Last poddy of the year. We wrap 2025 by talking shop: when machines beat free weights, how much variation you actually need, why exercise order matters less than people think, and the most misperformed lifts we keep fixing on check-ins.

We cover:

✅ Machines vs free weights — glute drive, hacks, pendulums, belt squats and Smith pressing vs barbells, and why the barbell RDL is still non-negotiable.

✅ Stimulus-to-fatigue reality — why machines and cables often let you load more, go closer to failure and use intensifiers safely compared to dumbbells.

✅ When a dumbbell still wins — skull crushers, certain rows and the barbell RDL as staple free-weight choices even in a machine-heavy program.

✅ Training mistakes experienced lifters make — ego about load, chasing numbers over execution and being more stubborn than beginners who are easier to “build from scratch.”

✅ Exercise variation done wrong — why constantly changing movements stalls progress, and a realistic number of variations per pattern (e.g. 1–2 vertical pulls, 1–2 hinge variations).

✅ How long to run a program — why 8–12 weeks beats changing every 4–5, and using variation inside the block (rep ranges, order) instead of rewriting everything.

✅ Exercise order in the real world — what to do when key machines are taken, how to reshuffle without wrecking the session, and when to auto-regulate your loads.

✅ Most misperformed lifts — lat pulldowns, lateral raises, deadlifts and rows, plus simple cues (elbow path, adduction, shrug/“unshrug”, elbow high–wrist low) that instantly improve them.

✅ Strong but can’t feel the muscle — using slower eccentrics, pauses, isotonics (e.g. 3–3–3 sets), and better tempo to shift tension from joints to the target muscle.

✅ End-of-year wrap — why this has been the strongest year yet for the pod, fewer horror-story protocols in the industry, Powerhouse Bayswater meetup, and one last Bali retreat spot for 1 March.

🎧 Training talk, form fixes and a big thank you for an epic 2025 with the Prep Coach Podcast.

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Disclaimer

The information presented is for informational and entertainment purposesonly and is not intended as medical advice nor is it a substitute for professionaladvice, diagnosis, or treatment of any disease or condition. Consult yourphysician or health care practitioner before beginning any nutrition,supplementation or exercise program. Anyone on this podcast does not assume any liability for the information provided. Any application of the recommendations or use of the information contained herein is at your discretion and sole risk,and you specifically waive any right to make any claim against anyone on this podcast.