The Excellence Cartel

Episode 137: A Chat With The Boston Mass Today we have a special guest - the one and only Jose Raymond, aka "The Boston Mass", aka the guy in charge of Jeffrey Su's hamstring development. Jose spoke about his career in the IFBB and opened up about PED use, training, and decisions he made coming up the ranks since winning the overall at the New Englands as a teen. Reflecting on his 20+ year career...

Episode 136: Should You Diet on Vacation? This is a common question and an undeniable, nagging thought that pops up in the minds of serious competitors and general population clients alike, and depending on your tenure in fitness, coping mechanisms, and perceptions of freedom, you may be tempted to handle your nutrition on vacation with biases. Who should be strict? Who should not? What does "stri...

Episode 135: Adrenal Insufficiency with Kristen Gurtowsky Episode 135: Adrenal Insufficiency with Kristen Gurtowsky   Jeff Black's client Kristen Gurtowsky joined us today to discuss adrenal insufficiency from her personal journey and professional perspective as a PA with formal medical training.  800 calorie diets paired with 2 hours of cardio per day are still happening all too often t...

Episode 134: Stress Biofeedback with Nick Langer   Today Nick Langer of BR Physiques joined us to talk about tracking stress in biofeedback, how to interpret markers and when coaches should or should not ask clients to track.  We discuss HRV, RHR, FBG, BBT, and BG among others and how they relate and paint an actionable and coachable picture of the client.  We also discuss genetic p...

Episode 133: Building a Community with Tristan Winters Today we were joined by Tristan Winters from the Daily Pursuit to talk about how he built his community of clients and coaches and his strong beliefs in service-based leadership. Head health, heart health, and daily checklists he says is what keeps his clients and his team going. We asked him questions about marketing, client communication and...

You sent Episode 132: Personal Training Perks with Jace Lopez   With the online coaching market heating up more and more each year it leaves us wondering how coaches can leverage the once "red ocean" space of personal training.  We invited Jace Lopez, owner of Apex Training in Lafayette, LA to talk about being a personal trainer and what operations and revenue look like for his gym and h...

Today we welcomed Peter Bond onto our show to discuss his book "The Book On Steroids."  We asked Peter about what the research says on steroid use in terms of side effects, doses, and other topics. Peter covered a few different steroids such as Primobolan and Trenbolone along with of course testosterone, discussing the studies involving doses and duration. There was also a discussion on diure...

Episode 130: Leading from the Front "The coaching space is saturated, but it's not competitive". Today we were joined by Aaron Straker of Straker Nutrition to talk about business ownership, leadership, and setting standards and boundaries for success. Where do coaches go wrong, allowing their clients to breach boundaries? How do you draw good attention to yourself in a saturated marketplace? How d...

Today we were joined by Ross Cowan, owner of Strong AF Fitness who discusses his five tips on increasing business performance in terms of client headcount and revenue earned. How to build trust on social media? Should you use TikTok? When should you implement a customer resource management system? www.theexcellencecartel.com

Hey everyone make sure you come check out PEC 6 (yes, we are on our 6th rodeo!) in Nashville this June 3rd to 6th! We are shaking things up with private, small group Q&A's with us three J's on Friday before the open event on Saturday featuring: List of speakers for Saturday ticket: 8 am Erin Crawford - Optimizing Fertility Through Nutrition & Natural Tactics 9 am Justin Mihaly - Physiologi...

Episode 127: Programming around the Menstrual Cycle Vinny Russo, coach and WBFF Pro joined us today to discuss how he programs training, nutrition, and supplements around the female menstrual cycle. How long does a period last? How do you track it? What are the phases within a cycle and what hormonal implications are there? We cover the basics and then dive into troubleshooting what may go wrong,...

Episode 126: Today Dr. Twyman joined us to discuss all things Cardiovascular health-wise. Calcium score tests and their role in determining your risk of a heart incident. We discussed cholesterol numbers and what they mean to the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Along with chatting about others tests, such as the "max pulse test," to get better insight into your heart health. This episode has a h...

Episode 125: All About IBD with Dr. Sean Golden Dr. Golden from The Golden Health Method joined us again today for a deep dive into IBD, IBS, Crohn's and general gut dysbiosis. How does commensal bacteria modulate an immune response? How do different types of fiber act as friend or foe during periods of IBD calm and flares? Should you consume red meat or resistant starches? How is IBD diagnosed? D...

Episode 124: Open Q&A Today we relaxed the show a little to take on some of the questions we got in our DMs. How much overhead is acceptable in a coaching business? How to support depletions on HBC? Clothing recommendations for bodybuilders? We got a mixed bag today so we hope you enjoy our take and get some laughs along the way.

Phil Viz joins Jason and Jeff Black today as Jeffrey Su is recovering from an emergency appendix removal. We sat down with Phil to discuss breaking down mental health as a competitor, lifestyle enthusiast, and business owner. From the performance enhancers you might take for competition and their effects on mental health to how to sustain your mental health as your business grows. Phil even discus...

Episode 122: The Tiger King   We had the pleasure and the privilege of having Marc Lobliner on our show today, the CEO of tigerfitness.com!  Marc talks about his businesses, what success and having enough means to him now and the twists and turns along the way which made him value coaching, family, and legacy. www.theexcellencecartel.com

Episode 121: Jason's DNA Results   Jason took one for the team and got his DNA tested by Dr. Anthony Jay and today we break down the findings and analyze areas of risks on his report.  DNA testing can provide insight into genetic risks to your health and allow you to be preventative.  We can't change our genetics but we can change our habits and our environments.   Tune in...

Episode 120: Eating Disorders with Harriet Frew   Today we invited Harriet Frew, eating disorder therapist from the UK to chat with us about identifying patterns of disordered eating.  The unfortunate truth is that eating disorders are a common occurrence in the fitness industry, often hidden by goal focused physiques, Type A personalities and other displays of perfection.  But unde...

Episode 119: Female Virilization with Jamie Pinder    Jamie joined us again today to talk openly about the side effects of female steroid use.  Physique enhancement in the competitive space can take a dark turn when you combine insecurities and access to drugs which have lasting, irreversible effects.  What you want at 22 will be a lot different than what you want at 35. Take t...

Episode 117: Deductive Reasoning and The Four F's with Vince Pitstick   Inductive reasoning doesn't work when you are dealing with complex metabolic conditions - the act of applying a solution.  Deductive reasoning entails peeling layers back, finding your heaviest domino, and working a case from its roots out to its branches.  Today we invited the Metabolic Mentor himself, Vince Pi...

Episode 116: Longevity Drugs with Austin Stout  Austin joined us today to discuss the benefits of certain drugs like Telmisartan, Metformin, Insulin, and GH as they relate to longevity and physique enhancement for both men and women.  We discuss benefits, risks, dosages, and application within an hour! www.theexcellencecartel.com

Episode 115: The Business of Fitness with Nate Telow   Today I (Jeffrey Su) took the mic and hosted the show and we had fellow Massachusetts native Nate Telow on to talk about his various roles and adventures in the business of fitness and what success and happiness means to him in hindsight.  From the halls of Berkeley College to personal training to managing corporate gyms, Nate weaves...

Today is just Jason and Jeff Black as Su enjoys his vacation. Jason and Jeff hit the vault of questions and picked 6 random ones to entertain you all with for this week. 1)The importance of blood sugar readings in the off-season. 2)Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease 3)4 Types of PCOS 4)Thoughts on Primobolan 5)Coming off birth control - blood work or Dutch test? 6)One thing we have learned in busin...

Episode 113: Physical Therapy Applications with Dr. Lawler (Part 2)  Today we got some "in clinic" hands on troubleshooting from Dr. Lawler on shoulder, back, and knee pain.  This is an episode we are also putting up on YouTube so listeners can also view the therapeutic movements being performed and physical ailments being diagnosed.  Be sure to check it out here https://youtu.be/BL...

Episode 112: Physical Therapy Applications with Dr. Lawler  Today we invited Dr. Racheal Lawler, owner of Anatomy Repair in Cleveland, TN onto the show to discuss the common anatomical issues which arise in athletes chasing strength and size.  Tight shoulders, low back pain, hip pain, knee pain, etc. are common in male and female athletes as well as general population clientele of all ag...