Philosophy of Strength: Recent Episodes
Cill O' Connor
Strength coach and personal trainer Cill O’Connor delves into all things strength training and the philosophy behind living a strong life.
I talk with client Andy O'Callaghan about the progress he's made since we started working together. Andy has changed the way he looks, fixed chronic joint pain, and achieved his goal of a muscle up. Listen to get his perspective on what was required to get to this point.
1:17 Can you gain strength in a calorie deficit
3:40 Main value of hiring a coach
6:00 How to start running when you're heavy
09:56 Deadlifting in squat shoes
11:25 Dumbbell flyes from the floor
13:20 Improving shoulder mobility for overhead press
15:15 Getting older and hitting final PRs
19:20 My goals
20:05 Fascia training and 'glute dominant' athletes
23:30 Is strength training enough for cardio?
26:38 Tips for a pulled hamstring
28:44 Weight training for soccer players
31:00 When to work on asymmetries
34:10 Focus on hypertrophy and strength at the same time or separately?
37:48 What fitness assessments do I do
40:00 How often do I train to failure
Training in busy January gyms, how severe injuries happen, training with partials, advice on becoming a PT, and more.
A look back on the main changes in the industry, my training, and coaching business in 2023.
So you're not hitting PRs as easy as you did when you started training? Here are the most likely reasons and how to get your lifts moving again.
Worst fitness trends, why you need to train with others, balance/proprioception training, and more.
In this episode I sit down with Iron Ian of the Iron Mindset podcast. Ian talks about how he first got into training through working in the upstart Irish pro wrestling scene, how he later transitioned into powerlifting and coaching, and other general chit chat about the fitness industry.
My take on some 'essential' albums I found disappointing, versus the ones I think are often overlooked compared to the rest of that band's catalogue.
Progressive overload is a very important principle for good training, yet trainees often misunderstand what it is and how to use it.
Hurt your back? Congratulations, diagnosis: human. The good news is it's probably not serious and you'll be able to get back to lifting much sooner than you think.
1:07 Evidence for 'explosive' reps?
05:37 My current training split
08:23 How to get a muscle-up
13:02 Breaking a running plateau
17:01 Barbell press a bad option for hypertrophy?
23:15 Why wear a belt?
25:00 How much weight loss impacted my bench
27:46 Tips for golfer's elbow
30:05 Back pain on RDL
33:19 Submax slow eccentrics vs supramax
35:50 Advice for S&C coach moving into PT
Functional training has become an industry buzzword. But rarely has its dubious claims about 'good' and 'bad' movement ever been challenged in the mainstream. Conveniently, functional training tends to be more entertaining and easier than traditional resistance training, making it a huge hit on social media. In this episode, I dismantle the common arguments used to defend this giant distraction from effective training.
0:00 Intro
1:31 My thoughts on the internal rotation craze
06:00 Periodisation of training for fat loss
11:40 The last thing I changed my opinion on
16:55 Squat U's gains
18:30 Is the smith machine for pussies?
23:35 Do I ever wish I had a different job?
28:24 Popping noises in joints
32:00 Easiest way to break a bench plateau
35:30 What RPEs do I prescribe for gaining strength?
0:00 Intro
05:25 Honourable mentions
20:25 Secret of Monkey Island
24:57 Super Mario World
28:07 Halo
31:36 Pokemon Red/Blue
37:30 Oblivion
45:19 The best game of all time
00:50 What are my favourite arm exercises?
02:00 Is the back raise safe for back rehab?
03:53 What bench grip width to use for hypertrophy?
06:10 A thank you message
07:11 What's my take on barefoot training?
10:13 What's wrong with optimising?
16:10 What's the most fun thing about being a coach?
18:17 How do you deal with the BS in the industry?
23:06 Back pain on dynamic effort deadlifts
25:30 What's my opinion on 'MoveU'?
27:28 What are my current favourite games?
Interested in attending Hellfest? Here was my experience attending what's quickly becoming one of the biggest heavy festivals in the world.
The first instalment of a segment where I provide in depth answers to questions I've gotten from Instagram.
Join me as I rip on Loudwire's best albums of the 2000's, and provide my own suggestions.
In this episode I sit down with one of my most successful clients to discuss how he went from being underweight and a complete beginner to lifting, to gaining 10kg of mass and essentially doubling his strength across the board.
Here are three albums I think are good introductions to the most upbeat and fun loving music genre out there.
Rick Nally is a coach and an accomplished runner, with years of experience and sport science education. In this pod we delve into how he went from sucking at sports to finding his talent for running, his time as an athlete on a scholarship in the states, reflection on the S&C field and the service he now offers to his online coaching clients.
Here's a rundown on the discography of one of the greatest heavy metal bands of all time. Getcha pull.
The Liver King controversy is a perfect case study of why the fitness industry isn't helping anywhere near as many people as it could.
Beginners and intermediates need to take distinctly differently approaches to improving on chins, although the basic principles remain the same!
For a special 50th episode, myself and Ian delve into our album recommendations and the order you should listen to them for getting into the most unholy and badass of music genres. Fair warning: this one is long and involved us putting away quite a few beers.
Dave is a strength coach and physical therapist who takes a no BS approach to helping lifters get strong and out of pain. He's also a major nerd and strength philosophiser like me!
Fellow sh*t stirrer and training philosopher, Cian O'Brien, pops into the pod for a good old fashioned ramble
0:00 Who people used to think ran the page
1:45 How Mark got into training and coaching
6:40 Stuff Mark used to believe
8:20 How Mark found evidence based fitness
17:35 The difference between being ignorant and malicious
25:00 How the meme page grew
30:00 The power of memes
38:58 Bad physios and staying within your scope
44:00 How to improve the industry
56:45 The conjugate method
1:04:30 Specificity in training
1:08:45 When to use variations
1:13:21 Biggest thing Mark has changed his mind on recently
1:19:25 What he'd tell his younger self
1:26:20 Where to contact Mark for coaching
0:00 How Will got started in fitness
12:40 Reflections on the Paleo Diet
19:15 Lessons learned from CrossFit
29:18 Balancing your goals/priorities
34:00 Training smarter and prioritising recovery
40:00 Biggest mistakes people make
43:30 Marketing ethics in fitness
49:00 Emotions and changing beliefs
53:30 What coaches should consider before entering the industry
1:00:00 Biggest thing Will has changed his mind on recently
1:08:24 Advice to younger Will
1:14:00 Will's current training
1:17:23 Contacting Will for coaching
0:00 Ian's introduction to training
14:05 How Ian got into academia
23:10 Issues with S&C as a career
36:23 How coaching education could improve
50:20 Coaching weightlifting
54:00 Ian's weightlifting background and current training
59:25 Ian's PhD and research interests
1:03:20 Biggest training lessons
1:24:10 Ian's coaching services
0:00 How Cian got into training and coaching
10:50 Youth S&C
16:00 'Dangerous' exercises, and the oly lifts
18:20 Trends and failings in S&C
24:50 Athletes are still beginners
28:00 General vs Specific Training
30:35 Cian's ACL Injury
35:30 Issues with standard injury rehab
53:35 Breaking 'rules' in S&C
1:01:50 Injury vs Pain
1:05:50 Training older people
1:09:06 How to help people get hooked on training
1:15:30 Heavy weights for beginners
1:28:28 Keeping things simple
1:34:09 Improving the coaching education system
1:48:00 Reminiscing of the old days
0:00 What we’ve been up to
10:00 When does technique/form matter?
16:00 S&C for Sports
21:30 Why use variation?
26:30 Teaching exercise classes
31:00 Should you have strict rest periods?
40:00 Should you rely on music?
46:20 Mental routines and rituals before performing
57:00 Is RPE useful?
1:05:30 Fitness gadgets
1:13:50 Lockdown training lessons
1:19:20 Fitness gatekeeping as a marketing tactic
1:24:00 How much of your physique is modifiable?
1:10 Bioelectrical impedance and measuring body fat
12:25 Strategies for creating a calorie deficit
21:30 Is there an 'anabolic window'?
32:10 Optimal protein intake
37:18 Whey isolate vs whey concentrate
40:20 Is fish oil worth supplementing?
44:59 Food allergy tests - do they work?
54:37 ZMA for sleep?
1:01:12 Biggest nutrition mistake Rich encounters
1:05:21 Does nutrition need stricter regulation?
0:00 How Emily started training and became a coach
14:00 Weight gain for women
20:30 Social media and body image
27:30 Genetics role in training results
35:00 Should women train differently, and impact of menstrual cycle
0:00 Luke's background
8:05 What got Luke into training and his current goals
14:00 Luke's approach training people
18:20 Importance of nutrition
20:40 Understanding your goals, and what will make you happy
24:30 Our views on deloading
27:20 Biggest mistakes beginners make
32:30 Misinformation around injury and pain
37:10 Pain catastrophisers and the nocebo effect
41:30 Luke's experience with tearing his ACL
43:15 How can the lay person find good information and coaching?
53:30 Outro
0:00 What are 'weakpoints' ?
2:00 Where the idea comes from
5:00 A funny anecdote
8:00 Do you really have a weakpoint?
12:00 Is it worth not training the exercise you want to get better at?
16:30 Why not exploit your strong points first?
18:30 Can we even 'fix' true weakpoints?
20:00 When weakpoints make sense
22:10 Final thoughts
0:00 Intro
2:40 What is clickbait and where did it come from?
5:20 Pay per click advertising
7:20 Is clickbait good or bad?
13:20 Possible solutions
20:00 Summary
0:00 Rich’s background
8:00 Main things for lifters to focus on
14:15 The most important aspect of any diet
18:00 How creatine works and who should use it
26:50 Importance of supplement testing
30:15 Beta Alanine
34:10 Caffeine
39:20 Keto for strength and muscle?
44:40 Carnivore
48:40 Intermittent fasting
53:00 Seaspiracy claims
57:00 The public’s perspective on science
1:03:30 Hydration recommendations
1:08:00 Body fat measurement
1:16:05 Dietary fat amount and types
0:00 Squat University controversy
3:15 Biomechanical reasoning
6:15 What do elite lifters do?
10:30 Is asymmetry bad?
15:30 The spectrum of physio beliefs
18:25 Problems with the kinesiopathological model
20:45 Problems with the biopsychosocial model
21:40 Good physios do the same thing
25:40 Adaptability vs fragility mindset
28:10 Is spinal flexion an issue?
0:00 Intro
4:50 Is bodybuilding getting smarter?
10:55 Should bodybuilders get stronger?
17:15 Strength phases for bodybuilders
21:00 Muscle gain for strength?
32:40 Has social media killed bulking?
38:27 Body fat and bulking
46:30 Should you bulk or cut?
0:00 What is 'training to failure' ?
4:50 Research on failure
7:30 ARGUMENTS FOR
8:15 Motor unit recruitment theory
10:35 The 'effective reps' theory
13:50 Time efficiency
15:50 Failure and overload
18:05 ARGUMENTS AGAINST
18:40 Fatigue and injury risks
20:40 Can you get enough volume for growth?
23:50 Recommendations for doing a failure/high intensity programme
25:05 Who should avoid failure?
27:10 Good resources
0:00 Intro
1:55 Acceptance of difficulty
3:20 Reframing failure
5:55 Learning opportunity
8:00 Analysing your behaviours/actions
11:35 Analysing your goals
16:55 Accountability aids (journaling, training partners, coaching)
24:00 Summary
0:00 What are DOMS / muscle soreness?
1:55 Lactic acid?
3:30 What does cause DOMS?
10:00 Does soreness = growth?
12:45 Can we reduce soreness?
18:00 Summary and recommendations
0:00 Intro
1:20 Defining 'load'
3:15 Adapt or die: what is overload?
5:00 Super-compensation
6:10 Progressive
8:00 Specificity of Adaptation
11:05 The Paradox of Specificity
15:40 Overload events and training advancement
19:45 How often / when to overload
22:00 How much to overload by
25:35 Summary
The fitness industry is full of contradicting opinions. So who can you really trust? In this episode I give you a critical thinking tool kit, so that you yourself can establish who has your best interest at heart, and who's full of BS.
0:00 Why does the deadlift detrain so quickly?
2:30 Criteria for picking at-home exercises
3:55 Partner exercises
9:55 Bodyweight exercises
13:15 Bands/dumbbell exercises
19:20 Up the volume
21:40 Outro
In this episode I sit down with Conor McCabe, a strength and conditioning coach specialising in combat sports - particularly Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Follow Conor on Instagram @conormccabesc .
Time `stamps:
0:00 Intro
1:35 Can you burn fat in a specific region?
3:15 Is milk healthy?
7:00 Can you turn fat to muscle?
9:15 Knees past toes in a squat?
14:04 Calories in vs out - outdated?
16:18 Should you eat before training?
18:43 Is muscle soreness caused by lactic acid?
23:45 Back pain is the most common source of pain?
27:55 How much do genetics affect training results?
29:30 Are diet drinks healthy? Is aspartame dangerous?
31:30 Frequent meals to stoke metabolism?
0:00 Intro
2:30 Not eating enough
6:00 Not sleeping enough
8:45 Too greedy with weight jumps
11:25 Your technique sucks
15:00 Not resting enough
18:05 Not following a programme
21:10 Deloads (too often/ not often enough)
25:25 Injury
27:00 Training environment
28:50 Psychological issues
0:00 Intro
2:48 Starting Strength
11:22 5/3/1
21:00 Greyskull LP
30:08 Ivysaur 4-4-8
38:20 Final thoughts
Time stamps:
0:00 Introducing Conor
3:25 Podcasting to promote great coaches
6:45 Social media and coaching
10:50 Keeping things simple
15:56 The volume and intensity pendulum
25:10 Misinterpreting science, and does creatine cause hair loss?
35:15 Thoughts on nutrition
45:35 How much body fat do you really want to lose?
50:40 The psychology of making training a habit
65:05 Who Conor works with
68:30 Making people independent from the coach
71:05 Group training vs 1-on-1
78:00 Is bodybuilding a sport?
86:30 Biggest thing learned in the past year
91:30 Advice to your younger self
I kickstart the 2nd season of Philosophy of Strength with an episode on our first 'Icon of Strength' : Sylvester Stallone! In this episode I discuss the inspiring story of how Stallone got his break as Rocky, and delve into some of the mythology about the strength training he did to create his iconic action star physique.
0:00 - Intro
1:39 - Stop looking for motivation
09:13 - Discipline is built from habits
12:15 - Be honest with yourself
17:00 - Overcoming resistance and building momentum
21:59 - Final thoughts
0:00 Milo and the bull 03:40 Adapt or die 08:25 Why progressive is the key word 15:50 - types of overload 17:55 - How to use prog. overload in your training
In this episode I discuss why keeping a thorough training log is so critical to success.
0:00- Intro, 1:10 - Why the pull-up matters, 3:43 - Pull-ups vs Chin-Ups, 5:50 - Equipment, 9:40 - Beginner training, 15:40 - Intermediate training, 20:48 - Advanced Training
Better late than never: In this episode, Cill gives an overview of who he is, what his philosophy is, and what to expect from future episodes of the podcast.
In this episode, Cill explains why a pair of gymnastic rings are one of the best pieces of lockdown gym equipment you can buy.
Ever wonder how many exercises is the right amount? In this episode, Cill discusses a logical framework for figuring out how many exercises to do.
Cill details the most important pieces of equipment to invest in for training at home, why you need them, and where you might get them.
Cill walks you through key steps for keeping your mind in a happy place during the COVID-19 quarantine.