Project StrengthCast

In today's episode, Norman Cheung from Strong Ambitions Coaching joins us at Project Strengthcast for an in-depth conversation on building better powerlifting systems. We explore and discuss upon topics like training doses, progress versus progression, athlete profiling, technical decision-making, fatigue and injury management, and the judgment coaches need to solve problems over the long term. This episode is a truly practical masterclass for coaches and lifters who want sustainable progress, both in training & in their careers.

Timestamps for this episode:

00:00:00 - Introduction: Training Dose & Coaching Systems

00:02:18 - Training Dose and Dose Response

00:06:15 - Progress vs. Progression

00:13:13 - Designing Training for Athlete Buy-In

00:20:03 - Personality, Psychology & Coaching

00:22:40 - Mental Models and Titrating Training Dose

00:28:19 - Needs Analysis and Training History

00:32:49 - Diagnosing Flat Performance

00:43:54 - Competency, Capacity & Performance

00:52:33 - Technique, Constraints & Bottlenecks

01:10:48 - Learning From Coaching Failures

01:19:14 - Coach-Athlete Trust and Long-Term Progress

01:26:22 - Discipline, Sleep & Sustainable Training

01:30:50 - Powerlifting Education and First-Principles Thinking

01:38:52 - Powerlifting Education in India

01:45:44 - Q&A: Accessory Volume and Periodization

01:49:20 - Q&A: Genetics, Long-Term Potential & Process

01:55:51 - Q&A: Fatigue Sets and Managing Intensity

01:57:28 - Q&A: Injury Management and Pain Caps

02:03:17 - Q&A: Accessories Before Main Lifts

02:09:15 - Closing Thoughts

Connect with us on instagram:

Follow Norman: @strongambitionscoaching

Our page: @projectstrengthcast

Kaushal: @kaushal_ironcreed

Jay: @jay.tries.to.move

Tapas: @the.quadzilla

Shop at Siege Fitness for the most premier comp standard equipment you can find in India: https://www.siegefitness.in

Follow Siege Fitness on instagram: @siegefitnessindia

Most coaches are solving the wrong problem. In this episode's discussion, we talk to Jamie about why better results start with better models. And how the way you understand movement can improve both pain management and performance. We also discuss client-led coaching, breathing as a sensory tool, bone-first thinking, movement strategies, pain narratives, and why “stability” is often misunderstood. Jamie also gives us insights from coaching elite powerlifters, including how to create more movement options, manage load, and know when to focus on technique or take a broader view.

If you want to coach smarter, communicate better, and stop mistaking symptoms for the real problem that may be occuring within your systems, this episode is for you.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction: Coaching Models and Better Problem-Solving

02:12 - Why Coaches Need Training Models

11:37 - Jamie’s Coaching Model: Inputs Shape Outputs

19:06 - Client-Led Exploration and Better Coaching Communication

24:08 - Breathing Drills as Sensory Practice

32:50 - Top-Down and Bottom-Up Constraints

40:05 - Bone-First vs. Muscle-First Thinking

53:29 - Pain, Biomechanics, and Better Narratives

1:01:22 - Moving Beyond Pain-Focused Coaching

1:07:23 - Building More Ways to Load and Move

1:16:45 - External Load vs. Internal Load

1:21:36 - Helpful and Harmful Training Narratives

1:33:08 - Relative Motion vs. Movement Orientation

1:39:09 - Solving Technique Breakdowns as Skills

1:43:21 - Why “Stability Training” Misses the Point

1:50:25 - Mentorship, Learning, and Closing Thoughts

Connect with us on instagram:

Follow Jamie @j.smith.culture

Our page: @projectstrengthcast

Kaushal: @kaushal_ironcreed

Jay: @jay.tries.to.move

Tapas: @the.quadzilla

Shop at Siege Fitness for the most premier comp standard equipment you can find in India: https://www.siegefitness.in

Follow Siege Fitness on instagram: @siegefitnessindia

Hey everybody, welcome back to Project StrengthCast. We promised you the best, and here we are delivering. Today we have on Anas Anbar for an elite discussion on all things programming. Anas is a USAPL pro athlete, an elite coach and co-host of StackedCast. Be sure to check Anas and StackedCast out both on youtube and instagram after you finish watching this episode.

This episode is immensely valuable to lifters ranging from intermediate lifters to advanced powerlifters looking to improve their critical understanding of the mechanisms behind how strength works. Coaches will also benefit by learning a lot more in-depth about concepts from a different point of view.

Our discussion also had topics and nuances apart from our official topic list as we like to keep things organic. As always, be sure to stick around till the end to receive the most value possible from this episode, and be sure to leave any feedback you may have down below!

Timestamps for this Episode:

00:00 - Introducing Anas: coaching, mentorship, and better programming

02:32 -SRA explained: stress, recovery, and adaptation

08:43 - Finding the real bottleneck in a lifter’s progress

18:24 - Does better technique always make you stronger?

22:11 - Building a lifter profile and tracking more than top sets

26:19 - Communication, accountability, & getting athletes to adhere

43:44 - Fatigue misconceptions and why hard training still matters

60:07 - Bar speed, force production, and why grinding reps can stall progress

70:38 - Work capacity: what it is and how to build it

75:33 - Why every training block doesn’t need a PR

84:50 - Movement Quality Degradation due to Fatigue

92:16 - Asymmetry

1:06:25 - Maintaining movement quality and technique year-round

1:14:30 - Exercise selection isn’t enough, execution matters

1:20:56 - Injury management

1:23:48 - Managing stress and capacity instead of simply resting

1:29:52 - Model-based coaching and learning to solve the right problem

1:50:06 - Building a stronger coaching culture in India

1:52:51 - Natural lifting, long-term development, and avoiding shortcuts

1:57:06 - Final thoughts from Anas and where to follow the conversation

1:61:19 - Closing remarks

Connect with us on instagram:

Follow Anas @Anasanbar

StackedCast @stackedcast

Our page: @projectstrengthcast

Kaushal: @kaushal_ironcreed

Jay: @jay.tries.to.move

Tapas: @the.quadzilla

Shop at Siege Fitness for the most premier comp standard equipment you can find in India: https://www.siegefitness.in

Follow Siege Fitness on instagram: @siegefitnessindia

This episode is essential for lifters, gym owners, coaches, and anyone tired of overpriced equipment that talks a big game and performs like garbage.

In this episode, Pranav, founder of Siege Fitness, joins us to provide invaluable insider insight on the Indian Fitness Space. Pranav shares how Siege started during COVID out of necessity, after he couldn’t find a proper power rack in India and decided to make one himself. We push the conversation further with real-world examples from coaching, gym ownership, and training in spaces where bad equipment limits progress. The result is a blunt, practical look at what happens when gym owners cut corners, why people are demanding better gear, and how stronger standards can raise the entire fitness ecosystem. Pranav also explains how Siege chooses athletes and creators to work with, why brand fit matters more than follower count, and how feedback from lifters, coaches, and gym owners directly shapes new products. If you care about training quality, building a better gym, or understanding what makes fitness equipment actually worth buying, this episode is packed with useful perspective.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction
02:48 - How Siege Fitness Began
03:51 - India’s Home-Gym Market After COVID
14:14 - Safety, Durability & Functional Design
20:07 - Why Equipment Makers Need to Train
34:00 - Better Gyms Build Better Communities
43:02 - Choosing Athletes and Brand Collaborators
47:47 - India vs. International Equipment Markets & standards
53:42 - Competition, Innovation & Design Philosophy
61:31 - Gym Culture, Community & Higher Standards
65:22 - Why Multi-Gyms Fall Short
71:14 - AI, Creativity & Critical Thinking
78:33 - Small-Space Training & Closing Thoughts

Connect with us on instagram:

Podcast: @projectstrengthcast
Kaushal: @kaushal_ironcreed
Jay: @Jay.tries.to.move
Tapas: @the.quadzilla

Shop at Siege Fitness for the most premier comp standard equipment you can find in India: https://www.siegefitness.in

Follow Siege Fitness on instagram: @siegefitnessindia

This is Part 2 of Episode 5 of Project StrengthCast. Today we talk about a wide range of topics ranging from Tapers, Deloads, breaking plateaus, accessory selection, data & education in powerlifting, off-season in powerlifting (why thats not a good way to phrase it), a QNA, and a lot more. This episode has been split into 2 easily digestible parts.

Timestamps for this episode:

0:00 -Peaking and tapering explained
4:09 - Why offseason training should build, not just express
12:16 - Powerlifting vs other sports: role of the coach
18:23 - Deloads, intro weeks, and when to use them
28:43 - Cultural shift: think in-season, not off-season
30:40 - Handling bad meets and post-meet mindset
37:20 - Self-regulation vs coach intervention
44:52 - Independence, boundaries, and coach-athlete dynamics
52:32 - Setting expectations and dealing with unrealistic athletes
59:25 - Hobbies outside lifting and avoiding burnout
61:49 - Q&A: minimum time on a program before changing
63:37 - Q&A: why people seem weaker after the off-season
68:51 - Q&A: how to teach RP and self-regulation
71:16 - Q&A: why coaches need coaches
78:46 - Closing thoughts and sign-off

Connect with us on instagram:

Podcast: @projectstrengthcast
Kaushal: @kaushal_ironcreed
Jay: @Jay.tries.to.move
Tapas: @the.quadzilla

Shop at Siege Fitness for the most premier comp standard equipment you can find in India: https://www.siegefitness.in

Follow Siege Fitness on instagram: @siegefitnessindia

This is Part 1 of Episode 5 of Project StrengthCast. Today we talk about a wide range of topics ranging from breaking plateaus, accessory selection, data & education in powerlifting, off-season in powerlifting (why thats not a good way to phrase it), and a lot more. This episode has been split into 2 easily digestible parts. Make sure to watch the first one in it's entirety before moving on to the second one where we talk about deloads, tapers, and even have a qna.

Timestamps for this episode:

0:05 - Welcome back + episode overview
1:24 - Plateaus and how to approach them
17:50 - Psychological side of long plateaus
25:42 - What counts as a plateau? Multifaceted progress
31:56 - Self-sabotage, momentum, and training mistakes
35:49 - How to help a lifter who feels stuck
44:05 - Why highlights don’t show the full process
51:21 - Off-season vs in-season mindset
59:07 - Chronic fatigue, pain, and technique drift
65:48 - Accessory work, stimulus, and movement quality
70:30 - Aerobic fitness and general conditioning
77:20 - Why data and education matter in powerlifting

Connect with us on instagram

Podcast: @projectstrengthcast
Kaushal: @kaushal_ironcreed
Jay: @Jay.tries.to.move
Tapas: @the.quadzilla

Shop at Siege Fitness for the most premier comp standard equipment you can find in India: https://www.siegefitness.in

Follow Siege Fitness on instagram: @siegefitnessindia

This is part 2 to a 3 part episode on topics paramount to athletic success and coach-client relationship optimisation. We welcome Kaushal from Ironcreed as our new host who brings us incredible insight and invaluable knowledge from his experience being in the industry for so long

This episode has been split into 3 parts, so please watch them sequentially to get the most value out of it as a whole, and we hope you find a lot of value in this one.

00:00 - Influencers vs Real Progress

00:42 - Gifted Lifters 02:38 - Useful Client Communication

06:40 - Boundaries (why not all clients are friends)

29:46 - Coaching Ecosystem Problems

33:16 - Refer Out With Integrity

34:57 - Injury Rehab Communication

47:57 - Boundaries Buy In Autonomy

Follow us on instagram

Podcast: @projectstrengthcast

Kaushal: @kaushal_ironcreed

Jay: @Jay.tries.to.move

Tapas: @the.quadzilla

Shop at Siege Fitness for the most premier comp standard equipment you can find in India: https://www.siegefitness.in

Follow Siege Fitness on instagram: @siegefitnessindia

This is part 1 to a 3 part episode on topics paramount to athletic success and coach-client relationship optimisation. We welcome Kaushal from Ironcreed as our new host who brings us incredible insight and invaluable knowledge from his experience being in the industry for so long. This episode has been split into 3 parts, so please watch them sequentially to get the most value out of it as a whole, and we hope you find a lot of value in this one. 0:00 - Introduction & Episode Overview2:54 - Athlete Intent: What It Is & Why It Matters5:19 - Smart Work vs. Hard Work: Pacing Your Training Block7:53 - Why Athletes Must Understand the Basics31:09 - Powerlifting, Money & Content Creation34:10 - Sacrificing for the Unknown: Athlete Mindset37:06 - Athlete Buy-In: The Perfect Program vs. True BeliefFollow us on instagramPodcast: @projectstrengthcastKaushal: @kaushal_ironcreed Jay: @Jay.tries.to.moveTapas: @the.quadzillaShop at Siege Fitness for the most premier comp standard equipment you can find in India: https://www.siegefitness.inFollow Siege Fitness on instagram: @siegefitnessindia

Learn how Adaptations work, what different kinds exist, the common mistakes most coaches make when considering them, how accessory selection is way more than just hypertrophy, and a lot more on how to program better to be smarter overall.

Follow us on instagram and youtube @projectstrengthcast.

Join the movement to lift smarter and better