Alexander JA Cortes: The Intersection of "Bro Science" with Hard Science - #52

People assume that personal trainers and fitness enthusiasts are dumb. Broscience has been synonymous with trainers who impart fitness advice without a scientific basis. But Alexander Cortes or AJAC has his way of flipping the broscience culture. As a certified personal trainer, he applies clinical data, hard science, and evidence from study together with practical, real-world applications. He maintains a reputation for educating his clients based on knowledge and intellect. The goal is to make diet simple yet effective so more people can understand it. His interest in fitness made him learn more about its historical context. The connection he found between history, fitness, and nutrition helped him provide better diet recommendations and training for his clients.  Quick guide: 2:21 Guest introduction and flipping bro culture 6:03 Give good effective nutrition information 8:51 From one-on-one personal training to online massive training 11:44 The backbone of his success and credibility 16:50 Historical context of fitness 19:41 What is the useful science? How do we choose what’s not garbage? 26:27 The replication crisis in science 28:43 Which comes first, fitness or nutrition? 32:09 Change of diet in a obesogenic society 35:15 Right amounts of diet and exercise 40:40 The pain experience 51:14 Living in Thailand and how it has affected his approach to fitness 57:35 Injury in squatting 1:01:10 What to look forward to Get to know our guest: Alexander JA Cortes works as a personal trainer, something he has been doing since he was 20. He did not expect that he would be doing this professionally. He started his career with the traditional training model in the gym, but he now reaches more people through his online programs. “If there are certain practices that have been done for decades, centuries, hundreds of years, thousands of years. And we can see these training traditions, or these eating practices even, they have been done for very, very, very long periods of time. They routinely produce exceptional health outcomes, we should study those things, we should weigh that as like, okay, that's significant. Something in there is right. It is correct. It's truthful, it's good information, it’s good practices. It's reflective of our biology." - AJAC Episode snippets 2:56 - 4:10 - Making science workable for people 7:57 - 8:51 - What men look for are actual routine 12:24 - 13:29 - Reputation based on knowledge and intellect, not in physique 17:24 - 18:09 - The quality of your practice depends on you being a good thinker 28:47 - 29:32 - Exercise tells your body what to do with the food you consume 31:04 - 31:51 - We live in an obesogenic society 32:55 - 34:20 - Good diet meets your caloric, macronutrient and micronutrient needs 36:07 - 37:33 - Ingesting healthy amounts of carbs, protein and fats 47:38 - 48:29 - The reliable way to treat pain is to exercise 53:57 - 55:07 - Is doing squats really essential? Connect with him Twitter: @aja_cortes Instagram: @aja_cortes Website: cortes.site Send Dr. Ovadia a Text Message. (If you want a response, you must include your contact information.) Dr. Ovadia cannot respond here. To contact his team, please send an email to [email protected] WEBSITE: Stay Off My Kitchen Table Like what you hear? Head over to IFixHearts.com/book to grab a copy of my book, Stay Off My Operating Table.  Ready to go deeper? Talk to someone from my team at IFixHearts.com/talk. Ready to take control of your health?  Grab Dr. Ovadia’s brand new book Stay Off My Kitchen Table now!  This isn’t just another diet book; it reveals why it’s not just what you eat, but what your body actually absorbs that determines your health. If you’re struggling with low energy, stubborn weight, or feeling like “healthy eating” isn’t working… this book shows you exactly how to fix it. Learn how to reset your gut Eliminate hidden foods sabotaging your progress Unlock real energy, metabolism, and longevity Don’t wait until it’s too late. Take action today. Get your copy of Stay Off My Kitchen Table now. Learn More: Take Dr. Ovadia's metabolic health quiz: iFixHearts  Dr. Ovadia's website: Ovadia Heart Health Theme Song : Rage Against Written & Performed by Logan Gritton & Colin Gailey (c) 2016 Mercury Retro Recordings Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from Dr. Philip Ovadia.