If you’ve ever had a great week in the gym and then let a bathroom scale talk you into thinking nothing’s working, this episode is for you. Pete and Srdjan unpack why body weight is such a noisy, unreliable metric on its own—because it can swing for reasons that have nothing to do with fat loss or fitness progress. They talk through what’s actually in that number (water, sodium, stress, sleep, inflammation, hormones, meal timing), and why daily weigh-ins can turn a normal fluctuation into an emotional roller coaster.

From there, the conversation pivots to what’s worth tracking instead. Srdjan explains how he uses body composition testing (like InBody) to track trends over time—fat percentage, lean mass, visceral fat, muscle balance—without obsessing over single readings. They also get into the performance and “real life” markers that are often better indicators of progress: stronger lifts, smoother movement, better balance, faster recovery between sets, improved sleep and energy, fewer cravings, and the quiet wins like clothes fitting differently or feeling more solid when you move through the day.

They close by getting practical about minimum effective tracking. Progress photos, waist-to-hip ratio, and clothing fit can tell a clearer story than a fluctuating number, especially when you’re targeting body composition changes. And there’s a deceptively important mindset point Srdjan keeps coming back to: you’re usually going to feel progress before you see it. If you’re doing the work, don’t let one number erase the evidence.

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This one is about the part of training nobody romanticizes: coming back after injury or surgery without letting impatience take the wheel. We start with a real-world case—Pete’s business partner Andy facing back-to-back knee replacements—and uses that as a proxy for anyone staring down rehab, physical therapy, and the uneasy question of “When am I actually ready to train again?” Srdjan lays out what he wants to know first (medical notes, PT progress, movement limits), and why the handoff from PT to strength work matters: PT gets you functional, but strength training is where you rebuild the stability and muscle support that keeps you from getting hurt again.

A big thread here is pain literacy. Srdjan talks about learning to distinguish discomfort from danger—aching versus sharp pain, soreness versus joint pain—and how a good coach watches movement as much as they listen to words (because most of us underreport what we’re feeling). They also unpack the two classic traps: the underconfident “I can’t train until I’m pain-free” and the overconfident “It doesn’t hurt, so I’m fine,” and why both can get you into trouble. The throughline is slowing down, staying in control, and treating old injuries with ongoing respect even years later.

They also get practical: using the pool to reduce joint load while keeping muscles active, prioritizing stabilizers and unilateral work for asymmetries, and reframing “rest” as active recovery rather than full stop. And there’s a nice, slightly sneaky lesson for the rehab window: if your training options shrink, tighten up what you can control—protein, calories, and habits—so the setback is real but not catastrophic.

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Knees and shoulders might be the two most over-policed joints in the gym—by people who mean well, by people who absolutely don’t, and by that one guy who taught you to fear squats in 2004. Pete and Srdjan break down what actually makes these joints cranky, which “rules” are myths, and how to tell the difference between real injury pain and the normal discomfort of undertrained tissue waking up.

You’ll come away with a simple framework: earn your range of motion, stop chasing load at the expense of control, and treat warm-ups and stabilizers like the main event—not an apology lap. Plus: why locking out under heavy weight can be a sneaky knee trap, why shoulders hate heavy rotation, and what to do when something hurts on a day you didn’t even train.

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