Strong and Sleek

Dr. Robert and Coach Trent recently met up in Wichita Falls, TX, the home of the Starting Strength organization, for a strengthlifting meet at Wichita Falls Athletic Club. While they were there they sat down with the man himself, Mark Rippetoe, author of Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training 3rd Edition and many other books and articles, to chat about how much the food landscape has changed in his liftetime.

 

They also touch on the obsession with leanness in modern popular media, and how the average individual can look much better in a t-shirt with proper strength training, but not random trips to the gym to catch a pump.

 

You can find Rip and all his books, articles, videos, podcasts, and more at the mainsite for Starting Strength:

https://startingstrength.com

 

 

Weights & Plates: https://weightsandplates.com

Robert Santana on Instagram: @the_robert_santana

 

Trent Jones: @marmalade_cream

https://www.jonesbarbellclub.com

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For people new to barbell training, it's not uncommon to hear the process of strength training referred to as "powerlifting," or even "weightlifting." And while yes, we are lifting weights, that is not the same thing as weightlifting -- which is the sport of Olympic weightlifting, a barbell sport involving the snatch and clean and jerk. Likewise, while strength training involves the squat, bench press, and deadlift (and press), powerlifting is actually a sport in which the squat, bench, and deadlift are performed for a single rep under the rules and judgment of a federation.

 

So, if you're unfamiliar with the strength sports of powerlifting or Olympic weightlifting, today's episode explains how these sports work, and why strength training is a very different thing from competition -- even if they look the same to casual bystander!

 

Weights & Plates: https://weightsandplates.com

Robert Santana on Instagram: @the_robert_santana

 

Trent Jones: @marmalade_cream

https://www.jonesbarbellclub.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Supplements are a huge industry, and showing no signs of slowing down. The idea that a pill, or a powder, or a drink can transform your fitness and body composition is irresistible, it seems, as people continue to pour billions of dollars into the supplement industry. Do any of them actually work though? And if so, which ones?

 

Dr. Robert Santana and Coach Trent Jones wade through the most popular performance enhancing supplements, and offer an opinion which runs counter to what most will tell you: most of them DON'T work, and if you aren't training hard and cultivating healthy daily habits, NONE of the will work! For those of you willing to do the hard work, however, there are a couple supplements which might help you gain a little edge in the gym. But you probably didn't need it anyway.

 

Cycle for Pennies Condensed Article:

http://doggcrapp.blogspot.com/2006/11/cycle-for-pennies-condensed.html?m=1

 

Weights & Plates: https://weightsandplates.com

Robert Santana on Instagram: @the_robert_santana

 

Trent Jones: @marmalade_cream

https://www.jonesbarbellclub.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coach Robert and Coach Trent discuss some recent developments in their own training, which prompts a discussion on how stressors affect the SRA cycle, and why advanced barbell training can be deceptively simple.

 

Weights & Plates: https://weightsandplates.com

Robert Santana on Instagram: @the_robert_santana

 

Trent Jones: @marmalade_cream

https://www.jonesbarbellclub.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

RPE is a commonly used tool for programming, and has continued to grow in popularity with the rise of barbell training, barbell sports such as powerlifting, and the online coaching industry. It's a novel tool which uses the lifters' perception of their effort (RPE stands for rate of perceived exertion) on a given set, on any given day, to influence programming decisions. It's an innovative way to approach programming, and certainly convenient for online coaches that don't have the benefit of watching lifters perform in real time, but is it actually useful? Coach Robert and Coach Trent debate the merits of RPE, and discuss the related concept of autoregulation, in today's episode.

 

Usually RPE is assigned to a set and rep scheme, such as "perform a single at RPE 8," and the lifter will choose the load depending on their perceived exertion level. If the lifter is feeling fresh and full of energy, they will go heavier; on the other hand if they go into the workout fatigued and low energy, they will go lighter. In both cases, the perceived exertion is the same. This is a form of autoregulation, an important aspect of programming for advanced trainees in which the programming must adapt to the fatigue level of the trainee from workout to workout. Performance becomes more unpredictable the more advanced a trainee becomes, and autoregulation is important to avoid injuries and overtraining during periods of high fatigue, as well as take advantage of good days when energy is high and the loads are moving fast.

 

For a novice trainee, however, RPE and autoregulation can be a minefield. Novices by definition lack the experience to understand what their level of exertion is on any given set, relative to what their total capacity for exertion. The process of linear progression, in fact, retrains the mind about what is possible as the lifter continually tackles heavier and heavier weights, often well past the point they thought they could go. Even for intermediate trainees, using RPE prescriptively to determine working loads can result in undertraining, or trainees spinning their wheels, if their weight selection does not involve regular progressive overload.

 

So... is RPE bullshit? Not quite. It can be a useful tool for the right lifter, but that lifter is probably fairly advanced and has accumulated a lot of time under heavy weights. For most people training in the gym, who are novices or perhaps early intermediates, it's not a great way to approach programming. At least Coach Robert and Coach Trent don't recommend it.

 

RPE Chart -- Reactive Training Systems

https://articles.reactivetrainingsystems.com/2017/12/05/how-to-use-rpe-in-your-training-correctly/

 

Mike Tuscherer Interview with Mark Rippetoe

https://youtu.be/PTCFaEPBWJQ

 

 

Weights & Plates: https://weightsandplates.com

Robert Santana on Instagram: @the_robert_santana

 

Trent Jones: @marmalade_cream

https://www.jonesbarbellclub.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Robert invites one of his clients, Olivia Miller, onto the show to discuss her training program for a 50k race she ran in February. Liv is a former D1 soccer player now working in the healthcare field. She turned to running after graduation as a way to keep herself physically challenged, and to stave off some of the boredom and stress of the COVID lockdowns in 2020. A natural competitor, Liv excelled in running and began training for longer and longer races, with her recent 50k being the longest.

 

Several months ago she sought out a coach through Rennaissance Periodization to help her improve her strength and nutrition. After a few months of dedicated strength work, in which she incorporated the basic barbell lifts -- squat, press, deadlift, and bench press -- into her program for the first time since college, she asked Robert to program her running as well. He did, gradually ramping up her mileage after the strength phase and maintaing her strength in the weightroom with an RPE based loading scheme. The approach worked, and Liv hit some PR's while feeling noticeably stronger and more resilient during the race, and with less aches and pains durign the training process as well.

 

You can follow Liv's running on Instagram @livimillr

 

Weights & Plates: https://weightsandplates.com

Robert Santana on Instagram: @the_robert_santana

 

Trent Jones: @marmalade_cream

https://www.jonesbarbellclub.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An impromptu training discussion leads to a whole episode about why strength is limiting factor for the vast majority of people trying to get bigger and look more muscular.

 

Weights & Plates: https://weightsandplates.com

Robert Santana on Instagram: @the_robert_santana

 

Trent Jones: @marmalade_cream

https://www.jonesbarbellclub.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rounding out the January series on improving strength, muscle mass, and physique for the skinny fat novice, Coach Robert and Trent lay out what the early intermediate phase tends to look like in terms of programming and body composition. After building a solid base of strength in a well-executed novice LP, the formerly skinny fat lifter has most likely gained an appreciable amount of muscle mass. An average sized male, 5'7" to 5'10", will weigh roughly 200lbs at this point, and should be squatting in the high 200's to mid 300's for a top set (perhaps even sets across), deadlifting the high 300's to low 400's, benching in the low 200's, and pressing over 135. Note those are rough numbers and genetics, anthropometry, and proficiency with technique can greatly influence those numbers up or down on any given lift.

 

Despite these considerable gains, many lifters find that they aren't as lean and defined as they wish to be, because the process of putting on that muscle mass brought some fat mass as well. This is a good time to consider a moderate cut in bodyweight, perhaps 10-15lbs for a 200lbs male, to lose body fat and bring out some definition. By keeping protein intake high during the process, the lifter can minimize muscle loss during the cut.

 

Depending on the lifter's goals, the early intermediate phase of training can be a good time to introduce variations of the main movements to address weak points in the musculature, and reduce systemic stress on the body during a cut. Exercises like the leg press, front squat, curls, tricep extensions, and dips can help a lifter bring up lagging parts of hte body that did not grow proportionately during the novice phase of training. As they are inherently less stressful than heavy compound lifts, particularly on the lower back, they are also good options to continue training when a caloric deficit causes fatigue.

 

The key point to intermediate training is this: decide what your goal is, and organize your training and food intake around that. Without a clear goal, your training won't have a clear direction, and you're likely to end up spinning your wheels. This also means that you can't have everything at once! If your goal is to lean out, you probably won't continue to improve your top end strength on the main barbell lifts. Likewise, if you're goal is to continue improving your 1RM's, you probably won't lean out because continued strength gains will require lots of food to support training. It is possible to have both in the long run, but it's a multi-phase process, so pick one goal and get after it!

 

Weights & Plates: https://weightsandplates.com

Robert Santana on Instagram: @the_robert_santana

 

Trent Jones: @marmalade_cream

https://www.jonesbarbellclub.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's show Robert and Trent welcome guest coach Andy Baker, Starting Strength Coach and co-author of Practical Programming for Strength Training, 3rd Edition and The Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life After 40. Andy is a master coach with a wide range of expertise and interests. He coaches high level competitive powerlifters, bodybuilders, high school and collegiate sport athletes, and regular folks just looking to become generally fit and strong. Along the way he's learned a lot about packing on muscle, and has identified common mistakes guys make when struggling to add mass, especially to their upper body.

 

In today's show Andy addresses the difference between strength training and hypertrophy training, a frequent point of contention amongst powerlifters, bodybuilders, and the "gym bro" crowd. As Andy puts it, both bodybuilding and powerlifting are performance based, whether you like it or not. The powerlifter obviously must perform on a platform where his or her best lifts will  be judged on completion, while a bodybuilder is judged on more subjective criteria such as muscle size, symmetry, and separation. Both competitors are strength athletes; growing muscle requires regularly adding weight to the target lifts and progressively overloading them. Where they will differ is specificity. The powerlifter will need to train his skill and neuromuscular efficiency in producing 1RM's on meet day, while the bodybuilder needs to look a certain way. For the bodybuilder, then, the ideal rep ranges will be higher -- most likely 4 to 12 reps -- while the powerlifter will spend more time in the 5 and under rep range. Likewise, the bodybuilder will choose exercises which stimulate the most muscle group for their unique body type, anthropometry, and genetic predisposition, while the powerlifter will spend most of his time performing the competion lifts (squat, bench, deadlift).

 

Thus, one of Andy's keys to growing muscle mass is understanding that the goals are different from general strength training and especially competitive strength sports. There are no required lifts for growing muscle. Instead, you want to focus on lifts which are highly stimulative to the muscles you're trying to grow, and these lifts will vary from person to person. Andy paraphrases one of his influences, bodybuilding coach Dante Trudell, when he says "pick a handful of movements that work for your body and get them as strong as possible in a medium rep range."

 

Andy has written extensively about training for strength, mass, and sport on his website. He also offers in-person and online coaching, as well as programming templates for a variety of fitness goals:

https://www.andybaker.com

 

Andy also has a podcast, the Baker Barbell Podcast, available on all the usual streaming platforms.

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/baker-barbell-podcast/id1607570442

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7K8Ue2u52o0GUalVEngPAE?si=15ab03f263a544e2

 

 

Weights & Plates: https://weightsand ...

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It's the new year, and a time when many people resolve to work eat, eat better, and improve their body composition. Some guys aim to lose weight, others to gain it, but what about the in-betweener, the guy who is of normal bodyweight, normal BMI, but still appears unathletic -- low muscle tone, no visible definition, and maybe even excess fat around the pectorals (man boobs) and waist line. This condition is often referred to as "skinny-fat," and skinny fat people often mistakenly think that they need to lose fat to look leaner and more muscular

 

Coach Santana and Coach Trent explain, however, that the skinny-fat person's problem is they are undertrained and undermuscled. And the answer to the skinny-fat dilemma is to get strong and gain muscular bodyweight in the process. That's right, gain weight! It may seem counter-intuitive at first, but gaining muscle results in more visible defintion by spreading existing fat mass over a larger surface area. It's just arithmetic too. If you gain weight that is mostly muscle, then the ratio of your muscle to body fat will go down, and therefore your body fat percentage will go down. In other words, gaining muscle makes you leaner!

 

Weights & Plates: https://weightsandplates.com

Robert Santana on Instagram: @the_robert_santana

 

Trent Jones: @marmalade_cream

https://www.jonesbarbellclub.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.