Beast Mode: Badass Bones & Massive Muscles With John Jaquish

Dr. John Jaquish is the inventor of two revolutionary biomedical and strength training devices, and all because he wanted to help his mother after she was diagnosed with osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a condition in which bones become weak and brittle, which often leads to bone fractures and chronic pain. It can be extremely painful, and Dr. Jaquish didn’t want to see his mother go through that experience.

So after years of studying and testing, he created Spectrum, a new class of medical device—the only medical devices that actually helps people build or rebuild bone density. John then partnered with OsteoStrong to rapidly deploy these devices in hundreds of clinics, and they’ve become a core clement of OsteoStrong locations. You can check out a video of Dr. Jaquish guiding me through a workout at OsteoStrong LA on my YouTube channel.

The OsteoStrong devices have now helped over 12,000 individuals with their bone health, including Dr. Jaquish’s mother, thousands of others suffering from osteoporosis, and high-performance athletes.

In the process of his medical research, Dr. Jaquish also quantified the variance between power capacities from weak to strong ranges in weight lifting. He saw that our current workouts were poorly optimized for both building strength and safety, and this brought him to his second invention: X3 Bar.

This unique fitness device is neither weight lifting or cardio, but provides more and faster benefit than either—all with the lowest risk of joint injury. It’s remarkably simple to use and, when you look at Dr. Jaquish, you can see it’s obviously working. Want to try it out yourself?

If you know anyone suffering from osteoporosis, you want to start proactively maintaining your bone health, or you want to improve your strength and athletic performance, this is an absolute must-listen. Dr. Jaquish is revolutionizing strength training, and we’re all lucky enough to be able to benefit from it.

TOPICS DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE:

• Accidentally creating the world’s greatest strength training device
• The long and difficult process of creating a business around a physical product
• The traditional Western medical solutions to treating osteoporosis Vs. the OsteoStrong devices
• How the four Spectrum devices work with the four positions in which our bodies absorb high impact forces
• The knowledge gap between exercise science and applied exercise
• How our environment and diet affect our bone health
• How to feel as good as you feel on vacation, without going anywhere
• Why training your body at OsteoStrong gives you such a strong high
• The problem with weight training
• How exactly the X3 portable gym works & how you use it
• Fracture Proof the software device that will help you gamify your bone workouts
• The 70 cities and 6 countries in which you can currently find Dr. Jaquish’s bone-strengthening devices
• Dispelling the most dangerous myths of strength training (that a lot of us believe)

About Dr. John Jaquish

Inventor of the most effective bone density building medical device, which has reversed osteoporosis for thousands and created more powerful/fracture resistant athletes, John is now partnered with Tony Robbins and OsteoStrong for rapid clinic deployment. In the process of his medical research, he also quantified the variance between power capacities from weak to strong ranges in weight lifting, which brought him to his second invention, X3 Bar resistance band bar system. The research indicates that this product builds muscle much faster than conventional lifting, and does so in less training time, all with the lowest risk of joint injury. Dr. Jaquish is a research professor at Rushmore University, speaks at scientific conferences all over the world, has been featured on many to the top health podcasts, is an editor of multiple medical journals, and is a nominee of the National Medal of Science.

Full Transcript

Luke Storey: All right, so we just did the interview portion with Dr. John Jaquish about all things Osteostrong and X3 Bar resistance band training system. Now I’m going to do a circuit of both of them with the man himself, with the inventor. So we’re going to start out with vibration, which is something I’m familiar with. Explain to me why we want to do vibration therapy in general or even before and after we do the Osteostrong stuff?

Dr. John Jaquish: So vibration does have a hormonal effect. We talked about that. But really from the perspective of getting ready for an Osteostrong session, when you make the body unstable and you force reflexes to fire, those reflexes switch on more muscle that is then usable. It’s called short term potentiation. So just more tissues activated. So when you go on to do the movements, you’re ready.

Luke Storey: Cool.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah. Movement preparation is, I think the number is 87% of professional sports teams in the United States use vibration and they use it for movement preparation. That’s how they refer to it.

Luke Storey: Cool.

Dr. John Jaquish: And that’s how we use it here.

Luke Storey: I’m going to try it out.

Dr. John Jaquish: Bend the knees.

Luke Storey: I have one of these at home. I love this shit.

Dr. John Jaquish: Right. So here’s a slightly smaller one. You want to…

Luke Storey: Knees bent?

Dr. John Jaquish: Keep the joints soft.

Luke Storey: Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah. Just because you want the musculature to absorb the vibration. If you stand up straight, you feel it in your head that’s going to hurt you. But it’s not going to have the intended effect.

Luke Storey: One of the best things about vi-bra-tion is the vibration of the voice.

Dr. John Jaquish: Good.

Luke Storey: Ah yeah, good stuff.

Dr. John Jaquish: Can we get a one foot? Like that. Yep. Yep. Other foot.

Luke Storey: Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: You only need a few seconds of this.

Luke Storey: Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: So, we’re good. We’re good.

Luke Storey: All right, cool. Good shot. The good shots that doesn’t suck.

Dr. John Jaquish: Now I’m going to describe what he’s looking at on the screen. So this is a tablet screen, so he can see his own computerized biofeedback right in front of him. So we see a first session, a best session, and a previous session. So three numbers he’s comparing to which are right here on the screen. And then he’s going to attempt to create a… Now you don’t need to create an ever greater amount of force every time, but you want to create a large enough one to stimulate osteogenesis in the upper extremities. So hands right here and there’s a marker on the screen that shows you that.

Luke Storey: So this shows my best as 770. My first is 603, my best 770.

Dr. John Jaquish: Right. So remember, people are much more capable in this range of motion than they are. Also, like I said…

Luke Storey: And 770 what? Pounds?

Dr. John Jaquish: Pounds.

Luke Storey: Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah.

Luke Storey: Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah. See it says right there, pounds.

Luke Storey: Okay, cool.

Dr. John Jaquish: 120 degree angle of inclusion right here, 120 degree. And then the back of the hand can move them up a little bit. In line with the clavicle.

Luke Storey: Oh, okay. Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah, that’s where you want to be. Okay. Lean all the way back. Okay. Now deep breath. Exhale and straighten your arms. Good. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Go, go, go. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Come on. Come on. Perfect. So we see the meter move up and then it starts to march backwards when he goes to fatigue and it captures his five second best average, which ended up being 722 pounds. It was your second best ever.

Luke Storey: Nice.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah.

Luke Storey: That’s great. Yeah, because when I came in after the flu on a 12/1/2018 I only hit 596 I remember that was a disappointing day. It was like I lost it. Yeah. All right. Cool.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah.

Luke Storey: Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: Great.

Luke Storey: On to the next one.

Dr. John Jaquish: Great, all right, next one. Lower extremities.

Luke Storey: Okay. Does each machine have a name by the way, or do we just call it by what body part?

Dr. John Jaquish: Lower growth trigger.

Luke Storey: Oh, lower growth trigger, okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: So this is upper growth trigger, lower growth trigger. Postural growth trigger is the next one and then core.

Luke Storey: Okay. Got it. Okay, cool.

Dr. John Jaquish: Okay, so shoulders back, you want to distribute the weight over the whole back.

Luke Storey: Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: And I’m going to describe what’s on the screen. So his best one looks like it’s 1,923 pounds through the lower extremities. Go for it. You can see his legs straightening out. You see that? And then when he’s done, you’ll see the knees pop up. What’s important to point out is the plate doesn’t move and the seat doesn’t move. What you’re seeing is compression of bone. Joints too. Come on. Keep going. Good. See, I knew you had more in you. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Yes, yes, yes. You’re good. 1,859.

Luke Storey: Wow. Pretty close to the record. That’s the craziest feeling when you release. I’m getting the happy chemicals. But my first was only 952 and that was May 5th, 2018.

Dr. John Jaquish: Right. So you’ve almost doubled what you did in May when you started.

Luke Storey: That’s bananas. And it’s not like your skill improves. I don’t have better form. I haven’t…

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah, it’s not swinging a golf club. There’s nothing going. It’s just raw output.

Luke Storey: There’s no way to game the system where, ah, I figured it out. Now I can push harder. It just is what it is.

Dr. John Jaquish: Right, right.

Luke Storey: Cool. Okay. Onto the next one next.

Dr. John Jaquish: All right, next.

Luke Storey: All right. so which machine is this one we’re on?

Dr. John Jaquish: Postural.

Luke Storey: Postural. Okay, and what is a growth trigger? When I hit that part?

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah, I’ll show you this.

Luke Storey: Okay. I think I might have typed my number in wrong. Okay, here we go. Because I have this band-aid on my finger.

Dr. John Jaquish: I noticed that.

Luke Storey: Yeah, see, I did. Yeah. I smashed my finger in the tripod earlier. Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: All right.

Luke Storey: So as we’re watching this happen, at some point I hit the growth trigger. What does that mean?

Dr. John Jaquish: So we have two types of growth triggers identified. I mean, this is called the postural growth trigger device. But growth triggers are referenced like we really know what it is on this one as the minimum dose response to trigger bone growth, 4.2 multiples of body weight through the hip. That was determined in 2012. Was a great study using accelerometers and bone turnover markers and blood tests, which showed that if you don’t put 4.2 multiples of body weight through your hip or more, you’re not triggering anything.

Luke Storey: Wow.

Dr. John Jaquish: Now we might find out later that super elderly people have a lower threshold, but a very high level of force is required. And this is why high impact activity is so closely associated with bone growth. Because you don’t get that kind of load by lifting weights. You get it by high impact, your body weight plus the velocity of the fall.

Luke Storey: Right.

Dr. John Jaquish: Right. So here we can get it. So yeah, your best one is… yeah, that’s incredible.

Luke Storey: So I started at 608 pounds my best.

Dr. John Jaquish: And you’re almost at 1,200.

Luke Storey: 1,187. That’s crazy. That’s double. And then last time I came as 1,026 and that was when I was weak sauce with the flu.

Dr. John Jaquish: Right.

Luke Storey: All right. So this one shoulders packed, right?

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah. So you want to act like you’re going to hit the ground, but your back has a specific position. So if you see when you jump and land, your shoulders automatically go back. Because it compensates for the shift of the body weight with the knees forward. And that’s what protects your spine.

Luke Storey: Cool.

Dr. John Jaquish: So you pinch my thumb with your shoulder blades, grab firmly. And of course the robotic arm already moved the handles to the right place for you.

Luke Storey: It remember my position.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah, it remembers your positions.

Luke Storey: Yeah. That’s cool.

Dr. John Jaquish: And now you’re just going to drive upward in a controlled manner. Good. Keep going. Okay.

Luke Storey: It’s from smashing my finger.

Dr. John Jaquish: Oh, you’re like letting go?

Luke Storey: It’s messing with my grip. Yeah. A little bit. Like one my index finger’s weakness. Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. That finger’s bugging you. No, you still put 900.

Luke Storey: This hand was a little greasy feeling, so I was losing my grip a bit.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah. You don’t perform better every… You won’t try it one more time?

Luke Storey: Yeah, it was slipping off. Let me try it once more. I think because I rubbed my hair and I got grease.

Dr. John Jaquish: I have the same problem all the time.

Luke Storey: I got greasy hair product on my hand. This one was like…

Dr. John Jaquish: Story of my life.

Luke Storey: Yeah. Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: Oh, there’s some chalk right there. Grab a hold of that.

Luke Storey: Oh, for real? Over here? Oh cool.

Dr. John Jaquish: Dry your hands off.

Luke Storey: Oh yeah, dude. There we go. Now I feel like a legit power lifter. All right. Let’s see here. Oh yeah, there we go. Should I just go straight into the real?

Dr. John Jaquish: Don’t explode. Never explored. It’s always slow and controlled.

Luke Storey: But don’t do a practice one?

Dr. John Jaquish: No, no, you’re definitely ready.

Luke Storey: Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: Come on, come on. Excellent. You got a little better.

Luke Storey: Okay, good.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah. Perfect.

Luke Storey: Cool. All right. 972 and there we go. Close to my record of 1026. All right.

Dr. John Jaquish: Nice.

Luke Storey: Good times.

Dr. John Jaquish: Okay.

Luke Storey: All right. So John, we got this one, the core growth trigger. So we’re working on the core.

Dr. John Jaquish: Right.

Luke Storey: What’s the proper posture for this one?

Dr. John Jaquish: Grab right here. Lean all the way forward. So you want to protect your abdomen. So that’s the impact. If something were coming at you, this the only place we have exposed organs. Right? It’s not covered with bone. The only way to protect them, move the rib cage and the pelvis closer together.

Luke Storey: So it’s a hollow body position.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yes.

Luke Storey: Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yes. So when you’re ready. Do it.

Luke Storey: Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: Okay. Good, breathe, breathe. Keep it right there. Look at the screen, keep it there. Keep it there. Keep it there and keep it there. Come on, come on a little bit more. You’re almost there. Great. Great. Okay. You good. You missed your all time best by just a couple of pounds.

Luke Storey: Shit dude. Six pounds or something.

Dr. John Jaquish: That’s why I say look at it. But yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, you’re spent now, but that’s good.

Luke Storey: Cool. Nice.

Dr. John Jaquish: That’s the whole protocol.

Luke Storey: Nice. So I’m almost up to my best again. Yes. So it’s so cool, like I was saying in the interview, to be able to gamify this and be able to compete with yourself. So when we look at this, it says functional bond performance, 74%.

Dr. John Jaquish: Right, is the improvement of what you’re able to do first time versus now.

Luke Storey: Wow. So after 13 sessions?

Dr. John Jaquish: Right.

Luke Storey: Wow.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah. So it’s a 74% output difference.

Luke Storey: That’s crazy. Fucking cool. Okay, awesome.

Dr. John Jaquish: Awesome.

Luke Storey: All right, so you want to do some X3 Bar portable home gym?

Dr. John Jaquish: Well, let me go get the X3 Bar resistance band bar system.

Luke Storey: All right. Cool. What do you think people need the most coaching on, movement-wise?

Luke Storey: Cool. Thanks.

Dr. John Jaquish: Chest press.

Luke Storey: Chest press?

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah.

Luke Storey: Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: So there is a couple of…

Luke Storey: And when people buy this is there a video tutorial thing on crosstalk ?

Dr. John Jaquish: There’s 12 weeks of video programming.

Luke Storey: Holy shit.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah, yeah. Well I wanted to make it like a P90X kind of experience where you get the whole thing.

Luke Storey: Oh cool.

Dr. John Jaquish: But what I realize now is that people used to value a lot of video content, whereas now they actually don’t. Because before when P90X was new, people got six DVDs. It’s like, Oh I got six movies. They’ve got all this content, they don’t want the content anymore. It’s just like get to the point, what do I need to do? Show me how to do the exercises and I never want to watch video again. And so I was shocked at how not effective that whole program was.

Luke Storey: I feel like for me, if I was trying to figure it out on my own, I wouldn’t get the right form and stuff. But if I was able to watch a video and get the form right, I’m not going to forget it once I’ve got it right.

Dr. John Jaquish: Well, I’m going to re-shoot the 12 week program. I’ll tell somebody what to do over 12 weeks in a chart. And then it’ll just be, here’s each exercise. And then so that and just shows you what to do on what day.

Luke Storey: Okay, cool.

Dr. John Jaquish: So these are the movements that are… So we’re going to go over the two that are hardest to figure out on your own, which is mostly the chest press. Getting in position for the chest press is challenging for some people. So there’s a lot of wrong ways to do it and people can still pull it off anyway. But you want to get the band around your back and you want to be pushing straight away. So the easy way to do it is throw it over your shoulder like this. You get it crosswise around your body. Right? Then you drop it down and have the band sit between your deltoid and your tricep like that. Drop the other arm down and then match the position and then grab the bar. Like you’re going to push it away. There you go.

Luke Storey: Cool.

Dr. John Jaquish: Now I made that look really easy. For some reason people get tangled in the band all the time.

Luke Storey: Okay, let’s see i If I can remember it.

Dr. John Jaquish: So if you don’t get this right, it’s okay. No one else does.

Luke Storey: It reminds me of playing guitar. It’s sort of how you put on a guitar or a bass, which I’ve done a bit of.

Dr. John Jaquish: So yeah. So yeah.

Luke Storey: And then I move it down.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah, drop it down.

Luke Storey: Between deltoid and tricep.

Dr. John Jaquish: And then same thing on the other side.

Luke Storey: And then bicep and then get it down here.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah, your Delta and your tricep right here.

Luke Storey: Even it out. Okay. And then in terms of hand position, it looks like what’s most comfortable is being at the edge of the textured part of it. Is that right?

Dr. John Jaquish: That’s right. Now you want to make sure it’s even force on both sides. It looks like you have a little more slack on that side than this side. So you want to adjust it so it’s even.

Luke Storey: Oh, okay. Right, right.

Dr. John Jaquish: And then, does that feel about right? So you’re going to push straight away. Now I want you to keep constant tension. Don’t lock out at the top. Okay. And then when you bring it back, I’m going to stop you right about here. Up. Good, good. Down. Good. Hit my hand when you got here. Okay, good. So the objective is to first fatigue, the strong range of motion. So keep going. Come on. Good. So you can see how he’s jack-hammering. I mean you’re shivering all over the place. Growth hormone. That’s going to be a huge up-regulator because all your stabilizers are firing because you have to handle 300 pounds at the top. You don’t normally bench press 300 pounds. So all kinds of firing is happening to support you. Keep going. Good, good, good. Up, up. Don’t rest. Up, up, up. No, no, no. There’s no rest. This is where accounts. Okay now just do half reps. So now you’re doing 150 pound reps. Good. Good. You bring it back to my hand. Good. Up. Good.

Luke Storey: I’m smoked dude.

Dr. John Jaquish: No, do two more. Good. One more. And that last one is perfect because the last one should just feel like an inch. Like you can barely move it.

Luke Storey: Oh, okay. Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: That was the best chest workout of your life.

Luke Storey: Okay. Feels like it. Holy shit.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah. Now, these devices you don’t sweat. This one, you do.

Luke Storey: Right. I noticed that. Makeup, shine powder, please. Oh my God dude. That is cool. So you’re going to fatigue by shortening the range of motion?

Dr. John Jaquish: Right, so you do fatigue all range of motion. We get this criticism like, Oh, you don’t fatigue all. Yeah, you do, but you’re fatiguing them in a relevant way. So by the time you get to fatigue here, you’re using a load that isn’t going to damage joint. So you’re not going to be sore from this.

Luke Storey: Right. Wow.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah. Best chest workout of your life with the heaviest weight you’ve ever put from a full range of motion perspective, and you’re not going to be sore.

Luke Storey: Wow.

Dr. John Jaquish: And you’re going to grow.

Luke Storey: Wow. How do you get out of it? Is there a set way or just the intuitive way?

Dr. John Jaquish: That’s good.

Luke Storey: Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: Any way to get out is fine.

Luke Storey: Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: Let’s also show everybody the deadlift.

Luke Storey: Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: Now, how much of your followers are female? Is it 50%?

Luke Storey: 65.

Dr. John Jaquish: 65% female? Okay. Well ladies, I’m going to talk to you about haircare. I’m kidding. The deadlift is the favorite of so many women because like I said, in the show, growing the back of your legs, growing those hamstrings, it just stretches that skin out a little bit. And what you think is cellulite is really just loose skin because you have underdeveloped hamstring. And as soon as that stretches out, the back of your legs look dynamite. So you want the band doubled over, similar to the chest press. Now of course the appropriate band, not everybody uses the black one. That’s the heavy one. So you drop the ground plate, which has a groove in it for the band to seat in, and you get it seated like that. So when you want, try and make it somewhat even before you put it on the ground, but you can still adjust it. Place it on the ground. Okay? Yeah, we’re right about there. So jump in here. Okay, so arch your back. Pinch my thumb with your shoulder blades. You want to engage the trapezius the whole time. People that let their shoulders hang when they deadlift, that’s an injury waiting to happen. So now you’re just going to stand up. Good. All the way, all the way up, all the way up, all the way, all the way, all the way. Good. Now down.

Luke Storey: My grip is having a hard time.

Dr. John Jaquish: Oh yeah, yeah. Grip strength is the first thing that you really stimulate when you do this.

Luke Storey: Okay.

Dr. John Jaquish: It’s interesting about you is you have a really strong chest press and you don’t typically deadlift, right?

Luke Storey: No, never.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah.

Luke Storey: I was afraid to hurt my lower back where I’ve had problems for a long time, so I have been skittish about deadlifts.

Dr. John Jaquish: Right. Your right side’s stronger than your left. I can feel it. Perfect. Okay, now shorten the range. This is a band that’s still too heavy for you, but I still want to keep going so everybody can see it. So now, good. Now go down. Good. Up. Good. Just past the knee cap and now go down. Keep the back arched. Keep my thumb pinched. Get even shorter than that if you want to. Good. I wish you guys had thermal cameras so you can see the heat coming off his body. Perfect.

Luke Storey: Fuck. That’s hardcore.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah. Hardcore.

Luke Storey: Wow.

Dr. John Jaquish: Cool.

Luke Storey: I’m on fire dude. That’s crazy.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah. Yeah. You feel great, right? Yeah. Heaviest workout in your back you probably ever had. Especially since you’ve been injured for a considerable period of time, you were never at any risk.

Luke Storey: Wow. That’s amazing.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yeah. That’s a total bio hack for strength.

Luke Storey: Right? Especially for injuries and compromised joints and stuff.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yep. Yep.

Luke Storey: So even when I was doing this one, which I don’t even do bench presses, really. I mean, pushups I can position myself in certain ways where it doesn’t aggravate this. But I never do a bench press because this just gets tweaked. It’s just on fire right here.

Dr. John Jaquish: And you didn’t feel it here.

Luke Storey: A little bit, but I mean I could meander my way through it.

Dr. John Jaquish: You didn’t break form.

Luke Storey: Okay, cool.

Dr. John Jaquish: So what you might think is getting it into the right position where it doesn’t hurt is actually just the right position.

Luke Storey: Oh, okay, all right, all right.

Dr. John Jaquish: But you don’t see it. I mean I see it because I look at this all day long, with all kinds of people.

Luke Storey: Right. Cool. Dude awesome.

Dr. John Jaquish: Awesome. Yeah.

Luke Storey: Well thanks for that private session, man. It’s amazing.

Dr. John Jaquish: Yep. Awesome.

Luke Storey: Appreciate it, dude. All right.

Dr. John Jaquish: You need a new band-aid. You trashed your band-aid.

Luke Storey: I trashed it.

Dr. John Jaquish: Awesome.