Experiment with Junior High Kids I'm going to start next week...

[Matt Reynolds]

Ask anyone who I've ever coached or ever been to a seminar I coached at and ask them if I'm a dick in person, or if I'm incredibly encouraging.

[Jonny Gold]

So is it what he is saying or how he is saying it that bothers you?

I don't see the point in telling someone that they are strong when they are not... Who would want a coach that lies to them? My guess is someone who doesn't truly want to get better.

The truth can hurt sometimes... But if you aren't aware of the truth, you won't advance.

If you are weak, you are weak... The first step to fixing the problem is being aware of it... Don't accept it, let it burn inside you, and do everything you can to change it...

If you start weak, thats where you start... Make progress... Only you as an individual can control that, and if you are not making progress, then it is YOUR failure... And you should be made aware of that too... No excuses... Fix it... But again, you have to be made aware of it and held accountable...

That is at least if you really, truly want to get better and dont accept the weak standards that are thought of as okay in this world of politically correct, everybody blunt the truth and make sure nobody gets their feelings hurt garbage...

Now as someone who coaches with and trains with Matt, I can see how his lack of...tact... could bother people... but again, this is a "big boy go potty by himself" kind of sport... and iron doesn't lie, and gravity will always win... so why not face the truth?

Matt and I have said things to each other about both lifting and our personal lives that most people would never say... but again, it is done in a "face the truth and fix the problem" way... Many times we have hit a lift we thought was great and the first thing out of the other person's mouth was a harsh critique...

Raise the standards if you want to get better...

Standards are everything... Many people think I am strong... I look at my lifts and want to puke... Why? because my standards say that I should be the best... I want to compete with guys like the Lillebridges (who are some of the strongest, baddest, and nicest people I have ever met)... That sets my standards... I want to be the best... Even if I fail at that goal, I will have achieved way more than if I had not set high standards...

Last spring I trained with Jeremy Frey and had my best meet ever... And he was one of the most blunt a-holes around, IF you couldn't look past his delivery and see his meaning... He made Matt look like Barney... It was like he lived to tell you what sucked about you... Because he is a coach and wants no problem unaddressed...But behind it was a drive that was infectious and made everyone better....

Good coaches are the first to tell you what is wrong with you, and they also tell you when you are improving... or if you aren't...

Look past the delivery and see the truth behind the statements, and the purpose... which is to raise you to another level and a higher standard... get pissed if you have to, if it will make you better...or get your feeling hurt and accept staying the same...

[Matt Reynolds]

Did you just call me Barney you douche?

Actually now that I'm 290 and bloated and purple I do kinda look like him....but less than you do.

[MattJ.D.]

Briks, your info is correct. Right now, I have eight people that train at my "gym" on regular or semi-regular basis. I think our environment is actually pretty damn good as we have comparatively strong people motivating the new guys, there is lots of yelling, competition is always there, betting goes on, etc.

Here's my brother deadlifting yesterday for example (turn your sound down, seriously):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdZcU5ZkdrQ#t=7m58s

Here is me coaching another brother pressing:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPUQIsDxPfk#t=4m41s

This is the breakdown of "my" lifters:
Sam, 21y/o, 240lbs, 170x4 press, 7mo training (started same time as me, I do most/all of his programming, and coach lifts mostly via video though we occasionally lift together)
Mark, 16y/o, 185lbs, 160x5 press, 2+ years training (most of it not with me, even now, most not with me)
Me, 21y/o, 195lbs, 140x5 press, 7mo training (3 months of dieting in there)
Jimmy, 21y/o, 190lbs, 135x5 press, dunno his training history, we've lifted together twice
Pocholo, 21y/o, 155lbs, 110x9 and 120x5 press, 7mo training total and all with me (1-2x/wk)
Tim, 19y/o, 195lbs, 110x5 press, 1mo training
Tony, 17y/o, 170lbs, 105x5 press, 4 total workouts thus far
Steve, 17y/o, 145lbs, 65x5 press, 2 total workouts thus far

I'm obviously not the same caliber of coach or lifter as Matt (or anywhere close), but it will be interesting to see how this experiment goes nonetheless. I'll be at the Redmond seminar this week and hopefully the coaches there can help me sort out what I, and "my" lifters, are doing wrong.

Tom your brother is pulling with pretty flexed spine, probably have him deload and do a weight he can actually pull correctly

[droidicus]

So is it what he is saying or how he is saying it that bothers you?

A little of both. The biggest problem that I have right now is that Matt is continuing a disagreement that we were having in another thread, and used my lifts at the BEGINNING of the process over a year ago as a knock against me. This is extremely unprofessional. I have worked damned hard in the time since then, am I "strong" in an absolute sense? No. Have I made more progress then I would have thought possible? Yes. All my lifts (with the exception of the press) are right around the intermediate level on the strength standards that Rip developed (my press is just below Novice for a number of reasons also brought up in the other thread including injury and morphology). I am proud of the progress that I have made in spite not being the strongest person that has ever done 12 months of barbell training.

I am certainly not done training, and I continue to progress. I also certainly have goals, my current goal is to get to a 1000 Lbs powerliftint total. Once I do that the goal will move yet higher. Hell, take damned near anyone that has ever done SS and look at their starting weights, I am sure that you could mock nearly everyone for being "weak" at the start!

[Briks42]

Droid, keep up the hard work and I'm sure you'll hit your goals. But also, if you are the person who gets offended by someone else calling you weak on the internet, you gotta harden the fuck up.

[droidicus]

Droid, keep up the hard work and I'm sure you'll hit your goals. But also, if you are the person who gets offended by someone else calling you weak on the internet, you gotta harden the fuck up.

I am not offended, it is actually quite difficult to offend me... But, I don't have a problem with trying to defend myself from a misguided attack either.

[Briks42]

Gotcha, you just had a few posts in that other thread where it seemed like it bothered you.

You mentioned you train with Eric Cressey. I read an article about him training that Royals pitcher, Tim Collins. I'm a big Collins fan. Gotta love a 5'7" MLB pitcher.

[droidicus]

Gotcha, you just had a few posts in that other thread where it seemed like it bothered you.

You mentioned you train with Eric Cressey. I read an article about him training that Royals pitcher, Tim Collins. I'm a big Collins fan. Gotta love a 5'7" MLB pitcher.

Yea, Tim is a good guy. A few weeks ago he had just got a unicycle and was trying to learn how to ride it in the CP office. That was pretty hilarious. Right now there are a ton of pros at the facility, a bunch of the regulars (myself included) are looking forward to the start of spring training so that the gym isn't quite so crowded anymore.

[Tom Narvaez]

Tom your brother is pulling with pretty flexed spine, probably have him deload and do a weight he can actually pull correctly

His form is fine in my opinion. I don't really care about upperback rounding on a PR pull. Perfect flat-back deadlifting is a fantasy.