Episodes - Page 20 | 50% Facts with Silent Mike & Jim McD

March 27, 2019

Are some exercises useless or even potentially harmful? w/Dr. Jordan Shallow

Not all exercises are created equal. That much is certain. But are any of them at best a complete waste of time, and at worst, damaging? Some of our questions were: Does anybody need Jawzercize? Do hip thrusts really do anything for powerlifters?...

March 21, 2019

Clutch Performances & Flow States: Are heroes born or taught? w/Dr. Matt Johnson

Dr. Matt Johnson, a Certified Sport Psychology Consultant (and former Notre Dame quarterback), joins us to discuss a fundamental question about performance under pressure. Our thoughts: Are some people just born to be gamers? To perform at a high...

March 13, 2019

Chiropractor vs. Physical Therapist: Which one should you pick? w/Dr. Jordan Shallow

We’re committed to having a physical therapist join us in the future, but THIS time we’re talking to a chiropractor. Our questions: What’s different about their education? What’s similar about their approaches? What’s different? Which may...

March 7, 2019

Heat & Cold Shock Proteins: Are Fire & Ice Nice to Your Body? w/Dr. Andy Galpin

We know that heat and cold shock proteins form in the body in reaction to changes in temperature, but what do they do and should we be trying hard to get them? How much do you need to change your body temperature to get a reaction? What, if anything,...

Feb. 27, 2019

Is Cracking & Popping Your Joints a Bad Thing? w/Dr. Jordan Shallow

We’ve all heard the old tale about cracking your knuckles and arthritis, but what about your neck, back and all the other parts of you that crack and pop? Is there actually a connection to arthritis? Why do chiropractors and other manual...

Feb. 20, 2019

Muscle Fiber Types: How Much Does Your Mix Matter & Can You Change It? w/Dr. Andy Galpin

We follow up the episode “Can You Teach Speed?” with a deeper dive into muscle fiber types that we touched on in that episode: What’s the difference between fast twitch and slow twitch fibers? Does the mix of fibers tend to affect...

Feb. 14, 2019

Can You Teach Speed? w/Jacob Ross

Our good friend, Jacob Ross returns as our expert to answer this question. Can you teach speed? Specifically, speed for sports? As we talked through the question, we of course came up with even more thoughts: Is it purely genetics? Are there muscle...

Feb. 7, 2019

Is Intermittent fasting/time-restricted eating some kind of magic? w/ Dr. Andy Galpin

Or is it just skipping breakfast?

Jan. 31, 2019

Is Olive Oil the Best Oil? w/Mike’s Mom Maria

Mike’s mom, Maria Farr, is a certified olive oil judge and sensory panelist. With all the recent focus on fats in our diets, we decided to bring her on to help educate us – and you – on a particularly tasty fat. Our questions went something like...

Jan. 24, 2019

Vertical Jump/Box Jump: Can you improve & should you try? w/Jacob Ross

Vertical jump has become a test of athleticism, but is it something you can train? Box jumps have come around again in popularity, but are they an important training tool...or just a cool trick? What contributes to being good at either or both? Can...

Jan. 16, 2019

Blood Flow Restriction Training: Is it all it’s pumped up to be? w/Layne Norton, PhD

You can call it Blood Flow Restriction (BRF), occlusion, or Kaatsu, but the idea is all the same: Keep some extra blood in the muscles of your arm or leg and get a massive pump. But is this superior to working out the regular way? When should you use...

Jan. 10, 2019

Is Sports-specific Training a Gimmick? w/Jacob Ross

Can activities in the gym that are built around the requirements of a specific sport actually help athletes get better at that sport? Our good friend, Jacob Ross -- an athletic performance coach and consultant who currently works with Luol Deng...

Jan. 3, 2019

Is All the Fake Sugar Hate Just Fake News? w/Layne Norton, PhD

We get started by talking about what’s becoming a pretty uncommon experience for a lot of people: Actually leaving your house to watch a movie. Wrapping up a run of nutrition and diet-related episodes, we talk about a group of substances that are...

Dec. 26, 2018

What is (Dietary) Fat and Why Does It Make Everything Delicious? with Eric Helms, PhD

Our fourth episode takes a look at the final macronutrient: fat. We spend a few minutes discussing the documentary “Transformer” about Janae Marie Kroczaleski…and our small part in it. We also discuss streaming services and how hard it is to get...

Dec. 20, 2018

What is the Glycemic Index (and should it make us eat some kinda way)? w/Layne Norton, PhD

In our third episode, we take a side step from carbs into the glycemic index – the potential impact of differing amounts of carbs in foods. We kick things off with a quick discussion about the inherent strangeness of making friends with people...

Dec. 13, 2018

What Are Carbohydrates (and Why Is Everybody So Mad at Them)? w/Eric Helms

Our second episode is a look at a second macronutrient: carbohydrates. After a quick discussion about the fact that we’re probably both HSP (Highly Sensitive People), we talk about some of our goals for the show and ways that you can get involved....

Dec. 6, 2018

What is (Dietary) Protein Anyway? (with Eric Helms, PhD)

We’re kicking this new show off by asking seemingly basic questions about diet and nutrition. First up, “What is (dietary) protein anyway?" After a quick catch up session, we talk through the “facts” of what we think we know about this...

Nov. 29, 2018

Introducing "50% Facts" | December 5, 2018

Introducing 50% Facts! A brand new show from Mike Farr and Jim McDonald Premiering December 5, 2018 Most of us walk around knowing about HALF of what we think we know. On this show, we take a single, granular question on a particular topic (related to...