Lift Free And Diet Hard with Andrew Coates

The Lift Free and Diet Hard Podcast dives deep into the science and practice of living a strong, healthy, and intentional life. Hosted by Andrew Coates, the show brings together inspiring guests to share insights, stories, and practical advice that empower listeners to build confidence, make informed choices, and stay resilient in their fitness and wellness journeys. Every episode encourages thoughtful exploration of what it means to lift free, diet hard, and live fully.

Lift Free And Diet Hard with Andrew Coates is a health podcast hosted by Andrew Coates, with 486 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Andrew Coates hosts Lift Free And Diet Hard with Andrew Coates, a health show with 486 episodes published.

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  Lift Free And Diet Hard with Andrew Coates

  #496 Dr. Tony Boutagy - Do Men and Women Need to Train Differently to Build Muscle?

  Aug 18, 202651 min

  Dr. Tony Boutagy holds a PhD in Exercise and Sports Science and returns to dive into the research on sex differences, muscle growth, aging, cardio, recovery, grip strength, and several persistent myths in the fitness industry. Tony joins me to discuss: • Whether men and women need meaningfully different training programs to build muscle • Relative versus absolute differences in muscle-building potential • Whether sex-based differences matter more than individual differences between people • Why training goals should drive programming more than gender • How personal preference affects exercise selection, adherence, and results • Bone-health considerations for women • Why more credentialed professionals are appearing on large podcasts and making unsupported or misleading claims about women’s training • Whether grifting PhDs and doctors are actually outliers • Why misinformation can be financially and socially rewarded online • Whether evidence-based professionals are becoming more willing to publicly challenge bad information • The role of scientific consensus versus individual expert opinion • Whether cardio can support muscle growth • How concurrent training should be considered when hypertrophy is the goal • Whether recovery from resistance training meaningfully slows as we age • The relationship between grip strength and longevity • Why grip strength may function as a broader marker of health rather than a magical intervention itself • What people actually mean when they talk about “stabilizer muscles” • Why the stabilizer-muscle discussion needs more nuance • And much more Follow Tony on Instagram: @tonyboutagy CHAPTERS 04:12 Hormones and Muscle Growth 09:27 Program for Goals, Not Gender 13:20 Bone Health for Women 14:57 Why Misinformation Gets Rewarded 24:43 PhDs, Social Media, and Scientific Consensus 29:38 Cardio and Hypertrophy 35:14 Recovery and Aging 40:18 Grip Strength and Longevity 44:22 Stabilizer Muscles Explained 50:10 Final Thoughts and Resources SUPPORT THE SHOW If this episode helped you better understand sex differences, muscle growth, aging, or fitness misinformation: • Subscribe and check out more episodes • Share the episode on social media and tag @andrewcoatesfitness • Send it to someone who has been told women need an entirely different approach to building muscle FOLLOW ANDREW COATES Instagram: @andrewcoatesfitness https://www.andrewcoatesfitness.com PARTNERS AND RESOURCES RP STRENGTH APP Use code COATESRP: https://www.rpstrength.com/coates JUST BITE ME MEALS Use code ANDREWCOATESFITNESS for 10% off: https://justbitememeals.com MACROSFIRST — FREE PREMIUM TRIAL • Download MacrosFirst • Begin setting up your account • When asked, “How did you hear about us?” enter: ANDREW KNKG BAGS — 15% OFF https://www.knkg.com/Andrew59676 VERSA GRIPPS https://www.versagripps.com/andrewcoates TRAINHEROIC — FREE 90-DAY TRIAL • Visit: https://www.trainheroic.com/liftfree • Reply to the email you receive or email trials@trainheroic.com • Let them know Andrew sent you L1 BIOMECHANICS AND ASSESSMENT COURSE Use code COATES: https://pro.activelifeprofessional.com/assessmentworkshopevents

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  Lift Free And Diet Hard with Andrew Coates

  #495 Ben Yanes - Why Your Assessment Might Be a Waste of Time

  Aug 13, 202656 min

  Ben Yanes makes his long-overdue first appearance on the podcast and brings his trademark nuance to assessment, biomechanics, exercise selection, injury narratives, science-based fitness, and what good coaching actually looks like in the real world. Ben joins me to discuss: • Why “a vast majority of the assessments you’re doing are a total waste of everyone’s time” • Why skilled coaches are continuously assessing clients during actual training • How training itself can function as an assessment • The relationship between science-based and anti-science fitness communities • Why the two tribes often rely on each other to create content • What actually qualifies someone as “science based” or “anti-science based” • Why nuance rarely performs as well as certainty on social media • The different camps that emerge around fitness information online • How people can rewrite the story they tell themselves about lifting • Common “bro biomechanics” misconceptions • What Ben means when he says, “Exercises don’t have a purpose, only people have a purpose” • Why exercise selection needs to begin with the goal of the individual • Why muscles respond to tension rather than knowing the name of an exercise • How biomechanics, physics, and subjective experience can coexist • The panic that sometimes develops around exercises like preacher curls • Why blaming an exercise for an injury can create misleading narratives • What Ben means by asking how “f#@kupable” an exercise is • Why load management and respect for an exercise matter • Why anterior pelvic tilt is not automatically something that needs to be fixed • The problems with quick-fix diagnoses and corrective-exercise identities • How diagnostic labels can influence someone’s perception of their own body • Why good coaches need to become comfortable operating in uncertainty • And much more Follow Ben on Instagram: @ben_yanes CHAPTERS 01:32 The Evolution of Fitness Social Media 02:18 Why Most Assessments Are Overrated 05:21 Training Is an Assessment 07:56 Science-Based Versus Anti-Science Fitness 16:07 Why Nuance Loses to Hot Takes 20:01 The Three Fitness Camps 25:21 Stereotypes and Exercise Selection 27:20 Rewriting Your Lifting Story 29:42 Bro-Biomechanics Myths 30:20 Exercises Don’t Have Goals—People Do 33:34 Muscles Respond to Tension 34:47 Where Physics Meets Feel 37:47 The Preacher Curl Panic 38:18 The Trap of Blaming Exercises 41:25 Load Management and Respecting the Exercise 44:39 The Anterior Pelvic Tilt Myth 47:38 Quick Fixes and Coaching Identity 50:31 Diagnosis and the Stories We Tell Ourselves 52:38 Coaching Through Uncertainty 54:59 Final Thoughts and Where to Find Ben SUPPORT THE SHOW If this episode helped you think differently about assessments, biomechanics, exercise selection, or coaching: • Subscribe and check out more episodes • Share the episode on social media and tag @andrewcoatesfitness • Send it to a coach who still believes every client needs to pass a long checklist before they can train FOLLOW ANDREW COATES Instagram: @andrewcoatesfitness https://www.andrewcoatesfitness.com PARTNERS AND RESOURCES RP STRENGTH APP Use code COATESRP: https://www.rpstrength.com/coates JUST BITE ME MEALS Use code ANDREWCOATESFITNESS for 10% off: https://justbitememeals.com MACROSFIRST — FREE PREMIUM TRIAL • Download MacrosFirst • Begin setting up your account • When asked, “How did you hear about us?” enter: ANDREW KNKG BAGS — 15% OFF https://www.knkg.com/Andrew59676 VERSA GRIPPS https://www.versagripps.com/andrewcoates TRAINHEROIC — FREE 90-DAY TRIAL • Visit: https://www.trainheroic.com/liftfree • Reply to the email you receive or email trials@trainheroic.com • Let them know Andrew sent you L1 BIOMECHANICS AND ASSESSMENT COURSE Use code COATES: https://pro.activelifeprofessional.com/assessmentworkshopevents

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  Lift Free And Diet Hard with Andrew Coates

  #494 Max Aita - The Best Principles From the Bulgarian, Russian, and American Strength Systems

  Aug 11, 202655 min

  Max Aita is an elite strength coach and accomplished competitor who joins me to share lessons from decades of training, coaching, and studying some of the most influential strength systems in history. Max joins me to discuss: • The history of the Bulgarian, Russian, and American strength-training systems • How the three systems differ in philosophy and application • The foundational coaches and figures behind each system • Bulgarian training and the pursuit of extreme specificity • Soviet and Russian approaches to variation, volume, and long-term development • The evolution of American strength training • How culture and athlete-selection systems influenced what appeared to work • Why talent funnels matter when evaluating successful training systems • How steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs complicated our understanding of older training methods • The best principles Max takes from each strength system • How he blends those principles into his own coaching • What everyday lifters and non-strength athletes can actually learn from elite systems • Balancing specificity with exercise variation • How to add variety without creating random, chaotic programming • Periodization and autoregulation • Identifying whether strength or technique is the limiting factor • Why great coaching depends heavily on communication • How Max’s coaching philosophy has evolved with experience • The difference between coaching fame and coaching skill • How bad science, viral content, and dishonest influencers distort training information online • AI-generated content, dopamine traps, supplements, peptides, and the modern fitness landscape • And much more Follow Max on Instagram: @max_aita CHAPTERS 00:57 Stories From the Juggernaut Era 02:38 The Three Major Strength Systems 04:01 Soviet, Bulgarian, and American Training 07:23 Culture and the Talent Funnel 10:30 China and Athlete Selection 16:15 Key Coaches and the Conjugate System 19:04 Influencers of the Early Internet Era 22:58 Coaching Fame Versus Coaching Skill 25:44 An Example of Viral Fitness Fraud 27:08 Building an Influencer Career on Lies 27:52 Supplements and Peptides Everywhere 29:47 AI Creators and Dopamine Traps 31:47 Why Bad Science Goes Viral 34:08 Bulgarian Versus Soviet Training 36:49 Sustainable Programming Principles 39:03 Exercise Variety Without Chaos 43:36 Coaching Is Communication 45:20 Periodization and Autoregulation 49:46 Strength Versus Technique Bottlenecks 53:39 Final Thoughts and Resources SUPPORT THE SHOW If this episode helped you better understand strength programming, periodization, or how elite training systems actually work: • Subscribe and check out more episodes • Share the episode on social media and tag @andrewcoatesfitness • Send it to a lifter or coach who loves debating the “best” way to get strong FOLLOW ANDREW COATES Instagram: @andrewcoatesfitness https://www.andrewcoatesfitness.com PARTNERS AND RESOURCES RP STRENGTH APP Use code COATESRP: https://www.rpstrength.com/coates JUST BITE ME MEALS Use code ANDREWCOATESFITNESS for 10% off: https://justbitememeals.com MACROSFIRST — FREE PREMIUM TRIAL • Download MacrosFirst • Begin setting up your account • When asked, “How did you hear about us?” enter: ANDREW KNKG BAGS — 15% OFF https://www.knkg.com/Andrew59676 VERSA GRIPPS https://www.versagripps.com/andrewcoates TRAINHEROIC — FREE 90-DAY TRIAL • Visit: https://www.trainheroic.com/liftfree • Reply to the email you receive or email trials@trainheroic.com • Let them know Andrew sent you L1 BIOMECHANICS AND ASSESSMENT COURSE Use code COATES: https://pro.activelifeprofessional.com/assessmentworkshopevents

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  Lift Free And Diet Hard with Andrew Coates

  #493 Christian Thibaudeau - Training With Isometrics, Eccentrics, Complexes, and Cluster Sets

  Aug 6, 20261h 22m

  Strength and conditioning legend Christian Thibaudeau returns to share advanced training strategies for building muscle, improving performance, and programming with greater intent. Christian joins me to discuss: • Whether he feels pressure to remain visible and relevant on social media after a legendary coaching career • How experimenting with long-duration isometrics changed his training • What isometric training is and why it can be useful • The difference between overcoming and yielding isometrics • How to use overcoming isometrics in your own training • How to use yielding isometrics and loaded stretches • Applying isometrics safely and effectively with clients • Using pre-fatigue to improve muscular recruitment • Whether the eccentric phase is as important for muscle growth as we have been told • What newer research may suggest about eccentric training • The ideal tempo for productive training repetitions • Extending eccentric work beyond concentric failure • The tradeoff between muscle damage, recovery, and training stimulus • How eccentric overload can be misused • What training complexes are and how to program them • Using complexes to develop sport-specific qualities • How sled sprints can improve acceleration • What cluster sets are and how they can support muscle and strength gains • Overspeed drills, plyometrics, and the stretch reflex • Why every training method needs a clear purpose • And much more Follow Christian on Instagram: @christian.thibaudeau.thibarmy CHAPTERS 01:11 Staying Relevant Online 04:00 A Breakthrough With Long Isometrics 07:18 Pre-Fatigue and Muscular Recruitment 12:01 Isometric Training Explained 15:03 The Benefits of Overcoming Isometrics 18:32 Yielding Isometrics and Loaded Stretching 25:21 The Hypertrophy Plant Analogy 32:29 Eccentrics and Chin-Ups 34:09 Revisiting the Eccentric Research 41:07 Finding the Ideal Rep Tempo 44:51 Eccentric Training Beyond Failure 46:53 Muscle Damage and Recovery Tradeoffs 48:50 When Eccentric Overload Goes Wrong 51:34 Training Complexes Explained 55:57 Complexes for Sport-Specific Skills 01:01:05 Sled Sprints for Acceleration 01:07:31 Cluster Sets for Muscle Growth 01:09:16 Overspeed and Fast Training Drills 01:14:01 Programming With Intent 01:17:04 Plyometrics and the Stretch Reflex 01:19:01 Final Thoughts and Current Projects SUPPORT THE SHOW If this episode gave you new ideas for using isometrics, eccentrics, complexes, or cluster sets: • Subscribe and check out more episodes • Share the episode on social media and tag @andrewcoatesfitness • Send it to a coach or lifter who enjoys experimenting with advanced training methods FOLLOW ANDREW COATES Instagram: @andrewcoatesfitness https://www.andrewcoatesfitness.com PARTNERS AND RESOURCES RP STRENGTH APP Use code COATESRP: https://www.rpstrength.com/coates JUST BITE ME MEALS Use code ANDREWCOATESFITNESS for 10% off: https://justbitememeals.com MACROSFIRST — FREE PREMIUM TRIAL • Download MacrosFirst • Begin setting up your account • When asked, “How did you hear about us?” enter: ANDREW KNKG BAGS — 15% OFF https://www.knkg.com/Andrew59676 VERSA GRIPPS https://www.versagripps.com/andrewcoates TRAINHEROIC — FREE 90-DAY TRIAL • Visit: https://www.trainheroic.com/liftfree • Reply to the email you receive or email trials@trainheroic.com • Let them know Andrew sent you L1 BIOMECHANICS AND ASSESSMENT COURSE Use code COATES: https://pro.activelifeprofessional.com/assessmentworkshopevents

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  Lift Free And Diet Hard with Andrew Coates

  #492 Jason Brown - In Defense of Zone 2 Cardio

  Aug 4, 202658 min

  Jason Brown returns for a nuanced discussion about Zone 2 cardio, walking, conditioning, stress, recovery, and how cardio should fit into an individual’s life. Jason joins me to discuss: • Whether Zone 2 cardio is actually overrated • How much of Zone 2’s benefit comes from simply getting people moving • The value of reducing sedentary time and increasing daily activity • The relationship between Zone 2-style activity, NEAT, and mental health • Why getting outside and moving can provide benefits beyond fitness adaptations • Looking at cardio and all training through the lens of nervous system regulation • Accounting for the total stress already present in someone’s life • Why cardio recommendations should begin with the individual’s available time and capacity • The nuanced debate around whether walking counts as exercise • Why sprint training should not be treated as Zone 2 cardio • Why average heart rate during lifting or high-intensity training does not prove someone received a Zone 2 stimulus • The difference between cardiovascular strain and sustained aerobic work • Why exercise labels matter less than matching the activity to the person’s needs • Jason’s thoughts on the current state of online coaching • And much more Follow Jason on Instagram: @jasonbrowntraining CHAPTERS 01:04 Setting Up the Zone 2 Controversy 01:59 Who Is Zone 2 Cardio For? 05:05 Social Media Hot Takes 07:02 The Benefits of Sustained Aerobic Work 10:41 Andrew’s Questions About Zone 2 14:45 Mechanisms and Aerobic Adaptations 21:13 Time Constraints and Effective Dosing 29:07 Does Walking Count as Exercise? 30:53 Walking as Therapy 33:20 Regulation Matters More Than Debates 34:09 Plug-and-Play Training 35:40 Why Speed Training Is Not Zone 2 37:35 The Limits of Heart Rate as a Proxy 39:39 Genetics and Individual Cardio Needs 44:08 Making 30 to 60 Minutes Count 47:21 Assessments and Coaching Standards 50:40 The Reality of Online Coaching 54:49 Aerobic Training Requires Time 55:45 Final Thoughts and Where to Find Jason SUPPORT THE SHOW If this episode helped you think differently about Zone 2 cardio, walking, recovery, or conditioning: • Subscribe and check out more episodes • Share the episode on social media and tag @andrewcoatesfitness • Send it to someone who believes cardio needs to be intense to be worthwhile FOLLOW ANDREW COATES Instagram: @andrewcoatesfitness https://www.andrewcoatesfitness.com PARTNERS AND RESOURCES RP STRENGTH APP Use code COATESRP: https://www.rpstrength.com/coates JUST BITE ME MEALS Use code ANDREWCOATESFITNESS for 10% off: https://justbitememeals.com MACROSFIRST — FREE PREMIUM TRIAL • Download MacrosFirst • Begin setting up your account • When asked, “How did you hear about us?” enter: ANDREW KNKG BAGS — 15% OFF https://www.knkg.com/Andrew59676 VERSA GRIPPS https://www.versagripps.com/andrewcoates TRAINHEROIC — FREE 90-DAY TRIAL • Visit: https://www.trainheroic.com/liftfree • Reply to the email you receive or email trials@trainheroic.com • Let them know Andrew sent you L1 BIOMECHANICS AND ASSESSMENT COURSE Use code COATES: https://pro.activelifeprofessional.com/assessmentworkshopevents

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