What this covers
We welcome Dr John Jaquish back to "The Hacked Life" podcast for the third time!!! In our last two episodes we broke down variable resistance, the X3 bar, Osteostrong, and tons, tons, of info. Well, he comes back a third time and we go deep again, but this time delving deep into his bestselling and highly controversial book "Weightlifting Is A Waste of Time & So Is Cardio." We talk about veganism and why it'll be one of the greatest scandals in history, why the fitness industry is an absolute joke, why fasting actually builds muscle, and much, much more. We just scratch the surface of what the book breaks down into detail. Make sure to like the video that's how people can this information and please subscribe or leave me a comment and let me know what you liked. Last but not least, pick up Dr J's book, it's phenomenal and it's an easy read.
If you want the show notes and other resources, head over to https://www.joelevancoaching.com/
If you're interested in life/health coaching, email me at info@joelevancoaching.com
Timeline
7:10 - Why write a book? 9:50 - Why most peer reviewed studies are not full proof? 14:22 - Is there ever a time to life weights? 20:00 - Why the fitness industry is the most failed industry in the world 26:50 - Why veganism will go down as the greatest scandal in history 32:00 - Why fasting builds muscle 36:59 - Why amino acids are important 44:18 - Why carbs are not a macronutrient 48:00 - What’s Dr Jaquish’s daily protocol like 54:00 - 10 reps increases testosterone, so why not just do 10 reps? 56:50 - Should I lift heavy or do more reps? 1:10:30 - Myofibrils & sarcoplasm, and why X3 works out both. 1:13:00 - Blood flow restriction training (BFR) induces hypoxia, why not just do that? 1:16:00 - How hypoxia works 1:19:00 - Time under tension and the force curve 1:24:43 - Hyperplasia and how to split muscles cells to increase growth 1:34:00 - The difference between professional athletes’ training & the average athlete 1:44:45 - What is the fitness industry going to be like in 5 years?
Source description (no synthesized summary yet).
Jaquish argues that variable resistance training (X3) combined with proper fasting protocols and protein intake produces superior strength and leanness outcomes compared to traditional weightlifting and cardio, because it stimulates multiple growth mechanisms (myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic growth, hypoxia, and hormonal responses) simultaneously while being safer and more time-efficient.
- Variable resistance creates progressive overload throughout the range of motion, triggering both myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic muscle growth in a single session, unlike traditional weights which create dead zones
- Fasting (48-72 hours) triggers anabolic signaling when followed by large protein meals without the muscle-wasting cortisol response of calorie restriction
- The fitness industry's failure rate (99% of people do not achieve visible muscularity despite gym attendance) proves current methods are fundamentally broken; X3 addresses this with scientifically-optimized protocols
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The fitness industry attracts misinformation because scientists and researchers largely ignore it as unserious, leaving it vulnerable to marketing-driven narratives and pseudoscience without academic scrutiny.
“Could that happen in any other industry the the where that that scientists actually participate in or care about? Which they don't care about fitness at all. Um even sports scientists don't really...Because what they do is like completely different.”
X3 users who gain minimal muscle (e.g., 1 lb over 6 months) are typically not eating sufficient protein rather than experiencing training failure; protein intake is the limiting factor for most users after training protocol is correct
“after we get past the training, people started to use X3. I still saw a lot of people, you know, like half of the X3 users were like, 'Yeah, I've been using it for 6 months, and I only gained a pound of muscle.' That was me. And I Right, and I was like bother me, but I wasn't eating enough. You're right. You weren't eating enough protein. Correct. Right, cuz the other stuff doesn't matter at all.”
Peer review is flawed because reviewers can approve papers without really reading them, may have conflicts of interest (publishing similar research), may face groupthink pressure, and have no incentive to carefully evaluate work, making peer-reviewed status not a reliable quality signal
“I don't know how often somebody just clicks the accept button because they just ran out of time... these like most peer reviewers are uh university professors... In fact, they don't want the peer reviewers to talk to each other cuz they can taint each other's opinion... somebody might shoot down a study because they have a similar study coming out next month and they believe theirs is better”
When Jaquish launches any product targeting metabolic outcomes (e.g., metabolic-specific supplement), he will recuse himself from peer review of related research to avoid conflicts of interest, maintaining scientific integrity despite commercial interest
“And if I ever come out with a product, like X3 has an amazing effect on uh type two diabetics, provided they also in tandem address their nutritional issues, which they have. Like it doesn't come from nowhere. It comes from shoveling cake in your mouth. Uh so like once I uh I wasn't even joking there. No, I know. I know. So, once once I uh launch like if I ever do launch a very metabolic specific product, I'll have to step away Mhm. from that kind of So, So, yeah.”
Calorie restriction causes the body to upregulate cortisol to find a new homeostasis, which metabolizes muscle and protects body fat, whereas fasting does not trigger this response because the body knows it is not a long-term strategy
“The problem with calorie restriction... your body's trying to find the new homeostasis. So, if you're eating 2,000 calories a day, and all of a sudden, you start eating 1,500 calories a day, your body's like, oh, okay. So, we're just getting there's less resources available. So, let's upregulate cortisol so we can shrink muscle and protect body fat.”
People who do not lift heavy enough even to use the white (lightest) X3 band and return it represent a deconditioned population that has become normal, indicating the severity of fitness failure in society.
“when somebody returns a product, almost every time you know, guys will open up the box and only the white band has been unwrapped. So, they return it cuz they weren't strong enough to use even the lightest band. Which is like, okay, well, you know, that's too bad. That's I know you're you're laughing because that's that's a not very strong person. But, that's okay. Yeah. Like like we like of the people who ask, we tell them there's here's a place you can get a uh uh band that's half the power of the white band.”
Strong athletes like Michael Jordan could pick up new skills quickly (he jumped into baseball after basketball) because they had tremendous foundational strength, allowing them to transfer athleticism across domains faster than weak individuals could
“how was it possible that Michael Jordan could just jump right into baseball from basketball, which he did... Well, it's cuz he was incredibly strong and incredibly athletic and he could pick up a new skill, you know, within a couple of days and become incredibly proficient at it.”
Sports scientists (who work in NFL, UFC, Olympic facilities) do fundamentally different training than gym fitness coaches, focusing on plyometrics, explosiveness, flexibility, and bands with minimal heavy weights to prevent injury
“It's like if you go into an NFL training room, the things they do in the drills they they're regularly doing are nothing like what people do in a gym. Nothing. Right. Uh in fact, like skill training centers are like I mean that's kind of what they're called... Skill training centers are like I mean that's kind of what they're called... And it's like they're sprinting, there's a lot of band training, very little weights... Because they're they're trying to keep people from injuring.”
A study showed that people eating every 48 hours (one large meal every 48 hours with same total calories as control group) gained 4 kilos of muscle over approximately 18 weeks with zero exercise, while the regular eating group lost 4 kilos of muscle, demonstrating anabolic signaling from fasting patterns
“there was a study that was not looking for this at all... showed people who doing a calorie restriction with regular Western diet and people who are eating the regular Western diet... but they were just eating every 48 hours. Same calories on both sides... The people who ate every 48 hours they gained muscle. They didn't do anything to stimulate muscle growth. They gained muscle... it was maybe 18 weeks or something... They gained like 4 kilos of muscle... the other group they lost 4 kilos”
Resistance training produces equal or greater cardiovascular health benefits compared to dedicated cardiovascular training, contradicting conventional wisdom that cardio is necessary for heart health
“by the way, you get just as much or more, depending on the study you look at, uh cardiovascular health from resistance training than you do from cardiovascular training.”
Peer review removes author identity to prevent bias based on name, race, or gender, making it one of the fairest processes in professional life and potentially a model that should be applied more broadly
“every time you submit research, it goes to a peer-review process. And they take your name off. Like, you're not allowed to know who wrote the paper you're peer-reviewing. Because you could have a bias against that person... They're denamed. So, like it doesn't matter they don't care who wrote it... I thought she was going to get furious, but, you know, it's like that's just the way it is because you don't want anyone to have a bias... I mean, like like all that matters is the work.”
Isolation exercises like leg presses (where the body is stabilized externally) miss an entire growth hormone regulatory process that requires self-stabilization, which is why athletes perform better than pure bodybuilders for general athletic capability
“Contracting a muscle without stabilizing the body, self-stabilizing the body, you're missing out on an entire process that regulates growth hormone... I understand why you do that and where you get your growth hormone, which is different than where the rest of us get... it's not it's just not it's not functional, but it's not the way the body functions. Like we need self-stabilization.”
Distance runners are never lean because the body adapts to endurance training by increasing fat storage as an energy reserve for long-duration aerobic work
“you're not going to be lean. You're going to be what's called skinny fat... you'll hold uh you know enough body fat to where your your body thinks it's got enough storage of body fat, which is why you never see a lean distance runner.”
The top 1% leanest males in the United States have only 10.9% body fat (where you can barely see the top abdominals), which is pathetic as a fitness industry outcome, especially since 18% of males have used anabolic steroids but still only 1% can achieve below 10.9% body fat
“the leanest males in the United States, 10.9% body fat... that's the top 1% leanest men in the United States. That's pathetic... I think it's 23% of males have used anabolic steroids... So, 18% of people have used anabolic steroids, but only 1% can get below 10.9% body fat. So, even the drugs aren't making a difference.”
Gyms are 300 times more contaminated with viruses, bacteria, and pathogens than public toilet seats because people breathe hard and aspirate fluids while exercising, making gyms worse than ERs or bus stations
“There are 300 times the viruses, bacteria, and pathogens on a piece of fitness equipment compared to the average public toilet seat... It's because people when they exercise, they're basically spitting the whole time. Because you're when you're breathing hard, Yeah. you're aspirating some fluid. Uh and that's got everything that you've got. Yeah. So, uh it a gym is by far the filthiest place you'll ever be.”
Time under tension is a bad metric for exercise effectiveness because you can hold a weight at your strongest range of motion for the same duration as someone doing 10 full repetitions but produce vastly different stimulus, making time under tension a marketing term not scientific principle
“I never liked time under tension because you can just have somebody holding a weight just short of lockout in a stronger range of motion... Let's say instead doing one rep, I just get it right to my strongest range of motion and just hold it there. The same amount of time somebody who can do 10 repetitions... Because we both had the same time under tension, I see what you strength? No... So, it's just like when I hear that, I'm like, 'Yeah, okay. I mean, you can use it.' And sometimes when I use the term, it's because I'm quoting a study.”
Veganism is an eating disorder comparable to anorexia and bulimia, it is malnutrition that will go down in history as such, because billions of animals are destroyed in vegetable farming (birds poisoned, mice ground up by tillers, deer shot) making the claim of ethical veganism fraudulent
“veganism is just malnutrition. It'll probably go down in history uh with anorexia and bulimia. It's just an eating disorder... Billions of animals are destroyed to farm vegetables... How many birds have to be poisoned to have a field of corn? Thousands. How many mice get ground up when they till the field?”
Aquatic leg extensions destroy the knees and are never seen in NFL training rooms because they create joint damage, but people like doing them anyway because their quads look impressive during the movement, exemplifying how people choose exercises based on how they feel rather than results
“Aquatic extensions, garbage. Destroy your knees. Destroy your knees. You'll never see a aquatic extension in an in an NFL training room. Messes up your knee... But the people like doing them because their quads sure look impressive while they're doing them.”
The stronger range of motion is dramatically stronger than the weaker range of motion; you might be able to hold 7x the weight in your strongest range versus your weakest range for the same exercise
“the curve of your strength capability is very steep... your stronger range of motion is much magnitude stronger than your weaker range of motion. So I can hold X amount of weight here and 7X here.”
Horsepower alone is not a meaningful metric for car performance (a Lotus Exige with 280 hp is more fun to drive than a Dodge Hellcat with 900 hp) because power-to-weight ratio and control matter more than raw horsepower
“You'll have a lot more fun uh driving a 2,000-lb uh Lotus Exige with 280 horsepower than you will driving uh you know, uh what is it? The Dodge Hellcat, which is like 1,000 horsepower, 900 horsepower, or something... you're just ripping the tires apart. It's just wheels are just spinning and spinning and spinning. You can't control all that power.”
Branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) do nothing and are worthless; you need all essential amino acids at once or they go to waste and turn into nitrogen waste, which is why Fortagen (proper essential amino acid formulation) is effective despite being only 4 calories
“branch chain amino acids... do absolutely nothing, by the way. If you have a bottle of branch chain amino acids and you have a trash can, you put the branch chain amino acids in the trash can, they do nothing... You need all of the essential amino acids at once, otherwise it goes to waste. It turns into nitrogen.”
Myostatin is regulated by cardiac axis (the heart and its connected nerves determine myostatin levels based on blood flow signals), so blood flow restriction affects the entire body systemically, causing muscles not directly involved in BFR to grow even when only arms are restricted
“Myostatin affects the body systemically. So, what's really going on is your body doesn't see the target muscles that are being worked because blood is not allowed in or out in mass. So, it's like all of a sudden you have less muscle, so the body goes, 'Oh, that means we can lower myostatin and allow for more growth.' So, during that period of time more myostatin is allowed to exist in the body”
Strength athletes actually have the ability to maintain strength training much longer into old age than endurance athletes can maintain endurance training because joint damage is less severe
“strength athletes can engage in strength training a lot longer than endurance athletes can engage in endurance training. So, because they destroy their joints... strength athletes, they got a whole bunch of joint damage issues also.”
The idea that muscles need to be 'torn down' to grow is false and was never true; this is a belief that became ingrained in fitness culture but is contradicted by actual physiology
“there's the complete opposite of the idea of tearing the muscle down, and then it builds over. It's just We were saying it's the never true. That was never true, but that's the belief... It's ludicrous. It's just nonsense. It's not even an oversimplification. It's just wrong.”
Autophagy was only recently discovered (about 2 years ago from the time of this interview) by a Nobel Prize winner, though it was documented long before becoming mainstream knowledge
“autophagy was only discovered like 2 years ago. Uh in fact, somebody you won a Nobel Prize for discovering this... It was discovered It was documented quite a long time ago, but the world didn't really hear about it till he won the Nobel Prize.”
Blood flow restriction (BFR) bands are unnecessary when using X3 because variable resistance already produces hypoxia through constant tension, and combining BFR with X3 provides no additional benefit while adding recovery cost (1+1=1, not 1+1=2)
“the reason people who use BFR bands they're forced to use very very light weight is because the muscle capability is shut off. Just right. Yeah. So, you're training with super light weight. Yes, you're creating hypoxia. But you're creating hypoxia without any other type of muscle stimulus at all.”
Heavy is relative to the range of motion in variable resistance training; using a 540 lb resistance band at the strong end of the chest press range is 'heavy' even if it takes 20+ repetitions because the band is light at the weak range, so higher rep counts with bands do not indicate light training
“with the level of variance that we're using... I can go uh like like when I do my chest press, I use 540 lb at at peak... I get to that 540 lb sometimes, you know, in the in the mid-20 repetition range. So, does that mean I'm training light? I would say no... when you're using the level of variance that we're using... what is 10 repetitions weight-wise in a regular set might be more like 40 repetitions with... the point is heavy.”
Larger strength athletes appear to have poor cardiovascular health in casual settings only because their larger musculature demands more oxygen, requiring more blood delivery; testing shows strength athletes may have equal or superior cardiovascular endurance compared to endurance athletes
“if you look at my quadriceps, you know, they're twice or three times as big as that of a distance runner. So, if I'm at an airport, you know, let's say like you know, the Munich Airport, which is nothing but stairs. I don't know why they did that. It's a really stupid idea. Like you're running up and down the stairs. Like you go to immigration and then you go run back upstairs. You got to go back downstairs to uh reclaim your bag because they you know, they got to put it through like three x-rays cuz they're German and they got to do everything more than everybody else. And then you know, it's it's like stairs, stairs, stairs, stairs. And I'm like covered in sweat whenever I'm in Munich. And and I'm with people who are just, you know, just slighter in frame and they're like, 'Man, your your cardiovascular health is kind of suffering.' And I'm like, 'No, it's because when I engage my quadriceps, it's a bigger engine and it requires more fuel.'”
Athletes who go vegan, write books about veganism, and then retire appear to have gotten results from veganism but actually got results from their previous training/genetics, fraudulently attributing success to their new diet
“it's sort of like the athletes that like go vegan, write a vegan book and then retire like the next day and they're like, 'Look at the body I have from being a vegan.' And they sell a million copies uh to to the uh to the mindless fans of that thing. Uh so, it's like it's it's fraudulent. That's not how they got there.”
Muscle confusion is marketing nonsense designed to sell fitness content; humans love novelty, so coaches invented the concept to justify constantly changing workouts, though research shows consistency and progressive overload drive results regardless of exercise variation
“even talk about in the book with like muscle confusion, that being a theory or an idea that like we should confuse our bodies and you're like there's nothing about it that says that that's that makes sense. Right. It's not like sells and it keeps us buying muscle and fitness magazines or whatever.”
A study specifically designed to fail and showing bias used TheraBand with only 14.1 lbs maximum resistance to test variable resistance against regular weights lifted to fatigue; this fraudulent design was approved by peer review despite being obviously rigged
“there was one study on variable resistance that I left out... the study really shows variable resistance. It was It was designed to fail. And so, they chose banding... the variable resistance group used TheraBand where the maximum resistance that they had to apply to the body, the maximum was 14.1 lb. So, most people use more more muscle putting on their shirt in the morning.”
Other fitness books by scientific authors typically have 10 references listed at the end but no citations throughout the text, and simply cite studies saying 'exercise is healthy' that have no connection to the book's specific claims
“a lot of times, like, there'll be like 10 references at the end of the book, but there's no citations through the book... 'Here's the studies we based this book on,' but it's connected to no particular statement... And there's all it's always a couple of studies that say something like, you know, 'Exercise is healthy.' You know, like, and it's like, 'No specific or exercise will like extend your life.' Yeah, we know.”
Variable resistance training stimulates both myofibrillar growth (from heavy loads) and sarcoplasmic growth (from high reps) simultaneously in a single session, whereas traditional periodization required alternating between these two growth mechanisms on different days
“myofibrils like people like heavy powerlifters can activate that portion of the muscle groups to to build muscle... or the sarcoplasm which can be built by using like high reps like typical bodybuilding doing 10 reps or whatever. Both can get... one or the other... So you either get one or the other in in a sense... You get it all at once... with the with X3”
Carbohydrates are not truly a macronutrient but rather exist in nature to get you fatter when it's advantageous (before winter) and are not essential for most bodily functions, which is why only fat and protein are real macronutrients
“there's really only two macronutrients. I can prove that carbohydrates are not a macronutrient... they exist in nature to get you as fat as possible when it is an an an advantage to be fatter. Like, winter's coming. Right.”
The book title 'Weightlifting is a Waste of Time and So Is Cardio' was deliberately controversial to capture attention; some industry figures warned against it, but the provocative framing has proven commercially successful and forced people to engage with the scientific argument rather than dismiss it.
“There were even people that right before that thing was launched, they told me name it something else. That's going to fail. Uh by the way, it's already a best seller...It's like, 'Yeah, right.' It's like, 'Okay, well, yeah, I think I know what I'm doing, but okay. Thanks thanks for the input.'”
NFL players who use X3 don't progress to the elite band because they understand training properly and are willing to earn their way to heavier bands, whereas casual users chase ego metrics and try to use bands they're not strong enough for yet
“there's not a single NFL player that uses the elite band. Not one... They're like, 'Yeah, I'm not ready for that yet.'... they understand how to avoid injury... I see people using all kinds of crappy form to squeeze out another couple repetitions... When when when I started working with all these NFL players, they were like, 'Who's the guy who uses the orange band?'”
Hyperplasia (muscle cell division) is possible through creating extreme internal muscle pressure via vasodilation, carbohydrate loading for glycogen, and post-workout stretching to expand the muscle fascia; animal studies show significant growth through this protocol, though human studies haven't been conducted for ethical reasons (>10 second stretch considered unethical)
“you have the vasodilator and you get that in your system and then you work out and then there's an element of carbohydrates for the for the hydration of the muscle. You're you're just replacing muscle glycogen. You should hardly see this on a glucose scale for more than a couple minutes cuz it's going right into the musculature. And then there's a stretching protocol.”
Progressive resistance is not a training strategy but a result of getting stronger; calling it a strategy is analogous to asking a kid 'what will you do when you grow up?' and answering 'cash checks and be rich' without explaining how
“progressive resistance... means you're training with a little bit more weight and doing like the same amount of repetitions every time. Which also defines just getting stronger. So, progressive resistance is not a strategy, it's a result... it's like saying, you know, what are you asking a kid, what are you going to do when you grow up? I'm going to cash checks and be rich. Oh, really? So, you going to have like a job? No. No, I'm just going to go to the bank. Yeah. Every day.”
The average person does not gain any meaningful fitness results from gym membership because they are indoctrinated into outdated methods from the 1950s-60s that pro athletes no longer use, but they have no exposure to modern training used in NFL or elite sports facilities
“people just haters, right? But then there's people that just don't know what they don't know... They're indoctrinated to go to 24-Hour Fitness because that's what everybody tells them to do. And they're never going to be exposed to the NFL training center... they have no contact with the the 1% of elite athletes in the world. So, they're just like, 'All right, this is what I'm supposed to do.'... they're doing what pro athletes did in like the 1950s or 1960s.”
Forrest Griffin (UFC fighter) provided a strong endorsement of the X3 book, indicating professional combat athletes recognize the value of the training methodology
“Forrest Griffin's uh part of that team. Who by the way gave you a sterling recommendation for the book, right? Yeah. So um what what uh what those guys like when you walk in there,”
In five years, people will laugh about lifting weights for fitness purposes (though competitive weightlifting as a sport will remain because it's inefficient and thus impressive), and X3 will be the dominant approach for body composition and strength for the general population
“I think people are going to laugh about lifting weights... There's still going to be weightlifting as a sport. Yes... But as far as the the objective of getting stronger and getting leaner, there won't be any weights. It It'll just be X3... that's what's happening. It's happening right now.”
X3 has a 1% return rate compared to 30% for most consumer products, indicating very high customer satisfaction; most returns come from people who couldn't even use the white (lightest) band
“we have we have like a 1% return rate. Most consumer products have a 30% return rate... when somebody returns a product, almost every time you know, guys will open up the box and only the white band has been unwrapped. So, they return it cuz they weren't strong enough to use even the lightest band.”
Wade Ellington, an NBA player, knew someone who heard about X3 and began recommending it to other professional athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a network effect that expanded X3 adoption among elite athletes.
“So, during coronavirus like it all started with one guy who I think heard about it from uh Ellington uh from Wade Ellington. Uh who's an NBA player was some friends in multiple sports and they're like, "Look, I'd love to be stronger, but if I can do strength training and not lose any strength like if I could just not lose any strength and not worry about getting injured when I train, That's the key.”
Fortagen was developed with help from a cancer treatment company that generates hundreds of millions in sales using amino acid formulations to prevent muscle wasting during chemotherapy and radiation
“it was a cancer treatment Mhm. to keep from muscle wasting. And so, people weren't able to have any real calories and they would be able to maintain muscle mass through chemotherapy and radiation. And that's what was a you know, it was this company did hundreds of millions in sales”
A large tech company is working with Jaquish on group X3 training software that will allow multiple people to work out simultaneously with accountability and social connection without sharing equipment
“Although a really big company is going to take on the whole like group X3 thing. So a bunch of people can do it at once and it's organized through really great software. That's fantastic cuz that came up on the last podcast.”
Most amino acid products on the market don't have the proper formulation to be usable by the body, with only a couple companies (besides Jaquish's) making properly formulated essential amino acids
“there's a lot of ways to create an amino acid that is unusable by the body. So, is that most of the products out there, would you say? You're not hating on anybody, but I'm just curious. Yeah, uh there's a couple companies that do it right, and by a couple I mean two. Okay. Uh two. Yeah. Okay. So, uh well, actually no, there's there's two others two others other than me”
PhDs in biomedical research don't have medical licenses to practice medicine because they don't practice medicine; rumors that Jaquish lost his medical license are false because he never had one
“There's a new rumor going around that I lost my license to practice medicine. But PhDs don't have a license to practice medicine cuz they don't. There you go... I haven't done anything shady like ever... I have a PhD. I'm a researcher... I never practiced medicine.”
Shotaro Isomaki or a similar researcher pioneered periodization (alternating sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar training phases) based on Romanian training methods that were later introduced to Western athletics.
“Uh coincidentally, I just did the podcast with the guy who wrote Serious Growth. Um that was like the first introduction to periodization to the Western world cuz it was Romanians that really pioneered going back and forth. And uh yeah, I'm like you you get it all at once...Uh well 38. Right, but like it was it was from a while ago where periodization came to the state who came to the world. And yeah, it's like I I I really you know, like that that that was the point.”
A person with visible bicep veins at 120 lbs body weight is not on steroids; claiming otherwise is trolling based on jealousy and projecting incompetence onto others
“I see every like 14-year-old kid with like a visible bicep vein, you know, is accused of being, you know, on on on anabolic drugs. The dude weighs like 120 lb. I was like, 'Oh, shut up.' It's just Everybody with baby arms thinks thinks everyone who's bigger than them is on steroids.”
Most people criticizing X3 online are driven by jealousy (seeing someone else succeeding) rather than legitimate scientific critique; they are excluded from being customers because they can't overcome their own jealousy
“the trolls aren't really there to pick apart the science. They're there to kick and scream because they see somebody succeeding when they're not. That's it. It's jealousy. It's all jealousy... So, it's automatic, you know, like when they're I I don't do it, but the we pay people to just go and, you know, just block these clowns.”
Fitness trainers who argue against X3 are emotionally invested in traditional methods rather than scientifically objective, asking for studies that prove X3 works better while ignoring the science presented
“trainers are like, what? What do you mean it doesn't work that way? Like, show me the science. Show me Show me where the Show me the study where it says that... Yeah, I mean, it's ludicrous. It's just nonsense.”
Beef is more efficient to consume for protein requirements than chicken because you can eat one and a half steers per year to meet protein needs versus two game hens per day, making beef a more sustainable protein source despite vegan objections
“I can eat, you know, in a year like a steer and a half. So, that's a lot less destruction of life compared to eating chicken. Cuz I can eat like like like if I look at game hens, I can eat two a day... I can eat two entire birds a day. So, like I think sticking to beef is a much more efficient and sustainable way.”
Christopher Bell (documentary filmmaker) was initially skeptical of the book title 'Weightlifting is a Waste of Time and So is Cardio' but Jaquish convinced him that emotion should not drive scientific conclusions
“I told uh Chris Bell what I was going to call it and he he he was like... he's a controversial guy. He did he directed the um the the documentary film Bigger, Stronger, Faster... And I'm like, 'Stop being emotional about a scientific issue. You should never be emotional about a scientific issue. Never ever.'”
The book's most important material is in the final couple paragraphs and is intentionally complex to identify readers who actually read versus those who skimmed or faked reading
“The best part is the end. Yeah. Like right like the last couple paragraphs is where everyone's like, 'Whoa.' Yeah. I'll be able I'll be able to tell who read it and who just faked it.”
Shawn Baker (world record strength athlete) saying 'X3 is the hardest workout you'll ever do' was a huge marketing boost because it validated that exhaustion drives growth, converting people who understood that deeper fatigue creates more muscle adaptation
“O- Shawn Baker, Dr. Baker, says to all his his people... He says, 'This is the hardest workout you'll ever do.'... And then I was like, well, you know, thanks for that, man. I don't know that's really going to help sales. But it did. Cuz people were like, I know if I'm more exhausted, it's going to trigger more growth.”
The book avoids mentioning p-values and detailed statistical significance measures because the general public cannot understand them and would lose comprehension
“uh normally if I were citing those studies in a scientific publication, I would go into that detail. But, for regular people They don't want to read that. They just Yeah, it's it's over their heads, too. Yeah. Yeah.”
Joel had been using Fortagen and noticed he could maintain satiety from morning (with Bulletproof coffee and one Fortagen) through noon without hunger despite it being only 4 calories
“I've been doing Fortagen. I love it, man. Yeah. And what I like and what I've noticed, too, is I'll do like my coffee in the morning, maybe I'll do Bulletproof, maybe I won't, and then I'll go to the Fortagen and I feel great till like noon or something. I mean, I I feel actually good.”
The book contains over 250 peer-reviewed references and multiple chapters with 10+ footnotes stacked on a single topic, requiring careful citation of every claim to scientific literature
“It was more than 250 uh peer-reviewed references in there. There there's a there's one chapter where you have actually like 10 footnotes like stacked on it's hilarious.”
CrossFit users can combine X3 with CrossFit training to get stronger for their sport while maintaining their competitive interest in CrossFit skill work, and some have broken CrossFit records using X3-developed strength before deciding CrossFit itself wasn't important to them
“Some CrossFitters... One of them uh like some CrossFitters... like there's a couple guys on the forum. One of them's a moderator uh uh um Brandon... he'd get stronger with X3 and then go and smash all his CrossFit records because that was a thing that meant something to him... But he did use both of them at the same time.”
Jaquish was working out with NBA player Andre Drummond who is 6'10"-6'11", and Drummond's size made Jaquish (who is 6' tall) feel tiny during the workout
“when I worked out with Andre Drummond, you know, he's 6' He's either 6'10" or 6'11". Jesus. But either way, like I was just like this the whole time... I told the rest of the team, 'You guys are not allowed to take a picture of this, cuz I do not want to look like a tiny man. I'm 6 ft tall.'”
A plyo training product with hooks and a vest that enables variable resistance on explosive movements (lateral jumps, vertical jumps) is used by professional athletes and NFL training centers; Jaquish cannot recall the product name but considers it excellent training design.
“there's a great product a plyo product that um I mean, I'd buy the company if it was for sale. But it's a board with hooks all over it. And you wear a vest and uh I'm just I'm so irritated I don't remember the name of this...You hook different bands to the vest and you do different explosive movements. You know, like lateral explosions, upward jumps.”
The book was written in part to provide 30+ pages of detailed explanation about hyperplasia that cannot fit in a YouTube video format, requiring readers to understand full context before attempting the protocol
“There's like 30 pages you need to read Completely, yeah. to understand how why and and uh and just what could go wrong... So, there a reason why I didn't just put that in the YouTube video. Like it That was one of the the stimuli for the book.”
A competitor product (neon green colored bands) exists that offers only about 30 lbs of resistance compared to X3's 600+ lbs in the strong range, making it significantly inferior despite having marketing appearance and attractive models
“I see X3 band and then... I see X The the bands are in themselves are worthless... There's some other product out there, though. Like it's funny, it's like a neon green or something uh band and it's it's it looks very bungee-like... this thing... it's probably you probably know what I'm talking about... It's over 700 lbs. When he does a deadlift with X3... does a deadlift, like he's quantified this. It's over 700 lbs. When he does a deadlift with X3. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But if you're just scrolling through, right? Instagram and you just see X3 and then you see this, you're like, 'I don't I don't know.'... This one's more expensive.”
The book is 'already a best seller' despite launch date being 'the day after tomorrow' from the time of recording, indicating strong pre-orders and market demand
“by the way, it's already a best seller. And I haven't even a We haven't even official launch date is the day after tomorrow.”
Jaquish's father is 87 years old and uses X3 with no problems, demonstrating the safety and accessibility of the method across ages
“You know, my my father's 87 years old. He uses X3 with no problems. Nice. Yeah.”