Brandon Heavey’s story is epic: He’s a former NASA engineer who, after a personal fitness revelation, decided to change careers and become a fitness trainer. Heavey swapped Mars rovers for squat cycles and never looked back. Now nearly a decade into his second career, he’s one half of the husband/wife duo behind Evidence Based Athlete, using his scientific mind to help optimize results for elite athletes and reformed couch potatoes alike.
We talk about his transition from the world of space exploration to fitness closer to home (though the conversation also touches on the future of fitness in zero-gravity). We also talk about his successful podcast — publishing weekly for five straight years! — and the problem with most strength training studies. Brandon is one of the most prolific evidence-based trainers and podcasters around, and he shares some serious knowledge here!
In this episode of The BarBend Podcast, guest Brandon Heavey and host David Thomas Tao discuss:
- How the Strength and Scotch Podcast came about (releasing episodes weekly for five years straight!) (2:20)
- Coming up with fresh topics for their audience (4:00)
- Why Brandon thinks diet and lifting programs are “like religion” for some people (6:00)
- Brandon’s unique path from the world of science to fitness (this is a WILD ride) (6:30)
- Will we see MORE scientists move to the world of evidence based fitness? (9:32)
- The goal behind Evidence Based Athlete and Brandon’s approach to assessing fitness methodology (11:25)
- Where research in fitness and nutrition is valuable — and almost useless — for the average person (15:00)
- The problem with test subjects in most fitness research (hint: they’re generally using beginners) (19:00)
- A base level of knowledge you need to have before reading and interpreting strength research (22:00)
- The impact of LANGUAGE on coaching cues and training (24:10)
- Issues and challenges with training remote clients, and more on how language impacts interpretation (27:26)
- Rapid Fire: Brandon’s pet peeves, secret talent, and more (31:20)
Relevant links and further reading:
- Follow Brandon on Instagram
- Visit Evidence Based Athlete
- Listen to the Strength and Scotch Podcast
