The Family Barbell

It's ubiquitous advice in fitness circles, that whatever exercise you attempt or programming you follow, you should always "listen to your body." But what does that even mean? The implication is that if something feels painful, or uncomfortable, or wrong in any way, you should modify or avoid the movement. And, to be fair, this is not bad advice. The problem is that novices are often disembodied,...

      Resources mentioned in this episode: Family Wealth: Keeping It In the Family by James Hughes   Connect With Us Email: jonesbarbellclub@gmail.com Trent IG:  @marmalade_cream Jordan IG: @babayaga_sews

We talked about unsticking your press, let's get that squat and deadlift moving again too! In today's episode, Coach Trent and Jordan discuss programming modifications to move from the novice linear progression into the advanced novice phase and then into early intermediate programming. As always, careful attention to technique and recovery are crucial, so go back and listen to episode #8 if you n...

Today's episode is a departure from training, but a topic we're passionate about on The Family Barbell -- building practical skills for the home and family. Jordan invites her friend and fellow garment sewer Jessica Jaco to talk about their love of garment sewing, how they got started, and how you can get started sewing your own clothes.   Jordan is a self-taught sewist who has spent almost a deca...

Coach Trent and Jordan discuss a sample day of their diet, and the thought process and years of refinement that have gone into their food choices. For the Jones family, there are five simple rules (really three rules, plus some addendums) that drive food choices: No seed oils No food dye We prioritize whole foods We grow/raise as much of our food as we can We cook what we eat   The seed oil and fo...

Press got you down? We'll help you lift it back up! In today's episode, Coach Trent and Jordan discuss why the press stalls out, and steps you can take to get it moving again.   Resources mentioned in this episode: How to Press with Good Technique (Barbell Logic) The First Three Questions   Connect With Us Email: jonesbarbellclub@gmail.com Trent IG:  @marmalade_cream Jordan IG: @babayaga_sews

Coach Trent and Jordan explore the idea of leisure as an essential component of health -- leisure being not mere idleness or passive amusement but an activity of opening oneself up to receiving the gifts of creation from the Creator. They discuss how leisure is the key to understanding oneself, and developing a life of contemplation to allow for spiritual development.   Resources mentioned in this...

In the Stress/Recovery/Adaptation model, a lifter must adequately recover from the stress imposed in the gym by lifting weights in order to adapt and get stronger. The main components of recovery are food and sleep, and today Coach Trent and Jordan are talking about food.   The long and the short of it is that if you want to get strong, you will need to eat a lot of food. Possibly a lot more than...

Hey we've got standards here! In today's episode, Coach Trent and Jordan talk about strength standards for the beginning lifter, basic targets that any serious lifter should be striving for in the first couple years of their training. While everyone's journey is different, and everyone's absolute strength potential is different, the vast majority of people picking up a barbell can hit these number...

There's nothing like the community and energy of a great black iron gym, but in our experience, there's also nothing like a home gym. Whether it's a spartan setup in your basement or a luxe sprawling gym in it's own building, a home gym gives you space to train in the way you want, with your own equipment, your own rules, and at your own pace. Perhaps most importantly, a home gym is right there --...

Yer a lifter, Harry! Or whatever your name is. Once you begin the simple, powerful, transformative process called the Novice Linear Progression (or just LP for short), you are officially a lifter. You are training now, not just exercising. There's a plan for what you're going to do, and a plan for how you will progress. But what about your very first day in the gym?   In order to know where to beg...

Ok, we've talked about why you oughta get strong, but how do you do that exactly? With four basic barbell exercises and a simple linear progression -- the novice linear progression (NLP or just LP for short). Trent and Jordan walk through the fundamental concepts of programming, the stress/recovery/adaptation or SRA model, and why you have to lift a little heavier every time you go to the gym to s...

We use the word "strong" all the time -- building strong families, strong communities, strong minds. It's a good thing to build strong things, things that we want to endure, but the only way we can build strong things externally is to start with getting ourselves strong. Building strong communities is a complex endeavor, but fortunately, building physical strength in yourself is fairly simple. Not...

Everything is broken, but we have to keep living. Let's talk about how we're going to do it.   Connect With Us Email: jonesbarbellclub@gmail.com Trent IG:  @marmalade_cream Jordan IG: @babayaga_sews