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The Strength Guys are a group of scientists, innovators, and athletes who are passionate about delivering results-driven and evidence-based online powerlifting coaching services for drug-free athletes. Their team specializes in powerlifting coaching as well as coaching for bodybuilding, athletics, and general fitness athletes. In this episode, I sit down with two of their coaches - Taylor Atwood and Jason Tremblay - who happen to have their own coach/client story stretching back for the past 4 years. This coaching relationship has seen Taylor medal on the international powerlifting stage, and it was great to sit down and chat about what has made them such a successful pairing.
I ask them:
1. Intro - tell us how they met/got started.
2. You guys have been working together for quite a while now, and you both coach a number of successful athletes.
- What do you think are the biggest keys to developing & maintaining a good coach-athlete relationship?
- In your particular relationship, have either of you felt like you let the other down? If so, how did you approach that and deal with it?
3. You guys have done several high profile competitions together - how do you handle the stress of competitions like that - both as a coach, managing your stress and your athlete, and as an athlete.
4. Who's been the biggest influence on you as a coach/athlete?
5. What's the one thing you wish more coaches and/or athletes knew?
Visit TSG's website at https://thestrengthguys.com/
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To celebrate the launch of Utopia 2.0 for pre-order, I thought I'd get Ben on the podcast to talk about how we develop our supplements and how Utopia 2.0 came to fruition.
To pre-order Utopia, go to denovosupps.com
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UTOPIA 2.0 GOES ON PRE-SALE TOMORROW - Go to denovosupps.com/products/utopia-pre-order for exclusive access!
In this episode, I chat to Matt Gary (USA Powerlifting Senior International Coach) and Sioux-z Hartwig-Gary (Multiple national and world powerlifting champion, USA Powerlifting Women's Hall of Fame member and powerlifting coach). It was a privilege to pick the minds of two people so successful as both athletes and coaches, and hopefully you enjoy the discussion too.
I asked them:
Tell us a bit about your athletic backgrounds. Matt - I read that, when you were 11, you were exposed to powerlifting for the first time and thought it was silly because you "couldn’t comprehend the notion of putting myself through so much anguish to reap so much reward." What changed? Sioux-z - how does your experience with finding powerlifting compare to Matt's? Do your approaches to competing differ significantly from one another? Matt - you're renowned for your methodical, empirical approach to attempt selection on 'game day', but you've also said in the past that you're much more nervous when coaching than competing. How do you deal with that nervousness? Could you just briefly run through your 'formula' for attempt selection? Sioux-z - how did you develop your pre-lift routine? To both of you - what are the biggest lessons that your athletes have taught you? Who have been your biggest influences as athletes, coaches and people? If you could give one piece of advice to someone stepping on the platform for the first time, what would it be? -
Welcome back to the De Novo podcast! In this episode, I chat to coach, bodybuilder and powerlifter Brian Minor about his experiences being a coach and a high-level dual athlete.
I ask him:
Tell us a little about how you found bodybuilding and powerlifting. According to my digging, you've done 3 bodybuilding seasons between 2010 and 2017, and have 6 years' worth of experience as a powerlifter at a high level as well. What's the worst bit about being a dual athlete? What's the best bit? So you first started training at 16 to improve your ice hockey performance, and I have you down as saying that fell in love with the training process and the strength/confidence that came with. We constantly hear people reminding us to focus on the process, so to fall in love with the process at 16 indicates that you have a naturally great attitude towards training. Is that the case? Do you ever have days where you find it more difficult to focus on the process? What are the biggest lessons you've learned from your successive contest prep seasons? You're a coach as well, and a lot of people understand that the role of a coach is at least partly to teach and mentor your clients. I'm curious - what are some of the biggest lessons that your clients have taught you? What's one thing that you have spent far too much money on, but don't regret? If you were stranded on a desert island, what 7 songs would you take with you?Check out Brian's Instagram
Check out Brian's blog
Check out denovosupps.com
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In this episode, Lawrence is flying solo but is joined by Texas-based masters powerlifter, single mum (or 'mom') and personal trainer Sumi Singh. We discuss the following:
In 2013 you published an article on food environment, where you advise people who are prone to mindless eating to: Make the declaration vocal: Say: “I’m not hungry but I am going to eat this anyway.” Think 20% less “other stuff,” 20% more veggies. Start buying the single serving peanut butter packets or those 100-calorie packages of nuts/snacks. Volumize your food to make it look bigger. Take as much time as you can to eat your food ...and many other things.
Would you advise anyone differently, 5 years down the line? How has your opinion changed on this front?
Speaking of changing opinions - what's the biggest fitness-related issue you've changed your mind on?
Tell us about your competitive history as an athlete, and how parenthood impacted things.
How do you think a parent can set a great example to their children via fitness?
You admit yourself that you're awful to handle during peak week for your powerlifting meets - what happens?
The dry protein powder consumption... tell me more.
What's it like being coached by Lyle McDonald?Check out Sumi's Website
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Visualisation techniques have been used for years in sports of all levels, but it's only now that science is starting to talk about just how effective they can be.
Reactive Training Systems coach Ross Leppala is a big proponent of using visualisation techniques for powerlifting, so Lacy and I wanted to chat with him in this episode about how that all works. We ask him:
How did you get into powerlifting? What first motivated you to give it a go? How has working for RTS impacted on your own training and coaching? What have your career highlights been thus far? We saw you did amazing at the Arnold this year, how do you personally think it went? Why do you think visualization is key when competing or just in every day training? What is your personal mindset for success? What do you think most powerlifters are missing from their training? What one piece of advice would you give to yourself as a younger lifter?Find Ross on Instagram
Check out RTS
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Lawrence here - I'm taking this one solo, today, and talking to Dr Mike Zourdos. Mike is an assistant professor in the Department of Exercise Science and Health Promotion at Florida Atlantic University, powerlifting coach, author at Monthly Applications in Strength Sport (MASS), and is also someone I'm hugely privileged to call a colleague over at the Shredded By Science Academy.
In this episode, I wanted to dig 'behind the scenes' when it comes to Mike, and balance the research-based approach that Mike's known for with some questions that would shed light on Mike the person. I ask Mike:
One of the main aims of science is to test hypotheses - what was the most surprising fitness-related hypothesis that you've seen either supported or scuppered after scientific investigation? Do you have any favourite studies out of all the ones you've reviewed for MASS? What would you advise for someone looking to become more 'evidence-based' with their fitness? What's one thing that you spent far too much money on, but don't regret? What's your favourite supplement? Out of all of the research you've done, what's had the biggest impact on your own training? If you were stranded on a desert island, what 7 songs would you take with you? Subscribe to MASS Check out the SBS Academy Free Preview course -
Ben Esgro - the enigmatic force behind De Novo's innovative supplements - joins us on the podcast today. Ben has been on a few podcasts before to talk programming and philosophy, but Lacy and I wanted to ask some more... personal questions.
What's one thing that you spent far too much money on, but don't regret? What is one thing you would like people to know about you not fitness related? What has had the biggest impact on your health and fitness? Of the De Novo supplements you've created, which is your favourite? If you were to be stranded on a desert island alone for the rest of your life, what 7 pieces of music/songs would you take with you?Find Ben on Instagram
Follow De Novo Supps on Instagram
Visit the De Novo Website
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In this episode, Lacy and I chat to Jeff Alberts of 3DMJ. In this interview, we focus mostly on how Jeff has managed to continue his bodybuilding career for longer than I've been alive - we pose him the following questions:
You've been bodybuilding for decades now - just remind us of your competitive history. What are your personal highlights from your bodybuilding career? What about the low points? How do you deal with the low points to make sure that you keep them in perspective? How have you designed your lifestyle so that you can enjoy the best of both family life and bodybuilding? Talk to us a bit about 'pausing' your 2017 prep. What do you think the worst examples of 'tunnel vision' are in younger athletes? I.e. people 'sweating the small stuff' that really doesn't matter so much. What advice would you give to younger athletes who are looking to go 'all in' on their bodybuilding career?Check out Team 3DMJ's YouTube Channel
Check out Eric on Instagram
Check out the 3DMJ Vault
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In this episode, we talk to 3DMJ coach and natural bodybuilder Dr Eric Helms. Our questions to him include:
Your recent YouTube series is entitled Anecdotes and Observations - when it comes to making your fitness your own, why are anecdotes and observations so important? On the topic of anecdotes - there was a fascinating discussion between you and Joe Klemczewski on Facebook recently regarding training frequency. Could you summarise that discussion for us? Recent data on periodisation have shown that maybe it's time to reconsider some of the reasons for periodising someone's training - what would you say are the main benefits to a periodised approach to training? One of the main aims of science is to test hypotheses - what was the most surprising fitness-related hypothesis that you've seen either supported or scuppered after scientific investigation? Do you have any favourite studies out of all the ones you've reviewed for MASS? What would you advise for someone looking to become more 'evidence-based' with their fitness?Check out Team 3DMJ's YouTube Channel
Check out Eric on Instagram
Check out the 3DMJ Vault
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This episode, Lawrence (on his own, this week) talks to 3DMJ coach and natural bodybuilder/powerlifter Brad Loomis. What we discuss: 1. Intro and accomplishments as a bodybuilder and powerlifter
2. So, what's up with your back?
3. What unique challenges has this brought to your career in training, coaching and competing?
4. In a recent blog post, you talk about 'making progress when it seems like none could be made'. Could you talk about what happened to make you abandon the sumo deadlift altogether, and what approach you decided to take instead?
5. There seem to be two diametrically opposing paradigms in powerlifting - the ultra-specific powerlifters who only train the competition lifts with maybe a handful of isolation accessories, and the Westside-influenced powerlifters who seem to only train accessory/secondary lifts. Where do you fit in with respect to these two, and how have your experiences with injury influenced where you fit in? 6. What have you learnt from coaching your son through his high school football career?
7. What advice would you give to your younger self?Check out Team 3DMJ's YouTube Channel
Check out Brad on Instagram
Check out the 3DMJ Vault
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Alberto Nuñez is one of the most recognizable natural bodybuilders, due to the fact that his pictures have been used so often in "Fake Natty" videos... but we're discussing the phases of his life where he's not quite so lean - the off-season.
In this episode, we talk about:
How many off-seasons have you done now? How long are you planning on this one being? How do you tend to structure a contest prep/off-season 'macrocycle'? You mention in your YouTube series that you've cut down on your number of training days per week, from 6 down to 4. What's the reasoning behind that? How much do you stress about exercise selection during the off season? Have your off-season priorities shifted as you've become a more seasoned athlete? You mention in some of your videos about how important patience is during the off-season, and how days and weeks can go by during the off-season where there's no "glamour" - nothing overly exciting happens, you just have to get sh*t done. How can you 'train' that patience? Were there any lightbulb moments? What's the biggest lesson you've learned from repeated off-seasons?Check out Team 3DMJ's YouTube Channel
Check out Alberto on Instagram
Check out the 3DMJ Vault
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Happy International Women's Day 2018! In this episode, we chat to one of my favourite women/people in the fitness industry - Andrea Valdez from 3DMJ.
We cover the following topics:
In one of your articles, you talk about how anyone who is at the top of their game in any pursuit is there because they love what they do, and that love means that the work isn't hard any more. What does that love feel like? Is there anything that increases or decreases it? How does your menstrual cycle impact your pursuits as an athlete? You've also written about the optimism bias - how most people cannot be better than most other people... to that end, if you pick up any given sport the likelihood is that you're probably not gonna be anywhere near the top unless there are a very small number of participants. How do you cultivate the feeling that your sport owes you nothing? Continuing along that theme of "loving what you do" - why do you think it is that so many people fall into the trap of becoming a fitness entrepreneur when they clearly don't love being a fitness entrepreneur? We're in an era where it's so easy to focus on the external rewards of pursuing something fitness or entrepreneurial - largely thanks to social media - instead of focusing on fitness as a "craft". Could you talk about the two questions you ask yourself every session, and how that feeds into fitness as a craft?Check out Andrea's website
Check out the 3DMJ website
Check out De Novo Supps
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Welcome back to the De Novo Podcast! In this episode, Lacy and I chat to Bryce Lewis and ask him the following:
You do a bunch of "pondering" about your approach to lifting, and also others' approaches to lifting as a coach. What first sparked your current interest in sports psychology? Let's talk a little bit about biases and cognitive dissonance. Can you talk a little bit about what they are, and why they're generally considered (esp. in the case of cognitive dissonance) to be negative? Are there any instances for an athlete that biases and CD might have a net positive effect? What have been the most impactful lessons you've learnt in your research and also practice as a coach? I've observed that athletes can fall into one of two camps - the 'shut up and lift' camp, and the 'overanalyzer' camp. How does your coaching approach differ for these two types? How important do you think self-talk and the exact semantics/wording you use in your self-talk are? Are you implementing anything new in your Arnold prep right now? About BryceBryce Lewis is a competitive, drug-free elite powerlifter in the 83-105kg weight classes. He holds records in both the USA Powerlifting federation (USAPL) and International Powerlifting Federation (IPF), and strives to promote the comprehension and love of powerlifting training throughout the world. Through his success as an elite lifter, Bryce’s dream is to pass on his knowledge and skills through The Strength Athlete (TSA) powerlifting coaching services online in addition to his YouTube Channel and Facebook fan page. By these efforts, Bryce hopes to help raw, drug-free powerlifting gain more prominence and acceptance internationally.
Under 3D Muscle Journey (3DMJ) Coach, Eric Helms, Bryce was introduced to powerlifting, following a collegiate and high school passion for volleyball and a five year period competing in natural bodybuilding. He immediately fell in love with the newfound sport. Lifting heavy was always fun, but powerlifting allowed him to express his desires for competition, application of advanced strength training techniques, and achievements through measured progress. Even now, Bryce remains an integral part of Team 3DMJ and has adapted their principles of dedication, desire, and discipline as his own. In addition to training services, Eric also mentors Bryce through an ongoing 3DMJ internship.
PresentIn addition to his successful career as an athlete, Bryce has always strived for academic and intellectual attainment. He graduated from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2010 with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Philosophy. Currently, he plans to continue coaching athletes from around the world through TSA, and help more athletes develop the tools for success. Bryce passionately advocates for the application and love of the sciences, evidence-based philosophies, and skepticism of pseudoscience. In his spare time, he explores a variety of art forms from pencil and pen drawings to graphic design to culinary arts in the kitchen.
Bryce resides in Fort Collins, Colorado with his chocolate labrador, Sequoia. After winning USAPL Raw Nationals two years in a row, Bryce heads to IPF World Championships in Calgary, Canada in 2018.
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This week, we chat to Greg Nuckols - owner of strongerbyscience.com and part of the team behind MASS - Monthly Applications in Strength Sport.
I'll warn you now - we get deeply nerdy on this episode. We talk research methods, statistics, and about the philosophies of the scientific method. However, we do finish up with a discussion on beer and burgers - two of Greg's favourite things possibly ever.
Questions in this episode:
One thing that you and the MASS team do exceptionally well is acknowledge the shortcomings of scientific research when it comes to fitness. A lot of people display a fairly black and white view when it comes to science - either a study is brilliant, or it's useless and it wasn't worth publishing... why do you think that is, and what would you say to people with that point of view? One of the main aims of science is to test hypotheses - what was the most surprising fitness-related hypothesis that you've seen either supported or scuppered after scientific investigation? Do you have any favourite studies out of all the ones you've reviewed for MASS? What would you advise for someone looking to become more 'evidence-based' with their fitness? What are the top lessons that 'gym-bros' could learn from 'lab geeks', and vice-versa? We live in an era (rightly so) where context is king. Can you think of any advice that you think could apply to any lifter, no matter what context? What beer and burger combination is best following breathing paused squats?Check out strongerbyscience.com
Check out MASS
Buy De Novo Supplements
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In this episode, I (Lawrence) chat to Jonny and Yusef from Propane Fitness, a UK-based online coaching company. They're two incredibly funny guys and have a lot of great advice to share with you.
I ask them:
1. In one of your articles, you talk about automating your diet and the concept of mental RAM - talk us through the concept.
2. In what contexts is us 'automating' our choices to free up mental RAM a good thing?
3. Similarly, in what context is this automation maybe not so helpful?
4. What are some of the strangest ways that people have deliberately altered their decision making process?
5. Obviously, a lot of this requires you to be quite self-aware. What can you do to improve your self-awareness?
6. Do you think people should devote a lot of their mental RAM to fitness-related activities?
7. If you could give one piece of advice to yourselves starting out, what would that be? Check out Propane Fitness on Instagram Check out the Propane Fitness Website Buy De Novo Supplements Check out the Shredded by Science Academy -
Welcome to the first ever episode of The De Novo Podcast! In this episode, we chat to IPF International level powerlifter, De Novo athlete and all-round great guy LS McClain.
We ask LS:
You seem to have nailed the balance between taking powerlifting seriously and staying chilled out about it - how do you do it? What does it take to compete at the highest level in powerlifting, attitude-wise? What are some of your favourite memories from your career as a powerlifter?And much more.
Check out LS McClain on Instagram
Check out LS's website
Buy De Novo Supplements
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Welcome to the De Novo podcast - the brand new podcast from De Novo Supplements. The aim of the De Novo Podcast is simple. We understand that your fitness is uniquely yours, but it's always better when it's supported by the highest quality practical advice.
Each week, we'll be interviewing a top athlete, coach or simply someone that we enjoy chatting to. We'll focus on all the stuff that makes them, them - their work, their personality, lessons that they've learned during their time in the fitness industry. Some episodes will be super nerdy, others will be a little more entertaining - but each episode will leave you with a clearer understanding of why you're doing what you're doing.Check out our products by visiting http://denovosupps.com
