Reece Weatherford: this might sound cliche, but like big pharma, dude, like Western medicine, they're they're doctors, man. Like everybody steers you away from it for some reason. I mean, we all really know the reason. It's because, you know, if you're taking care of all of these medical issues with hormone therapy, then you're not giving them money. When in reality, you know, the root cause was my hormones,

Jeremiah: Welcome, guys, to the very first episode of the Optimized NP, where we talk about health, wealth, and relationships. And I've got a really special guest for the first episode. He's a friend, he's a patient. Reese, welcome.

Reece Weatherford: Thank you, brother. I'm honored to be here, man. I'm I'm honored to be part of your first episode.

Jeremiah: Cool man. Cool. Well I mean this is the thing, dude. You're a fit dude. Give us a quick flex.

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. There we go. There we go, man. Nah, dude, you look good.

Jeremiah: dude, look at that. dude, you you made me look bad. You made me look bad. So you know, the question is, how long have you been in fitness? did you play sports? did you just have a period where you're like, I'm gonna start working out? How did that go?

Reece Weatherford: Yeah, man. So I've played sports my whole life. ever since I was just a little guy all the way up into high school and stuff like that. Didn't play any college sports or anything like that, but my fitness journey in the weight room and stuff like that really started like my freshman year of high school, man. and ever since then I've just kept at it. I've tried to stay consistent. There was a a couple of years in there where I kind of slapped off just 'cause 'Cause I started college and everything like that. But yeah, man, I it's been a part of my life for a long time now and it's it's really it's a lifestyle at this point, so

Jeremiah: Yeah, it's that's you know, that's tough. And just like with lifestyle, do you find yourself kind of like going in and out of fitness? Like have you ever had phases, you know, you kind of mentioned in college where it's just like diet's not on point, you're just not in the gym routinely, and do you just feel like shit?

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, man. There was there was a a couple of years in there that it would I would kind of phase in and phase out. But now it's it's a staple point of my life, man. Like I honestly I can't I can't go without it, dude. And e yeah, even taking a couple of days off, man, I I still my mind starts to race. I start to almost get depressed, everything, dude. So I it it's it's really important to me and it's it's important. just it's it's an important part of my lifestyle and Yeah, it it's it's gonna be a part of my lifestyle probably for the rest of my life, dude. So yeah.

Jeremiah: Hell yeah. Hell yeah, dude. I mean, mental. It's the mental aspect, right? Like it's awesome to be able to put on a shirt and the arms feel tight and the shoulders, but it's all a byproduct of the mental health, dude, because like that's what I go to the gym for, right? Like purge those demons out of your mind. And you know, if I don't go, I'm the same, dude. I get real psychotic. Like real, like a lot of problems will happen. And so I'm like, whatever has to happen today, the gym is a priority. Like

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah.

Jeremiah: I get up at like two fifteen in the morning. I get up at two fifteen. I'm at the gym at three and it's just peaceful. It's just so peaceful, dude.

Reece Weatherford: Definitely. Dude. yeah, dude. Zenful, man. I tell you what, y that's shoot, you got a good routine going, man. You're doing better than I am, man. I I'm not on top of it like that. I I I kinda just get in there when I get in there, but it's still I still get in there, so that's the that's a good thing, but

Jeremiah: Yeah. da. Yeah, yeah, that's it. Like if like sometimes on the weekend, I typically work out Monday through Friday. If I go in on the weekend and I kind of sleep in a little bit, way better of a workout. Don't get me wrong, sleep is so important, but it's just part of a routine to where like if I if I wake up that early, what the hell else am I gonna do? I gotta go to the gym at this point. I just screwed myself, right? Like just sit around all day. But as far as as far as fitness goes though, you're also a personal trainer, right?

Reece Weatherford: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, sir. Yep. Yeah, just started personal training actually this year. so I haven't been doing it s like super long or anything like that, but I I have all the tools to do it, man. So I was like, you know, why not? You know? And yeah, I got a little I I teach a class right now at Zestful Balance actually. I don't have any like individual clients yet. I I kinda do like a group class and

Jeremiah: Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Reece Weatherford: Yeah, so I I'm kind of just getting started out. But yeah, man, it's just the stepping stone to greater things, man. Hopefully we can expand I can expand my clientele and you know, get it out there and and I need to start advertising myself a lot more too, because I dude, I'm terrible at that. I I I really am. Yeah. And dude, I even have people coming up to me in the gym, you know, asking me, Hey, what are you doing?

Jeremiah: Trying to sell yourself? I get it, dude. I know.

Reece Weatherford: Like, you know, what should what should I be doing? Blah blah and I don't know why, but it never crosses my mind to be like, Hey, you know, like if you ever, you know, are interested in doing personal training, you know, here's my number. I just I just give the advice and then I go on about my workout. But yeah.

Jeremiah: Yeah, dude. No, that's some top secret stuff, dude. Like, that is some you gotta you gotta hold that close to the chest. But this is the cool thing though, Reese. Like, you look like a personal trainer. Do you see what I'm saying? Like, you have the billboard already done. That's advertisement that takes years to do, right? Like, and I, you know, once again, I know there's a lot to it, but how many times have you seen a personal trainer that looks like they've never even stepped in a gym? You kind of lose a little confidence, right? If

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Mm. Thanks, man. Yeah. Right. Yeah, for sure, man.

Jeremiah: If guys come to me and they want to get on testosterone and I'm just like, just I look horrible, they're gonna be like, I don't think that stuff works. Like, you know what I mean? Like, you have to like, you have to live it. You have to, you know, if I'm telling a guy, roll off the couch and get to the gym, you better believe I'm in the gym suffering too. We're in the trenches together because we're all doing this journey together. You know, you know what mean? And so

Reece Weatherford: Hmm. Exactly. Exactly. For sure, man. Yeah.

Jeremiah: And so as far as personal training goes, like, do you kind of feel when you're training someone, like at some point they've been on or you've been on a certain phase that they are like just getting into the gym, kind of intimidated, not sure like where to go? And do you use that to kind of help guide them?

Reece Weatherford: Yeah, so right now my class is actually mostly it's it's I honestly haven't had any males attend the class yet. It's been l women that are like middle aged or or a little older and s yes no no you're funny man but I I I can tell that some of aren't like

Jeremiah: I wonder why.

Reece Weatherford: you know, super experienced and you know, a couple of them, you know, they they they seem to know what they're doing. But yeah, I just kind of try and ease them into things and I don't want them to be intimidated, you know. I let them do their thing, you know, and if I see any issues that need to be corrected, I help them correct that. And yeah, I just try and be as approachable as possible, man, and just try and guide them through their fitness journey. And yeah, so that's

Jeremiah: Yeah, takes a special personality, right? Cause you have to adapt to where they're at. Like you meet the client where they're at, right? I do the same thing. You meet the patient where they're at. Now, granted, you have an idea of where you want them to go, but going from point A to point Z is gonna take several steps in between and being able to modify that for them without, you know, doing something that turns them off to it. Like you bring someone in and you just kill for an hour.

Reece Weatherford: Yeah, man, so. Right. Mm-hmm.

Jeremiah: They're not gonna come back, right? You gotta, you gotta ease them into it and let them know, like, hey, this isn't as intimidating as you thought. This isn't as impossible as you thought, right?

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Right. Definitely. Yeah. And I actually, going into it, man, I wasn't sure what to expect. I wasn't sure who was gonna start attending the classes. So that was something that I I wouldn't say struggled with, but it my first class, I definitely it was definitely a learning experience because, you know, I'm used to lifting heavy weights, man, going from zero to one hundred, you know, real quick and and making myself suffer the whole workout. And I kinda had to, you know, tend to their

Jeremiah: Yeah. Right. Mm-hmm.

Reece Weatherford: to their needs and their goals and stuff like that. And so I yeah, I I had to switch up the program a little bit and you know, we're doing like a whole lot of metabolic stuff. And we, you know, some weeks we'll do like more focused on like rep ranges and like we'll incorporate the weights in there and stuff too. But it's a lot different it it it definitely depends on like who you're working with, like you said, and the group of people that you're working with. Cause I

Jeremiah: Mm-hmm.

Reece Weatherford: That was definitely something that I had to kind of adapt to as well. But

Jeremiah: Yeah, I used to teach I used to do coaching for insanity. So I used to do insanity workouts for a program called it was some kind of alcohol recovery. So they would be required to come to this group meeting where they sit around, they talk about, you know, some of the issues going on their life, and then they go next door. And next door, there's me. We're gonna work out, right? We're gonna, we're gonna purge these demons.

Reece Weatherford: Pretty nice. Heck yeah.

Jeremiah: And I would just go so hard. I remember that. And it's funny, it's funny you said that because I realized one day when everyone's throwing up, yeah, I should probably tone this down, you know? Like because people were dropping out left and right. They're like, screw this, I'm gonna go back to drinking. This is way worse, exercise is way worse. And Yeah, exactly. And it's like it's really difficult sometimes to tone it down or adapt it to someone else's needs. But at the end of the day.

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm gonna go back to my comfort zone. Yeah, this is rough. Yeah. Definitely.

Jeremiah: It wasn't a workout for me, it was a workout for them, right?

Reece Weatherford: Right, exactly. And that's that's what, you know, you gotta realize too, man, because I I was going in there thinking, you know, you know, like you know, this I I I I this is like something that, you know, I I wanted them to do stuff that I would do, man. And and I was like, This is this probably isn't gonna work for the demographic that I'm working with here, you know? So I yeah. It was definitely interesting, yeah.

Jeremiah: Right. You gotta adapt. So so kind of along that so I guess along those lines, personally, what are some of your favorite exercises?

Reece Weatherford: man, I I'm really a big fan and advocate for compound lifts, man. I I love your classic bench, squat, you know, deadlifts, stuff like that. but I I've also, you know, as my fitness journey has, you know, as if I as I've gotten further into my fitness journey, you know, I I I I've gotten into more of like the you know, just isolating the muscles and and stuff like that and

Jeremiah: Deadlift?

Reece Weatherford: just to, you know, cause especially like when you have injuries and stuff like that, like you can't always do the compound lifts and stuff like that. So I I've mixed it up quite a bit. I I I like HIIT training a lot. I think it's it works really well, not only for, you know, gaining muscle, but also like you know, gaining stamina and and getting that burning burning fat and you know, heart health stuff like that. So I've kind of incorporated everything, man. I

Jeremiah: Burning fat, yeah, hell yeah.

Reece Weatherford: I don't I don't really like I I mix it up a lot too. Like sometimes sometimes when I go in for the week, you know, I won't do the same thing that I did last week, you know. I I'll switch things up a lot. But but yeah, I I really do love the compound lifts, man. And I do like to go heavy, but I've I've lett ego get a hold of me a couple of times and you know, going too heavy sometimes I've I I have gotten injuries and stuff like that. So

Jeremiah: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Reece Weatherford: That's one important thing, man. Don't let your ego get a hold of you, man. Just just just do what you can, man. And and you know, work your way up and don't try and impress people in the gym, man, and and just have good form, you know, stuff like that. I cause yeah, you don't wanna hurt yourself, but but yeah, the compound lifts, man. Right.

Jeremiah: I know. I know. Yeah, I don't care if I look like a bitch doing lateral raises with 10, 15 pounds, dude. I'm I'm isolating the lateral head, dude. I don't care what I don't care what you guys think. Like, you know, but yeah, d i I think those core, those core movements are amazing. And I'm always amazed how many people are afraid to do them because they're afraid of getting hurt. But there's so many variables to it. Like you said, form, like you said, ego, right?

Reece Weatherford: I ex yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Jeremiah: We've all probably hurt ourselves doing deadlifts at some point or another, right? At some point in our life, we're stupid. We load it up, feel some weird movement in our back that we shouldn't. And now here we are, having to stretch out for, you know, two hours before I go to the gym, but so be it. you know, but still deadlifts n necessary. Necessary for life. You know, you gotta pick something off the ground. How do you do it? Right.

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, definitely, man. Yeah. And honestly, I think the best exercise of all time is to squat, man. I it dude, it's pretty much a full body workout, to be honest. And that's you can get so many benefits from it, man. And not only is it making your legs stronger and stuff like that, but dude, you're you're directly like increasing your testosterone too from dude, cause yeah, cause like, dude, yeah, so don't skip legs, guys. I tell you what, man, it's a they're

Jeremiah: Mm. Yeah. True.

Reece Weatherford: They're so important, man. I I

Jeremiah: I know. It's so sad. I see it all the time, dude.

Reece Weatherford: yeah, me too, man. Me too, unfortunately. But but but yeah, man, I also like hack squats a lot too. I'll do hack squats too. My back's been bothering me a little bit, so I've kind of shied away from the squats these past couple of weeks. But yeah, dude, squats are great.

Jeremiah: Have you ever done Zerchers?

Reece Weatherford: I've seen I haven't done yet, but I yeah, great workout, dude. I I I've heard a lot of good things about it.

Jeremiah: yeah, dude. Way better for the back. Yeah. Yeah, super, super hip dominant, more of like a hinge. I did injure my hamstring once doing it, so be aware, but you can injure yourself doing anything. But yeah, dude, all those variations of squats, like my fa like my least favorite's probably front squats. That's probably one of the most painful. Yeah.

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Those are rough, man. Yeah, those are rough. Honestly, just from the bar sitting right here, that's because I well, the way I do them, dude, I kind of well I I I used to actually do them like this and like cross my arms and let the bar sit across the front of my chest and stuff like that. Yeah, the clavicle. But now I I'll kind of, you know, do it almost like I'm doing a hang clean or at the end of a hang clean and and kind of hold it like that.

Jeremiah: Mm-hmm. That clavicle, yeah. p

Reece Weatherford: But yeah, dude, I I front squats are really good too. I haven't done them in a while. But Yeah.

Jeremiah: Yeah. Right? All these things you used to do back in sports and stuff and it's like, yeah, when's the last time you've done a burpee? Right? Like stuff like that, but

Reece Weatherford: Dude. Yeah. And like and like you were saying this morning, dude, those crossfit exercises, I tell you what, man, those are really good too. It's it's like it's yeah, it's like the best of both worlds, man. You're you're building strength, muscle, and getting some cardio in there. So it's those are those are really good.

Jeremiah: I know dude. I kicked my ass this morning. yeah, dude. It's been a long time since I felt like I was just gonna throw up and pass out at the same time and I'm just getting whooped by, you know, these older ladies with their gloves on. I'm just like I'm dying, bro. And I'm thinking to myself, like, I signed up for this. What the hell's wrong with me? But then you're done and you're like, hell yeah, thank God, dude. I wanna get shredded for summer, you know?

Reece Weatherford: yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Right. Took my abuse for the day, man. Now I'm good to go. Heck yeah.

Jeremiah: Yeah, and see this is the beautiful thing about about working out. It's training because at its core fundamental practice, you're overcoming an obstacle. Every time you work out, that's the whole point is you give yourself some kind of adversity, you overcome it. That no longer becomes challenging. So you add more reps, you add more weight, you keep making it more and more difficult. So going to the gym is training yourself to just over just overcome obstacles.

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right. Mm-hmm.

Jeremiah: Right? That's it. And it's just it's such a good mental health.

Reece Weatherford: Exactly. Yeah, it translates over into everyday life. yeah, dude. Yeah, it translates over into everyday life, man. You know, you're you're increasing your mental fortitude and you know, it it that can help you in so many other ways in life. you know, when you push past that threshold, when you you don't necessarily want to do it, but you do it anyways because you know, you know it's you know it's good for you and you know that you're you're you're reaching towards a goal. It's It it it's honestly, man, it's it's one of the best things ever. I it's helped me so much in my life, dude. And yeah, I honestly don't know where I'd be today without without working out, dude. Honestly. Yeah.

Jeremiah: Yeah. Same. Same. I mean, I definitely wouldn't be in this realm that I am now. I wouldn't be trying to optimize other guys and having them on peptides and testosterone. I wouldn't even cross my radar. And it's actually funny, right? Kind of like as we transition to testosterone. Growing up, I always had a negative view about it. I always thought it's cheating, right? Like 'cause I always grew up in the sports world. I wrestled and it's like, yeah, dude, those dudes are on steroids and I'll never take that stuff. And it wasn't until I actually did

Reece Weatherford: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right.

Jeremiah: That I was like, my God, I wish I would have done this sooner. Like this whole time I just kept talking the shit about it. And the you know, the reality is, is you know, in the medical world, and you know, of course it's a performance-enhancing drug. Dude, it it it plays it plays a real role in in men, you know, and I've been on it for about two years. Dude, never looked back.

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Dude. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, man. No, it's I was the same way. I you know, when people bring up TRT or testosterone, you it's it's steroids, man. It there's there's so many side effects to your health and stuff like that. But but then when you you know, as you as you get a little further down the road, man, and and especially if your hormones aren't optimized, you're

Jeremiah: Yep. Mm-hmm.

Reece Weatherford: And and and then you start doing it, you realize, man, like, wow, like this is it it's such a it's it's so important for men, dude, like and and just anyone in general, but like if your hormones aren't optimized, dude, like you're just not you're just not not only are you not gonna be healthy, but you're just not gonna be living the quality of life that you should, man.

Jeremiah: Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Reece Weatherford: it obviously has changed my body composition. But the huge thing for me, man, has been my mental health. I've done like a a total three sixty, man. I dude, I couldn't even leave the house, dude, without having panic attacks and anxiety attacks and and just not feeling like myself, man. I was in such a dark space and you know, I kept going to the doctor, they'd run test after test after test, you know, trying to figure out what's going on, everything would come back normal. And then one day I was like, you know what, man, like

Jeremiah: Mm-hmm. Mm.

Reece Weatherford: Maybe I need to get my hormones checked, you know. and then it came back, that like my hormones were not op optimal, especially for my age. and after I started doing TRT and and the the the peptides, man, I it's it's totally changed my life, man. Truly. And not only my quality of life, but it's it's positively affected the people around me too, because

Jeremiah: Yeah.

Reece Weatherford: I'm probably a whole lot better to be around now, you know. I my fiance would always my fiance joked with me too. She's like, God, like every day something would be wrong with you. Every day you would think, you know, something was wrong with you or you would think you're dying. And I'm like, I know. I was like, that was a miserable way to live. And I'm like, I'll never turn back, man. I honestly I I'll I I couldn't imagine myself turning back, man, with the way I feel now and and not only the way I look.

Jeremiah: Sure, yeah, I get that.

Reece Weatherford: Dude, it's it's totally changed my life, so yeah.

Jeremiah: Yeah, I had a very similar experience. I was just, I just I was always feeling kind of just down. I was sad, like, hey, what's the point? What am I doing? Like, you know, what do I want to do? Like I just felt horrible all the time, very indecisive. And it's really interesting because the the first time I took my first dose of TRT, it made me tire. Like I felt like I was gonna go to sleep. And this whole time I'm thinking I'm gonna get amped up, right? I'm like, yeah, dude, I'm gonna just get amped up. The first like four injections made me so tired.

Reece Weatherford: Dude, yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Jeremiah: But I felt so relaxed. And I guess I never realized I was such an anxious person. I never would s I would never like s consider myself to be anxious. But to actually feel how calm I felt, it was like, dude, that felt really good. And you know, since then, of course, I don't like feel like I'm gonna take a nap anymore. I take it before the gym, in fact. But just the mental aspects, like a lot of people think testosterone, they think, you know, bodybuilding, they think

Reece Weatherford: Yeah.

Jeremiah: sports performance, which it does, but the mental, like this is really what I try to get guys to really hone in on is the mental benefits, like no more brain fog, better concentration, better aggression. When we talk aggression, a lot of people think roid rage, but I like to think of it like a directable aggression. Like you have this just bravado about yourself, like something that, if someone slights you, you're gonna be respectful, but you're not just you

Reece Weatherford: Right.

Jeremiah: You address these issues now, you know?

Reece Weatherford: Right. A lot more level headed, dude, for sure. Yeah, I b you know, before I started hormone therapy and stuff like that, man, I dude, I I couldn't y it it was like I would just like snap almost, you know, and like I wouldn't I wasn't like calm enough to like think things through and like I was so impulsive almost. It was it was super weird, man. But like you said, man, it it

Jeremiah: Big time. Mm-hmm.

Reece Weatherford: It's just like really helped me just focus, be calm, like confidence, everything, man. Like I honestly, like before the hormone therapy, I probably couldn't have sat here and talked to you and done this, dude, because my heart would have been beaten a thousand miles a minute and like I I wouldn't have been able to sit here and like and and just have a regular conversation. That's how bad it was, dude. That's how bad my anxiety and and everything was. And yeah, it's it's helped me big time. So

Jeremiah: Funny you say that because I was the same man, I would never have the podcast. I'd never be able to meet patients. You know, I was just so I would just get sweaty. I'd just be dripping sweat. I'd be so anxious, nervous. Like I would never be able to do a podcast. And now I love it, right? And here you are, you know, you're doing fantastic, man. you're one of the most confident people I know. And it's just sad that some people go their whole life, like, you know.

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, man. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks, brother.

Jeremiah: not really getting to experience those type of things because they're being held back by an invisible force they don't even know is there,

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Well they s yeah, they're over here suffering in silence, dude. And I think a lot has to do with like I mean, this might sound cliche, but like big pharma, dude, like Western medicine, they're they're doctors, man. Like everybody steers you away from it for some reason. I mean, we all really know the reason. It's because, you know, if you're taking care of all of these medical issues with hormone therapy, then you're not giving them money. But yeah, but dude, honestly, like

Jeremiah: Hundred percent.

Reece Weatherford: I dude, I don't you know, I was on an SSRI at one point, you know, because they just with all the issues I was having and stuff, they would just they just you know, pinpointed it to anxiety and a mood disorder or whatever. When in reality, you know, the root cause was my hormones, you know. And it's just sad, dude, that that they

Jeremiah: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Reece Weatherford: It it seems like every time somebody's having issues, they want to, let's prescribe them this or let's prescribe them this antidepressant. And it's like you're you're totally just masking the root problem. And half the time it still doesn't even work, man. And then, you know, it may work for a while. And then, you know, down the road, I'm having anxiety again. let's increase the dose. And it's like, you know, yeah. And then it's like, what and and then, you know, when they prescribe you some of these meds, it's like,

Jeremiah: Mm-hmm. Yep. New problem start now.

Reece Weatherford: what are the side effects of that too? You know, they never talk about that. You know, you know, it might affect your heart health later on down the road or it might affect this, you know, and it's like it's just not good, man. It's it's sad, honestly, but yeah. Yeah.

Jeremiah: No. Mm mm. It is, it is. And this is the thing, like anxiety is a symptom. A symptom of what? What's causing it, right? Like that's like saying, yeah, you know, if you're if your car's leaking oil, just put more oil in it. You're not addressing where it's coming from. You're just, let's just forget it. You know, let's just address whatever symptoms happening and forget about the fact that something underneath is wrong,

Reece Weatherford: Mm-hmm. Right. Right. Yeah, exactly.

Jeremiah: But this is another thing too, Like you're not gonna get on TRT and look like Reese Guys. You've got to have a plan. It's a tool. This is a thing. It's a tool because some guys have this misconception that, hey, I start taking testosterone, and guess what, man? I'm gonna get all these muscles, all these girls, I'm gonna be feeling so good. It's like, dude, testosterone is not a map. It's not gonna tell you where to go, how to get there. It's a tool. And if you don't have that drive of, like I tell guys straight up,

Reece Weatherford: It is, yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Exactly.

Jeremiah: If you're not gonna go to the gym, you're not gonna make these changes in your life, I wouldn't waste the time because it's not going to get you those goals,

Reece Weatherford: Right. Exactly. Yeah. Dude, I I see dudes at the gym that are on five hundred milligrams of testosterone and and all these other compounds. And it's like they you like you can't even really tell that they go to the gym, dude. It's it's honestly sad. And not only that, it's like God, what is that doing to your health too, you know? Because we can tell that you don't take this seriously and you're not doing what you need to do, you know, to to optimize your your gains and your health and everything.

Jeremiah: Tons of stuff. Me too. Mm mm.

Reece Weatherford: But yeah, it it's so yeah I don't know. Like people think you can just hop on testosterone or hop on a a peptide and you're automatically gonna look good by just going to the gym and going through the motions and having a crappy diet and stuff like that. And it's like if anything, dude, it might it might even make you look worse. You know what I'm saying? 'Cause you know, it's yeah. Yeah. Holding a bunch of water away. Yeah, your estrogen's gonna be through the roof. Like, dude.

Jeremiah: Totally. A hundred percent. Yeah. I mean, you're just gonna be bloated. You're just gonna feel horrible. Now you have acne. Like it's like, dude. I've seen it. I've seen it. And I had a guy come to me the at the gym the other day and ask me if I would prescribe him four hundred milligrams a week. And I I looked at him, I'm like, why do you want four hundred milligrams a week? He's like, that's just what my doctor prescribes me. And it's like,

Reece Weatherford: Yeah.

Jeremiah: I do believe that s some guys, probably a lot of guys, do better above 200 milligrams a week, which is standard. But 400 milligrams a week, guys, that's excessive. No one needs 400 milligrams a week. And at the end of the day, we have to kind of weigh risks and benefits, right? Now, and this guy was on some other stuff too, but the reality is more's not always better, right? You find that dose. I've been as high as

Reece Weatherford: Yeah, yeah, that's you don't need that much, yeah. Right, right.

Jeremiah: 280 milligrams a week. I was on it for about six weeks. Acne was a pain in the ass. I had tons of just a swelling. I came down to 200. I feel amazing. I'm leaning out. I feel just as good mentally. So, you know, you get to a point to where you think more's better, right? Like, dude, if I feel this good here, how good do I feel way up here? and some guys just have to.

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.

Jeremiah: Some guys just have to touch the light bulb, burn their hand, and then realize it's not that much better, right? I'm one of them. And so the reality is you gotta find what works for you, right? That everyone has like their own specific dose, right? And there's a lot of factors like genetics involved, right?

Reece Weatherford: Right. sure. yeah. For sure, man. Yeah. I yeah man, people people think that I'm on like every compound under the sun and that I'm like on 500 milligram. Yeah. And that I'm like on all this stuff. And I'm like, dude, I'm not even Yeah, I'm like, dude, I'm not even at 200 milligrams of test a week, dude. and I'm on some orin. You know what I'm saying? It's like I just put in the work man and

Jeremiah: What a compliment.

Reece Weatherford: I'm consistent and I take my diet seriously. I take the whole I take everything seriously, man. I'm not just in this to to, waste waste my money and my time and my health, dude. I'm trying to optimize my health. I'm trying to optimize my life quality,

Jeremiah: That's

Reece Weatherford: But it's funny 'cause some of these guys think I'm on so much stuff, dude, ca and they're on all kinds of compounds and I tell what I'm taking and they're like, No way, dude. And I'm like, Yeah, dude, all you gotta Yeah, you just Yeah.

Jeremiah: Love it. I love it, dude. Cause that's the thing. Work harder, right? Half these guys are on their phones or talking to their buddies. It's like work harder. I I just don't understand it. It's like if you're if you're gonna be on more compounds, work even harder. You're gonna recover. You have the opportunity. Work harder. You know, it's just crazy to me.

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Yeah, and it's like Exactly. Right. Right. Yeah. And it's like, dude, if you're not if you're not able to to build muscle and and to change your body composition off of two hundred milligrams a week of testosterone, then you're not doing something right. You know what I'm saying? Like something's not something's not being done correctly. So

Jeremiah: No. No, it's not. It's not. And so that's the thing, right? That goes back to mental drive, right? You got to have the focus. It'd be great if you took the testosterone and went to the gym for you. But hell no, dude. When I when I wake up at 2 15 in the morning, I'm tired as hell. I'm like, I gotta give myself a little pep talk every time. Like, if I don't do this, what's gonna happen? Right. So it's like, we're going. I don't want to, but I do it. And I'm so thankful I do, right? It's the effect. But kind of going to peptides, like.

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Right. Exactly. Yeah. For sure. yeah, man.

Jeremiah: What are your thoughts on peptides? Did you think like these are experimental, dangerous things, or did you come in with a nice open mind? Like where were you at when you first started?

Reece Weatherford: So before I started with Steel City, I I I really didn't have a a lot of knowledge about peptides, to be honest with you, man. And I started doing my own research and everything like that. And you know, it it comes down to really that they're they're amino acids, dude. And they're they're they're able to be naturally breaking down.

Jeremiah: Mm-hmm.

Reece Weatherford: By your body. So there's no toxicity overload. There's n there's not like all these side effects and stuff like anabolic steroids have. If anything, they can actually like increase your health and longevity and vitality and everything, dude. And so I I was like, wow, dude, like these sound really awesome. And then I started taking the Samoran, you know, it's just a gentle way to increase your growth hormone. And dude, I I just I feel great, man. And I just wish that people realized like how revolutionizing peptides are, dude, in the health industry. Because honestly, man, like I I've seen so many people talk about it too. Like how, dude, I was on this medication, I was on this medication, I was on this medication, and I started taking peptides and I'm not on any of it anymore because it's optimized their health so much and it's and it's it's it's really reached the root cause and and

Jeremiah: Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Reece Weatherford: help these people, you know, in you know, get off of these meds and increase their health and everything. And dude, they're just honestly they're they're a game changer, man. I truly think that like I don't know. I I truly think that peptides are like really gonna revolutionize the not only the fitness industry, but like people's health overall, man. Like I yeah, they're they're they're awesome, dude. They really are. I and and not only that, dude, but like

Jeremiah: Totally. A hundred percent.

Reece Weatherford: Like, dude, my labs, like my last labs, like, dude, they haven't looked that good in years before like way before I was ever on anything, dude. Like, you know, like they're they're perfect now. And I'm like, well, like it makes sense because I feel great, you know? And and it it just, yeah, like not only do you have to do, you know, you have to have a clean diet, you gotta eat right, you gotta exercise and stuff like that. But dude, it's it's it's honestly taken my health and you know, my body composition and everything, but my health and my

Jeremiah: Perfect.

Reece Weatherford: and my mental everything, bro. It's just increased it and made everything better. It's honestly it's it's been a game changer for me, man. So

Jeremiah: Yeah, me you know, same, same. I love, I love peptides. I'm kind of like an ex walking experiment. I always try these new peptides when I can. I love them, right? And I mean, at the end of the day, sure, they're not FDA approved, and that's important to know. We don't have significant long-term data, but you know, we don't need FDA's approval to go to McDonald's and get a Big Mac, right? So we know the long-term damage of that, but we do it anyway. So I don't really find it.

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right.

Jeremiah: You know, I don't really lose any sleep over injecting myself with experimental peptides, right? I love it. I feel great.

Reece Weatherford: Right. Yeah, exactly, man. And you know, i like I was talking about earlier, you know, how many of these pharmaceuticals have so many detrimental he health risks and stuff like that and people pop like they're candy. You know what I'm saying? And it's like and it's like, you know, these dude, these peptides really do like like I I believe they really do increase just health and vitality overall, man, and and everything. I

Jeremiah: Right.

Reece Weatherford: And I believe that's why most of them aren't FDA approved as well. But because, you know, they like I said, if you start taking peptides and you don't have to take anything else, you know, from the doctor, then you know, they're losing money. So it's like yeah.

Jeremiah: Yeah, why not? And the thing I've noticed about peptides too is like they affect some people differently. Like I've been on some peptides that I didn't really notice much of effect. And some other people are like, dude, that was the most profound thing I've ever been on. And there are some peptides that I've been on, like Sur you know, Surmorlin's a great example. I've been on it for like a year and a half and I love it, dude. I love it. And some people are like, and I don't even feel anything. So it's just really weird. I guess probably what your body needs or

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Dude. Yeah.

Jeremiah: You know, receptor sensitivities. I think that it's all once again deficiencies in things that we don't even know we're deficient in, right? And it's just it's nice that we have this ability to use these peptides as like a sniper rifle for certain things, right? There's some for skin, hair, nails, joint pain, muscle growth, memory, sleep. That there's there's one called mellow tan too, to where you take it and it actually changes the pigmentation of your skin. You get a tan.

Reece Weatherford: Right. Definitely. Right. yeah, dude. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah. It's crazy, man. Yeah. Dude. Right. Yeah, man. Or yeah, dude. They're awesome. And even like dude, like the BPC one five seven and stuff when I was doing my research and everything, like it's so crazy how many like positive effects it can have on like organ health and like you know, like even like if people have had like a heart attack previously or like have had

Jeremiah: From it. Like, how crazy is that? Like, what's next? You know? I want to grow a set of wings, dude.

Reece Weatherford: TBI or anything like that, dude. It's like it it it's so awesome because it like creates it it it promotes angiogenesis and it goes in and it heals these things, dude, and like repairs them. It's it's awesome, dude. Like it it's so cool, dude. Yeah, like

Jeremiah: Truly amazing. Yeah. I agree. And this is all goes into optimization, right? Like this is what I tell a lot of guys, because they'll say, Well, when will I need testosterone? The answer is never. You'll never need it. I don't want anyone to think you ever need testosterone. And if someone ever tells you, based off of a number on your lab report that you need it, they're full of shit. It's a want, right? And it's a very clear want for your goals of optimization. But it should always be an option. You should be able to choose.

Reece Weatherford: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right. For sure.

Jeremiah: You and me

Reece Weatherford: For sure.

Jeremiah: should be able to choose what we put in our body. All we need is the information, right? Someone like me, my purpose isn't to tell anyone what to do. My purpose is to educate and let you make that informed decision. You know?

Reece Weatherford: Definitely. Yeah. that's why you're awesome, man. I I dude, your clinic is awesome, bro. I appreciate what you do, man. Seriously. Cause even like during the initial process, man, like I never felt pressured. I never felt, you know, like you were trying to get me to do anything that I didn't want to do, man. And and you just kinda guided me through the whole process and it helped me out tremendously, man. So

Jeremiah: Appreciate that. I appreciate that. So one last thing, Reese, before you leave, what are some closing words that you wanna tell that guy that he wanted to step into the gym, but he's just talked himself out of it every single time? What do you want to let him know?

Reece Weatherford: I can yeah. dude, just just take control of your life, man. you know, live the quality of life that you want to live. you know, go in there, man, optimize your health, dude. Optimize your the way you look. you know, everybody has a starting point. Don't be intimidated, man. You know, believe it or not, there's a lot of cool people in the gym, you know, who are willing to help you out.

Jeremiah: Mm-hmm.

Reece Weatherford: And who are willing give you tips, man. But yeah, don't sit by and and watch everybody live their best life, man. Go go out there and take control of your life and and I promise, man, you won't regret it. It'll it'll be the best thing that you've ever done. So

Jeremiah: Just like Nike says, just do it. Awesome, Reese. Thanks for being with us today, man. I appreciate it.

Reece Weatherford: Just do it, man. no, thanks for having me, brother. I appreciate you.