Another Minnesota August week in the books—hopefully you found a little time to train, get outside, and avoid arguing with the internet about peptides. Haha I failed.

This week there is plenty here to dig into, from BPC-157 data and more.

Always curious as to what you think, so hit me back.

Here's what went down this week:

Newsletters:

• ​BPC-157 - your guide on me at no cost: A free, research-focused guide to what we know—and do not know—about BPC-157, including the surprisingly thin human evidence.
• ​I made a tactical error...: A look at what happened after asking the internet for thoughtful feedback on the BPC-157 PDF.

Flex Diet Podcast:

• ​Episode 399: Dr. Emily Werner on urolithin A, mitochondrial health, and nutrition for professional athletes.

Iron Radio:

• ​Youth Meet Partial Reps - they guys chat old man style

Instagram posts of the week:

• ​What the BPC-157 human evidence actually shows​
• ​Sports Pharmacy Summit 2026​
• ​Cardio is a cheat code your doctor is not prescribing​
• ​The “Zone 2 vs. sprints” study did not test Zone 2​

Calendar — Where's Dr Mike?

• 🏠 2026 HOMeHOPe Conference — early October 2026 — Details​

Gym Tune of the Week: Dimmu Borgir "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant"​

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Your fav nerd got to see Dimmu late last night here in MN, and holy hell—it was an amazing show.

This was my 4th time seeing them over the years, and they opened with “Mourning Palace” from the album above.

That song was my gateway drug.

I first heard it back in 1997 when I was the Director of Loud Rock and a metal DJ at WMTU while doing my post-grad and Master’s work in Mechanical Engineering at Michigan Tech.

At the time, I had never heard anything quite like it.

Harsh vocals.
Clean vocals.
Guitars coming at you like a Norwegian logging accident.
Blast beats with these completely unhinged keyboards that, by all reasonable laws of music, should not have worked...

...but somehow fit perfectly.

I proceeded to listen to that album approximately 47 billion times, along with everything they released after it.

Dimmu became my go-to soundtrack for doing Calc and later Differential Equations homework, because apparently nothing says “solve this miserable bastard of an equation” quite like Norwegian symphonic black metal detonating through your headphones and Infinity SM82 speakers in the dorms (I was an RA for most of my time there).

Fast-forward almost 30 years, and there I was last night, right up front while they opened with the exact song that started the whole thing for me.

Pretty freaking cool.

They crushed track after track for 90 minutes with a great mix of newer material and classics, and the entire show was absurdly good.

So if black metal is your particular flavor of auditory violence, crank some Dimmu this week and go crush a gym PR.

Preferably while solving for X. Oh there it is! hahaha.

Much love,

Dr. Mike

________

Mike T Nelson CISSN, CSCS, MSME, PhD
Associate Professor, Carrick Institute
Owner, Extreme Human Performance, LLC
Editorial Board Member, STRONG Fitness Mag

Mike T Nelson is a PhD and not a physician or registered dietitian. The contents of this email should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.