In this episode of the Weights & Plates Podcast, Robert Santana is joined by strength coach Gretchen Geist to break down the biggest misconceptions in the gym. They dive into why most people confuse exercise with actual training, the problem with group classes and light weights, and how real strength training impacts bone density, muscle growth, and long-term health. They also discuss why genetics matter more than people want to admit, what most personal trainers get completely wrong, and wh...
Jun 27, 2025•59 min•Season 1Ep. 98
In this episode of the Weights and Plates Podcast, Robert Santana gets real about what lifting weights actually does for your body—and what it doesn’t. He breaks down the difference between training for strength and chasing aesthetics, why most people misunderstand barbell training, and how steroids and genetics skew expectations. Whether you’re a beginner confused by conflicting advice or a coach trying to get clients under the bar, this episode is a deep, no-BS look at what matters, what doesn...
Jun 13, 2025•46 min•Season 1Ep. 97
Starting Strength Coach Robert Santana talks about how everyone looks different when they train, why that is, why squatting, deadlifting, bench press will help you gain long-term strength, and how to evaluate coaches and trainers. https://weightsandplates.com/online-coaching/ Follow Weights & Plates YouTube: https://youtube.com/@weights_and_plates?si=ebAS8sRtzsPmFQf- Instagram: @the_robert_santana Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/weightsandplates Web: https://weightsandplates.com...
Apr 28, 2025•48 min•Season 1Ep. 96
Starting Strength Coach Robert Santana talks about how getting stronger helps you achieve every fitness goal, bodybuilding vs powerlifting vs starting strength, novices, and more. https://weightsandplates.com/online-coaching/ Follow Weights & Plates YouTube: https://youtube.com/@weights_and_plates?si=ebAS8sRtzsPmFQf- Instagram: @the_robert_santana Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/weightsandplates Web: https://weightsandplates.com...
Mar 28, 2025•47 min•Season 1Ep. 95
Hari Fafutis, SSC joins the show to talk about doing the Starting Strength Linear Progression, gaining weight, building big arms, and more. https://weightsandplates.com/online-coaching/ Follow Weights & Plates YouTube: https://youtube.com/@weights_and_plates?si=ebAS8sRtzsPmFQf- Instagram: @the_robert_santana Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/weightsandplates Web: https://weightsandplates.com Hari's Instagram: @harifafutis...
Mar 15, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 94
Jesse Vezina joins the show to talk weightlifting, training like an athlete, the trade-offs of pushing your limits, coaching, and more. https://weightsandplates.com/online-coaching/ Follow Weights & Plates YouTube: https://youtube.com/@weights_and_plates?si=ebAS8sRtzsPmFQf- Instagram: @the_robert_santana Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/weightsandplates Web: https://weightsandplates.com...
Feb 28, 2025•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 93
Coach and RDN Juliette Gonzalez joins Robert Santana to discuss her fitness journey from Globo Gyms to Starting Strength, becoming a dietician, working as a coach, beauty standards, and more. https://weightsandplates.com/online-coaching/ Follow Weights & Plates YouTube: https://youtube.com/@weights_and_plates?si=ebAS8sRtzsPmFQf- Instagram: @the_robert_santana Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/weightsandplates Web: https://weightsandplates.com...
Feb 14, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 92
In this episode, Robert Santana talks about programming for your upper body and how it differs from lower body training. https://weightsandplates.com/online-coaching/ Follow Weights & Plates YouTube: https://youtube.com/@weights_and_plates?si=ebAS8sRtzsPmFQf- Instagram: @the_robert_santana Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/weightsandplates Web: https://weightsandplates.com...
Jan 31, 2025•39 min•Ep. 91
In this episode, Robert Santana sits down with Gretchen Geist to talk about her fitness journey, how she went from doing Crossfit to Starting Strength, becoming a coach, and exaggerated expectations in the fitness industry. https://weightsandplates.com/online-coaching/ Follow Weights & Plates YouTube: https://youtube.com/@weights_and_plates?si=ebAS8sRtzsPmFQf- Instagram: @the_robert_santana Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/weightsandplates Web: https://weightsandplates.com Follow Gretchen on ...
Jan 17, 2025•53 min•Season 1Ep. 90
Online Diet Coaching and Strength Training with Dr. Robert Santana https://weightsandplates.com/online-coaching/ Follow Weights & Plates YouTube: https://youtube.com/@weights_and_plates?si=ebAS8sRtzsPmFQf- Instagram: @the_robert_santana Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/weightsandplates Web: https://weightsandplates.com Coach Trent Trent Jones: @marmalade_cream Email: [email protected]...
Jan 01, 2025•52 min•Ep. 89
Many people (most?) get into fitness because they want to look better. At least, that's a primary reason. It's a worthwhile goal -- looking better is a gateway drug to performing better after all, becuase your performance (i.e. your strength and conditioning) drives your body composition. There is a big breakdown in what many people perceive as the ideal or even just good body composition, however, and what is realistically achievable for the average person without PEDs. Social media and pop cul...
Dec 18, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 88
It's that time of the year again, the uniquely American feast that is Thanksgiving. It's a time of feasting and festivities, but for a lot of people the feasting doesn't end when the holiday is over... it extends over the next five weeks until the end of the year. As Dr. Santana points out, there is some research that shows people tend to gain a few pounds over the holidays, then go back to eating at maintenance in the new year. They end up a few pounds heavier, however, and don't lose it, then ...
Nov 26, 2024•44 min•Ep. 87
In today's episode, Dr. Santana and Coach Trent discuss a common mistake lifters make before they begin a set -- the unrack. As Coach Trent says, the set doesn't begin when you descend into your first rep, the set begins when you step on the platform . Getting your mindset right, visualizing a successful set, and unracking the bar with authority and controlled aggression is oftentimes the difference between a successful set and missed reps, especially when attempting a limit set or new PR. Onlin...
Nov 06, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 86
Many people who start barbell training say something to the effect of "I just don't want to get hurt" when asked about their fitness goals. It's understandable -- no one wants to get hurt -- but the statement displays some ignorance about the reality of aches, pains, and sometimes injuries that occur during hard physical training. When we train with barbells, we are pushing our bodies to the limit to grow muscle, get stronger, and become more resilient. Even if we aren't great athletes squatting...
Oct 18, 2024•56 min•Ep. 85
One of the interesting consequences of the success of the Starting Strength methodology, and the growth in popularity of strength training in general, is that genetically average people are lifting weights and sticking with their program for multiple years. No longer are only gym rats and serious athletes dedicating themselves to years of sustained progress in the weight room -- now there are 55 year old moms with 5+ years of barbell training experience under their belts. Most of these people ar...
Sep 30, 2024•56 min•Ep. 84
It's almost a cliche now, that a novice trainee running the novice linear progression should "do GOMAD" (drink a gallon of milk a day). This advice is one of the most misunderstood bits of nutrition in the Starting Strength method, but it highlights an important fact -- to gain muscle, most people will need to put on bodyweight while increasing their lifts (a small percentage of very overweight or obese people already have enough excess energy on hand in the form of fat stores to run the program...
Sep 13, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 83
Testosterone is one of the hottest topics in the health and fitness world these, specifically testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). While there are legitimate medical reasons for TRT, it is also abused by those looking for an edge in improving their strength and physique, and some low T clinics are happy to oblige. Dr. Robert Santana and Coach Trent Jones share their thoughts on the recent popularity surge of TRT, and when it's appropriate for trainees. Online Diet Coaching and Strength Traini...
Aug 30, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 82
We've talked about how an overweight trainee should approach strength training with an eye toward "recomping," that is, changing their body composition with more muscle and less fat. But what about very overweight or obese trainees? Dr. Santana and Coach Trent discuss their experiences training obese people wanting to lose weight and get strong in their novice phase of training. Online Diet Coaching and Strength Training with Dr. Robert Santana https://weightsandplates.com/online-coaching/ Weigh...
Aug 16, 2024•57 min•Ep. 81
When the upper body lifts stall, the typical programming answer is "add volume." Some do this by increasing frequency -- the number of times you perform the lift each week -- and some do it by adding more sets during each upper body session. Others do both! It's not bad advice for a lot of people coming off of novice upper body programming. Many of these lifters have low press and bench press numbers relative to thier squat and deadlift, so adding a few extra sets during the week, whether it's v...
Jul 29, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 80
Burnout is a common complaint, whether it's from work, family, extracurricular activities, or all of the above. It happens in training too. Train long enough and you'll notice people in the community who were once avid lifters fall off the map. Some quit for good, or only sporadically train, others find different sports and activities to pursue, and those who remain tend to be lifers. Some people who quit barbell training cite burnout as the cause. For whatever reason, training no longer served ...
Jul 12, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 79
While there are many good reasons to lift barbells and get strong, many people are motivated at least initially by the prospect of looking better. Improving their body composition, which means building muscle mass and losing body fat. For the average person, getting strong requires a lot of hard work and dedication, more than most people expect. Achieving above average body composition requires even more work, and ultimately begs the question: are your goals compatible with your lifestyle? Weigh...
Jun 21, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 78
In the gym coaching real people, the knowledge and experience gained from years of hard work under the barbell pays off -- a person who has put themself under the yoke and actively learned to troubleshoot problems and adjust training variables is well prepared to help other people do the same. On the internet, however, the biggest total (or the biggest bicesps) wins. Dr. Robert Santana and Coach Trent Jones discuss the storm of comments around Dr. Santana's recent instagram post citing various p...
Jun 07, 2024•56 min•Ep. 77
Strength training demands a lot from a trainee, especially after the honeymoon wears off (i.e. the novice linear progression starts to get hard). It's hard work, short but intense, and involves facing fear on a regular basis. As you advance into intermediate territory, the time between PR's increases, and requires patience and persistance. The stronger you get, the more you have to pay attention to your recovery factors -- food, sleep, and stress -- to properly recover from workout to workout. S...
May 17, 2024•50 min•Ep. 76
There's seemingly no end to the "evidence based" coaches out there nowadays making all sorts of claims about you should train, backed up by scientific data. Have you actually read any of the papers they cite to back up their claims? It turns out, there are numerous problems with the field of scientific research, from the actual design of the experiments to the reporting of data, the publishing process and peer review, and, last but not least, skewed incentives for the people carrying out researc...
May 03, 2024•2 hr•Ep. 75
To quote Mark Rippetoe, "women are not a special population, they are half the population." In other words, women fundamentally train for strength the same way that men do -- the same principles of progressive overload, using compound barbell lifts that target the whole body, and nutritional principles apply. There are a few exceptions, however, and that's what Dr. Santana and Coach Trent address in today's episode. How Birth Control Can Inhibit Strength and Performance by Lea Genders: https://w...
Apr 15, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 74
Dr. Santana and Coach Trent wrap up their mini series on post-novice programming with an important discussion on understanding why you missed reps. The novice linear progression cannot last forevever (or else we'd all be squatting 1,000lbs!), and as the saying goes, all good things come to an end. This means that at some point, you'll miss reps. What do you do then? Some people have the impression that missing reps means it's time to change the program, and that's not necessarily true. Often the...
Mar 29, 2024•42 min•Ep. 73
Dr. Robert Santana and Coach Trent explore the Stress/Recovery/Adapation cycle (adapted from Hans Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome) and how it serves as a guiding model for programming decisions in the intermediate phase of training. Weights & Plates is now on YouTube! https://youtube.com/@weights_and_plates?si=ebAS8sRtzsPmFQf- Weights & Plates: https://weightsandplates.com Robert Santana on Instagram: @the_robert_santana Trent Jones: @marmalade_cream Email: [email protected]...
Mar 08, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 72
The novice linear progression (NLP, or LP for short) is a fun time in the training career of a lifter. Never will you make as much progress -- and as fast! -- as you will during LP. It's also brutally hard, especially toward the end. Nevertheless, it comes to an end for every lifter, and people often spin their wheels trying to figure out what to do once the simple A/B program stops working. In today's episode, Dr. Santana and Coach Trent discuss some basic principles of post-novice programming,...
Feb 23, 2024•57 min•Ep. 71
For a variety of reasons, the predominant form of exercise in popular culture is endurance training. Endurance is valorized in the media, with sports like swimming and running receiving prime position in Olympic broadcasts. Military films often depict the hero enduring through miles and miles of trackless jungle and urban wastelands. The overarching experience of endurance training is pain , and pain is relatable. Everyone suffers, or will suffer, from pain in their life. It's even in the popula...
Feb 12, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 70
You've tried the templates in the bodybuilding magazines, from the bodybuilding sites. You've tried lifting like the big jacked, ripped dudes on social media... and it hasn't worked. You don't look like them, and your growth has stalled out. For some reason we accept that in sports, we shouldn't expect to perform like pro athletes without elite genetics and many years of training, but in fitness, we expect to acheive the look of people with outlier genetics, years of training, and, often, perfor...
Feb 11, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 69
