Latest / The Unsexy Businessmen / Strong, Not Skinny: How Gordon Steele Built a Body (and a Routine) That Actually Lasts
Transcript
- Alex: Welcome to another edition of the Unsexy Podcast, where we talk about the unsexy side of everything. We once again have another very, very special guest. We have Gordon Steele, or as I refer to him, Steele. ⁓ he and I served our LDS missions in the same area in Chiapas, Mexico. ⁓ essentially Him and I don't talk a ton. We've had some communication here back and forth over the last thirteen years, ⁓ since the mission ended for ⁓ for me. And I saw an image of him the other day where he is looking wicked swole and strong. And it was the first time I'd seen a picture of him in probably like three to four years where that was not the case previously. Like a major change from I would say probably just eating everything that you wanted to now you are like these ⁓ Bull, like just the strongest person that I've seen in a long time. So ⁓ welcome. I d I I'm gonna just so everyone knows, I'm going to like what I refer to you, seeing the name Gordon like on the screen right now is like really throwing me off. So I'm just gonna refer to you as Steel throughout this. And I know it goes with ⁓ with how the body's looking these days too. So ⁓ what happened, man? Like what how'd you go from from where you were to to now just in and then Aaron and I will just ask some questions about it. Gordon Steele: ⁓ man, yeah, thank you so much. ⁓ I'm glad to have the opportunity to to be on the Unsexy Businessmen podcast. recently ⁓ become aware of of a lot of what you guys are doing. And so ⁓ thanks for having me. I at the beginning of you know, the the New Year's resolutions kicked in around 2018, and I think it was more just Alex: Thank you. Thank you. Gordon Steele: Probably my literal heart telling me, You gotta make some changes, you gotta do something differently, or you're gonna die. ⁓ that's that's absolutely how I felt. I felt like I was going to die if I did not change. ⁓ fortunately for me, I've been surrounded by healthy influences, especially since I got married. ⁓ my wife's family are all The fittest people I have ever interacted with. My in-laws just completed their fourth high rocks this year. I can't wait for them to take care of me when I'm old. But the it I I s I said, I have to get started with something. I liked lifting weights in high school. Let me do that. ⁓ so I said I can go to the gym two days a week. Alex: Ha ha ha Gordon Steele: Let me let me start there. Little by little, how's going? And when you start, it sucks and it it hurts and it's hard. And you're tired, you know, depending on when you go. But actually you're tired no matter what, just because of ⁓ you're starting from zero. I had had an office job previous to that for a long time, a restaurant. I managed a restaurant for four years before that. and was eating everything in the restaurant. ⁓ and so I I started little by little baby steps chipping away, then adding another day and then another day to the point where now I'm at five, six days a week ⁓ lifting and honestly loving it. Aaron: What what ⁓ what weight did you start at? Gordon Steele: ⁓ man. that's not gonna sound super impressive. ⁓ but I I was at probably ⁓ 230 in ⁓ in twenty end of twenty eighteen when I was ⁓ starting out. Have increased weight quite a bit. I'd like to ⁓ think that most of that has been muscle, you know. I I think that ⁓ my journey's been kind of cyclical. I I love food. I'm very passionate about it. ⁓ anybody who knows me would know me as the guy who loves tacos and can out eat anybody in the room. and so the nutrition aspect came a little bit later. Alex: It has been. Gordon Steele: ⁓ I started with the the gym getting in those habits. And then I said, all right, I want to make different changes to my body. I'm feeling strong. I'm feeling capable. I'm feeling confident in the gym. Let me let me make changes to the way I look. ⁓ and so in tw 2023 is when I ⁓ took a a deeper dive into making sure I'm hitting protein goals. ⁓ being in a a calorie deficit. ⁓ I got down from probably two seventy to two thirty-five in in twenty twenty-three. Easily made it back up to 275 at the end of last year, ⁓ but am now hovering around two fifty-eight. Aaron: So I guess like sorry to cut you off, Alex, like what obviously you said in the beginning it was just getting the habit of going to the gym. So I I guess you have a bunch of questions. I guess the for a lot of people, that first going to the gym can be nerve-wracking. Did you experience anything like that when you were like just getting in there, like just nervous or like I don't know what I'm doing, or people are gonna make fun of me or look at me weird? Gordon Steele: Yeah, I I think that growing up, I thought I was an extrovert, and I'm not. I'm an extroverted introvert. and so I I can get very self-conscious very easily. ⁓ the confidence wasn't there getting started. My trick was headphones and the world doesn't exist. So choosing all of the songs that I wanted to hear. beforehand having a good playlist and then just tunnel vision. This is the this is the exercise I'm doing. Then I move into that one, then I'm moving to that one. Hopefully having some backups in case Vasa and Orim is crazy busy as it usually is in a university town. but yes, ⁓ I had to have my blinders on or I I wouldn't have been able to keep going. Alex: This is like an interesting this is an interesting case study because once again, everyone has different journeys that they go on. And have you done anything like DEXA scans or things like that to cause you look muscly, dude. You look like I said, the ox term. Like we've had Greek gods on the podcast. You are like built thick, like right now. Like have you done anything like that? Because the reason I'm asking that question about the DEXA scans is like it it's another example of like losing weight isn't always going to be the goal. Like if there's a a a something you're trying to reach, so do you have like any data behind that? You're just like or is it like I I know I look like I'm solid ⁓ steel right now. Gordon Steele: You know, I've done some of those in body ones, ⁓ you know, and they give a decent ⁓ picture of of body muscle mass ⁓ versus skeletal musc or you know, skeletal muscle mass and nothing super official like a a DEXA though. I'd I'd I'd be really interested in in having that done. Aaron: 'Cause the interesting thing about DEXA scans is like it's funny 'cause you're like, well, I actually gained a bunch of weight. Like I got a DEXA scan done on Monday and even though ⁓ like my body fat percentage is low, I'm still considered overweight. Like Like with like on the on the whole metric. So like the whole the whole like BMI things all I remember like reading a thing where it's like Michael Jordan is considered obese or whatever it was. It was a long time ago. Just like consider like just if you're looking at the actual BMI, it means it means nothing. ⁓ it's more about yeah. ⁓ that we always are promoting just like getting DEXA scans essentially, so you can get your baseline and see where you're at and see if you're because you undoubtedly gained a lot of muscle when you went from you said two thirty-five to two seventy. Yeah, I mean Cause you're working out, you're doing the thing, you're seeing, you're seeing it's the eye test. You can tell that you're gaining muscle. And not only that, but I'm sure you just started lifting heavier weights or just more reps and stuff like that. So it's just like, I think maybe somebody listening like, he went from 235 to 270. Ugh. Like, yeah. And probably most of that was muscle. So it doesn't really like the the actual weight on the scale isn't as important as people put it out to be. Gordon Steele: It i I for me personally, it really isn't. ⁓ my clothes that I've had for years fit better now than they ever have. ⁓ they fit in a way that's more flattering, they fit comfortably. ⁓ I think that there is something to be said about a healthy body weight and you know, healthy body fat percentages, which Aaron: Yes. Mm-hmm. Gordon Steele: ⁓ you know, I'm sure I can improve on that. ⁓ but there's also healthy muscle amount. ⁓ you know, I've I've heard it said that your muscles, your retirement plan. That was something I heard early on that I that I thought I've gotta I've gotta get to that before it becomes increasingly more difficult to gain and maintain muscle mass. ⁓ You know, I want to be able to sustain my body weight with my grip, with my leg strength. ⁓ so I think that taking the entire spectrum of health into consideration is important and not just what the number on your scale says, because you may be mal malnourished ⁓ in in that scenario. Aaron: A hundred percent. Yep. Yeah. Alex: Right. ⁓ d do you so do you do I know you said probably like within the last like eighteen months, it's not like twenty twenty four like nutrition became more important. Are you are you a person who tracks macros? Are you a person who just has that feel where you're just like, I know that I'm eating the right things, I know I'm eat I ate the wrong thing, I need to do a a little more protein today, etcetera? Gordon Steele: ⁓ at the beginning of 2023, I was pretty religious in tracking in my FitnessPal. ⁓ You know, I'd I'd get in there and I logged everything for probably eight months that year. ⁓ and then because I was doing it so regularly, when I'm not tracking exactly, I know, okay, I have to eat four or five. meals a day. ⁓ and in each meal I'm trying to get, you know, forty, fifty grams of protein if I can. I I'd like to be above two hundred grams of protein each day. so right now I'm not tracking ⁓ I think that as My wife and I are going to be training for our first high rocks. I still won't track, but I'm just going to lean toward eating the foods that I know are healthy and that I like, ⁓ just because I'll need to fuel my body for for that type of training. Alex: Any foods that you love? Like any foods that you just like, ⁓ my gosh, don't take this away from me. I mean, I know you mentioned tacos. Gordon Steele: I I love yeah, I I mean you can make tacos fit. You can make ⁓ absolutely you can make really anything you love fit into a caloric and macro restricted diet. ⁓ and you can even do it to where it's not a temporary solution, you can do it ⁓ as a a lifestyle, ⁓ you know, it's just how you live. You You eat healthy the majority of the time. And then you don't you don't miss out on celebrations. You don't miss out on ⁓ in enjoying the the really great foods out there. ⁓ and you know, life's about balance. So make living your life to the fullest fit in to staying alive to the fullest. Alex: W w along the nutrition lines, do you use any supplements or anything like that? Like using protein powder, using anything you're comfortable sharing? Not that you're doing anything illegal, just Gordon Steele: Yeah. Yeah. I mean I I'd I'd be happy to like I I like to get as much of my protein and nutrition from Whole Foods as I possibly can. It's really tough to hit that that 200 without ⁓ a protein shake. We just go to Costco and get the cheapest ⁓ like the optimum nutrition protein when it goes on sale every year. I've got a shelf a shelf, yeah, shelf in my pantry that's got like Alex: A J in January. Aaron: Yes. Gordon Steele: 15 bags of protein on it right now, and then we'll restock next January. ⁓ and then throughout the year though, because I like food and flavor, I'm trying other, you know, other brands of protein, seeing which ones have good flavor and good ⁓ you know, balance between protein and carbs ⁓ for what you get. ⁓ and then creatine. Creatine I don't miss. ⁓ that one. is is super important for your your muscular and strength growth and ⁓ as well as your cognitive function. I recently upped it because there there were a few things that I read that ⁓ led me to believe that I was not getting enough for the cognitive benefits and now I'm seeing that that's likely accurate. ⁓ really Aaron: What are you at? Alex: Well how how much are you taking of like 'cause I should've probably asked Aaron too. Like I take eight grams and I'm not sure that's enough. Gordon Steele: ⁓ I was I was I was doing five grams for the longest time and then I upped it to ten. So I'm just doing ten Alex: Okay. Okay. Around there. Aaron: Yeah. Gordon Steele: and ⁓ so the magnesium. I love taking ⁓ magnesium before bed each night. It knocks me out after about an hour. I just if I'm laying down, it's game over. ⁓ I think there are a lot of good supplements out there. I think that there's a lot more that are unnecessary. Aaron: Yes, absolutely. Alex: Yeah. Do you you just mentioned sleep right there? Or sorry, Aaron, do you have a nutrition thing before I you just mentioned what's your schedule like? Like so take it an hour before bed, like are you pretty rigorous with how your day's structure or Aaron: N no, no, no, that's I I agree. Gordon Steele: So our our ⁓ sleep schedule has improved drastically over the last like two years. We are very consistent at kind of winding down around eight thirty and in bed trying to sleep by nine thirty most nights. ⁓ we do, yeah. We've got three kids. So during this Aaron: Do you have ki do you have kids? We do. Yeah. Okay. So it is possible. Gordon Steele: Yeah, I mean I have a full-time job, nine to five, you know, kind of a a job. And ⁓ you you you've got to fit you into your day. ⁓ you know, one one story that my wife's family kind of tells pretty regularly is that ⁓ there was you know, her her dad was presented with ⁓ hey, ⁓ can you can you help out with this on Saturday or something like that? And it's a Saturday. Saturday is everybody's free day. ⁓ but he said, ⁓ I I can't. I have an appointment. And they were thinking, What do you mean? You don't have anything going on? And he said, Yeah, I have I'm going to the gym. That's when I go to the gym. So I learned from that I have to set an appointment with myself for myself. And it's something that I don't break. ⁓ so w my wife and I both love it. My wife's a personal trainer. ⁓ and you know, kind of that definitely helps ⁓ with my routine. ⁓ and so for for a long while I was getting the kids ready and then heading off to the gym. We switched things up this school year. I wake up at ⁓ maybe 5:15 and then Get ready, go to the gym. I'm home in time for my first call in the morning. Alex: Right. So if you're going to bed at nine thirty, that's giving you close to that eight hour if you're waking up at five fifteen, which is but that's the thing to do my little soapbox of what you're just saying that I don't think people get. Like if you if you work out, you're gonna be really effing tired and you're gonna sleep that full eight hours. So like it's really not that crazy to have a schedule where it's let's say you want to go to bed at like ten thirty, maybe you're like more of a night owl eleven like, okay, cool, wake up at six forty five like you're gonna you will fall asleep, you'll wake up at six forty five, seven, get your work out. saying, ⁓ it's my s like my sleep is so bad. Your sleep's so bad because you aren't tired by the end of the night. Like you think you're tired because like, ⁓ I'm exhausted from sitting in a chair all day. Like that's not what it where exhaustion comes from. A lot of exha if you're sitting in a chair all day, all of my exhaustion comes from the workouts that I do and my interactive time with my family. So that's why I'm asking about like what those routines are like. So you become pretty strict on following those routines and then you see ⁓ the benefits of that. And I would imagine too that this is this isn't like ⁓ Hopefully this isn't a weird question, like I'm sure you're avoiding all poisonous things, drugs, alcohol alcohol, etc. ⁓ that also will help with that sleep and help with muscle growth. Gordon Steele: Yeah, I mean ⁓ ha haven't tried any of those yet. but but but ⁓ man, that ⁓ yeah, I'll have to I'll write that down for something to try one of these years. but Alex: Never say never. Yeah. It's so awesome to lift when you're high. ⁓ Aaron: Yeah. You're missing out, man. Missing out. Alex: Ha ha ha. Aaron: Ha ha Alex: It's not worth it. Don't do it. Don't do it. I have too many friends who do it. I'm just like, I don't think you're getting as good of a lift as you think you're getting. Gordon Steele: Yeah, but I mean I what do I miss out on by going to bed earlier ⁓ for longer? Maybe you know, three episodes of something. ⁓ and this is coming from someone who loves TV. I love it. but I get sleepy. I can't even I can't even put it on now ⁓ before I my because I've gotten into the routine and I my body wants to just Go to sleep. ⁓ and then in the morning, one of the things about keeping a routine of lifting ⁓ or regular exercise, whatever is the palatable form of exercise for you, is you develop a good addiction. I I feel so off like I'm missing something big. if I don't get my lift in because maybe there's a rare work conflict or ⁓ some sort of urgent situation that needs to be addressed. ⁓ but I'm I'm also looking for where can I squeeze this in somewhere else in the day ⁓ if I if I didn't get my normally scheduled workout. Aaron: Yeah, exactly. I think that's there there's there's so many people that like come up with all the c and we're not saying that you have to work out at five o'clock in the morning. Like just you need to figure out when it works for your schedule and do it. But there's always like, and this is why I asked if you got kids, because we're like, well, I got kids and there's school and I got work and ⁓ blah, blah, blah, blah. We all do. Like mo I would say most people in their 30s, 40s, 50s, late 20s, whatever it is, have kids and plenty of people have figured it out. Alex: You're making Aaron very happy. Aaron: Don't let that be the excuse of why you can't go to the gym. And even like my thing is too is like go for 30 minutes. Like if that's all you can do, it's better than nothing. Go get a hard workout for 30 minutes and you'll be you'll be great. I'm the same way as you, man. Like if I miss a gym session, I'm like in a bad mood. Like I'm not like like pissed off or anything, but there's just something off. And there's been times when I for whatever I haven't gone on my regular schedule and I'll just be kind of off. And my wife will actually I was like, did you go to the gym yet? I'm like, no, it's like, you need to go to the gym. Yeah, you need to go to the gym. I can't stand being around you. No. But it it's just something. Alex: Go. Well well dude was funny. As as As Steele was like saying that, I just see Aaron nodding like Jack Nicholson in the departed. He's just like, Yes, yes, because that's like Aaron, like nothing gets Aaron more hard. Biceps wise, gets Aaron more wanting to flex than ⁓ man, I f I I just feel weird. Like I feel weird not doing it because it becomes so habitual. And just use your kids like the only reason you should use your kids to get out of anything is social engagements. Don't use your kids don't use your kids to try to get out of like things that are positive for your health. Like that seems Aaron: Yes. Both. Yeah. Alex: Very, very counterintuitive to me. ⁓ I I do have like another ⁓ well, I have one more question. And then if like other questions come up, like just making sure I hit on like the the four main points I wanted to hit on. Do you use any wearables? Like you mentioned you stop tracking food. Are you using like wearables seeing what your heart rate's like? Or is it just like, I literally am an ox. I'm in nature, and I'm just going for it. Gordon Steele: You know, I I have a Fitbit watch. I hate wearing it when I'm asleep. Just my my circulation all already somehow gets cut off at some point when I'm sleeping and I don't need a watch to constrict. ⁓ but I really do like wearing it when I remember because I love seeing how many steps I got. ⁓ my wife and I will go on walks in the evenings. ⁓ For a long time I was trying to get that magic number of 10,000 steps. and I had a lot of success in in my fat loss during that time. now when we go on walks, I'm just knowing, yeah, if we go for a two-mile walk, ⁓ I got way more steps than I would have just sitting at my desk all day. ⁓ and you know, and I see Aaron: Right. Gordon Steele: Benefits of that when my son wants to go on a hike when we go camping, I'm not gassed. I can just keep going and going and going, just from that simple low mileage, low intensity cardio, low impact, you know, my knees aren't destroyed because I weigh a ton. If I'm running and I, you know, I've got almost 260 pounding on my knees, it Aaron: Yes. Gordon Steele: it can hurt, you know. so walking is absolutely an acceptable and amazing form of cardio. Aaron: Yeah. Yep. Alex: Yeah, and anyone that's not watching the podcast, you've been walking this entire time. You don't sound out of breath. We're at the twenty-five minute mark of him just walking the entire time. So I just want to say that for anyone who's just listening to it, like if you've if if anyone's like, ⁓ he sounds like he like something has changed, it's cause he's walking. But I I haven't been able to notice that at all. So yeah, sorry I cut you off, Aaron. Aaron: The entire time. Yeah. You got your steps in, man. Gordon Steele: Yeah. Aaron: No, you're fine. The ⁓ what what do you do at the gym now? Like what what are the like are you lifting heavy or like what what's your routine? Gordon Steele: Yeah, so ⁓ I do a push day of chest and tricep focus, and then I do a pull day of back biceps shoulder focus, and then I do a leg day, usually emphasizing ⁓ quads one day, and then as I repeat it, hamstrings, glutes, you know, the ⁓ the hind site. I I work calves every time, ⁓ just because they they don't get enough love, I don't think. And ⁓ genetically I think everybody or you know, a lot of us struggle with ⁓ an aesthetic looking ⁓ calf ⁓ and and high performing calves as well. ⁓ Aaron: That's the only thing that ⁓ Alex and I were blessed with with genetics were amazing gaffes. Alex: Triceps. I think we I think skinners have nice triceps and calves. Gordon Steele: Fantastic. You should start an ⁓ an Instagram account with those Catholics. Aaron: The chest. Alex: Tri tries OnlyFans. Get out of here. Get out of here, Steele. We're gonna make money off of it immediately. Aaron: More like OnlyFans account. Only Cabs. Gordon Steele: There you go. Yeah. Yeah. Only cats. ⁓ and so that that's typically what I do. I like to take a a rest day midweek, maybe every other week or every three weeks. When I like listening to my body and just feeling, okay, am I am I wearing thin? Do I need to sleep in a little bit today? Do I need to maybe just go on a another walk in the morning instead of of lifting. ⁓ I have been trying to go heavier recently, like past two months, ⁓ really focusing on ⁓ the progressive overload, just ⁓ doing a little bit more each time, being a little bit more intense and intentional. ⁓ just So that I can see the the strength and the the muscle growth. Aaron: And it gives you like motivation, right? Like you're like it's not only is like goals like all I don't want to go to here, here, but just like if you look back, do you do you track your workouts at all? Gordon Steele: Yeah, I my wife got me onto an app called Heavy H E V Y. It is great. You can buy a lifetime subscription if you want for super cheap and then track it forever. ⁓ she's very religious about tracking. She gets on me about ⁓ when I don't track because it's gonna mess up ⁓ my volume for the year. but I I love it. Aaron: Yeah. It's what I use. It's great. Yes. Yep. Yep. Good. I'll get on to you about it. Track it all. Track it all, Steel. Don't be lazy. Alex: Ha ha Gordon Steele: I I know, I know. ⁓ that's what I'm learning from from the podcast is is tracking better. ⁓ but Aaron: You guys don't shut up about it. Alex: Well 'cause it's funny when you're like when you said like I stopped tracking my nutrition, I'm just like, Aaron's not gonna like that. He's not gonna like that. You're not tracking your nutrition. You only did it for eight months. I could feel his disappointment. ⁓ Aaron: I shake I I show I started shaking my head. Like Gordon Steele: I saw that. That was that was like my my mission president telling me I did something wrong. Alex: Don't get me started on that. That was every day for me. ⁓ gosh. so not kind of tracking it, not doing it like crazy, but your wife is going to inevitably get you to do that. Aaron: But the the reason being though, dude, is like it's like as ⁓ like I said, I have the heavy app and it's I've used a bunch of different ones. They're all there's a bunch of great ones, but I ⁓ that's what I landed on. It's just cool to look back like three months ago and be like, hold ⁓ I am doing something right. ⁓ maybe those days where you're like, is this working? Like you're not hitting as as maybe you didn't hit the goal for that week you're wanting to, and but you look back like, ⁓ I'm still lifting way more than I was last month. Or like not even like not even way more. Like could be like just five pounds more ⁓ of of on your set and it's just like, ⁓ good, okay, I couldn't do that a month ago. I'm doing something right. So that's why I love tracking everything. Gordon Steele: Absolutely. And then and then if you you look at, okay, I'm I'm not feeling super strong today, but I could still get more volume if I throw in a fourth set where I typically have only done three sets for this exercise. Aaron: Mm-hmm. Yes. Yep. Yep. Absolutely. Yeah, I totally agree. I totally agree. Hey sorry, Alex said that you were like ⁓ getting ready for ⁓ high rocks. That is see, I didn't know what that was until we had Alex's friend on for one of the other podcasts. That is kind of like a it's not a tough mutter, but it's kind of like a tough mutter, kind of a whatever. What are you doing to train for that? Because that's a lot of cardio stuff that's involved in that too, right? Gordon Steele: You know, something ⁓ sorry, go on. Yeah, so we're we're actually we're gonna go on one final vacation next week before we start really digging into the training for that. it it consists of eight kilometers total of sp running as quickly as you can. ⁓ you'll do a kilometer and then you do a crazy workout and then a kilometer and and so on. Aaron: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Gordon Steele: ⁓ and so I'm gonna lean on my strength and and my wife's strengths, ⁓ but we both are going to need to ⁓ improve our our ⁓ running. Fortunately, she's got I think seven family members that have done high rocks at least once this year that were going to pick their brains on, okay. What what would you do if you were just starting to run now? And then I have runner friends that ⁓ I'm gonna be picking their brains as well. And then, you know, the ⁓ the good old AI gonna Aaron: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely, dude. Absolutely. Gordon Steele: Yeah. ⁓ one thing that that I was thinking about when ⁓ a moment ago is one of the benefits of sticking to a routine finally, ⁓ after years of knowing that I wanted to, is when you're sick, i you're not sick as frequently, at least it's been in my experience, by far not as frequently. And when you're when you're unhealthy sick versus healthy sick is a completely different animal. Your recovery's different. The level to which you get sick is such a different experience. ⁓ I and it's hard to explain. unhealthy sick felt like the worst thing in the world to me. I'd get like lung issues. all the time. ⁓ and now it's fewer and farther between and my recovery from that is ⁓ so much quicker and the the process of being sick is way less ⁓ You know, I I I hate it way less. Aaron: Well, it's it it it's also like it's ⁓ this isn't like scientifically true at all, but it's almost like your body's rewarded you for taking care of your body. It's like, thank you, thank you. And obviously, you know, you're all in one, but it's just like because you're doing all these healthy things, you're eating better, you're exercising more, you're just setting yourself up to be able to recover faster from when you do get sick. Because I've noticed the exact same thing. When I was super fat, I you know, when I was sick, I was out for like a week minimum. ⁓ and now when I do get sick, ⁓ it do it defin doesn't usually last as long. It's not as intense like you were saying. So it's just like there's so there's just so many benefits to getting in shape and eating healthy and doing all that. So I I totally agree. Alex: Yeah. All the people who are like, Man, I used to not get sick when I was in like my early twenties. It's like, yeah, when you're at your healthiest. Like you n not as frequently and not as not as severe. ⁓ and then when you have kids who are constantly bringing bringing home sickness, you like Aaron: Yeah, i exactly. Yes. Alex: We had a kid sick from essentially November to May. And I think my wife and I got sick one time out of those like twenty or so different sicknesses that they were bringing home. So, you know, you're still gonna catch it and you're still gonna go through like whatever that experience is. But I do agree, like as long as it's something, so for example, I had strep, as long as it's something that doesn't require like antibiotics or a very specific thing. Aaron: Mm-hmm. Alex: you're going to you're going to feel better or potentially avoid it. a lot of those times. Love that. Awesome. ⁓ Steele, do you feel like there's any like what's if you had to give like one piece of advice to like this is the hill I would die on to our listeners, which apparently is growing significantly based on the the the numbers that I've been seeing. I thought we had like 12 people we've been seeing like anyways it's Neither here nor there. But like what's that now we're to now we're now from from seven to eight to it looks like we have like forty c constant listeners. What's like the piece of advice for them? Aaron: Fifty thousand. Gordon Steele: you you've got to get started. and when you're when you're at the gym and you've started and you think this workout is terrible, ⁓ or I'm not being very effective, you just gotta push through and just say, But tomorrow's is gonna be better. ⁓ because it it's just something you do now. And and you become a person that exercises regularly. And you don't make your kids the excuse. You make them the reason where showing them, hey, I can do this hard thing. I can make crazy changes to my body, my mind. ⁓ it you know, it helps them know that they can come back from anything. ⁓ it helps them They see the example of going to the gym, they're so much more likely, and I know that there are studies on that, they're so much more likely though, to live an active lifestyle. So you will without saying anything ⁓ with words, be setting them up to not go through a need for a a major health course correction in their life if they'll if they'll follow your example. Aaron: Yeah, look at your in laws, right? Like, there you go. Yeah, you have proof like you're married to one. There's someone who was around someone a fam like parents that probably worked out all the time. That was just that's what you do. And that's what happens. Like so you're absolutely right, man. Alex: Right. And I don't wanna like I I hate poo-pooing on like family, but like ours was less about do it putting in the work and more about taking supplements. So we grew up steel like an herbalife an herbalife family. So that's more about just take thermogenics and you'll lose weight. ⁓ yeah, you you live you lived in Mexico. I'm sure you've I'm sure you've had a lot of ther ⁓ herbalife. Gordon Steele: I've worked with network marketing companies for a very long time. Alex: ⁓ and and so like I I just see so like I I saw that in my life where it's just like okay you like you take this magic pill but I never I never really saw I guess like siblings like would participate in sports but like we would participate in sports but we weren't like getting to the gym if that makes sense. Would you agree with that, Aaron? Like it's not like we're going and working out, it's like we're going and playing the sport and going home. Aaron: Herbalife's the best. Right. ⁓ a hundred percent. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. I rarely went to the gym or worked out in in high school at all, unless I was required to for like football or basketball or whatever. Alex: Yeah. Yeah, I got into it 'cause the the dudes that I were living with went there all the time. Like they're like, Hey, we're going to Vasa Provo or Vasa Oram. We're going to Vasa Oram. Like, all right, well, I don't want to be left at home by myself. ⁓ so yeah, like it it I agree that like the from the young age it's probably better to see it, but the people you surround yourself with is a huge factor in in in cr in in getting into the gym and getting into the habit. Aaron: Real quick, ⁓ so I went to the Vasa in Lehigh. My God, does anyone have jobs? Like there was it was like it was packed with people at nine o'clock in the morning. I was like, Where what are all these people doing? They're all tech bros? Like there was pack. Alex: D the Lehigh Vasa though, dude, the Lehigh Vasa you're going to is probably gonna have a lot of the people from Alpine who probably work from home and are probably in upper, upper, upper management who make their own schedules. Aaron: Yes. Yeah, my god. Yeah, exactly. Go build your own gym. Gordon Steele: Well they they already had a successful tech exit, so they don't they don't need to. Well they've got it, but they they need to be seen as well. Well and you know what? It honestly though, if if your why is aesthetics, do it too. F find a reason to live healthy. Alex: ⁓ man. Aaron: true, very true, very true. Alex: Right as Aaron: Yep, absolutely. Hundred percent. Alex: Yeah. And we can end on that. That's beautiful. Find a reason to live healthy from Gordon Steele. Hey, we really appreciate it, Steele. We hope that ⁓ everyone got something out of this episode. I know that I did. ⁓ have a wonderful rest of the week and go be unsexy, everybody. Gordon Steele: Thank you, Monsieur.