The Zack Henderson Podcast: Recent Episodes
Zack Henderson
► Kettlebell Foundations ⇢ https://zackhenderson.com/kettlebell-foundations-course/► More Fitness Programs ⇢ https://zackhenderson.com/store► {FREE} Master the Kettlebell Swing ⇢ https://zackhenderson.com/swing-masterclass/
Jon is a strength athlete, old friend, and owner of CrossFit Gallatin.
Jon's IG: https://www.instagram.com/whoisjonharris/
Ep. 101 of the A2Z (no BS) show.
A video of Andy touching his toes got 10 million views on Instagram. Here what his 3-month old daughter has to say about it.
We made it! Andy and I have officially crossed the 100-episode mark, and we’re pumped to share it with you. It’s been a long and fun journey, and today we talk about what it took to get us here. In this podcast, as in fitness, and in life, often the simplest, most fundamental things are what make us successful. Today we draw parallels between what we do as coaches, trainees, and podcasters to create success. Grab a beer and enjoy!
Crossfit coach and box owner Jon Harris and I discuss the merits and drawbacks of the "American" and "Russian" kettlebell swing.
Andy and I are chatting dips.
Specifically, how we approach the exercise in terms of programming and progressions with our own workouts as well as our clients workouts. If dips have been on your radar and you’ve been wanting to try them, give this one a listen as we’ve got you covered. Grab a beer and get to dipping!
Andy and I reflect on a productive and unbelievable year.
We chat about what we accomplished; the places we traveled; the significant things we experienced over the course of the year; and of course, the goals we set and the goals we achieved. Looking forward to 2023, we chat about what we hope to accomplish in the coming year, both personally and professionally. Grab a beer and enjoy!
As you might have heard, the Insta-famous “Liver King” was exposed recently for being a fraud.
Unfortunately, Liver King and people like him abound in all industries, fitness included. Today, Andy and I talk about Liver King and our beef with him and people like him, and talk about ethics in fitness, marketing, and more.
You might have noticed that we were gone for a few weeks.
That’s because my Andy and his wife had their baby!
Today, we’re back at East Nashville Brew Works and talking about training. As coaches we often talk about training, workouts, and programs sort of in a vacuum: where real world conditions don’t apply. Obviously, lots of factors play into our day-to-day success in and out of the gym. Family, work, stress, weather, lack of sleep, bad nutrition…you name it. These things play a role in how well we perform and recover. So how do you organize and optimize your training and nutrition when life isn’t optimal? Grab a beer, tune in, and enjoy!
Andy and I reconvene after our eventful weekends, we’re drinking beer and talking shop.
When it comes to lifting heavy weights, what’s the best approach? How do we define heavy? How do we train our bodies to lift ever-increasing weight? These questions and more on the podcast today, so grab a beer and enjoy!
Andy and I host bodybuilder, Bostonian, and comedian, Tony Capobianco. Tony is new to Nashville but not that new to the comedy scene. He joins the podcast to talk about his passion for comedy, what brought him here to Nashville, and his enthusiasm and energy for bodybuilding.
Next, the three of us talk about our “banned exercises” and why we hate them. Grab a beer and enjoy!
Today we’re discussing the ab exercises we like to do both as coaches and trainees, as well as our evolution of ab training over the years – from doing a thousand crunches every workout, to doing no abs at all, to bringing some ab training back again.
Andy and I are checking back in at East Nashville Beer works and talking shop. Our fans ask: what do you think of ankle mobility drills, and how and when do you use them? Andy and I share our thoughts on mobility drills, squatting, and how we approach these with our gen pop clients.
Next, we take a moment to look over our own training over the years and consider what we most appreciate about all the work – the reps, the sets, the time punching the clock – and look fondly over what we enjoy most about where we are today.
Zackhenderson.com/pullup
In this episode, we chat about cardio/conditioning equipment, gaining vs. losing weight, and how to get your 1st pullup.
Andy and I are pondering the “what ifs” when it comes to the business of fitness: what could we do, where could we go, and how could our businesses and our skillsets set us apart professionally in the future? After all these years of coaching and training, what could the later years of our lives look like in the world of fitness?
Next, we sometimes deal with low back pain after hard training. Whether that’s with deadlifts, squats, or otherwise, you’re probably going to experience a little low back soreness from time to time if you’re training hard like us. We talk about our own experience and how we’ve dealt with it, worked around it, and some of the other changes we’ve made in our training.
And lastly, we discuss our pushup progression for those who have difficulty with pushups from the floor, how we work on them, and how we could help you get your first floor pushup. Grab a beer and enjoy!
This week Andy and I welcome another kettlebell nerd and stellar fitness coach, Vanessa Edwards, to the podcast to chat about fitness and gym ownership. Vanessa got her start when she was dealing with perpetual back pain. She sought treatment through chiropractors and Physical Therapists but eventually started working with a personal trainer to get stronger and build muscle.
In time, she found ways she could leverage weight and move her body to help manage her own pain and was hooked. Today, she owns her own fitness business and helps others find ways to move, lift, and train their body to get stronger, build muscle, and manage or eliminate pain. Vanessa was a joy to have on the show so grab a beer and enjoy!
This week Andy and I are doing an audit: when it comes to coaching and running a business, how do we improve?
How do we fit in the fitness market on a local or global scale? We discuss how we navigate our respective businesses and look to make improvements.
Next, we talk content creation and how, what, and why we approach content creation in our own, unique ways.
When it comes to choosing the right exercise, training program, or diet, we’re always looking for that “magic bullet” or “best” this or that in an effort to get results fast. Unfortunately, what’s “best” for some might not be best for others. Instead, we’re focusing on “optimal.” When it comes to improving your fitness and nutrition, we like to think of ways to optimize what we’re already doing. By choosing the “optimal” approach, we can choose the right tools and strategies for the individual, as opposed to choosing a one-size-fits-all “best” approach.
By optimizing at the individual level, we can take into account unique goals and needs, schedule conflicts, personalities and personal preferences, experience, injury history, and whole slew of other important factor. By choosing “optimal” we can choose the right approach for you and yield positive results and user experience. Grab a beer and enjoy!
It’s all fine and good to “send it” in the weight room, but it might surprise you to know that the gym is not where the Gainz Magic happens. In fact, without proper nutrition and rest, all your efforts in the gym are mostly useless. Going to sleep and eating your veggies might be boring, but they’re the building blocks of a great, results-driven program. Today we’re talking our favorite strategies for recovery.
Good morning and welcome back! After 26 episodes on the year, Andy and I took a well-deserved week off to rest and recover. We come back from the break with a special guest: Willis Graves. Willis is a local physical therapist and Highland Games athlete, and he joins us today to talk shop. There are ball sports: football, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, and others. There are barbell sports like Olympic Lifting and Powerlifting. Andy and I have had our share of experience in both, but we’ve never tried a lifting sport like the Highland Games, and this is where Willis comes in to school us. The Highland Games as a sport can be traced back centuries, well before our modern version of weightlifting was even an idea. Originally from Ireland and crossing the pond to Scotland, it’s a sport steeped in tradition. Willis joins us today to talk about the sport, the major lifts involved, how he incorporates and traditional strength training to improve his performance. Of course, Andy and I jump at the opportunity to talk shop with a seasoned veteran of a lifting sport we know nothing about, and Willis delivers. Grab a beer and enjoy!
Andy and I are a little worse for the wear after a weekend with the boys in Austin, Texas but the show goes on! Today we’re talking about decision fatigue: that overwhelming feeling you get when it comes to all the choices you have at your disposal. Part of what makes a good coach a good coach is that they can help you pare down those decisions – cut to the chase – and get on track towards your fitness goals fast. This isn’t a plug for our services, either – human beings naturally and subconsciously look for the path of least resistance when it comes to just about everything: we eat, sleep, and go about our days in very predictable ways. So let’s cut this nonsense about “motivation” or “discipline.” Maybe those of us who engage in fitness have just created our daily habits to include training and nutrition, and now we’re just going with the flow. We’re not better than the average person, we’re just streamlined our lifestyle around fitness in a different way. So we discuss what decision fatigue looks like and how it can be managed or changed. Lastly, we’re talking game changers: things that have been big “bang for your buck” changes in our training or philosophy that’s made a big difference in our results. Grab a beer and enjoy!
Good morning and welcome back! Today, Andy and I are welcoming Mindi Martinez to the gym to be a very special guest on the podcast. Mindi hails originally from the Midwest and through work in the movie industry found her way to LA, Atlanta, and finally to Nashville.
Over the years, Mindi was introduced to CrossFit and, over time, got more serious into Olympic lifting. Here in Nashville, she’s the head coach of the Barbell Club at East Nashville CrossFit where she teaches others how to master the Snatch and Clean & Jerk.
Andy and I both agree that Oly lifts are very much a “lesser strength” of ours as both coaches and trainees, and today Mindi lends her experience and expertise to talk us through her coaching, techniques, and assessments. Grab a beer and enjoy!
Andy and I are talking about training the “skinny-fat” or “dad bod” type of client. In our line of work, this is usually someone in their 20s to 30s, has probably been active before but isn’t slinging weights or doing cardio regularly, and wants to get in shape. What do we do next? Do we diet down and try to get lean first? Or do we attack the body with as much weight training as possible to add some lean mass, maybe “recomp” a little, then diet down later? The answer is always “it depends,” but Zack and I attack the issue from two ends of the spectrum.
This week Andy and I are diving right into marketing – writing, filming, and social media – and how we each approach the subject in our respective businesses.
Next, we’re talking about our “lesser strengths” as coaches and business owners, where we get hung up on this idea of motivation and how we try to motivate our clients, especially over the long haul. This leads us down a rabbit hole of what motivation might look like and how we talk about it or approach it with our clients. This and other bits are some things we both struggle with occasionally, and today we’re working through it. Grab a beer and enjoy!
Andy and I chat with Nashville’s own calisthenics guru and "acro-mutant" Dustin Del Rio.
Dustin and I met a few years back when he had just opened his first gym, and ever since, he’s taken his expertise in strength and conditioning and honed it in the acrobatics world. When he’s not helping regular folks learn to do their first handstand, Dustin is practicing feats of strength that don’t include a barbell or kettlebell, but rather another human being.
As a base, he can hold, flip, and balance a partner in a matter of all kinds of cool acrobatic tricks. Today, we learn about Dustin’s training history, how he got into acrobatics, what he’s learned and how he’s applied his background in kinesiology to improve his athleticism and skillset. We had a blast with him on the show, so grab a beer and enjoy!
When things get tough – when work, life, or stress gets in the way – how do we go about navigating those stressors with regular training? How do we “bring it” when we’d rather do anything else? How could we change some variables to make sure we’re staying in the game without driving ourselves into the ground? Today we talk about training when life gets tough, and like most things, we hope that training sticks around, even when we’d rather do anything else. When we’re exhausted and rather hit the bed, we still brush our teeth, knowing we’ll feel better about it than if we skipped it.
This week Andy and I meet at an old favorite watering hole in East Nashville and we’re talking training.
Recently, we spent a Saturday morning in a new training environment – Cornelia Airpark – where we slung kettlebells and did some bodyweight work to catch a killer pump. We didn’t have a plan, we didn’t have a goal, we just made do with our environment and got a killer workout in. How did we do it? How did we reach this sort of flow state of training where everything just sorta clicks? Grab a beer, tune in, and find out! Cheers!
This week we welcome a special guest, Sarah Arnold, the Director at ISI Elite Training, located right here in The Nations. Featuring functional fitness that focuses mostly on strength training with a sprinkle of cardio, ISI Elite is here to help change the training landscape in Nashville. Sarah found her niche in fitness over the years and brings energy and passion to coaching and business leadership, and we’re stoked to have her on the show to talk about the business and culture of fitness and the Nashville fitness landscape. Today we’re drinking beer and tackling some issues we run into in Nashville and the fitness world as a whole.
Today we have a very special guest and someone Andy and I admire as a coach, educator, and author: Dan John. Dan has been coaching athletes and adults for decades, and has amassed a following for his simple but super effective style of training. In the decade or so that I’ve been coaching clients and athletes I have referred to his work on many occasions as a way to “center” my coaching, keep things simple, and drive amazing results. Dan has had an immense impact on the fitness industry and has inspired thousands of coaches and athletes. Today he sits with us to discuss the lessons learned through training around injury; finding your “north star” as an athlete; and advice for the novice coach, the seasoned coach, and the veteran coach. We had a blast talking with him and hope to do it again soon.
This week Andy and I are honoring the man, the myth, the legend, Louie Simmons, a juggernaut in the field of powerlifting, and a man that was taken from us too soon. We talk about Louie and the mark he made on the lifting community, the kind of man and coach that he was, and the art of coaching and what it means to us. Grab a beer and enjoy!
This week we have a very special guest with us, Megan Crozier, on all things nutrition.
Megan is a Functional Nutrition Therapy Practitioner, and after having her own difficulties with nutrition and fueling her own workouts, she focused her efforts and energy on studying nutrition, hormones, and metabolism.
Through her experience and education she now helps countless others break free of the typical “calories in calories out” model – one that can be restrictive but also too robotic. Her aim is to create a more sustainable approach to food and health without the typical shackles of diet culture. This was a good one and she’ll be back with us soon! Grab a beer and enjoy!
Andy and I are back at Czann’s Brewing and today we’re chatting business ethics.
The fitness industry is rife with bad players, poor business practices, and dubious claims. Today we talk about boundaries, values, and ways in which we conduct our respective businesses to ensure we’re doing right by the people who support us. Grab a beer and enjoy!
After a 2-day Wim Hof breathing and cold exposure workshop, I dish the deets about what it is, what it's not, and what getting comfortable with discomfort actually means.
Today we host a special guest, fellow strength coach and fitness enthusiast, Sam Pfister.
Sam got his start in fitness while hustling and grinding in the gauntlet of all gauntlets – in politics. While working and interning in the DC area, Sam started doing Crossfit in his apartment and over time sharpened his coaching and programming skills. When the pandemic hit, he could’ve landed anywhere in the country but decided on Nashville, where he’s made his home and an impact for the last couple years.
Sam’s major focus is what we might call “adult PT” or strength and conditioning for adults. He also spends a good deal of his time being the go-to strength coach for local homeschool athletes. Sam is a high energy, stellar coach, and Andy and I had a great time hearing his story and his philosophy on coaching.
Today we dive into the rabbit hole of what it means to be a “good” coach – what that looks like; our behaviors; our language; and how we carry ourselves in the gym.
Because, to be honest, coaching sets, reps, volume, intensity, and exercise selection is both an art and science, and one that takes many years to develop. But beyond that, being a coach that people respect, admire, or just want to hang out with?…that’s a whole other ball game and one that takes years and thousands of hours of coaching to develop and refine. Grab a beer and enjoy as we peel back the curtains on who we are as coaches.
Today we’re talking about food. In the realm of fitness we often start our journey in one of two ways – we start watching what we eat and make sure to pack our days full of veggies and protein, and eventually add in some fitness here and there; or, we start slinging weights like maniacs with little regard for healthy eating until later in life. Such is the case for Andy and I: our journey to fitness professional started mostly with weight training before we ever considered how important nutrition was.
In today’s episode, we reminisce about our childhoods and the foods we enjoyed; how over many years and well into adulthood we’ve discovered the joy of cooking; and how we’ve evolved in the kitchen over the years.
Andy and I are hanging out at Czann’s Brewing with a very special guest, Samantha Brunner. Sam is a Nashville-based strength coach, yoga instructor and pro kayaking badass. She joins the podcast today to tell us about her fitness journey, how she got into coaching and the types of clients she works with, and some of her favorite outdoorsy things to do. She imparts some crucial wisdom to those embarking on their fitness journeys in 2022, and helps us learn a few ways we can “get out of our own way.” She was an absolute blast of a guest, so grab a beer and enjoy!
A new year brings new ambitions, goals, and a brighter outlook – a clean slate to make changes in our lifestyle and health. Sometimes even the most motivated and ambitious of us can stumble a little along the way.
Andy and I talk about new resolutions, how to attack them, and how to navigate them when the going gets tough. So let’s count those dominoes, stack them up, and start knocking them down.
As usual we’re checking in and drinking some fabulous beers at Czann’s Brewing in the Nations, reflecting on an incredible year.
What first started as a pet project evolved into 50 episodes, six guests, over 200 beers, and countless laughs.
Andy and I would like to thank you for sticking around with us and cannot express our gratitude enough. Today we talk about the past year, what we learned, and what we’re looking forward to in 2022 with the podcast, our own fitness, and with our roles as fitness professionals. Thanks again for being here, grab a beer, enjoy the show, and have a wonderful and safe NYE!
Andy and I chat about difficult clients and our experience coaching them.
Our job as coaches is to guide our clients to their goals quickly, safely, and effectively. Sometimes, whether a mismatch in personality or a communication breakdown, this doesn’t go so smoothly. So today we talk about those issues, how we work through them, or how we might move forward next time.
Andy's client Leah shares her thoughts on strength training, what she’s learned, and how training has impacted her life inside and outside the gym.
This time of year can be challenging to stay on track with workouts and nutrition, but Andy and I got your back – today we discuss how, when, and what we like to do when we’re on the road to stay fit.
Next, after 9 months of clawing our way back to pre-injury fitness levels, we talk about what we learned in the process.
Wrapping our series on favorite exercises per body part with the trunk: chest, back, and core musculature.
We’re choosing our favorites and you might be surprised at some of the choices we make!
Today we address a few hard lessons we’ve learned over the years both as coaches, but also as trainees. After so many workout sessions, coaching sessions, sets, reps, and more plates, you’d think we have a steady bead on things. But even we are still learning and growing in a number of ways despite showing up to the gym for more than a decade each. We hash out these hard lessons and some takeaways. Later we switch gears and talk about our favorite lower body exercises, covering the calves, hamstrings, quads, and glutes.
Andy and I are warming up with some pumpkin ales at Czann’s brewing, this week broadcasting both on IG live and to a private studio of sorts! That’s right, Czann’s has graciously allowed us to continue recording the podcast despite being closed on Monday’s, giving us the space in private for all the fitness talking.
Today we’re talking about some extreme training: whether barefoot running, doing a Spartan Race, or some of the hardest, most extreme workouts we’ve ever put ourselves through.
Andy and I are checking back in from Czann’s Brewing after a long and productive weekend. I hosted, and Andy attended, Liftapalooza 2021 and we had an absolute blast!
We as coaches know a thing or two about training, but it never hurts to learn from other professionals in our field and dust off some knowledge we maybe had forgotten, or learn some completely new things about training and recovery that help us become better coaches and athletes. So today we revisit the weekend and talk about some of our biggest takeaways.
Andy and I are doing some 16 oz curls today and talking about the ONLY muscles worth working out: the arms. (JK. But srsly). While there are dozens of different forearm, bicep, tricep, and shoulder exercises, today we’re picking our favorite exercise for each muscle to train while we’re in the gym.
Today we discuss the ins and outs of adding calories throughout your day to pack on mass, and how to do it in a quick, healthy, and sustainable way.
Moving along…although most of us like to “move with purpose,” or keep things moving along with our workouts but short-cutting your rest periods between sets could have detrimental effects to your workouts and your progress. Andy and I take a pause and talk about resting, how to approach it, and when it’s really necessary to stretch out those rest breaks.
In the last couple weeks, Andy and I have broken down and dissected the squat and the deadlift, and this week we continue the trend with the bench press. Whether with a bar or with dumbbells, the bench press is a great overall strength and muscle builder. But in order to use the bench press effectively, you need to learn the skills required to dip under a bar, the unique differences between bench press variations and their utility, and ways to program the bench press into your workouts to maximize it’s efficacy. Andy and I curl some beers and talk all things bench press in today’s episode of A2Z.
Today we have a very special guest on the podcast - our good friend Dr. Jesse Riley, owner of the Modern Movement Clinic in Denver, CO.
https://modernmovementclinic.com/
Andy and I are sipping beers and listening to some great tunes down at East Nashville Beer works and we’re talking about squats. What is a squat, why is it important, and how do we go about coaching the squat?
What are some different coaching cues and tidbits we use while coaching the squat? And lastly, we wrap up with our favorite and least favorite squat variations. We’re talking all things squats today, so grab a beer and enjoy!
Andy and I braved hurricane Ida and ended up at Fat Bottom Brewing, where this week we crossed paths with a gaggle of Instagram Influencers in the wild. I introduced myself and proceeded to learn all about these folks, what they do, how they built their audiences, and since they were visiting our beloved Nashville from out of town - what they do for fitness while on vacation.
This sparked a very long and convoluted conversation about training while on vacation: what it looks like, whether we partake in fitness at all, and what those activities look like when we do engage in them.
Lift-A-Palooza Tickets: https://zackhenderson.com/lift-2021
Andy and I are broadcasting again from Czann’s Brewing in the Nations and we’re talking data.
Over the years, fitness has expanded from simple step counters to a whole slew of new gadgets, wearables, and data-monitoring systems.
Ostensibly, with more data related to sleep, stress, heart rate, and VO2max, we can be better coaches and trainees and improve the quality of our lives and our workouts. But while this information can be really useful, Andy and I argue that it could also get in the way, and instead our over-reliance on metrics and data might actually hinder our progress.
Next, we talk about the lifestyle of a coach and some of our experiences over the past few years with our Nashville-based colleagues. And lastly, what the fitness industry looks like and how it may evolve over the coming years.
Liftapalooza tickets- https://zackhenderson.com/lift-2021/ Good morning and welcome back! Andy and I are checking in for episode 31 at Fat Bottom Brewing with a new toy! Today we're taking things a little more casually and nerd out on a wide range of topics, including cadaver anatomy, chemistry, the University of Tennessee's body farm, geology, and even a little philosophy with the "value of boredom." In a way, we're both taking things a little slower today and enjoying the process (much like training at times!). Grab a beer and enjoy!
Good morning and welcome to our 30th Episode!
We’ve reached a milestone and this week we’re happy to introduce our guest, Alexis Bakalakos. Alexis is a physical therapy student, powerlifter, and new coach, and this week we’re talking about training. Alexis started training about three years ago, making her a relative newbie to the lifting game and exactly the kind of voice we’ve needed on the podcast for a fresh perspective.
We chat about how it started vs. how it’s going for her squats and deadlifts, and she enlightens us on her experiences as a female trainee in a male-dominated gym environment. Andy and I both being men and long past our novice training years, there are things we just don’t notice or stuff we don’t deal with that new trainees or female trainees endure, and it was refreshing to hear her take on it. This ties into our discussion on Healthy and Every Size and Trauma Influenced Weight Lifting. I thoroughly enjoyed having her on the podcast so grab a beer and enjoy!
Andy and I are checking in again from Czann’s Brewing this week chatting all things fitness.
First, we tackle some #science around cardio, muscle gain, and metabolism. How are you using these resources and are you building assets or liabilities?
And lastly, we revisit "Mastery" and what it means to learn something down to the marrow.
Andy and I are tuning in from Andy's dining room table, escaping the heat and enjoying the company of Jane Bug.
This week we’re talking about goals: I turned 33 last week, and as we get older we ask the question “what do goals look like for each of us as we get older?” In other words, how do we define our goals? How do we measure progress? Are the traditional tools and metrics from the past work well for us as we get older and wiser as trainees and coaches?
Next, we ruffle some feathers talking about nutrition and trying things that make us uncomfortable
Andy and I are coming in hot off the heels of July 4th with our 25th episode! We’re checking in at Czann’s Brewing in the Nations and talking about coaching, seeking to understand our clients, and falling in love with the process. It’s a doozy so grab a cold one and enjoy!
Andy shares his latest recipe - spicy shrimp over lemon basil orzo. Plus, he's got some big news for our Nashville neighbors...
Tom is a longtime client and personal inspiration when it comes to no-nonsense work ethic. He’s approaching 100 completed Spartan Races on top of decades as a marathoner and martial arts practitioner.
This week we introduce a new segment we’re calling Andy’s Eats, showcasing some of his favorite delicious recipes and how they’ve turned out. Speaking of cooking, I like to follow a recipe for a number of reasons, but after a while, I’ll start to tweak things here and there to put my own spin on it. Andy and I recognize that there are parallels with training and coaching: first, you need to know the rules before you can break them. Once you’ve cooked a handful of recipes (or crushed a few workouts from your coach) then you start to learn the ins and outs and where you can put your own spin on things. There’s a process, and once you know the process then you can start to tweak to make it uniquely your own. The first step, however, is to start: take those first steps and after many hours under the bar or in the kitchen you’ll find that you’re well on your way to mastery.
Andy and I are back enjoying the sunshine, talking fitness, and cracking cold ones at East Nashville Beer Works.
We start off with a little sports psychology: what is “arousal” and how does it affect performance? What does it mean to be under-aroused when playing sports or lifting weights? How about over-aroused? When it comes to sport or lifting you can’t come in flat, but you don’t have to sniff salts and take Jack3D to perform well, and being over-aroused might even hinder performance.
Next, there are a few exercises that make us nervous. Every exercise comes with a set of pros and cons, and sometimes an exercise’s juice just ain’t worth the squeeze. If we want to get jacked and tan (or if our clients wanna get jacked and tan) then we as coaches need to be well-versed in all things exercise but also know when an exercise is worth the effort. Or if we have better, faster, and safer alternatives that achieve the same results - when to deploy those instead. Enjoy!
Online coaching student Molly shares her story of finding kettlebells and how we work together to develop real-world strength.
Hey, gang! Andy and I each took a week away for some R&R but we’re back, feeling fresh, and ready to podcast!
This week we host Tania Lopez, a strength coach and fitness enthusiast right here in Nashville. We start off by discussing content creation: what we put out on the interwebz to help our clients and fellow coaches make sense of all this fitness stuff. Each of us has our own approach and ultimate goals with our content, and we compare and contrast how and what we produce and share.
We revisit the idea of the “ideal fitness professional” and how we each interpret that image, how we reconcile it personally, or how we approach our own curated image of fitness professional in our online and in-person businesses. Next we discuss training and how we’ve evolved or changed our approach over the years and why, and finally, “nobody cares.” Grab a beer and enjoy!
Online coaching student Emme joins the show to chat about her lifetime of athletic pursuits and how we work together to create an ever-evolving training approach.
This week we're checking in from Andy's backyard.
I just released Kettlebell Foundations, a beginner’s guide to training with kettlebells. If you’re getting into fitness for the first time and you’re looking for a comprehensive guide and instruction manual for kettlebells, head on over to zackhenderson.com/kettlebell-foundations.
Andy put me on the spot to dish the details on my top 3 kettlebell exercises before chatting about creating autonomy and ownership between us as coaches, the programs we write, and the clients we serve.
We have a lot of tools and exercises to choose from, but what does it mean for the client when they get to choose the exercises, the sets, reps, and so on? Does creating autonomy and shifting responsibility help our clients? We chat about that and more on this week’s episode. Grab a beer and enjoy!
What does it mean to be coached or be coachable?
Andy and I are both coaches, and even though we have the tools, resources, and knowledge to write our own workout programs, we have each hired coaches in the past.
There are a number of benefits to outsourcing our own coaching, and we each describe the things we learned from our respective experiences.
Next, there are a handful of popular programs by famous coaches out there. Andy and I talk about our experiences running ourselves through these programs and what we learned along the way, while picking out some commonalities that many successful workout programs share.
Let’s call them “training secrets” that aren’t so secret, and attention ought to be paid to the devil in the details. Grab a beer and enjoy!
Social media loves soundbites, tweets, and memes... and they’re almost always unhelpful and possibly damaging. Nothing in fitness or nutrition is black and white: it is grey, nuanced… "it depends” as we say.
It depends on who we’re talking about, what we’re talking about, and the application of the subject matter, and Andy and I chat about it.
Next, for every Mr. Olympia; for every Olympic gold medalist; for every powerlifting champion competing at the highest level of physical achievement possible, there are thousands of us “mere mortals” who pursue our own upper limits of physical potential.
What does it look like to chase down bigger weights, more miles, or more muscle? For every goal line we cross, whether it’s greater strength or more muscle, there’s a new goal post just yonder to strive for. What will it take to reach it? How far away is it? How long will we have to work for it? And is this never-ending pursuit for more juice worth the squeeze? Zack and I dive in and chat about reaching one’s ultimate, optimal best.
When you think of the gym and the equipment you use there, you often think of barbells, dumbbells, benches, machines, and plates.
But there are many other tools at our disposal to help drive a training effect, like kettlebells, sandbags, farmer’s bars, tires, ropes, sleds, and yokes.
These “unconventional tools” are less often found in your typical gym, which is a shame because they offer so many different benefits to your training. Andy and I talk about these tools, why we like them and how we use them with our clients and our own workouts, and some of the unforeseen benefits of adding these tools to your weekly rotation.
Plus, a chance encounter with Dana Linn Bailey at Gym 5. Enjoy!
Andy and I chat about supplements today on the podcast, specifically those we like and encourage our clients to explore if it might benefit them, but more importantly, we discuss those supplements on the market whose marketing claims or ingredients might be suspect, unhelpful, or possibly dangerous.
Not only that, but supplements should play only a small role in one’s diet, and we explore how and when you might add a supplement to your lifestyle and what to be on the lookout for along the way.
Coffee shops and steak houses exist despite anyone being able to make these things in their own home. Why?
The experience.
In this episode, Andy and I discuss what this means for future fitness and the fallout from the pandemic.
The definition of Motivation: “the reason one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.”
As coaches and trainees, Andy and I are often asked what motivates us to keep training – to keep showing up almost every day and hit the weights.
In our teenage years, we might have been motivated by the allure of the ladies (spoiler alert – it didn’t work). Putting on some muscle and size back then was a means to puff our chests both physically and metaphorically (and maybe it’s that sometimes nowadays, too).
Over the years our motivations for continuing to show up and sling weights has evolved – we are both strength nerds, reading, watching, and practicing everything strength training as an exploration of new frontiers of movement and as a way to improve our craft as coaches.
Today, we are both largely motivated by the absolute upper limits of our physical (with a sprinkle of emotional and spiritual) bodies – achieving new levels of strength and movement we might have never thought possible. We often hear that people “lack the motivation” to strength train, and Andy and I talk about what that might mean.
I’m of the opinion that motivation largely has an expiration date – that to achieve high levels of strength or low levels of body fat require consistent practice that long proceeds after motivation wanes or expires. Instead, we talk about creating an environment of routine, so that when you’re not “feeling it” you show up anyway. Grab a beer and join us on our favorite podcast to date.
Travis Pollen is a PhD in Health in Rehabilitation Sciences, coach, author, professor, and record holder in Paralympic swimming.
This week, the three of us talk about bridging the gap between rehabilitation and performance, something that Andy and I are experiencing firsthand as we recover from our respective injuries.
As coaches, we sometimes encounter speed bumps with our clients when it comes to acute or chronic injuries, and we often need to modify our programming to help keep our clients happy, healthy, and pain-free, so we each discuss how that might look in our respective environments.
We discuss the many benefits of regular training both before and after injury or surgery, and the positive outcomes of doing so. Injuries happen, and often we can work around them, but sometimes we have to refer out. We discuss the how’s, when’s, and why’s of doing so.
Lastly, we invite Travis to discuss his views on core training, what he likes to do, and how that might have evolved over the years, and we compare our respective views as coaches on how we approach core training with our clients. Enjoy!
As you know by now, I had a skiing accident last month, breaking my right leg.
Andy just couldn’t let an opportunity to trash-talk go to waste, so he constantly teased my chicken leg and how he was going to take this time to get stronger and more jacked than me.
Karma struck back with vengeance.
Andy tore his right bicep while deadlifting and faces many months of rehab.
We make a fully functional, strong man... between the two of us.
In today’s episode, we talk about the injuries, how we’re dealing with them, and what our modified workouts will look like for the coming months.
Today, Andy and I discuss our approach to effective communication with our clients to ensure their wants, needs, and goals don’t go unattended.
Andy even shares a trainwreck of a communication breakdown that he once had with a client.
And finally, we both discuss how we communicate with the outside world: whether that’s with articles, Instagram, or YouTube... and what we hope to accomplish by putting our work out there for everyone to see.
Enjoy!
Brad is a BJJ brown belt, former client, and all-around smart dude.
In this conversation, we talk about our respective experiences in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and kettlebell training.
We wrap up with some honest thoughts around goal setting and the importance of balancing training with real-life priorities.
https://www.instagram.com/spudtopia/
Reddit - half_guard_hipster
Andy trash-talks my broken chicken leg as I measure quad girth live on the podcast.
We look back on old coaching mindsets that have changed over the years before diving into today's theme.
While there are thousands of exercises to choose from, all with unique benefits and costs, there are a few that Andy and I find to be “king” in terms of checking the most boxes for the most people.
Now, we’re not saying all other exercises aren’t as good or cool or as worthy of attention, but if we had to choose, we choose our biggest bang-for-your-buck squat, hinge, push, pull, carry, and locomotion patterns that we use in the gym.
We reason through why’s, how’s, and what’s of our selections, effectively giving you some “big rocks” to start with on your fitness journey.
Enjoy!
As the rain falls, flowers bloom, and the weather warms, we’re all finding our way outdoors and being a little more active. Some of us might even be thinking about summer and how we want to look and feel as the temperature rises and the amount of clothing we wear falls. Which got Andy and I talking: if we’ve been cultivating some strength and mass over the winter months, what should we start doing if we want to trim down?
Today, we tackle the two-pronged approach to body (re)composition: lifting weights and watching what you eat. We talk the hows, whys, and dos/don’ts of exercise and nutrition so you don't fall into the common traps laid by the fitness industry.
Sarah has been a strength coach for 7 years and has coached hundreds of individuals to be their strongest selves!
Sarah sees fitness as a collaborative experience and loves working with people to find the style of movement practice that works best for them! Sarah has trained extensively with kettlebells and barbells, and she is currently working on her Master's degree in Psychology at the Harvard Extension school.
She hopes to continue facilitating conversations about mental health in the fitness world for years to come!
B2K: https://www.between2kettlebells.com/
IG: @Sarah Polacco
Workshop: https://www.eventbrite.com/manage/events/140688385749/tickets March 25th, 7-9:30 pm EST
Another snowy day in Nashville and yet we’re back with beers in hand! You might see Andy and I and think we’re a couple meatheads: bending bars, swinging kettlebells, eating chicken and broccoli out of tupperware, and you’d be kinda right.
While weight training comes second nature to us, the nutrition side of things has been a delayed addition to our lives. Sure, we can eat, and we’re good at it. But cooking, for ourselves or others, was a late addition for us both: not becoming an integral part of our daily lives until our early 30s. And that’s ok!
Curating a lifestyle of exercise and nutrition is a process, one that takes practice and devotion over time. Andy and I discuss how we view cooking, healthy nutrition, and training in a larger lifestyle context. Finally, we revisit the healthy habits convo from a few weeks back. Enjoy!
Nashville is being pounded by snow and ice, but Andy and I grabbed a six-pack and set up shop in my apartment to record this week's episode. As they say, the show must go on! We both love lifting big weights and eating our vegetables (pizza is a vegetable, right?), but we have other interests, too and we talk a little about our hobbies outside of fitness. Next, we get into the weeds of program design, namely how we approach choosing exercises we think are relevant to our clients, their goals, and their needs. We might be a couple meatheads, but not everyone needs to lift super heavy; not everyone needs to barbell deadlift or squat; not everyone needs a chest day or back day or leg day. There are many ways to skin a cat, and we apply our respective filters on how we design programs. Lastly, we each take a turn dissecting an actual program we're implementing with a current client: who they are, what they need, what they like, and how we adjust the program relative to their goals and lifestyle. Enjoy!
Jen Meehan is a strength coach in Alexandria, VA.
Once a 4th-grade teacher, she now brings a powerful and entertaining coaching approach to the realm of fitness.
She boasts an INCREDIBLE 40 kg/88 lbs weighted strict tactical pull-up.
Jen has also earned the title of Iron Maiden for performing a military press, pistol squat, and tactical pull-up with a 24 kg kettlebell. In addition to her many certification and instructor credits, she is a former NCAA D1 Cross Country & Tracy athlete and has a Masters in Elementary Ed.
She volunteers her time at Saint Mary Catholic School as an assistant coach to the cross country team and is a busy mom to 3 wonderful kids!
This week, Andy and I welcome Erin, our first guest to co-host A2Z as we talk about exercise programming and training.
Erin is a Nashville-based Physical Therapist who works with patients of all types and abilities, from desk-jockies to professional athletes.
Today, she shares her experience and thoughts about assessing a patient, understanding their goals and needs, finding some common ground to help with "buy-in," and how she can safely and effectively get them back to doing what they love.
Next, while we all love to lift big weights, we each have different backgrounds and experiences that shape how our programs and workouts are written, how they flow, and how they progress, and we discuss those contrasts. Finally, we invite Erin to discuss training men vs. women, and some of the similarities and differences we commonly find when working with each.
Wrapping up our first month of podcasts, we turn the lens on ourselves and our colleagues in the fitness, nutrition, and wellness industry.
As coaches, we often talk about strength training, eating our fruits and veggies, getting eight hours of sleep, and so on. But this lifestyle isn’t who we are 100% of the time – we’re human, too, and often enjoy beer and pizza. Andy and I wrestle with the “image” we put forth both as fitness professionals and as real human beings on our social media.
We discuss the “exception to the rules” in that, yes, we enjoy beer and pizza, but those nights out are just sprinkles on the otherwise healthy fitness and nutrition cake. We train hard, we eat nutritiously, and we do a lot of the boring but effective things well, and we point the finger at Fitpros who show only the highlight reels.
We discuss what it means to sell yourself as a coach without selling out and the curse of the “sponsor daddy.” And we debate ethics and the dangers of compromising when you align yourself with certain products and companies. Enjoy!
Tracy Cook is a competitive powerlifter on the USAPL Masters National Team as well as a state-level referee.
She is a strength coach certified under StrongFirst (SFG2, SFL) and owns the Strength Kitchen in Savannah, GA.
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tracyhcook/
Email newsletter - https://mailchi.mp/strengthkitchencoaching/email
This week, Andy and I talk about Crossfit, what it does well, and how we could all learn from it.
Burpees are under the microscope for some much-needed scrutiny.
Finally, we talk assessments - what they are and how we're each guided in our decision-making process for progressing clients.
We're back! This week we're talking habits: reading, nutrition, training... but more specifically, healthy habits we know are good for us, healthy habits we encourage our clients to do, and yet we don't do them (because we're human after all!).
We then change gears to talk about over-training vs. under-recovery.
Have you ever felt beat up, sore, and just generally worn down? Maybe you're doing too much in the gym, but more likely you're not doing enough outside the gym and it's affecting your performance and recovery. We talk about what over-training and under-recovery looks like, feels like, and how to self-assess and work through it.
Enjoy!
Nikki is a strength coach in Memphis, TN where she operates her own private training studio.
She coaches clients online and runs the virtual "Quarantined Kettlebell Club"
http://nvstrongtraining.com/
https://www.instagram.com/kettlebellatrix/
http://nvstrongtraining.com/qkc/
Andy Van Grinsven is a strength coach in Nashville, TN.
In this chat, we discuss HAES and riff on our biggest training mistakes.
A2Z / No BS
Ben Swarts is a strength coach in Minneapolis, MN.
https://www.hardshellfit.com/about
Ben also founded the non-profit community Thrive Mighty
https://www.thrivemighty.org/
https://www.instagram.com/hardshellben/
Whether you find yourself on the road, at home, or in the office, here are 3 workout ideas that will keep you fit and strong.
Mallory Rowan and Josh Reyes are the founders of LVD Fitness, an apparel brand that helps provide clean water to millions. Think TOMS shoes meets powerlifting.
For every item sold, LVD provides a month of clean water to a child in a developing country through their partnership with WaterAid Canada.
In this episode:
The origin story of LVD Fitness The importance of legacy and integrity Partnering with Jen Thomson and other elite powerlifters The behind-the-scenes of running an apparel brand
How to prevent & mitigate injury / Time management / Cueing best practices / Gaining muscle with bodyweight exercise