Episode #4: Featuring JJ Virgin! Understanding Muscle Gain and Body Composition, Debunking the controversy with GLP-1’s, Exposing Health Myths, Deep...
episodePreviously titled “Episode #4: Featuring JJ Virgin! Understanding Muscle Gain and Body Composition, Debunking the controversy with GLP-1's, Exposing Health Myths, Deep dives into creatine, Peitdes, Biohacking AND MORE! ” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 3, 2026
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Who is JJ Virgin and what is her background?
All right, everybody, welcome back to the Dylan Gemelli podcast. So today I have an extra special guest. I'm kind of known for my intros. I don't, I would take up too much time to do the proper intro. So I'm going to do my best here. So she is a triple board certified nutrition expert. She's a fitness hall of famer. She's certified in holistic nutrition. She's a certified personal trainer. She's a New York times bestseller. And there's so many more things that we're going to get into today. while we're interviewing, but I am honored, privileged, and pleasured to bring you JJ Virgin.
I am thrilled to be here.
What led JJ Virgin to focus on nutrition and muscle gain?
Thank you so much for taking the time. I know how busy you are, and so I am going to get right into it while I have you here. So first things first, I mean, most everybody knows exactly who you are, but I am curious to What is it that got you into health and fitness? Was it something that happened young? Was it something that drew you later in life? Because everybody's got a story. So I'm just curious what yours is.
You know what? So I've always been interested in it. And then I got very into diet. This is really actually horrible, but it was a turning point great thing. Because being six feet tall, I kept hearing, oh, you should be a model. So I grew up outside of San Francisco. I went to a modeling agency in San Francisco. And they told me, and by the way, I weigh the same now as I did then.
What are the myths surrounding women and weight training?
So they told me I needed to lose at least 20 pounds. And I remember at the time I was a teenager and literally I was in gymnastics. And so I was working out with the high school football team because there was no gym for the girls. Right. And this, you know, this agent tells me I need to lose 20 pounds. And I go home and I go to the library. I get diet books. I start counting my calories, recording them on a calendar. And then my dance teachers thought I was anorexic. And it was a big wake up call. I remember thinking, you know, I was also running track and I just couldn't do the things that I like to do. I was too tired. Right. And I thought, gosh, well, shoot, I could either be skinny. And, you know, here I was, I remember going to the modeling agency, looking at these girls and they were pale, wafey looking things, right?
Yeah. And I thought, well, I could either be that or I can be strong. I cannot be both. And I just was like, forget it. I'm going to eat. Yes. But I got very into nutrition because it was, you know, I wanted to be at the time I wanted to be a stage actress. And so your body's like your instrument there. And I was very into nutrition and very into exercise and just always have been.
That's awesome. I was a fashion model in my 20s, so I know the strife and I know what you went through and I know it's not healthy and what they want you to do is not healthy. So you definitely picked the right route to go. And I think so many people are thankful that you did go that route. So, you know, I have watched quite a bit of your work and some of the things that you talk about, and it's kind of inspired me to look more at and focus more on women as they get older, their diets and everything. One of the questions I had for you is why are you focused on aging powerfully and what exactly does that mean to you and just in general for us to understand?
So, you know, as an exercise physiologist, I was very interested in muscle and it was interesting in graduate school. Everything we did in the exercise phys department was based on cardio. And in fact, back then, this was decades ago, we were told that you should not have a client lift weights until they lost the weight. And yeah, right? I mean, this is painful stuff. We were also told back then that if you couldn't work out for at least 30 minutes of cardio, don't bother because you need to get into your fat burning zone and you had to blah, blah, all this crazy stuff. Well, what? A couple things happened. Number one, I discovered pretty quickly that having people do loads of cardio didn't do anything and that I wasn't going to get paid to help people not get results. Right. And so I was taking people down to Gold's Gym in Venice in the 80s. And these women who were like, you know, I'm afraid to get big.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who is JJ Virgin and what is her background?
0:15–0:49
2
What led JJ Virgin to focus on nutrition and muscle gain?
0:49–2:07
3
What are the myths surrounding women and weight training?
2:07–6:00
4
Why is building muscle important as we age?
6:00–12:08
5
What role does creatine play in muscle gain and health?
12:08–15:47
6
How do dietary needs change for women as they age?
15:47–23:40
7
What are the benefits of different forms of creatine?
23:40–29:48
8
What should women know about protein intake for muscle building?
29:48–58:54
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from The Dylan Gemelli Podcast
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