Build for Health is a show that flips the script on fitness. Hosted by longtime podcaster Pete Wright and strength coach Srdjan Injac of ELEV8 Fitness, this show isn’t about gym culture or getting shredded—it’s about why building muscle is the most important investment you can make in your long-term health.
Each week, Pete and Srdjan break down the science, bust the myths, and offer real-world insight into how resistance training supports not just strength, but brain function, metabolic health, emotional well-being, immune resilience, and aging with independence.
If you think lifting weights is just for looks, think again. It’s time to rethink strength—and build a body that’s built for life.
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Meet the Hosts
Srdjan Injac is a certified strength coach and the founder of ELEV8 Fitness in Portland, Oregon. With a background in kinesiology and a lifelong passion for movement, he’s trained everyone from elite athletes to everyday professionals to feel strong, live pain-free, and age with purpose. Srdjan’s coaching style is built on evidence-based training, long-term sustainability, and a deep belief in the power of muscle as medicine.
Pete Wright is a veteran podcaster, storyteller, and—most importantly—a guy who used to avoid the gym at all costs. Srdjan’s just so happens to be his trainer. As such, Pete tries to bring curiosity, candor, and a deeply personal perspective on what it really takes to change your relationship with strength... no matter how much it hurts. With a background in health communication and habit-building for adults with ADHD, Pete asks the questions we’re all wondering—and helps listeners stay curious while getting stronger.
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What’s the real difference between training at a big national gym and a private studio? New trainer Brooke Passey joins Pete and Srdjan to unpack incentives, atmosphere, and coaching—and Srdjan drops news about his own bodybuilding prep. Brooke shares what it’s like to move from a commercial gym to independent coaching: behind-the-scenes sales pressures, “numbers” targets, and sticky contract renewals that can matter more to corporate than member outcomes. In her words, trainers and clients can ...
This week, we zoom in on the moment you decide to get help—how to choose a trainer (and a gym) that won’t waste your time or your joints. Srdjan contrasts the incentives inside big-box facilities—where volume and sales often dominate—with the owner-led standards, community, and results focus he’s seen in private gyms. The gist: when reputation’s on the line, care gets personal and outcomes matter. From there, we get practical. What should a good consult sound like? Clear, specific explanations y...
This week on Build for Health , Pete Wright sits down with trainer Srdjan Injac to take on one of the most misunderstood stages in any fitness journey: maintenance. Why do so many people hit their goals and immediately fall off the wagon? Is maintenance just an excuse for taking your foot off the gas, or is it a legitimate skill that deserves as much attention as any muscle-building or fat-loss phase? Srdjan breaks it down: true maintenance isn’t about stagnation, but consolidation—a strategic p...
We treat recovery like flossing: we say we do it, but mostly we don’t. This week, Pete and Srdjan break down the myth of rest-as-recovery and walk us through what your body actually needs to come back stronger. Srdjan lays out his full stack of recovery techniques—from the basics like sleep , hydration , and nutrition , to the heavy hitters like cold plunges , sauna sessions , cupping , deep tissue massage , compression therapy , and even red light therapy . The catch? None of them work if you’r...
There is a moment—quiet, unassuming, easily missed—that defines everything that comes after. It’s not a personal record. It’s not a transformation photo. It’s not even the first workout. It’s the decision to begin. And what’s remarkable about that moment is not how grand it feels, but how small and personal it really is. In this episode of Build for Health , Pete sits down with Srdjan to investigate the psychology of starting—from scratch, from injury, from the long slope of middle age. Together...
Every era has its elixirs. The ancients had tinctures of mercury. The Victorians had cocaine cough drops. We, the modern wellness wanderers, have supplements—powders and pills, scoops and sachets, promises wrapped in slick branding. But what happens when you start asking: does any of it actually do anything? In this episode of Build for Health , Pete Wright and Srdjan Injac open the supplement cabinet. With the quiet intensity of a forensic scientist and the cheer of your favorite gym buddy, Srd...
In Episode 2 of Build for Health , Pete Wright and ELEV8 Fitness founder Srdjan Injac take on the misunderstood superstar of the nutritional world: protein . Following last week’s case for muscle as medicine, this episode gets into what fuels that muscle. Spoiler: It’s not just about eating more protein—it’s about eating the right kind , in the right amounts , at the right times . What You’ll Learn: Why protein is essential for far more than muscle growth—think brain health, hormone balance, and...
Welcome to Build for Health, where we flip the script on what strength really means. Hosts Pete Wright and coach Srdjan Injac invite you to leave the “get shredded fast” mindset at the door and discover how building muscle is the ultimate investment in your long-term health, sharp mind, and resilient life. In this debut episode, Srdjan busts fitness myths, explains why muscle is your metabolic secret weapon, and shares real talk about the discipline, science, and everyday choices that make lasti...
