An interview with Peloton's Andy Speer

Getting Stronger at 40 & Beyond

👋Hello, my friend. I'm back in your inbox this morning with a quick note sharing a recent conversation I had with Peloton's Andy Speer and recommending a few of my favorite recent pieces of content. Also, I can't remember if I shared this here or not but a lot of people keep asking me for my Jackson Hole / Yellowstone itinerary after my family’s recent trip there. So here it is. Of course I wrote up everything we liked and didn't like... what else was I supposed to do on the plane ride home?

Anyhow... let's dive in!

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Intentional Wisdom Podcast - Ep.31 - Andy Speer

Hey now! The Intentional Wisdom podcast is back! I had a brief hiatus but I'm back and I've got a nice line-up of episodes coming your way.

First up: Peloton's Andy Speer.🏋️‍♂️ Andy is a strength and running instructor and now the third Peloton instructor I've had on the show— after Denis Morton and Matt Wilpers.

Andy was great. I'm a huge fan of his strength workouts and I've been doing them religiously this year. He's a big part of how I lost 7 lbs. of fat and gained 7 lbs. of muscle in the first half of the year.

One thing I really appreciated about Andy was his vulnerability. What we see on our screens is this handsome (if sometimes goofy), chiseled dude telling us to lift more weight. But, of course, there is more to his story.

It turns out that Andy struggled for much of his life with deep insecurity about his appearance. To use his words, his ears "stuck out like Dumbo" as a kid.

This insecurity shaped his identity for a long time, impacted his self-confidence, and led to some bad habits including internalizing his emotions.

Despite some pain along the way, it's worked out for Andy. He got his ears "fixed" which helped his appearance and confidence, but it wasn't the cure-all he was after.

He realized he needed more work and he ultimately found his way to therapy which he is a big advocate for today and something that he credits with strengthening his mental health and self-image.

I appreciated that Andy was so transparent about that. I think a lot of people can relate.

Of course, I also asked him all the questions you'd think I'd ask him like "What is the biggest ‘pinch me’ moment you've had at Peloton?" and my favorite question: "What's one thing you've learned in life that most others haven't?" and his answers did not disappoint.

And then... we talked strength after 40. 🏋️🏋️‍♂️🏋️‍♀️

That's Andy's bread and butter and he's a true expert on the subject. He’s also 44.

Special shout-out to Andy who was cool enough to review my own personal details and workout plan. You know I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to turn this into a personal coaching session.

I sent him the 7-day workout plan that I outlined here and he was generally a fan of it.

He had some great tips as well that I'm considering or implementing myself now. These included:

• 💪Do the same strength class (or set of classes) for 4 weeks in row

  • Basically the idea here is that the key to strength and muscle gains is progressive overload and in order to do it properly we need to do the same exercises (for a time) and steadily increase the weight and/or reps. Four weeks is long enough for progress, short enough to not get too boring.

  • On this note, I actually just finished Week 3 (of 4) of Andy’s “Density 2” collection on the Peloton app. It’s 3 days per week of strength training (mixing in cardio on the other days). It’s impressively difficult given each session is only 30 minutes but I’ve been able to keep raising my weights and/or reps each week. If you’re on Peloton, I’d recommend it.

• 🏋️After 40, we don't need to do all of the "hero" barbell moves — barbell bench, barbell squat, barbell deadlift, etc.

  • There is nothing wrong with these but after 40, dumbbells can be easier on your joints and allow for more range of motion

• 😰After 40, we should probably only "crush" ourselves once or twice a week.

  • That doesn't mean we can't workout almost every day but we need to be smart with recovery

• 🏃After 40, we need to be more aware of the pounding and accumulated wear and tear we get from running

  • This doesn't mean "don't run", but it probably means "don't run everyday"; other cardio exercises like cycling, swimming, rucking, and my new favorite, incline treadmill walking, can be very effective without all the negative consequences of the excessive pounding. We talked specifically about strength and fitness for women and Andy noted this his fiancée (Rebecca Kennedy, also a Peloton instructor) is creating a ton of alternative cardio content (rucking, hiking, etc.) that is meant to be easier on the joints.

• Finally, Andy is a big fan of:

  • 💪Exercise snacks - my term, not his, but basically adding in a few 10-minute single-muscle workouts throughout the week in addition to your normal routine to accelerate noticeable strength and muscle gains

  • 🧘‍♀️Mobility work and stretching - he described these as "the fountain of youth" and said you can get a lot done even in 10 minutes per day. I'm not as good as I need to be in this area but I’m aiming to improve here.

Oh, one last thing… for those of you who like working out at the gym, Andy broke some news on the podcast about Peloton’s new app for doing exactly that. The Pelo Buddy blog actually covered the news of our conversation here:

Check out our conversation if you get a chance. It's on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. And how about this: 🚨If you leave me a review or comment on any of those platforms, I will mention your name in the next issue of Intentional Wisdom.🚨

Okay, I'm going to leave it there... I told you it was a quick one. But before you go... grab something nutritious for your content diet.

Calling all jerky aficionados

Oh, one last thing... random one. I'm looking to add more protein to my diet but I am realizing I'm taking in too many "fake" sugars by way of flavored yogurts and protein bars. What else do you like that's not filled up with fake sugars? I'm thinking of going deep down the beef/chicken/turkey/venison jerky rabbit hole but also don't want my cholesterol to shoot back up, so let me know if you've got any great ideas here.

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Content Diet

🎙️Patrick O'Shaughnessy & David Senra on the Invest Like the Best podcast - This is an older conversation but they reposted recently because it's awesome. Senra is an absolute animal when it comes to reading biographies of some the world's most impressive people and then finding tangible takeaways that all of us can use in our own lives. His podcast, Founders, has become huge as a result. Anyhow, listen to him talk for an hour with Patrick. His passion in infectious. You'll want more.

🎙️The Science of Motivating Young People - David Yeager & Dr. Aliza on the Raising Good Humans podcast - One for the parents here. I'm all about finding ways to motivate my kids. Yeager, who trained under Carol Dweck (author of Mindset), seems to be on to something with his "mentor mindset." Give it a listen and let me know what you think. Maybe I'll try to get Yeager on Intentional Wisdom.

And, of course, last but not least, give this episode a whirl:

That's it for today. Thanks for reading. See you in two weeks.

Greg