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The Master Cue - The Dos & Don'ts of Lifting Oct 12, 2021

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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 attention to the foot. As a coach, the foot is a helpful point to focus on to determine what is going on with a squat. As a lifter, paying attention to where you feel the pressure on your foot helps tell you if you're properly balance or too far back on your heels or forward on the balls of your feet.

Because of this, the foot serves as a diagnostic tool for the squat.

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Hype or Not? - The Dos & Don'ts of Lifting Oct 07, 2021

Show notes

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 doesn't bring hype but rather focus. You need to be intensely focused and present for these attempts.

For many lifters, having the one cue that you should focus on can help. Your coach and you develop the one cue for you to focus your technical focus (might be KNEES OUT for the squat on the way up, for example).

Lastly, consider the differences between the meet and lifting in your garage and gym and practice for those differences (practice squatting and pressing looking into an open room as opposed to close to a wall).

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Training Older People - The Dos & Don'ts of Lifting Oct 07, 2021

Show notes

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 are missing from their life. Grabbing the groceries, for example, is a low-intensity exercise, so they need to lift heavy and add muscle mass as a type of insurance.

Volume, however, wrecks older people. Use less volume than you might program for younger clients. Frequency--number of workouts in a week--might also be less. 4-day splits for the very old are not recommended. You might do a 4-day split over 3 days or even have them only train twice a week with full-body sessions.

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Sully Power Clean - The Dos & Don'ts of Lifting Oct 06, 2021

Show notes

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 pulling exercise. It also introduces the lifter to Olympic weightlifting, a whole other arena in the strength and barbell world that that lifter might be interested in.

The power clean also helps the lifter learn how to commit to a movement pattern. You can't hesitate with the clean. This carries over to other lifts, like the squat, in committing to the execution of the lift.

Matt, Scott, and Sully agree that to be a good, well-rounded barbell coach a coach should be able to coach the power clean and power snatch.

One thing they also agree on is that the power clean is not appropriate for a novice's linear progression program.

Lastly, there are the limitations and realities of the coaching session. In a 2-hour out-of-town session, there's not enough time to coach the power clean and the other 4 lifts. Because of this, the power clean is best for clients who you see multiple times a week in-person (though it can be coached online, especially with some in-person additional coaching and the client being able to commit to filming and looking at his own lifts).

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What is a Cue - The Dos & Don'ts of Lifting Oct 06, 2021

Show notes

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, understand the cue, and use the cue.

Visual is pointing or in some other way (for example, showing a lifter a relatively horizontal yet diagonal forearm to emphasize that they need to lean over in the low bar squat).

A tactile cue is touching the lifter. A coach may physically put the lifter in the right position (grab the elbows in the press to bring them up and forward) or touching the low back in the deadlift to emphasize lumbar extension.

Cues don't need to be correct. The point of the cue is to provide the thing the lifter needs to move more correctly during or between the performance of the lift (between is necessary for online coaching).

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Common Novice Pitfalls - The Dos & Don'ts of Lifting Oct 05, 2021

Show notes

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 quality (whole foods). This may be not eating enough. This may mean eating way too much crappy food. Protein needs to be higher for most people.

Finally, too many people quit when it gets hard. They don't know how to grind. You don't have to grind every workout of every day--and you shouldn't. But, if you can't grind, you're leaving LOTS of weight on the bar and holding your own development of grit back.

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Equipment You Need - The Dos & Don'ts of Lifting Oct 05, 2021

Show notes

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, including 8x45lb, 2x25lb, 2x5lb, 2x2.5lb, 2x1.25lb plates (2" holes). Olympic bumper plates are really nice. Iron is economical. Consider what you'll be lifting on--if you're lifting on a well-made platform, bumper plates are not necessary if you don't plan to do lots of Olympic lifting.

A power rack is better than a squat stand. This has 4 upright, safety pins or catches, j-hooks. It often can also come with attachments (pulley attachments, dip attachments, pull up bar, etc.). You want 1" spacing around the bench press height.

Regardless of if you lift in a public or home gym, you need shoes. This is the first thing you need. Don't get a CrossFit trainer. They discuss lots of good options.

A belt is the next thing. You can get really strong without a belt, but most people end up getting a belt, as it adds weight to the bar and you want to get stronger. Dominion belts are great.

Chalk is necessary as your pulls (deadlift, row, clean) get heavy. You probably want blocks of chalk to paint your hand. If your gym doesn't allow chalk, that's a good indication that your gym stinks and you should look elsewhere.

Finally, here are nice-to-haves: wrist wraps, wrist straps, knee sleeves, squat shirt.

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Nutrition Q&A #380 Sep 28, 2021

Show notes

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 meal) -what do you mean by hungry? what does that feel like? -think about all the distinction between painfully full to truly hungry and needing food--there's lots of difference between those two extremes 14:37 Novice, Intermediate, Advanced Nutrition Clients -what defines these levels? -knowledge, skill-levels, compliance all matter 17:55 Examples of Small Wins -making changes that are different than their norms that bring them closer to their goals -think about the meal, the day, the week, the month -also, think about the small wins versus the guilt and mistakes 21:28 Gastric Distress & Nutrition -can the nutrition coach help them identify a cause (are certain foods causing this)? -might recommend seeing a doctor to see if it's something more serious (after tracking with a visual food diary) -there can be things like bubbly water or medication that might be causing a problem (so let's look at non-calorie items too) 24:53 FODMAPs -short-chain carbohydrate or sugar -tend to cause problems for people with IBS -identify what the person is sensitive to 29:45 Blood Markers -these matter, but it's really more important to focus on the behaviors -how will this data change our actions? -don't fixate on a number 34:26 Training on Low Carb Diet -understand why the person wants to follow this diet 38:37 Go-To Recipes -chicken salsa verde -has been going off what the grocery store has -instant pot healthy recipes 41:35 Losing Weight with Non-Supportive Family -need to talk to each other -might have to lead by example 45:55 Becoming a Nutrition Coach -nutrition coach versus registered dietitian (cannot prescribe a diet) -behavior-based 56:24 Nutrition Plans & Monthly Cycles -building an awareness is helpful GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans. No discount code needed and includes a 10-day, no obligation trial. https://bit.ly/2MKeOoh Special offers from BLOC and our partners: https://barbell-logic.com/offers/ Connect with the hosts

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Dominion Strength's Business Journey S18Ep6 - The Business Series Sep 22, 2021

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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 realized there was no high-quality belt they could get quickly.

Initially, they received equipment from overseas, but production and quality issues led them to realize that they could offer a better product with less problems if they built the belts themselves, so they began to build the belts themselves.

Because they control everything that goes into the belt, they create the highest quality belt on the market. They can ship the belts to you quickly because they don't customize but rather have belts in stock that can be yours within days.

They have grown and offer more products now, including straps, different sizes and types of belts, and dip belts.

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Entrepreneurship with Mike with MicroGainz S18Ep5 - The Business Series Sep 21, 2021

Show notes

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 micro plates. The equipment is made in Pennsylvania, USA. You can always use cold "LOGIC" to get 10% off.

Mike discovered the problem of not being able to make smaller jumps when he completed LP, and realized there weren't many options on Amazon. Plates he found were cheap and poorly made and not made in the USA.

He decided to fix this problem himself and worked to make his first fractional plates. Not only does this go to show that successful business solves a problem, but it was actually a problem Mike faced himself. He had an N of 1 that this was a real problem, and he also understood the importance of this problem and how he could help his clients.

People have lots of misconceptions about what entrepreneurs or business owners do. They think it's glamorous and easy, but it's really about grinding for years and maybe even decades. Mike worked 2 jobs for 4 years before he was finally able to quit his day job. Matt similarly had to work 2 jobs when he initially began coaching.

For both of them, there came a point where they realized that not only could they quit their day job but they needed to if the new business would succeed.

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