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Learn about managing morbidity - staying active, vigorous, and capable to have as much of a human life as possible for as long as you can. You need to dance with your granddaughter, care for your chickens, and farm your fields. Managing Morbidity: Memento Mori We all die, and as lifters this means we all complete our last PRs. There is a day, and you may have reached it or may reach it soon (you will reach it at some point) when you won't hit any more PRs. This is okay. This is part of the deal. At some point, the strength curves bends and then comes down. For Karl, he still thought he might be able to hit some PRs. He moved to a more rural location, felt the heaviness of his 258 pounds, but he still thought maybe if he hit a good stretch of training he could hit another PR. Then he had a stroke. He had a transient ischemic attack (TIA). The word transient is key - he hasn't experience long-term, permanent effects from the stroke. The stroke occurred due a congenital issue - patent foramen ovale (PFO) - an open oval hole in the wall of the heart. Migraines are common for people with this issue. He confronted the reality that he will never hit another PR again. Managing Morbidity: Staying Active & Vigorous We don't strength train, though, to just stave off death or sickness or even compress morbidity into the smallest possible portion of our lives. We train FOR something (or multiple things). We train for health. We train to dance with out granddaughter. We train to take care of our chickens. Some train for glory, others to take their medicine, others to compete. It's really a remarkable thing, to walk into a gym multiple times a week, year-after-year-, and fight against iron and gravity. While Karl, now walking around 50 pounds lighter, misses looking like he lifts when he walks around. But everyday activities are easier. Certain things open up to him - such as getting clothes that fit easily or may even - gasp - going for a run. Managing Morbidity: Training as an Athlete of Aging Okay, PRs are behind you. What do you do now? Sully and Noah had a great podcast series discussing this in greater detail. Right now, Karl is completing LP and seeing where that ends. He might spend some time pursuing hypertrophy. He might go for a run. He'll definitely attend to his field to grow food and tend his chickens. You need to accumulate hard sets. That's what strength training boils down to. It's not that the reps, sets, technique, or exercise selection don't matter. It's just that, at the end of the day, you need to accumulate hard sets consistently over time. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

We share holiday training strategies so you don't lose all your gains. Learn the tips and tricks to keep training & gaining during the holidays. Holiday Training Strategies - Expectations & Mindset When it comes to holiday training, expectations need to match reality. For many people, they confront more variability which does not lend itself to normal consistency of training in more regular times. Travel, changes in gyms and equipment, different food and alcohol, time off work, time with family - these variables mean that our normal recovery capacities won't be there for us. Understand that weights that you may have missed reps or harder-than-expected reps. Plan and prepare to have flexibility built into your workouts. When it comes to mindset, don't lose heart because of lower performance. Andrew also recommends training curious. This means that you should probably try the planned work weight, barring some extremely challenging or missed warm ups. You may also find that you can hit an unexpected PR during this time. Look to enjoy training and keep up the habit. Plan and prepare to train, but be ready to adjust. Holiday Training Strategies - Expectations & Mindset Before you even get to the gym, you need to find the gym. Where are you going to train? What equipment do they have? What equipment can you pack (shoe, belt, wrist wraps, chalk, etc.)? Andrew straps his shoes to his carry-on backpack. Niki has her case the perimeter of the suitcase (as opposed to the belt cinnamon roll). Make training a part of your holiday plans before the holidays begin. Holiday Training Strategies - Training Adjustments Matt, Andrew, Niki, Scott, and CJ have discussed ways to adjust training to reality over the years, and the holidays are similar to any other times where training likely takes a backseat but needs to remain as part of the plan. Here are some strategies that may apply to your holiday situation: shorter workouts longer, less frequent workouts change the exercise (e.g. RDLs not deadlifts) autoregulation train curious The bottom line is, you need to prioritize training, but prioritizing training during the holiday probably doesn't look like a 5-day-a-week super advanced plan, but rather finding a gym, scheduling lifts on days that make sense, packing necessary equipment, training with curiosity, flexibility, & long-term progress in mind. We hope these holiday training strategies help! Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Managing nutrition through the holidays can be tough. Follow these (or develop your own) simple, effective strategies for sustainable holiday nutrition. Managing Nutrition Through the Holidays - Big Picture It's Thanksgiving week, which for many begins the longer holiday period where they find themselves standing on a scale come January unhappy with the changes to their body over the past weeks. Where would you like to be standing come January? What's realistic? What does a holiday period look like where you step onto the scale in January content with where you are? Consider this. If you maintain your weight for the remainder of the year but increase your weight during the holiday period, that spells over years and decades a higher weight and increasing waist line. This time period is meant to be enjoyed, so realistic goals probably do not look like losing a significant amount of weight during this period. Effective strategies likely do not look like only eating turkey breast and greens on Thanksgiving day with water. Managing Nutrition Through the Holidays - Effective Strategies Developing strategies to limit calories during this important is important. This might look like only allowing yourself one plate of food. It could look like waiting 15 minutes to see if you're still actually hungry before going for seconds. Maybe you cap the alcoholic drinks or the calories from alcohol. This means you're aiming for somewhere in between your most aggressive nutrition periods and reckless abandon. Niki and Andrew recommend against fasting for most people. For some, this may work, but a better strategy is likely eating an extremely high-quality meal the morning of Thanksgiving. Focus on protein and fibrous vegetables. For many, alcohol is an important area to address. Alcohol comes with many calories, it negatively affects sleep, it does not lead to satiety, and it affects your decision-making abilities. Managing nutrition through the holidays is possible and important. Hope is not a strategy. We encourage you to set some realistic goals and intelligent strategies as part of your overall sustainable nutrition approach. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Deadlifts: Eat Your Spine. Is this the perfect cue or the reality of a dangerous lift? Andrew & Niki delve into the depths of the deadlift. Do Deadlifts Eat Your Spine!? Do deadlifts, in fact, eat your spine? It certainly feels like it sometimes. Deadlifts train the muscles of the hamstrings, quadriceps, adductors, abs, spinal erectors, lats, and more. Because the weight of the bar is trying to round your back, you strengthen the muscles of the back by maintaining a rigid spine despite the urgings of gravity. The deadlift, as Andrew points out, is the only one of the main barbell lifts where the center of mass changes during the lift. At first, it's only the lifter's body. Then, as the weight of the barbell and plates moves up off the ground, the weight of the bar gradually (it might take less than a second) gets added to the COM equation. Unlike the other lifts, the bar starts from a dead stop and that's part of the point. The press is somewhat similar, but lifters often add a dip or hip whip to get the bar moving on rep 1. Deadlifts: Eat Your Spine Instead of describing what the deadlift does to your spine, this "eat your spine" is a cue to conceptualize what happens in the setting of the back in the bottom of the deadlift. Typical cues involve "lifting the chest" or "arching the back" or something similar. Too often, this results in overextension. You don't want overextension but simple, normal anatomical extension. You won't be able to maintain overextension. Andrew's cue brings to mind that the spine is not only controlled by muscles of the back but is surround by muscle (including on the anterior side). Wrap the spine with muscle or eat your spine. Another important component of the deadlift is feeling the weight in your whole foot. The weight should be felt evenly on the balls of your feet and heels. One other aspect they discuss is the difficulties for those with long torsos and short arms (we're sorry - enjoy the squat!). For these lifters, they may need a lower hip position than is often considered correct. Deadlifts: eat your spine. This is the cue you didn't realize you needed. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Mac McGregor and Niel Marr join Niki and Andrew to discuss strength for golf. Niel is a golf instructor, and shares how strength has improved his life and his golf game. Strength for Golf: Longer Drive & Better Stability for Putting As Tiger Woods' career demonstrated, strength does not destroy one's swing or ruin one's golf game. It actually helps it. Too many unfounded claims or ideas like this float around, despite the contrary reality. Strength helps produce a faster golf swing, which means the ball can go farther. It also helps with stability for fine-tuned skills such as putting. Beyond this, strength helps create stronger, more resilient, healthier golfers. Ultimately, golfers must continue to practice the skills involved in golfing (e.g. putting and driving) while improving their ability to produce force. Strength for Golf: Coaching is Coaching Neil Marr, a golf instructor, also explains how as he's decided to start pursuing barbell coaching, he's been able to use the skills he's developed as a golf instructor. He has developed a coaching eye for golf, which can translate to a better coaching eye for the barbell lifts. He also has experience identifying errors and communicating so people can move correctly. Strength for golf and help is a boon. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

We discuss 3 lifter pathways: competing, just training (thriving), and recovering. How do these looks, who might find themselves in one of these pathways (and why)? Andrew & Niki explore this. 3 Lifter Pathways - Competing This pathway involves a state of life where life can support training. For these lifters, training is a high priority. Nutrition supports training, lifters likely give up other pursuits to support training. Obviously, life needs to cooperate (and sometimes it does not), but insofar as you can prioritize training you do. 6 months out from the competition, the training can remain fairly general, though the more advanced the lifter is the earlier the training has to be more specific. As the meet approaches, training will incorporate more heavy singles and doubles. The competition lift will be practiced. The lifter may perform a mock meet. Lastly, the lifter will peak, letting build up fatigue dissipate and allowing performance to increase (it's easy to screw the timing up here). 3 Lifter Pathways - Just Training This is really where most people should be most of the time. Training is a priority, but not the top priority. Training is a tool for their deep goals of health and fitness, and nutrition and sleep can support that. Ultimately, though, if you want to go for a run or a hike, you don't sacrifice this or other physical pursuits for your training. The volume slot in a training week is the primary stress and needs to be productive. For the intensity slot, it's more akin to practice or skill work. It is heavy, but not scary or grindy. 3 Lifter Pathways - Recovering For these lifters, training has to take a back seat. This could be due to an injury or major life setback. It could be, however, a phase of life where time and recovery ability is limited. The lifter wants to continue lifting, but it cannot be as high a priority as the other two pathways. Metrics may need to reflect the shift in focus. This could be going for rep PRs. It could be consistency. It could be pain (looking for less pain). It could be enjoyment of time in the gym. 3 lifter pathways exist, and they reflect different stages and phases of life. If you train long enough, you'll experience all of these. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Metrics aren't your master. Don't sacrifice important pursuits to the altar of strength (unless you're specializing). Metrics Aren't Your Master - What Matters to You? Want to get strong, add some muscle, become more capable, and improve your quality of life and general health and fitness? This is where many of our clients live. Want to get fat, give up all other physical pursuits, and become less healthy so you can squat more? If so, that's awesome - seriously, some people seek the single-minded pursuit of excellence, such as elite powerlifting. For most of us, though, this makes no sense. You don't need to gain 50 pounds for the benefit of your squat 1RM. We recommend you don't give up all conditioning so your novice linear progression can last longer. Remember, metrics aren't your master. For many of us at Barbell Logic, we have stood in the position of deciding not to go for the hike or the bike ride because we needed to go for a 5RM on Monday or do a hard 5x5. The weight must go up! No, it doesn't have to go up. Seriously, who made this rule? What terrible consequence are we trying to avoid by sacrificing a social life and physical health so Monday's 5x5 goes up five pounds? Metrics Aren't Your Master - Know the Rules, Break the Rules Going for the hike or bike ride or Turkey Trot will likely take weight off the bar in your lifts - you do not have infinite recovery capacity. For most people, though, that's a sacrifice they're willing to make. Will you some day be lying on your death bed thinking "oh no, I left 25 pounds on my squat because I biked." No, no you won't. This is where having a coach to help guide your programming really comes in handy. You go for a long hike over the weekend, your Monday 5x5 cannot go up 5 pounds. This is okay, but it also complicates how you approach programming over time. Many have run into the wall of not knowing what to do once simply adding weight to the bar stops. We love metrics, but metrics aren't your master. Rather, they serve you and your goals. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

People build strong families through strength training. We're, of course, not simply talking about physical strength, but emotionally and spiritually strong families, who witness each other overcome hard things and help each other out through life's difficulties. Strong Families through Strength Training Mac started his fitness journey as a young lad preparing for the hurdles of the Royal Air Force. He deployed multiple times, and felt lucky to be able to complete certain extremely challenging training. He means lucky. What he noticed, looking back on this training, is people succumbed to injuries when heavy things needed to be carried. Despite being young, lean, and "fit," people who ran a bunch and completed many callisthenic exercises and circuit training were unprepared to carry heavy things over long distance. No one really considered strength training. Mac and his wife had shared running together. In the middle of a deployment, Mac had his wife smoke him on a 10k run after he had been unable to run for a long period. They enjoyed the shared activity of physically difficult things. Then, hardship struck the McGregor family. Mac face ulcerative colitis (UC) and his wife had a stroke. He face medical retirement as the provider for his family. Involuntary hardship reared its head. Strong Families through Voluntary Hardship Mac had decided to sign up for strength training with Barbell Logic and had seen positive benefits to his health and fitness. Mac tried to coach his wife, but it did not work. Ultimately, Joel Rasmussen, a Barbell Logic coach from Australia, became her coach and remained her coach since 2019. His wife has been able to return to physical activities she never thought she would do again. While the progress has been anything but linear, she has regained capabilities. Furthermore, their children witness them both lifting and doing hard things. They seem their mom and dad getting under the bar, overcoming gravity, and getting stronger and more capable. Strength training has provided a source of physical, emotional, and spiritual strength. For many people, like the McGregors, they can become strong families through strength training. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Lots of squat thoughts & new cues. Andrew & Niki discuss what cues they've found useful on squats and how they've improved their squats and squat coaching. Lots of Thoughts on Squats Andrew & Niki discuss some squat thoughts - things they've been noodling over, observing, and applying in their lifting and coaching. They both have been thinking more about what it means to effect and maintain a rigid torso (as opposed to just extending your back). Too often, the focus here can be only on the back, to the detriment of your front side. Lifters need to ensure all the muscles around the spine are working - and working roughly the same. This includes the abdominal muscles and muscles around the hip. Applying these squat thoughts, Andrew has been able to overcome his squat mornings or good morning squats and rather drive up with hip and knees extending together, as they should. Any deviation from this means inefficient force production with less weight on the bar. It also just simply won't feel as good. Squat Thoughts & New Cues Andrew and Niki take all this and share some cues they've found themselves delivering more. Andrew has said "wrap your spine in muscle" or similar to this, really emphasizing the contribution of all the muscles around the spine working to maintain spinal extension (not simply extending your back or lifting up your chest). He has also been using more often "balance on your full foot," which is really the master cue for the squat. Too often, though, people aim to have the bar moving straight up and down over the middle of the foot as opposed to realizing that the center of mass needs to move over the midfoot, not the barbell itself. Let's keep the squat thoughts coming. Niki cues people to "maintain the distance across the front of your body." She could draw the attention specifically to the nipple line and belt line. These two lines should not move farther apart or come closer but should maintain their separation. Another cue Niki has been giving is "when you inhale don't get taller." This corrects an idea of back extension (or hyperextension) where people don't crunch down on their abs. We hope you've enjoyed these squat thoughts. If you want a Barbell Logic coach to check out your squats, go to THIS LINK and we'll jump on a video call with you and checkout your squat (and other lift) form for free. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Snapping back to your Goldilocks zone after you fall short of the actions you know will lead to your goals is a must. Whether this occurs after a vacation, a holiday, a weekend with friends or family, or simply a slow slipping of standards, this is an important skill for sustainable nutrition. Learn how to do it without overreacting. Snapping Back to Your Goldilocks Zone - Falling Short What is the Goldilocks zone? This is that golden mean where you're eating and training enough but not too much. You're looking, feeling, and performing good and are moving toward your goals. For most people, they fall short by moving toward the vices of sloth or gluttony. Most people don't tend to train more than they should or underfeed themselves (though these people exist). Many opportunities to turn away from the path toward your goals exist. You may go on vacation, enjoy a few too many desserts over the holiday period, indulge in too much beer during the summer, or have a long weekend with friends of family. You can likely think of more occasions. No matter how or why you find yourself not moving toward your goals, symptoms arise. What happens to those who move away from healthy habits for too long is their senses are dulled. They essentially cannot realize that they feel bad because it's their normal state of being. What does overindulgence look and feel like? For Andrew, it's feeling like a "turd sandwich." For Niki, it tends to result in bloat, feeling less comfortable, getting less high-quality sleep. Let's examine what the Goldilocks zone looks and feels like. Snapping Back to Your Goldilocks Zone - What's Normal The Goldilocks zone feels good. The bloat goes away. You're getting good sleep, training regularly (but not overdoing it), and eating at maintenance (or at a small deficit). Niki feels comfortable in her clothes and generally feels good. For her, it takes a couple weeks to slide back into this. Her recommendations for how to get back on track include the following: Drink plenty of water Cut out the alcohol Eliminate processed foods Add in veggies (lots of colors & fiber) For Andrew, it's a return to baseline. He tends to eat the same meals for breakfast, lunch, and snack. Not only does he know what he will eat but how much. He also knows which things he can adjust to reduce calories further, if needed. For example, he can add walnuts to his yogurt, or not. He can reduce the oatmeal portion for breakfast or, potentially, even remove it. It's takes practice, observation, and time to see if you're back on path, not doing quite enough, or, if you're overdoing it. Let's look at what overreaction looks like. Snapping Back to Your Goldilocks Zone - Don't Overreact Overreaction for many likely comes from either a place of fear, guilt, ignorance, or some combination thereof. You may fear the results from the recent behaviors, and instead of returning to actions you know that work, you think you have to swing the pendulum back hard. Acting out of guilt looks similar. Because you overindulged, you feel you must almost punish yourself. Lastly, you may simply not have a well-established baseline, so you swing the pendulum back strongly because you're not sure what else you can do. When it comes to training, it likely looks to trying to burn yourself into a calorie deficit through cardio. Healthy nutrition is sustainable nutrition. Effective training builds toward goals and can be done for the long haul. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Is it time to change programs when your frustrated and want to blow up your current program? Niki & Andrew how to approach this logically when reason is the furthest thing from your mind. I Want Something Different - NOW! You miss a PR, tweak your back, or can't fit into your favorite jeans. You're ready to blow up your program. But is it time to change programs? Maybe, but it's first time to think about things. Don't react in emotion and make your life harder. Wait before you send that angry message to your coach. Hold off before you decide to change everything and go off in a completely different direction. Try to detach and observe yourself. Identify and allow the emotions and thoughts that naturally arise. Consider the circumstances that created the current situation. Next, it's time to think. Is It Time to Change Programs - Actually? Let's talk tradeoffs. You can't have it all. Many times a client, dejected by a bad workout, will request a big change. Once she realizes what that shift would involve, she decides it's not worth it. Niki discusses trying to identify where the locus of the problem is. Is it a "me" thing. A "me" problem might be that she did more work than the coach prescribed, so she wasn't as recovered as she might have been. Or, did circumstances create the bad workout, This means things out of the control of you and your coach. Examples abound, but include deaths, divorce, new kids, new job, move, major illness, and more. Lastly, it could be a programming thing. As the coach, you need to dig into what led to the missed rep. Even if circumstances and the lifter affected the miss, can you do a better job accounting for these? You probably can. Niki thinks about categorizing things into resources and outcome here. The outcome, in the workout, was a missed rep. Do you actually want your outcome to change? So, is it time to change programs? Maybe, but not after some deliberation. It might make more sense to just make an MED change. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

What keeps you training after the easy PRs, injuries, years or decades of workouts. Why do you keep exercising? Niki and Andrew discuss training motivation over the long haul. What Keeps You Training? Why continue to lift, run, track macros after you've hit your goal? How do Andrew and Niki find motivation after decades training? It different from person to person, but over time the process of working out and doing hard things becomes a habit and something you derive joy from. This doesn't mean you're feeling pleasure every second of training, but you your enjoy the process and the results and you identify as someone who trains. As Arnold says, it's like brushing your teeth: you just do it every day. You don't stop because the PRs are gone - there are no toothbrushing PRs. There is some interplay of discipline and motivation. Motivation waxes and wanes. The discipline needed to continue should (generally) go down. This isn't the case when you hit those rough patches and you have to really dig down and think about what you want out of training. Training Motivation Andrew mentions the fear of soreness from squatting after a week without squats (those who know, know). Try not squatting for a week and then come back and squat and see how you feel the next day. More importantly, Andrew talks about how he feels terrible after a few days without exercising. You grow used to the habit, to the point where not training leads to you feeling bad. This applies to nutrition too. If you eat consistently healthy over a long period, you will feel bad eating large doses of processed foods. Niki enjoys being a superjacked women and identifying as that. As Niki has been unable to set 1RM PRs on the squat and deadlift like she used to enjoy doing, she had to look toward the tonnage going up. Beyond that, though, seeking hard workouts has helped. While a hard workout does not equal a training plan, training has to be hard for progress. You can take this idea too far, but our tagline is simple, hard, effective for a reason. So, what keeps you training? Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Too busy to train!? Not any more! Learn ways to get more done in less time so you can continue to remain consistent & work toward your goals. Too Busy to Train!? - How it Happens How does someone get so busy that they can no longer train? This happens for different reasons for different people. Some may come from new life challenges, but sometimes this arises from reasons within the gym. Toward the end of LP or during advanced training, lifters may creep the time between reps, intentionally or otherwise. Lifters may deliberately decide to increase the rest, having heard that this is what serious lifters do. You're not doing the program if you're unwilling to rest at 8, 10, or even 12 minutes. The lifter then gets emotionally connected to driving the weight up on the bar, but if he or she shortens the rest time, the weight must come down. This can lead to 2+ hour workouts. Too Busy to Train!? - Not Any More If lengthening rest times have have caused workouts to grow, then rest times need shortened. This may mean reducing weight on the bar. This comes with a changed mindset - have to realize that the price of the PRs is too high, and that the extra-long workouts are unsustainable. Don't let the perception of the workout be what keeps you from doing it. Lifters will need to be strict about the rest times, using a timer and not going down cell phone wormholes. Workouts may need time caps as well. For example, Niki sometimes commits to 45 minutes of focused effort, but at 45 minutes she stops the workout. Get some meat and potatoes main lifts done, then complete as much accessory or conditioning work as you can in the remaining time. Lifters may need to stick to one or two lifts per workout. Or, fewer, longer, full body workouts may be needed. Giving lifters options to do more if they feel good allows more ambitious days on those days where the lifters are feeling good and have more time. Keeping lifts simple to reduce setup time is important too. This isn't the time for bands, chains, or maybe even pins - keep things simple and look for how you can reduce time that is not critical to adding more stress in less time. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

I want to gain muscle and lose weight. Is this a realistic goal? How does this look, if it is? It is possible to do this, over time, sustainably, by building healthy habits. Check out the first part of this 2-part series. Andrew & Niki explore the journeys of different "typical" Barbell Logic clients and what these processes look like. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Gain Muscle and Lose Weight - Older, Fluffy Man This type of client tends to be a busy, middle-aged professional and dad who's put a bit more fat around the belly than he'd like. One might call him fluffy. Certain habits that didn't lead to a large waist when they were younger have caught up with them. Some likely culprits include alcohol, large (especially weekend meals) highly processed meals, or fatty grilled meats. Often times, these clients can white knuckle fairly strictly for awhile, and can often eat healthy on weekdays, but weekends and maybe summer tend to present challenges. They may have made progress in the gym or in some physical activity, but whatever progress they have made no longer matters compared to their waist and appearance (plus how they feel). They may tend to be on or off, so they have big swings of calories. When helping these clients, addressing those big swings is important. It does not mean that they cannot eat these foods, but there needs to be some portion control so some pizza does not turn into a whole pizza. A drink doesn't turn into 3 every night. The other big consideration is sleep. Building good sleep habits helps here, both with decision making, hormones, and overall health. Additionally, if alcohol is a problem, bringing attention to how alcohol affects sleep can help. Gain Muscle and Lose Weight - Busy Mom The busy mom shares some similarities with the previous client, but some important differences exist too. These clients tend to have younger children, and with parental duties and work duties, duties to themselves often come last. When any area falls short, they tend to beat themselves up. The good development for clients like this, is that more women are accepting that adding muscles leads to looking better. They are often not simply looking to "be skinny." Similar to the men, they need to avoid the unstable nutrition (the "I deserve this" meal that leads to guilt). Giving these clients validation with simply getting certain things done is critical. Completing a workout, even if it does not go well (it's a "bad" workout) matters. Filling out the VFD, meal prep - the validation of building those habits is huge. Talking about 3 months as opposed to a year or a couple weeks is big. Also, need to shake the "1200 calories" anchor point. You Can Gain Muscle and Lose Weight When it comes to gaining muscle and losing weight, it takes time, it takes healthy habits, and it takes realistic expectations. If you look at the above and the previous clients, the discussion centers around nutrition. Training matters, but training does not have to change very much. One consideration may be the focus of PRs. You as the coach may consider drawing attention to different types of PRs (higher rep, different variations, or bodyweight exercises). Or, you may consider discussing PRs at lower bodyweight. Lastly, conditioning, while we love conditioning, is not the way to gain muscle and lose weight. Do conditioning for your health. Don't try to burn your way into a calorie deficit. That being said, conditioning is a healthy habit that we fully endorse. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

I want to lose weight and gain muscle - don't we all! What is possible and what does this process look like over time? We explore this in a 2-part podcast series. Andrew & Niki explore the journeys of different "typical" Barbell Logic clients and what these processes look like. Lose Weight and Gain Muscle - the Goal Just about everyone who comes to a fitness goal wants more muscle (maybe strength) and less bodyfat. Almost no one wants to get stronger at any cost. How do we conceptualize this and help clients progress? This is the goal, not the process. Let's first examine the goal then look at the process. It's important to flesh this goal out. Is the client looking back to a past body (e.g. high school or college)? How does this look? How does this body perform? What feelings are associated with the body (both physical and emotional)? Or does the client have some idea in mind that he or she has never achieved - maybe a celebrity or influencer. Similar to the above, how does this body look, feel, and perform? Making this concrete helps really refine the goal and let's the coach better understand what the client is looking for. Some discussion may need to occur about the reality of the goal. The client may be looking at someone with extreme genetics at a snapshot of that person's life. This person could have a different body type. Lastly, this may involve more work than the client actually wants to do and take longer than the client expects. This does not mean that we shoot the client's goals down or say "that's not possible." It's a discussion about what that process might look like and bringing some experience to the goal. This brings us nicely to the process. What might the journey look like? Lose Weight and Gain Muscle - the Process While people may have unrealistic goals (make me look like Dorian Yates) it's typically not the goal that is unrealistic, per se, but the expected time and work required. Clients need to begin building training and nutrition habits. They need to build up, refine, and solidify these habits that, over time, will lead to lasting results. While the end goal remains in mind, these habits serve as the building blocks to the for the cathedral of health and fitness the clients want. The week, month, or even 3-month horizon needs to turn into the 6-month, year, years, and really lifelong process of health and fitness. These are the daily habits of eating enough protein and vegetables, avoiding the extra calories that lead to weight gain, and getting in the gym and getting the work done when you don't want to. These may be unglamorous but they're truly glorious. This also means separating times where you focus on adding flesh (muscle, please) and when you focus on losing flesh (fat, please). As Layne Norton says, if you chase two rabbits, you catch none. The lifelong goal of getting leaner will involve periods where you gain weight and periods where you lose weight, with healthy habits during both. Niki and Andrew begin an investigation (that will continue next week) of different clients and what the journey might look like. Let's examine the first client. Lose Weight and Gain Muscle - Underweight Middle-Aged Man We begin with John, a 30-year old man who is 5'10" and 170 pounds. He played basketball when he was younger, dabbles in the gym and enjoys physical activities on the weekend. Having finally worked his way up to a job where he can afford coaching, he's ready to invest in professional coaching to meet his goals. John begins with linear progression with a few compound lifts, allowing himself to learn technique, build the habit of training, and see the weight go up on the bar. As the weight increases, he learns how to grind on heavier weights. With nutrition, he increases his calories, but only slightly. This might mean adding an extra 300 calories a day. This also means prioritizing protein, if he doesn't eat enough, and shifting more calories toward whole food sources. As the PRs slow - as LP and early intermediate gains come to an end - reexamining metrics can help. Driving up the weight won't happen as much, so looking at other metrics can help keep the big picture in mind (remember, he didn't sign up to get a 600 pound deadlift - though he may eventually get one). This could be a time to cut, allowing him to see some of the muscle he has gained. It could be a time to maintain, to allow for a leaning out but less quickly. It probably is not a great time to take him from 190 or 200 to 225 or higher. Unless his goals have radically shifted, this plan utterly fails to meet his goals. Having built the initial habits of training and nutrition, these habits get built upon, metrics get refined, and progress continues though slows. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Ins

Make women anabolic again. Niki and Andrew talk to Monica Multani. Monica is Niki's client who turned to strength after the combination of a hand injury and bad diagnosis paired witnessing her mom get stronger with barbells. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Bad News People often turn to healthy habits like strength training when they realize the negative effects of their current lifestyle. For Monica Multani, she suffered a serious hand injury as a physician who relied on her hands. She was told that she would lose the use of one of her hands in 5-10 years, which would end her career. She looked to eastern medicine and really anything she could to counter this. She found some pain reduction, but nothing really addressed the underlying reality. At the same time, her mom had began to strength train and was seeing powerful results in her own life and a regaining of capabilities she never thought she would regain. Plus, her mom was stronger than her! Her mom had embraced "make women anabolic again." Limitations & a Less Mentality What Monica and her mom had confronted before strength training was an expectation of an increasing number of limitations. No solution was provided. She also confronted a similar mentality among her friends, who in their pursuit of health always were looking for less: less food, less bodyweight, less of them. It seems like whether pursuing health or confronting the loss of health, there was an expectation of losing things. Make Women Anabolic Again - Embrace More Monica - inspired by her mom and at a loss for other options - embraced strength training and adding muscle. She's gained 30 pounds, but her waist is snatched (this is a good thing). She feels more sturdy and more healthy. Her hand is more resilient. It is not without pain, but she bounces back more quickly. She looks and feels better. That hourglass shape that people want - she got that, but going against the mainstream approach. Make women anabolic again. Embrace more. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Are you reliant on whey protein to get your daily protein. You can get adequate protein without whey - learn how! This podcast really addresses how much protein you actually need a day and then how to best consume that protein. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. How Much Protein? - Show Me the Whey How much protein should you consume daily, especially as a lifter looking to get stronger and add muscle? The often repeated mantra is 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. This is certainly doable, but it's a lot and forces many to turn to whey & protein shakes to meet this threshold. But is this really necessary? Better data suggest 1g per pound of lean bodyweight is more than sufficient, and really 0.8g-1.2g per kg bodyweight is just fine. Like many other things, use some common sense. Are you always sore or achy? You're probably not eating enough protein. Do you have lean protein options at most if not all of your meals? Then you're probably consuming enough. Protein Without Whey Dependence Admit it, whey protein isn't really satisfying. It doesn't lead to satiety and large amounts can cause gassiness or even worse digestive issues. If you can consume enough protein from your everyday meals, you should (and you can). Focus on whole food options and think about each meal and snack. Are some of your go-to snacks or meals lacking protein - see if you can bump up that protein. Andrew tries to prioritize protein in breakfast, lunch, and his snack so that he has more flexibility at dinner. This way, he's not worried about not having enough protein at dinner or feeling guilty. Having convenient protein options on hand really helps. Greek yogurt is a great option. Eggs and egg whites are quick and easy to cook. Prepping protein in large amounts so you can add that to some starchy carbs, veggies, or a salad helps remove the need to take the time to cook protein during busier days. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Have you (or are you currently) following the way of the milky boys? Have you had a milky boy phase? It's okay, many if not most of us have been a milky boy. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Milky Boys Have you decide to forego concerns about bodyfat, weight, waist, digestive health, time spent on the toilet, and any other fitness goals to pursue with reckless abandon the sweet, sweet call of the milky boys? It's okay - many of us have been there. You push the milk to push your weight up to push the weight on the bar. Bumping calories up a bit while ensuring you are consuming adequate protein and carbohydrates to support your goals? NAH - gallon of milk a day. This episode is about body image, sustainable nutrition, and coming to terms with what you ACTUALLY want. Skinny Boy to Milky Boy Andrew shares his two opposing experiences of - in high school and college - drastically reducing calories to lose weight. He was underfed, weak, and not feeling great. Spring forward, and it's time to squeeze every milk-fueled drop out of LP. He was overfed, strong, and not feeling great. Maybe these oppose each other, but like cowardice and rashness. You find the virtue in the mean. With the help of Gillian and Niki, when confronted with potential options for where to take his nutrition and training, Niki asked, "What would that feel like?" Milky Boy to Muscle Boy He thought about what that would actually look and feel like, and it was bad. What if the best way to lose weight was more gradual? What if, instead of going from mountain dew and pizza to chicken and broccoli, you took small, incremental, MED steps that helped you build habits along the way. For example, let's say for you alcohol is a non-negotiable and you find yourself averaging 35 drinks a week. Instead of going to 0, what about going to 20 or 25? What about reducing the amount, seeing how that feels, seeing how you and your body react, and readdressing this change (and what you'd like to do) after you've processed it? Scared of the Scale - Milky Boy Madness The scale can be a problem. You associate a picture, a time of your life, an image of your body, a level of performance with weight X. You want the body, the performance, the feeling. You need the habits to get you there. You don't actually care about the number that pops up each morning. You have to have a sanity check. Measuring waist can help. Monitoring lifting belt hole, how clothes fit, how you fit - these matter. Also consider how you've done with nutrition. If you look better, feel better, and have honestly been doing pretty well with nutrition, don't freak out about the scale. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Invest in training and life to achieve your goals and find happiness and meaning. Andrew & Niki explore how training - and other worthwhile pursuits - are investments and how you can conceptualize and weigh the worth of these investments. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Conceptualizing in Investments What is an investments? Without looking at a dictionary, it's an input or sacrifice of something where the investor expects a greater result than the input. The investor gives something up for a future result that provides more value. We too often think only of money when it comes to investment. You can earn more money but never gain more time. When you spend money on a professional, such as a coach or service that helps you learn a skill, you are spending money to save time. If you train yourself you are coaching yourself. If you invest in the time to learn how to become a coach, that is an investment. If you fail to do this, you're probably a bad coach and will find you stall early. When you think about investments, you need to think about your deep whys. You should be investing time and money in things that are actually important to you, that bring you value. Invest in training if health, toughness, and strength are important to you. Andrew brings up 8 major elements of life in which you can invest: things that help you become better at using your mind physical health emotional relational finances professional philosophy/religious/spiritual artistic (subcreation) A good investment is important to you and should positively affect all or as many of the above as possible (sleep is a good example). Invest in Training and Life To train, you must spend time, effort, and money. You must set aside time to train. You must purchase equipment or a gym membership. If you decide to go ultra-rugged and not purchase any equipment, you need to spend some time finding heavy rocks and other creative ways to train productively using your bodyweight and what you can find. Training comes with pain. You must undergo discomfort to progress. If you don't train, however, you will experience the pain that comes with inactivity (the idea of beast over burden really gets after this). Investing in a coach is an investment of money that saves you time - both in terms of having to learn how to be a coach and likely following a more effective program and thus progressing faster toward your goals). Invest in training. Invest in life. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Matt describes how to build trust in your business value equation. This is a crucial aspect of running a successful business with clients who actually enjoy your product or service. Andrew Jackson gave a talk on this, which you can watch here and learn more about here. This podcast is brought to you by TurnKey Coach. Enhance your coaching effectiveness and efficiency with TurnKey Coach. You can learn more by going HERE. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. What is Trust and How Do You Increase It? Trust, in the business value equation, is the difference between the client's perceived value and the price. Increasing this difference - increasing trust - leads to happy customers who do not want to leave. This lays the foundation for creating a successful business. How do you build trust as a coach (or really in any business)? Matt discusses three components. ability integrity benevolence Below, we define these and discuss how to boost each one, which ultimately grows trust. How to Build Trust Matt discusses useful short definitions of each of these that help you remember the difference. ability - you can integrity - you do benevolence - do you care Your ability is your expertise, your skill, your knowledge. People hire you in part because of this. You have the expertise, which they lack, to solve their problem. Of course, a friend or acquaintance may have recommended you. Your expertise played into this recommendation, but your integrity and benevolence did as well. Integrity should increase over time. Do you do what you say you will. Do you show up on time. You will make mistakes, so you must constantly build up your integrity account. A mistake is a withdrawal, so be intentional about building up this integrity after a mistake. Lastly, benevolence is that you care. As someone's coach, you should care more about your clients' training besides themselves. Benevolence also should increase over time. Your clients' perceptions of these is what matters. You might think you're a highly-skilled coach which high integrity and benevolence. If your clients think otherwise, you might want to reevaluate what you're doing. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

I broke my back...spinal. Is life over? No. Learn the training, lifestyle, and mindset adjustments to deal with back injuries. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. I Broke My Back...Oh No! Back pain and back injuries happen. Sometimes it's just the occasional tweak that goes away in a few days, or a short surprising sensation. Other times, it's debilitating, life-altering, and seems to redefine your life. Your back hurts when you do everyday activities like tying your shoes, going to the bathroom, or picking up your kid. Squatting and deadlifting are excruciating. You're in a large company. If you're reading this, we hope you've spent time lifting, so that you're strong, and your back is strong. Let's discuss how to deal with serious back pain. I Broke My Back...Lifting & Movement Changes You'll have to come to terms with your programming changes over time. Do you simply have to reduce intensity and volume? Do you have to do variants on the deadlift and squat? Or, are deadlifting and squatting off the table for awhile. Whichever reality you find yourself in, it's okay. Programming will change, but keep exercising, working out, and pursuing health and quality of life. Keep training, don't stop. Look to prioritize difficult sets and don't get tied to the weight on the bar. Do what you can, acknowledging that movement almost always helps and gaining strength and muscle, insofar as you can, are good things. I Broke My Back...Lifestyle & Mindset Changes What will matter more than sets and reps is your mindset. This hurts your identity as a lifter. You identified yourself as the person who can deadlift 500 or squat 315. That might not be the case for awhile (or, even ever again). Allow yourself to experience the emotions that come from the pain: fear, frustration, anger, sadness. Look to spend more time pursuing physical activity outside the gym. If there are things like walking, hiking, swimming that don't bother your back and that get you moving, these are great to maintain health but also to keep you active and healthy. Give yourself some leeway and time. If you go into the gym and it hurts so bad to do the planned workout, don't do the planned workout. You might call an audible. You might come back the next day and try again. It's a process. Progress won't be linear. It won't last forever (but if it does, this isn't the end of your life). Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Hypertrophy: life after 5s. Is it real? Can we really pursue muscle growth over weight on the bar. How does programming change? Why do people make this shift? Will you have to change your wardrobe? Andrew & Niki answer these and many more questions. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Hypertrophy: Life After 5s For many, after some time (often a couple years) of pursuing strength above all other adaptations, grinding away on heavy weights in the 1-5 rep range, the sweet call of hypertrophy whispers softly on the wind: "hypertrophy, hypertrophy." Do you answer the call? Yes, yes you do. Pursuing muscle growth is a reprioritization in training, that still follows the basic idea of simple, hard, effective. It means more sets close to failure, and a greater amount of stress from accessory lifts (and maybe...gasp...machines). Hypertrophy: life after 5s...it can mean a new wardrobe, more food, different rep ranges, different exercises. Learn more, and come learn the way of the beefcake. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Sustainable over optimal - keep this in mind with your fitness, nutrition, and other self-improvement plans. Sustainability is more important than optimization. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Sustainable over Optimal Too much ink has been spilled over the perfect weightlifting program, best powerlifting programming, optimal bodybuilding program. What most people find, with rare exception, is that the optimal program does not work with the realities of their life and goals. They may, for awhile, grind away at these programs and hit PRs, but they find they're spending less time with their families, they're dreading their workouts, and when major life events pop up they don't see how they can continue training. Now, to be clear, if you find yourself in a situation where you can commit the time and effort needed to pursue optimal, and you enjoy this type of training, go for it. Too many people see the time and effort required to train from those discussing optimal programs, and don't realize how effective time-constrained programs can be. We come to sustainable over optimal. Sustainability over Perfection Life events often reveal one's dislike for the sacrifices optimal training requires. For example, a new child, a move, a change in jobs - something like this can really illuminate that the current programming paradigm cannot be sustained. Are you enjoying your training or nutrition? Can you still pursue other important goals, or have those moved to the wayside in the singular pursuit of PRs. Sustainable over optimal programs means really identifying your available time and preferences. You choose ways to train that do not detract from your desired lifestyle. You began training to improve quality of life - if training is tarnishing your desired lifestyle, it's time for a change. Pursue sustainable over optimal lifting, nutrition, and self-improvement approaches. This is the key to accomplishing your goals - all of them. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Is your training fun!? Niki Sims and Andrew Jackson discuss why they entitled this podcast "Beast over Burden," feedback they've seen from listeners, and how they've come to think more about training for life. Is Your Training Fun!? Some people seem to enjoy training more than others - Matt and Scott have discussed so-called "medicine takers." Acknowledging this, however, you should not dread every single workout. As your training session looms, your blood pressure should not increase. Training should not suck the joy out of you. Andrew & Niki have noticed, both from the client and coach perspectives, that despite the effectiveness and helpfulness of the MED programming approach, sometimes more stress - even the minimum effective additional dose of stress - is counterproductive. Increasing stress in these situations is not ineffective for physiological reasons, but because the client simply cannot continue to grind away with the same workouts and lifts. Is your training fun? A change needs to happen - and that change isn't the stereotypical "MED" change. Beast Over Burden Training should be fun. Of course, we don't begin to train for fun, but rather because we've identified trends we want to stop and problems we would like to solve. You want to be stronger, healthier, more confident. These things actually enable you to have fun outside the gym. If you don't burden yourself with challenging training, then physical limitations will burden you later in life. Then you'll burden your loved ones. Training empowers you throughout your life, making you more capable and helping prevent your reliance on others as you age. Is your training empowering? Is your training fun!? Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Listen to the Barbell Logic podcast return. Matt Reynolds, Niki Sims, and Andrew Jackson discuss the two podcasts that will come out weekly, the different audiences they address, and the weekly schedule. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page. Barbell Logic Podcast Return - Beast over Burnout We're back, with two podcasts for your listening pleasure. Andrew and Niki host the Beast over Burnout podcasts, which comes out on Tuesdays. This covers lifting and lifestyle topics, especially with the kind of life we strive for through training and how that changes as people's lives change. Too many podcasts, articles, and videos target themselves to competitive lifters and people with seemingly optimal lives (who are these people!?). That's not us. We want you to build sustainable training habits that you incorporate into your actual life, not to change your life for the perfect program. Barbell Logic Podcast Return - Coaching Success Matt hosts a weekly podcast on the business of coaching, entrepreneurship, becoming people of action. This will typically be a shorter episode of Matt by himself that will air on Fridays. Whether you're interested in improving your life through lifting and self-improvement, or bettering your business and others' lives (or both) we have a podcast for you. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Andrew on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Listen for a barbell logic podcast update. We're taking a temporary pause to pursue some exciting opportunities and will return soon with more great podcasts. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page to give us feedback on the podcast during the temporary pause. Barbell Logic Podcast Update The podcast has been an unexpected success for Matt, Barbell Logic, and all the hosts since its beginning in 2017. When Scott and Matt started recording those first podcasts, they didn't realize it would be continuing into 2023, have garnered all the support and audience and recognitions that it has. That it'd had over 450 single episodes, and almost 600 if you count series episodes. Because of some exciting opportunities that Barbell Logic needs to focus its efforts toward, Barbell Logic is temporarily pausing the podcast. Stay subscribed, as we'll return with more great podcast content. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Learn about the voluntary hardship mindset that allows you to crush your goals, makes life better, and underpins happiness and success. Dr. Jonathon Sullivan and Noah Hayden continue their Barbell Health podcast series, this time discussing recovery for seniors. Jaime Collins joins them, discussing psychology and her journey. You can check out more of Sully's work on the Greysteel YouTube channel. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page for free resources, recent offers, & more. Voluntary Hardship Mindset If you want to achieve lofty goals, you'll have to do difficult things. Whether you've found yourself struggling with the effects of a comfort-driven life, or you've generally been active but are pursuing strength training, you've determined that you want to change the course of your life and have some idea of what you want to achieve. To get there requires you choosing to complete challenging things repeatedly. If you're lifting, you're an athlete. Athletes train. They do hard things. They move intelligently toward their goals. The voluntary hardship mindset means you don't eat everything you want based on pleasure. It means you occasionally grind on reps you're not sure you can finish. It means you train consistently in the gym, even if you don't feel like it. You might have heard of the term "adulting." Well, the first person you have to take care of, the first responsibility you bear, is yourself. Embrace life and its loveliness, including the hard parts. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

We discuss recovery for masters athletes, focusing on sleep and nutrition. Improve your sleep and nutrition, recover better, be stronger and healthier. Dr. Jonathon Sullivan and Noah Hayden continue their Barbell Health podcast series, this time discussing recovery for seniors. Ann Buszard joins them, discussing her journey and how she has approached recovery. You can check out more of Sully's work on the Greysteel YouTube channel. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page for free resources, recent offers, & more. Recovery for Masters Athletes It's often said, but less often followed: you get stronger as you recover. You undergo stress, allow for recovery, which enables adaptation. This is the way. On a population-wide level, too few stress themselves adequately to begin with. For gym-goers, many if not most fail to organize stress and recovery intelligently. Because of this, they fail to meet their goals. Promoting adaptation requires attending to recovery. Recovery for masters athletes and all lifters mostly falls into the buckets of nutrition and sleep. The principles underlying recovery for seniors don't differ from younger athletes. Masters athletes may face some additional challenges, just as they do when the barbell prescription (the stress) is examined. Nutrition for Masters Athletes Often times, seniors do not eat as much. What they eat (especially protein) their body does not process as well as a younger athlete's body would. The importance of getting adequate protein, therefore, only increases. Many masters athletes will need protein supplementation (whey protein powder or something similar). Similar to how training matters more for masters athletes, recovery matters more for masters athletes. You have likely seen teenagers and younger adults eating highly processed food and seemingly not being affected by it. Nutrition for masters athletes matters. Masters athletes cannot afford to fill their diets with highly processed food that doesn't provide the protein, fiber, energy, and micronutrients they need. The second key to recovery for masters athletes is sleep. Sleep for Masters Athletes Sleep seems to be discussed less than nutrition, but it does not matter less. You need to sleep. Sleep promotes recovery promotes strength and hypertrophy. Develop a sleep routine to help your body more easily fall asleep. This first includes the fact that it is a routine. Secondly, it should include things like not viewing screens, bright and blue lights, and nothing too stimulating. Creating a back-to-sleep routine may be just as important, as getting up in the middle of the night seems to afflict seniors even worse than younger adults. Find something that is boring and repetitive that you can go through mentally, that leaves you wanting to fall asleep. Sully, for example, goes through his tai chi drills. Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now: https://store.barbell-logic.com/match/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

We need more female masters strength athletes! Learn about the benefits, and myths of strength training for women seniors. What's different about strength training for female senior athletes - almost nothing. Dr. Jonathon Sullivan and Noah Hayden continue their Barbell Health podcast series, this time discussing strength training for women masters athletes. Debbie Wrotslavsky joins them, discussing her journey and the positive changes she's seen since beginning barbell training. You can check out more of Sully's work on the Greysteel YouTube channel. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page for free resources, recent offers, & more. Female Masters Strength Athletes - Mostly the Same What's different between strength training for men and women above the age of 50? Not much, really, as both desperately need the physical and mental benefits that barbell training provides. Some differences exist between training men and women, but as men and women age, those differences become less important. Plus, for seniors, we're mostly discussing training for health, not trying to eke out PRs for competitions. Female masters strength athletes train about the same as men. Programming, the approach to training, the exercises prescribed - these are the same for both men and women, before and after the age of 50. We Need More Female Masters Strength Athletes Women, for reasons we can only guess at, don't strength train as much as men. We'd love to start the trend to reverse this. Adding muscle and strength only becomes more as people age, men or women. Women look better and more feminine with the muscle that comes from strength training. Getting bulky doesn't happen by accident. Consider how many young men who want to look like Arnold and train with barbells don't. Instead, female masters strength athletes will gain confidence, vibrance, strength, mobility, and beauty - yes, beauty - from barbell training. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Dr. Jonathon Sullivan and Noah Hayden continue their Barbell Health podcast series, this time discussing programming masters athletes. They discuss the similarities and differences with programming younger lifters. Additionally, they cover common pitfalls, increased risks, and important considerations. Laura Welcher joins them, sharing her strength journey and how her programming has changed over time. You can check out more of Sully's work on the Greysteel YouTube channel. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page for free resources, recent offers, & more. Programming Considerations for Seniors Programming is balancing stress and recovery. Without stress there is no adaptation. Without recovery there is no adaptation. Seniors' muscle, bone, and connective tissue is older. Recovering from stresses becomes harder. Programming masters athletes must take this into consideration. The risk of overloading or overstressing a masters athletes is too great, and one must err on too little, not too much, stress. An injury, with the resultant break from training and activity, is too grave and serious a risk. Older lifters are intensity-dependent. If someone is only squatting one-hundred pounds, performing 5x5 @ 70 lbs is a waste of time. Additionally, be weary of too much volume (and, similarly, too much frequency). Programming Masters Athletes Masters Athletes begin their strength journey, like anyone else, on a linear progression program. Exercises may be modified, but the stress increases linearly while this possibility remains. As linear progression slows, the program almost always moves into a heavy-light-medium, as opposed to Texas Method, variant (although, of course, Texas Method is essentially a form of high-low-medium). Masters athletes almost never reach an advanced programming state. It requires a sustained consistency over a long period of time, which rarely occurs. It also requires an amount of time and focus that almost never occurs. Lastly, most advanced programs require the lifter to undergo an accumulation of stress that brings that athlete to the brink of overtraining. For programming masters athletes, the brink of overtraining must be avoided. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Dr. Jonathon Sullivan and Noah Hayden continue their Barbell Health podcast series, this time discussing exercise modification for seniors. John Claassen, their 93-year old client, shares his inspiring story. You can check out more of Sully's work on the Greysteel YouTube channel. Exercise Modification for Seniors Seniors, athletes of aging, masters athletes - whatever you you call them - can and should strength train. Coaches may need to modify exercises to meet their ability. Modifications may be as simple as lighter weights or broom sticks. Lifters may need to deadlift kettlebells or sit up from a chair. They may not be able to press or even bench press, but they can still train. John Claassen's Inspiring Story John Claassen shares his inspiring story of how he began barbell training at 89. Like many seniors, he saw the risks and limitations that came from a lack of muscle mass and strength. He looked into exercise, connected with Sully, and eventually came to deadlift 250 pounds. Exercise modification for seniors can be applied to his specific case. He sat down and up out of a chair instead of squatting. He had to perform incline bench press as opposed to bench press or overhead press. Instead of deadlifting a barbell, he deadlifted a kettlebell. Finally, he curled with a broomstick to begin. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Dr. Jonathon Sullivan and Noah Hayden continue their Barbell Health podcast series, this time discussing in-depth the strength prescription for the sick aging phenotype. This episode laid out Noah's thoughts on exercise & programming criteria, and an important discussion into the role the criteria play for the coach. You can check out more of Sully's work on the Greysteel YouTube channel. Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page for free resources, recent offers, & more. Strength Prescription In the last podcast, Sully & Noah discussed the problems with conventional medicine and its inability to treat the sick aging phenotype. Keeping the notion of medicine, with the intent to actually address your athlete's root problems, helps frame the problem (and the solution). If force production underlies the various fitness attributes, and strength is force production, clients need to gain strength. Because strength helps all the physical attributes, barbell exercise need to be incorporated into the exercise prescription the client receives. As the client progresses, conditioning (especially HIIT) can be added, but initially, a simple, linear progression provides enough stress. Dosage Criteria for the Strength Prescription If we think about this under the concept of medicine, be start to think about dosage, the frequency of the dosage, and what exercises fall under that prescription. Barbells are good. Strength is good. How do we pick exercises. What follows is Sully and Noah discussing the traditional 4 exercise selection criteria, then Noah positing criteria for programming. Sully suggests the exercise criteria are a post hoc justification of the exercises coaches would program anyway. Certainly, for most coaches, these criteria become engrained, and rarely (if ever) are they running through these criteria to choose an exercise for their lifters. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Dr. Jonathon Sullivan and Noah Hayden are joined by RN Ann Buszard. They discuss how typical or conventional medicine today fails to address the root causes of most issues, including the Sick Aging Phenotype. They talk about how exercise medicine, specifically strength training with barbells, is the cure. You can check out more of Sully's work on the Greysteel YouTube channel. Bad Medicine and the Sick Aging Phenotype Too much medicine fails to address root causes. While modern trauma care can save life and limb, more and more reasons that people end up in ERs cannot ultimately be addressed in ERs. These causes need to be addressed earlier. Exercise medicine, as opposed to conventional medicine, offers a way to address what Sully calls the Sick Aging Phenotype. You know it. You may have it. If you don't, you almost certainly know someone who has it. The Sick Aging Phenotype is that combination of illnesses that worsen as many people age. It includes things such as obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Too many people accept that aging comes with a growing list of limitations. Exercise Medicine with Barbells Exercise medicine with barbells is safe, healthy, and effective. Contrary to many people's misconceptions, it doesn't mean getting huge nor is does it come with a high risk of injury. Instead, barbell medicine helps strengthen and add muscle and other tissue. This can give people more capabilities, as opposed to taking them off the table. Exercise medicine can give you years of quality life. Benefits of Voluntary Hardship This repeated process of doing difficult things regularly doesn't just come with physical and biological benefits, but spiritual and psychological benefits as well. It builds confidence, as well as muscle, and helps athletes of aging realize they can do more, not just in the gym but in their everyday life, that they may have considered impossible. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Niki talks to Brittany Snyder, a Professional Barbell Coach, nutrition coach, and the Director of Nutrition at Barbell Logic. Brittany shares her journey of how she ditched all or nothing nutrition, shoved shame to the side, gave the fundamentals a chance, and finally created a sense of control with her nutrition. All or Nothing Nutrition...Generally Leads to Nothing Avoid fat. Carbs are evil. Only eat meat. No, avoid all meat and meat products. You should be fasting. You should be eating small meals throughout the day. Cut it out. If any of the aforementioned approaches work for you, that is awesome. For most of us, extremes don't work (at least not for long). We're talking about making sustainable nutrition habits that last for the rest of our life. We're talking about walking around feeling and looking better, being healthier, and building the virtue that voluntary hardship brings. Voluntary hardship, though, isn't about the the extreme white knuckle 3-week diet plan. It's about taking up the challenges that come with moving toward our goals. Give the Fundamentals a Chance Not every diet is right for every person. Like many people program hop from lifting program to lifting program, too many people bounce from all or nothing nutrition approach to extreme diet. Furthermore, people tend to know what foods are unhealthy and what are healthy. While there's disagreement, and people avoid certain foods for a variety of reasons, good, sustainable diets will involve building habits that last, move you closer to your goals, and have you burning more calories than you consume. Identify areas that you can most easily change to create the biggest results. That first means identifying what you're baseline is. For Brittany, she realized she was consuming about 800 calories after dinner every night. Her first step was to reduce that to 500. Your first MED step might be different, but there's often one behavior or action that is creating the biggest damage. To move toward your goal, you don't need to end that damage but rather limit that damage. All or nothing nutrition generally leads to nothing. Nutrition Budgets Empower One approach that works for many because it empowers it giving a nutrition budget. It might be a certain number of calories for a meal or time period (e.g. after dinner). It could be a caloric limit to alcohol or a limit to the number of drinks per week. What this does, however, is allow people to maintain their non-negotiables but reduce their damage. For example, you don't have to give up drinking after dinner, but if you're drinking 3, 4, or 5 drinks before bed, reducing that to 2 or 3 can make a big difference. Shove Shame to the Side Emotionally detaching from her behaviors and looking at them like data has really helped. Your decisions don't make you a bad person and if there is room for growth, that is fine. The shame only hurts, and you need to focus on what you can do and when you slip up, return to the sustainable habits. If you're having trouble sustaining the habits, maybe a different approach would work better. Ditch all or nothing nutrition. Shove shame to the side. Give the fundamentals a chance. And listen to this very informative, enjoyable, and quotable podcast. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Online strength coaching provides the most value, flexibility, effectiveness, and personalization of any coaching method. It enhances the quality of life of coaches and clients. This is a rebroadcast of episode 408. Online Strength Coaching Provides More Flexibility Online coaching allows someone seeking high-quality coaching to find the coach that's right for them - not the coach or personal trainer that's simply close. It allows clients to continue when they vacation or travel, and it allows coaches to continue to coach their clients when they vacation or travel. Online coaching allows lifters to still receive coaching if they're unable to train during the scheduled time block. With in-person coaching, if something arises that prevents the lifter from coming to the gym at the normal time, that lifter typically still has to pay, doesn't get the coaching, and might not be able to lift. Modern life comes with moving for many people. You can keep the same coach if you move or your coach moves. This enables coaches and clients to have 5+ year coach-client relationships, which is extremely rare and challenging with in-person coaching. Are you sick and can't come to the gym but still want to get something done, albeit at a reduced difficultly? No problem - your online strength coach can modify your program, and you're not at risk for getting anyone else sick. Online Strength Coaching is More Effective The primary value of in-person strength coaching that we and others have stressed is how fast the coach can get the client lifting with correct technique. We get lifters moving correctly under the barbell quickly and in less time investment by the coach than in-person coaching. The typical initial session is 90 minutes and requires the travel time and other inconveniences of meeting someone at a certain time and place. Through a series of roughly 5-minute videos the professional barbell coach can get you moving correctly, and almost certainly in fewer than 18 videos. This amounts to less time than initial 90-minute session. Also, this assumes the client leaves the 90-minute session with perfect form and does not return with the almost inevitable form creep. It simply is not that critical that the client's technique is perfect within the first couple sessions. Furthermore, changes made through online strength coaching seem to stick and last longer. Online Strength Coaching Provides More Value A professional barbell coach can deliver high-quality coaching with multiple touchpoints each weeks at a much lower cost to the client than in-person coaching. Likely, it will be 25% or less of the cost of in-person coaching. Even though the coach charges less, the coach makes more money more minute or per hour. This enables the strength coach to have more clients and coach more people - ultimately providing more value to more people. This can be done from where the coach wants to live, whether that be sunny southern California or in a small town in the midwestern United States. Online Strength Coaching Improves Quality of Life Online coaching increases compliance because of its flexibility, reduced cost, and convenience. This ultimately mean it produces more lasting changes. These changes improve clients' quality of life. For the coach, the convenience and flexibility of coaching from home improves their quality of life, allows them to deliver more value to more clients, and is a win-win. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Walking seems so simple and easy, so mundane and pedestrian (literally) that it couldn't constitute an important part of your overall health and fitness plan, right? Wrong. Walking provides innumerable health and wellness benefits. These benefits include physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. Don't pooh pooh walking. Whether you're tracking your steps, hiking, or going for short walks throughout the day, consider adding walking to your routine. The wonders of walking abound. Get out there and walk! Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page for free resources, recent offers, & more. Physical Health Benefits of Walking As walking is a physical activity, the most obvious benefits, like other forms of physical activity, are physical health benefits. More walking every day - more steps - is correlated with better health outcomes. It may seem obvious, but humans aren't meant to sit all day in front of some type of screen. The low level physical activity fits solidly within the aerobic energy system, and unless you're walking briskly or up a steep incline, you shouldn't have to exert yourself too much. In addition to simply more activity, walking typically happens outside, which provides vitamin D from the sun, something that too many of us are lacking. Looking into the wonders of walking? Start with the benefits to your health and fitness. Mental Health Benefits of Walking You can't talk about walking without mental health. Physical activity and exercise, of course, improves mental health. Walking for most people doesn't induce the same stress that a hard conditioning or lifting workout does. It can get us out in nature, under the sun, and can be done alone, with someone, or with the accompaniment of a podcast or audiobook. Some people meditate when they walk, as opposed to the more traditional form where you sit and meditate. Whether you're looking for some alone time, some time with your partner or friend, or some time to listen to a podcast or audiobook, the wonders of walking include mental health benefits. Wonders of Walking - Time to Think Related to the above but deserving of its own separate mention, is the ability to think and have thoughts arise. Many artists, writers, and important figures have sworn by the benefits of walking. It can be an opportunity to do some deep work, away from the distractions of the home, the phone, and the computer. Have something that you're worried about? Think about it during a walk. Or, avoid thinking about it, and you might find that solutions and ideas occur to you, even though you weren't actively thinking about the challenge. Wonders of Walking - Ease, Simplicity, Availability Maybe it doesn't need to be said, but maybe the primary beauty of walking is how almost anyone can do it. It doesn't require hardly any equipment at all. You should probably have some shoes and weather appropriate attire, but really you can walk barefoot if you have to. Just walk. Start to develop different routes, so that you have a variety of lengths and scenery to choose from. Pick easier, shorter routes around your neighborhood, and maybe some walks further away in nature, when you really want to get away. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Strength and endurance - can you do both!? Yes, in fact, you can. While the adaptations and strength and endurance conflict, you can reach high levels in both. CJ shares his story of ruck marching, voluntary hardship, lifting, and joy. He describes how he balanced life, lifting, and rucking and realized he needed aerobic endurance events to be part of his life. He also shares how you could add endurance training to your program if you miss it (or want to try it out). Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page for free resources, recent offers, & more. Joy Lost but Rekindled CJ enjoys rucking. He had a background of aerobic endurance events in the military and his free time. During a particularly busy time in his life, he did not realized what he had lost and how he had repeated a foreign narrative of strength exclusivity that left him cold. Strength and endurance are mutually exclusive, right!? Then he injured himself on what should have been an easy event, that he could have crushed a few years ago. He did not want to be that fragile and remembered he enjoyed long, slow, endurance events. He evaluated his priorities, preferences, and available time, and decided to start rucking again. Rucking as Lifter - Strength and Endurance What's rucking? Rucksack is the German word for backpack. Its background comes from the necessity of Soldiers to move from one place to another with the equipment they need to fight. More recently, civilians seeking voluntary hardship have begun to ruck by themselves or in group events. Strictly, it's an endurance event, but strength and endurance benefit performance, as rucksacks can be heavy, and having a muscular frame helps. The other aspect of rucking, especially considering its martial history, is the communal aspect - this was something Soldiers did together. Shared Suffering Unless you train in a great black iron gym or have some good training partners, lifting is a solitary exercise modality. GoRuck and other organizations bring shared suffering into the event. You have to work together with other people to accomplish the event. This is something CrossFit gets right. The community aspect maybe more than anything else may be what keeps people coming back to CrossFit gyms. If you're looking to pursue strength and endurance events and looking for more social time, why not combined them? Suffer with your friends. Strength and Endurance It is true that you cannot pursue maximal strength and endurance. These adaptations limit each other. You can, however, pursue high levels of adaptations in both areas (as in better in both areas than the vast majority of people). This requires time and commitment, but it is possible. Ultimately, you need to decide on what matters to you - how much do you care about pursuing or excelling in a certain modality. If you've deadlifted 550 lbs, how much work are you willing to do to hit 600 lbs? GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

What does conditioning for lifters look like? Do you need to do "cardio"? We examine conditioning & cardio for strength athletes. This is a re-release of episode 396. Conditioning vs Cardio "Cardio" is a nebulous and negative term, like diet. I need to go do some "cardio." What's the best "cardio" for fat loss? The term "cardio" comes from the word cardiovascular as in the cardiovascular system of the heart, lunges, and blood vessels that pumps oxygen and nutrients to your organs. Conditioning for lifters comes with the implication of a goal. You need to complete conditioning for health, or for your sport, or for general physical preparedness. Conditioning for Lifters - Fat Loss Why would a strength athlete include conditioning in his program? There's generally 3 reasons why someone would consider doing "cardio" or conditioning: Weight loss / fat loss Being "in shape" or general physical preparedness (GPP) Cardiovascular health / energy systems efficiency Lots of people think they need to do cardio for the first reason, and it's really the worst reason to "do cardio." Why? Because cleaning up nutrition habits far surpasses the impact of conditioning. Often times, people increase their food intake after cardio, as their appetite increases as well. This doesn't mean that conditioning cannot help in the calorie burning side of the calorie equation. But it's not the first MED step to take. Conditioning for Lifters - GPP People have an intuitive sense of being in or out of shape, and they're not wrong. This often comes from a suddenly more rigorous physical event, such as a hike or sporting event. You find yourself out of breath and hating life, and feel out of shape. This is really recognizing the inefficiency of your energy systems, and that you're cardiovascular systems is delivering oxygen poorly. Life can throw us unexpected challenges, and being prepared for them is a good thing. Conditioning for Lifters - Health As the previous reason started to lead into, conditioning helps improve the efficiency of the body's energy systems: phosphagen, glycolytic, and aerobic. Training these systems improve your cardiovascular health and is correlated with longevity and overall health. Just as stressing the muscles helps improve strength and effects hypertrophy, and these are correlated with health, stressing these energy systems is good for them and for your health. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

HIIT is the best way to improve your conditioning and health and help with fat loss. Consider high intensity interval training for your conditioning. Energy Systems Overview HIIT's benefits come from how it uses and benefits the body's energy systems. Let's quickly investigate the body's energy systems. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the energy currency of the body. ATP breaks down into adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and a phosphate group. This reaction produces energy that the body uses. For low intensity, long duration efforts your body pulls energy from its aerobic energy system. This is likely the energy system you're using now, and the one your body uses most of the time. When energy requirements increase, however, the body has two other energy systems to meet its energy requirements. For extremely short duration, high intensity efforts (such as HIIT), your body uses its phosphagen system. This takes advantage of the ATP readily available in your muscles. It also benefits from creatine phosphate (CP). Creatine phosphate adds its phosphate group to ADP to produce another ATP and produce more energy. This system only lasts about 10 seconds. For high intensity, medium duration efforts, the body uses glycolysis. This is the breakdown of carbohydrates that produces energy less quickly than the phosphagen system but more quickly than the aerobic system's oxidation. This system lasts for maybe a couple minutes. HIIT: Why & What? High intensity interval training involves high intensity, low duration efforts with rest to allow for recovery in between intervals. During the interval, you will be using your phosphagen and glycolytic systems, but during the recovery both the glycolytic and aerobic systems will be providing ATP to replenish the ATP stored in your muscle. Because high intensity training requires all your energy systems when you consider recovery, it improves all your energy systems. Low intensity, long duration efforts do not provide the same benefits to high intensity. This is similar to how strength benefits endurance but endurance does not benefit strength. If you can do 40 push-ups, doing sets of push-ups will provide little to no benefit to your bench press. Improving your bench press, however, will help increase your push-up numbers. High intensity interval training helps your heart health and prepares you for potential events in life that require heavy breathing efforts that are longer than a 5-rep set of squats. How to Do HIIT High intensity interval training exercises should be low skill and low impact. This is where CrossFit often goes wrong, as they often perform high impact and high skill movements, such as high repetition, heavy Olympic lift variations for conditioning workouts. When and how often should you perform high intensity interval training? How long should your work to rest ratio be? How many rounds should you do? The general guidelines are below: 15-20 seconds hard effort 1:3 to 1:4 work-to-rest ratio 5-10 rounds 2-3 times per week perform after your lifting The above are rough guidelines. When you begin, just as with lifting, have your rest periods be longer, perform fewer rounds, and begin with only 2 times per week. Some examples of good exercises or machines to use include sled pushes, stationary bike, or rower. HIIT for Fat Loss Why does high intensity interval training help improve fat loss? These intervals don't take much time to do, which is one of their benefits. After you perform one of these workouts, however, your basal metabolic rate (BMR) will increase for about 24 hours after the workout. What does this mean? You will burn more calories performing the same amount of activity after a HIIT workout than after an aerobic workout, even if the aerobic workout burned more calories. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Wearables for health abound. They can track lots of different metrics for health and can help gamify the pursuit of your goals. Matt & Niki explore why you might consider wearing wearables & how they use them. Wearables for Health What are wearables? Wearables are devices that you wear (duh) that can track various data. Some of the things they can track include: calories burned, steps walked, heart rate, body temperature, and sleep quality. Wearables for health have grown more accurate in their measuring, but the primary reason for wearables is not accuracy but precision. You can compare different points in time and recognize trends (e.g. in general my sleep quality has improved over the last year as I reduced my alcohol consumption). Some things they track directly, such as heart rate and movement. Others they track indirectly, by combining and analyzing various pieces of information they record directly. For example, sleep quality can be assessed by recording heart rate and movement. Why Wear Wearables for Health? Wearables provide various metrics that you can track. So why wear them? As Dr. Sullivan, Niki, and CJ discussed in this podcast, if you're gathering data, you need to know why you're gathering that data. This does cost some money, attention, and time to record and observe these metrics. Wearables for health help gamify the pursuit of your goals. Anyone who has ever measured their daily steps has noticed that if they're close to a big number, such as 10,000 steps, they will typically do the extra work to hit the daily goal. This incentivizes you to push a bit harder to hit certain markers. These markers do not necessarily equal better health, but they may correlate with improved health. Thus, this gamification can lead to improved results toward achieving or crushing your goals. What wearables for health should not do is add stress. If you find missing a certain goal stressful, or you're worried about what your wearable will tell you about your sleep quality, then you're missing the point. These should be tools for improving health and accomplishing your goals, not another stressor (as if we need more). GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Matt and Rachel Reynolds bring you this special edition of the Barbell Logic podcast, holiday edition. Matt & Rachel share their 2022 holiday message of gratitude, joy, anticipation, and reflection. Thank you for being fans & clients, coaches & clients! This time of year is a time of reflection and joy, gratitude and anticipation. Families and friends gather, erect decorations and lights, and break bread together. Matt, Rachel, and all of us at Barbell Logic thank you. We are grateful for all of you. Barbell Logic turns 6 years this December and remains committed to its core values and doubling down on what we do best. In 2023, you can look forward to some of the following and more: More Barbell Academy courses & content (included at no additional cost if you've already signed up) TurnKey Coach, with out web application and backend support to you coaches who provide (or want to provide) online coaching A 2023 fitness challenge In this 2022 holiday message, we look back, look forward, and most especially thank you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Sully joins Niki & CJ to discuss health metrics that matter. Sully's biggest question is why do you think you need the test or data point? How will this information change your behavior? Check out the Grey Steel YouTube channel here. They refer to a red flag article a few times in the podcast. Read that article here. Drowning in Data - Helpful Health Markers It's easy to drown in data. One can wear wearables and get up-to-date health markers. We bombarded with inputs, news, sensory data, videos, podcasts, pings, updates, notifications. Going with the current, sometimes bolstered by financial incentives, means gathering more data. This data can give a blanket to client and practitioner of objectivity. It also allows delay. What to do with the patient? Let's get more data. Administer these tests (oh, and I paid more when I prescribe more tests). For coaches, it can be things like the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and other tests. Complication's siren call can obfuscate the reality that we haven't moved the patient or client any closer to their desired outcome. What are helpful health metrics? Ones that drive decisions and behavior - pieces of data that will make you act differently. Data Should Drive Decisions - Health Metrics that Matter Gathering a host of tests & metrics provides the illusion of understanding and objectivity. It's mostly noise, and you might miss the signal. Coaches should know red flags, when training is contraindicated. The lifter and client should understand baseline, and when something changes that indicates something is off and further digging into the problem may help. What are some typical important health markers for coaches? Having an understanding of what the client does outside the gym (other physical activity, sleep, nutrition) & when that changes drastically (e.g. someone who is mostly sedentary goes for a long hike and then misses their squats). Pain matters too. Some pain seems to come with being a human (low back pain). Still, the type of pain, what movements cause it, how severe it is, and if modifications in dosing (intensity, exercise selection, volume) decrease or eliminate the pain. Health metrics that matter drive decisions. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Matt & Niki explore helpful strength equipment that helps you solve problems, make strength training more fun, and build your home gym. They share specific pieces of equipment and for whom this gear might help the most. This isn't equipment to get started or gear 101, but rather equipment and gear for those who are continuing on the path of strength and voluntary hardship. Helpful Strength Equipment You need a few items to begin strength training properly, though you can also start exercising today. As you progress and build the habit of strength training (and simultaneously get older) some equipment can help solve common problems you will likely encounter. Some of these items help add variety and make training more fun. Other gear helps deal with common injuries or pain points. Regardless, this list of items can help you build compliance and improve your training. If you use it, it is ultimately an investment in yourself and your health. Accessories for Accessory Work Accessory work can get repetitive if all you have is a barbell. A few pieces of equipment can multiply the potential hypertrophy and accessory work you can program. Adjustable dumbbells allow you to add dumbbell variations and accessory lifts without taking up a ton of space (and saving money compared to a full set of dumbbells). Not only can you perform dumbbell variations of the main lifts, you can also perform more accessory work that you simply cannot perform with barbells (e.g. dumbbell flies or lateral raises). A similar example of helpful strength equipment is a pulley system. This enables lat pull downs as well as using the pulley system for hypertrophy work (triceps, biceps, etc.). The last helpful items that focuses primarily on the upper body is getting a dip attachment to your power rack or an adjustable bench. They allow variation for pressing movements, and you can also perform accessory lifts on the bench. Enabling lower body accessory work comes in handy as you become more advanced, as deadlifts and squats don't only get repetitive but if you face a big injury, you might not be able to perform one or both of these lifts for awhile. Some helpful strength equipment for this area are a reverse hyper, glute ham raise, or leg extension/leg curl attachment. Some of these take up a lot of space, but getting just one of them can provide additional leg stress and make a big difference in your lower body training. Supplying Supplemental Lifts This might be the widest area, as we're talking about different types of barbells and other items that can modify the main lifts. A deadlift bar can really help your deadlift 1RM, as it has a smaller diameter and more whip (which reduces the range of motion). An axle bar for the press or bench press reduces your ability to grip the bar but enables good pressing variants. It is also necessary if you're considering Strong Man training. Getting a slingshot or board attachment can help overload the bench and work on the top portion of your bench. The slingshot can also help if you have shoulder pain. Bands and chains are helpful strength equipment that enables accommodating resistance. The safety squat bar and football bar (and variations of both) not only add supplemental variations to the lifts but can also prevent pain for the shoulders and wrists specifically. Convenience & Climate The last area of helpful strength equipment includes items that add convenience to your lifting or improve the atmosphere of the gym. The monolift attachment allows you to not have to take a step bar or move the bar from the pins to the shoulders on the bench. It provides the most benefit to the most people for the bench press, as many find it reduces or eliminates shoulder pain. Niki also uses it for the RDL. A deadlift jack makes loading and unloading plates easier for any lift that has the barbell on the ground, especially the deadlift. A 1-arm deadlift jack is smaller and more mobile - you can put it in your gym bag. A 2-arm deadlift jack makes more sense if you have a decent amount of space in your home gym or for public gyms. Wrist wraps & lifting straps help with wrist support or grip support for compression or tension grips. Ammonia or smelling salts help bring focus and intensity to big attempts. Clothes help you feel and perform better. Clothes really are helpful strength equipment. A timer or watch can ensure that you don't waste time in the gym between sets and make the rest time consistent. This is especially important at a public gym or if you're a coach, because the lifter isn't paying you to tell them stories. Last but probably not least for most people is something to help with climate control, specifically heating or cooling your gym. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Ni

Matt Reynolds, Niki Sims, and CJ Gotcher join up to answer your lifting and lifestyle questions. They cover wrist wraps and wrist straps for deadlifting, upper body pulling exercises for novices, BJJ, hiking & rucking, stuffing or dressing, and more in this fun but informative holiday Q&A. Wrist Wraps & Lifting Straps for Deadlifts If you're having wrist issues, don't hesitate to use wrist wraps for your lifts. Wrist wraps for deadlifts, however, should not really help. During the deadlift your wrists are in tension, not compression. Use the wrist wraps on all your lifts where your wrists are in compression, even the squat. Lifting straps, however, are fine if you're having grip issues. Upper Body Pulling Exercises for Novices Our Best Exercises for Strength video discusses the main 4 lifts to get stronger. We still stand by this. Lifters, however, add some type of upper body pulling exercise early on as a lifter, some adding them as they begin their novice program. It partly depends on their goals and current situation. Some people may really want to get their first bodyweight pull-up. There is no reason to weight, and this may be a good situation to have a lifter move to a 4-day split routine as a novice. Others may be in the military or a similar situation, and may need to maintain or improve their chin-up or pull-up performance. Others, however, may be true beginners with little to no experience in the gym. Focusing on the main four lifts for them is enough. As they get stronger and their technique improves, adding in something like a barbell row, lat pull down, or chin-ups makes sense. Hiking, Rucking, & BJJ Niki shares here favorite submission move in BJJ. CJ gives a brief description of his recent rucking event and if it was the hardest thing he's every done. Matt discusses how a supposedly friendly hike became a 7-hour ordeal of terror. Holiday Traditions How do you say the word "pecan?" Do you eat stuffing or dressing? What are their favorite dishes, drinks, and desserts for Thanksgiving. Learn this and more, and share your with us on Instagram. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

We share our coaching lessons learned - professionalism over mastery, personability and personalization over optimal programming, flexibility over rigidity, long-term good over short-term gains, and more. Coaching Lessons Learned If you're not growing, not learning, not improving, then you're getting worse - that's the nature of this existence. Entropy comes with the deal. That's why, coming near the end of this year and during a time when we reflect on what we've learned, what we'd like to improve on going forward, and what we're thankful for, some BLOC coaches share their coaching lessons learned. Whether you're a coach, lifter, or within earshot of this because your spouse or significant other plays their podcasts too loud, we hope you learn something from this. Personalization over the "Perfect Program" The perfect program, lost to moderns, either buried in the lost city of Atlantis or created by some super secret Soviet coach, still encoded and not translated into English, does not exist. The principles of programming always matter, but they must be applied to the person who presents himself in real time in front of you - your client. What are his circumstances, limitations, preferences, fears, goals? These matter more than perfect technique, 12 minute rest periods, or the DUP template you've improved for decades. The programming has to work for your client, not, for the long-term. Coaching Lessons Learned - Source of truth. An easy example of this, especially early on, is the reality of biomechanically efficient form when it comes to the lifts. The truth of gravity tells you when you're doing it wrong. Personal records can be a source of truth, but look for other metrics as well. What is the client's motivation? Is nagging pain not improving? Seek ways to understand and track truth. Outside the Gym & Technique The biggest keys to success lie outside the gym. Niki and CJ share similar coaching lessons learned. Sleep, getting to the gym early and staying late, preparation, food, socializing - these all affect your performance as a coach and lifter. Relatedly, you have to be more than a form technician. You have to have basic knowledge of nutrition and the basic situations that are likely to arise (back tweak, elbow tendinitis, get sick, etc.). You will eventually encounter problems that lay outside the typical situations, and do your best to solve them, refer them out, or help find them a new coach. Your Ideal Strength Client? A decade ago, Niki & CJ would have likely said something like someone who is younger, eating tons of protein and calories, doesn't have other conflicting physical activities outside the gym, and can rest long between work sets. But, they've come upon more coaching lessons learned, and changed their minds. Who is this unicorn client? Like the perfect program, the perfect client doesn't exist. This ideal client makes things easier for you, the coach. Given them the program, if they don't want to follow your guidelines, they're not doing the program, and their failure is their fault. This might be the case sometimes - people have to put in the work, and shouldn't do whatever they want. But if strength is important, it benefits everyone, especially those who participate in other physical pursuits outside the gym. Strength would help their health and hobbies. CJ says it's a red flag when people avoid social situations or physical activities because they're afraid it will negatively affect recovery. Most people don't want to pay the price for continuous PRs - something matters to them more. That's okay. Content & Personability It's not 1983. We don't look numbers up in the white or yellow pages. We typically find a business or person online, and that person's content builds trust and credibility. After some time, this may lead to purchasing that person's or business's products or services. Create content, and keep it true to yourself. You're not just a strength coach. You probably don't only eat chicken breasts and broccoli. You probably don't only read scientific studies. And if you do only coach, read scientific studies, and eat chicken breasts and broccoli, that's probably what your social media should reflect. After Niki & CJ share their top 3 lessons learned, other BLOC coaches share their coaching lessons learned. We hope you enjoy and learn from them! GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Jordan Stanton returns to answer your questions on velocity based autoregulation. Why is this not for novices? What guidance would you give to lifters when the device tells you you should have a big PR? Who is a good candidate for velocity based training? Autoregulation for Novices? Form is not stable, and this is a requirement, especially for velocity based autoregulation. Novices, in addition to needing to improve technique and develop consistent form, beginners need to experience higher RPE sets. More advanced lifters cannot recover from RPE 9+ sets like beginners, can, but novices and early intermediate can benefit from just how heavy "heavy but doable" can be. RiR & RPE - Are They the Same? It depends. Some define Rate of Perceive Exertion (RPE) by Reps in Reserve (RiR). Others give RPE a more qualitative score. RPE comes from the endurance world, and can also be used for conditioning. For example, you might tell someone to run for 3 miles at RPE 6, which is an easy, conversational pace. Is Autoregulation Just Changing the Intensity? Not necessarily, though sometimes. The simple way to use velocity based autoregulation is to identify your estimated 1RM for that day, and then perform the work sets based off that information. Similarly, a lifter may work up to a single at RPE 8, and then do back off sets from that single. Some autoregulation techniques adjust volume. A lifter could perform an AMRAP for one or multiple sets. For velocity based training, a lifter could adjust the volume based on velocity decay. One week, a lifter may only do 2 sets of 2, whereas the next it could be 5 sets of 2. 1RM Every Workout? Some programs do work up to a heavy single. They typically are performed at a prescribed RPE, such as RPE 8, and are not a true 1RM. Other programs have a lifter work up to a 1RM, but often on a supplemental lift (e.g. Westside conjugate max effort day). Back off sets are completed based off the heavy single. The PR is There for the Taking For you pessimists out there, the main benefit of velocity based autoregulation out there may be the avoidance of missed reps, and more appropriate intensities for blue collars days. The flip side, however, is when the device tells you should have a substantial PR. In these cases, what do you do? Considering that this is an advanced training technique and that as lifters advanced, those PR days become rarer and rarer, Jordan tells lifters to go for the PR, with caution. For example, maybe the Rep One device suggests a 50lb PR. He might tell his lifter to attempt a conservative single first, or go for a 25lb single first. Part of this is because more factors determine the success of a PR attempt than your performance that day. Also, the lived experience of performing a heavy weight may change. Sounds, sights, sensations may occur that you've never experienced before in your life. Getting Started with VBT Who are good candidates for velocity based autoregulation, and how do you as a coach bring it up? Generally, the lifters need to have trained consistently for a relatively long period of time, so at least have gone through early intermediate. They need to be able to give full effort to warm up sets. Their technique needs to be consistent. Beyond that, you can see two groups of athletes that seem opposed but would both be good candidates. One is the powerlifter or strengthlifter or similar strength-based athlete who really prioritizes lifting and wants to chase PRs. The other is the lifter who trains to support another activity, such as martial arts or a sport. For this second athlete, their performance in the gym may vary widely based on their sport or activity stress, so the VBT can help provide more appropriate stress doses. Autoregulation & Accessories? Velocity based autoregulation really doesn't make sense for accessory work. Now, it can be appropriate for Olympic lifts, though the more important data is peak velocity, not average velocity. Regarding this, Matt and Jordan talked about some interesting and fun ways to potentially use the devices. One could, for example, work to identify and train where maximum power or maximum force occur, which would be at relatively heavy weights but definitely below 90%. Similarly, one could compare AMRAPs to see who did more work. For example, two lifters perform bench press AMRAPs at 225. One lifter performs 10 reps, one performs 6 reps. The lifter who performed 10 reps, however, has shorter arms. Who did more work? You could find out. One instance where autoregulation does make sense for accessories is AMRAPs. Doing AMRAPs of curls or rolling dumbbell extensions, for instance, especially if only for the last rep, is not that stressful. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram

Injury and recovery are no fun and not why we train. They're a part of life, and come with training, especially if you push yourself over a long period of time. How do you adjust programming and mindset to keep training and keep improving. Niki Sims shares her story of an injury that altered her training, identity, and pursuits, which ultimately caused her to not only alter reps and sets and exercise selection, but her approach and mindset regarding training and physical activity. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Tweaks and Tribulations Niki was trucking along nicely, hitting squat and deadlift PRs, improving in BJJ. Enter pain and injury. She heard a pop during some deficit deadlifts. Her approach in the past had always been to do what she could, as much as possible, so she continued to pursue PRs. She hit a nice squat PR soon after that. Performance continued to improve in the gym, and pain increased in intensity and frequency. One morning, she woke up and was in so much pain she couldn't see straight. She deadlifted later that day in a friendly competition. She started to realize that looking at her lifting shoes was inducing anxiety, and the time that had been fun and solace and a welcome break every day - her gym time - now came with pain and anxiety. She wasn't ready to stop lifting. Reduced intensity and doing as much as she could only increased pain over time. It wasn't working. Injury and Recovery: Mindset Matters Niki had built an identity around performance, competition, and ability. The previous period of relatively stable progress in the gym and on the mat had to give way to an examination of why she was training in the first place, what she wanted to get out of training going forward, and what was best for her - physically and mentally. She realized she couldn't go down that mental road of comparing what she used to be able to do to what she can do now. She also couldn't second-guess decisions she had made in the past about training or continuing to chase after PRs. She had to embrace reality and possibility, while digging deeper to understand her deeper reasons for training and exercise in the first place. Deadlift 440 pounds was an important goal for her, but based on current limitations and important whys, keeping this as a goal was counterproductive for her mind and body. You can't let yourself spiral into mental cycles of associating the gym with pain and failure. Injury and Recovery: Programming Changes Reintroducing play into the gym helped. Focusing on having training time be pleasant mattered. The cycle of pain and dread had to end. Finding exercises that can be pushed a bit more without pain can help - and those might not look anything like the four main lifts. This might and probably will involve exercises that use less muscle mass over a shorter range of motion with less weight. Niki found that not having programmed squat and deadlift workouts helped, because if these were programmed and she wasn't able to do them or they were performed at extremely low intensities, this created a feeling of failure. Be able to experiment with what works - what's fun, what doesn't produce pain, what makes you want to go to the gym. Find metrics that matter more (which also can quantify improvements outside of weight on the bar). Niki found that tracking pain in the morning not only helped inform programming decisions but also helped her see the big picture that pain had decreased and that she could have fewer days with pain, and the pain could be less intense. The programming changes that you might think would get her back to PRs more quickly only made things worse. Slight reductions in intensity, volume, and exercise selection did not suffice. If you're a coach or coaching yourself and something similar happens, you might try those smaller MED changes at first, but sometimes the MED change is actually quite big, and requires big adjustments to programming and mindset. Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Autoregulation adjusts to the lifter's actual, not expected, performance during a workout. Get an overview of this strength training method. Autoregulation - The Concept The underlying concept is fairly simple: adjust the work sets to the lifter's performance during the workout. During novice linear progression, a lifter adds typically 5 pounds each week. The lifter adapts quickly while also lacking the ability to stress himself with a heavy work set like an advanced lifter can. If the lifter misses a rep or set, a programming change probably needs to occur. If the lifter has a bad workout but hits all the reps, then she learns about just how heavy "heavy" can be. It can be a qualitative experience in RPE 8.5+ sets. As the lifter advances, weight is often added less frequently, though you often see a linear progression of supplemental and accessory lifts. Without autoregulation, a lifter performs work sets based on a past one-rep max or similar maximal effort (e.g. 5RM) or her expected performance. Past performance does best predict future performance, but occasionally a lifter experiences workouts on the tails of the bell curve. A lifter may suddenly fail to hit prescribed reps or have to perform the reps at RPE 9+ effort, whereas the intended difficulty was closer to RPE 7. The other extreme is the unexpected easy day, when a PR might be available. Especially as a lifter progresses, these days come less and less frequently, so taking the PR may be warranted. Subjective Autoregulation The lifter can attempt to make a more-or-less educated guess on his 1RM from his subjective assessment using rate of perceived exertion (RPE) or reps in reserve (RIR). Work up to a single at RPE 8. This means you assess that you can complete 2 more reps. Then, perform 1x3 @ 93% and 3x5 @ 80%. If your RPE assessment is fairly accurate, the training stress and intensity that day will be appropriate - sufficient but not too much. The other primary subjective autoregulation method is the coach's eye. The coach can watch your warm up sets and help pick your work set intensity based on his assessment of your performance that day. This is an informed input, if you have an experienced coach, but it is still subjective. Lastly, the two methods can be combined. Whether in-person or online, this method works better. You have two independently-gathered albeit subjective data points that help determine the work sets for the workout. Online, the coach obviously cannot pick the intensity that day, but the coach can help provide feedback on the lifter's RPE assessments and notice patterns. For example, a lifter may tend to assess RPEs fairly accurate most of the time, and especially for upper body lifts. On bad days and for squats - this hypothetical lifter's least favorite lift - he tends to rate them higher than they were. This growing awareness can inform the lifter's decisions. Objective Autoregulation AMRAPs or working up to a 1RM are objective, as long as the lifter gives her full effort for the set. The problem, is maximal effort sets, whether for one rep or as many reps as possible, are physically and mentally exhausting, will negatively affect the remaining work sets, and provide an extremely high-intensity training stress that must be accounted for in the training. Velocity-based training, therefore, offers an objective autoregulation method that doesn't require a maximal set. The lifter has to give her full effort during warm ups, but this does not come with the same difficulty or downsides as a truly maximal work set. The downside is mainly the cost, though they've become more readily available and more accurate. If you're an advanced lifter that is serious about chasing PRs for the long haul, you might consider investing in this for your training. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]

Velocity based training & autoregulation for strength sounds complex, but it's really simple - learn the secrets of this training method. Why Try Velocity Based Training? We like simplicity - our tagline is simple, hard, effective - so why add a seemingly complicated piece of equipment and method of autoregulation to your coaching or training? First, this is not for novices. Novices need to add weight simply and linearly, improve technique, and experience the range of difficulties (the many flavors of heavy but doable). Often, a lifter will finally achieve something that equates to something close to an RPE 7.5 or 8. This means, the lifter can accomplish two, maybe three more reps, and either give up on a rep or express fear that he won't be able to do another rep. The reality is, this lifter has likely never experienced this level of intensity. If they have, it's been during a one-rep max attempt. The middle and end of linear progression confront the lifter with hardship, and the lifter must willfully overcome the challenge. Voluntary hardship is not simply a catch phrase. Second, velocity based autoregulation is not as complicated as it sounds. Intermediate and advanced lifters regularly use, and coaches often prescribe, programs based on percentages of their one-rep max. The average velocity correlates linearly with percentage of one rep max, so what the lifter is doing is still using a program based on his one-rep maximum. Third, velocity based training (VBT) is objective without requiring the lifter to complete a maximum effort set (either an AMRAP or 1RM). Autoregulation - Subjective or Objective Autoregulation adjust the prescribed workout based on the athlete's daily fluctuation and performance. This idea and approach comes from the reality that your athlete is not the same athlete every day, that his theoretical one-rep max changes, and that this varies and matters more and he advances as an athlete. Subjective autoregulation methodologies exist and include rate of perceived exertion (RPE), reps in reserve (RIR), and percentage based training (where the one rep maximum is guessed, albeit in an educated way). Conducting a daily maximum, as many reps as possible, or velocity based training are objective autoregulation approaches. The first two approaches, however, require physically and mentally exhausting sets to accurately identify the lifter's one rep maximum that day. Either the lifter must attempt a 1RM or the lifter has to do as many reps as possible. Only after these grueling sets does the lifter execute his prescribed work sets. Velocity based autoregulation avoids the need for these maximum effort sets. How Velocity Based Autoregulation Works Velocity based training allows a lifter to accurately identify his 1RM for that day at sub-maximal (i.e. warm up) sets. How? Let's explore a bit. Some assumptions come here, that it's important we acknowledge. The lifter's anthropometry need to remain constant, so growing lifters (children or teenagers) lose objectivity if they complete this training. Form and technique matter, so novices or lifters consistently struggling with technique should not take on this methodology. One important note is that this data remains the same if the lifter gets stronger. If a lifter improves his 1RM squat from 200 to 400, 50% will move at the same speed. The device sits on the floor and connects to the bar with a wire. The athlete needs to collect five to ten data points. These lifts need to be performed with 100% effort for this data to be accurate (another reason novices should not use velocity based autoregulation). The coach or lifter simply conducts linear regression analysis. One this is known, the lifter can come in on another day, conduct warm up lifts with 100% intention, learn his 1RM for that day, and then perform his work sets based on that knowledge. Improve Your Coaching with VBT Using velocity based autoregulation for your training and some of your clients provides you good feedback and data that can help you learn more about your athletes as well as your programming and coaching eye. You can test your coaching eye. For example, what attempts should a lifter take on a 1RM attempt day or during a strengthlifting meet? As a coach, you can make an educated guess and then, from the velocity device, actually get objective data on that athlete's 1RM for that day. This means, your athlete can take attempts based on more objective information, and you can improve your coaching eye. You can learn both for individual athletes and your lifters aggregately truly what percentages of their 1RM they can complete 3x5, 5x3, 3x8, etc. This can help refine your percentage based programs. You can begin to compare different groups of clients and learn if certain types of clients bar speed decays more quickly or more slowly (velocity decay). For example, Jordan has learned that advanced athletes and female athletes bar speed decays more slowly, on average. Using Velocity Base

Stay sane while coaching family, friends, & co-workers. Successfully juggle dual relationships while getting good coaching experience. Why Coach Family? Before we talk about how, we must always consider why. Why would you consider coaching family, friends, and colleagues, and is it worth the risk? For new or aspiring coaches, one major hurdles is acquiring experience and your first clients. New coaches typically get both experience and clients by coaching family, friends, and co-workers for free. Too many aspiring coaches spend too much time considering coaching or thinking about coaching and maybe even studying the book knowledge for coaching. If you want to coach, you need to coach. Family, friends, and co-workers can help bridge the gap from beginner coach to professional coach. Is It Worth the Risk? Only you can answer this question. You're balancing two relationships and two goals here. You have the familial or friendly or professional relationship, which you hopefully want to maintain and improve. On the other hand, you have the aspirational hobby or side hustle or even career of coaching, which requires you to coach people. If you don't think your relationship can handle the additional risk or stress, then don't coach that person. Find someone else. Stay Sane Coaching Family Remember when coaching family, friends, and co-workers, that you're managing two relationships. Different relationships may require different boundaries. CJ discussed not talking work with his co-workers when he was in the gym. Rest time can be an indicator that too much talking is occurring. Keep in mind what you want to get out of the session. If you're coaching for free, set a goal or intention for the session. That might involve requesting something from the lifter. You might ask for a testimonial or take pictures. More simply, you may seek the coaching experience itself. Be aware of emotions and work on your relationship skills. This applies for all clients, but you may be extra aware of this with your wife or boyfriend. Try to avoid bringing life issues into the gym (or creating gym issues that go into the rest of your life). Finally, remember that you don't have to have all the answers, you don't have to be the expert on everything, and as you would with any other client, be transparent and honest. Coaching friends and family shouldn't and doesn't have to end with sleeping on the couch or tears. GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. There's no contract and you can cancel anytime. Start experiencing strength now: https://bit.ly/3EJI18v Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram Podcast Webpage Barbell Logic on Facebook Or email [email protected]