New Year Q&A with Alex Leonidas (TIME STAMPED!)

[@herrro6287]

Alex gonna get fake natty accusations for his bladder capacity

[@weyhanng7028]

Don’t skip sphincter day

[@dydx8407]

missed this while I was at the gym 🤣, gonna be watching this now though. Hope this year brings us all great accomplishments and I’m excited to see what limits you will break this 2024 Alex!

[@AlexLeonidas]

Cheers to continuous progress this 2024, hope you had a great workout in the packed gym with a solid listening experience!

[@mr.milkstash9333]

Are you wearing an omega seamaster aqua terra (the watch)@@AlexLeonidas

[@pascalwerlen]

you were my first source of weightlifting information, because i trusted you and i ran your novice programm in 2017. thanks for everything you are doing

[@joshwilliams6517]

About to light my fire place, make some coffee and let this q&a run. Thank you for kicking the year off with a live Alex!!!

[@n88466]

Hey Alex, been watching you for years and proud to see how you and the channel have grown. A suggestion for algorithm-friendly videos/shorts that would help bring in more newbies to your channel: a series of videos explaining basic things like what are the delineations between novice/intermediate/advanced, explanations of different types of periodization and how to apply them etc.

[@Sloanjr507]

A short video of your daily meals would be awesome. I’m trying to transition to the plant based lifestyle but my progression in the gym always suffers because I can’t get enough calories in.

[@andrewandrew_andrew4669]

Would like to see Full days of eating, pre workout meals, post workout meals etc

[@TriFrostSource]

Thank you again for answering my question! Will definitely be incorporating the tips as I balance physical labor with hypertrophy goals. Here’s to 2024 💪

[@jimmytyson6726]

Would be into a weekly wrap-up chat about programming and training.

[@mijoperkovic8074]

woooo bro congrats on making decision to go plant based

[@jacktran5102]

Cheers and Happy new years Alex! Been watching your vids for years and I just want to say that you are a great role model and a great influence on not just the fitness community but also a great influence for men and people in general. Keep up the great work!

[@EarthMan-hx3xb]

Happy new year to u too! It will be a good one.

[@calvinunroe2462]

Looking forward to the calisthenics program

[@AlexLeonidas]

Can't wait to release it, I guarantee there's no other system like this available

[@BasedBodybuilding]

i personally much prefer the raw content. i been watching you for 8 years now back when u were this little kid (so was i) so the raw older school stuff is just so awesome and fun to me. KZbin is saturated with annoying over produced content

[@Gr33n0ni]

14:20 what you said there is the reason why recently subscribed. I feel as though our goals aline

[@jackhasutooob]

Surprised you watch ivan djuric. That man is super genuine too and a true hard worker

[@AJLee0]

i was vegan for 2 years and it went fine for the most part. It was hard to put on weight but i could still squat double bw and the only time i ever had a 6 pack. Eventually got a digestive issue that lasted a little over a month and had to cut out a lot of the processed carbsi was eating. Mind you i wasnt whole food plant based just vegan so i was eating lots of fake meat which i believe is what caused the issues. Regardless im no longer vegan and much stronger and heavier. Been planning on getting into hunting and gardening as i think thats probably the best way to go about things

[@ToniCroX]

You didn't even give it a fair shake then. How would you know if it's "i think that's probably the best way to go about things".

[@AJLee0]

@@ToniCroX because if you hunt an animal you are eliminating the entire supply chain of buying vegan food or meat, which in turn reduces a lot of pollution. Plus wild meat is healthier for you than farmed meat. I think gardening is a good idea for the same reason of reducing consumerism. Also then I know the fruits and vegetables I grow arent grown with harmful chemicals.

[@ToniCroX]

@@AJLee0 That's a reasonable stance for one person to take. But 8 billion people hunting animals? No animals would be left on earth if so many people started hunting them for food. Plus it's totally not needed and introduces complexities for no reason. However in a world where vegan diet is a standard I believe there is nothing wrong for people who really crave meat for some reason to hunt it themselves, as long as it conserves the ecosystems. But you have to realize that lifestyle is not sustainable globally at least not in my opinion. Mass farming is unavoidable if enough people still crave meat because hunters would be overwhelmed by demand and just cage and breed the animal instead of having to deal with the fuss of hunting. But individuals and small communities hunting for food looks sustainable to me as long as it's not the norm then we eventually get to the same place we are now. You get where I'm coming from?

[@davidlane6758]

Been vegan going on 4 years (for ethical reasons). I have had no problem either losing or gaining weight, and I'm in my best shape ever in my mid thirties. I eat lots of whole foods daily, but also vegan "meats" and high protein vegan foods like tempeh, tofu, and seitán products. I also supplement with a multivitamin containing B12, vegan DHA/EPA, and creatine daily. I've never been healthier, stronger, or fitter.

[@AJLee0]

@@davidlane6758 glad its working for you 👍

[@stevenriddell595]

You got a sub right here Alex.

[@bilalturkan8004]

Shame I missed the live ! Happy new year Alex

[@Sophist98]

Alex i understand that being more shredded helps attract a larger audience but please don‘t neglect your health for views. I know you‘re careful but your channel has always been about health and longevity and while you can do whatever you like i‘d just like to say that seeing you healthy is probably more important to your loyal subscribers then seeing you shredded. With that being said happy new year!❤

[@memeboat9261]

I think he stopped being shredded a while ago after he competed

[@codymaher2088]

Love to hear you’re going vegan! I’ve been vegan for over a year and a half. Best decision ever. #veganforthem.

[@AzaiKyou]

Thanks for time stamping these lives man just finished watching the whole Q&A after a couple sessions of watching for the past month lol, got a question of my own regarding your diet, you say you're vegan now but do you supplement with whey? I'm planning on going plant based myself but think the protein might be low unless I munch on a lot of soy, cheers!

[@mouahahhehehe5563]

I agree with you it's more about building tissue capacity for dips but still there's still this huge debate on dips vs shoulders. A lot of people are still claiming it WILL hurt your shoulders long term because this problem is within the exercice anyway. Whereas for the sternum, a lot of solutions have already been explored. Like building thoracix extension, DB pullovers or do full ROM.

[@JaggyP-24]

My friend had bad sternum pain, so I made him do deficit push-ups and top hold dip shrugs for a few weeks, then normal high rep dips. He can do 20kg for high reps without pain now, so ye probably is mostly tissue capacity. Also the slight upper body hinging effect helps.

[@mattallthat]

Great video ❤. I would love to hear your thoughts on older lifters still chasing intermediate strength standards across the board . Im 40 for reference sake.

[@vanessaannbellezza8352]

Very motivating 👏🏻👏🏻

[@kevinnepo1095]

Hey Alex can u please do content with Laith Mekdad? It would be great to see u compete in any lift

[@Tommaso_Paoli]

Yo Alex, have you considered doing a workout with a subscriber? Saw the recent GVS video and really enjoyed.

[@Trey12392]

Happy new year 🥳

[@Atamanxxxvii]

I used to tweak my neck a lot during OHP. This was due to arthritis in my upper back, but I relieved this issue by stretching my lats before doing OHP. I haven't tweaked my neck once in the last few years since I started doing this to prepare for an OHP session.

[@KAH-]

Do you recommend any plant based books or KZbin channels? I don’t know when you’re able to release your videos on it. Rather get a head start if possible. Any authors of books as well maybe?

[@jasperhaak6994]

When you were talking about the full day of eating you talked about saturated fats and meat. I think I did noy fully follow it. Are you a vegetarian? Would be interesting to have an overview of what and why you eat it + how that translates into getting the proper macros and micros.

[@tjibbegaastra]

yeah burpees!😁 good luck alex the burpee community will only embrace you! much love💪

[@KurokamiNajimi]

Curious have you ever tried hemp hearts or hemp protein powder? I seriously miss when I could find it without it being old stock every time it’s my favorite bc it’s the most nutrient dense, has no sodium, got use to the taste I use to put it in oatmeal with soy milk

[@erickg667]

My favorite shroom stack is portobellos with cheese and olive oil.

[@n88466]

Happy New Year everyone! Didn't get a chance to ask during the stream so: are there any changes you'd make to your old Novice Program now that you're more knowledgeable?

[@Sir_Porridge]

Pretty certain it's been asked in a previous qna I think the answer was since it works so well probably not from memory but I could be wrong

[@intensehotdog]

He said any novice program works, but he would personally run something different than is old program, which he may make a V2 novice program.

[@lesnacke]

will he finally do a glute spread this year?

[@AlexLeonidas]

Yeah no

[@SaywuttAgain]

​@AlexLeonidas no disrespect, but thank you

[@addis8228]

For the burpees you could try the pelican bay prison routine (35 reps then 30 down to 1)

[@AlexLeonidas]

Sounds hardcore, will do!

[@Acorn-ix6mp]

Alex, what are good strength standards for seal rows? I was thinking trying to get close to my Larsen press would be a good goal for strength and size. Love the channel, been following you since the “how to look like ___” vids. Thanks!

[@TeMp3rr0r]

By random chance I was thinking the same: trying to MAINTAIN a 8-12% bodybuilding physique (3-point caliper median measurements). For maximum healthspan, aesthetics (and maybe lifespan)! During Christmas, I was able to maintain 10-12% bodyfat. Currently cutting down SLOWLY to 8-9% (with mostly plant-based diet). We will see togethere if it is maintainable! :P LET's GOOO!

[@adamlapier4520]

Will you be using diet breaks when you get shredded this year? Do you think they're neccesary?

[@jonathanhijlkema8247]

Hard to argue with the ethics of veganism, it's obviously superior to any other diet when it comes to minimizing suffering and efficient use of resources. But extreme diets can lead more easily to an overabundance of certain pollutants. Especially these vegan protein powders might be a concentrated source of pollutants. It's probably a good idea to keep your diet as varied as possible, and try to avoid products that contain a lot of heavy metals(certain rices) and other damaging substances to the microbiome like insecticides and herbicides like for instance glyphosate that is overanbundant in oats. Best to go organic for certain products.

[@MohamedNaas2005]

Man , I wish if I could've attended this

[@KurokamiNajimi]

Maybe this could be a short or video topic but in some ways stimulus to fatigue and maximin stability being superior for hypertrophy seems contradictory. When we say a deficit push up or ring push ups without the RTO position has a better STF than a camber bar larsen since they use less weight (factoring in bodyweight of course) does that really make sense when we can’t point to a reason it uses less weight other than muscle recruitment? It makes perfect sense when comparing a larsen to leg drive, we know that extra 10% is coming from your legs but it’s not worth it because it’s not stimulating our legs that much and taking away from upper body activation. If stability is king in recruiting more primary mover then why are rings which use far less weight so effective? It seems as if long as you aren’t flying all over the place some level of instability is making the primary movers work harder not less? Another thought is 1 arm push ups etc. They’re far more difficult not just because of basically doubling the load but the instability. Even once you reach a theoretical strength level where you should be able to perform or at least get halfway up for 1 rep they’re so challenging that soon as you begin to lower slightly you’re stuck. Is it controversial to say anyone doing exercises like this for enough volume would grow just as much if not more than doing volume on the smith machine?

[@Mic-o4l]

Great video dude. My philosophy has recently changed. Ive been just training no program. Just hard and fun workouts. I don't want to compete so why should i train for that especially powerlifting and bodybuilding

[@bigblunts1892]

Alex I noticed you mentioned the importance of mushrooms in a diet. Do you prefer oyster or shiitake? Which are the best? Thank you for everything you do sir

[@bilalturkan8004]

I think a good video is how to start a KZbin fitness journey

[@rajatchopra1411]

How to balance combat sports training(boxing, wrestling, Muay thai etc.) with weight lifting? I have heard that muscles may hinder in fighting. But i want to train for them both.

[@barbellbryce]

What are the pros/cons to doing intensity back sets in the 5ish rep range vs doing your recent 3x10 set up?

[@lautarogutierrez1346]

Hey alex, do you think that doing down workouts with sissy squats is a good way of growing big legs without much equipment?

[@TTTRainw_Pain]

had a whole warewolf transformation on the ground multiple times and everything

[@goran5844]

Hey Alex I remember you once said that gaining fat is basically like doing your pull ups weighted, but the same doesn’t apply to dips since you get improved leverages. Could you explain how exactly your leverages improve on dips?

[@justasquatspecialist]

padding on your elbows. obviously the fat will weight the dips but help you ever so slightly

[@PauIdenino]

More fat works almost like an elbow sleeve

[@ICEcoldtristan2.0]

Will bodyweight and/or weighted Dips help break through any plateaus in all my pressing exercises e.g. bench presses,dumbbell presses and overhead presses and will they also improve my pressing strength in terms of the potential carry over it has on all those exercises??

[@Carlos-bk5is]

It help me but I think it’s mostly for horizontal press since dips work the same muscles as horizontal push

[@akhmadsaad2753]

More raw stuff sounds great

[@uncle.saagnik]

Been following you for 3 years brother just wanted to ask can a calisthenics trainee take creatine?

[@Irjb842]

Hey Alex, what is your opinion on grey skull lp? I have rep p-rs on all the weights I’m using during my training cycles on the bench press and ohp and than once I return to my initial weight I have a rep pr and when I reach my top weight in the training cycle I also get a weight pr. Before starting this program I was using 3 sets to failure on the same they both for bench and ohp. On my bench I had 100kg for 10 reps and ohp 75kg for 5 reps. Recently I achieved 112.5 kg bench for 4 reps 100kg for 11 and 77.5kg ohp for 5 reps. Right now it’s my 3rd training cycle using grey skull and I did 90kg bench for 19 reps. With my old program my max on this weight was 15 reps. When I was doing my old program I weighted around 90 kg now I increased my weight to around 100kg I’m pretty tall 1.93m not training legs.

[@thememesarealive9813]

Yo Alex on your novice program you have weighted chins but on your hybrid novice lower, intermediate upper program you have bw chins 1x a week. Why the difference in programming? Can I still expect to see back gains switching from weight to bw chins?

[@thememesarealive9813]

For reference I am running the hybrid novice lower intermediate upper

[@HandlebyAK]

Somebody please timestamp !

[@AlexLeonidas]

I will time stamp everything, come back in some hours!

[@HandlebyAK]

@@AlexLeonidas bet thank you !

[@Un1-ju2pq]

​@@AlexLeonidasYou rock dude!

[@AlexLeonidas]

All done brother!

[@HandlebyAK]

@@AlexLeonidas much appreciated ! Keep up the great work

[@kane6529]

Was gonna ask Alex if its weird to watch Lubed greco roman wrestling? Something exciting about watching someone handle another man and impose his will 😅

[@wesrobinson7506]

Let’s go! Excited for the new format. Yes I just saw blood and guts 2.0. I think we need to get back to the basics, I find myself over complicating and over thinking. Not to say disregard the science, but is that extra stress and analyzation holding us back?

[@DexFlex_YT]

RIP i was sleeping

[@jakestatefarm2470]

Will the calisthetics program be for novices or intermediate as well?

[@AlexLeonidas]

For everyone but mostly intermediates and up

[@jakestatefarm2470]

@@AlexLeonidas ah ok awesome looking forward to it for a novice what would you typically recommend? I currently focus on one movement a day and do them pyramid style up to 10 and back down (push-up one day, pull up another, inverted row, pike push-ups (not sure if I should swap it for dips but I use it for shoulders), and squats and weighted crunches)

[@sxrk-]

huge W on going vegan

[@AlexLeonidas]

Thank you brother, it was the right thing to do

[@KneeSlice1775]

ALEX, welcome to the vegan natty bodybuilder club 😁

[@AlexLeonidas]

Feeling great, thank you brother!!

[@petergause1760]

I eat an animal based diet. I don't believe it's necessary to eat plants. Alex's training advice is good though. He also doesn't understand that when he was eating mostly horse meat for the last few weeks of contest prep, he wasn't constipated, its just that there literally was not much waste because meat is mostly absorbed

[@zeroman155]

No time stamps. 😢

[@AlexLeonidas]

Finally here!

[@zeroman155]

​@@AlexLeonidasGratitude! 👍👌

[@0Arien]

Should’ve gotten it on finasteride its side effects are waaaay too over overblown

[@AlexLeonidas]

Not risking that 1% idgaf

[@TTTRainw_Pain]

dang bro no wonder my chest been clicking in and out wtfff

[@AnthonyGarcia-wb8xv]

Alex sold out to the Algorithm

[@bradystewart20]

Is RDL enough erector gains?

[@Pbuilder]

I also don't understand why people like watching other people eat

[@AlexLeonidas]

Tell me about it bro, it's weird AF

[@PauIdenino]

Increases appetite if you have a low appetita naturally

[@thegloryofyoungmenistheirs4298]

I disagree with the supposed fact that eating flesh of other animals can cause people have heart attacks . People have heart attacks cause of genetics. You can be on a plant based diet and still get a heart attack. There are plenty of athletes who eat very clean and well and have had heart attacks. Eating flesh makes a little to no difference in supposedly causing an heart attack.

[@AlexLeonidas]

So what? It's about stacking the odds in your favor. My grandmother lived to 99 eating junk and was obese. Does that mean I'm going to not try and maximize my health? Doesn't matter if I have good or bad genes and the ONLY diet proven to reverse heart disease (our number 1 killer) is a whole food plant based diet. You can try to deny the evidence all you want but I won't even try to. I'll listen to the top experts in the world.

[@thegloryofyoungmenistheirs4298]

@@AlexLeonidas I am not saying eat like a pig and be obese. I am just saying it’s not a black and white situation. I would say do well balanced diet of all the food types. There are also top experts who disagree with doing a vegan diet and have their studies too also. I guarantee you 10 or 15 years from now those studies about vegan diet being the best diet is gonna be a completely different story. Nutrition science is constantly changing and evolving and there is no concrete answer.

[@thegloryofyoungmenistheirs4298]

@@AlexLeonidas But if you wanna do a vegan diet by all means do so. I don’t think there is any wrong with it, I just don’t think it’s the be all end all for being in good health.

[@a-a-ron7325]

​@@AlexLeonidasA vegan diet has not been proven to reverse heart disease. No diet has been proven to reverse heart disease. Even vegan gains admitted this.

[@PauIdenino]

Do a collab with Vegan Gains 🌱

[@JonathanCodes-ol1cm]

Vegan Gains is a garbage human being. He made fun of John Meadow's death and mocked his son

[@PauIdenino]

​@@JonathanCodes-ol1cmYou're worse

[@JonathanCodes-ol1cm]

You know nothing about me though

[@zwryy7622]

The dude that laughed at John Meadows' death? Nah, that dirtbag clown should stay irrelevant.

[@snowiblind]

​@@JonathanCodes-ol1cmu stubborn af

[@TTTRainw_Pain]

felt like heart stab

[@lilith2754]

Im sorry but saturated fat is not bad for you, look at Dr Berg, Nutrition with Judy, Paul Mason's lectures and Robert Kiltz advices. Elizabeth Bright, Bart Kay. You speak about evidences, well, there it is. And you can see of their face that they are healthy. You have insanely good advices for bodybuilding. But not so much for nutrition, in MY opinion.

[@AlexLeonidas]

I've known about those people since 2018, they're not sharing evidence based information that's accepted by the top experts in the field. THEY'RE the contrarians, not the whole food plant based doctors. And Dr. Eric Berg is not a doctor btw, he's a chiropractor. Dr. Greger and Dr. Fuhrman give much better advice.

[@Tito_the_fish]

The part where he admits he's on steroids. 2:00:45 "There is no middle ground, unfortunately. Extremes are what gets recognized." Thank me later.

[@victorbigstone8178]

👍👍👍

[@mr.potatohead6138]

I'm gonna other direction and trying carnivore this time

[@calvinunroe2462]

Darn I missed it shoot

[@AlexLeonidas]

Was a great time!!

[@OnTheEdgex23]

Marijuana is a drug. Also give up alcohol lol. It isn’t good at all

[@AlexLeonidas]

Gotcha. Probably will

[@videogamer8564]

U shouldnt have to get youre fat percentage down stupidily low for videos be yourself. people should accept you for who you are. I watch youre videos for info not bother if youre 5 percent or 15

[@petergause1760]

Bro, you smack your lips soooo much

[@AlexLeonidas]

Yeahh I know, can't seem to shake off this habit

[@shamussilva]

are you natty?

[@AlexLeonidas]

Lifetime natty, thank you

[@shamussilva]

@@AlexLeonidas that’s insane you’re the only person I’d ever believe to be natural I don’t trust anyone everyone’s a liar

[@shindyyyvfx8932]

being vegan doesn't make sense ethically

[@PauIdenino]

You forgot "not" in the beginning of your comment

[@KurokamiNajimi]

Maybe you’re new to the philosophy. Animals are sentient like humans just lower intelligence but research has shown the animals abused in most farms have intelligence similar or above to 3 year olds, cows might even be similar to 5 year olds. They just lack language So the question is if you wouldn’t support those type of humans or heavily mentally handicapped adults being treated the way animals are then why are you supporting factory farming

[@shindyyyvfx8932]

@@KurokamiNajimi My argument wasn't about intelligence/sentience in the first place. Animals cannot form social contracts with humans and cannot reciprocate rights (i.e. human gets killed and eaten by a tiger in natural habitat). Therefore i don't understand why i should give up the meat consumption.

[@KurokamiNajimi]

@@shindyyyvfx8932 Did you get this from Destiny lol (that first debate is legendary), the animals we consume aren’t attacking us so I don’t see how that would be a good argument

[@shindyyyvfx8932]

@@KurokamiNajimi hahah lol. First i read an article called about john rawls' theory of justice applied to animal rights, but yeah i watched those debates with vegan gains. If I would argue this I'd say that there is no real distunction for me between groups of animals and therefore the killing of a cat f.e. is the same as the slaughter of a cow.

[@Nangstarr1]

Just remember, plants don't want to be eaten either

[@EMPANAO321]

Who cares?

[@Nangstarr1]

@@EMPANAO321 exactly

[@EMPANAO321]

@@Nangstarr1 🤝

[@BenjieMoggs]

@GENETIC BEAST