STRONG Life Podcast 270 with Matt Nichol. In this episode of The STRONG Life Podcast, We discuss the following topics: - Strength Coach Professionalism - Building Grit & Mental Toughness in Athletes today AND doing it Safely - The Hunger & Humble Attitude you need Today to Thrive as a Strength Coach - The Flaws of Training Methods of today vs Yester-year yet still finding how and why they can be applied - Old & New Books that Matt and I are reading in Strength & … [Read more...]
Barbarian Brothers Strength Training Lessons & Inspiration
Lessons & Inspiration from THE Barbarian Brothers. I know that some people will dismiss this information. Others are simply not ready for it. They don't have an open mind yet. For me, with my decades of experience, I have seen a lot and gone through a lot. This gives me a massive pool of knowledge and experience to pull from. So if you're ready, read on. Heck, even if you're not ready, jump in and read on...... The weight room at my high school has been PACKED to the gills since … [Read more...]
STRONG Life 258: Josh Bryant | Crazy Gym Stories, Country Living & Training in Your 40s
STRONG Life Podcast ep. 258 with my bro, Josh Bryant. Josh Bryant is the co author of many of my favorite books under The Jail House Strong brand. Visit Josh's website HERE. In this episode we share some of our most memorable Crazy Gym Stories, thoughts on Country Living & Training in Your 40s. This episode embodies the STRONG Life philosophy as Josh and I discuss topics beyond the barbell and beyond the weight room. … [Read more...]
7 Strength Training / Coaching Mistakes that Hurt Athletes
I'm gonna kick this off with something that might sound like arrogance, but in truth, it's me taking pride in what we do and the results we've been delivering since day 1, 2002 garage days. I used to get hated on for how we trained but I look back and feel even those early days, even as imperfect as it all was, it was VERY EFFECTIVE. It was effective because we crushed the basics. We developed athletes, NOT just athletes who could lift heavy weights. These athletes were succeeding in every … [Read more...]
3 Reasons Why Leg Training Builds the BEAST
I was in my early teens and training at my first "Hardcore Gym". This gym was 7,500 sq ft. NO AC, just a bunch of stand up industrial fans. ALL the plates were deep dish Ivanko plates and there was rumbling throughout the entire gym, blended with some old rock cassette tapes that blasted through the gym. Usually AC/DC or Metallica, sometimes Def Leppard. The back 1/3 of the gym was lined up with leg equipment. Plenty of squat racks, 2 leg presses, 2 hack squats, 2 leg extensions, 2 leg … [Read more...]
Do These 3 Bodyweight Only Exercises, Inspired by Herschel Walker
There are 3 crucial bodyweight exercises that everyone should be able to do AND, that everyone should put a lot of energy into. 1) Push Ups - we learned these as kids and surprisingly, I don't see too many people doing basic push ups anymore. If you're shoulders are banged up from heavy benching and squats with a straight bar, then get busy on push ups and give the barbell a break. Focus on doing high reps and of course, perfect technique. Imagine your body is a 2 x 4 or a ruler, … [Read more...]
Are You Allergic to HARD WORK?
As I am doing some research for some up and coming episodes of The Iron Roots Podcast I came across some of my favorite articles. Articles from the 60s and early 70s, before I was born. What do these articles talk about? The BASICS. Getting STRONG. Eating. A LOT. Finding a Way vs Finding an Excuse. But today. Not enough can do the above. Why? Because they're allergic. … [Read more...]
STRONG Life Ep. 101: Work Ethic & The Mystery Of Coaching Athletes
STRONG Life Podcast Ep. 101 with Mike Guadango, Owner of Freak Strength. In this episode, I connect with a long time friend, Mike Guadango. Mike and I met back in the early days of The Underground Strength Gym when we would compete against DeFranco's Gym at his annual Strongman Challenge. Back then, Mike was a hard charging athlete with goals of become a Major League Baseball Player. Injuries have a funny way of changing our life path and that's exactly what happened with … [Read more...]
STRONG Life Ep. 99: 30 + Years Strength & Conditioning Advices w/ Jim Steel
STRONG Life Episode 99 with UPenn Head Strength & Conditioning Coordinator, Jim Steel! This episode is sponsored by Intek Strength. Check them out & get your hands on their functional trap bar. Jim brings 30+ years of strength & conditioning / training knowledge to the table as we talk his early years of training all the way to present day. This episode was inspired after we spent endless hours rambling over training and life with John Welbourn & Tex from Power … [Read more...]
QnA Football Strength & Conditioning
In a world where blaming others and lack of responsibility is running rampant, I want to turn the page for a moment. I am asked often about "sports specific training" and running 2 gyms and listening to parents and athletes get duped has me questioning when the bull shit will end. Parents talk to me about "football specific workouts" or "baseball specific workouts"..... Is squatting, deadlifting, throwing objects, jumping, sprinting, carrying and lunging NOT specific? The development of a … [Read more...]