Beast over Burden powered by Barbell Logic

Matt & Niki discuss the tradeoffs of training in a home gym or commercial gym and how to build your home gym. Learn the equipment and gear to prioritize versus the nice-to-haves as well as the minimum amount of space required to have a functional home gym. Not all commercial gyms are created equal. The big box or Globo Gyms may allow you to barbell lift, but deadlifting and chalk may be prohibited...

Why do we emphasize strength as opposed to other physical attributes, and if we value strength, how do we achieve it. Niki & Matt explore WHY you should get strong & how to get strong. Strength--and the process of getting strong--produces lasting changes in our body. Our body changes to the stress we impose on it, with denser bones and bigger, more capable muscles. This changes how we interact wit...

Gillian Ward joins Matt & Niki to discuss how to get started with nutrition: identifying your goals, understanding where you are now, and implementing sustainable, realistic nutrition plans.  Gillian is a great simplifier of complex information and focuses not on the science of nutrition (though she knows it) but rather behavior changes and how to best modify clients' actions to meet their goals (...

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--probab...

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.  Thi...

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 sh...

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. So...

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...

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 goal...

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 & Cl...

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 measur...

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...

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...

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 Mat...

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 move...

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...

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 aggress...

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....

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 co...

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...

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 bet...

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 c...

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 i...

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 mig...

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 peo...