Philosophical Weightlifting Podcast

By Joshua GibsonSports

Philosophical Weightlifting Podcast episodes

April 03, 2025 Ep. 283: Tempo Variations and Long-term Planning | Jessie Stemo, CEO Power & Grace
Sign up for the Power and Strength Summit, where Jessie will present on her experiences as an elite athlete, elite weightlifting coach, and the CEO of Power and Grace Performance!

Register here for an early bird discount: https://www.powerandstrengthsummit.com/

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https://www.instagram.com/jessiestemo/
https://powerandgraceperformance.com/

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1 hr 7 min
March 28, 2025 Ep. 282: What is Sport Science? | Andrew Stuart, PhD(c)
Andrew Stuart and I first met at the NSCA conference in Baltimore, Maryland. At the time, we discussed his role as the Assistant Director of the Athletic Performance Lab at Nebraska, his experience with US Speed Skating, and how weightlifting fits into the broader picture of performance.

In this episode, we explore some fundamental questions in the human performance world: What is sport science? Who does it? And how do you become a sport scientist? We also reflect on Andrew’s path as a strength coach and the important lessons he’s learned throughout his career in sport science and S&C.

Enjoy.

Follow Andrew:
https://www.instagram.com/coachastuart/

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1 hr 13 min
March 20, 2025 Ep. 281: The Keys to Building a Coaching Business | Zack Bartell, SoCal Powerlifting
Zack Bartell got his start in athletics, developing an insane level of strength while training for football and, eventually, powerlifting. Fast forward nearly a decade, and he's turned that passion for training into building an incredibly successful in-person gym called SoCal Powerlifting. Through that process, he's built his own business and expertise to help others achieve the same within the in-person and online coaching space.

In this episode, Zack and I deep dive into the basics of building a business, including first-principle thinking. We then discuss the differences between building an in-person versus an online coaching business and how to be successful within either endeavor.

Enjoy.

Follow Zack, SoCal Powerlifting, and CoachLogik:
https://www.instagram.com/bartellbarbell/
https://www.instagram.com/socal_powerlifting/
https://www.instagram.com/coachlogik/

Follow me and get coaching:
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Onyx: with code PHILWL for 10% off
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1 hr 11 min
March 13, 2025 Ep. 280: Guided Imagery & Mindfulness to Improve Health and Performance | Peter Giacobbi, PhD
Dr. Peter Giacobbi and I first met in a bar where we ended up discussing various philosophical interests and ways of understanding the world. Little did I know I was talking to one of the foremost experts in sport psychology and guided imagery. Since that fateful day, he's become a member of my dissertation committee and enlightened me to the many benefits of guided imagery and mindfulness for sport performance and health behavior change.

In this episode, we deep dive on guided imagery for performance enhancement and health behavior change, including its impact on smoking cessation, stress reduction, and as a tool to decrease clarking in the gym.

Enjoy.

Follow Dr. Giacobbi's work:
Article on Pragmatism https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/233569689.pdf
Researchgate https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter-Giacobbi

Follow me and get coaching:
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Onyx: with code PHILWL for 10% off
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1 hr
March 07, 2025 Ep. 279: The Science of Competition Coaching | Chris Taber, PhD
You're in the backroom with your athlete and they just smoked their opener. As they walk off the stage, you need to figure out how many kilos to bump up. Is there a science to attempt selection? Is it all based on intuition? Is it both?

In this episode, Chris details his recent work examining the jumps elite weightlifters take in competition and how that relates to their probability of success. Along the way we also talk some philosophy and examine the concept of free will.

Enjoy.

Follow Chris:
https://www.instagram.com/drchristaber/
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christopher-Taber

Follow me and get coaching:
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Weightlifting House: code PHILWL for 10% off
⁠https://www.weightliftinghouse.com⁠

Onyx: with code PHILWL for 10% off
/⁠⁠https://www.onyxstraps.com/⁠
1 hr 4 min
February 28, 2025 Ep. 278: All Things Strength Development | Tim Suchomel, PhD
Strength is a hot commodity in the sport of weightlifting. Every coach and athlete will claw and scratch for every kilo they can add to their squats, pulls, and presses. This is for good reason - strength underpins all forms of movement. So, the question becomes, what's the best way to develop it, and is it even that important in the first place?

Listen in as we deep dive on the concept of strength, including how it's defined, developed, and optimized for within a program.

Enjoy.

Follow Tim:
https://www.instagram.com/drtsuchomel/?hl=en
https://x.com/drtsuchomel
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Timothy_Suchomel

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1 hr 8 min
February 20, 2025 Ep. 277: Training Talks w/Max Aita | Top Pull Variations, High/Low Days, & Creating Your System
Many athletes struggle with similar aspects of the lifts. This is because snatches and cleans will always be snatches and cleans, without much external unpredictability. Pull variations are intended to emphasize phases of the lift that must be trained perfectly. How you program these movements, including high and low stress days, to your specific population of athletes SHOULD be meaningfully different than most other coaches.
Listen in as we discuss our favorite things, including snatch high pulls, low stress training days, and creating your own training system.

Enjoy.

Buy our books:
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Follow Max and sign up for CoachLogik:
https://www.instagram.com/max_aita/
https://app.coachlogik.com/login
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57 min
February 13, 2025 Ep. 276: Training Talks w/Max Aita | Rethinking Program Design
The longer you write programs, the less they look like templatized, cookie-cutter 12-week blocks. Eventually, the programs morph into something more akin to something found in the Russian manuals. This is due to the critical nature of training volume, intensity, and exercise selection driving the adaptive response. Blanket prescriptions (5x5) go the way of the dinosaurs, and more responsive, finely tuned strategies emerge (1x1, then, 3x3, then 2x6).

Listen in as we discuss the recent programming overhauls Max and I have converged on, why Max is so good at dealing blackjack, and the key to making it through tough times.

Enjoy.

Buy our books:
https://usastore.weightliftinghouse.com/collections/books code PHILWL for 10% off

Follow Max and sign up for CoachLogik:
https://www.instagram.com/max_aita/
https://app.coachlogik.com/login

Follow me and get coaching:
https://www.instagram.com/josh_philwl/

Onyx:
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1 hr 11 min
February 06, 2025 Ep. 275: The Keys to Great Leadership | Steph Mock Grubbs, MLB S&C Coach
Steph Mock Grubbs hails from Pennsylvania, spending the last four years as the Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Performance at the University of Pittsburgh. As of 2025, she's accepted a position as a MLB Strength Coach with the Houston Astros, taking her understanding of S&C, sport science, and leadership to H-Town.

In this episode of the podcast, we discuss the keys to great leadership. Steph discusses her time as a strength and conditioning coach and Director/Assistant Director at various schools, including Mississippi State, Clemson, the University of Pittsburgh (the list goes on). Very rarely will you find someone with an insatiable desire for knowledge and the opportunity to get in the trenches and put it to practice.

Enjoy

Follow Steph:
https://www.instagram.com/coachstephmock/
https://x.com/coachstephmock?lang=en
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-mock-grubbs-8a89432b6/

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44 min
January 30, 2025 Ep. 274: Derek Miles, DPT | No Silly BS, Training for Power After Injury, & Being More Disagreeable
Derek Miles, DPT, is a no silly BS rehab specialist who runs his own physical therapy clinic (Miles Rehab and Performance) in Cincinnati, Ohio, and works on the Pain and Rehab team for Barbell Medicine.

In this episode, we discuss many pain and rehab-related topics, how to become more disagreeable when communicating science, training for power after an injury, and why physical activity and health matter more than most performance goals.

Enjoy

Derek's Content:
Training for Power article: https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/how-to-train-for-power-after-an-injury/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/derek_barbellmedicine/?hl=en
Work with Derek: https://www.milesrehabandperformance.com/

Follow me and get coaching!
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Weightlifting House:
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Onyx:
https://www.onyxstraps.com/ with code PHILWL for 10% off
https://www.instagram.com/onyx_straps/
1 hr 2 min

About Philosophical Weightlifting Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Join me as I explore the minds of elite athletes, coaches, and experts in strength, power, and human performance. During these conversations, I often look for the intersection of philosophy,…