Welcome to our last episode of the season! This week Gunnar Peterson and Jen Widerstrom pull up a chair with Dr. Philip Goglia, Gunnar’s longtime friend and the nutritionist he’s been sending clients to for years, for an episode that is equal parts nutrition masterclass and roast. It starts with denim, velour, and a legendary Santa Barbara story: eight bottles of rosé at breakfast, a five-hour energy chaser, Kevin Love tipping out of his chair, and a game of tequila croquet that Dr. G insists he lost on purpose. (He did not.) From there, we learn Dr. G was a Duke wrestler, a pro bodybuilder, a race car driver, a songwriter, and a failed music major, which is how he accidentally ended up in nutrition.

Once the jokes settle, Dr. G gets into the good stuff. He explains why most people under-eat instead of over-eat, why everything that isn’t protein, nuts, or seeds is basically sugar, and why you should worry about your waist, not your weight. He walks through a full day of his own eating, from the pre-workout spoonful of jam and almond butter to the fruit snack 40 minutes before bed. The crew also gets into fermented vs. distilled alcohol, why a potato at dinner doesn’t do what you think, and why so many women in their late 30s and 40s are blaming perimenopause on what’s really low protein and high fat by lunchtime.

They also dig into why the gym is “body destruction” and the kitchen is where you rebuild, the 80% compliance rule, cheat meals vs. cheat days (Flaming Hot Cheetos included), DoorDash “meat on a stick,” and the reinvention of Bodybuilding.com as a home for vetted experts over follower counts. And yes, there is a full-blown dairy debate, and Gunnar’s cottage cheese does not survive it.

Whether you’re a coach trying to get clients to actually stick with the plan, or just someone who wants to understand what your food is doing to you, this one is loaded with practical nutrition, real talk, and a friendship that’s been going since before Jen was born.

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting the show!

About Dr. Goglia:

Dr. Philip Goglia is the founder of Performance Fitness Concepts, one of the most elite performance nutrition and rejuvenative health and wellness clinics in the United States. He has been a certified nutritionist for over 30 years and has been recognized as the recipient for the 2009 and 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 Best of Santa Monica Award in the Dietician category by the US Commerce Association. Most recently he was awarded the 2013 "Deborah Constance Children's Inspiration" award for his commitment to health and wellness mentoring at the inner city charitable foundation "A Place Called Home."

Produced and Edited by: The Cast Collective (Nashville, TN)

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In part two of our mentorship weekend conversation, Gunnar and Jen go deeper with Ed Coan and Don Saladino, this time into the how. Eddy breaks down the system behind his record-setting career: no contest-day superstitions, just a quiet lock-in. He also explains how he started out as a shy kid who studied other lifters’ movements and became “a master of me.” He walks through picking a doable number and reverse-engineering the training back from it, then building his plan around his weak spots. He treated every assistance lift like a main lift, and his weekly split barely changed for years.

From there, the group digs into why the basics of every strength system end up looking the same, and how that applies to everyday clients and even touring musicians. They debate when to change a program that’s working and why you should never change something without a reason. They also get into the difference between having an opinion and having earned one, and the pre-presentation nerves, tequila included, that come with teaching a room of 700 strength coaches.

The back half gets personal. Eddy talks about the friend who became his go-to in the lead-up to a meet, and Don opens up about his old mentor and the impact he had on him to make him the person he is today. They land on why training is one of the few things in life you can fully control, and why the best feeling comes from working hard, not just feeling good.

Whether you’re a coach trying to build a smarter system or a lifter who wants to stick with it long enough to see results, this one is full of patience, simplicity, and hard-earned perspective.

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting the show!

TRAINHEROIC: Trusted by top coaches since 2012. Plans start at just $10/month– And you get your first 14 days free. Head to trainheroic.com/thekidstable to start your free trial now.

MOMENTOUS: If you want to try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine, head to livemomentous.com/creatine and use code KIDSTABLE for up to 35% off your first order.

Produced and Edited by: The Cast Collective (Nashville, TN)

YouTube – (‪@TheCastCollective‬)

Instagram – (https://www.instagram.com/TheCastCollective)

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This week, Gunnar and Jen are joined by Don Saladino and Ed Coan in Nashville for a mentorship weekend. Don and Eddy are two of the most respected names in strength and fitness, brought together for a coaching combine built on connection over content. Don talks candidly about his 27 years in the industry, the brutal early days of chasing clients with fliers and answering machines, and the deal he still offers every young coach who calls him: work a real gym job for 18 months, then he'll mentor you for free. Nobody's ever taken him up on it.

Eddy opens up about the training system that made him the most decorated powerlifter in history — reverse-engineering every number from his goal lift backward, writing down every rep for over three decades, and never changing a program that was already working. The conversation turns into a masterclass in patience, authenticity, and why real coaching expertise can't be faked, no matter how good someone looks on social media. They also dig into mentorship itself: who shaped each of them, what it means to actually invest in another coach instead of just answering DMs, and why connection, not algorithms, is still what builds a career that lasts.

Whether you're a coach trying to figure out how to stand out in a saturated industry or just want to hear how two legends think about longevity, this one's full of hard-earned wisdom from two guys who've done it the long way.

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting the show!

TRAINHEROIC: Trusted by top coaches since 2012. Plans start at just $10/month– And you get your first 14 days free. Head to https://www.trainheroic.com/thekidstable to start your free trial now.

MOMENTOUS: If you want to try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine, head to https://www.livemomentous.com/creatine and use code KIDSTABLE for up to 35% off your first order.

About Don:

Don Saladino is a wellness industry leader and coach known for helping individuals build strength and longevity through sustainable training. Since launching his career in 1999, he has become one of the most trusted voices in fitness, combining practical training strategies with an approach centered on consistency. His philosophy is rooted in the belief that stacking small wins through daily “micro-momentum” leads to lasting transformation.

Today, Saladino leads a global fitness community through the Don Saladino App, which delivers strength-focused training to users in more than 100 countries. The platform offers dozens of programs for every fitness level. Whether someone is stepping into fitness for the first time or rebuilding after years away, Saladino’s mission is to serve as a trusted coach who makes strength and longevity achievable for every stage of life.

About Eddy:

Widely regarded as the greatest powerlifter in the history of the sport, Ed Coan has set over 70 world records across his career and remains the benchmark by which elite strength is measured. Coan began lifting in a friend's basement before high school, training on makeshift equipment with no squat rack, no bench, and no deadlift platform — just the will to get stronger. By 16, lifting barely 150 pounds, he was already putting up numbers that outpaced men twice his size.

Competing primarily in the 220-pound weight class, Coan went on to total more weight than any lifter in history regardless of class, posting a career-best total of 2,462 pounds (squat, bench, and deadlift combined) while weighing just 220 pounds.

Produced and Edited by: The Cast Collective (Nashville, TN)

YouTube – (https://www.youtube.com/@TheCastCollective)

Instagram – (https://www.instagram.com/TheCastCollective)

TikTok – (https://www.tiktok.com/@castcollective)