You're in a bad place--you're not happy with your health & fitness--and you want to change that. What do you do? Matt & Niki explore your first steps for strength. This time of year New Years Resolutions occur, and there's nothing wrong with them. While they may have a low success rate, it's actually a good time of year to begin working toward a goal. You just had the holiday period, with--probably--lots of food and fun. It often is a time you can reflect on what you've done the previous...
Jan 11, 2022•38 min•Ep. 390
What do we mean when we say "Experience Strength"? Experiencing strength is experiencing the benefits of improved quality of life through strength training and improved nutrition and other health and fitness habits. When you're strong, you're capable and able to say yes to things. When you're weak--whether you know it or not--you're saying no to things and taking possibilities off the table. This flies in the face of conventional wisdom and many thoughts about the difficulties and sacrifices tha...
Jan 04, 2022•39 min•Ep. 389
Matt & Niki discuss when the human element inhibits an MED modification from being the right change for a lifter. This is a re-release of episode 341. Many BLOC coaches have found a pattern where advanced clients get bored with a program, and oftentimes this happens EVEN WHEN THE PROGRAM IS WORKING (i.e. producing PRs & achieving goals). You have to guard against program hopping or chasing the shiny object here, but if a client has trained a certain way for awhile (e.g. chasing numbers) ...
Dec 28, 2021•35 min•Ep. 388
Matt & Niki discuss training & programming when you prioritize PRs and chasing numbers in the gym. This is a re-release of episode 347. This really applies to intermediate & advanced lifters, as PRs tend to come with novice & early intermediate training. As you advance as a lifter, life can prevent optimal training, so priorities shift. Sometimes training works primarily toward quality of life. Sometimes training even takes a backseat. Occasionally, though, we prioritize training...
Dec 21, 2021•47 min•Ep. 387
Niki and Andrew discuss what to do when training becomes a drag. This is a re-release of episode 337. Different reasons can arise to make training a drag. You might simply get a little burnt out after months and years of training. PRs don't happen as much, and you might not just hit one or two workouts where you lack motivation--and don't just need a deload--but need a larger shift in training to help build the motivation. Injuries could lower motivation, as PRs may seem far away and frustration...
Dec 14, 2021•42 min•Ep. 386
Niki & Gillian discuss the concept of small wins and their value in nutrition (and training). Big goals can be scary and overwhelming, and--regardless of the enormity of the goal--little actions, small decisions, and changes of habit accumulate to make the goal accomplishment a reality. We have to ensure we have a way of seeing and acknowledging these small wins. If we're moving close to our goals and improving, these wins are happening. It's important to ensure we have a way to see the prog...
Dec 07, 2021•31 min•Ep. 385
Matt & CJ answer your coaching questions, including ACL tears, improving vertical jump, coaching blind lifters, and coaching obese lifters. 0:00 Introduction 2:51 Nutrition Questions from Strength Clients -what is your professional scope? know it, can refer out, and admit if you can't answer the question -if you offer paid nutrition coaching, say that as part of the answer 9:15 Friendships & Clients -need to address issues early on if it's an issue (it will only get worse if you don't) 1...
Nov 30, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 384
Matt Reynolds, founder & CEO of Barbell Logic, takes a minute to reflect on not only what he is thankful this Thanksgiving but--as Barbell Logic turns 5 years old--he reflects & lays out Barbell Logic's core values and his commitment to them. We help you improve your quality of life by experiencing strength. We meet you where you are and help you drive progress using Minimum Effective Dose measured by PRs. We deliver programming solutions that are simple, hard, & effective. Wow you w...
Nov 24, 2021•10 min
Scott & Matt discuss recovery and how you can improve your recovery, because though most people don’t give themselves enough stress others may go too far in the other direction and now recover enough, which ultimately holds them back from the gains they desire. Recovery is the opposite or absence of stress. The top two sources of recovery are rest and food. Let’s discuss these. A huge area of rest that people often fall short of ideal is sleep. Here are some sleep tips: 8 hours Same wake &am...
Nov 23, 2021•39 min•Season 20Ep. 4
Dr. Jonathan Sullivan joins Matt & Scott to discuss what we know about how strength training benefits the joins and how it affects joint health. You can find Sully’s YouTube channel here and his Greysteel’s website here . Running actually puts more force on the knee joint than squatting below depth, so the idea that squatting below depth is bad for children (whereas people have no opposition to a child running) does not make sense. He also discusses the idea of arthritis as a “wear & tea...
Nov 16, 2021•38 min•Season 20Ep. 3
Scott & Matt discuss their training and nutrition at a specific point of time. Scott is adjusting to having sold Data Storage, and training and nutrition are in flux. Scott has lost some weight from his highest weight ever, but training is not his top priority. Matt has been intermittent fasting in the morning, which he has found complementary to his daily schedule at this point in time. Both Matt & Scott HATE squatting. Matt has bad hips, and Scott has to bend over until his back is dar...
Nov 11, 2021•27 min•Season 20Ep. 2
In this re-release, Matt & Scott discuss strategies for programing your press--practical tips as well as the underlying principles. The press typically stalls before the other lifts. Fewer muscles contribute to the press and the smallest deviations from an ideal bar path will cause missing reps. Unlike the other lifts, we also have more choices here in terms of form--strict, hip movement, arm movement, Olympic press, etc. Because the press stalls first, MED changes are used first. Here are t...
Nov 09, 2021•33 min•Season 20Ep. 1
Jordan Harbinger, hugely successful podcaster and fascinating character in his own right, talks to Matt and Niki about his journey through involuntary hardship that he underwent a few years ago. A few years ago, Jordan was on a different large podcast that was not his own. During his time on the podcast, he matured and over time felt he needed a way to exit from this podcast. He had negotiated an amicable exit, but ultimately booted unceremoniously and had to deal with losing his podcast and--ul...
Nov 02, 2021•55 min•Ep. 383
Niki & Gillian pick up from Episode 381 Knowing & Remembering Your Whys to address the approach to successful sustainable nutrition with practical steps and actions meet your goals. Gillian first address her approach to nutrition coaching (and this applies if you're acting as your own coach) with Consequences, Accountability, and Trust (CAT). Consequences help dictate your motivation and aggressiveness. High consequences usually are time-bound: preparing for a bodybuilding competition, c...
Oct 26, 2021•45 min•Ep. 382
Niki Sims and Gillian Ward discuss why nutrition compliance trends so much lower than training compliance, why this is, and how you--as someone who has nutrition goals--might combat this and succeed toward or past your goals. Nutrition coaching is quite different than strength or training coaching. With training, you prescribe a certain number of exercises, and the lifter does or does not do them. If the lifter successfully does them with enough compliance, the lifter sees the results. They can ...
Oct 19, 2021•37 min•Ep. 381
Matt & Scott discuss the myth of maintenance and how this doesn’t really apply for people, despite what people often claim. Sometimes life prevents strength training from being a high priority, so you do your best. Work, injuries, vacation, etc. can prevent improvement in the gym. When these things are not preventing improvements in the gym, then do your best to improve in the gym. The day will come when you won’t hit any more PRs and you will train to stave off strength and for your health....
Oct 14, 2021•37 min•Season 19Ep. 11
Matt & Scott discuss how to behave properly in a gym, because to many don’t respect the equipment or the people around them. Don’t be that guy (or gal). Take care of the equipment and put it back where you got it. Treat the equipment with the respect it’s due. Wipe down your bench and similar equipment. Put the weights away properly (right location, and lips out on the weight tree). If you’re in a big box gym, don’t give others unsolicited advice. If they ask for advice, give it--if you’re a...
Oct 13, 2021•34 min•Season 19Ep. 10
Matt and Scott discuss how you can save time in the gym, because we know (with rare exception) you lift to live not live to lift. LP workouts shouldn’t take that long. Early workouts should realistically take about 45 minutes. This will increase to 60 minutes as you rest more and the weights go up. They should NOT take more than 90 minutes. If you’re in a hurry, warm up for your next exercise between work sets. Also, start with short rest periods (2 minutes). This can increase, but upper body ex...
Oct 13, 2021•31 min•Season 19Ep. 9
Matt and Scott discuss why we warm up and how to properly warm up. Warm ups--like much with lifting--can come with lots of confusion and misinformation. First, why do we warm up? We warm up to warm up the tissues, so this is the general purpose of warm up. We also warm up to practice the movement and prepare our neuromuscular system for the work sets, including the fact that as we add weight the center of mass shifts closer to the barbell, so the correct performance of the lift actually qualitat...
Oct 12, 2021•27 min•Season 19Ep. 8
Matt and Scott discuss the master cue, a cue developed based on a basic understanding of biomechanics that can be used for many lifters. You cannot perform a squat correctly if the center of mass of the barbell-lifter system is not directly over the center of balance (your midfoot). The midfoot really means, however, that weight is balanced between the balls of your feet and your heels. Because it can be hard for people to think about keeping the bar over the midfoot, we tend to draw the attenti...
Oct 12, 2021•28 min•Season 19Ep. 7
Matt and Scott discuss whether you should get hyped for a lift. They tend to say no, unless you’ve practiced getting hype and your form is good. If your form isn’t locked in, don’t hype. Also, there is an importance for regularity before lifts. Because of this, you shouldn’t act completely differently for PR attempts than lighter attempts. Do the same thing. If you’re an advanced lifter, you might have a pre-PR attempt rituatual that is slightly different than a normal attempt. For Matt, this do...
Oct 07, 2021•21 min•Season 19Ep. 6
Matt and Scott discuss how to train older clients. Barbell Logic’s age demographics tend to skew older, so the company and its coaches have lots of experience coaching older clients. Depending on the age, almost everyone can deadlift. Many can squat, bench press, and press. Some lifts may have to be modified, but an exercise similar to the lifts can be executed for most older clients. Older people can and should train hard. For older people, this means intensity. Intensity is what older clients ...
Oct 07, 2021•38 min•Season 19Ep. 5
Dr. Jonathan Sullivan joins Matt and Scott to discuss the merits and drawbacks of including the power clean in someone’s program. Who should perform it, and how do we evaluate if someone should or should not perform the power clean? Sully has 3 criteria for assessing whether someone should perform the power clean: Want to do it Aptitude to do it Tolerate it For those who meet the above criteria, it can be beneficial. Sully believes the power clean develops and trains power. It is an accessory pu...
Oct 06, 2021•28 min•Season 19Ep. 4
Scott and Matt discuss what is a cue and why good coaches give cues. You should only have to teach a lifter a lift once, but you will have to correct that person’s execution of the lift. Because we can’t as coaches lift the weight for the lifter, we have to deliver information to the lifter as they lift to get them lifting more in line with the model. We do this with a cue. Cues can be visual, tactile, or verbal. Verbal cues need to be loud, clear, and short. The lifter has to hear the cue, unde...
Oct 06, 2021•38 min•Season 19Ep. 3
Matt and Scott discuss common pitfalls that novices make as they begin their strength journey. First and foremost, many people lift with horrific form. You need to get your form right or pretty close. This either requires a coach or your needing to spend the time educating yourself and filming, watching, and analyzing your own lifts. Many people don’t get shoes, and proper shoes make a huge difference, especially on the squat and press. Too many people don’t eat properly. This may be food qualit...
Oct 05, 2021•34 min•Season 19Ep. 2
Scott & Matt discuss what you have to have, what you should have, and what is nice to have in the world of strength training. First--it’s nice to have a home gym. It provides flexibility and convenience, though it admittedly takes an initial investment of money to get a functional gym. If you’re working to create a home gym, this is what you should have: Get a 20kg or 45lb bar of relatively high quality--you can get a used one. They discuss all the details here. Get 500+ pounds of weight, in...
Oct 05, 2021•47 min•Season 19Ep. 1
Gillian and Niki answer your nutrition questions, including hunger & recipes, small wins & gastric distress. 0:00 Introduction & Gillian is Human -what do you do if you get off the rails? -hydrate & drink lots of water -get back to your normal: don't overreact, but get back to the routine that makes you feel good -do the things you need to do to get back (shop, food prep, etc.) 9:30 Hunger Signals -depends on your food choices (empty calories versus protein- & fiber-dense mea...
Sep 28, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 380
This is the NEW interview with Dominion Strength Training . Niki talks to Blake & Katie about their journey as entrepeneurs as their business has grown and they’ve expanded the products they offer. You can follow Dominion Strength Training on Instagram . Niki actually met Blake & Katie before Dominion Strength Training started, as they came to Atlanta Barbell to receive coaching. They were CrossFitters but learned to love strength training, and as they turned to purchase their belt they ...
Sep 22, 2021•41 min•Season 18Ep. 6
This is a new interview with Mike Reed from MicroGainz . Mike & Matt really focus on entrepreneurship and creating a successful business. Also, Mike and his wife recently attended the 2021 BLOC Party, had a blast, was able to meet many of the coaches and clients, and brought gear to sell (without shipping). You can follow MicroGainz on Instagram here . MicroGainz offers fractional plates (now up to 10 lbs), dumbbell fractional plates, gym pins for machines, and now Barbell Logic engraved mic...
Sep 21, 2021•47 min•Season 18Ep. 5
This is the episode Matt & Mike recorded the day before Thanksgiving 2020 and aired that Black Friday. Matt & Mike discuss MicroGainz and the opportunities and challenges that COVID created for their businesses. You can follow MicroGainz on Instagram here . MicroGainz offers fractional plates (now up to 10 lbs), dumbbell fractional plates, gym pins for machines, and now Barbell Logic engraved micro plates. The equipment is made in Pennsylvania, USA. You can always use cold “LOGIC” to get...
Sep 16, 2021•23 min•Season 18Ep. 4
