why coaching replaced digital programs

1:06:32 - Warrior and monk — how Ben learned to wield intensity as a tool rather than let it control him

1:13:06 - GLP-1 use in bodybuilding, the looming frailty epidemic and the gut motility problem

1:23:07 - Genetic testing for coaching — seeing constraints before clients hit them

1:31:05 - Sal's gut health and testosterone story — 15 pounds of muscle from a parasite cleanse