Swing for the fences! Don't leave anything on the table, give it your best shot, and go full bore ahead. Swing for the Fences! - Aggressively Pursue the Urgent & Important A single decision or event can change the course of your life. Regardless of life, philosophy, or religion, this is true. When presented with a big opportunity, you need to swing…

Are more sets better? We dive into a new study and an associated article and headline. Are More Sets Better? Evidence-Based & Nuanced We're talking about muscles and hypertrophy today. Outside Magazine recently featured an article that discussed adding more sets for building muscle, which argued that you should add more sets to build muscle. Andrew…

Enjoy the pursuit not the outcome. We are refine by the pursuit, by the difficult process, not the outcome or achievement. Enjoy the Pursuit Not the Outcome We find joy in the pursuit of hard things. The process of doing hard things refines us, not the outcomes. Jasen Huang shares how he would not do it again if he could do it again. He did not kno…

Learn about the good news - the gospel of hard. Hard things done intelligently and consistently create good results. The Gospel of Hard: Voluntary Hardship We at Barbell Logic have been spreading the good news of voluntary hardship for years. Truly, if you expose yourself to hard things, intelligently, consistently, good things will happen. Truth b…

You have to undergo uniquely hard efforts for uniquely successful outcomes. Expect (and demand) nothing less from yourself. Uniquely Hard, Uniquely Successful If you set challenging goals, expect (and demand) hard efforts. Alex Hormozi said on the Modern Wisdom podcast, the following: When things get hard, this is where most people stop. And this i…

How can I look like Jake Gyllenhaal? If you've asked yourself or your coach this, we discuss what this looks like (really). How Can I Look Like Jake Gyllenhaal? The Goal A popular movie comes out with a young actor who takes his shirt off and shows his shredded mid-section. What comes next? The onslaught of requests and goals to look like him. Arti…

We discuss applying MED to coaching beyond programming. MED principles underlie an effective, successful approach to online coaching. Applying MED to Coaching Beyond Programming (Some Principles) Matt and Scott developed the principles of MED programming, which approached programming by keeping as many variables constant as possible. Change as litt…

We talk about the evolution of training expectations as you move from novice to intermediate to advanced lifter. How you you manage your mindset, so you can train for life? The Evolution of Training Expectations: Managing Your Mindset PRs measure progress, encourage buy-in and consistency, and help make training fun for novice, intermediate, and ea…

When should I leave my "safe" job? Jesse Mecham, founder and CEO of YNAB and author of the book You Need a Budget, joins Matt to discuss when you should leave the supposed safe job to make your side gig your main job. When Should I Leave My "Safe" Job? - There Is No Safe Job Totally safe, secure jobs do not exist. If you're an employee, whether it …

Tips for Training While Traveling: Whys Why train while traveling? While, in part, it depends on how often you travel, your goals, the length of travel, and how consistent you are outside of travel. For those who are extremely consistent and rarely travel, it might make sense to take the week off. If you travel for business, you need to train. You …

Hear a motivating online coaching success story with Adam Skillin, a BLOC coach, who works full time at BLOC. Online Coaching Success Story: Before Coaching Adam Skillin worked various jobs, including banking, but always knew he did not want to go down the typical 9-5 path. Adam lives and grew up in New Jersey. He worked in the banking industry and…

We really need to talk about menopause. What to expect, how you make changes to lifting, nutrition, expectations, and more. Menopause: Causes & Expectations Menopause is about a 10-year period of life for women where estrogen decreases, causing other changes to a woman's biology. Some changes include the end of the menstrual cycle, decrease in ener…

Reliability costs nothing but changes everything. Show up on time every time and say what you are going to do. Reliability Costs Nothing - Integrity over Time Andrew Jackson shared his value equation a couple years ago, which includes ability, integrity, and benevolence. Reliability is essentially integrity over time. Do you show up each time, on t…

Learn how to better your bench with proper technique and good equipment. Improper gear and form means less weight on the bar. Bench more. Learn the way. Better Your Bench with Good Equipment For anyone who has tried to bench heavy in a commercial gym, they typically find that the experience is frustrating. Weights are harder than expected and may e…

We talk about defining your core values. These underpin your goals & actions, help you make decisions, & reflect your personality and aspirations. Defining Your Core Values: Brainstorming & Reflecting Matt discusses how to identify and list your core values. These should reflect your personality but also be aspirational. For example, for Matt, quit…

Programming Difficulties for New Dads Having a newborn changes your life, and training has to change as well. For a dad, the change is different than for a mom. For the mom, she undergoes physical changes for 9-10 months leading up to the birth, so her training has to change prior to birth. For fathers, however, their changing (mostly) does not cha…

When one teaches two learn. Matt shares his teaching approach - from interest to refined speech or presentation. Teaching and coaching with pressure are critical to mastering anything. When One Teach Two Learn: Importance of Teaching In order to become an expert coach, or to master any subject, you have to coach, or teach, when it matters. You may …

Niki and Andrew interview Melissa MacGregor, wife of BLOC coach Mac and BLOC client, and her coach Joel Rasmussen. Melissa suffered a stroke but, with patience, perseverance, and strength training, was able to return to physical activities she never thought she could do again. Healing Through Strength Training: Perseverance & Experimentation Meliss…

Matt talks to Dave Tate about building EliteFTS. What were the struggles, successes, and untold stories that created EliteFTS? Dave Tate & EliteFTS had a huge impact on Matt Reynolds & Barbell Logic, whether it be from introducing him to the Russian programming literature, to programming tips and principles, to recommending the e-Myth. This podcast…

We explore professionalism and why it's hard to be professional. Professionalism is difficult, but deliver values and sets you apart. Professionalism: Competence, Integrity, Benevolence Andrew has delivered, through podcast and in-person talks, a deep dive on how competence, integrity, and benevolence make up a professionalism value equation. Matt …

Matt discusses that, whether in life or business, you should chase value not status. This leads to a successful business and happier life. This podcast is brought to you by TurnKey Coach. Enhance your coaching effectiveness and efficiency with TurnKey Coach. You can learn more by going HERE. Chase Value not Status In a social media world, it can be…

What does joyful self-improvement look like (and is it possible)? Today, we explore solutions sans suffering. Joyful Self-Improvement: Struggling & Floundering People really struggle to make important changes in their lives (that they at least ostensibly want) such as to lose weight or gain more muscle. Reasons abound for the difficulty. People hea…

Mitchell Baldridge, CPA, CFP, talks to Matt about how to find the perfect accountant, something a growing business will have to do at some point. He owns Baldridge Financial and Better Book Keeping. Check out the Stupid Tax podcast, with Scott Hambrick and Mitchell Baldridge. How to Find the Perfect Account - First, Don't If you're starting a busin…

What is the goal of long-term strength training or barbell training? Muscle is the motive. It's your health & capability 401k. Niki & Andrew explore their changing mindset and training. The Motive is Muscle - Shifting the Goal The measurement that is most correlated with force production (strength) is the cross sectional area of muscle mass. Basica…

Matt covers the excuses that derail progress toward your goals, whether they be personal, business, or otherwise. Master and overcome these excuses. Excuses that Derail Progress - Valuable Things are Hard We at Barbell Logic value voluntary hardship. Simple, hard, effective training brings you toward your goals. Voluntary hardship is refining, wher…