Beast over Burden powered by Barbell Logic

What is pain, how does it work, and why do we experience pain (what value does it provide us)?  Jayson Ball  explains all. Pain in the Flesh The process of pain begins in the flesh through sensory transduction. Information from the environment turns into an electric impulse in the nervous system, that eventually makes its way to the brain. Proteins exist in sensory tissue to help this process occu...

Karl Schudt  discusses arete in the ancient world. This concept encompasses the words in English and underlying ideas of virtue and excellence. Depending on the subject, if you are reading an English translation of an Ancient Greek book, you will see this as either excellence or virtue. He continues to lead seminars and do the podcast at  Online Great Books , and is an Exclusive Coach at Barbell L...

Bekah Krieg  joins CJ to discuss lifting with back pain: modifications, mindset, & approaches as coach or lifter to deal with/overcome back pain & get stronger. She worked as a physical therapist for 20 years, is an Exclusive Coach for Barbell Logic, and is the Barbell Academy Curriculum Director. Weightlifting with Back Pain Back  pain  seems to come with being human. Virtually all of us, if not...

We discuss bringing order to the chaos to get important things done, improve your quality of life, and feel at ease. Bringing Order to Chaos Life can be difficult and hectic.  Hardship, both voluntary and involuntary , is part of life. Certain times, though, seem especially difficult, and it's hard to keep your head above water. Everything is urgent, it's difficult to accomplish those things you c...

Matt talks to Nate Garrison about strength training with autoimmune disease. Nate is a videographer and video editor for Barbell Logic that Matt met through  Tactical Response . He discusses his journey with autoimmune disease and how barbell training helped his physical and mental health throughout the ongoing process. Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease Nate's story begin with his older siste...

Matt and Scott finish their talk discussing the coach-client interaction and being coachable.    If you're paying for coaching, your coach is probably erring on not enough stress, especially if you're a general client trying to get stronger for general health and quality of life reasons. You're not training for the Olympics.   If you decide to do 2, 3, 4 more reps than programmed because it's ther...

Matt & Scott developed the concept of Minimum Effective Dose programming (MED programming) through conversations on the podcast. Today, Matt and Scott discuss how to apply the principles of MED programming when PRs are behind you.    Listen to Scott's podcasts:  Online Great Books ,  Music & Ideas , or  Growing Resilience . This typically occurs for older clients with high-compliance (though even...

Enjoy the rest of Matt catching up with Scott for this 2-part episode. Matt & Scott discuss some of what Scott has been doing on his homestead, and just chat about things.  Listen to Scott's podcasts:  Online Great Books ,  Music & Ideas , or  Growing Resilience . Learn how Scott's reading the book the  Restoration of Christian Culture  caused Scott to move his family out to the country and start...

Enjoy the return of Scott for this 2-part episode, where Matt & Scott catch up, discuss some of what Scott has been doing on his homestead, and just chat about things.  Listen to Scott's podcasts: Online Great Books , Music & Ideas , or Growing Resilience . Learn how Scott's reading the book the Restoration of Christian Culture caused Scott to move his family out to the country and start a homeste...

Are fitness certifications worth it, worthless, or does it depend? Niki & CJ walk you through how to consider the value of a fitness certifications as a barbell coach or personal trainer. Are Fitness Certifications Worth It? Personal trainers and barbell coaches have proliferated as the health and fitness industry grows. Fitness certifications also abound, and you can probably find a personal trai...

Matt & Niki discuss visual cues for lifting: how to best use them in-person & online, common mistakes to avoid, & some helpful examples.  Visual Cues for Lifting When used properly, visual cues can reduce the time & words needed to  get the lifter squatting or deadlifting or pressing with proper form . Used incorrectly, they can confuse and get lifters trying to mimic something inappropriate for t...

Niki & CJ discuss what makes a bad strength coach and how to avoid the pitfalls of bad coaching. Being not bad, a very good place to start.  Bad Strength Coaching Let's face it, we've all experienced a bad professional at one time or another. Whether they were unprofessional, rude, incompetent, sleezy, inattentive, we can all relate to the experience of knowing we're dealing with a bad professiona...

Matt & Niki explore tactile cues: different types, how & when to use them for in-person and online coaching. Oh, and how do you pronounce tactile? Is it like "tactical?" Tactile Cues vs Verbal & Visual Cues Tactile cues, as you may have guessed, involve you as the coach or an object touching the lifter. Visual cues show the lifter how to properly lift. Visual cues explain (hopefully clearly) how t...

The coaching transition can be hard, as you have to budget time, money, or both with a steep learning curve & avoid potential pitfalls. Niki & CJ help you learn how to make the coaching transition to become a good coach. Also, learn the correct pronunciation of CJ's last name! Coaching Transition - Let's Go So, you want to be a coach!? Awesome. You'll have to move from your current non-coaching st...

Today, Matt & Niki delve into verbal communication - our primary means of communication as a coach, both in-person & online. While this may seem straightforward, many steps occur to correctly communicate to our clients & get them to move correctly. This begins & 3-part series of sorts where Matt & Niki will explore communication, beginning with verbal & touching on tactile & visual (and the differ...

Nerd out on pain science, what it's like doing scientific research, getting papers published, and what we understand about pain interventions for humans. Jayson Ball, staff coach & PhD student, rejoins the podcast with CJ Gotcher. The Pain of Scientific Research What does science look like from the trenches of laboratories, where experiments are designed and executed, papers are submitted and defe...

How do you end your cooking rut? What do you do when your go-to foods bore you? Niki Sims & Nikki Burman have tips & tricks to re-energize your cooking & meal preparation, so you don't turn to unhealthy, convenience foods that take you away from your goals. End Your Cooking Rut It's easy to grow sick of the same meals, get burnt out by cooking, meal preparation, grocery shopping, and all the other...

Are there too many coaches!? Learn how to stand out, find clients & provide value as a coach in a seemingly flooded coaching market. The Flooded Fitness Market Are there too many coaches!? Learn how to stand out, find clients & provide value as a coach in a seemingly flooded coaching market. With social media & the internet, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the quantity of personal trainers, content...

Online coaching is better than in-person coaching. It provides more value to the coach and client, enabling greater flexibility, personalization, and effectiveness. Online Coaching is Better Since Barbell Logic began providing online coaching, we have offered it almost apologetically, only as a backup if you lacked in-person access to a great professional barbell coach. We have changed are thinkin...

Burnout can occur in any pursuit or career path, but can be particularly noxious for careers coming from passion. Coaching fits that bill certainly, as no one comes to coaching to make billions. So, acknowledging that burnout exists and can happen, how do we avoid it (or stop it if we find ourselves burnt out). What is Coaching Burnout? Burnout isn't being tired. Maybe the analogy in training is t...

How do you set yourself apart as a coach? One way is knowledge. Understanding the fundamentals that underlie anatomy, physiology, programming, technique, and platform coaching will differentiate you from the typical personal trainer. Set yourself apart with knowledge.  It's easy to get a personal training certification. Even earning a degree in exercise science offers no guarantee of competence as...

Niki & CJ discuss overcoming imposter syndrome as a coach. The address what it is, why it's normal, when you may be beyond your abilities, and practical tips to deal with it. Learn more about overcoming imposter syndrome as a coach. Doubt, fear, and anxiety is normal. With coaching, or really any venture, you will likely experience internal self-doubt but may also have a fear of being discovered o...

Niki & CJ Gotcher discuss how to determine your values, identities, and priorities (VIP). These underlie WHY, HOW, WHAT, and FOR WHOM you coach. Learn about what these are and how you can more consciously develop and refine these over time (they aren't set in stone). Whether we do so consciously or not, we have some notion of our coaching VIP. Something brought us to coaching our friends or family...

Consistency leads to PRs and meeting your goals, more than any other factor (form, programming). Nikki Burman, Director or Client Experience & Exclusive Coach at BLOC, discusses how as a coach she helps others and how a lifter she personally achieves consistency. Learn how to never miss a workout.    Nikki often talks to clients who are considering quitting training and online coaching with BLOC,...

Lots of people execute novice programming repeatedly, and even in advanced programming a lift is being increased through novice programming. So, how do we think about novice programming, returning to it, and how it really differs from true advanced programming? Following MED programming principles, we follow a simple yet hard program because it is effective. The simplest program is the manipulatio...