60 Pages of Fitness Notes From

Coaches Stan Efferding, Charles

Poliquin, and Matt Wenning
Coaches who have mentored, guided, and made achievements that range
from elite powerlifters, bodybuilders, World Strongest Man, US Special
Operations, Olympians, NFL, NHL, UFC, bikini competition, elderly, and
autistic. Notes on keto, proper warm-ups, a conjugate-style layout for US
Ranger programming, proper squat techniques, and much more.
A Note on Content:
All provided information is freely available on the internet, and the notes are summarized from these
coaches who have allowed their seminars, interviews, and podcasts to be publicly posted online. None of
this info is mine. I’ve linked each session to the corresponding podcast, interview, or seminar. Also
included is the coaches website and social media.
I didn’t do this for money, but if you feel inclined to give, then please support the coaches, or these two
great causes:

https://www.ijm.org/ -

Helping end human trafficking by rescuing the enslaved, prosecuting the

slavers, and empowering the survivors

https://www.greenberetfoundation.org/ -

Supporting the quiet professional and their families

For more of these notes compilations or fitness lessons in general, I’ll keep them posted on my personal
IG: http://www.instagram/caseyjoemast_
Contents
Quick Intro .....................................................................................................................................................................5
Philosophy of Choice .................................................................................................................................................5
Matt Wenning | Notes ..................................................................................................................................................6
Why I Chose Matt Wenning: ......................................................................................................................................6
Absolute Strength Podcast - Episode 105 | Matt Wenning on Unique Powerlifting Techniques, Meet Prep, Sleep
and Warming Up ........................................................................................................................................................7
Matt's current training protocol: ...........................................................................................................................7
• Note on Sleep ...............................................................................................................................................7
• Note on Common squat weaknesses: ..........................................................................................................8
• Note on Common bench weakness .............................................................................................................8
• Note on Common deadlift weakness ...........................................................................................................8
• Note on Warm-ups:......................................................................................................................................9
Ben Pulkaski Podcast: Episode 48 | The 300 Rep Warm Up and Expert Recovery and Programming Strategies
with 3x World Record Holding Powerlifter Matt Wenning .......................................................................................9
• Diet .............................................................................................................................................................10
• Opinion on Keto .........................................................................................................................................11
• Sleep ...........................................................................................................................................................11
• Warming Up Through Potentiation ............................................................................................................11
Hammershed Episode 26 | Training the Military with Matt Wenning ....................................................................12
National Strength & Coaching Association | Conjugate Periodization, with Matt Wenning ..................................13
Example weekly layout of conjugate method for his Rangers:............................................................................16
National Strength & Conditioning Association | Programming for Tactical Populations ........................................16
• Programming Principles: ............................................................................................................................16
Summary of presentation ....................................................................................................................................19
National Strength & Conditioning Association | The Squat—How it Improves Athletic Performance, with Matt
Wenning ..................................................................................................................................................................20
Squat Form: .........................................................................................................................................................21
Common Squat Form Issues: ...............................................................................................................................22
Programming the Squat .......................................................................................................................................22
National Strength & Conditioning Association | Sumo Deadlift: The Base for Tactical Strength, with Matt
Wenning ..................................................................................................................................................................23
Sumo Deadlift Technique & Form Notes .............................................................................................................24
Stan Efferding | Notes .................................................................................................................................................26
Why I Chose Stan Efferding: ....................................................................................................................................26
Strong Talk Podcast 113: Stan Efferding - Training the Mountain ...........................................................................27
Stan Efferding Seminar P.1 - The Importance of Sleep, Nutrition, & Steroids.........................................................28
Stan Efferding Seminar P.2 - Grow BIGGER by Getting Good at the Basics .............................................................29
KOMPLETTES Seminar in THOR's Powergym Part 1.................................................................................................30
Stans Take on Processed Oils:..............................................................................................................................32
Stans Take on Carbs: ............................................................................................................................................33
KOMPLETTES Seminar in THOR's Powergym Part 2.................................................................................................34
Stan Misc Notes: ..................................................................................................................................................34
Stans Take on Cardio: ..........................................................................................................................................35
Stans Take on Calories: ........................................................................................................................................35
Stans Explanation on the “Horizontal” part of the Vertical Diet .........................................................................36
The JuggLife | Return of Rhino ................................................................................................................................37
The Matt Wenning Strength podcast Episode 8: Effiting It Up With Stan Efferding ...............................................40
Charles Poliquin | Notes ..............................................................................................................................................42
Why I Chose Charles Poliquin: .................................................................................................................................42
Charles Poliquin- Training Volume, Nutrition & Fat Loss .........................................................................................43
• Keto Diet ....................................................................................................................................................43
• Periodization: .............................................................................................................................................44
• Growth Mindset: ........................................................................................................................................44
The Tim Ferriss Show | Charles Poliquin Interview - Part 1.....................................................................................45
• Common mistakes with trainers and female clients ..................................................................................47
The Tim Ferriss Show | Charles Poliquin Interview - Part 2.....................................................................................48
• Most bang-for-buck testosterone increases ..............................................................................................48
Bulletproof | Aerobic exercise may be destroying your body, weightlifting can save it .........................................49
Mark Bell's PowerCast Episode 181 | The Myth of Discipline .................................................................................50
London Real Podcast | Strength Sensei - Part 1 ......................................................................................................52
London Real Podcast | Strength Sensei - Part 2 (46 minute mark) .........................................................................53
Compilation of Notes Regarding Training Women: .....................................................................................................56
TL;DR/Top Ten Changes I've Personally Made From These Lessons: ..........................................................................58
Ending Notes:...............................................................................................................................................................60
Quick Intro
First off, I’m not a professional coach, instructor, or anyone truly qualified: I’m just a guy who did intensive
research and compiled it together. Over a period of 6 months I've been reading books, watching
documentaries, listening to podcasts, and implementing new methods of training all in my pursuit to be more
fit, and help my brother prepare for Special Forces Selection. That said, I've decided to share notes I've taken
on the three coaches I consider to be the top teachers and doers of the strength, conditioning, and nutrition
industry, whose pedigree spread across the experienced trenches of Olympians, US Special Operations,
World Strongest Man, UFC, NFL --just to name a few. Now, these three coaches are by no means the holders
of the gospel of fitness, nor are they the only voices worth listening to, but here's why I chose who I chose:

Philosophy of Choice
● Achievements in personal fitness – a coach needs to be fit, and have fitness results in their own life.
Can't be all head knowledge or studies. No book worms or science nerds without the in-the-trenches
experience.
● Achievements in client fitness – a coach needs to have produced results in others lives, because
knowing what works for you is vastly different than being able to identify, correct, and advance what
works for others.
● Renown and respected by the community - peers need to recognize a coaches contributions to the
community
● Longevity - How long have they been in the game? How long have they stayed healthy? How long
have they been training clients? All important questions in establishing reputation.

With all the intro stuff out of the way, let’s begin.
 Matt Wenning | Notes

https://www.instagram.com/ludus_magnus_gym/
https://www.wenningstrength.com/

Why I Chose Matt Wenning:

In helping someone in the tactical population train for the dynamic and demanding
requirements of Selection, I came across Matt and his solutions for the US Ranger and
other elements of the tactical population. I chose to study on Matt due to his personal
and professional achievements –he is elite and he trains he elite. Matt was hired to
train various Special Operations for the military and is the first to have his programs
implemented on a large scale within the military. His methods have reduced injury
rates across the board for fire, police, and military (and thus saved money for those
organizations), and is a master of training and preventing overtraining.
• Multiple records in the squat alone, including a 1196lb squat.
• Broke 4 world records; second highest RAW at 208 class with 2204lb total.
• Works with thousands of US military, including various Ranger regiments, 4th Infantry,
and paratroopers out of Bragg.
• Developed Mountain Warrior Athlete program out of Ft. Carson.
• Clients include NFL, US Special Operations, law enforcement, firemen, pro athletes,
universities, elderly (difficult to train & yield safe results) & kids with disabilities
• His training with first responders and military has reduced site budgets significantly,
due to decreased injuries and insurance claims.
• Attended university in Indiana where NASA funded the strength and conditioning
programs and recruited top-tier professors.
• Top ten in the world for almost two decades with no major injuries (rare in the
strength industry)
• Masters degree in sports biomechanics under Dr. Kramer
• Trained closely and mentored by various powerlifting legends like Louie Simmons, Ed
Coan from his teen years, and was one of the youngest to squat 900lbs
 Absolute Strength Podcast - Episode 105 | Matt Wenning on Unique Powerlifting
Techniques, Meet Prep, Sleep and Warming Up
• Hard-day, then 24 hours later, do a really light day, more of a pump day instead of
breaking something down.
• Need to train upper back a lot. Can train upper back, rhomboid, and rear delts a lot.

Matt's current training protocol:

• Tuesday: Quicker style exercises (main lifts), dynamic day, extensive
warmup, lots of hams and glutes
• Wednesday: speed bench, lots of volume on arms (mostly triceps), back
(100 reps of lat work)
• Thursday: rear delts (not sure if that's all he does, didn't specify)
• Friday: heavy squats, heavy pulls, not a lot of accessory work
• Saturday: restoration, lots of walking (400-600 steps on a turned off
treadmill, restores from Friday)
• Sunday: heavy bench, heavy back, heavy pressing day
• Monday: completely off (GPP, light stretching, only full day he has off
where he’s “doing nothing”)

• Most folks don't train hard enough 15-weeks pre-meet (for that one week, not for all
15). Off-season is based on RPE, but meet milestone dates are need-to-hit numbers,
will help see how the upcoming meet will be. Meet prep is all percentage based, not
auto-regulation.
• Takes a year to add 5-10lbs on his bench now that he's crossed the 600lb mark.
• Note on Sleep: Non-autoregulation periods require 11-13 hours sleep a day. Sleep is
huge, and matters especially as you get older.
• Ed Coan and Tom Brady both sleep 10-12 hours a day
• Strength sport prime is mid to late 30's
• Optimal ratio for overnight to nap? 8:30pm to 7am, naps 2-3 hours mid-day. Need a
big chunk at night. Every hour you go to sleep before midnight is twice as recuperative
as after midnight. REM sleep deeply before 1am helps growth and recovery.
• Sleeping that much takes a hit on your business, family, social, etc. Can't be setting
records and running a massive business. Had to lessen training goals as business goals
started taking precedent.
• Not a fan of specificity, because guys who rotated lifts constantly and changed pressure
gradients are able to withstand higher loads for longer periods of time. In his
experience, guys who trains specifically tend to have more injuries and more problems
over time. Attributes his lack of injury throughout his entire career to the variation of
exercises.
• How frequently to vary? When he set the world record for squat, he only used a straight
bar squat once every 3-4 weeks in the lead up to the competition. Rotates exercises in
to address weaknesses.
• Note on Common squat weaknesses: upper back in head position is an issue;
lower back doesn't stay tight, which is a weak core; most people can't utilize their hams
and glutes to utilize posterior chain to help with the lift; shank angle: straight to
perpendicular angle requires lots of hams and glutes; lateral part of shoe and heel, not
ball of foot (olympic shoes tend to push the weight forward)
• Note on Common bench weakness: most people grip way to wide and creates
shoulder problems; best lifters often don't have arms that wide; need to build upper
back; back has to be strong enough to let you bench; muscles that keep you safe
during bench: lats, rhomboids, rear delts, and rotator cuff. Not just the pressing
muscles, but the antagonist muscles need to be strong.
• Note on Common deadlift weakness: be mobile enough to get in the right spot
then get strong. "Everyone should master the sumo position before moving to
conventional. Help with hip mobility." Knee dominance puts too much load on the lower
back.
• Not a fan of Rippetoe due to his advice and technique. Says it's poor
• Must have exercises for squat development: Have to use a safety bar when developing
the upper back. Need a good base of good mornings. Camber bar is a huge asset, takes
load off shoulders. Box squat. In a 3-week wave, he uses a box once (95% of people
don't need to go above 13-14 inches, or below 12) (higher box for strength, lower for
depth issues)
• More reps with controlled eccentrics. 3-4 seconds down. Slow the eccentric down builds
more muscle and power. Stuck in the middle, need more bands and chains.
• Speed work doesn't generally work without chains and bands, because you need the
strength curve during the entire lift.
• Speed work, use chains or bands: 6-10 sets of 3 reps (matches the 1RM time
component); 35-45% of max is the good speed-strength choice. 3 weeks on of speed
training, 1 week off. Similar to West Side (percentages will be different as WS
recommends 55%).
• Speed work has it's own days (T and W, max is Sundays and Fridays). Uses speed
works on all 3 lifts. Squat and dead same day for speed, bench has it's own day.
• Feels people are too quick to change up programs: have to trust the process, even
when seemingly getting weaker, as sometimes form change and exercise variation will
cause a drop in absolute strength short-term, but can yield long-term results if the right
program is chosen. Takes months and years.
• Nutrition needed to be the bigger part of his program: ate whatever he wanted which
caused inflammation. Had no idea he was allergic to gluten and dairy. Bloodwork
showed triclycerides were out of control, needed to control carb timing.
• Carbs: 100-150g post workout only on days he worked out.
• Calories didn't change, but his carbs changed and his blood and inflammation levels
were fixed.
• Note on Warm-ups: All about potentiation. Find where the weakest links are in the
main lift. Pick a moderately light weight, and choose exercises that affect different
muscle groups involved in the main lift, so for a squat it might be upper back, lower
back, then hamstring. Doesn't need to be heavy, just consistently volume with minimal
rest. 4x25. Rest 5 minutes, then attack the big lift. Noticed clients were getting
stronger, and form was getting better.
• Started doing potentiation because he had too much time into the big lifts, and not
enough time in accessories. Started low: 20lbs on leg curls, 100lbs on belt squat.
Moved up to 100lbs/500lbs for 4x25. Weights will go up over time. Recovery got better.
• Main lifts took a hit initially. Shouldn't burn or hurt too much, just go for a pump, and
get limber. "Dynamic mobility, just getting warm, then work up to weights that would
destroy normal people."
• Doesn't warm up, just goes straight into potentiation. Potentiate, take a break, hit the
mains lifts.

Ben Pulkaski Podcast: Episode 48 | The 300 Rep Warm Up and Expert Recovery
and Programming Strategies with 3x World Record Holding Powerlifter Matt
Wenning
• Thoughts on biohacking: only applies to the top 1% of those who have spent their lives
at the peak of human performance. Put your time in to make that stuff valuable.
• Estrogen is a defense-mechanism caused by inflammation. Lack of inflammatory diet
(dairy, gluten). "Bio-hacking is as effective as cleaning up your diet"
• IIFYM will get you to lose weight, but will also cause inflammation if you're not eating
the right foods.
• Change tempo, resistance types, range of motion in your key lifts. Creates a rotational
thought pattern that prevents tendinitis.
• Only squatted 15-weeks worth of straight bar to get ready for his record breaking
squat. Don't overuse a particular movement while still being able to squat every week.
• Exercise rotation and having a big exercise library prevents injury while
allowing constant key movements.
• "People tend to go to the gym to pat themselves on the back rather than kick
themselves in the balls"
• Back-patting workout on the third week, every other week is the kick. Find exercise
that break you rather than pat you.
• For climbing over 600lb+s in squat, he needed other stimuli. Important thing to change
is the mode (the exercise), so rotating exercises helped him overcome his 600lb
plateau.
• Variety of stimuli helps with tactical population (fire, police, military)
• Hip drive was a problem, so he trained a lot of sumo deadlifts. Highly recommends
sumo before conventional, as it increases hip mobility. Also protects the lower-back, as
the leg drive isn't as prominent, making the entire lift more balanced versus lower-back
dominant like a conventional deadlift.
• Hip mobility is the biggest problem he sees with tactical population. Hip range of motion
and strength prevents lower-back injury, most common injury.
• Main focus, 70% of workout should be weaknesses, not strengths.
• Athletic and tactical: lowback, upperback, glutes, hamstrings are all lacking. For
example: Upperback not strong enough will change scapular position on bench press.
• Train that area of weakness harder than any other muscle if it's the weakest: "36
month program to fix it. No 12-week fix."
• The way you can squat every single week, not be injured, and still go up in strength:
change pressure gradients and squat style (safety bar, free weight, chain, band, box
height, foot position, etc) that way the body adjusts every week. Still a squat, just not
the same as last week. Allows you to push hard week-in and week-out and not
overtrain. Make your body second guess what it's gonna do that week.
• How important is tempo: important in the off-season. Changing tempo too much throws
off your natural timing, which effects competition speed. Closer to comp he will squat
naturally. Off-season will vary speeds, also depends on goal. Slowing tempo builds
mass.
• "If you need muscle mass, slow it down. If you need more power speed it up"
• Law of 72 Hours: Body part needs 72 hours to recover after a taxing workout.
• You can't train similar motor patterns within three days and give it your all. "Everyday
squats is ridiculous, only good for peaking, but you'll never see top guys doing it long-
term."
• Diet: Carbs from white rice-based products, insulin surge without inflammation.
Athletic and health: 100g of carbs. Fan of ATP lab Pentacarb. Muscle-mass on, replenish
with 200g. Rest of the day, 150g. Water and tea only, no sugar. Protein, 350-400g a
day. 45-50g a day. 288lb bodyweight, going for 300lb. High-fat. If you're not worried
about being super-strong, your carbs can come down. But if you're not insanely
powerful then your carbs can be about 100g a day.
• "Stan Efferding one of the few humans that is insanely powerful and look like he can
step on a bodybuilding stage."
• Anyone can be built well and strong, genetics dictates speed to get there.
• Takes in a lot of coconut oil (got idea from Poliquin), helped him break off from carbs.
Very needed on a law carb diet.
• Leanest was 262lb at 13% bf. Credits it to Poliquin and Efferding.
• Recommends to get off carbs for two-weeks, increase fat and salt during that periods.
Teaches your body to use carbs correctly. Put back in carbs with rice and even feeds
throughout the day after two weeks. Ben recommends eating carbs every 5 days.
• Opinion on Keto: as a means to an end to get used to getting your body to use carbs
correctly. "Hard to weigh 275 and be lean and use keto. Keto is a start to use carbs
correctly."
• Testerone hacking comes a lot from inflammation hacking. Manage inflammation
through diet and lifestyle.
• Sleep: Huge factor. Uses Ed Coan as the example: both he and Wenning sleep 12-
hours a day. 8-9 hours at night, and then 2-3 hour nap. Do you need that much sleep
to be stronger than the average person? Of course not. But Olympians and world record
holders sleep a lot.
• "Most people are a muscle car that floors it and burns out every day, but does not
improve gas tank."
• 4-days a week is the most you can train.
• When you get really good, it's not how hard you can train, but how well you can
recover.
• Advice given to Matt by Larry Pacifico: "When you go to the gym, only give a 9/10,
never a 10/10. Only give 10/10 at competitions." Larry was never beaten in a comp.
• Week-to-week, heavy week. "It's incredible how much less you need to workout than
you realize." The question is, "how much minimal do you need to maximize?" Took him
25 years to find out what's optimal.
• Warming Up Through Potentiation: motor-unit potentiation; just make it like a
bodybuilders pump. Slowly, over the years, the weight and speed is built up. 300 reps
in 10-15 minutes
• Better GPP, more fit, dialed in technique, and more muscle mass. Build it up really slow
over a year. Very usable for normal people because it helps your fitness level (able to
recover faster).
• He currently can do 315 20reps on the bench, rest 3 minutes, then hit 600lbs.
• Ben does isometronics (found an article here). Right before the fatigue kicks in. Good if
you're advanced, but potentiation is better for everyone in general.
• 4x25, start light, get used to it. In 6 months your body will adapt, and build up
intensity over time. Matt currently does 4x25 of 100lb dumbbell bench press, then is
able to hit his bench max warm-up sets 3 mins later. But took time. Building a castle of
warmups with one brick at a time. Build to a warmup that annihilates the average
person.
• Potentiation Protocol: choose 3 exercises that are relevant to your main lift, do 4x25,
no rest period. A,B,C, repeat four times total, rest for 3 minutes, then move on to
single/doubles of warms up for your main lifts if maxing.
• Eats rice throughout the whole day. Glycogen replenishment happens right after the
warmup. Takes pentacarb during accessories so it's in system before exercise ends.
Takes aminos while dieting, when his carbs are low.
• In the morning he does two tbs of lime juice, and two tsps of Himalayan salt. Got this
from Charles Poliquin. Helps stay hydrated. "Fitness industry misguided during the 90's:
you need salt, especially if you're low-carb."

Hammershed Episode 26 | Training the Military with Matt Wenning

• Average deadlift of his Rangers were under 315lbs, which was unacceptable.
• Implemented a more strength-based protocol over the common cardio heavy Army PT.
Injury rates dropped, performance rose.
• Average PT score went from D+ to a B+ score in 10 months.
• No distance stuff except maybe once a week. Muscle mass went up, ligament and
tendon density went up, able to run faster and further since shin splints weren't a factor
from overuse in constant long-distance training.
• If they did spinal-compression workouts (like a squat), then they must follow-up with
traction based workout (glute ham raises, etc)
• Getting stronger and more fit decreases RPE across the board. Resistance based for an
extended period of time, "running becomes a joke." Matt doesn't straight bar squat all
the time, yet is a world-record holder squat; applies that concept to running. "Do just
enough to keep in touch with it"
• Better squat and deadlift numbers reduced injuries for paratroopers, as they are no
longer landing with equipment that is 80% their max. Goal is to make their strength
450-500lbs on deadlift. Bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles will be stronger to handle
it.
• Cost reduction across the board with his fire departments. $500k a year on workmans
comp and PTO due to injury. A few years later dropped to $120k. Saves average $200k
per department for injuries. Direct correlation between getting stronger and reducing
insurance costs. Took 5 years of culture change (management on board, getting the
guys to do the workouts, getting the proper equipment, learning how to integrate
conjugate with tactical population, etc)
• Tactical Department, most injuries are lower-back, shoulder, and knee.
• Weak lower back, due to weak hams and glutes. Knee is due to hamstrings, causes ACL
problems.
• Shoulders are issues due to rear delts, rhomboids, sub-scapular muscles (sitting all
day), neck to thorasic spine, shoulder issues. Anterior from sitting all day, so the
posterior needs to be build for balance. For chest day, he'll assign 2 times the volume
for back.
• If you want to be good military, fire, law, you need to be a good athlete before you
specify for your work. Fix individual weaknesses before moving on to technically specific
work.
• Cardio, anaerobic, heavy lifts are all indicators of athleticism that carries over into other
fields.
• Matt develops weaknesses: if you're strong but no cardio, then he'll develop cardio.
Says people get too focused on what they're good at and don't develop weaknesses.
• "Bo Jackson wouldn't have a problem being a fireman"
• Sumo deadlift, because it develops hip mobility, strength, and develops hams and
glutes. Can sumo deadlift twice a week: one day heavy, one day speed. Restricts his
guys to pull 400lbs before pulling conventional, prevents injury.
• Sumo also widens feet which simulates dragging people (fire, military). Two birds, one
stone. Most military need to carry themselves, their own gear, plus an injured 185lb
male with their 70lbs of gear in a chaotic environment.
• Favorite go-to's for post-deadlift glutes and hams: anything traction based; russian
curls, 45 degree back extension, glute bridges, reverse hypers, glute ham raises. Find
exercises that are gonna traction base the movements instead of compression (good
morning vs 45 degree back extension, same muscles, but the extension doesn't have
any spine compression)
• Tactical Population Standards: 2.5 bw is the goal for tactical, 1.5 for general (deads and
squats). Be stronger than any environment you're in. Will take years, as it develops
bone density and muscle mass.
• "Getting stronger will not make you slower"
National Strength & Coaching Association | Conjugate Periodization, with Matt
Wenning
• Conjugate Method: a Soviet developed model of training in which multiple methods are
used in an educated fashion to elicit great results in many abilities both general and
specific
• Attributes conjugate system to preventing injuries in his multiple decades career.
• Conjugate works for powerlifting, but also for multiple populations: fire, military,
university students, pro athletes.
• Special Forces guys needs to be able to have significant power outfit. Experience high
injury rate due to jumps, sprinting in equipment, etc. Noticed no lower-back muscles.
• Applied the, "find the weak points and develop them."
• Working with 18-25 year old males is easy. What about 40-55 with no experience in
working out? Decreased their injury by 70% in ten years, got them off in hypertension
medicine. Also worked with injuries, had to train around the injuries. Same results with
guys 22-60 years old.
• "Constant use one of training method causes it to become habitual, and yields a lesser
training effect." You can work the same muscle groups, but volume, intensity, and
angles always change.
• "Training is efficient if the highest level of physical result is achieved with the least
expense of time and energy." Weight training is an accessory to your sport if your sport
is not lifting. "If it takes me 5 reps to get better, why would I do 10?" Why prescribe
your football athletes higher volume than a powerlifter does?
• Conjugate puts together those two mentalities.
• "If a kid has no lower-back then I don't care what sport he plays." Sports depend on
balance of strengths and weaknesses.
• Switching exercises regularly allows overtraining to be avoided, and makes the training
effect more transferable by getting stronger and more powerful in more environments.
Uses the example of Soviet track team lifting and doing plyo during a harsh winter,
caused them to be faster and break records in the spring.
• Training with optimal volume and intensities allows the body to gain constantly rather
than over train; makes workouts optimal in time and energy output to save for other
developments (power, strength, GPP)
• Strong in squat won't necessarily have transfer to every sport, but strong in safety bar,
front squat, back, etc has way better transfer to each sport. Uses Lance Armstrong
training kettlebells to peak in cycling
• Law of Accommodation: anything used for too long will not create a greater training
effect (1-3 weeks). Doing the same thing after a while will not work anymore. Highly
advanced guys master a workout each week (order, exercise, weight, etc)
• Law of Specificity: (the catch-22 to the accommodation law) if you want an exercise to
help you in something else then it must be similar enough or be combined with other
stimuli to make that transfer. Michael Phelps will not beat Lance Armstrong at cycling.
Find the middle ground of different enough to get better, but specific enough to transfer
to the sport.
• Weak link training: always train your weakest point to create less injury and better
performance (most common weaknesses are hams (want a 1:1 leg curl to leg extension
ratio); lower back; and GPP).
• Ample recovery time/training intensities: muscles trained too often (72 hour rule
between heavy and speed days)
• Proper prep for increasing volume/intensity: 10 years (10,000 hours of GPP/SPP). GPP
is the real key and the base of the pyramid to make the peak of SPP. "Have to be in
great shape to squat 1196lbs." Need to be in great shape to recover fast enough.
• Prescribed volume doesn't look like much, but that's what Olympians are doing. Why
then are football players doing more and still hitting a hard practice?
• Maximal Effort Method (ME): 4 lifts a month in upper and lower at over 90% to get
maximal power output. F = (M) x A
• ME Benefits: develops muscular coordination (inter and intra); brings the greatest gains
to strength; helps ability to strain; should still be used for athletes, soldiers, clients
• ME Negatives: must be used properly (exercise selection at the right time); must be
used frequently; 1 miss and you're done for the day (risk of injury goes up 50%); no
more than 1 time per week on body segment (upper and lower)
• Dynamic Effort Method (DE): 90-120 reps upper and lower in speed per month. F = M x
(A). Best trained at 30-50% of max range, and with bands and chains. Goal is to create
force; if the % is too high then you can't move it fast enough; multiple sets in low reps
(8-10x2-3)
• Repetition Effort Method (RE): where muscle mass is developed; will vary based on
your fitness level (ability to recover and perform after ME and DE exercises) and sport
• RE: 5-85% of 1RM; primarily used for hypertrophy and specific strength/endurance in
weak or lagging muscles. 1-3 sets till fatigue needed. Can be used every workout due
to lower CNS activity. Can be used for multi-join lifts and failure sets, but primarily
used for smaller muscle groups (upper: tricep; upper back, shoulders) (lower: low
back; glutes; hams); must be utilize in many angles and exercises to combat
overtraining and overuse issues and increase transfer. 4-6 accessory exercises per
workout, focusing solely on weak/lagging muscle groups (hypertrophy)
• These methods, when combined, increase size, strength, and speed. The goal is to
develop the athlete in full athletic manner. Conjugate can build all three at the same
time when done properly. No need to do "phase training" where strength, speed, size
are all separated. Train your client for strength when needed, speed where required,
and hypertrophy where lagging.
• Routine weekly layout: 2 ME (1 upper/1 lower); 2 DE (1 upper/1 lower); 4 RE done on
all four of those days. Last 30-40 minutes of training. Work up to max effort in 10
minutes.
• Proper preparation for load handling: GPP is key in order to train effectively for
progress in the present and future
• Takes ten years or 10k hours to master a specific task.
• Example GPP:
• Day 1: (sprint work with pack); trains phosphate system to be quick and explosive
(longer rest periods); 5-20 sec bursts Example: 10-40yd dash in full kit
• Day 2 & 4 (if used): low impact anaerobic endurance - 60 sec sets. Trains the glycolytic
system to be able to perform moderate intensity movement for sustained periods of
time. Example: kettlebell swings/tire flips for sets of 1 min
• Day 3: oxidative energy. Trains the oxidative energy system for long periods. Total
running volume 9 miles or less per week. Allows you to recover. Example: 5-8 mile
ruck, full kit.
• Not one system is more important than the other.
• Build in Recovery/Unload every 3-4 weeks: training must slow for the physical and
physiological systems to absorb the stimuli and make positive progress in performance.
• Although conjugate method combats this by optimal variation, recovery is still key
• Takes time and experience to effectively blend strength, endurance, agility, specific
work/sport tasks; each individual has their own needs, abilities, and assigned tasks
• When training Rangers, get trained twice a day: resistance training at 6am, GPP at
2pm.

Example weekly layout of conjugate method for his Rangers:

Wednesda Thursda Saturda Sunda
Monday Tuesday Friday
y y y y

Nothing
Heavy Upper Fast
OFF Fast Legs Listed NL
Lower Heavy Upper
(NL)

Repetitio Repetitio Repetitio

_ Repetition NL NL
n n n

PM: PM: SPP

PM: GPP PM: GPP
Technical (explosive PM: OFF NL
Oxidative Oxidative
(SPP) movement)

National Strength & Conditioning Association | Programming for Tactical

Populations
• Biggest problems for fire is cardiovascular health for poor diet and fitness; and lifting
heavy patients
• Takes years to develop a 600lb bench, why would an 8-week program transform you?
Plan for long-term gains
• Army is currently 30% non-deployable; most injury from skeletal muscular injury.
• Have to look at all tactical population as athletes as they are expected to perform
athletic tasks: heavy pulls, runs, rucks, etc
• Programming Principles: look at the need of the individual (where are they weak at
that will cause problems with completing the task); needs of the environment (needs of
the job on a daily and emergency basis); biological laws of adaptation (how does your
body adapt to strength or GPP)
• Principle 1: Needs of the Individual: individual needs must be addressed in order to
achieve high results in any environment. Where is the person weak? Where is the
persons fitness level? What are the time constraints and stress levels?
• All postural deficiencies must be fixed before you can elevate to another training level.
Weak hams, bad posture, weak back, need to fix to advance.
• Most individuals need more maximal strength; more GPP (doesn't mean just running;
uses Armstrong vs Phelps as the example, switching sports and they'd be terrible);
entire posterior chain
• Tests his population in the gear they wear (boots, armor, fire gear, etc)
• Do twice the volume of back work as you do for chest. Matt does 10k bench; 20k in
back, same day. Attributes that to having no shoulder problems in his years training to
achieving his 600lb bench.
• Has his fire with a mask on to get used to their masks; performs obstacle course in full
gear
• GPP must have an agility component as the environment is ever changing
• At the beginning his Rangers couldn't deadlift 200lbs, but had to carry 100lbs of gear,
which is 50% of their max while rucking
• Minimal Strength Goals: 2-2.5xbw on deadlift and squats; 1.5xbw on bench. This level
of strength allows heavy, awkward jobs to be done safely. No science behind it, just
based on his experience (with his 6000+ guys): has seen men and women perform this
and it not effect their running. Cites his Ranger that weighed 185lbs, had a 600+ dead
and squat, 400+ bench, and had a 15:40 3-mile.
• Strength goals are so high due to obese patients and moving injured teammates and
their unstable equipment
• Without high levels of maximal strength: GPP drills with heavier loads (equipment, etc)
will become strength work vs GPP; real life scenarios become harder to do when the
task is near maximal (80% vs 30%, which can be performed longer and under stress);
straining safely is a learning process, master weights before moving awkward objects;
posture is compromised when heavy workloads are present
• Biological Laws: Law of Accommodation: anything used for too long will not create a
greater training effect (1-3 weeks). Doing the same thing after a while will not work
anymore. Highly advanced guys master a workout each week (order, exercise, weight,
etc); Law of Specificity: (the catch-22 to the accommodation law) if you want an
exercise to help you in something else then it must be similar enough or be combined
with other stimuli to make that transfer. Michael Phelps will not beat Lance Armstrong
at cycling. Find the middle ground of different enough to get better, but specific enough
to transfer to the sport.
• Rule of 72 Hours: weight training should be separated with a 72 hour window of
recovery for same muscle groups used. More for CNS recovery rather than muscle
tissue.
• Cardio should rotate from low intensity (<120 bpm) and long duration (25-45 min), to
higher intensity bursts with resistance sets of 1-3 mins. Low helps heart health and
recovery; higher helps bursts in weight training
• Optimal amount of weight training days: 4
• Optimal amount of GPP/SPP days: 3
• Optimal amount of if walking for LEO or fire: 3-4 hours per week
• Optimal amount of running for military: 9 miles per week (includes sprints, his Rangers
3-mile times went down, whereas before they were doing 20 miles a week and had
higher injury)
• Variation of movements creates optimal adaptation possibility into chaotic
environments.
• Program layout weekly:
• Lower Body: 1 maximal effort (1-3 rep max); followed by 4-6 accessory); then 6 hour
post cardio (oxidation; Matt does walking); 1 dynamic effort (4-6 accessory)
• Upper Body: 1 maximal effort (1-3 rep max); followed by 4-6 accessory); then 6 hour
post cardio (glycolytic; anaerobic conditioning, 50lb kettlebell swings for a min, etc); 1
dynamic effort (4-6 accessory)
• 2-3 GPP days that are job specific, but very different each of the days (can include
weights)
• Example (fire services): day 1: stair climbing with full gear 25 floors for time; Day 2:
Jacob's ladder with mask only 2 min on 2 min off for 6 cycles
• Everyday off should have 20-30 cardio (less than 120 bpm) built in for heart health.
• "It's not what you can do, it's what you can recover from." If you're not recovering
from your workouts then you're not progressing
• Maximal effort training guidelines: needs to be varied on a weekly basis; 20+ exercises
to select from; must be taught in a group setting for spotting and safety. Cites that his
straight-bar squat goes up after training various squat bars.
• Recommends hanging kettlebells on squat and bench bar. Does 515 with kettlebells on
there, works stabilizers
• Strong wide, narrow, middle, box, chains, 5s pause, touch-n-go, toe angle on squat,
band, box, etc has better transfer, especially for awkward lifts. Also prevents
psychological burnout
• Accessory exercises: always based on individual weaknesses or department injury data.
Picking proper exercises are important, and should be based on weaknesses.
• Example US Army Rangers: lower back, shoulders, knees primary concern for high-
injury rates.
• After assessment of Rangers, assessed strength levels were below optimal areas: avg
deadlift:200; avg squat: 185; avg bench: 165
• Recommends reverse-hyper extension: traction lower back workout, especially great for
guys who run (because running is compressive)
• Traction based decompresses/stretches the spine. 1-2 should be done after
compressive lifts (squats, deads, leg press, etc)
• Recommends each shop has the following: reverse hyper extension, glute-ham raises;
belt squats; kettlebells; squat racks; deadlift area; bands and chains; various cardio
equipment.
Summary of presentation
• Max effort training is key to injury reduction and performance increases
• Knowing your team/departments weaknesses is knowing how to make positive progress
and increase longevity (guides accessory work)
• Understanding basic laws of training helps create long term progress
• Accessory work rotation will depend on available equipment; will rotate rep range. Max
effort days, he'll do 4-6, next leg day he'll do 12 rep.
• Gym was able to be taken on deployment with them. Created over 300 portable gyms.
• Fire assessment: squat form; drag a 100lb dummy; stair-step test with 20lb hose and
walk 20-steps.
• Put his busy fireman (family and work busy) on beginner workouts; twice a week.
Eventually worked up to advanced. Still focuses on weak points and injury prevention.
• Range of motion issues with older firemen and no prior lifting experience, starts them
on high box squats, then goes lower and lower, then implements kettlebell swings to
break up that scar tissue. Take your time on training them, but sees his 55+ yr old
firemen do "amazing things" now after some years of training.
• 6 hours for hormonal systems to come back to normal. Rehydrate, food. Testosterone
and cortisol levels.
• Train the weak-spot first in the day; cardio or strength.
• You need to train as best you can. Can't always do optimal layouts, so just do what you
can. That's why he doesn't layout specific days for his recommended programs (M,T,W,
etc)
• Heavy rows increase pullups. He can do 10 reps at 305lbs with 60lbs of chain. Do lots
of rowing, better than pullups.
• Having a vast array of exercises prevents mental burnout.
• "How do you talk people into losing weight by lifting weights?" Cites his 60 year old
women who lift weights and are lean. They don't have prior exercise experience, and
they're stronger than most men.
• How much weight you have on you is 80% diet. Cardio isn't what gets bikini and stage
competitors lean, it's they eat better. "Don't want to be huge? Don't eat huge."
• When you start training weights you start to retain water, so swelling occurs.
Hypertrophy occurs, diet cleans up, everything will lean out.
• Only recommends one straining lower body a week for his tactical or athletes,
powerlifting can do more.
• Most of the strength level the average person does won't affect the lift. Only at the
extremely elite level will daily work (fire, construction, etc) affect a person recovery and
potential.
• The stronger you get the more recovery you need. Never pushes above 90% on his
true lifts.

National Strength & Conditioning Association | The Squat—How it Improves

Athletic Performance, with Matt Wenning
• Squat is one of the most primal and important movements
• Squat form he uses is used by majority of the worlds top elite lifters (Ed Coan included)
• "So You Think You Can Squat," series is the exact same form he teaches in his gym and
his clients
• Knees moving forward is damaging (for joints, ligaments, and muscles), and causes
squad dominance.
• If you learn to push outward (laterally), you're going to squat really well. "If you think
squatting is an up and down movement, you're already in trouble."
• Teach the squat from the foot up, or the head down.
• The pressure on the ground is to rip apart the floor with your feet. Proper squat
technique is a forced position, not an instinctive one
• Sometimes he will allow knees to come forward, or Olympic style with heel pressure,
for leg training, but only once every couple weeks for leg training variety
• Train your weakest position, which for most is the straight-angle shank (vertical shins)
• Pushing out helps keep the shank angle straight
• You may never get a perfectly straight angle, but time and constant correction will help
with the angle.
• Second part is the butt leads the movement. The chest stays in the same position, but
the butt reaches back.
• Prevents quad from overpowering movement. Forces the glutes to activate. Hamstrings
will be stretched when reaching the hole. Keeps you in a good position all the way up
(keeps you from going forward or hip dipping inward)
• Spinal erectors need to be developed to support heavier weights. The back must get as
strong as the legs at the same time. That's why injuries arise from leg extensions and
 leg press: legs significantly stronger than the back, which is part of the core that
supports the lift.
• Half to 65% of training, needs to be low-back, glutes, hamstring development. Doesn't
matter what sport is played.
• Foot pressure is always out, shin stays straight and butt leads.
• Keep your head up. Don't dip your chest and keep your head high.
• "How do you know where your weaknesses are unless you max?" Body goes to instincts
under max
• Need to warmup your weaknesses before your big lift, then smash your weaknesses
after your big lift. "You just earned the money you spent on this seminar with this right
here." Identify and train your weaknesses
• Not a generalized warmup, it's a specific warmup to attack your clients/athletes
workout.
• Pick an exercise that's going to break them off something and tell those muscle groups
they need to adapt.
• 4-6 exercises, starting from most important to least important, will fix structural and
biomechanical weaknesses.
Squat Form:
• Optimal foot position depends on your femur length: long needs wider,
short can be narrower. Has a client that 6'6 and squats 455 with a 6ft
wide foot position. No magic position.
• Feet out is more quad dominance, feet straight is more glute median
dominant. Prefers straighter to load his glutes. Overall depends on the
person
• Foot pressure is on the heel or outside mid-foot. Toe pressure causes
quad dominance. Heeled shoes are not recommended unless your quad
training. Recommends Chuck Taylor or anything flat-soled.
• Get good at flat-soled squats for structural purposes, then get good at oly
shoes if you want.
• Walkout: pick up, step, step, go wide. Just need far enough the feet have
room.
• Look slightly upward. Great lifters don't need a mirror.
• Feel you're spreading the carpet away with your feet.
• Dig heels into carpet and lead with the butt, kick the butt back. Initiates
how the squat starts
• Push out to go down, all the way down. Push so hard it wants to tear your
crotch.
• Your eyes have to stay fixed on the area, don't let your chest round when
coming up
Common Squat Form Issues:
• Butt-wink (butt turning under the body) comes from tight and unusable
hamstrings. Hams pull, but you're not using the hammies, so they pull the
back.
• Motor pattern vs muscle weaknesses are different, but can look the same
while assessing. That's why going heavy is important, because close to
max causing your body to force the weight any way it can, allowing you to
see which muscles are weaker or stronger.
• Squat will get deeper over time as muscles develop.
• Matt has a 9mm titled pelvis due to a car hitting him when he was 6. His
lifting shoe has a 9mm build. Leg length discrepancy.
• Bar position, high or low, depends on torso length and comfort. High-bar
builds more upper back musculature, good for Olympic style. Low bar is
stronger generally. Recommends between trap and delt.
• Get hips as mobile as possible before the squat, and not in between sets.
Stretching in between will actually decrease the power in the squat.
• Don't shift forward at the bottom, push back and out, will get more spring
out of the movement than dipping forward.
• Heavy weights will want to bend you a certain way, but you need to force
your body to maintain proper technique.
• Don't shift onto toes at the bottom, stay on the heel
Programming the Squat
• 5 reps for max is the most. Speed is 3. Time is the factor: time under
tension. 3 speed is the same time under tension as a max single. Same
intensity, different stimulant.
• Hamstring warmup? He uses bands, machines, ankle weights, reverse
hyper, etc. Very little weight and constant variety.
• Worst thing you can do is a direct system to where you can't change the
modes constantly
• Upper and lower hamstring strength are different, both need to be
developed
• Stiff-legged deadlifts with various heights and deficit's are good for
training
• Good mornings can be very dangerous, have little transfer over to the
squat. That said, he can do 600x2 on good mornings. States there is a
diminishing returns for good mornings (but only after a point, most people
are weak at them so it won't apply to them)
• Only does singles when warming up to heavy max
Final Notes Squat:
 • 70% of the time most people fail the exact same way, due to the same
weaknesses
• "A good coach can watch only the feet and identify weaknesses, foot pressure
tells all"
• Chest tuck at the bottom means the thoracic spine absorbs the pressure.
• Crease in shirt between chest and belly means you need more core strength, and
the chest dips forward.
• A little bit of leg shake (within an inch) is okay, but more knee shaking while
squatting means drop it immediately, can lead to an ACL blow
• Knee angle, foot pressure, t-shirt crease are all indicators of good squat form

National Strength & Conditioning Association | Sumo Deadlift: The Base for
Tactical Strength, with Matt Wenning
• Tactical population = law enforcement, fire, first responder, military, etc
• Average of 4th Infantry deadlift was 180lbs.
• Average fire/military has 50-70lbs of gear. Your weight, plus your gear, plus their
weight, plus their gear can be up to 400-500lbs you need to carry if they are injured.
Made worse by awkward angles (out of humvees, trucks, homes, etc)
• Back injuries in 80% of the population, accounting for 1/5 illnesses in the general
population. Tactical populations are at a higher risk. But how much training is dedicated
to developing the lower-back?
• Deadlift is a huge glute activation exercise. Most people don't know how to fire or don't
have their glutes developed, which causes lower-back injury.
• Train the position that affects the muscles that are going to be the problem.
• Lower-back strength is key to increased performance and injury reduction in any
tactical field.
• Goal is 2.5x bodyweight
• Pulled conventional 3 times in 20 weeks prior to his meet. Pulls sumo 80% of the time.
Pulling conventional will tear the typical body apart unless they're perfectly built for the
movement (like Ed Coan)
• Training as a whole should be about developing your weaknesses.
• Best assessment is the main lift under load: will show areas of weakness when
observed by a trained eye. Max weight shows strengths and weaknesses: flexibility,
muscle weaknesses, form, etc
• "Accessory work to develop your weak spots is the whole key to working out smart."
• Average fireman deadlift was 175lbs (good enough to pick up their own bodyweight).
Average went up to 350. Women went from 155 to 260.
• Workmans comp dropped millions of dollars over the course of years. Correlation
between deadlift weight and injury tickets.
• Get out of the mindset of what's light and what's heavy. Has a 135lb 60 year old lady
who deadlifts 350 after 5 years training. One of his 185lb Rangers had a 450 bench,
650 deadlift, 625 squat, 15:50 3-mile. "You have to get super strong to make stuff
that's hard for others easy" Be strong compared to normal people.
• First couple years of training fire and military was difficult to change management
mindset. But results show money saved and injury rates down.

Sumo Deadlift Technique & Form Notes

• Line shins up to the first ring, bar should be against your legs. "Fractions of an inch on
a deadlift are a mile in leverage" Bar should be dragging against the leg the whole time.
• Feet: The more you turn your feet straight, the more you'll be able to engage the glute
medius, but do what's comfortable.
• Squat down (don't lean down), lead with butt to grab the bar. If the bar rolls forward,
that means you're leaning forward, and you're not in the proper position.
• Use double-overhand as a beginner and until grip becomes a problem (develops lats
equally) (fire and military should be able to double-overhand 500lbs)
• Hands lay where they relax, where the shoulders let them lay.
• Engage the lats first: flex the upper back/body as tight as can be before loading the
hip. "Lead with the lats" The lift is almost a lat raise until heavier weights. "Lock the
lats, keep your head tall, stay on your heels. As soon as your shoulders fall, you're
toast." Lats and glutes engage first, keeps the entire body in line for the lift. Locking
the lats pulls the weight back toward you, prevents you from falling forward.
• First motion is to put the butt down, pull shoulders back and chest up, almost to where
it hurts
• Look up in sky (head down pull is good if you're advanced, newbies should start head
up), force glutes forward. Arching the back (preventing the back from arching
under the butt), squeezing your butt together and pushing it into the bar is
your standing motion.
• Straight back is important.
• Great sumo deadlifters are slow, methodical deadlifters. As technique gets better you
can increase the speed.
• Flat soles are best for sumo
• Always deadlift with the triceps flexed as hard as you can: protects the bicep. Matt
never had a bicep problem in 25 years of lifting extremely heavy.
• Feet should be digging into the ground.
• Glutes, quads, and lower back lift as one integral movement. A leg extension type lift
means the core support and glute activation, will lead to injury. Better to not pick it up
and stay locked in form than it is to break form and pick it up.
• "Get used to training to train your fight or flight. Motor unit recruitment under stress
teaches you to maintain technique under pressure with a good coach."
• If individual is experiencing back tightness then lower the weight and lift with a
deficient. Range of motion. If the back is tight, means the weak muscle is tight. Weak
muscles tighten up to adjust to heavy workload.
• "Range of motion is another key to not getting hurt."
• "If you go too wide, it's hard on a tall guy"
• Compressive exercise; everything else needs to be traction based that attacks the
posterior chain. No leg-press after, but you need to develop and strengthen the
posterior chain. Choose accessory lifts based on weaknesses. 4-8 weeks it'll be fixed.
Core lifts tell you at maximal loading where you weaknesses are. That said, glutes and
hamstrings are typically the weakest part.
• When training a newbie: 80% of the current workforce is at a desk. Sitting is
compression on the lumbar spine. Have to start newbies on traction based movements.
Power cleans and front squats are a disservice for average new people. Need to develop
the posterior chain for 8 weeks. Once the deadlift is being taught, the muscles are
already taught, so it's easy.
• Kettlebell swings for time: 35lb for 55 seconds. Now it's 3 minutes.
• Is not a fan for the hex bar: most of the stuff you pick up won't be in the farmers walk
position, body will be inhibiting. Should be used as a variation once you're already a
decent deadlifters, but will cause more problems when lifting if you're new.
• $15k equipment in 7 different fire houses. Same equipment throughout the
departments.
 Stan Efferding | Notes

https://www.instagram.com/stanefferding/
https://excelev8.com (Vertical Diet)
https://stanefferding.com (The Kooler)

Why I Chose Stan Efferding:

To me, Stan is the summation of an average guy, but with absolute discipline. Stans
taken the best advice from the best gurus he's personally trained with from around the
world for decades, and himself became an absolute beast. I chose Stan because of his
humble demeanor, and because he's also one of the strongest bodybuilders in the
world. Additionally, he has trained the Mountain to win his first Arnolds Strongest Man
2018 and has helped the diets of Larry Wheels and Brian Shaw.
• Calls himself a “blue collar guy who presents some info. No tips or tricks. Turned over
every rock looking for the secret. Spent loads of money, and there is only one answer:
sleep, eat, and train.”
• Matt Wenning calls him "the strongest bodybuilder on planet earth."
• Helped get Hapthorr "The Mountain" diet in check, where he set records in elephant
bar (1000lbs+) and bag-over-bar, and take first as Arnolds Strongest Man 2018.
• Coached various bikini competitors, NBA, NFL, MLB, UFC, etc.
• Worked with Brian Shaw's diet and helped him achieve second place at Arnolds
Strongest Man 2018.
• Coaching Larry Wheels (aesthetic and powerful beast) and Dan Green.
• Has trained with almost every guru in the business, directly or indirectly.
• Former bodybuilding and powerlifting competitor.
• Squats in the 800lbs+ at 50+ years of age.
 Strong Talk Podcast 113: Stan Efferding - Training the Mountain
• There is no holy grail of information or business secret: eating, sleeping are
the keys to growth and recovery.
• There's research to support both sides of any argument. Experience and results over
science proven in a lab. This is just what he's found in his 35+ years of dedicated
training, being trained by gurus, and becoming a coach.
• Has tracked the advice he's received from gurus from around the world for decades and
tested it with his various athletes.
• When consulting, Stan goes through an athlete’s program from head to toe and
removes the bloat. Little things and slight tweaks.
• Trains bikini competitors with very similar philosophies. Not much difference between
sports: fundamentals are the same.
• Calls himself a "fresh set of eyes" regarding his athletes: they already know how to
train, he just asks different questions regarding routine, logistics of travel, digestive
health, sleep, blood work, rehab, etc. Getting those in line produce significant results.
• Attributes Brian Shaw’s Arnolds Strongest Man 2018 loss to technique in shouldering
the stones.
• These aren't 60-day quick fix programs. Takes months and years regarding
hypertrophy, strength, and nutrition.
• Little things that big strong guys think are for wimps make a big difference: 10-minute
walks. Recumbent bike 3 times a day after legs, improved health of knees.
• Sit between squats for the blood to dissipate from the lower-back to prevent a back
pump.
• Says two gallons of water a day dehydrates you. Hydration comes from minerals, and
optimal ways to get those.
• Starts his consultation with gut-health and nutrient dense/bio-available foods. Prefers
steak over chicken. Polyunsaturated fats aren't a great fuel source.
• Spinach is nutrient dense. Fruits are dense in nutrients. Fructose stimulates the liver,
which is hit most when training hard.
• Baby carrots for fiber, prebiotics.
• Sweet Potato for prebiotics
• Whole eggs: whites have additives which reduces absorption. Most of the nutrients are
in the yolk.
• Milk, hard cheese, yogurt for calcium
• Iodine stimulates the thyroid to run more efficiently. Prefers cranberry juice for iodine.
• Can't eat too much of any of those foods, but for some eggs and dairy can cause an
allergy, most foods have anti-nutrients that cause indigestion.
• So how do you feed a big athlete over 5000k calories and not cause indigestion? White
rice and steak.
• The exact same nutritional program is submitted to the Mountain, Brian Shaw, Larry
Wheels, bikini competitors
• Soak oatmeal overnight with a tbs of yogurt to break down the anti-nutrients
• Need optimal acidic environment in the stomach to absorb properly
• Putting dextrose on rice makes it easier to eat. Same with chicken stock (also helps
with digestion)
• Chicken and turkey, eat soy, 3 months birth to processing, don't have time to absorb
the nutrients, more polyunsaturated fats
• Gladly demonizes: Processed oils, wheat (can eat occasionally, but too much on a big
diet inhibits digestion), white flour, sugar. Probably the only food item he demonizes.
• General Strength Training Principles: cautious to overburden lumbar spine (deadlifts
and squats) (farmers walk isn't as taxing as it stacks differently, makes it a better ab
workouts); Stan programs just as much for recovery as strength.
• For Brian Shaw, he recommended squats Monday morning and deadlift Monday
evening. 6-7-hour rest, 3 meals, a nap, and shake in between. Went from 6 days, to 4
days. But went to 7 training sessions total a week and more rest days.
• Shortens workout, can only workout hard, or workout long, but not both. Pound with
carb rehab shake after. 30 mins later he eats.
• Decreases volume of sessions. Two split sessions may exceed slightly a normal session.
• Understands not everyone can work out twice a day, so it's all "good, better, best"
scenarios. Optimizes to your resources.
• Still push yourself, just get stimulus in 40 mins instead of 2 hours. Body doesn't
respond in one workout but needs repetition and consistency.

Stan Efferding Seminar P.1 - The Importance of Sleep, Nutrition, & Steroids
• Not all calories are the same. Eat quality calories, but if limited then remember
"something is better than nothing. Don't be hungry" in response to shakes.
• Steak, not hamburger, white rice used for Hapthor's diet. [Didn't specify thoughts on
ground beef, just said he didn't eat any.]
• Efficiently digested foods: eggs, oranges or orange juice (for thyroid and liver), carrots
for fiber, low-methane vegetables (cooked spinach, cooked red peppers, and carrots)
cause less bloating, brown rice has Phytic acid (harder to digest in large amounts)
• Regarding people complaining about meat being heavy in the stomach, the body adapts
to the food you eat and will become easier to digest and process. Gradually build up
 more and more food along with more volume and workload in the gym. Don't eat like
the Mountain in your first two weeks of meal prepping.
• Hydration is water + minerals and electrolytes, not just water. Salt is important.
• The body can only take in so much protein and fats. Carbs seems to be the answer for
size (white rice still recommended) whether going up or down in weight.
• Post-workout carbs are a big deal [speaks to what to drink post-workout in another
podcast I've listed]
• Super-compensation occurs during post-workout, and you need to replenish
immediately (fructose, dextrose, sodium)
• Keto is not for optimal performance but attributed for great fat loss.
• Canola oil bad. Soy bean oil. "Buncha processed cooking oil just plain bad." [Link to
cited article in P.2 of podcast]
• Whole milk is good protein, doesn't slow the metabolism. Drink before bed for casein.
Liver converts lactose for fuel for brain.
• Implements 10-minute walks and actually gained weight as he ate above maintenance.
• "The most important diet is the one you can do"

Stan Efferding Seminar P.2 - Grow BIGGER by Getting Good at the Basics
• IIFYM: Stan doesn't mind the protocol as long as it fits into the FOD map, which
prevents bloat. Make your selection, but make sure it follows the ultimate goal. States
that the "good, better, best" method, where anything is better than nothing, but there
are always better options.
• "If you're gonna spend the time and energy, why not choose the best bang for your
buck." Goes for workout selection and calorie choice
• For the female lifter: 10-minute walks better than 40 minute treadmill. Doesn't
breakdown muscle, still helps with fat loss.
• If on a limited calorie diet, then the caloric limit will yield results in body composition
and performance based on the choice of foods, not just calorie choice. Choose nutrient
rich foods like steak.
• 3oz of OJ or milk a couple times a day: liver and thyroid stimulus for metabolism.
Action Item: Diet Buy pure OJ and organic Milk.
• Dr. Mary Enig: Oiling of America "Extraordinary article," goes beyond the marketing of
oils, but the nutritional aspects as to why the oil is so bad for you.
• Question about Nitros Oxide as a preworkout: increasing sodium, calcium, water,
glycogen, and creatine monohydrate gives the same benefits. Better blood volume,
blood vessel elasticity, improves red blood cell distribution. Eating correctly will make
 supplements not so helpful. "Remedy deficiency, performance improves." Praises
Examine.com for their research.
• "Genetics reign supreme."
• College or teenathlete on a budget: Milk and eggs are great for budgets. Having meals
available is just as important as eating healthy. Big proponent of travelling with your
meals. Brian Shaw and Hapthor do this after coaching with Stan.
• "You don't get strong from a huge workout, but stringing together consistent
workouts."
• Brian Shaw sends water to countries with bad water. He counts on the other
competitors to drink the local water and lack of planning. Smashes the competition.
Discipline and planning wins competitions.
• Know your goal, know your time. Plan and prepare from there.
• Sleep is more important than calculating 65% of your 1RM. He can outperform the
week before because of the work he did outside of the gym.
• Stan focuses on simple changes. Master the basics. The "secret" is either genetics
or doing the basics really well.

KOMPLETTES Seminar in THOR's Powergym Part 1

• "We don't build muscle in the gym, we just break it down."
• A slow thyroid won't burn fat. Optimize hormones. Did that for Hapthorr and his body
composition changed.
• In regards to the typical Strongman diet of pizza, IHOP, and burgers: eating everything
and anything affects hormones, creates a crater.
• In reference to critiques of his Vertical Diet, "yeah, it's pretty much meat and rice diet,
and I'm okay with that"
• Stans Take on Sleep:
• Research: Sleep loss limits fat loss. Insulin resistance goes up; blood pressure goes up;
hunger goes up; cortisol (breaks down muscle tissue; decreases testosterone, effects
your thyroid; etc)
• There are doctors who coach athletes on only sleep, it's that big of a deal. Choosing
more sleep over practice is better advice at times.
• How to sleep better? Pay attention to your circadian rhythms. Night shift isn't the best.
10pm-6am or 11-7am are optimal. 7-9 hours a night is optimal. More workload requires
more sleep. "Every hour you get to sleep before midnight is like 2 hours in the bank"
• When you start the program, try to wake up consistently.
• Recovering from bad night sleep can take up to two days.
• Hapthorr had trouble sleeping and eating on a travel schedule, so they bumped the
travel dates to include landing a day prior to get acclimated.
• Stan paid attention to things outside of the gym to get bigger. Social life takes a hit,
but sacrifice for your goals.
• Recommends blackout blinds. Not just for eyes: "sunlight or moonlight touching your
skin, the body knows"
• Electronic screens affect your melatonin levels, so get rid of them to optimize sleep.
• Stan goes on walks after breakfast to absorb light. [Birdman style.]
• Vitamin d3 is a big part of circadian rhythms. 8000 iu's a day. Sounds like a lot, but do
it. One of the first things Stan does in a client is check their vitamin levels.
• Thicker necks affect sleep apnea. Almost every lifter has bigger necks, and this affects
sleep.
• Just go on Craigslist and buy a CPAP. Stan is a huge fan of them.
• Stans Take on Sodium:
• People trying to eat clean typically cut out sodium. Wrong!
• When you hit a wall, it's because you're low on sodium, not carbs. Guaranteed. Single
biggest thing you can do to impact performance, stamina and endurance at the gym is
iodized sodium.
• Also the best thing to do outside the gym: salt increases blood volume. Salt deficiency
affects everything.
• Sodium increase is the single biggest email response he's gotten since his last seminar,
people stating their performance went up with a week.
• Salt sensitivity effects a small portion of people, but must be considered.
• What kind of salt? Iodized salt, stimulates thyroid, immune system, stimulates the liver
• Juicing and detox is completely worthless. All you can do is optimize how your body
filtrates toxins, which is the liver. Best way to detox is to just not put the processed
foods and oils into your body.
• Gallon jug of water all day isn't as important as the minerals.
• 8 glasses a day is a myth. Drink when you're thirsty. Decrease in performance comes
from low in minerals.
• Salt drinks don't work. Gatorade doesn't work. Stan still puts salt tablets in his water,
but it's not an effective dose. Clear pee is not good.
• Water is flushing them all out. Causes headaches, brain fog, insomnia.
• Adding salt to food works.
• So what's the optimal amount? 3-6g. Over 7 grams will be harmful to a sedentary
person. Under 3 g is worse than +7 as deficiency is worse than more. Stan drinks 8
grams per 1 gallon of water.
• Also recommended for fat loss
• Stans Take on Protein:
• 1g per 1lb of bw is fine. What's important is how much per meal. 20g per meal is
enough, but 40g is optimal.
• 40g before bed helps keep protein levels good before bed.
• Intermittent fasting is fine for some conditions, as it keto. There are cases he
recommends those diets. Athletes who train long and hard, Stan doesn't want long
windows of fasting, especially for heavyweights.
• Meal frequency, four plus a day, every 4-5 hours. Can only utilize protein stored in the
bloodstream.
• Stan gets 5-8 meals a day, depending on causal day or competing.
• Just Leucine (5g) 30 mins before a meal works well
• Glutamine and BCAA's are ineffective for adequate protein diets. Just eat a good diet
and you've covered those two supplements. Can save money there.
• Stans Take on Fats:
• Micronutrients are key to recovery.
• Does not restrict fats, nor does he ever recommend low fat program.
• Many studies show higher the fat the lower the body fat.
• Cholesterol foods is fine.
• Stans Take on Steak:
• "Steak is probably the only food that is a super food"
• Should be core of the nutrition program as it's the most micro dense food you can eat
• Readily available: Iron, B vitamins, creatine, magnesium, zinc
Stans Take on Processed Oils:
• Stan hates them: canola, vegetable, etc.
• Use butter, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil are all fine to cook with.
• Even Whole Foods uses it to cook their food. Used in most restaurants. Hard to avoid.
Causes Stan to get belly aches.
 Stans Take on Carbs:
• Carbs are highly protective of muscle tissue. Used to fuel workouts and prevent the
body from using muscle as energy.
• Insulin sensitivity test results will cause lower carbs in the recommended diet.
• Some carbs are easier to digest than others.
• Weight-loss programs will be low carb, muscle gain is increased.
• Low carb diet, still eat fruit. Fructose powerfully stimulates the liver, happy liver gets
better processing toxins, thyroid. Stan has spent probably $50k in the past 12 years on
liver testing.
• Too much fructose (corn syrup, for example), causes fat gain. Still recommends 3oz of
orange juice 3 times a day. No more than 50g a day of fructose. Liver enzymes come
down, appetite improves. Gives you more energy during workout.
• Take in two types of carb sources (fructose and dextrose), body absorbs it faster. Extra
carbs for athletes who need fuel and growth.
• Carbs with good micronutrient profile: sweet potato, spinach, red peppers, carrots
• Pre-biotic, pro-biotic, no one knows yet as far as suggestions go. Gut bacteria is too
complex for science right now. Likelihood to affect gut bacteria is crazy, can be affected
by the minute. Foods that affect gut biome, just eat foods that don't make you gassy or
bloated, or on the toilet constantly. Need vitamin B and D to regulate.
• Detrimental effects of eating too many of the listed carbs. Eat just enough to get the
nutrient profile.
• FOD Map, list of gassy foods. Quality of bathroom endeavors matters. Just pick what's
in the map.
• White rice is very easy to digest. Can be eaten in large quantities. Not nutrient dense.
Macros, not micros.
• Oats, wheat, etc cause bloating, have anti-nutrients.
• Beans are hard to digest.
• Fix oatmeal by soaking it overnight. Warm-water, and couple tablespoons of yogurt.
When you cook it, you won't get bloated. That being said, still prefers white rice.
Nutrients from brown rice aren't worth it. Get those nutrients elsewhere.
• Quinoa, broccoli brings digestive baggage.
• Too much fiber brings baggage. Shuttles proteins and electrolytes out of the system.
But also takes toxins out of the system, so you still need it.
 KOMPLETTES Seminar in THOR's Powergym Part 2
Stan Misc Notes:
• Cholesterol isn't gonna kill you unless you're sensitive to it.
• Caffeine helps take in nutrients faster. Problem is that you adapt to it. But Stan uses it
to improve performance. Too much in a competition will cause kidneys to release water,
you get dehydrated. Can wreak havoc on adrenals, elevate it on cortisol.
• Stan doesn't use a pre-workout. Gets his nutrients throughout the day. Use sodium to
overcome the walls.
• Supplements can help, but should never replace. If you have to adjust to fit your
macros and nutrients, then adjust. But he's in the "Good, better, best" mindset. If you
need it, take it. Does recommend post-workout shake.
• Multivitamin doesn't show to help, still takes it just in case.
• Problem with clean eating is that it over-restricts, ends up missing nutrients. Eating
fewer things doesn't always solve the problem, but it can create them.
• Post-workout drink: Fructose (Orange juice), dextrose (scoop off Amazon), sodium
(600mg), 100mg of caffeine (accelerates all of that). No proteins or fats immediately
(slows absorption). This combo is very popular with his clients. (Around the 1:22:00
mark)
• George Lockhart: burning water, sodium, glycogen. Replace those immediately. Body
will super-compensate after depletion.
• Especially for two-a-days: second workout doesn't have a wall since you've super-
compensated.
• Blood thinning: cautious of how many blood thinners you add to your diet.
• Train your metabolism: add more certain types of foods gradually. Don't just hop into a
10k calorie diet.
• Prefers to BBQ his steak, but only because of flavor.
• Breakfast, follows Poliquins advice and eats meat and nuts.
• Didn't take any supplements during his pro run.
• GOMAD wreaks havoc on your stomach.
• Prefers frequent feedings.
• Intermittent fasting and keto are good for weight loss. Carb restriction is what helps
with blood sugar levels. Primary goal is fat loss then he uses it.
• When cutting for a meet, you don't want to be dieting into a meet. Train at the weight
you can cut water from a month out. Prevents muscle loss.

Stans Take on Cardio:

• Steady-state cardio only recommended for long distance people. Sends wrong message
to body when trying to get bigger, stronger, faster.
• High water demand. Also, body thinks heavy muscle is bad, gets rid of it.
• Stan noticed how joggers carry fat. Body holds on to fat for fuel, gets rid of muscle.
Body responds to stimulus you provide. Good advice for women too.
• Still need to develop cardio. Recommends HIIT under load: improves cardio while
stimulating muscle. Weighted exercises with higher reps (why he recommends loaded
exercise under distance). 20 rep sets; 30 second rest between weighted carries;
running stairs (all concentric loading); pushing prowlers; 30s sprint/rest on recumbent
bike (ten mins).
• Able to stay healthy, but still focus on strength.
• Ten minute walk, after you eat a meal. Improves digestion, decreases DOMS, helps
with insulin sensitivity
• "Blood is the life force, brings in all the nutrients"
• Standing 10 minutes a day every hour at work is 12 marathons a year
• Brisk walks with elevated heart outperforms leisure 10k step-walks in fat, heart, cardio
benefits. Recommends 3 ten-minute walks. Replace all steady-state cardio with walks.
Recommends them to the women in competition.
• "Sitting is a disease"

Stans Take on Calories:

• Can't fine tune a number. Workload, lifestyle, body, etc. Just estimate. Stan will
monitor the weight for gaining or losing. That's how he decides.
• 5% of calories are burned from exercise. That's why increasing metabolism is better, as
daily activity burns more calories. Stimulate the thyroid over doing cardio.
• More exercise does not equal more fat loss
• Two-a-days. Would rather have 40 mins in the morning, and twenty minutes at night.
Better intensity.
• Loves two-a-days, especially for hypertrophy training.
• Hypertrophy creates an elevated level of fitness. Decreasing volume and frequency, but
increasing weight, there's a carryover.
• Stay active throughout the day. Burns more calories just standing.
• High protein burns fat as it's more thermo metabolic.
• Recommends real food over shakes.
• Don't restrict calories, just increase workload. Cardio has little effect on loss.
• "All diets work when they're strictly adhered to" Just lacking discipline
• Not just what you eat, but how much you burn
• Eggs have good choline, micronutrient profile.
• Dairy is good if you don't have allergy. Same as eggs, eat not as base for calories.
• Carbs are not the enemy. Important for strength and performance.
• Obesity and diabetes is different regarding this, but keep fructose in diet. Does not
elevate blood sugar levels.
• Variety is good, don't feel restricted.

Stans Explanation on the “Horizontal” part of the Vertical Diet

• Horizontal micronutrient profile is diverse, vertical is steak and rice (increasing
calories).
• Made up of easy to digest foods with very little waste and a high nutrient profile
• Digestion health and nutrients are the focus here
• Grass-fed and commercially grown beef: not a big difference in nutrient profile. Doesn't
justify the cost.
• Chicken is cheaper, why more people eat it. But chicken isn't as nutrient dense. Stan
noticed chicken and fish caused him to lose weight and look flatter. Comes down to
personal preferences.
• Steak provides nutrients in the horizontal axis also.
• Ground bison is good too. Also recommends lamb.
• If you need lots of food, but steak is too difficult to eat, grind it. Have the butcher grind
it.
• Add a daily carrot to the diet.
• Drink 3oz orange juice w/ each meal. Increased appetite. Doesn't matter if drank alone
or with meal.
• Chicken stock helps digestion, isn't sure why. Digestion helped with adding to meals.
Great micronutrient profile. Kirkland brand is fine. Mashes it with his white rice.
• Small servings of the horizontal platform, wants to save room for steak and rice.
• Recommends fatty fish.
• Fresh pressed pure cranberry juice. 4oz twice a day. Great benefits (vitamin k, c,
bladder, fiber, immune, high in iodine)
• Fatty yogurts are good
• Difference between surviving and thriving, why starches aren't implemented into his
diet.
• Don't eat soy, don't eat animals that eat soy.
• Raw milk; greek yogurt are good
• Eggs, keep the yolk in. Plenty of nutritional reasons to eat.

The JuggLife | Return of Rhino

• Hired by Brian Shaw after Brian saw how the Mountain improved over last years
Arnolds performance due to Stans nutrition coaching
• Stan focuses on general health, performance enhancement through good nutrition.
Pokes around where they're not doing things where they know they should. Also
become the metrics of improvement.
• With quality calories, you can get away with 6000-7000 calories on a clean diet. When
you get up to 9-10k, typically people are eating bad calories, higher fat
• Storing fat vs building muscle is an important measurement when deciding whether to
add more calories
• Differences between Brian and Mountain's diet? No differences between them, and only
differences between other sports is caloric intake. For extremely high calories like those
two, Stan will focus on digestive health. Only differences between the two competitors
will be nutrients and what is affecting their blood tests.
• Insulin sensitivity, Stan will bring down the fats, bring up quality protein.
• Doing the Vertical Diet caused Mountain to lose fat, get stronger, and change body
composition (less of the fat powerlifter build and more of the physique he has now).
Dropping weight didn't cause strength loss, which is usual for typical diets and weight
loss. Stan was able to get Mountain to drop weight and get stronger (set the elephant
bar world record at the Arnolds)
• Biggest complaint Stan receives is the cost for eating. Stan understands top sirloin,
grass fed bison burger, new york cuts, and blood work all do cost more. Also costs
more for logistics of travelling: meals available, clean water, appliances needed to
prepare meals (big enough fridge; rice maker; grill; etc).
• When eating in massive quantity, you need to like it, which is why Stan usually grills
(for taste)
• Brian Shaw would grind his steaks through a grinder to eat more and digest easier.
• Measurements of quality of sleep; always recommends a CPAP if you're over 250lbs as
apnea is typical. Recommends getting one off of Craigslist as they're pricey [I bought
mine off the OfferUp app]
• Morning resting heart rate is significant, as it's an indicator of recovery.
• Black-out blinds. Get away from electronic screen an hour before bed. Prevents
melatonin.
• 10-6am or 11-7am; optimal circadian rhythms. Wake up at the same time everyday.
[Jordan Peterson recommends waking up at the same time every day as it reduces
anxiety throughout the day]
• Vitamin D is huge for insulin sensitivity, immune system, calcium absorption, and sleep.
• Practicing certain activities (developing technique and form for your sport) aren't
neurologically ingrained until sleep occurs. You're way better off doing brief but very
consistent workouts. 2 sessions a day for 12 sessions a week total. (SRA Curve for
more info)
• Example used: Golf swing is highly technical, low intensity. PGA golfer golfs frequently.
Anytime away from it they become rusty very quickly.
• Hypertrophy should try to reduce impact on lumbar spine, but Stan doesn't want them
to get too far away from those motor learning patterns.
• Blood work: best tool for measuring deficiencies. Trick is to retest the items you're
trying to correct (zinc, calcium, etc) every 30-60 days (less expensive). Initial test and
then a follow-up (to identify what you're doing is working).
• Food has a self-metering mechanism that supplements don't have. "Easier to over
intake 10 pills than to eat 10 steaks."
• People talk a lot about what they want to do, and may even share it, but the
affirmation can rob them of motivation. Initiating the goal is important.
• People also think training harder is better, but we need to progress from where we are,
and gradually build up
• People apply that same "more is better" mentality to work. "Just do more than you did
yesterday, write it down, break it down into steps, and do 20-30 mins a day."
Consistent and repetitive will tell you about success.
• "Perfection is the enemy of progress, perfect is the enemy of the good"
• Metrics for Success: sacrificing sleep, exercise, and nutrition impacts business
performance. Noticed in his own life that deficiencies in those areas cost in him areas of
his business.
• 40 mins in the morning, then 40 mins at night is better than 3 hours at the gym.
• Choose one topic to study, study for 40 minutes. If you improve one thing, then
everything improves, but missing one things hurts the whole system.
• Variations of the lift, attack those with the same intensity as his main lifts. If he could
improve 10% then he noticed his overall performance improved. Train for 5 year goals,
not just short term goals.
• Assess 3 things you did very well this training cycle, and 3 things to improve upon for
the next cycle. Hitting PRs isn't the only goal.
• "If you were made CEO today, what would you change about your company?" Forces
people to analyze themselves and be honest with their goals.
• Stans knee issues: "do no harm," focusing on pain-free movements. Left the mindset of
doing the workouts he's done in the past. Had to find movement patterns that were
pain free. First thing he asks his clients is deficiencies: joint problems, muscle issues,
blood work, etc
• "Once you find those pain-free movements then you have to move." Stan does band leg
movements, found it works for him.
• Higher frequency of training + 10-minute walks: less fatigue building, improved range
of motion, more movement.
• If problems in elbows and shoulders then need to squat higher bar, or use various bars,
or move hands out wider
• There's not a good or bad exercise: it's the frequency of the movement and personal
toleration of the movement.
• Being able to improve the musculature of the surrounding problematic muscle area, you
can begin to do those movement patterns requiring that damaged muscle/disk/bone.
Have to be cautious you're not creating more problems, but are solving them. Used an
example of an athlete who had a bad back with two herniated discs and other issues,
but was able to build up the muscles around the lumbar, and was able to have good
movement again (book: "The Back Mechanic")
• Says situps cause lumbar back problems, states the core is a stabilizer, not a flexor).
Core stabilization exercises work better for the abs. Planks on a bosu ball while
"stirring" the elbows; lateral medicine ball throws; weighted carries
 The Matt Wenning Strength podcast Episode 8: Effiting It Up With Stan Efferding
• Stan graduated high school at 135lbs. Has gone up to 300lbs for bodybuilding and
powerlifting. "Just takes a lot longer without the genetics. Body will resist you and fight
every step of the way."
• Lifting heavy doesn't necessarily correlate with getting bigger.
• "Stimulate, don't annihilate" and "don't go until failure," but you have to take
your body to where it's never been before. You do need heavier and more
volume to grow.
• Matt will go hard every week, but sets the pressure in various ways. Different rest
periods, exercises, and weight. "You can set PR's in different ways [than just the big
three]"
• Determine priorities, and everything outside of that is sacrificed. Stan during college
and adult life "ate and slept religiously. Didn't go out, always prepped meals." Lifestyle
over habits.
• Stan doesn't really get involved in training programs, but rather their lifestyles. Find
the holes in their sleep and eating habits. That's what upped the game for Brian Shaw
and Hapthorr. Behind-the-scenes logistics were the biggest factors.
• The program, volume, is only part of the wheel.
• Both Stan and Matt have learned how dirty bulk just put fat on but not strength, but
clean building was stronger.
• Matt lost 30lbs and still hits 50 reps of 225 on bench. Strength held on 20-30% better
than super low-carb, which not as harsh as Vertical Diet since Stan still allows carbs.
Stated he had better success on Stans cut rather than Poliquins cut.
• Stan reached out to Hapthorr regarding doing Brians diet. Hapthorr wanted the best
Brian as to be the best Hapthorr.
• Stans diet is no secret. He merely coined the name because it how it is setup, but
there's no rocket science or secrets. "Sensible fundamentals and consistency."
• Blood test - looking for deficiencies. Iodine, vitamin D, insulin resistance are most
common
• Vertical Diet builds around the most common deficiencies. "Steak is the worlds only
superfood." Not just survive, but thrive. Acai berries, kale, you can't just thrive on.
"When have you ever seen a jacked chicken?" Chicken is a good source of protein, but
it lacks the micronutrients of steak.
• Why carrots? Little bit of fiber, provides some prebiotic benefit. Didn't really explain
why though.
• Regularity and quality regarding simplicity of food.
• Only reason people buy chicken is because it's cheaper, but lacks a lot of micronutrient
that steak has.
• Can't just dive into a huge caloric intake. To grow: Add 500 calories more than what
you're eating now.
• Establish a baseline. Then after a week to ten days you notice you're hungrier, so add
more food.
• Matt has added more food, getting hungrier sooner after eating, but is leaning out, but
maintaining weight.
• In choosing foods: Most nutrients with the least digestive baggage (FODMAP).
• Cranberry juice is an awesome way to get iodine.
• Grass fed beef for more omega-3's, but the amount is so small anyway it's negligible.
Take a cod liver oil.
• Stan eats two servings of salmon a week for the omega-3's.
• Stan feels people get too weirdly specific about grass-fed and organic. Doesn't see the
return on it, isn't providing more nutrient dense foods.
• Grinding steak is easier to digest. Pre-chewed.
• When eating meat, frequency over quantity. Gradually build up.
• Stans Monster Mash is about $3 a meal, easy to prep, cheaper than eating dirty.
• IIFYM diet means you eat what you want, and your body will chase foods it wants. Stan
would prefer eating IHOP and pizza over chicken and broccoli, because the
micronutrients. Goes back to, "good, better best," and "something is better than
nothing."
• The typical Strongman diet supported their success because they were eating what they
were craving.
• Dr. Yusaf, [previous head of World Heart Federation], 100k participants over 18 years
from various countries, study showed saturated fats have opposite effect in terms of
health. Cholesterol and animal fats were protective, but not veggies. Just need
regulation. (http://www.cardiobrief.org/2017/02/27/top-cardiologist-blasts-nutrition-
guidelines/) (https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/489738)
• 10 minute walks for athletes wanting to gain weight, with caloric gain. Also female
competitors in bikini, but with calorie deficit. Helps digestion and insulin resistance.
• Stan trained 40-50 minutes morning, 30 mins at night.
• Women tend to restrict and end of missing much needed fats and nutrients. Ability to
absorb nutrients depends on using fats as a shuttle.
• Over 50% of carbs increase cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.
• Fats are in the steak.
• Cautious with nuts, didn't explain. Also, work around your allergies: aren't forced to
eat.
• Horizontal diet: Sweet potato, oranges, carrots, chicken stock.
• "There's no black and white, there's only gray. Find out what fits you and do that"
 Charles Poliquin | Notes

https://www.instagram.com/strengthsensei1
https://www.strengthsensei.com

Why I Chose Charles Poliquin:

One of the first world renown and truly experienced strength coaches of the modern
era. "Research catches up to Charles," has been said about his bleeding edge yet
common sense approach to training. While considered by a few to be the king of
psuedo-science, the ironic part of this claim is that from all my note-taking from the 6
months intensive research --from books on Green Berets to interviews with the
Mountain to 3-hour long seminars with various teachers-- Charles cites his sources and
explains the history of what he's talking about more often than any other individual or
source I've been reading, watching, or listening.
• One of the best and most distinguished strength coaches in the world.
• Trained various Special Operations (Seal Team 6, SAS included)
• Coached the US womens team to win their first Olympic gold in history, and defeated
Japan in their 20 year reign.
• 38+ years with over 800+ Olympians training across 22 different sports, went to 3
different Olympics as a coach. Also have trained various high-level professional athletes
and coaches in the military, Crossfit, NFL, NHL, MLB, etc.
• Researches studies from as far back as 1890's
• Ability to recall information, facts, research papers, all to the date, location of study,
and to the author/researcher, a skill second to no other fitness expert (reminds me of
the level of expert recall Robert McNaramara displays in the documentary "Fog of
War").
• Lectures around the world with book authors like Jay Papasanas, Ed Coan, and world
renown athletes like Dmitry Klokov.
• Always ahead of the curve (attributed as first in the US to recommend BCAAs, fish oils,
German Volume training, tempo training, cluster training, neuro transmitter profile
training, etc).
• Stan Efferding, Matt Wenning, and Mark Bell have all implemented information from
Charles into their personal training, and how they train clients, and all speak highly of
him.
• Has huge biceps and abs for an old man.

Charles Poliquin- Training Volume, Nutrition & Fat Loss

• Science and experience are showing that weight training leads to better fat loss, bone
health, longevity, and brain health than long distance cardio. Building new tissue helps
• Many runners see running as a hall-pass to carbs. Disagrees with that by saying, "You
have to earn your carbs, you never deserve them"
• Squats are great to develop arms and delts. Hormonal response is the direct function of
how much muscle mass involved in lift.
• DHEA-sulfate (mother of all androgens) and cortisol measurements are better anabolic
tells than testosterone.
• Plant sterals at night, DHEA-sulfate will go up in 8-10 months. But don't want to stay
on it.
• Sleep is the best anabolic agent. Quality sleep is the most important thing.
• For sleep health: don't look at a screen three-hours before sleeping. Direct correlation
to sleep quality, ADHD, and fat. "If people went on a screen diet, they'd lose fat and be
able to pay attention better"
• Obesity curves around the world meet the sleep disorder curves.
• Limit screen usage. Causes attention issues. People who type notes in class do 40%
worse on tests than those who take manual notes.
• Prefers hard copies of books, but sees the advantages of electronic books.
Recommends to find at least ten things from at least every book he reads.
• Keto Diet - not synonymous with hypertrophy. Genetics influence how well you can
use starches. One people group (race) versus another are different. For 75% of
caucasians, carbs aren't your friend. Charles isn't anti-carb, he just sees better
performance on lower carb.
• Eats protein that comes from animal. Run, swim, or fly, that's where you get your
protein.
• Once your bodyfat is low, you can afford to have carbs, but it's not for everyone.
• Great benefits from 50g of carbs. Prefers greens for carbs over starch.
• Sweet potatoes if you can handle them, and when you're low enough in fat.
• Eats 2-3kg of lean protein a day. Prefers wild meats because of higher Omega-3, less
Omega-6.
• Important to vary your proteins. Bison, yak, elk, shrimp, moose, etc.
• Putting everyone into same basket creates problems. Genetic differences. Influences
how often you should eat. Silver medalist long jumper won by eating twice a day.
Charles eats more often and can't operate at less than 5 or 6 meals. Charles noticed a
high carb low fat diet made him lose focus and be grumpy. You'll learn what you like.
• At the end of the day you know what works for you or not. Some people need some
carbs to operate.
• Had an Ironman winner at 70/20/10 carb/protein/fat diet. Some people have success
on various diets. "Be your own test subject, and be honest with your results. Don't just
follow the guru."
• Protein builds muscle, is the base of your macro planning. Otherwise experiment. Blood
tests will give you info on what's working (triglycerides; hemoglobin levels; etc).
• Nuts, glutamine, heavy cream. 2oz cream, 10g glutamine, turns off sugar cravings.
• Morning shake of fruit juice, protein, glutamine.
• Study performed before Rio: the highest leucine grew the most. 200lb man BCAA's is
40g.
• Doesn't give much credit to most university studies: training protocols differ; subjects
aren't as motivated as his clients, says most subjects are just there for a grade or
money.
• Periodization: program is only as good as the time it takes for you to implement it.
Strength training is like learning a foreign language: to improve you need more words,
complex structures, etc.
• Periodization depends on your neuro transmitter profile. Some people like change.
Some people like comfort. 70% Rule: change your workout 4-6 weeks for that
bodypart, should work for you. Too much of whatever you choose is bad though.
Repeat, but some may need to repeat a lot, or a little.
• Growth Mindset: He notices the best athletes have goal setting and improvement in
common: they look to constantly improve their weakness.
• "What got you here won't get you there. You have to switch it up with variety."
• Commonalities in mindset and behavior? Biggest is the growth mindset: "never good
enough," and "what can I do next?"
• Goal-setting is huge.
• Keeping a grateful log, and meditates. Says helped mental health immensely. Never
increase quantity at the expense of quality.
• Keeps a log of what he's proud of from that day, and 3 things for what he's grateful for.
• If he could change anything from his past, he would sleep more and work less.
• High-intensity, low volume. Story of Korean Olympic team thinking he's lying after
presenting workout plan, because the volume was so low.
• Be more conscious of being focused. "Everything is off" electronically.
• Book Recommendation: Mindset by Carl Dweck, Charles if a big fan. One of the few
books he's recommended.
• Reward a persons effort with acknowledgement, not just bland compliments. Also helps
to keep track of log of efforts
• Fat loss goals can be reached on 4 hours a week of training. Make it a quality hour.
Twice a day will go faster.
• Too much volume creates cortisol.

The Tim Ferriss Show | Charles Poliquin Interview - Part 1

• Mitigating stretch marks/loose skin: Gotu Kola herb, 3 times a day for 6 months. Will
see no results until the saturation point is reached, but is very effective with his clients,
even with people with very very loose skin ("he had enough skin for a windsail but it
worked").
• Neurotransmitter dominance based on Chinese "elemental personality types": for
example, dopamine dominant needs to push themselves and needs variation. Sees this
in his Olympian wrestlers, and their different types of wrestling styles.
• Says he used to get ridiculed as a "granola head," for his dominance style
programming, but now his Advanced Program Design became his most popular class.
Clients say it's the fastest way for individualized training with their own clients.
• Bravermann test helps assess dominance test. Most accurate test. If you redo the
questionnaire, there will be an internal bias, need to answer truthfully.
• Will never be truly dominant in just one neurotransmitter. Makes all his students take
the test, and then teaches how to individualize based on goals (getting bigger, etc)
• "One of the keys to success is finding the best way for you."
• Clinical experience beats research studies. 2008 conditioning paper stated cluster
training was a fantastic method of training. Charles used it in 1978. "If I waited for
research to produce permission from researchers, I would've wasted all the Olympics in
between." Cluster training developed in 1948 in Bulgaria. Research took 60 years to
catch up to experience.
• Basic science + sound principles are what Charles bases his programming on
• Fish oil risk for high-dosages (60g)? Doesn't take high-dosage for more than 6 months.
After 6 months, only need maintenance. If a person eats lots of fatty fish and wild
game product, then he doesn't prescribe fish oils.
• Every single ailment has at least one study with beneficial outcomes using Omega-3
(out of a database of 8 million studies)
• "You have to earn your carbs," bases diet based on ethnicity. Uses Inuit NHL player has
an example: went from 21% to 6% on a high-fat diet. Pancreas, insulin sensitivity, etc
are all factors.
• Nutrition is only good for 70% of the population. The 70% rule for most is 40% if you
are healthy. But some of his athletes do very well with 70% carbs. Have to monitor
reactions to glucose and blood levels.
• NARMS: lie detector test for carb intake.
• "Checklist Manifesto," one of Charles favorite books for research.
• Thoughts on hormone therapy: stronger place than ever before, but you need to
deserve HRT. Growth hormone too early (in teens) shuts down ability to create it. Feels
people jump on the bandwagon due to ability to make money. It's viable, but also need
to monitor estrogen and cardiovascular issues.
• DHA-Sulfate: mother of all androgens. Need to take care of it. Affects motivation. Just
taking a lot of testosterone will not solve all your problems. Other factors to consider
for drive, and performance.
• Dopamine caused by phone use causes hyper-vigilantism, which is experienced by
troops in Iraq, but seen in everyday social media users. Solution is to batch emails,
batch cell phone usage, relegate to certain hours of the day.
• States foam rolling is a waste of time, and also leads to more scar tissue. Evidence
shows treadmill warmups insulin resistance by 46%.
• Concept of training core using unstable surfaces works for 6 weeks, but after there is
no added benefit. Best way to strengthen core is compound movements. Bosu balls and
electronic equipment are a waste.
• "The basics are the basics, and you can't beat the basics. Hard work, hard work, and
hard work."
• Two rules for warmup: brain should know the range of motion, and weights should
get heavier. If it's squats, then research shows mobility in the ankle shows reduced
injury risk in lower body (ACL, groin, etc). Calf machine, heavy enough to stretch you,
hold the stretch for 8 seconds, then finish with voluntary contraction (actively
contracting the calf for 2 seconds). Finish with contraction. Then do the same for any
muscles that are tight. Warmup weight set is the telling your body the lift is going to
get heavier.
• Common mistakes after a workout: big believer of immediate recovery. The more
cortisol made during training leads to greater gains. But you also need to immediately
suppress post-workout. Best way is make yourself more insulin-sensitive. If 200lb solid
athlete, 200g carb / 50g protein. Suggests Pentacarb for post-workout shake. Whey,
amino acid, and carbs. You still have to deserve your carbs: you need to be sub-10%
 body fat. Best indicator is able to see all rows of abs, not just one. If you don't see all
rows, then you don't deserve carbs.
• If not yet deserving then stick to glutamine, amino acids, and whey. Losing body fat
will make you more insulin sensitive.
• Steady-state cardio will cause you to get fatter.
• Restricting fats causes fat. Fats help with insulin sensitivity.
• Decrease cortisol by reducing stress
• Lifestyle Choices:
• Recommends "59 seconds" by Richard Wiseman. Critical look at the self-help industry,
doesn't believe in visualization. Instead focuses on developing and following a plan.
• Recommends "the One Thing" by Jay Papasanas, another book to read.
• Huge fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Attended a talk by him, and admired how Arnold is
very honest, talked most about his mistakes and how he learned from them.
• Recommends to plan vacation first at beginning of the year, otherwise work will fill the
voids. Takes a month off a year.
• "A life not examined is not worked living. If you leave this planet without making it
better than when you were born, then it's a wasted life"
• "A principle is to give what you want. If you want money, then you give it away. What
you give will attract it."
• Supports Navy Seal Foundation, Rescue.org, various charities
• Always asks himself, "how can I teach this better, and how can I make this more
effective?" Have to make things simpler more and more and more
• Not overly easy on his students, but also believes, "you're not a good teacher if you
don't leave your student better than you."
• People who are winners always have a growth mindset. His best athletes are dedicated
to constant improvement. Attitude during the exercise is a big indicator: focus during
the set.
• Common mistakes with trainers and female clients: not wanting to get strong.
Not enough time on overload with women (don't have goals for strength). Short term
goals to comply to regarding big lifts. Lean muscle tissue leads to insulin sensitivity.
• Believes most women in the gym are busy, not productive
• States Crossfitters works hard, but not smart. "Simple is better."
• Crossfit Games athletes don't do the WOD, only say they do for political reasons. Those
athletes don't do the WOD to get to the games.
• Not a fan of no screening before people come in (orthopedic issues was used as an
example), develop them over 8 weeks. States the best boxes are in Scandinavia, due to
better educated trainers. Likes they are fans of paleo eating.
• The way to make Crossfit better is technique. "Olympic lifts for repetitions is utterly
stupid" Develop flexibility, squat, and corrective lifts to develop a better Olympic lift.
• Preparing for the Snatch is how to activate the external rotators of the shoulders, and
how to loosen the internal rotators. Biggest issue is how good the rotator cuff is.
• Goblet squat is limited to the strength of your elbow flexors and rhomboids. Thinks it's
a moronic exercise.
• Kettlebell swings cause disc injuries. Harmful to disc structure. Recommends
lumberjack as it's vertical loaded, not swing. "The goal is weightlifting to lift the most
weight vertically." Olympic lifts all are vertical.
• Glute bridges aren't as great for glute recruitment. No Olympian does glute bridges,
and many Olympics sports require strong glutes. load is never on anterior pelvis. Not
convinced it's better for spinal health.
• Better glute development: split squats, squats, deadlifts (all of which develop horizontal
and vertical jump).
• Tim: You can't just tell someone to improve their posture, you need to take them
through the movements to improve their posture"

The Tim Ferriss Show | Charles Poliquin Interview - Part 2

• Plant-based diet and achieving maximal strength: "never seen it." You need meat to
get maximal strength. "I've never seen a world-class athlete on a vegan based athlete.
"
• High-bar vs low-bar squat: low bar allows most amount of weight, but long-term health
is with high-bar squat. Hip replacement occurs more in high-bar squats due to range of
motion restriction. However, depends on the goal (powerlifting competitions, or activity
carry-over).
• Conventional deadlift vs sumo deadlift: sumo has better mechanics. For training
purposes, lift both.
• Recommends the front squat for his athletes. "It's impossible to cheat on the front
squat," but needs to be butt to ground, "leave a stain on the carpet." After a few
weeks, the neck strain gets better.
• Overhead squat is a screening exercise (potential for low extremity exercise, but limited
to shoulder girdle strength).
• Most bang-for-buck testosterone increases: best thing is to lower cortisol.
Testosterone and cortisol both use the same base material, but the body prioritizes
cortisol creation. High zinc, high protein containing foods (quality red meat).
• Quality of sleep is underrated. Sleep in a bat cave, pure darkness.
• Cold baths [no duration was prescribed]
• Supplements for all ages and genders: magnesium. Even with a perfect diet it's hard to
get enough. Second supplement for the average person is fish oil (Omega Avail by
 Designs for Health, added d3 k1 k2, exponential cardiovascular benefits). Third is Zinc,
180mg for about 6 months.
• Admires Winston Churchill.
• Go-to breakfast: usually a wild meat fried in goat butter, and nuts. Stays at a Marriot
since they serve steak and eggs.
• "You learn by making mistakes"

Bulletproof | Aerobic exercise may be destroying your body, weightlifting can

save it
• Glutes are the largest muscle in the body
• Charles is one of the first "bio-hackers," which caused controversy in the 80's, but
turned out to be true.
• Maintaining muscle mass prevents aging. #1 anti-aging parameter is muscle mass,
then strength.
• The more you train, the less you age.
• Studies reveal long-term athletes show that more aerobic work taxed the brain more.
"Designed to throw a rock at the rabbit, not chase it" Aerobic exercise is not good for
you brain. Oxidizes the brain.
• Increase the volume to at least twice a week for strength training. Better to have a
short workout twice a week. Better to have 20-minutes twice a week, better than 40-
minutes every ten days.
• Increased max by 12% increasing mitochondrial density
• Fastest way of gains is training, but SARMs/peptide can help.
• Strength training is like learning a foreign language; you need to repeat and frequency
to learn it.
• Actovegin, product that regenerates cartilage and soft tissue. All the top soccer players
and track athletes use them.
• Deep sleep is the 100% best testosterone booster. Don't look at a screen 3 hours
before sleep. Magnesium deficiency disrupts sleep.
• Vitamin D3, lacking leads to depression and suicide
• Diet rule 1: diet has to match your genetics.
• Diet rule 2: carbs have to be earned. Radical carb restriction for fat people. Most people
should stay away from grains.
• Diet: two tbls of coconut oil and then take fish oil.
• Diet: protein at all main meals. Dinner is where he adds his starch (sweet potato)
• People who say they can't lose weight or lose the fat, usually a food intolerance.
• What you eat a few days before affects you a few days later.
• "Two worse forms of stress are what you put in your mouth, and what comes out of
your mouth."
• Simple Breakfast test: wake-up, rate their brain on a scale of 1-10. Eat meat, then rate
it an hour later 1-10. Then do the same with carbs the next day. Some thrive on
protein, some thrive on carbs.
• Benefits of sticking to diets is to establish a baseline using foods commonly associated
with digestive health and proper nutrition. Then start adding foods from and analyze
how it impacts you.
• Cheat Meal should be a Refuel Meal. "Eat the worst stuff you can think of that you
really like for 24 hours. Then I train them the next day and they feel good because of
the glycogen, but their joints hurt and their performance is down. I want people to
learn by experience." People will learn how bad their typical food choices are after
eating better.
• Biggest advice from Charles: grateful, "what you appreciate appreciates (in value)";
sleep is the biggest health factor in peoples lives: not sleep more, but sleep better; stay
away from grains, regardless of your genetics. (robs you of minerals, causes
inflammation, brain function)
• Coconut oil raises the ketones same as 8-hours of fasting, very modest, MCT oil raises
ketones twice the rate.
• "You're allowed to do what works for you"

Mark Bell's PowerCast Episode 181 | The Myth of Discipline

• Charles the first strength coach Jim and Mark ever listened to.
• Charles knowledge is built around "aha" moments of simple, but not-commonly-known
knowledge
• Was right about tempo training (slowly lowering the weight), and would have missed a
dozen Olympics if he had waited on the scientific papers on it. Same with cluster
training.
• Arnold didn't go on PubMed to decide how many reps he's gonna do. "You can beat
experience in the trenches"
• If you understand the basics then you can tell right away if some science is BS
• "Money is a side effect of success; if you work for money you'll never get rich" "Took
me 38 years to become an overnight success"
• Coached the first American woman to win gold in wrestling. She beat a team that hasn't
lost gold in 20 years.
• Japanese wrestler who lost stated, "my opponent was far stronger than me"
• winner hadn't had dessert in 18 months, nor did she have Christmas dinner.
• It's not about what you want, but what you're willing to give up.
• Need to stick with your personality: some do well holding themselves to absolutes,
some people can thrive on a little cookie here and there
• Commonalities between high level athletes: growth mindset. "Within seconds of
winning their gold medal, they all asked what they needed to improve on"; also
provided report card to Charles on what they like and didn't like
• Bi-athalon medalist: had her stop cross-country skiing for 6-weeks, she initially freaked
out. Eventually she built strength. Aerobics interfered with strength. From there, able to
maintain 90% of strength with one workout a week.
• Functional fitness athletes: how to develop? Only two sports where you can be sport
specific: powerlifting and gymnastics. Specificity is a lie. Make a distinction between
skill and strength. If you make a muscle larger, and make it fire better, it's your job to
make it work for you on the mat. Do exercises that develop the muscles used in your
sport (develop lats for volleyball; grip-training for BJJ; etc)
• Lifting develops nervous system
• Use the mechanics that suit you (talks about his wrestlers that have different form and
techniques); many people think to work on their weakness, but work on your strengths
too. Has his wrestlers wrestle to their strengths: if they're slow and strong, use that, if
they're a wild mongoose, then they wrestle fast. Their training programs will also differ
accordingly (neuro-transmitter training)
• Fat distribution is based on genetics. Regional fat distribution is true, but based on
genetics. Regional fat loss is not a thing.
• Research shows people who can't digest starches properly have low upper-back fat
• Belly fat: how much is diet genetics or pure calories? Charles says both, but also stress.
Belly fat is the long-term exposure of cortisol. If the ratio of fat gain across different
body parts seems to be more-so stored in the abdominals, they don't regulate their
insulin (or are stressed out constantly)
• The best way to manage cortisol is to manage the hormone that regulates it, which is
insulin. But eating lots of sweets to raise insulin causes fat. One way to manage this is
to regulate breakfast: what you eat in the morning affects what you crave for the rest
of the day.
• Learn to manage stress by identifying the things that cause stress, and minimize or
regulate those areas.
• Suggests meditation to regulate stress. Lots of ways to meditate, repetition of mantra,
ability to avoid distractions. Suggests float chambers as a stress reduction activity, but
only one way to do it, and loses effectiveness over time. Focused attention, and
learning to shut off monkey brain. All it is, everything else is extra and personal choice.
• Patience helps with anxiety: powerlifting is a long-term sport.
• Ed Coan wishes he would've changed up his exercises more often. Working the same
exercises in the strength group will wear out your joints.
• Find out what works for you since the guy recovering from the workout is you: some
people do better with high recovery, some do better with two-a-days. Best way to find
out is to test it out. Learn the basics first. What works for a 100 to 150lb bench will not
work for a 600 to 650lbs bench.
• Finnish people have low starch-digesting enzyme, Pakistani's have high amounts of
enzyme, and can eat lots of starches.
• Neuro-transmitter dominant: Bravermann test to tell what you are dominant in. Charles
will dictate the loading parameters around that. Focus on how to restore neuro-
transmitters the quickest, not just how to train according to dominance type.
• The key to getting ahead is to know you're training an individual, not a computer.
Always changing.

London Real Podcast | Strength Sensei - Part 1

• States Britain has a lack of education regarding fitness, but has been catching up in the
last 12 years. Myths being perpetuated; culture of arrogance and non-
growth/improvement in medical field; blames socialized medicine in quality of medicine
and mentality (Canada; Australia; UK, etc). Says American medical field is better
because of this.
• "You have to earn your carbs." The closer your ethnic background comes from the
equator, the more lenient he is with carbs. There are genes that control starch
digestion. 6 copies of that gene, Pakistani's have all 6 copies, doesn't effect blood
sugar. Finnish don't have any copies of that gene.
• Upper-back fat is the best indicator of carb intolerance. Serbians, Balkans can eat clean
carbs.
• Ab and arm definition. Leaner biceps and triceps are indicator of virility.
• Culture shift requiring instant responses create more stress.
• Under stress, eating something sweet calms us down. Cortisol and insulin can't be in
the blood stream at the same time as they have opposite effect.
• Cites Pima Indians in Arizona eating a "white mans diet" causing the average age of
death to be 38. "Eat according to your genetics."
• Wake up at the same time daily (even on the weekends), and diet are biggest factors
for aging.
• Caffeine stimulates cortisol, and then people followup with carbs (Starbucks coffee then
treat), creating a cycle
• Carb rule as a male: 10% bf or under to deserve your abs. As soon as you can see all
the rows, the you deserve.
• You can have carbs, but just need clean carbs. Easiest assessment of a clean carb is
"did cavemen have access to it?"
• If it doesn't fly, swim, run, or is green, don't eat it.
• No fruits until they deserve them. Get carbs from green vegetables (only 50g until
then)
• Some genome types can only tolerate 20g a day of carbs
• Myth that carbs are needed for energy. Will give his athletes glutamine as it restores
glycogen without raising insulin. Ketones for energy. Teach their body to become fat
burning machines. Fish oils
• Fastest way for a people to lose fat is 60g fish oil a day.
• Take just fish oil for too long can become GLA deficient.
• Doesn't believe elite athletes can be plant-based in their diet. Says different genotypes
and low stomach acid can do better, but they are anomalies. Cites higher injury rates
amongst those athletes (most of whom still eat dairy and eggs)
• Recommends scallops for his vegan athletes, and the amino acids they need from meat.
• Gabrielle Lyon best professor on aging and muscle. Stated vegans age prematurely
[unable to find study]
• "You can train someone in Ironman using protein and fats only"
• For plant-based diets, use rice based carb powders, "what you drink while you exercise
can make a huge difference. And need carbs post-exercise."
• Exposure to stress causes growth and adaptation. All about the training you receive.
• "Pain plus reflection leads to progress"
• It's easier to have discipline if you make the right choice for breakfast. Two chemicals
that drive you: dopamine and Acetylcholine. Why he stands by meat and nuts. Cites
study in Toronto that kids who ate right in the morning, there was causation for
healthier food choice in the day, and better cognitive abilities.
• Would ban boxed cereal.
• If you approach the world from "I love doing this," you don't need discipline.
• "Be so good they can't ignore it"

London Real Podcast | Strength Sensei - Part 2 (46 minute mark)

• Arnold bought the tank he was in during his time in the Austrian army. The tank still
had the plates and dumbbell handles he hid in the under-carriage. Arnold would lift at
3am during his service as he was that driven.
• "Start with why," you have to enjoy whatever you do. "If you want to get fit but don't
like lifting, but enjoy stretching, do yoga. If you like basketball and want to spend time
with your kids, be the kids basketball coach. Just do what you love"
• First strength coaching client was at 17. "The profession didn't even exist then."
• Competition, individualization are his top two strengths from StrengthsFinders.
• A top ten NCAA strength coaches makes $350-650k a year. Charles used to work for
$400 a year as a strengths coach in the early days before the concept was appreciated
and understood.
• Law of Specificity works some of the time. Charles got into a challenge with PhD's in
training, he won. "Research caught up that variety of training worked better than
specific training"
• "Success leaves clues"
• Observation and experience trump research and lab testing
• "Do today what they will copy tomorrow"
• "If you do something very well, don't wait for validation. They will eventually copy you"
• On individualization
• "Dorian Yates found what works really well for him, but you need to find what works
really well for you."
• For his three wrestlers, all trained at the same time and together, all had different
training programs. Based the programs on their different neuro-transmitter profiles.
Compares Arnolds training to Dorian, and how different than were. Says they wouldn't
have achieved Mr. Olympia results on each others programs. Cites their training
partners and the injury rates among them.
• Used to test people by "basically killing them and see what they survived," but now
uses the Bravermann test. "The most valid test, but you can only do it once" The
western version to the Chinese "elemental personality" types. * Dopamine dominant
are typically great at power sports. Fire type, Impulsive; risk takers; explosive.
• Snipers are typically GABA dominant due to the focus
• Earth, no neuro-transmitter dominance, can tolerate a lot of volume. Thomas the Tank
Engine.
• Acetylcholine is wood. Need lots of variety, shorter-phases to prevent overtraining.
• Will change training for that day depending on performance, to prevent nervous system
taxing. Lots of day-by-day training.
• HRV didn't impress him.
• Metal are not really into weight training. Decision makers (basketball players; snipers,
etc).
• Water is more into yoga. Ying to the yang that is fire/dopamine. Doesn't typically see
water types.
• Doesn't believe these transmitter types are attributed to birth dates and times. States
childhood has a greater effect.
• CIA personality system correlates with the neurotransmitter system. Chinese just
explained through poetry things Western medicine is explaining now.
• More info: https://www.t-nation.com/training/five-elements
• On doping
• States sport doping is going down. Weightlifting is the first sport to truly push the
cleaning up due to the IOC pressure to clean up. Explains the weight-class shift due to
the world records being set by doping.
• States Russia has been doping and TRT since 1930. Open secret.
• Large scale testosterone injections was with the Nazi's (stronger, and retain protein
with lack of food)
• Explains the military made the injections more efficient, reduced risks. "Military pushes
progress, civilian industry is second to pick up." Special Forces were the first to really
test. Different anabolic steroids act differently. Olympians take up to 8 different drugs
• Has defeated athletes who later popped for doping. Intelligent training trumps moronic
training + doping.
• America in now winning that cleaning up is occurring.
• Doping has a large history in military related needs. KGB and other secret agencies
utilized the drugs for propaganda purposes.
• Athletes often-times don't have a choice as the government and financial pressure.
• Believes hormonal dopamine is dying, but newer methods are on the rise (genome
testing)
• Doping prevents excess.
• Friends with Georges St Pierre. Thinks the UFC is a great sport that's benefitting from
WADA
• Agrees with Lance Armstrong that doping or lack of doping across the board wouldn't
change the rankings.
• States NFL is very strict on doping; extremely clean. Says it's just the best of the best
of human specimens.
• Thinks Usain Bolt is clean
• Believes the future of strength training will be more individualized and accurate based
on individual responses to volume, intensity, variation. Also, optimization of nutrient
intake.
 Compilation of Notes Regarding Training Women:
• For the female lifter: 10-minute walks better than 40 minute treadmill. Doesn't
breakdown muscle, still helps with fat loss.
• If on a limited calorie diet, then the caloric limit will yield results in body composition
and performance based on the choice of foods, not just calorie choice. Choose nutrient
rich foods like steak.
• 3oz of OJ or milk a couple times a day: liver and thyroid stimulus for metabolism.
• Long cardio has high water demand. Sends wrong message to body: body holds on to
fat to endure the longer workload. Also, body thinks heavy muscle is bad, gets rid of it.
• Stan noticed how joggers carry fat. Body holds on to fat for fuel, gets rid of muscle.
Body responds to stimulus you provide.
• Still need to develop cardio. Recommends HIIT under load: improves cardio while
stimulating muscle. Weighted exercises with higher reps (why Matt and Stan
recommend loaded exercise under distance). Performing 20 rep sets, or 30 second rest
between weighted carries, running stairs (all concentric loading), pushing prowlers, 30s
sprint/rest on recumbent bike (ten mins) are all great examples of cardio development.
• "How do you talk people into losing weight by lifting weights?" Cites his 60 year old
women who lift weights and are lean. They don't have prior exercise experience, and
they're stronger than most men.
• How much weight you have on you is 80% diet. Cardio isn't what gets bikini and stage
competitors lean, it's they eat better. "Don't want to be huge? Don't eat huge."
• When you start training weights you start to retain water, so swelling occurs.
Hypertrophy occurs, diet cleans up, everything will lean out.
• "Foam rolling is a waste of time, and also leads to more scar tissue." Evidence shows
treadmill warmups insulin resistance by 46%.
• Research: Sleep loss limits fat loss. Insulin resistance goes up; blood pressure goes up;
hunger goes up; cortisol (breaks down muscle tissue; decreases testosterone, effects
your thyroid; etc)
• Juicing and detox is completely worthless. All you can do is optimize how your body
filtrates toxins, which is the liver. Best way to detox is to just not put the processed
foods and oils into your body.
• 10 minute walks for athletes wanting to gain weight, with caloric gain. Also female
competitors in bikini, but with calorie deficit. Helps digestion and insulin resistance.
• Stan trained 40-50 minutes morning, 30 mins at night.
• Women tend to restrict and end of missing much needed fats and nutrients. Ability to
absorb nutrients depends on using fats as a shuttle.
• "There's no black and white, there's only gray. Find out what fits you and do that"
• States foam rolling is a waste of time, and also leads to more scar tissue. Evidence
shows treadmill warmups insulin resistance by 46%.
• If not yet deserving then stick to glutamine, amino acids, and whey. Losing body fat
will make you more insulin sensitive.
• Steady-state cardio will cause you to get fatter.
• Restricting fats causes fat. Fats help with insulin sensitivity.
• Common mistakes with trainers and female clients: not wanting to get strong.
Not enough time on overload with women (don't have goals for strength). Short term
goals to comply to regarding big lifts. Lean muscle tissue leads to insulin sensitivity.
• Believes most women in the gym are busy, not productive
• Better glute development: split squats, squats, deadlifts (all of which develop horizontal
and vertical jump).
 TL;DR/Top Ten Changes I've Personally Made From These Lessons:
There's a million bits of info in these notes, but here's some ten takeaways I was able
to implement over the course of two months.
1. Carbs: Carbs are not the enemy, but need to be heavily regulated and based on
individual performance, digestive health, and body-fat. Ethnic background is a huge
factor. That being said, Charles states "you need to earn your carbs," while Stan is
more lenient, but still recommends you keep them low if you're not an elite athlete. If
you do choose to eat carbs, white rice is the best carb as it doesn't cause inflammation
or digestive issues like potatoes and brown rice can.
2. Sleep: The greatest anabolic, absolutely necessary. The elite performers sleep 10-12
hours a day, including long naps during the day. Important to muscle growth, fat loss,
and hormone regulation. I dim the lights 2 hours before bed, do my best to not check
my phone, tv, or any electronic screen to improve sleep quality.
3. Programming: I've split my workouts with 72-hours between muscle groups. Using a
variety of exercises helps overall performance by choosing accessory work that
addresses weaknesses. "Exercise rotation and having a big exercise library prevents
injury while allowing constant key movements." Only 4 main heavy days, with the other
days as options for accessory or cardio.
4. Food choice: Grass-fed meat research isn't proven yet, and doesn't justify the price.
Eat quality cuts of beef, bison, and wild game. "Otherwise, the best diet is the one you
stick to." Just eliminated processed foods and snacks, and choose vegetables and fruits
that the body will digest easily (FodMap). Bought a sous-vide to prepare the Costco
Steak, and a rice maker for the white rice. On it for two months and am seeing great
results. Personally, I've added lots of berries, avocadoes, baby carrots, nuts, coconut
oil, chia seeds to my daily diet. I also add kimchi and guacamole to some meals in
order to keep the steak from being too routine. Also drinking 3oz of OJ multiple times a
day.
5. Warm-Up: Stretching is apparently a waste of time, and cardio before your lift will
cause you to be insulin resistant, preventing fat loss. Either do potentiation exercises,
or follow this advice: "brain should know the range of motion, and weights should get
heavier." Regarding potentiation: find where the weakest links are in the main lift, then
pick a moderately light weight, and choose exercises that affect different muscle groups
involved in the main lift. For example, the squat might be upper back (a), lower back
(b), then hamstrings (c). Doesn't need to be heavy, just consistently volume with
minimal rest. 4x25 with no rest: a, b,c, repeat 4 times total. Then rest 3-5 minutes,
then you're ready attack the main lift (be if your heavy max or speed work). Matt
noticed clients were getting stronger, and form was getting better over time. Matt
started off light, but now can do 4x25's of 100lb dumbells on chest warmups. Work
your way up. Here's the warm-up in practice with Mike O'Hearn, Stan, and Matt.
6. Walking: Not just for old people: Ten minute walk, after you eat a meal. Improves
digestion, decreases DOMS, helps with insulin sensitivity. "Blood is the life force, brings
in all the nutrients." Brisk walks with elevated heart outperforms leisure 10k step-walks
in fat, heart, cardio benefits. Recommended is 3 ten-minute walks a day. Can replace
all steady-state cardio with walks and HIIT. Recommended them to the women in
competition and strongmen like the Mountain, both of whom saw fantastic results.
7. Cardio: Implemented rucks over distance running, along with adding swimming,
cycling, and farmers carries. Long slow-distance work inhibits muscle growth and fat-
loss. That said, some cardio is required, hence the HIIT, farmers walks, etc as they are
recommended. Still learning to program into the workout regimen.
8. Build the Backside: If the muscle is behind you, chances are you need to build it
stronger. The average person will have weak lower and upper back, hamstrings, glutes,
calves, traps, rear delts, etc. Build those up by making them a priority in your
accessory exercise selection. For example: Upperback not strong enough will change
scapular position on bench press.
9. Salt: Upped the intake of my salt. Iodized salt, stimulates thyroid, immune system,
stimulates the liver. When you hit a wall, it's because you're low on sodium, not carbs.
Guaranteed. Single biggest thing you can do to impact performance, stamina and
endurance at the gym is iodized sodium.
10. Post-workout drink: Body super-compensates after a workout, so you need
immediate replenishment, especially for two-a-days. Fructose (Orange juice) for liver
stimulation, dextrose (scoop off Amazon) for glycogen replenishment, sodium (600mg),
100mg of caffeine (accelerates all of that). No proteins or fats immediately as it slows
absorption.
 Ending Notes:

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Casey.Jones72@gmail.com

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