🏋️‍♀️ Extended version of this interview: https://www.patreon.com/posts/influence-of-on-143817240 🏋️‍♀️

Is music helping or hindering your lifting? EdD Michael Richards discusses available research on music and lifting.

Michael has been a strength and conditioning coach since 2017, working with youth, middle/high school, D3 college, D1 college, and professional football. He has also been a weightlifting coach since 2019, starting with T3 Barbell in Avon, Ohio, and moving to the Attitude Nation with Jon North, and a weightlifter (2025 Masters Pan American Champion (30-35 age bracket) and best lifter). He has just finished his Doctorate of Education in Kinesiology and Exercise Science.

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All the content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical, nutritional, coaching, or financial advice, nor does it substitute for advice from your health care professional/provider. Any actions you will take, changes you will make to your nutrition, training or health care, are on your own responsibility and not mine.

🏋️‍♀️ Extended version of this interview: https://www.patreon.com/posts/lifters-heart-143612670 🏋️‍♀️

Dr Jessica Orchard is an Associate Professor and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at the School of Public Health, University of Sydney. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Plus, Associate Editor at the British Journal of Sports Medicine, and a Cardiac Research Fellow at Cricket Australia. In 2023, she was selected for the World Heart Federation Emerging Leaders Program and received the NSW Ministerial Award for Rising Stars in Cardiovascular Research.

Her research aims to improve the quality of cardiac screening programs to prevent sudden cardiac death and catastrophic disability from stroke. She is Director and Principal Investigator of the Australasian Registry of ECGs of National Athletes (the ARENA Project), which provides a long-term data repository to improve understanding of athlete ECG interpretation, cardiac diagnoses, and cardiovascular outcomes in screened athletes. She is also interested in digital health and legal/ethical issues in cardiac screening.

The ARENA project website:

https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/our-research/research-centres/the-arena-project.html

Great paper on the athlete’s heart:

https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2022.07.014

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🏋️‍♀️ Extended version of this interview: https://www.patreon.com/posts/chinese-system-143002826 🏋️‍♀️

How are weightlifters in China developed and recruited? What does their day-to-day schedule look like? What support systems are in place for elite lifters? Dr. Stéphane Gregory breaks down training, rehabilitation, medical care, competition qualification, and more.

Dr. Stéphane Gregory is a Canadian chiropractor and strength and conditioning specialist with over 15 years of experience working in high-performance sport. He currently leads Sports Rehabilitation for Guangxi Province in China and consults for the Chinese Olympic Committee, supporting national teams in weightlifting, gymnastics, wrestling, and track & field. His expertise lies in managing rehabilitation, load, and performance continuity to help Olympic and world-level athletes maintain competitive readiness without interrupting their training.

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All the content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical, nutritional, coaching, or financial advice, nor does it substitute for advice from your health care professional/provider. Any actions you will take, changes you will make to your nutrition, training or health care, are on your own responsibility and not mine.

🏋️‍♀️ Extended version of this interview: https://www.patreon.com/posts/what-allows-to-141926230 🏋️‍♀️

Lifelong involvement in Olympic weightlifting, or any sport, is uncommon and deeply impressive. How is it that some athletes stay committed for decades? In this interview, Dr François Gravelle discusses his research into the psychological and social factors that motivate weightlifters to remain in the sport over the long term.

François Gravelle is a Professor in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa and an Adjunct Professor at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. His work focuses on how individuals sustain active lifestyles across the lifespan, with a special emphasis on recreational and competitive Olympic-style weightlifters.

A lifelong advocate of sport and active living, François began as a competitive lifter in the late 1970s and has since served as a certified coach, a national coach-education leader, and an international referee recognized by the International Weightlifting Federation. Combining decades of hands-on experience with academic research, he offers a rare perspective on how sport, leisure, and leadership foster lifelong engagement and well-being.

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🔹 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Francois-Gravelle

🔹 https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-health-sciences/human-kinetics/our-professors/francois-gravelle

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All the content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical, nutritional, coaching, or financial advice, nor does it substitute for advice from your health care professional/provider. Any actions you will take, changes you will make to your nutrition, training or health care, are on your own responsibility and not mine.

🏋️‍♀️ Extended version of this interview: https://www.patreon.com/posts/building-high-pe-140875638 🏋️‍♀️

Paul has built a weightlifting-based physical education program at the high school where he teaches. In this episode, he shares his three-year journey of developing the program from the ground up.

Paul Coover is a high school athletic director and physical education teacher in San Diego, California. He is also the founder and head coach of Grey Castle Strength and Conditioning. This USA Weightlifting-affiliated club operates out of a classroom converted into a fully equipped weight room. During his time at San Diego High, the weightlifting program was profiled by USAW as the region’s first comprehensive physical education department with a curriculum centered on the Olympic lifts.

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All the content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical, nutritional, coaching, or financial advice, nor does it substitute for advice from your health care professional/provider. Any actions you will take, changes you will make to your nutrition, training or health care, are on your own responsibility and not mine.

🏋️‍♀️ Extended version of this interview: https://www.patreon.com/posts/what-why-and-how-141407470 🏋️‍♀️

A weightlifter’s blackout is a rare but potentially serious issue that can affect lifting performance. Despite its impact, there is a notable lack of specific research on the topic. Dr. Sinead Roberts shares her experience in successfully managing the condition among British weightlifters.

Sinead is an SENR-registered Performance Nutritionist with a background in cell metabolism and exercise physiology. She helps both recreational and elite athletes understand their physiology and nutritional needs to optimise training, recovery, and performance. Central to her philosophy is the belief that every body is different—and that individual needs evolve over time. What the body requires depends on factors such as sport, training cycle, load, age, sex, genetics, stress, and physiological state. Just as importantly, personal preferences and lifestyle matter too. Food is not only a tool to drive performance but also something to be enjoyed and shared.

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All the content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical, nutritional, coaching, or financial advice, nor does it substitute for advice from your health care professional/provider. Any actions you will take, changes you will make to your nutrition, training or health care, are on your own responsibility and not mine.

🏋️‍♀️ Extended version of this interview: https://www.patreon.com/posts/body-of-masters-140705998 🏋️‍♀️

Who are Masters weightlifters — and how do they differ from an average adult? Dr. Andrew Hatchett shares findings from his study on Masters athletes who competed at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships in Orlando, USA.

Dr Hatchett is Professor and Chair of Exercise and Sports Science at the University of South Carolina Aiken, where he teaches exercise physiology, biomechanics, and behavior change. He also directs student research in the Human Performance Lab and mentors future professionals in allied health and applied exercise science. Dr Hatchett earned his Ph.D. in Exercise Science from the University of Mississippi in 2008, specializing in exercise physiology and human behavior.

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Original research paper:

Hatchett A, Helms M, Grieve G, Hatchett I, Huebner M, Riemann B, Wolford D, Rodriguez A. Anthropomorphic profile of masters competitive Olympic weightlifters. Journal of Sports Research. 2025;12(1):12-23.

https://ideas.repec.org/a/pkp/josres/v12y2025i1p12-23id4235.html

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https://evidencestrong.com

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🔹 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew-Hatchett

🔹 https://www.usca.edu/research/undergraduate-research/hatchett-lab

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All the content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical, nutritional, coaching, or financial advice, nor does it substitute for advice from your health care professional/provider. Any actions you will take, changes you will make to your nutrition, training or health care, are on your own responsibility and not mine.

🏋️‍♀️ Extended version of this interview: https://www.patreon.com/posts/can-post-help-in-138795246 🏋️‍♀️

Can a warm-up actually multiply your power in minutes, or is PAP (post-activation potentiation) mostly hype? Tony Blazevich explains how temperature, hydration, and motor-control warm-up shape a real performance boost. He discusses what fundamentals drive the biggest improvements, and debunks a few myths.

Tony Blazevich, PhD, is a Professor of Biomechanics in the School of Medical and Health Sciences and the Director of the Centre for Exercise and Sports Science Research (CESSR). His research explores how musculo-tendinous and neural factors shape movement performance and how these systems adapt to training and detraining. Tony has worked with athletes at all levels, from development programs to Olympic Gold medallists, and currently works as a consultant at both domestic and international levels in Australia and Europe. An author of Sports Biomechanics: The Basics (3rd edition, Bloomsbury), Blazevich bridges biomechanics, neurophysiology, and practical coaching. He focuses on translating cutting-edge research into actionable coaching strategies for athletes, including weightlifters and sprinters.

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Original research paper:

Blazevich AJ, Babault N. Post-activation potentiation versus post-activation performance enhancement in humans: historical perspective, underlying mechanisms, and current issues. Frontiers in physiology. 2019 Nov 1;10:1359.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.01359/full

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All the content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical, nutritional, coaching, or financial advice, nor does it substitute for advice from your health care professional/provider. Any actions you will take, changes you will make to your nutrition, training or health care, are on your own responsibility and not mine.

🏋️‍♀️ Extended version of this interview: https://www.patreon.com/posts/mental-imagery-136142372 🏋️‍♀️

How can a lifter rehearse a perfect lift without even touching the barbell? Tom Smalley breaks down a practical mental imagery framework built on two core types—cognitive and motivational—and shows coaches and athletes how to identify the goal, select imagery, and script with sensory detail. You'll learn a simple, repeatable process to stay calm, sharpen focus, and perform with confidence on meet day, whether for youth lifters or pros.

Tom Smalley is the Founder of Struggle into Strength Performance, LLC. He is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). He earned his Master’s degree in Exercise and Sports Science from Merrimack College and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Siena College. He has extensive experience working with athletes at youth, high school, collegiate, and professional levels, as well as with high school and college coaches and teams, helping them build confidence, focus, regulate emotions, improve communication, and develop leadership. In this episode, Tom shares a mental imagery approach tailored for Olympic weightlifting, including cognitive vs motivational imagery, a practical 3-step scripting process, and guidance to avoid common pitfalls.

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All the content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical, nutritional, coaching, or financial advice, nor does it substitute for advice from your health care professional/provider. Any actions you will take, changes you will make to your nutrition, training or health care, are on your own responsibility and not mine.

🏋️‍♀️ Extended version of this interview: https://www.patreon.com/posts/influence-of-and-138179264 🏋️‍♀️

Which predictor matters most for Olympic weightlifting: explosive power or muscle size? Do you track long-term training load and its outcomes? Florian Venus breaks down the findings of his study looking at jumping performance, training experience, and muscle mass in relation to weightlifting performance.

Florian Venus is a Strength & Conditioning coach from Germany, and the founder of ALPHANITAS (Health & Performance App). He holds a BSc in Sports & Exercise Science and is pursuing a Masters in Sports Science in Salzburg. He competes in Olympic weightlifting and judo.

Enjoy!

Original research paper:

Venus F, Danner L, Buchecker M, Wagner H. The influence of power, muscle mass, and training experience on Olympic weightlifting performance. Kinesiology. 2025 Jun 30;57(1):143-9.

https://hrcak.srce.hr/clanak/481501

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https://evidencestrong.com

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All the content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical, nutritional, coaching, or financial advice, nor does it substitute for advice from your health care professional/provider. Any actions you will take, changes you will make to your nutrition, training or health care, are on your own responsibility and not mine.