Don't be lazy because of the freedom that comes from being a business owner or your own boss.

Most people do not do enough. The evidence for this is all the time people waste performing non-important, unurgent tasks such as watching TikTok, doom-scrolling through Twitter, or binge-watching Netflix.

Do not build walls around your time that should not exist. "It's unhealthy to work on the weekend" or "I deserve to not work on the weekend" can be the difference between your business succeeding and growing or failing.

You have more time than you think. You can do more than you think. This does not mean that you do not enjoy time with your family or in leisure activities. People, however, by and large, are too lazy. People generally do less than they can.

Business owners and the self-employed enjoy the freedom to set their own schedules and choose how to spend their time. This may be the single greatest aspect of starting a business or being your own boss.

If you give in to your worst tendencies, however, you will not do enough. You will choose laziness.

Matt, for example, gets up early to complete urgent tasks when no one else is awake. He does this on the weekend as well, which leaves him ready to perform on Monday as the CEO. He does not begin work Monday morning having to catch up on email.

Don't let freedom lead to laziness. Don't be lazy, but rather do the work.

PS - This podcast is brought to you by TurnKey Coach. Enhance your coaching effectiveness and efficiency with TurnKey Coach. You can learn more by going HERE.

Check out Coaching 101 - the new Academy course designed to cover the basics of coaching. It's leaner and tighter than our other offerings (and cheaper).

Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page.

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A powerlifting meet gives lifters and coaches an opportunity for performance under pressure. Learn the whys, hows, and whats of powerlifting meets. Learn about this and the exciting new International Barbell Federation (IBF).

You don't have to be a 700 lb deadlifter to benefit from a strengthlifting meet.

People of all ages and backgrounds have found the purpose-organizing power of signing up for and preparing for a meet.

Putting the meet on the calendar gives a time and place where you need to perform. It helps you organize your training, eating, even vacations and such around this.

Sometimes, this is not appropriate. You might not want to schedule this when life is throwing you severe involuntary hardship.

Still, novices and experienced lifters, young and elderly, the painfully average or elite can benefit from adding this to their training. As a coach, the best way to get better at helping lifters at meets is to have your lifters go through meets. Second best way is going through a meet yourself.

Beyond the training-organizing function, the environment of a meet - especially an in-person meet - is powerful.

People regularly experience PRs as they get cheered on.

On the other hand, the unique elements of a meet can throw people curve balls. You have judges and an open platform (as opposed to staring at a wall). You have less control over when you lift and have weird equipment and clothing. Judges may give you commands. You have to handle emotions.

With all this, it is certainly an experience worth having under your belt as a lifter and coach.

Try a powerlifting meet or strengthlifting meet, so you can perform under pressure.

PS - If you're interested in taking online coaching with Barbell Logic for a test run, check it out here.

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Pick your battles for tranquility, happiness, peace, & prosperity. Assume the best in others, and work toward goal accomplishment.

Someone in the All In conference Matt, Niki, Andrew, & Josh recently attended said "that's below my line."

What does this mean? It means certain things should be below "your line" that stirs up your anger.

Of course, anger is an emotion, and emotions arise sometimes whether you want them to or not. That being said, you should avoid outrage culture, and if you find yourself dominated by your passions, you should step back and deal with it.

Matt has identified that addressing a situation in anger almost never works out well. This does not just mean yelling or punishment, but even talking in anger - it usually does not come off well.

If accomplishing the goal is the goal, and anger does not help, then don't lean into the anger. Acknowledge, overcome, and try to make peace.

One component of picking your battles is assuming the best in others, especially others who have built up a level of trust with you.

You cannot be in a healthy relationship with your spouse or really any other important person in your life if you assume the worst possible motives for their actions.

Reach out to the other person and listen. Winning an argument or seeking to dominate conversation is not a good way to reach understanding or peace.

Pick your battles, seek peace, and overcome anger and other passions.

PS - This podcast is brought to you by TurnKey Coach. Enhance your coaching effectiveness and efficiency with TurnKey Coach. You can learn more by going HERE.

Check out Coaching 101 - the new Academy course designed to cover the basics of coaching. It's leaner and tighter than our other offerings (and cheaper).

Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page.

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Why participate in barbell competition, and if you decide to compete how do you approach it. Learn about this and the exciting new International Barbell Federation (IBF).

Andrew interviews Jordan Stanton, owner of Next Level Barbell and the Strength Union, both in or around Portland, OR, as well as former owner of the United States Strengthlifting Federation (USSF). As a gym owner, in-person coach, online coach, lifting federation owner, and competitive lifter, he has experienced barbell competition in all its aspects.

Why compete?

Competition focuses lifters' training, organizing it around a purpose connected to time. It also provides some motivation, not only mentally because the meet is on the calendar, but also to train hard and take recovery seriously.

Consider participating in an online or in-person meet, regardless of your training level.

Generally, you want to taper before a meet and practice heavy singles. You definitely need to be familiar with the rules of the meet. Having a coach can really help here.

For many, though, the most important thing is not stressing about the meet or how you do but simply experiencing the meet. Lift heavy as people cheer you on. See how all the different rules and aspects of a meet change your lifting and your training leading up to your programming.

The USSF went online during Covid. Now, the USSF has been reflagged and is the International Barbell Federation (IBF).

If you're seeing this before or in October 2024, sign up for the online meet from October 9-20, 2024.

You can do a powerlifting version (squat, bench press, deadlift) or strengthlifting version (squat, overhead press, deadlift).

Make sure you read the rules and ensure you execute accordingly the day you lift.

An online meet is a great lower stress way to compete in your normal environment, not having to take a day out to go somewhere and spend most of the day competing.

Consider participating in barbell competition as part of your overall training approach, even if just one time.

PS - If you're interested in taking online coaching with Barbell Logic for a test run, check it out here.

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Learn how many go from client to coach, crushing the client life cycle. This is Micaela Bickel's story.

Barbell Logic has identified a somewhat typical progression among a cohort of its clientele. These folks go from fan to strength client to Academy client to coach using TurnKey Coach.

Micaela Bickel followed this path.

She began more in the fitness space, programming circuits and endurance. Barbells were sprinkled in.

Despite her skepticism and fears, training with barbells produced the results she wanted and not only did not hurt her back but actually helped her back.

She attended a seminar and left humbled but ready to pivot to strength-based training for both herself and her clients.

She soon found the Academy and learned many of the practical and academic things it teaches. Despite having an exercise science degree, she derived a huge value from the academy.

She opened a gym in February 2023. That was a steeper learning curve.

She learned as she went, though the Academy also not spends more time addressing the business of coaching.

Her first important transition was from charging per session to charging monthly. Soon thereafter, she moved to a hybrid model of coaching, where clients receive usually 2-3 months of in-person coaching from her and then are moved to online through TurnKey Coach.

This has increased her ability to coach more clients and decreased her time at work.

The way TKC measures progress and PRs has encouraged compliance, and clients are able to train while away from the gym (and Micaela can coach away from the gym).

Learn about Micaela's story from client to coach and how she crushed the client life cycle.

PS - This podcast is brought to you by TurnKey Coach. Enhance your coaching effectiveness and efficiency with TurnKey Coach. You can learn more by going HERE.

Check out Coaching 101 - the new Academy course designed to cover the basics of coaching. It's leaner and tighter than our other offerings (and cheaper).

Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page.

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When you know you have a good product, service, or solution, you have unshakeable confidence. How do you develop this? Learn what this is and how you develop it!

Andrew saw a video of someone handing out bags of money and reacting to people accepting or not accepting it.

Seems pretty crazy, to turn a bag of money, right!?

Now, in a big city, we can acknowledge that people might not fully understand what is going on, might be skeptical, and other reasons may exist. But in a situation this obvious - do you want free money? - the person handing it out is not insulted if you turn it down.

Why? Well, because this person is delivering such obvious value.

Andrew realized that when you know you have a good product, good service, good solution, this is how you react to rejection. You don't get incredibly defensive or emotional. You might take it as a learning opportunity.

While you want to spread the word about the good thing you have, your emotions are not so wrapped up in defending the value because you know, deep down, this thing has value.

Be honest with yourself and invest in ability, integrity, and benevolence. If the product needs work, be honest with yourself. That might be part of your pitch and you should charge accordingly.

For example, if you are trying to become a coach, you might initially charge nothing or very little and pitch it as something that will likely provide them value while allowing you to improve your coaching. If they receive value, request a testimonial.

Pick something that keeps you curious, and grow and expand your limits within that thing. Improve your craft. Improvement requires honesty, because you have to acknowledge your deficiencies and work to improve those areas.

When it comes to sales, this will look like not being obsessed with closing the sale, but rather offering a service where you help the other make a decision. Occasionally, it will not be a good fit. That's okay. Do not force something bad when it does not make sense.

Develop unshakeable confidence and then deliver.

PS - If you're interested in taking online coaching with Barbell Logic for a test run, check it out here.

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Learn how to avoid, identify, and get out of occupational burnout. Like overtraining, this is better to avoid then dig yourself out of.

This is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion. It comes from doing too much for too long, especially too many urgent things. Some people have performed some great feats of endurance in their lives, but they often focus on the important, not the urgent.

You will experience a lack of desire to work, even with things that used to motivated and excited you. It will affect all areas of your life.

There is a clear parallel with overtraining. Overtraining is actually less common than most people think, but if you become overtrained it is debilitating. Overtraining and becoming burned out are better to avoid than dig yourself out of.

This is one of those instances when important things become urgent. You drown in an overwhelming amount of urgency for too long, and you will have to confront it. It is better to get out in front of it.

Ensure that you are making time for the important. You are taking days off and there are things you do unrelated to the urgent every day.

Take care of your health always: physical, medical, spiritual, psychological, social.

Do not medicate with activities that can exacerbate the problem, such as alcohol or other drugs, unhealthy foods, empty pleasures, risky behaviors, or excessive spending or gambling.

To dig yourself out will require more work and greater effort than if you had never found yourself burned out in the first place. And, of course, some people never dig themselves out.

Avoid burnout, but reach out for help if you find yourself burned out.

PS - This podcast is brought to you by TurnKey Coach. Enhance your coaching effectiveness and efficiency with TurnKey Coach. You can learn more by going HERE.

Check out Coaching 101 - the new Academy course designed to cover the basics of coaching. It's leaner and tighter than our other offerings (and cheaper).

Check out the Barbell Logic podcast landing page.

• Matt on Instagram
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• Barbell Logic on Instagram
• Podcast Webpage
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• Or email podcast@barbell-logic.com

Stronger means harder to kill, more able to fulfill your work and domestic obligations, and more useful overall.

Listen to Matt's talk to the Tactical Response alumni. This group of people cares about being prepared, protecting themselves and their loved ones, and more capable overall. If they are weak, however, they have a gap, and they need to be stronger. This applies to you too.

Would you like to be harder to kill, more resilient, healthier, and more useful overall or softer, easier to kill, more susceptible to death and sickness, and a burden on others?

If you're weak, you have a gap that needs to be addressed. You need to get stronger.

Getting stronger is brutally simple. Eschew complication, follow the simple, hard, effective way. Receive the greatest return investment for your time and effort by following basic barbell movements such as the squat, bench press, deadlift, and press.

Strength is about overcoming cancer, staying out of a nursing home, becoming a better father or mother. It is about building the confidence to regularly do hard things, and to be more prepared when involuntary hardship comes.

Act now! Exercise today and work toward training to get stronger and harder to kill.

PS - If you're interested in taking online coaching with Barbell Logic for a test run, check it out here.

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