Caloric intake is important for building strength and muscle mass, but just how much you need depends on your goals and your current body composition. In this episode, PRS Clinical Coaches Dr. Rori Alter and Dr. Alyssa Haveson sat down with Dr. Robert Santana to discuss the concepts of dietary intake and muscle mass development in barbell strength and powerlifting athletes.

Robert has an extensive background in all things health and fitness. Earning his Ph.D. as a Registered Dietician while excelling in various settings, from the hospital to high-performance athletes, Dr. Santana is also a Renaissance Periodization coach, Starting Strength Coach, owner of Weights & Plates in AZ, and the host of the Weights & Plates Podcast.

In this episode we dive deep with Robert into all things nutrition and training, covering important topics every strength athlete can benefit from including:

• Mechanisms for lean body mass increase from a nutritional perspective
• Various phases of dieting for strength athletes including "bulk phases" and "cut phases"
• The correlation of weight gain to strength increases and the risks associated with it
• Tips on how to manage body weight close to your ideal physique without it compromising training or requiring low calories
• How to achieve goals for both strength development and fat loss
• The truths of building muscle as a natural athlete and how much muscle mass you can actually put on in various timeframes
• The time it takes to lose muscle after cessation of training and how to combat it through diet if you cannot train for a period of time
• Supplementation recommendations

This episode could have gone on for hours, and it contains so much information you might want to listen twice! Progressive Rehab & Strength will definitely have Dr. Robert Santana, RD, back in the future.

Resources:

• Website: https://weightsandplates.com/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weights__and__plates/

• The Weights & Plates Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/weights-and-plates-podcast/id1557830248

If you're enjoying our podcast, please leave us a review on Apple or Spotify.

Join our Facebook Community for free form checks, live Q&As & more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PRS.Barbell.Mastery

Got questions or guests you'd like to hear on the show? Submit them here: https://forms.gle/7Vu2HmgHoeQY9xM59

Get in touch with the show!

Web: https://www.progressiverehabandstrength.com

Email: [email protected]

Rori IG: @rorimegan_prs

Alyssa IG: @alyssahope_prs

Rori analyzes an unusual bench press error that recently cropped up with one of her lifters. In this case, the lifter was raising her butt off the bench slightly when taking a breath to establish a valsalva and set her upper back before the rep. The problem became exacerbated as fatigue set in. In powerlifting, however, the lifter's butt must stay in contact with the bench throughout the rep, so doing this in competition may cost you a lift! Rori's cue to fix this? Actively "feel" your butt on the bench as you breathe.

While it's an uncommon error, if you are a competitor and find yourself doing this, try Rori's cue. It may save you from some red lights!

For additional help beyond this episode, check out the following:

1. Ten Minute Tip #5: Exactly How to Bench Press to Reduce Injury Without Stealing Your Gains (and how to coach it too!)

2. 3 Reasons Your Bench Press Hasn't Progress (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

3. The Secret Society Of Barbell Mastery, a free Facebook group for support, form checks, and all your questions answered by the PRS Clinical Coaches

If you're enjoying our podcast, please leave us a review on Apple or Spotify.

Join our Facebook Community for free form checks, live Q&As & more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PRS.Barbell.Mastery

Got questions or guests you'd like to hear on the show? Submit them here: https://forms.gle/7Vu2HmgHoeQY9xM59

Get in touch with the show!

Web: https://www.progressiverehabandstrength.com

Email: [email protected]

Rori IG: @rorimegan_prs

Alyssa IG: @alyssahope_prs

Dr. Rori Alter, PT, PRSCC, SSC, and Dr. Alyssa Haveson, PT, PRSCC, CSCS, sat down with the listeners to answer all the questions submitted for our October 2022 live Q&A podcast show!

They covered an array of topics, but because these were questions asked directly, they were able to address individual cases while providing valuable insight for everyone.

These topics included:

☑️The intention of exercise selection and the purpose of variations. In addition to how to make changes to meet the needs of the individual.

☑️Technique cues you might be missing.

☑️Education on pain and injury during training with insight into the PRS algorithm. Specifically on low back/gluteal pain and what modifications made sense for the lifter who asked.

☑️Maintenance vs. Competition nutrition served with a dose of reality checks.

☑️Nuances of counting macros for all ages, genders, goals, and life phases

The EXACT Questions We Cover In This Episode:

• Jeff Haggar - What exercises do you recommend for improving upper back strength which would best carry over into increasing my bench press max?

• Steph Tracy - I am curious about when to pause or not pause on the chest with accessory bench work. I tend to gravitate towards a pause, because a pause is ingrained for comp bench, but a touch and go approach seems more appropriate for some other bench variations (like sling shot or larsen).

• Anonymous - When's the best time to inhale on OP, before or after the overhead shrug?

• Katrina Taylor Injury question- so I've had a deep ache in my glute during the lockout of deadlifts for about a month now. the pain initially stuck to deadlifts, just a pinch and then an ache that lasted a few seconds once the weight came back down, but has since started irritating me in other leg day workouts (hack squats, single leg leg press), and then yesterday appeared in BB back squats, causing me to "fold" and fail a weight i usually rep no problem. I've tried stretching, foam rolling, warming up better, only lighter deadlifts, and it keeps getting worse. Any advice?

• James Hammons- There always seems to be confusion around this question and I feel like the diet apps and macros tracking apps are all over the place with how they deal with this…Let's make this question easy and assume I'm making hamburgers for dinner. I like grilled burgers more than pan fried so I season my 90/10 ground beef and fire up my grill. While the patties are cooking the fat from the beef is dripping off the meat into the bottom of the grill. Does this mean that I have effectively lowered the fat content of my patty from 10% to "something less than 10%"? If so, I assume that we should be accounting for cooking styles when tracking macros or else we could end up consuming less fats than we need/should be consuming.

• Trina - I get caught up in counting macros and wanting to maintain my prep physique well beyond a powerlifting meet. I find myself resistant to eating more during the maintenance phase. I know this is all psychological and would appreciate their thoughts on how to balance the mindset needed for maintenance vs prep.
• Ed Perrucca - Approaching 60, I am wondering if I'm eating too much or too little. I eat 2800 calories per day broken into 40/30/30 macros. I'm sure to eat 200 or more grams of protein from Chicken, Turkey, Beef, Eggs, Fish and dairy. I'm 5'10" , 206 lbs. I'm at the start of NLP. Six weeks in after a long layoff from a ACDF and Lumbar discectomy. My lifts are 175 squat, 150 bench, 85 Press and 235 Deadlift. I have seen lots of articles and videos about diet for the 18-35 year old age group. Is it just trial and error?

To get your questions answered, PRS sends out a newsletter via email that you can respond to or join during the live event to ask and receive an answer directly from the knowledgeable PRS Clinical coaches!

To gain access to these live events in the future, join our FREE Facebook group: the Secret Society of Barbell Mastery.

RESOURCES:

• Are You Optimizing the Overhead Press Start Position? PRS IG Video

• Article: Is Graston, IASTM, Massage, Stim & Dry Needling Going to Help Your Powerlifting Injuries?

• Book a FREE Rehab Consultation

• Article: Protein: 3 Reasons Why You Need More of It & How to Boost Your Intake

• Article: Athlete Recovery | Barbell Physical Therapy for Injured Powerlift

Join our Facebook Community for free form checks, live Q&As & more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PRS.Barbell.Mastery

Got questions or guests you'd like to hear on the show? Submit them here: https://forms.gle/7Vu2HmgHoeQY9xM59

Get in touch with the show!

Web: https://www.progressiverehabandstrength.com

Email: [email protected]

Rori IG: @rorimegan_prs

Alyssa IG: @alyssahope_prs

Leg drive in the bench press is one of the most important elements for successfully building a large bench press and keeping your shoulders healthy. However, you may be doing it wrong. In this episode of the Progressive Rehab & Strength Podcast, Rori discusses a common leg drive error that many people make. If you're experiencing pec or shoulder pain or abruptly failing one to two inches off the chest, you may be making this leg drive mistake.

Join our Facebook Community for free form checks, live Q&As & more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PRS.Barbell.Mastery

Got questions or guests you'd like to hear on the show? Submit them here: https://forms.gle/7Vu2HmgHoeQY9xM59

Get in touch with the show!

Web: https://www.progressiverehabandstrength.com

Email: [email protected]

Rori IG: @rorimegan_prs

Alyssa IG: @alyssahope_prs

Deciphering accurate health and fitness information can be challenging in a world of information overload! Especially when trying to fit it into your already busy life.

In today's episode, Dr. Rori Alter, PT, PRSCC, SSC, and Dr. Alyssa Haveson, PT, PRSCC, sit down with special guests: Alessandra and Josh Scutnik, the creators of SD Evolution and FIT Coach Pro. They cover essential and practical tools that you must hear to achieve your desired, healthy lifestyle:

🌱The core of healthy nutrition habits to ensure you achieve your goals

🌱Common roadblocks or "excuses" that people face or that hold them back

🌱How to deal with things out of your control and interfere with progress

🌱Mindset regarding behavior change and what you might be overcomplicating

🌱And the five pillars of SD Evolution

This episode will help you simplify all the complex nutrition and lifestyle advice, how to begin with just one foot in front of the other, and the ultimate power of consistency over time. After listening to this conversation, you will realize that it all starts with finding ONE small thing you can do today that will set you up for success for the rest of your life.

SD Evolution: https://sd-evolution.com

Fit Coach Pro: https://fitcoachpros.com

Join our Facebook Community for free form checks, live Q&As & more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PRS.Barbell.Mastery

Got questions or guests you'd like to hear on the show? Submit them here: https://forms.gle/7Vu2HmgHoeQY9xM59

Get in touch with the show!

Web: https://www.progressiverehabandstrength.com

Email: [email protected]

Rori IG: @rorimegan_prs

Alyssa IG: @alyssahope_prs

If you're experiencing knee pain when you barbell train or powerlift and you've done all the things to try and address it, check this unracking and reracking mistake. In this What We Saw Wednesday episode Rori discusses a racking mistake that has the potential to contribute just enough stress on the knee that your knee pain doesn't resolve.

Click HERE to access the Barbell Athlete's Guide to Filming Lifts!

Join our Facebook Community for free form checks, live Q&As & more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PRS.Barbell.Mastery

Got questions or guests you'd like to hear on the show? Submit them here: https://forms.gle/7Vu2HmgHoeQY9xM59

Get in touch with the show!

Web: https://www.progressiverehabandstrength.com

Email: [email protected]

Rori IG: @rorimegan_prs

Alyssa IG: @alyssahope_prs

About This Episode:

Rori and Alyssa invite nutritionist, nutrition coach, and competitive bodybuilder Christy Alexon onto the show to discuss proper nutrition and eating habits for maximizing strength and muscular development. Christy holds a PhD in Physical Activity, Nutrition and Wellness from Arizona State University, and lectures on nutrition and metabolic science at Arizona State as a Clinical Associate Professor. Christy also has an extensive training background, having competed in powerlifting and currently competing in natural bodybuilding in the bikini division. As a result, Christy has both in-depth scientific knowledge and practical experience in getting as strong and muscular as possible, while minimizing body fat.

Dr. Alexon walks through the macronutrients that comprise every lifter's diet, and suggests target macro ranges (protein, carbs, and fat) for novice lifters. She explains the basic biochemistry of metabolism and building muscle, and how each macro contributes to the anabolic process. More importantly, however, she points out the eating habits of successful lifters, and how to build a sustainable lifestyle around your own nutritition and training.

You can follow Christy on Instagram at @drchristyalexon.

When she's not teaching or training, Christy offers nutrition coaching through Rennaissance Periodization.

https://rpstrength.com/team-member/christy-alexon-phd-rd

Join our Facebook Community for free form checks, live Q&As & more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PRS.Barbell.Mastery

Got questions or guests you'd like to hear on the show? Submit them here: https://forms.gle/7Vu2HmgHoeQY9xM59

Get in touch with the show!

Web: https://www.progressiverehabandstrength.com

Email: [email protected]

Rori IG: @rorimegan_prs

Alyssa IG: @alyssahope_prs

There has been an undeniable shift in the clinical physical rehabilitation field, and it's been steadily changing since about 2015. Physical therapists and chiropractors no longer focus solely on pain management, short-term relief, isolation techniques, manual therapy, and modalities. Instead, they aim to influence the whole person in front of them and achieve global long-term tissue change with a patient's unique goals in mind.

This evolution has been extremely revolutionary. It has led to much more successful outcomes and happier patients. Clinicians who utilize this progressive approach can influence patients on a level we were never taught in school. Patients are reaping the benefits of progressive overload while adequately stressing tissues to make lasting changes.

Strength is the foundation for everything. The squat, bench press, deadlift, and overhead press are the most functional because they apply to every movement we do in our daily life. Unfortunately, doctoral programs lack the education in exercise prescription, progressive overload, or anything strength training related.

In this very special episode, Dr. Rori Alter, PT, PRSCC, SSC, and Dr. Alyssa Haveson, PT, PRSCC, CSCS, interview Dr. Al Lin, PT, who has been putting in the work to stay up to date with the massive shift, despite being in practice for 15 years. He is passionate about learning how to provide the best care for his patients. One of the most influential things for his clinical practice has been understanding the principles of strength training. He started powerlifting and noticed the importance of structured programming and the power of getting stronger.

He wanted the same for his patients. Therefore, he sought Progressive Rehab & Strength courses to understand how to program, prescribe, and teach each patient how to use strength training principles- no matter the clinical scenario.

By taking PRS Programming Fundamentals and Barbell Coaching & Movement Optimization, Dr. Al Lin feels fully equipped to achieve successful, lasting patient outcomes. This episode is chock-full of insight and lessons from 15 years in practice, where Al demonstrates that you are never too experienced to continue learning and advancing your practice.

The number one question asked by our Clinical Barbell Coaching Institute physical therapy, chiropractic, or barbell coaching students is "how do I combat the experience of being undervalued, underpaid, overworked, and having terrible hours at my current job?"

You aren't alone if you want to break free of the status quo.

So often, people feel forced to practice a certain way and handcuffed to the model of the company they work for. Whether that is people who are coaching for a corporate model, practicing clinicians at a mill-model clinic, or athletes looking to transition out of their day job to coaching.

In this episode of the PRS Podcast, Dr. Rori Alter, PT, PRSCC, SSC, explores how she went from a full-time, mill-model physical therapy clinic where she experienced immense burnout to successfully running Progressive Rehab & Strength, both online and in person.

In just 10-minutes she covers the four things you need while keeping your day job as you transition your side hustle to the career of your dreams:

1. First and foremost, MINDSET SHIFT - this is not the easy road out. You must be willing to be uncomfortable, to put in the work, and understand that this isn't going to be easy, but it will be worth it.
2. Creating expectations and boundaries with not only other people but also yourself and your time.
3. Overcome the scarcity mindset - the power of saying NO.
4. Work remotely - the more effective you are at coaching people, the quicker you can coach people remotely. The importance of having a systematic way of coaching, analyzing, and assessing movement through video analysis. As well as an effective way of communicating virtually with your clients. This ultimately frees up more time to invest in your business and reach more people.

So if you want to start coaching more effectively so that your side hustle isn't overwhelming, we've got two things for you.

• The FREE Barbell Movement Masterclass and we go over the PRS four-phase approach to coaching movement, which also helps you improve your ability to coach people.
• PRS Barbell Coaching & Movement Optimization course, if you're looking for an effective way to communicate with clients, take the time that you're trading for dollars in-person sessions that are exhausting and step over your time boundaries and your ability to enjoy your life while still working with people on the side and having a full-time job.

If you are listening to this after the live enrollment, don't worry! The link will automatically take you to the waitlist for the next time we run this Masterclass and the next cohort waitlist for Barbell Coaching and Movement and Optimization! So you will want to take advantage of this episode.

A coach's job is to educate a lifter on safe and effective barbell technique, maximize strength and muscular development, help ensure goal attainment through appropriate programming and technique, provide support throughout the process, and ultimately keep people happy and lifting for years to come.

But it takes two to tango! The athlete plays an essential role in the success of the coaching experience. An athlete's transparency, communication, and knowledge is always a huge asset for a coach as they provide the pieces to the puzzle to help the coach optimize everything. The more knowledgeable and insightful the lifter is, the more effective a coach can be for them.

Stephanie Tracy: a long-time PRS client, USAPL Referee, Cookie Connoisseur, and competitive powerlifter, sheds light on the benefits of being insatiably curious about all things strength training and powerlifting!

She consumes as much information as she can in strength sports and has found value in having trusted sources at Progressive Rehab & Strength to filter information and learn from firsthand. As a curious athlete, she highlights some valuable lessons that all athletes, coaches, and clinicians would be remiss not to take home:

• Knowledge of movement principles provides you confidence when executing lifts in training.
• A deep understanding of the WHY behind programming decisions AND technique provides you with tools to deviate if necessary and decreases anxiety and risk of injury.
• Investing in yourself makes the process of reaching your goals that much more enjoyable.
• Being an active participant in your journey helps strengthen your relationship with your coach.

As a USAPL ref, she witnesses a lot of great lifts but also very poorly executed or failed lifts, which has solidified how important technique and programming are when your goals are to perform well on the platform.

As Steph states, "we owe it to ourselves not to 100% rely on a coach to ensure that we're optimizing our potential and reducing our risk for injury."

If you're ready to become a next-level lifter, or a coach's ideal client, invest in your sport long-term, and fall in love with the process - Stephanie has already done all the work for you; all you need to do is listen to this podcast.

Join our Facebook Community for free form checks, live Q&As & more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PRS.Barbell.Mastery

Got questions or guests you'd like to hear on the show? Submit them here: https://forms.gle/7Vu2HmgHoeQY9xM59

Get in touch with the show!

Web: https://www.progressiverehabandstrength.com

Email: [email protected]

Rori IG: @rorimegan_prs

Alyssa IG: @alyssahope_prs