Let's Talk Clermont

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Episode 20 of Let's Talk Clermont.  We start with some Clermont County news—HB 331’s new village-dissolution rules, $6.4M for local projects, Bethel-Tate sports fee hikes, Beehive’s new aerospace R&D center, and Loveland’s PFAS water-treatment upgrade—then we talk with with Advocate of Iron owner and firefighter Josh Kaehler about launching a community-focused gym, safety and culture, training mindset, and practical programming. Plus a quick roundup of upcoming local events!

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We've been living in sin so long.   All  

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Welcome to episode 20 of Let's Talk Claremont. I am your host, Patrick.   Thank you for tuning in, and thank you for all the new listeners that are tuning in. We had quite a quite a fair few this past week.   And for anybody that is new, I'll just let you know that how we normally do this. We run through a little bit of news from around the county, then we'll get into our   interview, and then we'll go over some events that are going on.   So let's get started.   So I recently interviewed Rex Parsons, and he is a Batavia Township trustee. And that episode will come out, in in a little bit.   But he mentioned that Amelia,   the village of Amelia, actually dissolved around 2019,   and I didn't know that. I didn't know villages   could dissolve.  

So I thought   it would be interesting   to look at township dissolution   kind of briefly, especially because there was a a house bill   that was voted on and passed last year, and it was enacted in April,   and it's house bill three thirty one. And it adds kind of a a new wrinkle into how villages in Ohio   can be dissolved.   So the normal way   of dissolving a village there's a couple ways to do it, before house bill three thirty one, but the main route that you would take would be a voter petition.   You go out in your community,   you get more than 30% of the electors in your community or just the voters,   to sign that petition, and then dissolution goes on the ballot   during the next general election or special election.  

There are two or three other ways to do it, but those have to do with fiscal emergencies and the size of the village,   and those are typically worked out in the courts.   So it has nothing to do with voters in in the village.   Now after   house bill three thirty one, all the original ways to to dissolve a village are there,   but there is a a slight tweak   to the voter petition route in that the vote only happens in even numbered years, which I'm not sure why they changed that, but they did.   The other thing is they added a new way for   villages to dissolve,   and it is all around,   a lack of services or a lack of candidates. So after each federal census, and that happens every ten years. I think the last one was 2020.  

The next one is 2030.   After each of these censuses,   county officials review villages.   And if the village didn't provide at least five basic services, and that's gonna be stuff like police, fire, water, sewer, stuff like that,   or it failed to field candidates for offices,   the county board of elections must place the dissolution question   on the next general election ballot, and that can be any year. It doesn't need to be even years. Then it's voted on, and if the majority approves,   the village is dissolved.   And I just thought this was interesting. It certainly could impact some villages   in 2030, and I I don't know if I'm a 100% right about this, but I think there's been 10 or 15 villages   in the state of Ohio that have dissolved. And if I'm remembering correctly, Ohio seems to have,   an unusual amount of villages compared to other states. So,   I just thought that was interesting.  

Moving on. Let's talk about some stuff going on in Clermont County.   The Ohio House approved $6,400,000   to support 15 projects across the county.   Some of the projects,   include   rebuilding Goshen,   Township's fire station, which was destroyed in a 2022 tornado.   Some other projects are upgrades to Batavia Township's community park   and, operating funds for the child focus nonprofit.   So that's some that's some pretty good news. We're getting a a nice little chunk of money from the state, and it's gonna go towards some projects that'll help improve our our communities.   Next up,   school sport fees are rising, and this is specific for Bethel Tate.  

In   Claremont County, in most school districts,   they charge around $200   per sport   per student.   And they'll have a dollar amount cap, so you won't have to pay more than something like $550,   or they'll just waive the fees after the third or fourth sport, something like that, which is, you know, $200 isn't cheap, especially per sport, but it seems like the most you probably have to pay per student is somewhere around the range of $300.   In Bethel Tate, however,   there is a $425   fee for the first two sports   and $250   for each additional sport.  

That is quite a bit of money. And the reason they have to do this has a lot to do with budget cuts of 1,600,000.0   that happened this year due to enrollment issues.   Fortunately,   it sounds like there are community members and local businesses in Bethel that have started fundraising to help out families with this cost.   I I think this is   very important.   Sports are important. Sports were important for me in high school. I think it's just good to get young people   into sports and learn about, you know, hard work and sacrifice and   pushing yourself beyond what you really think you can do.  

So this is kind of a call if somebody is listening to this and they know someone involved in that effort in in, Bethel,   they're trying to help out, you know, raise some funds to help mitigate that cost for sports. Please let us know. Let me know. And we'll try to get them on to to see what they're doing and and how other people can help them.   So   moving on to Miami Township, there is a new aerospace r and d center.   It's a company called Beehive Industries out of Colorado,   and they're building a state of the art center on Wards Corner Road. And they specialize in jet propulsion design   and prototyping, which is pretty cool.  

They're going to they use advanced three d metal printing, which is even cooler,   to develop cutting edge jet engines for unmanned aircraft. So, like, Department of Defense drones, things like that. It's expected to create high-tech engineering jobs, probably for the entire county,   and most definitely for Miami Township. So that some more good news.   Moving on to Loveland. Loveland recently received a $1,300,000   principal forgiveness loan   from the Ohio EPA   to treat PFAS   or PFAS. I don't know if I people actually say PFAS, but it's PFAS contaminants   in its water supply.  

PFAS stands for per and polyfluoroalkyl   substances.   They're long lasting chemicals, so I believe that's what when you hear somebody talk about forever chemicals,   these PFASs are what they're talking about, and they're not good for you. I looked up the list of health effects and they're long, stuff like, you know, cancer and they can interrupt thyroid function, stuff like that.   And quite frankly, anything with fluoro in it, which would be fluorine,   not good for you. Not a good chemical.   Fortunately,   Loveland's water does meet current standards.   So it's not, you know,   a a grave threat.  

But   the amount of PFAS is in Loveland's water is slightly above a above,   the EPA's new proposed limit. So currently, it is right below the limit, but the EPA is going to come out with, new limits, and   Loveland's groundwater will be slightly above that. So what they're doing is proactive.   It does the water does meet current standards,   but they're just planning upgrades   to their water treatment plant to ensure compliance with the new regulation. So that it's good that they're getting in front of this.   In the funding, this, 1,300,000.0   is going to cover engineering and design of that new water treatment plant. So that's all all very good news, I think.  

So that's all we have for news, and that'll lead us right into we are a value for value podcast. And what that means is if you find value in what we're doing, all we ask is for a little value in return in the form of time, talent,   or treasure.   For time and talent, let us know what's going on in your community. We, actually,   shout out to Tina Barger   who recently recommended two interview,   subjects.   That and I was actually able to get a hold of one, and I think we're gonna be putting something together next week for that interview, and the interview will probably come out in a couple weeks. So thank you very much, Tina. And I think that would probably be one of our first,   Timer Talent producers. So thank you very much, Tina.  

As far as,   Treasure goes, we have a donations page. You can go to let's talk clairemont.com,   and there is a donate tab. You can donate via PayPal, which I'm sure most people are familiar with, or Stripe, which is I wasn't quite familiar with it, but both of them are just payment platforms. I'm pretty sure both of them take all kinds of forms of payment.   And any dollar amount is very appreciated. Anything you give us helps us keep this going.   So it's it's greatly appreciated. But for donations $50 and above, you will get a special mention on on the show.   And   for donations $200 and above, you will become an executive producer, and those are credits that are valid. I will vouch for you. You can put them on IMDB. You can put them on your resume, whatever you want. And we'll also read a note,   that you send in. So with the notes, be sure to send that note to info at let's talk Claremont, with your donation amount and your name so that I can match the donation,   to the note.  

You can also connect with us on Facebook, Let's Talk Claremont podcast. We're on Instagram   at Let's Talk Claremont.   And, of course, please follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or whatever it is you happen to use for podcasts.   Not only does it help us out, but it helps you out. You'll get notified when a new show comes out, so,   you know, you don't have to, worry about that.   And as always, even if you don't donate $200, please get in touch with, you know, questions, comments, concerns, what's going on in your neighborhood, people we should interview. And you can email us at info@let'stalkclaremont.com.   Alright. Now that we got the value for value pitch out of the way, our interview today is with Josh Kaehler  Alright. Now that we got the value for value pitch out of the way, our interview today is with Josh Kaehler  Alright.    He is the owner of Advocate of Iron Gym. He's also a firefighter up in the Westchester area.  

And I I go to this gym. That's honestly why, I interviewed him. I've spoken with him before, and he's a really nice guy. But I can't recommend the gym enough. What Josh has done with Advocate of Iron is kind of rare in the gym world is not only has he created a gym   that is   really well stocked with machines and is very,   friendly to its members,   but he's also just created a great community and a great gym culture there. Some gym cultures can get really toxic really fast.   What Josh has done is great, and I can't recommend advocate of iron enough. It's in Batavia, but if you even if you aren't close to Batavia, I would say it's well worth the drive. And if you feel like waking up early in the morning, you can come lift with me, and there's a great group of guys and girls that go about six in the morning.   They're all great. It's a it's a great little crew that we have.  

Today, we're gonna talk about how we opened the gym,   which is a a really interesting great story of, you know, a lot of really,   inspirational parts of it if if you ask me. And we also talk about bodybuilding and powerlifting in general,   which is I really like. I'm not much of a bodybuilder. I don't have the body for that, but I do enjoy powerlifting.   So it was fun to talk to him about that.   So with all that, I just wanna give Josh another thank you for sitting down with me, and I hope you enjoy the interview.  

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Alright.   So   we'll just start with who are you and what do you do?  

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Josh Kaehler. I'm the owner of Advocate of Iron Gym.   Firefighter.   Full time still, currently. Where is it? Is is it up in Mason? Westchester. Westchester. Westchester. How long you been a firefighter?   I've been with them for this is my twenty first year. Yep. Yeah. Still like it. Still love the job. It's greatest job in the world. What do you like about being a firefighter?  

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I'm just kinda one of those jobs as a young boy. You're like, oh, I wanna be a fire.  

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So we talk about, like, adrenaline rushes and and   and addictions and stuff like that. You know? In my opinion, there's there's nothing that that quite touches being able to   mitigate a situation or help mitigate a situation that no one else can fix.   You know, when when you call 911,  

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there's nobody else coming. Yeah. No one there's no 911 for the 911. Right. Right. You're in You are the cavalry. Yeah. So  

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that's that's kinda what what does it for me and knowing that I can help people with on a   grander level than just,   you know, can I go get you a loaf of bread or, you know, can I borrow a cup of sugar? You know what I mean? Like, it's a it's a, hey. My mom's not breathing anymore. I do something. Hey. Come save my life. Yeah. Yeah. So that's really cool.  

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And then second to that is owning a gym, I think.   So I I gotta ask you. Well, first off, how did you even come to own a gym? How did this whole thing start?  

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I wanted to own a gym forever.  

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I mean, I was real big in the bodybuilding in the in the nineties, late nineties.   And   I always thought that I was gonna have to   become a competitive bodybuilder, win a bunch of big shows, and then and to even own a gym because I figured no one would come to the gym if I didn't have   medals on my arm and stuff like that. You know? And,   it's kinda funny how this worked out because we my wife and I, we decided we were gonna go ahead and and move forward with my dream. And,  

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what we did was   we were refinance the house, and we paid off all of our bills. And the idea was to use our our income   to buy one piece of equipment at a time until I had enough to open up a gym.  

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But then   Paul Baker,   from Athletic Club of Waycross,   on Waycross Road over over by,   over near Coloring.   He posted a a gym online on the marketplace,  

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and   it was the entire   entire circuit, all of it. Yeah. That was so I I call him up, and I'm like, did he have that monolith? He didn't have the monolith. There's there's a few pieces that we have that we definitely got later on.  

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There's there's some some cool cool stories that are embedded in this, which is is  

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miraculous at best. You know what I mean?   But   Paul wouldn't tell me how much it was.  

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He wouldn't say. So he thought he's a tough negotiator, or is he just kinda he j is coy. I think he wanted   I think, honestly, he was searching for somebody who actually wanted to do this. Yeah. You know what I mean? Because,  

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basically, COVID   killed his business. Oh, and it was his dream. COVID tapped him out. Yeah. Oh, that sucks. And he was he was 70. You know what I mean? Awesome awesome guy. Wife is is amazing woman too.  

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So getting to meet them and see them and and see their journey,   it was   kinda broke my heart on one on one hand, but, I mean, he's he's a tough dude. He he's gonna bounce back, and he I know he will. He he's   that's another story, I guess. But but,   he basically invited me to come out and check this stuff out. And I looked at it, and I'm like,   wow. This stuff is nice. I guess he's gonna want a lot for it. So finally, at the end of the tour, I I'm like, hey, Paul. Like, what's what's the what's gonna be the damage? And what he said he said 18,000.   That's not bad. I know. For gym equipment? For all that gym equipment. So it's like the benches and the machines and the they're all of it. Even, like, that cable flooring. I mean, flooring, everything was would come out with it.  

I'm talking the the belts. Yeah. The   all the weights except for the 40 fives. Okay.   He had sold all the 40 pretty quickly. Yeah.  

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And then when he realized, like, oh, I should I I should try to sell this altogether. Yeah. That's when I came in. He had two other lot buyers lined up, and these other buyers weren't gonna flip it. They were gonna buy it for the 18,000, turn around and sell it for 55, and they would've got it all day long. Yeah. But, would have been a nice payday too. Actually, absolutely. Yeah.   And   when   Paul saw my reaction to it, I I think he just kinda saw in me that his gym was gonna live on Yeah. In somewhere else. You know what I mean? That's really nice. I didn't know that about all that equipment. Yeah. And, it's it's funny because,  

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it's not funny. He when we were getting the stuff out of his his place.  

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And let me let me let me back up just a little bit. So   he said $18,000.   So at the at that point, I me and my wife didn't have money yet. You know what I mean? We had we had just refinanced and paid off all of our bills and stuff like that. So we really didn't have 18,000. So we had to scramble to hurry up and get a a loan real quick. You know what I mean? So we got we got a personal loan,   got him paid, but it was like the loan process was taking so long. And Paul's like, come on. Like, somebody had just offered him money for his building, and they said you have to be out at a certain time. Well, it was, like,  

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two days before my loan finally came through. Yep. So it's, like, two days to move. Yeah. A whole bunch of weightlifting equipment. Yeah. So   I had my boss, Jim Cox. He he held me and and a a a guy that I I work with named Joey Engelbert.  

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And it was just us for my wife, me,  

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Joey, and and Jim, and we all all pulled the stuff out of out of   a Paul's,   space.   And as we're doing it, you know, Paul's, like, pacing back and forth, and, you know, he's at one point, he actually had tears in his eyes because he's sitting there watching his dream walk out the door. Yeah. Where was this, Jim? I'm I'm on did you already say it? Yeah.  

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On Waycross Road. Oh, yeah. He did. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's okay.   So we get it all over here. Actually, we we get it all under storage unit because I didn't have a we didn't have a place yet.  

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And then finally, when we we   sign the lease here, it was all able to come over. We we,   night and day just building this place, and we had to build a big wall on the back. You know? I I did that myself.   And, well, actually, myself and and a a friend of mine,   very late nights doing that. You know? Yeah.  

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When we got it all built and ready to go, we we sent first first call I made was to Paul.   Paul is ready. We're doing a grand opening. Please come out. I want you to see this.  

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So he came out, and,  

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and I actually get emotional when I talk about this because because seeing that man, like, seeing that   he got to see his dream continue,  

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And he was like, it's just how I imagined. Yeah. So when he comes out there, I had had no idea this was the story. Gave me a big hug and was like, thank you for this. You know? And,   he's   great dude. Great, great dude. So it was awesome to be able to see him, you know, go from, you know, crying in one's eyes to Crying up. Another.   That's really sorry that that happened for him, though. Well, for both of you, really.  

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And some of the stuff that that is kind of embedded in this story is,   my   my battalion chief at the firehouse, he's he's he's into crypto and into investing, and he's like, Josh, you gotta get it on the on the Stojecoin. Right?   So I'm like, okay. He tried to get you on those. He did, actually. So this is this is where God kinda comes in. Yeah. I'm not a very religious person, but this is definitely God. And I'm I'm I cannot deny it.   I pay I I put $38   in. You know? That's it. And I didn't touch it. I just watched and waited and waited and waited. And I was like, I only got $38 out of it. I mean, whatever. It's no big deal. Whatever.  

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So it ends up growing   to   $997.44.  

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$9.97   44. Yeah.  

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So one day, I'm scrolling through Facebook, and I'm I'm still in the I'm getting myself in this mindset of, like, you're gonna be a a a successful business owner. You   you gotta take risks, blah blah blah. So I'm like, okay. I'm I'm gonna do it.   Free bumper plates  

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ad came up on, and it was   a dollar a pound Yeah. For a dollar a pot? A dollar a pound. That's not bad. And I was like, there's gotta be a catch. Well, the hatch will let you have to buy a thousand pounds. Oh, well, yeah. That's okay.   So I'm like, well, a thousand pounds is what a gym would need. Yeah. Yeah. So Especially if you got a bunch of power lifters in here. So I I contact the company. I tell them, you know, I'm sitting here at the firehouse blah blah blah, and then they're like, oh, we get 15% off also.  

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So I'm like, are you kidding me? Do we so I put your Dogecoin. I I I sold at the 15.   Not only that,   the the total was 900 No. $97.44.  

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It was exact. It was exact. The to the dollar amount that Doge got me. So you were able to put 38 in Dogecoin, and it gets you the exact amount, the gee exact thousand pounds of bumper plates. So when when I tell a story and people were like, oh, that's God. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, I I I mean, there's certain things in your life like that where it's just undeniable.  

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And to me, it was like it was God saying here. Yeah. Do it. Do it now. I'm not gonna give you another chance. You know what I mean? He just said, but it's like, okay. I think I'm most of the star.   So how is it, actually owning a gym? I feel like owning a gym is one of those things where it's, you know, guys talk about, like, oh, I'd love to own a bar, and then you actually start owning a bar and you go, oh, this is a lot different than I thought it would be. Yeah. Absolutely. It was was that down. Uh-huh, my   this is not what I intended. I mean, you'd see  

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humans at their best,   humans at their worst,   humans in the the the crossroads. Yeah. You know, when when   they're they're in that decision making process, whether whether they wanna continue with this or they want to, you know, go ahead and and, take some time off or heal or you know what I mean? So   I I wasn't prepared to see some of the weird things that they go on, you know, like people hanging stuff from from weight stacks and, yeah, and,  

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putting things upside down when they don't need to be upside down. And There's so many I see so many guys in gyms that will come in and all do these, like, weird setups. And it's like, what do you you could do this exact same thing with just a barbell. Like, what do you Yeah. What are you doing, man? Well, I don't know. So, you know, certain things get trendy and   you just take off.  

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I had a gentleman that that was  

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insistent upon using a belt barbell up against the drywall wall   and putting weight on it.   What do you mean? Like, he was he put the barbell on the wall? Like, he was trying to do landmines and stuff like that. Oh, again,  

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I kept telling him, like, it that it's gonna pop right through the drywall, and it had already  

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made, like, a crescent moon in the drywall where it was already digging in, and they're like, I see what you're talking about. So he tried to, like, attach the barbell to the or I I see what you mean.   It it it butted the barbell into the wall. You've got a little thing on the   I'm   that's exactly what I told her.   I was gonna say, you actually have something for to do landmine Bob Ear Bob Ear cables too.   So I'm like, man, it's gonna go through the wall. You need to to do something different. He's like, oh,   it's it's holding just fine. I'm like,   hang on, man.  

I don't wanna pull this car, but I am new. You know what I mean? I I don't wanna have to repair the wall. I'm responsible for this place. Please don't ruin it. So Yeah.   And that's another another aspect that I really wasn't expecting was   learning customer service on a different level. Yeah. You know? I mean, it's not just, you know, with customer's always right. There's sometimes where the the customer is absolutely wrong, and and you have to tell them in the nicest way you can. Like, hey. This is gonna hurt you. Yeah. You know? Well, you probably get all experience levels in there. Absolutely. I mean, you probably got people who just   woke up one day. They're like, you know, I should get in better shape. And they come in and, you know, you come into it. Yeah. There's cub there's a different types of gyms, you know? Like, you've got your commercial gyms, like playing a fitness, and you're probably not gonna hurt yourself   there. You can't, but probably sharing hot, but then you've got gyms like this, which are like bodybuilding power lifting   gyms. Like everybody could come here and do whatever they want, but   you're kind of set up for that. I mean, you've got everybody's weight totals on the wall. I mean, that's what kind of we're here to do.  

And there's equipment and weights out there that like, that monolift. If you don't know how to operate that monolift, you can really get yourself hurt. I find that the the safety straps off of the bar  

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all the time.   And it it it baffles me because,   like, pride is pride, and I get that. You know what I mean? But, like, safety is safety. Yeah. Like, when you got, you know, 400 plus, you know, and you're using the monolith,   Like, I I've watched a video. I think many of us have actually seen the videos of 400, three fifty five actually killing people. Oh, easily. You know? Especially if you don't know how to ditch. And it's it it ends up being what they call it internal decapitation, you know, where it pulls the head down so far, it literally severs our spinal cord.   And it it's it's it's lethal. Yeah. And the easiest thing, especially it's the model is designed for that. Yeah. It's designed to catch that weight. Yeah. That's what the straps are there for. Yeah. I mean, it it's a beautiful piece of equipment. Those straps hold 22,000   pounds. Yeah. They got you. Yeah. You know? And, yeah, and why they they take them off is is something.  



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I even understand normal racks. Like, why people wouldn't   set the just when you're squatting 300 pounds, why you wouldn't set those.   I I don't know. I I don't know why people don't I absolutely agree. It's it's wild. Yeah. I mean, it's an easy thing to do too. Right? I mean, it's not like it's some complicated   do you gotta take screws out? Just you pull a bar out to put it a little higher or lower. Yep. To go. Simple. Yep. Very simple.   And it'll save save your life quite literally.   So   let's talk about if somebody is   just kinda starting out. What what kind of things would you recommend that they do?  

I get to ask  

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this   weekly. Yeah. No. Not daily, but weekly.   Somebody will come in and say, hey. I wanna do this. And and and   I take a different approach than some some coaches or some some mentors,   in the game. And   that is   if if this is what you truly wanna do,   I don't wanna mess with your diet at all. Yeah. Not yet. Yeah. Let's make that lifestyle change. You're gonna get in the gym every day. You can go less than five days a week or four days a week, whatever the you know, I'm out. You decide that it is right for you,   and let's get you consistent with that because that's gonna change your caloric demands. Yeah. So once your caloric demands are changed, and then we can say, okay. Do you need more, or do we need less? What are your goals? Yeah. I think the goal part is the big thing. Like, you see a lot of people in gyms, and they just kind of float around  

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and it's like, what are you, what are you trying to do? Like, if you just wanna feel better, look better. Okay. That's fine. If you wanna squat 600 pounds heads of them, and those are vastly different goals. Yeah. And the caloric demands are gonna change drastically Yeah. Based off of that. Yeah. Yeah.  

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But it again, it all starts with getting your butt in here and and and me making consistent change. You know? And I'm I'm a big, big fan of making   small number of changes at at a time. Yeah. Because if you change five things and one of them works,  

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which one works? Exactly. Exactly. You have no idea. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yes. It's already a lot of variables when it comes to lifting. Absolutely.  

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Temperature in here was a big one. You know? Yeah. Because we we don't have the the, air conditioning,   a true air conditioning. I got two air conditioners, and they're doing a decent job of drying the place out and making it dry heat. But, I mean, it's still Still hot. I was I was in here this morning lifting, and I would go  

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it's not like I'm doing cardio or anything. I'm just doing normal strength stuff, and I'm drenched. Yeah. Which I like. I like it. I think it's good to sweat like that. There there's  

[00:28:42] Unknown:

a lot of us, especially as regulars that say that we like the heat, but   then there's a lot of from the from the business side of it, you know, there's people that do wanna come in here and lift in a in a  

[00:28:53] Unknown:

not a cool environment, but a comfortable environment. You know what I mean? And when they come in and it's hot, they're like, I'm here to do, you know, an hour of cardio on the treadmill. They're like, nope. I'm going back home. This is too hot in here. You know what I mean? So yeah. And it becomes a little something different. So I'm trying to trying to do my best to to please everybody   as best I can. You find it's hard managing expectations sometimes. I see. Like, people will come in, and they've got, like, a I'm trying to think of something other than Planet Fitness, but they've got, like, a Planet Fitness idea, and then they come in. And, you know, you've got just iron everywhere and guys, like, roar.  

[00:29:28] Unknown:

Mhmm.   The biggest one is is the,   the younger   kids that that   they they're not supposed to be posing   in Planet Fitness. Yeah. And we don't mind it here. Yeah.  

[00:29:42] Unknown:

So with that being  

[00:29:44] Unknown:

the thought process is if they're allowed here, they just go straight all all in. You know what I mean? And it's always in front of the mirror. So it's, yeah, if and I'm like, hang on, guys. Like, we put a posing room in for this very reason.   Yeah. I mean, we don't mind that   I've got a sign out there that says posing should never get in the way of active lifters because they're here to lift. You know what I mean? Like, if you wanna pose, totally fine. Yeah. We we we love seeing your progress. We really do. But be respectful of the people who are actually using equipment that isn't that is near the mirrors. That's one of the biggest culture changes I've,  

[00:30:18] Unknown:

experienced, I think. Because I've   I started lifting in high school for football.   And then over the years, I've just, you know, on and   off been lifting in one form or another.   And one of the biggest changes I've seen in gyms   is   when I was younger, everybody was kinda they were just there and, you know, you'd see guys in front of the mirror and it wasn't a big deal. But now you get people with, like, cell phones and everybody's   taken in. I don't notice it much in the morning, but it it's like people have seemed to lost   I've have lost that.  

I don't know. It's I don't know. I think the phones have just changed  

[00:30:54] Unknown:

how people are. I don't know. It's weird.   And they don't some people don't take into consideration that some people do not want to be filmed. Yeah. So that's that's another aspect that we've we've done a pretty good job here of of informing people, you know, like, hey. If you're gonna be filming, just make sure that the people around you are okay with it. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah.   And then instead of having tripods everywhere, I did go go to the extent of, buying all the little, yes, clutches, little, like, double sided magnets. So and everything is made out of metal here. You know what I mean? So you can literally put it and angle your phone any way you want to to keep your phone out of the way and still be able to get a good shot of yourself,  

[00:31:32] Unknown:

and hopefully not be in somebody's way. Yeah.  

[00:31:36] Unknown:

And we we don't see a whole lot of people who get upset,  

[00:31:39] Unknown:

with people walking in front of your your filming. Yeah. I think it's probably a bigger problem in commercial gyms. I think you're right. I think you've got a I think you've got enough guys here that are I mean, just judging from that wall, you've got a guy that's up in the five hundreds for benching. You've got, you know, six, seven, 800 pound squatters. I mean, those are serious guys, and they probably regulate   the culture pretty well. Yeah. Yeah.  

[00:32:04] Unknown:

They they like to to set up in a in a certain way.  

[00:32:08] Unknown:

And usually,   if they have to, they'll move the bench  

[00:32:12] Unknown:

to accommodate that certain way so that it's not in the way of other people. Yeah.   And every once in a while, you get somebody that that's just not thinking and and puts it up and and, like, directly in the way. And then, you know, when somebody walks by, they're like, hey. It's it's my camera. Yeah. Yeah.  

[00:32:26] Unknown:

We we kinda know, but you put it in the walkway.   Yeah. I mean yeah.   And to my knowledge, I haven't seen anybody, like, get into it and argument over it. So that's that's kinda nice. Well, you get crazy stuff at those commercial gyms that people, like, try to pose in locker rooms and filming themselves. It's like, what are you,   what are you thinking? Like, that's not a we can go home and do that. I guess you have a palm, then you wanna  

[00:32:48] Unknown:

do a way you gotta pump a boat. And I I usually have to to to   reestablish with them that there's a posing room.   And in here, there's because people use it as a changing room, there's no cameras in here. There's there's there's no like, the cameras that that are outside,   they don't even point towards the door where you can see inside the posing room. Right? You know what I mean? So,   like, out there,   if you're if you're filming, people can see you. In here,  

[00:33:16] Unknown:

you can set up to where only you can see you, right, with your camera vantage. Wait. You've got mirrors for it too. It's like, why wouldn't you wanna come in here where you've got all bunch of different angles? Like, there's no way you could see your back out there on that that flat mirror.   But in here, you know, you've got the angles right.  

[00:33:32] Unknown:

And we got the the lighting. We can change to warm, and we can change it to to to cool. We can jump it to autumn colors. I mean, each of these light bulbs have a little do they? Yeah. They have it. So we're sending on them.   And then people move it to to to cash out us in different ways. And, you know, we try to put the I I'm I'm the guitarist. I like to play guitar. So, like, it's alright. Yeah. And they make cool backdrops and stuff. And my wife has found some of these for, like, dirt cheap on bid FTA. You know? Oh, man. So, you know, I get this at the bid f. $660   for for the the American flag guitar again. I mean, it makes a cool backdrop, but yeah. Yeah. It's playable. It's if it's in Zoom, oh, yeah. No problem, man. BitFTA.  



[00:34:12] Unknown:

I've gotten   ridiculous things off of BitFTA.  

[00:34:15] Unknown:

But it's it's it's a problem. My my wife has actually got us some good stuff for bid FTA from here. Oh, for, like, the gym. For the gym. Yeah. She got all the red bumper plates that we have. There's there's all the name for bid FTA. Bid FTA. Really? There's  

[00:34:31] Unknown:

fourteen   forty five pound plates?   Yeah. Those are nice plates to the for a $180.   Really? Oh, yes.  

[00:34:41] Unknown:

It was, like, almost $1,400  

[00:34:43] Unknown:

worth of, oh, yeah, of bumper plates Oh, yeah. That she got for 100. What's great about those bumper plates too is it's   you know, the iron,   it's kind of variable. I I favor the iron just because   I don't know. I like it. Go to school, are you? Yeah. I don't know.   Little bit.   But those bumper plates, I'd I've in my head, I keep thinking, you know, I really gotta switch these bumpers because it's probably a much more accurate right weight   than the,   than the iron.   Yeah. They there's less of a variation or a variable between  

[00:35:16] Unknown:

plate to play. Yeah. Yeah.  

[00:35:18] Unknown:

Let me kinda going back to advice that you would give somebody starting out,   because this is one thing that I think   newer lifters,   I don't know if they struggle with or they don't realize it, but that's   intensity.   It's like,   because I, when I started in football, we had really good strength coaches and they would push us   to that line where it's like, you got through with a workout or halfway through the workout you're throwing up and it's, well, you know, like you've, you've pushed yourself   past the red line. And so, because I had that base,   when I go to, into a gym, I know when my red line is, I can push up against it. How did, how would you suggest somebody kind of train that intensity if they're   looking to be like a, at least amateur professional bodybuilder power lifter?  



[00:36:06] Unknown:

I call it the the next day method. Okay.   What you do in the gym today is going to dictate how you feel tomorrow. Yeah. So if you wake if what you did in the gym today, you wake up and you just can't move because you're so sore, you went a little too far. Yeah. And   that's actually worked really, really well throughout my lifting career and and and most other people's as well. And that is   I would say lift the capability.  

[00:36:32] Unknown:

Yeah. But there's   a different capability. What's tough too, because it's kind of subjective. Right? Like, you don't know where that   person could go sometimes.  

[00:36:43] Unknown:

Especially when there's somebody next to you doing it same time, the same. Yeah. And if you're in by yourself, there's a lot of times that we and in myself included,   I just won't go that hard that day. I say I'm I don't know. So then when you got somebody that's standing there and they say, come on. You got two more. Yeah. You're gonna put those two more down the range. You know what I mean? And that and that's exactly what's gonna wind up happening.   I always say that there's a difference between a 100%   and all in. You know, the example I usually give is if   most people that I ask them, like, if there's a rope   for the from the floor to the top of the ceiling, and I say, can you climb that rope?  

Answers usually typically yeah. I mean,   may take me a few, but, yeah, I'll get it. You're sure you can do it. Yeah. 100%. You can do it. Right? There's your 100%. Or no. You can do it. Now let's take that same scenario. I want you to start at the bottom of the rope.   I'm a open the front door,  

[00:37:32] Unknown:

and there's a German shepherd   ready to eat you. Yeah.  

[00:37:36] Unknown:

Can you climb the rope? You're all in there, Robert. Yeah. Yeah. You're gonna get up there a whole lot different on you. I mean, so there there is that that there's a a different aspect in it when you when you feel like there's something more at stake. Yeah.   And whether it be your friend, you know, cheering you on or whether it's, you know, something that you you got,   a scenario that you got in your head, you know, whatever the case may be.   You got more in you, and that's kinda where our our our motto came into to play is is your superpower is somewhere within. Yeah. And I believe it with everybody.   You are stronger. You are better than you ever thought you were. Absolutely. The only thing that's been keeping you back is you. Yeah. So we can change your mindset and and get you thinking the way   you know you wanna be   and just coax it out of you. You know what I mean? Like, you get to enjoy. You get to   I'm gonna say brag.  

Celebrate.   Yeah. Celebrate your wins. Oh, yeah. Because the world is a mean and nasty place.   And out there, it's not gonna celebrate your wins that often. And in here, you can plan them out. You can get them. And that the beautiful part about it at the end of the day is that no one can take it away from you because you did it. I cannot lift the weight.   You have to. Yeah. So when you hit a a PR, you you do 10 pounds more than you ever thought you could. Such a good feeling. You earned it. Yeah.  

[00:39:00] Unknown:

Male, female,   it doesn't matter. You earned it. Especially after a grind, you know, you hit a plateau,   and then you just grind through that plateau,  

[00:39:09] Unknown:

and then you get that next 10 pounds on whatever lift it is. And it's just, there really isn't a better feeling. It's that feeling of success that Yeah. And and, again, I think that the biggest aspect of it is not just the success, but knowing that you   you you earned it. Oh, yeah.   No one was able to do it for you. Yeah. It wasn't gonna happen unless you strapped up your bootstraps and and and got to it. And you did it, and when it happened, you were like, oh. Yeah. I can't believe I did that. What's the other great thing about lifting too? Is it pass fail? Right? It's like there's no degrees of  

[00:39:43] Unknown:

well, kinda, maybe,   a little a little bit. It's like, did you push the weight up? No, that's a fail. Try again. Did you push the weight up? Yes. Congratulations.   You pass. Yeah.   And that's the other thing too. You talk about   mentality.   I, whenever I tell people the, the help about how I like to lift and things like that, I always tell them, it's like, you know, Yeah. I'm training my muscles. I'm John trying to be stronger. I'm trying to get bigger muscles,   but I firmly believe that   90% of what I'm doing in here is trading my mind. Absolutely. Is like   taking that little, I'm sure you've got that little voice in the back of your head too, especially when you put some like 600 pound squad on your back.  

Everything is screaming, stop.   It's like, you're going to kill yourself. Don't do this. And you've gotta just beat that voice down  

[00:40:33] Unknown:

constantly.   And you got that that little voice that'll that'll that'll start planning for you. Mhmm. Listen to them. You know what I mean? Because, when you got that heavy, it's like, you don't need to do another one. You're fine.   And there's there's the other part that's like, okay. Wait a second. What if I just   guide it down really slow? You know, I don't have to lift it. Yeah. Now it feels too heavy to lift, but, like, I can do a little bit. Yeah. I mean, and and then you're on the road to success. You're planning out how to do it. And this is this is what I I preach and preach and preach here is   this isn't just about weightlifting. This isn't just about your muscles. This is about training your brain to find the answer.  



[00:41:12] Unknown:

You know? And when you look at it like, okay. Well, if I wanna eat the 300 pound bench press,   I need to do   a 185   for 10 or two hundred and two two hundred and twenty five for 10. And then they start backing off like, that 255  

[00:41:27] Unknown:

for five, Two hundred and sixty five for five. You know what I mean? And then you whatever. Yeah. But, like, you start planning it out.   And when you take that same mentality to anything else in life, and there's just that little little guy in there or or girl in there Yeah. And I was saying, hey.  

[00:41:43] Unknown:

Let's start here. Yeah. You know, maybe if we make this change, we can get a little closer to our goal. Yeah. And then now these people that that beat themselves up about how they they can't do this and they can't do that, suddenly, they're planning their success. Yeah. And they're succeeding Yeah. Over and over and over. Yeah. So  

[00:42:00] Unknown:

the superpower   doesn't always have to be muscular. Oh, nuts. You know? It it could be anything. Yeah. And and   to to be able to to think differently  

[00:42:13] Unknown:

is the first step. You know? And to me, just push through adversity. I mean, you're gonna you're gonna fail. Like, there are you're going to fail in this gym   multiple times,   and you gotta figure how to push through that. And life happens. Life comes at you hard sometimes. Injuries,  

[00:42:28] Unknown:

heads, family. We've got a right knee that I'm gonna get get on surgery on on the fifth. Oh, really? Yeah. And and I just got told yesterday that my my left foot needs surgery as well.   Yeah. Right and left. Yeah. You know what I mean? But last night, I was in here killing back. Yeah. You know? I I'm   you figure it out. You know what I mean? Like, you you can still succeed. You just gotta figure it out, and it's gonna happen in a different way sometimes. Yeah. It's not gonna be like you're a 100%  

[00:42:55] Unknown:

all the time. Oh. I mean,   you really can't be because I've also heard, and I believe this too, that   where you really grow and where you really get stronger is recovery. Is, you know, you come in here, you beat yourself up to tear yourself down. How you recover is just as important. Oh, absolutely. As as how you lift.   That sucks about your knee. I'm sorry to hear that.  

[00:43:17] Unknown:

Yep. I'm behind your foot too.   The the they're they're both work injuries, and and,   I it you've you know, I've been down this road before. You know what I mean? And you've seen over and over again. I saw one right back. It's one of the things that I I wanna make sure that people see is is that, you know, I   I'm not I'm not thin. I'm not, you know, super athletic. Neither am I. Yeah.   But I keep showing up. Up. Yeah. And I keep showing people that I that even though I've got a shoulder sling on, I still got three other limbs that work just fine. Yeah. Let's go. Let's let's do this. You know what I mean?   And I'm gonna keep pushing forward. And   some of the the overlooked aspects is the endorphins that you get.  

You know what I mean? Those are healing. Those are they they have healing properties. You know? They when you feel good   after a lift,   you know, it   maybe that left arm is is bad for right now. Maybe it's in a shorter sling. Maybe you just had, you know, a a arm broken. You know what I mean?   If you were at home, those endorphins wouldn't occur. No. But if you were in here and you're like, you know what? I'll just do a little bit with my right arm, and I'll do some legs. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, I'll feel good. And you do. And   I don't know what studies are. I'm I'm not the scientific one. You know what I mean? But I feel like if I see all these light of the sciences type scientific,  

[00:44:38] Unknown:

you know, in facts, you'd see that  

[00:44:40] Unknown:

the people recover faster. Yep. When they are are able to feel good, feel like they can still do things and are still capable. Well, it's not even just the, the endorphins, like  

[00:44:51] Unknown:

on my lower back as as many just people in general, but I think specifically glifters.   I've been having problems with that thing since I was 25,   you know? And, it was a couple while back. I was squatting. I think it was even on a deload. So it was like one thirty five. And I go down, I come up, and I just   I was like, oh, that's not good.   In my back's   doc. If I would've just, and I did take it easy, but it's like the more emotions lotion, that's kinda what I'm getting at. It's like the more you move these things, the more you get blood into your limbs,   the better off and faster you're gonna recover. And then you've got those endorphins on top of it. Because   my wife teases me   every now it's about every fifth week. I'll take a deload and just kind of back off,   take it easy stretch, make sure I'm feeling good, and then get back to the heavy weights next week.  

And every week that I do that, I'm more anxious. I'm grumpy.   Like, I'm,   easier to get angered. I'm less patient with my kids.   I mean, I think it's important to do that, to back off a little bit for longevity, but, yeah, she jokes it's like my period.   I go, I'm go I'll be on a deload next week. She goes, oh, okay.  

[00:46:05] Unknown:

I mean,   a lot of people don't realize that the the muscle muscle and nerves   that the nerves innovate the muscle.   Muscle grows at alarming rates, but the nerves don't. Yeah. So the that deload week is important to for the healing aspect of because the nerves Yep. Need to heal also. Yes. And it's so overlooked,   and it's so hard for you to tell a  

[00:46:29] Unknown:

19 year old kid take a day off because he's like, no.  

[00:46:34] Unknown:

I don't know what you're smoking, but I'm not you're great. Yeah.   I'm gonna keep pushing forward. When you're 40,   and you're like, hey.   Like, trust me.   And then they do. And then you see that they if they're even bigger, they're even leaner and they'll cut. You know what I mean? And and and it's they're like,   I hate it. And they do, but they do it. They'll they'll they'll start listening and say, hey. Okay. I did start doing two full days off. You know?   Or the majority of the time, I see that they're like, well, I just changed it to a cardio day. Yeah. Like, I'm still coming in.  

[00:47:08] Unknown:

I'll take it. Take it. Whatever. As long as you let those muscles rest, man. Especially for power lifting, you know, the and this would probably be a good transition into like, if somebody's a beginner, how do you transition into intermediate?   Because I think that's probably when you have to pick your,   do I wanna focus on strength or do I wanna focus on size?   But can you talk about the difference between hypertrophy   and strength training?  

[00:47:33] Unknown:

So I I I kinda look at it like, and this is over years and years and years. There's there's a recovery,   and that's the the lifters that that,   they exhaust themselves.   There's no real damage made. You know? And then you have your   bodybuilding,   and that's that's your   the aspect that, like, you start getting what I call micro tears. You know what I mean? You're trying to damage yourself, but not too much. You don't wanna slowly build that muscle and build solid,   mature muscle   this thick. Okay? And then there's   the extreme.  

It's not it's it's past micro tears. It's not tearing your your muscles, but you're overstraining   into the point where you're getting   big strength out of it. That's that's your power lifting stage. You know? You know what I mean? And   I I float back and forth between the recovery and the the the micro tears. You know what I mean? Because I feel like at some point, you gotta lift a heavy heavy weight to get those micro tears, but then you also want the blood flow to to gain the size. So you have to get the the the higher reps and put the actual the the the all that,  

[00:48:45] Unknown:

tedious rep work in that that no one wants to do. I don't want to do sets of 25. You know what I mean? But I don't want to set to 10.  

[00:48:52] Unknown:

So when it comes to to, getting the rep, you know, you're here, you know, at number eight, and you're like, oh, I got two more. You know what I mean? And and then you'd make that change to think like, okay. No. I got seven more. You know? You know?  

[00:49:05] Unknown:

Sometimes it's defeating with people, and sometimes you need that change in your life to now to to to grow outside of what you've been used to doing.   And then you switch from the a recovery phase to   a repair phase, you know, with those micro tears. Now now your body has a reason to to repair itself. Yeah. And as I said before, so, like, if I'm sore today  

[00:49:27] Unknown:

from back day yesterday,   and then today I do chest, and then I'm sore tomorrow from chest,  

[00:49:33] Unknown:

every day of my life, something is sore. Yeah. But it's not my whole body Right. Which is which is how I train you. Because, to me, it's better that way because I'm still functional  

[00:49:43] Unknown:

as a firefighter, especially. You know? Yeah.   My army may be sore today, but my legs are good to go. You know?  

[00:49:49] Unknown:

I think especially as you make that switch to somebody who just gotta be getting to the you need to really start paying attention to   what part of my body am I lifting?   What day? And then kind of, because I'll come in and do, you know, like a chest day and that, you know, next to be legs and a rest day and that you just gotta rotate those body parts. You can't come in and just do full body workouts every day. You're you're absolutely right. And it's it's believe me or not, the whole thing is based on rest. Yeah. It had nothing to do with lifting, nothing to do with with food. It's it's rest. You wanna make sure that you abreast that muscle that you're gonna you're gonna damage. No. You know? And the other the other days of the week are or you put together.  

[00:50:27] Unknown:

And, again, you you base it off of what you've what you've done to yourself. And, again, that's why I said this is the next day method. You know? It's it's what I do today is gonna dictate how tomorrow goes. So if I  

[00:50:39] Unknown:

like, because let's say,  

[00:50:41] Unknown:

my my last back day, I I only did 04:05 for for deadlift for a couple sets of five.   And, normally, I'm  

[00:50:49] Unknown:

$5.05 50 plus. Yeah. You know? And I just decided that especially with the knee, you know what I mean? I guess about that surgery, I need to not you know? I did that with my squats. I haven't squatted in months, and I'm just doing a blade extensions because I'm focused on getting a bigger bench. So I'm like I think that's another good thing is cut out what isn't necessary. You know? So you're you're in doing that, you're gonna stop hype or,   you're gonna stop atrophy.  

[00:51:13] Unknown:

So you're not gonna allow your legs to get smaller. So you might not be making shrink gains, but you're not gonna allow them to to to get smaller at least. And that's that's important too for for mental health, I think. Yeah. Because when you know you have a damaged limb   and you can't work out like you want to, you can say it.   What I'm doing at least, I'm not getting smaller. Yeah. I'm not not getting weaker. I'm still using it,   but I need to to back off of what I was. Yeah. And so,   you know, obviously, when I did my deadlift this week, I wasn't sore the next day. Yeah. You know what I mean? But had I been doing   five five fifteen, five twenty five,   I'd have been sore today. Yeah.  

And that may have told me the next day, like, hey. My knee did not like that at all. So maybe let's go back down to, like, four seventy five or four eighty. You know what I mean? And then I would use that next day to kinda tell me, hey.  

[00:52:06] Unknown:

Tell me you either yeah. Too far or, you know, I I think I I can I can push it a little bit farther? Yeah. You know? And I kinda walk right up to that line of of, safety and damage. You know what I mean? And, well, it's important to know where that line is. I mean, that kinda goes really intensity too. It's and that's really something I think you can only get with experience. I have one of the the fellows I lift within the mile. I'll put him on spot.   It was Jason. He came up to me and he said, you know, you're lifting, you lift all this heavy weight, but you don't really seem to be hurt that often.   How is that?  

I'm like, well, I listen to my body and I I rest. Like, I I know   my body well enough to know   the difference between,   I'm hurt and I'm injured, you know? And there's a like, especially if you want clinic going   and getting lifting heavier and heavier weights, I think it's   pivotal. You've gotta know that difference between I'm hurt and I'm injured, you know? Because it it is you against you. Yeah. And the more you know about yourself, the the better you can you can put your  

[00:53:06] Unknown:

your,   your   how do you call it? Your package together. You know what I mean? Because it's like, well, everything that you do is is who you are. You know what I mean?   And if you know   you best,   you know, you're you're gonna put your best foot forward no matter what you do in life. You know? And and, to me, that that is absolutely huge.   And so when I have these guys, you know, they they work out together. Like, well, how many did you do? Like, don't   don't make mirror what he does. I want you to do what you do because   when you're working the capability, like if you're do   five sets of 12,   there lies your problem.  

You only did five sets of 12.  

[00:53:45] Unknown:

What if you were capable of seven sets of 12?  

[00:53:48] Unknown:

You're never gonna know. Right. It it'll never happen. Right. Now, again, when we use that same formula the next day method, like, if, last week, I did five sets of 12 and I was very, very sore, Maybe I don't have seven sets of 12 in me today. Maybe I have a six Right. Or maybe I have five sets of twelve and one set of six. But I can start putting that that that   those puzzle pieces together Yeah. To to to gain strength or to gain endurance or to to win in some way. And I call them my little little imaginary trophies that you get to take home. You know?   No one can see them. Yeah. But, you know, they stack up easy. They stack up quick. Oh, and when you do get that one extra rep, that's a little little tiny trophy that you get to take home, and and no one can take it away from you in there. And it's based off of what you just said. Not knowing who you are, knowing what you're capable of, and   do have it in me for just one more. Just one more. One more realm more.  

And a lot of times, you find find ways of of of, making your your changes, doing the dance. You know what I mean? Is it a is it another   two and a half pound plate? Is it a a a another two reps?   What am I gonna win today? Yeah. And when you change your life to thinking, what am I gonna win today? Yeah. You become a happy person. Yeah.   And how many of us are happy? Yeah. I mean   I know dozens and dozens and dozens right here in this gym.   You know? Yeah. Because this is how they think. This is this is the these these are our people. These are these are you know, you surround yourself with like minded people, and these people are all all same team.   So many women, especially, come in here, and they think that people are looking at them, staring at them, and and judging them. They are not. They you are on the same team. They want you to win. And I I I wanna tell every woman that that wants to come in here and and and just see for yourself. I promise you. They want you to win. Oh, yeah. They they are looking at you like, hell yeah, girl. Get them. And the same way with the guy. Same thing with we would say, dude, you know, with the guy. We'd be like, yeah. Absolutely, dude. Get it. You know what I mean? Like, yeah. Two more. Come on. You got this, man. Yeah. And  

[00:55:55] Unknown:

it's Also, that the guys I don't even know. Like, I Absolutely. Struck it. I'm like, get it. Absolutely. Get it. You gotta just push it.  

[00:56:02] Unknown:

And it it it means so much to people. It really does when you when you when you have that stranger come up and and compliment you, like, good set, dude. Yeah. Like, I don't know you, man, but that's a great Yeah.   No. You're right. I couldn't believe I did that. You know? And it just feels good. You you you that's that's   that's one of the biggest things in my in my life that that the gym has changed is is you can change the way you feel on a day to day basis.   And when you talk about depression and anxiety and stuff like that, you know, like,   this is kind of our our therapy in a way. Oh, it is. Big way. It in a huge way. So a huge way. I  

[00:56:40] Unknown:

like I said, I've been it was probably I started lifting. I was 13, 14.   And there's been periods of my life where it's fallen off or   like, I used to live out in Felicity in the middle of nowhere. And I've I had a barn and I've had, like, a tire and I do stuff like that. So I still get it a little bit, but any period of my life   where I haven't been lifting has always been a bad period. It's just hands down.   Every period of my life where I've been in the gym   has always been a great period in my life. Always. Yeah.   Easy.  

Same for me. I've I've kind of a off the wall question, but you talked about the next day method.   Do you remember the first time you ever lifted and what you felt like the next day?   I absolutely do.  

[00:57:22] Unknown:

Because I think that's somebody that's something that if somebody's just starting to lift, you'll probably be aware of. So I've got that,   that story that that I think it'll there's there's quite a few of them out there. But I had a a friend of mine, Willie Mones,   and he got into bodybuilding.   And I was always the fat kid, you know,   Called fat boy, you know, fat retard and things like that. You know what I mean? Like, they always   for whatever reason, they they wanted to contribute, you know, being a fat boy to everything. You know what I mean? So I had enough. And I was like, Willie,   what do you do? Tell me what to do. You know? So I start working out with Willie. And   the first workout,   he's like, this is what I do. I think we started off with with with a bicep curl   and immediately into a tricep extension,   and then we went into   push ups.  



[00:58:19] Unknown:

And going back and forth between those three,  

[00:58:23] Unknown:

it felt like I was gonna die. I mean, I felt like like my my arms hurt. Yeah. You know? And   at the end of the workout, you know, I mean, I felt swollen. I felt, you know, like that pump.   But it wasn't I wasn't damaged. I I didn't feel like I was yeah. I went too far.   The next day,  

[00:58:41] Unknown:

the next step this well, I only remember it. So,   I couldn't move my arms. I, like,   I didn't go to school the next day.  

[00:58:52] Unknown:

And I knew   I knew right there that   what he just showed me   was so effective   that   that I went way too far and that I I'd learned that that I can do what he does.   I just   need to slow it down.  

[00:59:11] Unknown:

You know what I mean? I had the exact same experience. It was they were getting   I think I'm pretty sure it was a transition from eighth to ninth grade, and they wanted to get all the football players   into the gym,   early to get, you know, physically fit, obviously. So they take us through, I think it was like crunches.   I moved to curls bench. It was kinda like a surrogate thing. And it's the exact same thing. It's like, I get done with it. I'm like, oh, that wasn't okay. I'm feeling good.   The next morning   I wake up in bed and I'm, I can't move.  

Like what? It's the I've never felt that pain   ever, which is nice. Because that is another thing I think people should know is like, that's a temporary thing. Like, you get a, like, a week of that,   and then the pain is just kind of sore. It's not like,   oh my gosh. I've been hit by a truck. So that's what it felt   That's absolutely right.   Do do you wanna talk about,   programming at all?   Because I think that's another kind of switch from beginning to intermediary is when you start looking at, I think so the yeah. Pacific programs and, like, what how do I wanna structure?  

[01:00:18] Unknown:

Well,   there's   there's quite a few programs out there, and there's   so many out there on the online that that people build, you know, and   I kinda like to go look at programming, like,   let's talk about your goals first Yeah. And then make a change.   So   I've got a few workouts that are pre premade, you know, preprescribed if you wanna, you know, say it that way.   But   the programs that are out there that are that are the big ones, you know, conjugate method. Do you use all conjugate, by the way? I do. I do. It's it's very it it's precise that in my opinion. I I think that the people that that go with the true conjugate method   see very, very precise   results   when it comes to, like Actually, before we go to percentages, can you explain  

[01:01:08] Unknown:

actually, for me too, because I've I've heard people try it. I've actually ran it. I don't know if I ran it. I'd like you're supposed to run it, but  

[01:01:15] Unknown:

can you just explain what that is? So it it's working off of percentages of of your capability. You know what I mean? So if your if your max is two ten, you know what I mean? You might do a that there's there's scales and and and charts that that help you out with this. You know what I mean? But, like,   you would do You can go online and find Yes. So yes. Louie Simmons, has a bunch of literature. He's the the godfather of West Side Barbell.   You know? An hour lift. Yeah. And,   it would go off of percentages. So if you   and they they keep in mind the the rest in between,   which is really big. You know? You only get, you know, so much time between between sets, and then you're going with, you know, like, 75%   of your your max for so many reps. And then you go 80% of your max for so many reps. And then you go to   95%,   but you but you don't max out just yet. Yeah. You know what I mean? And then maybe next week, you have a a a different set of of rules to go by as far as percentages. No. When you run tiring it, do you do the heavy day speed work?  



[01:02:18] Unknown:

Because I feel like speed work's a little controversial. I always have because the the I am a firm believer that that there's  

[01:02:24] Unknown:

there's fast twitch muscle and there's slow twitch muscle. Yeah. And you have to train them both, or something bad's gonna happen eventually.   I think that it,   when you   only do   paced   rep work,   like, let's say, squatting.   Okay? So it it let's say it's like a   a four four,   you know, pace. You know what I mean? And and you're deliberately just bam, Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. There's there's four reps. You know what I mean?   And you don't ever do any speed work. When you go to take off running,  

[01:03:04] Unknown:

you might pull a hamstring or it might pull a quad something or tear tear something. You know what I mean? So  

[01:03:11] Unknown:

I say every once in a while, you need to be doing or like, maybe four fours of back is four fours pretty fast, actually. But  

[01:03:18] Unknown:

one four, whatever. You know what I mean? So you get to be like, done.  

[01:03:22] Unknown:

Done. Yeah. Yeah. That you know what I mean? And keep this this certain pace. You're training your muscle till it's fire on that certain pace. Yeah. And it's a good thing for for hypertrophy,   for blood flow, and things like that because you're pushing blood out and bringing blood in with every with every,   movement that you do, every every pump, every every   squat, you know, every   curl.   And then you change it up to to some speed work.   Now you're chaining where the the   the   the contraction   occurs.   And I think that the tension   can be changed from the insertion on both the upper part of the the bone and the the the distal end of the bone. K.  

I'll give a perfect example of it.   I I show people how to get thickness on the lower on the elbow side of the bicep.   A lot of people have a problem with it, and they're like, it's just not it's not thick like that. You gotta, like, get that. Like, well, what you gotta do is you train the insertion on the the the the forearm side.   How you do that is get on a curl horse and curl a a small weight. You know, maybe it's just a bar for right now,   but only go up not even to halfway.   Okay. And back down. Then up to to almost halfway and back down. You'll surprise yourself at how many you're able to do.   Obviously, you wanna adjust the weight accordingly, so you're not doing, like, hundreds and hundreds at a time. But you could if you really really wanted to. But in that range of motion, when you get done, if you do it to to   difficulty or even to failure,   you'll see that the only part of your bicep that you trained   was that that right elbow side, that bottom side,   not the top, not the peak. You know what I mean? And and then you're realizing now   I can target different areas of of different muscles. Yeah. You know, with with a quad, you can you can train the the the knee side, or you can train the the the hip side. Yeah. Okay.  

Depending on where you put your your your positioning. Yeah. Yeah.   And it's it's not one of these sciences that, you know, that you have to know all this and all that. You know? It it's so many different aspects.   Some of the times, it's just simply, like, how far up you go.   You   know? For for the squat, you wanna train high side or either hip side? Stay low. Stay low. Low. Low. You wanna train the train the the the place closest to your knee?   Stay high. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, maybe only do three quarter squats where you only come down, not even the halfway point and back up again. You know? You probably even put a pause in there.  

[01:05:53] Unknown:

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Sure.  

[01:05:57] Unknown:

But   training the fast twitch and the slow twitch is is super, super important, and they do   tie into the conjugate, but I think you really have to kind of insert that in the conjugate method yourself. Yeah. Because otherwise, they're they're they're kinda teaching you, like, do the rep the right way,   move it the the way it's supposed to be done,   and   do an   and do your percentages so that you can   walk that percentage all the way up to where you need it. Yeah. When you need it.   And it's based off of time too. So, like, if you wanna be doing   a 310 pound bench press in six weeks,   they've got a they've got a schedule for you. Yeah.  



[01:06:38] Unknown:

And I think that's probably a good way of approach. I think a lot of   I I don't know this for a fact, but, I think a lot of people look at conjugate   and they go, I'm gonna max every week, and I don't wanna do bands and chains really fast every week. I think the better way of looking at it is   you're it's it's like wave loading. Right? It's like,   what are you? What's your max? What are your percentages? What are you working up to? And how do you get that done?   I don't know if that's exactly true, but that's  

[01:07:05] Unknown:

I think that there's it's still in the variability  

[01:07:08] Unknown:

in conjugate the way that they just constantly are rotating exercises.  

[01:07:14] Unknown:

Well, there's   from what I've seen,   there's a difference between   the conjugate method and power lifting versus the conjugate method when it comes to CrossFit.   Okay. You know? And and I don't know much about the world of CrossFit.   I feel like it's it's much different. Yeah.   I could be wrong. I'd love to sit down and talk with somebody who's a CrossFit expert and and go through it with them because,   when when we talk about the conjugate method that that Louie Simmons developed,   it's kinda the same thing that I'm talking about as far as, like, making little changes and the other changes until, boom, you you hit your goal. Right. But theirs is more structured, more precise.   Like, they like, if if they said that you if you do this program from where you're at now, if you want you know, say you're at two ATM bench and you want three ten,   they've got a a map for you to follow. And by god, if you follow it to a tee, you're that last day, you're hitting three ten. Yeah.  

And they they've done it so many t times with so many people that they just know it works. Yeah.   And especially there's still   a try hard aspect. You know? Yeah.   You may have gotten a three zero five the week before, and you're, like, just   slow.   Yeah. It took everything you had to get three zero five, and you weren't sure   that, like, next week is this is this day. Wait. Yes. That's the three ten day, you know, and you're not sure. Sometimes it's just that willpower   that lets you see that you did make it, that you put it It's so funny you talk about that. It's  

[01:08:48] Unknown:

and I I don't know if you found this, but   it's just a funny thing about how the weights look on a bar.   I remember early in my weight lifting two twenty five. It's like, I can't two plates. That's crazy. Then he hit two plates and it's like off to the races.   And then you get to that two seventy five mark. You put that 25 on and it just did something to me. It's like, oh, I'm never gonna get two twenty five. Then you get two twenty five. You're off to the races, and then you look at three plates and you go, oh, I'm never gonna get that. It just looks   intimidating.  

Yeah. And I don't I don't that's part of the mental part of it, I guess.  

[01:09:24] Unknown:

I think that's that's part of where the some of the buffer plates come in as a as a good thing. Yeah. Because when you do put you know, like, say, if you're getting ready to do three plates, you know, when you put,   two two steel plates on and you put   a 15   Yeah. On, it looks like three plates. Yeah. You know what I mean? So you can start training your brain to see those three plates. You might have just convinced me to start using bumper plates. I know I thought about that. So yeah. I mean, because the 15 is is about the same width, as a as a regular steel plate, and it's a full   Yes. Yeah. Full size. Yeah. Size. So when you can look at it and see, I see visibly three plates. You're seeing it in your mind. Now you're seeing it in reality. Yeah.  

You still know that it's only 15. It's not it's not a 45. Yeah. But it it tricks your brain. But it it helps you to be able when you get to that, the third plate, you're like, I've seen this before. Yeah. You know what I mean? It's not so intimidating. Now now it's like a let let's let's see if I got this. You know? And, it it does help making little   little,  

[01:10:24] Unknown:

brain tricks that way. Yeah. So I don't mean to derail you from No. That's totally fine. Yeah.   But I think you're right about because I was running it was kinda like a juggernaut thing where you do   four weeks of like reps of 10, and then you do four weeks of eight, four weeks or five, and then four weeks of three. We'll take a wave. I think it was designed to peak you for me.   And then I've recently switched to it's a more conjugate. It's like a heavy day, light day, heavy day. I've just grinded through the weight light day. I'm working on speed and explosivity.   And I've,   it's working a lot better than the other one was. I think the other one got me to a good point,   but then   I just need it to switch. You know? I think every so often you just need   to scramble everything up and, you know, challenge your body. But absolutely. I've been skeptical about conjugate. And, I'll be honest. I don't go for the bands and chains much. It's just kind of pain.  



[01:11:17] Unknown:

It it's just with the bands and chains, they're they're they're again making small changes. But instead of the change being I'm doing two more reps on this set. The change is when I go down at the bottom, it's only gonna weigh this much. But when I'm at top, it's gonna weigh this much. So it's actually making the change   during the lift   versus   before or after. You know what I mean? So I I really like the I'm huge on pants. I love love love bands because I do like that idea especially for because I'm I'm chasing the water mesh.  

[01:11:47] Unknown:

And   I like that idea of how it works, the lockout, you know, it's like it gets harder and harder and harder and it kind of teaches because I'm sure you know, once those triceps go, it's like, they're not doing anymore. And you've really gotta train them to grind.   The the best part about the bands, especially with the west side barbell. I don't know if you know this or not, but most most rack manufacturers   now are going to,   west side barbell   hole spacing.   Are they really? Yeah. Because,  

[01:12:19] Unknown:

you can make make one inch changes. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And   you can actually use t pins to to to change things. Yeah. And I could show you all kinds of stuff about that. But  

[01:12:31] Unknown:

with the bands, you can change how high   the bands are set or how low they are. So let's say you only want  

[01:12:39] Unknown:

a little bit of help from the bottom up. Let's say you only want help for the first inch and a half. Yeah. You feel like that's just a compromising position for your shoulder to be in. So I only want that little bit just to get me out of the hole. Yeah. And then I could drive it from there. You can do that.   Not only can you do that, you can change different size of band. So, Yeah. It could be you only want that help for the first two inches. Right? And you could set any band up for that. Yeah. But then you can be like, okay. Well, this band is not helping me quite enough.   So I can add a small band on top of the thick band that I have. Yeah. And it gives me just that little bit extra that I need just to be able to do some some rep work to to be able to to really handle that weight. Yeah.  

And then maybe next set, take the little band off and use the use the bigger band. And as you see, like, oh, wow. I I was able to do that.  

[01:13:27] Unknown:

I use it so much   with everything that I do. I started using bands.  

[01:13:32] Unknown:

I've been chasing a 600 pound deadlift for for a while now. And, you know, I'll I'll use reverse bands. And and   not only are the whole space, you know, inches  

[01:13:41] Unknown:

inch apart, but they're also number two. You know? So sometimes when like, I'll I'll that is good for tracking.   I love this. I love that quad rack out there that's got the numbers because I know exactly where I've got to set up for a squad or whatever I'm doing in there.  

[01:13:56] Unknown:

Well, Noah Sales and and and his brother are are are selling us another   another road bracket. It was just like, oh, so,   that'll be coming in the next whole kind of weeks or so. But, it   the the awesome thing is is is   and and for my training, especially, I'll show you I'll tell you. So, like, because they're numbered, like, I put the reverse bands on six zero five, and I was able to hit that for three at at the 30 set or at the 38 level. Gotcha. K. And then the next set, I'm like, okay. I got that for three. That wasn't too bad. It only helps me in a certain point in time. The rest of it's all me. So I have it set that way so that it's only helping me for, like, six inches, like, just to to the underside of my my kneecap.   And then it's all me from there on out. Yeah. So the next set, I'm I go to 36. So I drop it down   so that it's not helping me quite as much. You know what I mean? And then I was I was able to get it for three   individual, like, three singles.  

I'm like, okay. I'm close. Like, I'm I'm working with six zero five. So when I do go to work with 600, you know what I mean? It's gonna go. It's just gonna go it's gonna be eventually. I'm a have to put it together slowly, but it'll happen.  

[01:15:02] Unknown:

I'd say, you know, it's funny you describe it as putting it together because that's really I think in power lifting the big three bench squat that you do have to put those lifts together. I mean, the counter compound lifts, obviously,   But it's, you know, take squad, for example. It's, you know, you've gotta pay attention to your sticking points. You've gotta, like, okay, which muscle is weak? What what accessories do I have to train to get that up? And then you find that the other weak point, and you've just gotta piece that lift together. Absolutely.  

[01:15:33] Unknown:

When I had the issue with my bench, I   I   plateaued, and I could not get any higher than the three fifty. I was bench plateau, so I couldn't do it. And I've had some people in my life that were able to to give me that that advice and say, look, man. It's not your chest. You know? It's something else. Something else is what's holding you back. Your chest is strong. Yeah. You know? And and,   gentleman by the name of Blake Naylor, I'm sorry to to put him on blast, but he told me for for years,   he he said, you know, do do face pulls. He said, I do face pulls every day. And and like an idiot, I did not listen to his advice. And and then I'm like, okay. I watched him in front of Arnold Schwarzenegger   rep out four zero five, and I'm like, okay. You know what? I'm gonna listen.  

Well, by listening, I'm ready to I'm ready to to you know, let's do this. So I started Yeah. I mean, it's like sometimes he is not ready to hear. And I'm so crazy because I went from 03:15   and and, like, on a good day. Yeah. Like, like, grindy.   You got more head about six set? Yeah. You know what I mean?   Yeah. Yeah. I went from that to three sixty in, like, a month and a half because   I started doing the face pulls for weight. Like, you know, you do shoulders. You do front raises. You you know, work your way up to sixties. You know, 60 fives. You know what I mean? You're doing it for weight. But the rear delt, you have to you're, like, doing, you know, some face pulls with thirties for a couple sets of $10.40 for a couple sets of 10. You're done. You know? Well, I started going down that stack farther and farther and farther.   Getting into the one fifty, one sixties. You know what I mean? And it pushes a lot of weight for that rear delt. But   it's   it's the   above   and below mentality. I mean, like, what you do in front needs to be the equal and back equal and opposite. That is one of the things that for bench.  



[01:17:27] Unknown:

Because for years,   triceps, triceps, triceps, triceps, you know, and chest, obviously, but   it was just drilled into me at a young age,   triceps, free bench, triceps, free bench, triceps, free bench.   And then when I started wanting to get a, you know, recent, like three years ago, and I was like, I wanna get four zero five. Cause I wanted to do that when I was young.   I was a young moron. I didn't stick with lifting to the point where I could do that. So that's my goal.   Hearing people talk about how you have to have a strong back,   but just back, not even rear Dallas.  

It has completely revolutionized my bench and it makes sense because you need that firm   back to just blow, you know, really push off of. And you actually it's funny. I don't know if you remember.   You gave me that face pull advice. That was probably maybe a year or two ago. She left real luck. I was stupid not taking it. Although you're saying it. I took yeah. I took it. I've raised my hand. I put in face pulls.   Like, every cycle I've had, I've always had face pulls in. And you're right. It's it's double wonders for my bench.  

[01:18:32] Unknown:

And I think the face pulls are even more   more important than I realized because   when I do rows, when when anybody does rows, your your your elbows are more tough, so you're you're getting closer to your back when you're doing rows. Yeah. When most people bench, their elbows are a little bit farther out. Maybe not, you know, extreme to to, like, you know, perpendicular. You know what I mean? But, like,   the face pulls   bring you more farther out. You know what I mean? So, like, in that range of motion and and somewhere in between,   the row motion and the the face pull motion is where your bench   right motion is.  

The opposite kind of that that movement. Right?   So, like, when you're coming down here like this, you know, I know the the viewers can't or the listeners can't see what I'm doing. But I did. I imagine most people are familiar with a bench press when you lower the bar of your chest. Yeah. The the   the concentric,   part of the movement,   is the baseball. You know? And and it's it's higher up, and it it creates stability for the bench press. So   I wish I would've listened to Blake sooner. And I told him I a few, you know, months and months after I I had, you know, reached my goal.   I was like, it's like, Blake, I owe you an apology. And he's like, why? I was like, man, he told me that advice, and I blatantly ignored it. I thought it was just dumb.  



[01:19:51] Unknown:

He's like, well,   you should've listened.   Well, I mean, listen. When I was 19 or in my teens and somebody would've told me, you gotta work your back and shoulders are bent. You'd be like, what are you crazy? That's not the muscle that moves this thing. It's   my chest and my tries. That's what I need to work.  

[01:20:08] Unknown:

It's not true. I mean, it's true. That's what you think it is. It's it's the helpers. Yeah. It's all those little muscles that are all part of the lift that you don't or that you, you take for granted. And when I think it also surprises people, and this is why it makes sense to me now.  

[01:20:22] Unknown:

You see people do bad squat and dead, and it looks easy. It looks like a very simple   I put a bar on my chest, and then I push it off my chest.   I remember when I first did a bench press. You know, it was like, look. I was like, oh, that's easy. I could do that. And you pull it off, and suddenly everything's shaking and moving. You're like, oh, this is not   stable. Like, you realize your whole body   has to be solid. Yeah. You know?   So we talked about conjugate a little bit. What are some other actually, let's back up even further. Are there programs that you would advise just pure beginners? Like, I'm just in the gym, or is it just, you know, get in the gym, get consistent, then worry about that later? I think it's teaching people  

[01:21:02] Unknown:

the different movements   for the different parts of the body.   When you when you start teaching them how to do a bicep curl the right way, and they get that one done. And you can change it to, here's how to do a hammer curl. And why are we doing the hammer curl? You know what I mean? The hammer curl is gonna help that brachialis and help the long head, you know, a little bit more. And then now they have that bit of knowledge, and they can add the the the the, hammer curl to the curl, you know, regimen. You know?   And then start branching off from there. You know? Why why do the tricep with, you know, overhead versus what you did doing a dip. You know what I mean? Yeah.  

So I I feel like when you start   teaching people how to train the muscle that they're after, they can put together what they want out of their their   workout   and and do it safely. You know? A lot of people, they they try to mimic what they see on TV. And, unfortunately   and myself included in this one too is is our mimicry   isn't always a 100% accurate. Right.   And the perfect example of it is is, you know, while I was in high school and and,   in my younger years,   I'd see people doing lunches.   And then when I hit about 35,   it it it dawned on me that I've been doing lunches the wrong way the entire time. Yeah. When you look at the, you know, elite level bodybuilders, you know, they're they're doing it a different way.  

They're not dropping their knee at a 90 degree angle and touching their knee to the ground. They're spreading their legs open a little bit farther. And and,   like,   I could describe it as as standing with a like, stepping over a creek. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, you're you're spanning a gap and you're both legs have to work with each other. Yeah. So when you put your   left leg out,   your your left leg   the the benefit that you're getting from that one is your your,   your left hip flexor. Yeah. And then when you switch positions,   that left hip flexor is going to change to the left abductor. Yeah. On the left side. Yeah. Yeah. And then the right side is gonna be the hip flexor,   you know, and then into the adductor   as you as you move. So there's still equal and opposites, but you're bridging the gap and allowing both legs that to work equally. Yeah.  

And people think that it's because it's easier that it's not correct. And it's like, no. It's just because now you're you're making all the muscles work together like they they're supposed to, and you're gonna develop equally, you know, with symmetry. Right?   And that's a big thing when it comes to your upper body, but to developing any any muscle you want to develop correctly. You know?   So it is it was wild. I I started looking at, you know, Ryan Coleman doing doing lunges, and I'm like,   okay.   I've been mimicking him wrong this entire time. Let me look at Jay Cutler and see how he's doing it. And then you're like, oh, crap. He's doing it the same exact way as Ronnie. And then you you look at, you know, branch Warren and you look at Johnny Jackson, and they're like, they're all doing it That way. The the correct way. And, you know, I've been doing it this way thinking that I'm mimicking them. Yeah. And I really wasn't. Yeah. I had a similar experience with rows.  

[01:24:09] Unknown:

For the longest time, I would stay away from any kind of, like, just barbell row, pendlay row, anything.   Because I never really, like, it never felt   like it was doing much.   And then it, I don't know how it even clicked. I think I was watching a YouTube video. Might have been a Dave tape video about how to like, get your backs strong.   And he's like, a lot of people bring their shoulders up when they do that. I'm like, Oh, that's exactly what I'm doing.   Pin my shoulders down and I get my rose going. And this was like a year ago.   I've been up until   38 years old. I've been doing rows the wrong way. And, you know, like, lifting my shoulders up and really putting a lot of shoulder on in there when it really should be like that piston where you just Yeah. Put it right back.  

Yeah. When you look at the the the path of the bar,   you you you ride your thighs.   That that bar should should kinda skim your thigh from from the kneecap to the out to the up into your hip. That was, the end change of my deadlift too is, like, realizing my shin should be skinned up after I've done deadlifting. Like, I should have  

[01:25:10] Unknown:

chalk or something or, like, the bar needs to come up their shins. That's why I see them wear socks that are up their knees. Yeah. The obvious. Just to to get that little bit of protection.   The bench press is the is one of the biggest ones that I see. A A lot of people don't realize it, and and the the leads and the ones that have been doing it in big weight, they they know that it happens.   But when you have that a bar up above you,   you're pulling the weight to your body. You're not letting gravity drop it. And   you see guys all the time just pointing. Yeah. And I understand. And some people can can get strong that way, but with the ones that can control the weight, you you know that there's they're on an elite level. They're on the on on that next level. They know how to control their body. They put themselves through it so much that you can see it there literally   pulling that weight to them, activating their lats, activating their rear delts,   stopping at a certain point, and then prune the explosion straight up. Yeah. And  

[01:26:01] Unknown:

they do it even at the max level. Yeah. You know? So Who's that guy? I can't remember his name.   He's got the highest raw bench. It's, like, seven or eight or something like that. But you see him and he controls it and then sinks it,   stops a debt and just see he's pulling it into his chest. Yeah.   Which I   I'm scared to do it. I like I just touch and then go.   I don't know. I've been trying to, like, on my light days, I've been trying to like sink it a little bit more and get that feel   to really push it. But  

[01:26:36] Unknown:

as long as you're going to that day, isn't it? As long as you eliminate the plunge.  

[01:26:39] Unknown:

Yeah. The plunges is a, is a bad thing. Plunges is a, these people do that on squat time where they just drop right into the hole. Yeah. And then, and the other thing too is it's like, yeah. Okay. You got a big weight, but you're also using that reflex that I can't remember what you call it, but, you know, it's not they're really using your muscles. You're using your ligaments as rubber bands. As elasticity. Yeah. You're using the elasticity to to to bling you out of the hole. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We're really I mean, that's why I think pause squats. I I should probably add some pause benching in. I think those things are probably pretty useful. I call on both on both bench and squat. I call it landing the helicopter. Yeah. How would you land a helicopter? I mean, I'm not a pilot. I don't fly helicopters. But if I wanted to land a helicopter, I damn sure wouldn't come down to a short point and then let it and then and then  

[01:27:24] Unknown:

take off from there. You'd let it down nice and easy touch and then and take off and take it from there. Yeah. So when I say land in the helicopter, it's it's it's helped me in my lifting, and it's it's helped many others that I've given that advice to. And you really especially, there's a there's a thing, and it's funny, and people   make fun of it and laugh about it because it it's a real thing. But in squat, there's a thing called butt wink. And Oh, yeah. When you go down it when you when you drop too fast or your your legs aren't aren't open as much as they should be, you don't have the hip flex flexibility   or or mobility, I should say.  

You wind up with a with a with a tuck. Your your yeah. What kind of tucks at the bottom, and then it rides back out as you as you ascend.   In most cases, if you land the helicopter  

[01:28:08] Unknown:

and I stay pace, that ball beam goes away. Yeah. I'll have to try it when I get back to squads.   So we talked about conjugate a little bit. Are there any other programs, like, if you're making that transition from beginner to intermediate that you would look at?  

[01:28:23] Unknown:

I I I don't really do a whole lot of program work because I I do more capability work, and I promote it because I see better results out of it than just, you know, getting on a program. Because some so there's, like I said, there's   there's so many programs out there. Yeah. And there's so many Instagram   models and it's, you know, fitness, instant fitness,   blah blah blah. Those only make their name for themselves. So they'll put this program app that they developed, and they're like, oh, this works really well. And it it it probably does. But I feel like, you know, when you when you show people how new the the the exercises   and then help them put it together as far   as building around the rest,   you   you train them in a way that they can they feel like they're not biting or they can chew, and that they can really start planning out their successes. Well, and I think that's  

[01:29:16] Unknown:

I think that's a really great point, especially from switching   to kind of a beginning   lifting to an intermediate phase.   You've   I think you're absolutely right about programming. And   though I think the best way to approach   any kind of program, because any kind of program I've ever put myself on, I look at it. I try to understand what it's, what it's doing.   Why is it doing that?   And then I start tweaking it for what I need, you know, like I'll look at it like, okay, this is a good scaffolding.   This'll get me. I've got percentages on here. I can follow these percentages.   I've got some accessories. Maybe I'll jigger around those and change those,   change some sets and reps based on what I need. And I think that's probably the best, the best way to, to approach that. I think the only the only programming that I I would promote is is the conjugate, the Lewis Hemmings conjugate type method because of the fact that if somebody wants to get stronger, that's gonna give you precise  

[01:30:13] Unknown:

strength. Yeah.   When it comes to size and stuff,   I think everybody's different when it comes to   yours your muscle thickness,   how many reps you can do, your your endurance.   The   the the way your your muscle responds.   You know what I mean? And and a program, again, I this is where I go around and around with people is is that if if I have a program that tells me to do, like, a taste test day, and they want me to do   flat bench, four sets of 12.   Incline bench, you know, three sets of eight, two sets of 12,   you know, and   decline bench.  

Let's say some chest flies, same same program. You know? At the end of that program, you did exactly what it said,   and that's all you're gonna do. Yeah.   There's no factoring in what you're capable of. Yeah. How far you can take it. You know what I mean? Like, what you who who are you as an individual? Like, you're literally prescribing yourself   a number of lifts, and if you do it, you're never gonna do more than that. Yeah.   You know, they're false of that trap. I think that's that's shooting yourself in the foot. You know what I mean? Because when you you talk you   you asked me about the gym and you wanna you wanna come in here and you wanna make a change, you wanna be the best you can. That's not being the best you can. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like   and there's so many people that come to me, like, I tried that for a while and it just didn't work for me. Like, it didn't work for you because you stopped. Yeah. You know what I mean? So the only advice that I have for people that do follow the the programs is at some point in that program,   let's say, if if it's chest day,   one of those   one of those sets for every single one of the workouts that they have you do. So incline,   decline, flat, flies, whatever.  

One of those sets, take it to failure. Yeah.   If you follow the program exactly to a t throughout the rest of it, so be it, whatever. But one of those sets Yeah. Has to be to abs like, give me what you got. Yeah.   And   to make sure that you're getting the most out of your workout,   because you've already set aside in at forty five minutes or an hour and a half or hour and forty five minutes of your time.   You don't wanna waste it. You're all busy adults. We all have other things to do. Kids, grandkids,   nieces, nephews,   kayaking trips. You know what I mean? Like, it just all kinds of stuff. And and and if we're gonna be here,   do what you're capable of. Do what get the most out of it. So when you walk walk out of here or you go at home, let not and and you think, you know what?  

I probably could've done a whole another set. Yeah. Like, you you you robbed yourself. Yeah. You know?   Because   your your future starts today. Yeah. And if you get the most out of it today, then tomorrow you're gonna feel better about your next step. Yeah. And you're gonna go into it with a positive mindset, not like, I should have done this or, you know, you start throwing negativity into your life. Yeah.   And   Ky Green says thoughts become things. And,   if you have started throwing negative thoughts, I should have done this. I could have done that. I I I wish I would have done this. It's wrong negativity.   Not like,   man, I I had nothing else left to give. You know? Like, I I did good. I think it the next week, I can do better.  

And I'm I'm I'm already planning that success. I'm I'm planning a positive, not a not a negative. Yeah. So   I I I kinda have a different different approach to fitness when it comes to that. And and,   I mean, like I said, I'm not   I'm not, shredded and and, well, you know, don't have the biggest numbers on the board or anything like that. You know what I mean? But,   I think as far as looking at me at being a 46 year old man that that, just fell in love with bodybuilding,   You know, I'd I I've I've come a long way, and I've I've kept my muscle. And,   you know, I've I've done a pretty good job in in my opinion of of,   when when life happens and it it it knocks me back, I can bring it right back to where I was. Yeah. You know what I mean? And and it works every time. You know?  



[01:34:15] Unknown:

Like,  

[01:34:17] Unknown:

I'm I had an eighteen inch arms   the entire time that I'm my wife and I have been together, you know, entire time.   But these last few years where I've been having shoulder surgeries,   it's the only time that I've ever had less than 18 inch. I think you were 17 and a quarter even through all that. You know what I mean? Because I would still do, you know, lightweight here and there with with it. But,   finally, after   I think my last surgery was six months ago,   yeah, six months ago,   I I got back to 18 inch arms again. You know what I mean? So it's like, I I bounce back. Every time this I do this, it it works the exact same way every every single time. And it's really just,   Josh, what are you capable of? Let's do it. Let's go.  



[01:34:58] Unknown:

That's another thing I think people are thinking about,   You know, getting into lifting and stuff like that. Because you're gonna have those down periods, but you need to realize that it comes back. Like every time I've had a down period where I just haven't been at the gym or something for like a year, let's say I get back into the gym and, you know, first week sucks,   but   my strength gets back to just about where it was. My muscles start tightening up, but they start getting bigger just about the way it was. It comes back quick. And if you put that time to put, get that base in there,   like, just get a good   muscle and strength base,  

[01:35:36] Unknown:

it'll come back for you. Like, if you it'll it'll be there for you for a long time. No. I think you're right. It's about a week and a half, two weeks. And in most cases, you got And that's and anybody has two weeks suck. Even beginners, you know, they they they're like, okay.   This this last six days, they suck. I don't wanna do this no more. Like, hang on. Hang in there. Please just keep the after that after that two weeks,   this is gonna be a regular thing for you that we're we're you're gonna start feeling stronger. You're not gonna be so sore all the time. It this is just the first two weeks sore, but it's not gonna be like I can't. Right? Or it's gonna happen to me if I when I have surgery. You know what I mean? When I come back after having two weeks off, it's gonna suck. It's gonna I'm gonna be way sore than I normally normally am. That's gonna be a different type of sore as it is. Weird as that sounds. Oh, I know exactly. I I wouldn't be able to describe it to the listeners. You know what I mean? It's impossible.  

[01:36:29] Unknown:

That soreness coming back from an injury or just starting to lift is impossible to describe to people. It's yeah. But  

[01:36:37] Unknown:

just keep pushing through. Just keep swimming. Just here. Keep swimming.  

[01:36:44] Unknown:

Well, I think that's probably a good place to, to stop.   But I do wanna give you the chance to just say again who you are, what you do, how you can get involved with the gym.  

[01:36:53] Unknown:

So, yeah, hung. Josh   Josh Kaehler Josh Kaehler as a advocate of Iron Gym over in Batavia on Haskell Lane. 299 Haskell Lane, Batavia, Ohio 45103.   We have a little bit of everything for everybody. We have a, a great lifting community over here.   Constantly getting new equipment in and changing the equipment, and,   I'm one of those gym owners, those those kooky crazy gym owners that, I actually listen to the to the members.   When you guys say you want something, I do my best to go get it.   I think there's some a lot of lot of, gym owners and and businesses that   they don't really put their members first. And I I I   fully am aware that yeah. I'm not the boss you guys are. You know what I mean? So,   when we want something, we're gonna get it, and we're gonna make the gym the best gym that we can based on who we are and what we want.  

I've been through a lot of gyms and and gym owners that just didn't care if they break a machine and they put some caution tape around it and it stays broken for the next four months. You know? We don't even let the the, the the cables break. I see fraying. I replace it. You know what I mean? I'm constantly fixing things. I'm I'm making sure that if you're paying   your monthly dues   to be in a gym, then by god, you better be able to get in, and you better be able to to lift   safely.   And and part of that's being a firefighter and a paramedic. You know what I mean? But part of it is just I care on a different level. And,   I think all of us do. All of us members here, we we all work together, and we'll give you a share off your back who we ask and and,   really good building agenda to come to. And then it's not just me because I own it. It's because   we have put together a really good place,   and  

[01:38:41] Unknown:

I think it, it's it's it's really important. So fitness is is  

[01:38:42] Unknown:

is   relative. Everybody has a different different idea of what fitness is. And whatever your idea of fitness is,   come to Appiah to Buy.   We'll coax it out of you. We'll get your superpower out somehow.  

[01:38:58] Unknown:

Well and I don't mean to tag on the end of that, but I can wholeheartedly say everything you just said was true. And it's you've got a wonderful gym. I'm   just very grateful that you put this together. I mean, the guys I live with in the morning, I'm going to play poker with them tonight. I mean, it's I found friends here. Great. There's hope.   Yeah. This is a great gym. I'm really happy you're here.   So with that, I'm gonna call it successful and just thank you thank you for doing this, man. I appreciate it. Thank you for having me.  

[01:39:37] Unknown:

Well, thank you again to Josh for sitting down with me. I hope you enjoyed that interview.   I I know I say this about all the interviews, but I thought it was another good one.   So let's talk about some events. First up, we have green teens informational session. This is gonna be on August 15 from six to 7PM   at Clingman Park. And this is an open info session about the park district's green teens program,   which is a program for nature loving teens, and I think it's especially geared towards homeschoolers.   So if you're interested in that, you can go and learn about upcoming outdoor science activities   and volunteer opportunities.  

And all of this is aimed at connecting young people with nature.   There will be light refreshments provided and it is completely free. So,   that sounds like a really good way to get your kids into nature and   honestly, out of the house.   Next up, we have Shakespeare in the Park, A Midsummer Night's Dream, August 15 from 7PM to 9PM at Nisbett Park. It's a free outdoor performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream by the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, so it should be pretty good.   Then we have the sweetheart stroll, another sweetheart stroll, August 15 at 08:30PM   at Shore Park. Like all the other sweetheart strolls, this is a romantic lantern lit stroll for couples or anybody,   through the park trails at twilight. So you get a lantern and a trail map, and then you get to walk at your own pace under the moon and stars with, you know, somebody you like.  

It is free, which makes it a great date night in my opinion.   And there is no registration needed.   Next up, we have Saint Bernadette Parish Festival.   This is gonna be August 15 from 6PM to 11PM   and August 16   from 1PM to 11PM   at Saint Bernadette Catholic Church in Amelia,   which I guess there is still an Amelia. I know we talked about it dissolving in the intro.   But this is just a kind of a normal Catholic festival. It's two days,   and there's gonna be food and family games. So if you're in the area, go check that out.   Next up, we have Union Township Pickleball Slam.  

I was actually talking to Rex when I interviewed him about how pickleball has just seemed to really take off in the last decade or so.   In any event, it is August 16 at 8AM at Clipper Park.   It's a free community pickleball tournament open to all adults.   There is double teams, mixed or single gender, and they're gonna compete in a bracket style tourney on the park's courts.   You can register on-site. I imagine you can register, at the Union Township website.   But priority is going to be given to teams with at least one Union Township resident.   So   if you like pickleball,   and you think you're good enough to win, I'd go out there and and, you know, try your luck.  

Moving on, we have yoga in the park, August 16 at 9AM at Sycamore Park.   Like all the other yoga parks previously, it's a free outdoor session.   It's open to teens and adults. There's gonna be a certified instructor and they'll lead a gentle yoga class. So even if you're a beginner,   this is this is   completely appropriate for you.   And all you need to do is bring a mat or towel and some water. And you don't need to sign up. So you can just head out to Shore Park and do some yoga.   We have hooting and hollering night hike on August 22   from 09:30PM   to 10:30PM   at   the Keeley Nature Preserve. I hope I pronounced that right.  

It is a guided after dark nature hike.   So you'll go out there and there'll be a naturalist. And as you walk through the woods, that naturalist is gonna help you identify   some sounds from,   the nocturnal wildlife, you know, like owls and toads and things like that.   It is family friendly and completely free.   We have a city oh, I'm sorry. A community rummage sale, August   from 9AM to 3PM   at 201 Riverside Drive in Loveland.   And it's just a community rummage sale, and there's gonna be dozens of sellers with a wide variety of secondhand items and treasures. So if you like, you know, rooting through,   rooting through some stuff and looking for treasures, that sounds like a good place for you to go.  

Last and certainly not least, we have a nature clay outdoor pottery   on August 23 from 11AM   to 1PM at Sycamore Park.   You'll go and take a short hike to a creek bed and collect some natural clay, and then you'll go back to the shelter area and build your own pottery pieces.   All the materials are provided   and whatever you make will be kin kiln fired   off-site after the event, and then you can go back and pick it up when that's all done.   It is free, but you do have to register.   And then you can do that. I'm sure at the Claremont Parks website.   Those are all the events I've got for you and that will lead us into another pitch for the value for value model.  

And what that means is if you find value in what we're doing, we just ask for a little bit of value   in return in the form of time, talent, or treasure.   For time and talent, let us know what's going on in your community. What should we be talking about? Let us know who we should be talking about. If you know somebody doing doing good things or interesting things in the county,   we wanna talk to them. So please get in touch. For treasure, we have a donations page at let'stalkclaremont.com.   You can go there and you can pay via PayPal or Stripe, and any dollar amount is greatly appreciated. It helps us keep this going.   For donations $50 and above, you will get a special mention on the show. And for donations $200   and above,   you will become an executive producer, and that is a credit I will vouch for, and you can put anywhere you'd like. And we'll also read a note,   from you.  

Like I said in the intro,   please email those notes to info@let'stalkclaremont.com   with your name and donation amount so that I can match them up.   You can also, get in touch with us on our Facebook page, Let's Talk Claremont podcast. We're on Instagram at let's talk claremont.   And please follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts,   or whatever it is you use for podcasts. It helps us out, and it helps you out because it'll let you know when we have a new show, which I'd I suspect everybody's   who is listening,   for a while   already knows it comes out every Thursday. So,   so please get in touch. Info at let'stalkclaremont.com.  

We wanna hear from you. And, unfortunately, I do not have an oliveism to end with today.   The new baby has been taking up a lot of our time, and Olive has actually been with,   my mother,   hanging out with her. So   she's been gone for a couple of days, and we haven't had a chance for any kind of a crazy sayings. So   that's all I have for you today. Thank you for listening, and I hope to see you next time.