Tracking training progress comes about as close to watching paint dry or the grass grow as it gets for advanced lifters. Something that starts off as so much fun during our early lifting days, progressively tapers to something that we have to squint, and turn our heads to the side, to even kind of see. [...]
Program hopping. This is one of those things that many of us aren't even aware could be hurting our "gains". We are so used to seeing the latest 8-week program offered on bodybuilding.com, that's easy to think that this is what training is all about, drastically changing up your routine, every 8 to 12 weeks. [...]
Although traveling while dieting isn't ideal, it's not always avoidable. This week Eric, Andrea and Alberto sit down to talk about things one can do while traveling, to help them stay on track with their protocol. The group further subdivides this topic into three main categories: those who have a lot of weight to lose, [...]
Welcome back to part 2 of our Coach Influences Series. This week, Andrea sits down with Jeff and Alberto to go through the people, and icons, who helped shape who they are today. Who was Alberto's and Jeff's FIRST influence? Which famous and highly successful athlete, did Alberto get his extraordinary work ethic from? At [...]
Join us this week for part one of our 3DMJ Coach Influences Series. Today's episode begins a two-part series on the figures, mentors, and major influencers in each of the 3DMJ coach's lives. This week, Andrea is joined by Brad and Eric, to discuss who their childhood heroes were, who they first looked up to [...]
Unlike many other sports, bodybuilding is something one can not only compete competitively in, but arguably peak at, well into their 40's and sometimes 50's. In today's podcast, Andrea Valdez sits down with Brad Loomis and Jeff Alberts, to discuss what it's like training and bodybuilding at the age of 45, compared to years prior. [...]
In the world of bodybuilding, what does it mean to be "natural"? In today's episode, Andrea, Eric and Alberto, sit down together to discuss what it means to be drug-free, and why each of them chose this path. What is the typical drug-free timespan required by most natural organizations? What is the group's stance on [...]
"What is the optimal way, to use both science and experience, to get results for you or your client." These words, quoted from coach Eric Helms, do a great job of summarizing today's podcast. Andrea, Eric, and Jeff, sit down together this week to focus on the notion that, it's not science vs. experience, but [...]
In this episode, Brad Loomis, Alberto Nunez, and Andrea Valdez chat about what they do on show day and meet day for our athletes. BODYBUILDING-SPECIFIC questions that are addressed: How do they pick shows for athletes when we can? How do they manipulate the physique in accordance with certain judging criteria? What planning protocols do they feel like people miss? How do they make themselves useful back stage in terms of physical and emotional management of the athlete? POWERLIFTING-SPECIFIC que...
In this episode, Brad Loomis, Jeff Alberts, and Andrea Valdez chat about how to lose a bodybuilding show. No, they are not telling you to suck or to be a bad athlete, but they are actually talking about how they handle losses in a sport built on subjectivity. The bulk of this conversation revolves around Andrea picking apart the most individually devastating losses in both of the lives of her more experienced colleagues. Because Jeff and Brad have had so many highs and lows throughout their deca...
In this episode, Eric Helms, Alberto Nunez, and Andrea Valdez give their insight and feedback regarding the many shifts happening within natural bodybuilding's competitive structure over the past 5 to 10 years. With every new division that is created, combined with the continual sweep towards further subjectivity in our sport, the athletes are becoming more and more green while the judging criteria becomes increasingly gray. As you can imagine, with 3DMJ being coaches attempting to promote healt...
In this episode, Jeff Alberts, Alberto Nunez, and Andrea Valdez discuss all the ways contest prep can be (and should be) a terribly difficult experience for bodybuilders to go through. The trio talks about the physical, social, mental, and emotional tolls that an elongated fat loss phase can take on an individual. Sure, there are things we can do as athletes and coaches to make this just a little more bearable, but there comes a point in every prep where things get dark and you have to suffer a ...
In this episode, Jeff Alberts, Alberto Nunez, and Andrea Valdez discuss all the ways contest prep can be (and should be) a terribly difficult experience for bodybuilders to go through. The trio talks about the physical, social, mental, and emotional tolls that an elongated fat loss phase can take on an individual. Sure, there are things we can do as athletes and coaches to make this just a little more bearable, but there comes a point in every prep where things get dark and you have to suffer a ...
This is our fifth and last of our one-on-one team interviews, featuring Andrea Valdez. As it is now December 2016, we'd like to close out the year with some "state of the coach" addresses, if you will. Basically, we're asking the same questions to each 3D coach to see where they stand through this annual change, and it's something we plan on doing every year. In this fifth episode with Andrea, we will discuss our lives as athletes and professionals in this industry. We talk about what a typical ...
This is our fourth of five one-on-one team interviews, featuring Jeff Alberts. As it is now December 2016, we'd like to close out the year with some "state of the coach" addresses, if you will. Basically, we're asking the same questions to each 3D coach to see where they stand through this annual change, and it's something we plan on doing every year. In this fourth episode with Jeff, we will discuss our lives as athletes and professionals in this industry. We talk about what a typical day looks...
This is our third of five one-on-one team interviews, featuring Alberto Nunez. As it is now December 2016, we'd like to close out the year with some "state of the coach" addresses, if you will. Basically, we're asking the same questions to each 3D coach to see where they stand through this annual change, and it's something we plan on doing every year. In this second episode with Alberto, we will discuss our lives as athletes and professionals in this industry. We talk about what a typical day lo...
This is our second of five one-on-one team interviews, featuring Brad Loomis. As it is now December 2016, we'd like to close out the year with some "state of the coach" addresses, if you will. Basically, we're asking the same questions to each 3D coach to see where they stand through this annual change, and it's something we plan on doing every year. In this second episode with Brad, we will discuss our lives as athletes and professionals in this industry. We talk about what a typical day looks ...
Here in this episode, we are starting our second series of 1-on-1 team interviews, beginning with Eric Helms. As it is now December 2016, we'd like to close out the year with some "state of the coach" addresses, if you will. Basically, we're asking the same questions to each 3D coach to see where they stand through this annual change, and it's something we plan on doing every year. Beginning with Eric, we will discuss our lives as athletes and professionals in this industry. We talk about what a...
Team 3DMJ welcomes their second guest ever, Dr. Mike Zourdos. He joins Eric Helms and Andrea Valdez to discuss the recent past and distant future of strength training research. Dr. Mike is an assistant professor at Florida Atlantic University, where he leads the Muscle Physiology Lab in Boca Raton. This discussion starts by covering quite a bit of ground in regards to academic and career paths within strength and conditioning realm. The trio then dives into some of Dr. Mike's previous research f...
In this episode, Brad Loomis, Alberto Nunez, and Andrea Valdez talk about how to deal with lagging body parts. Whether these be true weakness or perceived weaknesses, it can be difficult to navigate through the endless recommendations on how to deal with them. In this episode the coaches talk about what qualifies a body part as lagging, when to address this in your program, and how to manipulate volume in attempts to even out a physique for improved symmetry for the stage. So if you have some ar...
In this episode, Jeff Alberts, Eric Helms, and Andrea Valdez talk about how to eat intuitively as a strength or physique athlete. They discuss their own current eating habits, both in and out of season, and go over some typical ways they have coached people out of strict fat loss diets and into some of these more maintainable off-season structures. You'll hear about 3DMJ's tiered system of dietary adherence, and some of the mental and physical tactics they use to move through those steps while s...
In this episode, Jeff Alberts, Eric Helms, and Andrea Valdez talk about when to quit as a physique or strength athlete. While most content on the internet is about how to get motivated or how to commit yourself in the long-term, this week's episode focuses on the flip side of that. Nothing is forever, but some things can definitely be cut short or taken too far if you're not paying attention to the right things. Eric, Jeff, and Andrea go over the common "make it or break it" points of the many a...
In this episode, Alberto Nunez, Eric Helms, and Andrea Valdez deliver some experience and insight on how to "make it" in the fitness industry. As a team, 3DMJ gets a lot of of request and inquiries about this topic. Usually it's about becoming a coach, sometimes it's about becoming some other type of internet entrepreneur, but collectively it seems that many of our listeners would appreciate some of 3DMJ's input and advice on how to make it as a fitness professional. The three coaches start by t...
In this episode, Alberto Nunez, Brad Loomis, sit down with Bryce Lewis USAPL Raw Nationals to discuss what it's like to compete on a national powerlifting stage. Bryce is actually a long time 3DMJ athlete and elite powerlifter. He is also the founder of The Strength Athlete, an online powerlifting coaching service who creates real, customized approaches unique to the athletes who need them. Both Brad Loomis and Bryce Lewis are coached by Eric Helms, and they compare and contrast their athletic e...
In this episode, Alberto Nunez, Brad Loomis, and Andrea Valdez talk about auto regulation, RPE, and training by feel. Basically, how should training feel, and how do we use these "feels" to navigate through our programming in attempts to increase our fitness while managing fatigue. The coaches hit on quite a few misconceptions about auto-regulated training, and discuss many of the tools that can help us keep track of our progress over time, even when your 1RM isn't going up. This episode will be...
In this episode, Alberto Nunez, Brad Loomis, and Andrea Valdez talk about how to invest in a proper natural bodybuilding off-season. Many people find it quite easy to determine how to get someone shredded, right? You do the best you can to lose body fat while maintaining muscle. Pretty straightforward. But what to do afterwards or between those dieting seasons is what people really struggle with. How do you make sure to get the most out of your hard work? What are some strategies and practices t...
In this episode, Eric Helms, Jeff Alberts, and Andrea Valdez talk about the post-contest recovery diet phase. In particular, the coaches discuss the various effects of the sport that begin to occur immediately after you get off of a bodybuilding stage, all the way through the weeks, months, and sometimes years following the competition season. (For the general prescription of what the 3DMJ coaches do with their athletes during their recovery diet, click here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDK...
In this episode, Brad Loomis, Jeff Alberts, and Andrea Valdez talk about competition day stresses and how to deal with them. Sure, getting an ultra lean physique is definitely the hardest part of natural bodybuilding. But for first time competitors or those who lose their cool pretty easily, getting on stage can be quite a traumatic experience. Throughout this episode, we discuss our personal show-day blunders both logistically and emotionally. We also go into some of the stupid things we did in...
Alberto Nunez, Eric Helms, and Andrea Valdez talk about embracing the suck and sacrificing to win. Bodybuilding is an extreme sport. And although recent generations have found more efficient and practical ways to go about it, we can't forget that the shit gets difficult. At some point, it will hurt...a lot. The coaches discuss some terrible times, some pleasant times, and some of the times that they suffered unnecessarily. They also go into strategies on how to deal with hunger, when to eat out,...
Alberto Nunez, Brad Loomis, and Andrea Valdez discuss all about bodybuilding INJURIES. This particular episode definitely did not end up how the coaches thought it would, but it took an unexpected turn for the better. Brad, Berto, and Andrea start with the physical injuries. They dive into prevention, warm-up, and all the other normal stuff you'd expect on an episode about injuries. But somewhere in the middle, they actually dive into mental, psychological, or behavioral "injuries" that can come...
