Our friend and local gym (HyperThrive Athletics) owner, Joe Grinstain, got bored with powerlifting meets and decided to find something else to compete in. He chose running, and he recently qualified for the 2024 Boston Marathon. We talk about how he made the leap into marathons, and what his training, lifting, and nutrition look like. We kick it off with a topic from a previous episode. Why would anyone make a young kid do a wall sit so long that he’s in tears? What would that accomplish and why...
Dec 14, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 271
In fitness, in social media, in life period, there are some words we’re just sick of hearing. Do you have any? Like if we never heard the word “liver” again… ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the hashtag #onegoodquestion. If your question is picked, you’ll get something special from us! Join our Discord for free! https://discord.com/invite/XVvJ5eNzdq Check out our gym (Third Street Barbell) at ThirdStreetBarbell.com https:/...
Dec 09, 2022•14 min
Every December for the past few years, we’ve chosen an article from mainstream media that attempts to predict the next year’s fitness trends. Then, we discuss which one’s actually have a chance of happening, and which are repeats of previous years. This time, we take a similar article -- from actual fitness media that was published a year ago -- to see if any of them actually came true. ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the...
Dec 07, 2022•1 hr 20 min
This week’s question came from Avi’s social media. It went a little off the rails, but we had fun with it. You can find Avi on Instagram @avi.lieu. ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the hashtag #onegoodquestion. If your question is picked, you’ll get something special from us! Join our Discord for free! https://discord.com/invite/XVvJ5eNzdq Check out our gym (Third Street Barbell) at ThirdStreetBarbell.com https://www.third...
Dec 02, 2022•9 min
Riffing on the YouTube expose by More Plates More Dates (which can be found here -- and our own view of the industry -- we cover some of the reasons why we never bought “Liver King” Brian Johnson’s “natty” claims in the first place. You shouldn’t have either, but it’s pretty easy to see the reasons that people want to. It’s also easy to see how protecting the natty lie becomes so critical, how entrepreneur influencers come to believe that how they look is the only reason people follow them, and ...
Nov 30, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 266
We called our own 20-somethings, Sebastian and Avi, in to help us look at the most iconic Thanksgiving movie ever. Steve Martin and John Candy starred 1987’s Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. The film was written and directed by John Hughes, the writer/producer/director responsible for teen films like The Breakfast Club, and slapstick comedy juggernauts like Home Alone, and the National Lampoon’s Vacation. Does this slapstick holiday classic hold up? Is it still funny to later generations? What m...
Nov 23, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 265
This week’s question from our Discord: SilentKilr asks “How important are glute activation warmups prior to squatting and/or deadlifting?” Do you need them? Is your ass really asleep? ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the hashtag #onegoodquestion. If your question is picked, you’ll get something special from us! Join our Discord for free! https://discord.com/invite/XVvJ5eNzdq Check out our gym (Third Street Barbell) at Thir...
Nov 18, 2022•13 min•Ep. 264
Some people really struggle at this time of year. Why is it so difficult, and what specific things do experts recommend to help make things a little more tolerable? If you’re gripped by depression and experience suicidal thoughts, don’t hesitate in seeking help from professionals. In the US, the nationwide suicide prevention hotline is 988. Listener resources. Mayo Clinic article on season depression. ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social me...
Nov 16, 2022•56 min•Ep. 263
From 3SB Discord member msoli7: For Jim more so: As someone that pivoted from a traditional career into fitness/gym ownership/content creation what were the tradeoffs? Is there a best time in your life to do it or anything that specifically made you successful? For Mike along the same lines but if you did a 9-5 what could you see yourself doing? Our answers are probably NOT what you’d expect! ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and u...
Nov 11, 2022•17 min•Ep. 262
The Rhino himself, Stan Efferding, joins us to talk about weight training for kids, the simplicity of good diet, and the 10-year anniversary of the Backyard Meet of the Century. Was that meet the “ribbon cutting” on the age of raw powerlifting? You can find Stan at stanefferding.com ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the hashtag #onegoodquestion. If your question is picked, you’ll get something special from us! Join our Disc...
Nov 09, 2022•56 min•Ep. 256
The audio for this episode is a bit rougher than normal. Check the opening note for explanation. We’re joined by Dean Saddoris and Kyle Castro to discuss…well…stuff. We review a high-top shoe commercial from 1986 and talk about the trajectory of athlete and influencer marketing. Dean describes an encounter with a killer wasp. Mike describes his somewhat acrobatic approach to that morning pee. You can find Dean on IG @deansaddoris.ck and at caffeineandkilos.com. Kyle’s on Instagram at @kyle.castr...
Nov 04, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 260
This week only, One Good Question and our main episode are switching places. A deep-ish question from our Discord: Keith Honeycutt asked, “What are some small things that make your day better?” Kyle Castro helped us out with this one. Kyle’s on Instagram at @kyle.castroo . ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the hashtag #onegoodquestion. If your question is picked, you’ll get something special from us! Join our Discord for fr...
Nov 02, 2022•20 min•Ep. 259
A tough one from our Discord: JackFrost asked, “If you had to make a choice, would you rather be deaf or blind?” Avi Lieu and Kyle Castro jumped in on this one as well. You can find Avi on Instagram @avi.lieu and Tiktok @avi.lieu. Kyle’s on Instagram at @kyle.castroo. ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the hashtag #onegoodquestion. If your question is picked, you’ll get something special from us! Join our Discord for free! h...
Oct 28, 2022•17 min•Ep. 258
Our own Avi Lieu and Kyle Castro chop it up with us as ponder this and a few more questions. Is Ye smart, mentally ill, or both? Is using Melanotan worth having an orange dick? Does the Liver King have fake abs? Is being humble critical to good sportsmanship? Or is it ok to be a hot dog, and to publicly celebrate your victories? Is Conor McGregor’s trash talk overrated? Would Mike be a good dad? We had a lot of fun with this one. You can find Avi on Instagram @avi.lieu and Tiktok @avi.lieu. Kyle...
Oct 27, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 257
This week’s question from Discord: Mikexbull asked “As someone who wants to open a gym eventually - what do you think is the most important part of the planning? A lot of people concentrate on all the wrong things. What grade would we give ourselves when we look back at how we started? How do you keep from being too optimistic? Or too pessimistic? What are the “gears” of your business? ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the ...
Oct 21, 2022•12 min•Ep. 256
We all make decisions based on the information we’re exposed to, the people around us, and what makes sense to us as individuals. In this episode, we discuss beliefs we’ve held during our time as lifters that have proven to be partially…or completely…wrong. Sometimes the “one right answer” has an expiration date we don’t see coming. ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the hashtag #onegoodquestion. If your question is picked, ...
Oct 19, 2022•40 min•Ep. 255
This week’s One Good Question from our Discord crew: Nwojjj asked: “What's a movie/documentary that doesn't have a sequel but you think it should?” Is this a “careful what you wish for” question? Are all the streamers asking this same question and will that steal our answers? ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the hashtag #onegoodquestion. If your question is picked, you’ll get something special from us! Join our Discord for...
Oct 14, 2022•20 min•Ep. 254
As the NBA prepares to take the courts for the 2022-23 season, we take a look a new Netflix documentary about the 2008 US Olympic basketball team, Redeem Team. How much do coaches affect winning? How did a team full of NBA talent ever manage to lose on the world stage? Could anyone by Mike "Coach K" Krzyzewski have gotten this team on the same page? When Kobe Bryant entered a team whose chemistry had really already gelled, how did he overcome his reputation as a selfish player? More about the do...
Oct 12, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 253
This week’s question from our Discord crew: Helios Grime asks, “How do you drink your coffee and why is your way the only correct way?” ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the hashtag #onegoodquestion. If your question is picked, you’ll get something special from us! Join our Discord for free! https://discord.com/invite/XVvJ5eNzdq Check out our gym (Third Street Barbell) at ThirdStreetBarbell.com https://www.thirdstreetbarbel...
Oct 07, 2022•20 min•Ep. 252
This is a bit of a shorter episode, due to Jim’s laryngitis. Does music, maybe even specific music really make you lift better? We talk about what motivates us, and how and when to use external motivators like music, ammonia, or what ever does it for you. Listener resources: Research on music and lifting Third Street Barbell Playlist Silent Mike Playlist Mike's Feel Good Playlist ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the hashta...
Oct 05, 2022•38 min•Ep. 251
From our Discord, ArrogantFool asked, “Alan Thrall recently posted a video about why he doesn't do PEDs. What are your why's? Is there anything that would push you closer to doing PEDs?” Avi Lieu, a USAPL pro powerlifter, joins us again. You can find Avi on Instagram @avi.lieu and Tiktok @avi.lieu ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the hashtag #onegoodquestion. If your question is picked, you’ll get something special from us...
Sep 30, 2022•18 min•Ep. 250
There’s no dispute that working out once a week is better than not working out at all. But why does the media promote studies claiming that one workout a week is as effective multiple workouts a week? And how come these stories repeat in cycles year after year? Probably because some people want to believe them. We talk about not the substance of any of these studies, but what would the impact be if they were true. Also we talk about an approach to breath training that was once discounted, but is...
Sep 28, 2022•54 min
Say you could only have a home gym, and that home gym could only have three pieces of gym equipment. What would they be? How would you choose? Your favorite ones? Or the most versatile ones? Avi Lieu, a USAPL pro powerlifter, joins us again. You can find Avi on Instagram @avi.lieu and Tiktok @avi.lieu Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the hashtag #onegoodquestion. If your question is picked, you’ll get something special from us!...
Sep 23, 2022•9 min
For better or for worse, our brains let us believe a lot of things that aren’t true. One good example is the Mandela Effect – misremembering the facts around something in popular culture. We kick things off with a little quiz to see how affected we are by this phenomenon. We then shift into a discussion of another type of mental mistake. We’ve talked a bit on previous episodes about the Dunning-Kruger -Effect but never really tied it to issues in the fitness world. How many trainers argue for a ...
Sep 21, 2022•53 min
This episode started as a part of our warmup conversation for Wednesday’s episode, and it ended up taking on a life of it’s own. Does organized religion install morality or is it already there? Which social structures actually create community? What role does lifting play in your life? Avi Lieu, a USAPL pro powerlifter, joins us for this discussion. You can find Avi on Instagram @avi.lieu and Tiktok @avi.lieu ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on s...
Sep 16, 2022•26 min
Did anyone think that in 2022 that someone would need to coin the term “bench depth?” The International Powerlifting Federation has imposed new performance rules on the competition bench press. Are they really that big a deal? Will that many people be affected? How hard are they going to be to enforce? And finally, which critics will they actually appease? Avi Lieu, a USAPL pro powerlifter, joins us for this discussion. You can find Avi on Instagram @avi.lieu and Tiktok @avi.lieu ____ Have a que...
Sep 14, 2022•39 min
One Good Question warrior from our discord, Keith Honeycutt asks if we’d rather give up Internet for one year or bathing. What does bathing really mean? Can you ask someone to do it for you? ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the hashtag #onegoodquestion. If your question is picked, you’ll get something special from us! Join our Discord for free! https://discord.com/invite/XVvJ5eNzdq Sign up for our February USAPL meet. http...
Sep 09, 2022•12 min
We wanted to spend a little time talking about some simple, actionable ways to be helpful if someone you know is struggling and may be suicidal. Check the article below for more. We kicked off with a discussion of good and evil in high fantasy shows like the current spinoffs of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. Then, we looked into the internet controversy around whether Harry Styles spit gum on Chris Pine at a recent film premier, and we looked at a powerlifting incident from the past wher...
Sep 07, 2022•54 min
Here’s an interesting one from our Discord crew:msoli7 asked, “If you could see any movie remade with a different actor/actress what would it be (i.e. Titanic starring The Rock?” ____ Have a question for one of our Friday “One Good Question” episodes? Hit us up on social media and use the hashtag #onegoodquestion. If your question is picked, you’ll get something special from us! Join our Discord for free! https://discord.com/invite/XVvJ5eNzdq Check out our gym (Third Street Barbell) at ThirdStre...
Sep 02, 2022•19 min
This week we’re taking a look at one of the latest entries in the Netflix “Untold” documentary series. On September 11, 2012, Notre Dame football sensation Manti Te’o told various news outlets that his grandmother and his girlfriend had died on the same day. Some of that statement proved not to be true at all. His “girlfriend” was a person he’d never met and wasn’t at all dead. How did Te’o end up in this position? Was he naïve or calculating? Why did the media treat him more like a perpetrator ...
Aug 31, 2022•1 hr 14 min
