Bigger Stronger Faster Coaching Podcast

In this episode we speak to Phil Maguire about his experiences working as a Strength and Conditioning coach with elite athletes. Phil has worked with a range of different sports and now predominantly works within rugby, and is the Academy Strength and Conditioning Coach for Scottish Rugby. Phil has worked with the Hurricanes in New Zealand and Newcastle Falcons. He tells us about how he got started, his principles and ethos around coaching and some of the freaks he has worked with.

Can you have great cardiovascular conditioning and also be extremely strong and muscular at the same time? Can you be strong, jacked and run a marathon? This episode talks about the interference between cardiovascular and strength training, and why it’s difficult to have the best of both worlds.

In today’s episode we talk about whether you need to always push hard when it comes to training and particularly conditioning sessions. Social media and pop culture paints an image that pushing yourself to the limit AKA ‘beasting yourself’ is the way you need to train. However is it actually beneficial to train that intensely? Is there a more effective way? What are the benefits?

In today’s episode we talk about conditioning for different sports. Different sports have different requirements and demands. Meeting those means focusing on specific areas, such as developing your energy systems, in order to perform at a level that is required by the sport. Certain sports require a lot of sprinting, stopping and starting and changes of direction, whilst others require a consistent out put. We discuss what energy systems are involved in different sports and activities, and how to develop those.

In today’s episode we talk to BSF athlete Jay McManus on his progression as a powerlifter, how he’s built a huge deadlift, and his attitude to training and competing. Rauraidh has been working with Jay for a number of years and helped to take his deadlift from 210kg in his first meet in 2017, to narrowly missing a 290kg deadlift towards the end of 2021, and all as a junior lifter.

Today’s episode is about food preparation and how to make it part of your routine. Nutrition is important for performance with bodybuilders, powerlifters and all athletes, and getting your food to work in your favour involves planning. In this episode Rauraidh and Aidan give some tips on how to make this an easier process.

Today’s episode is about blood flow restriction training A.K.A. occlusion training. It’s method that is receiving more interest and more research. However, is it going to become the next big Fitness Fad? What are the benefits behind BFR and what are some of the beneficial claims that are made that aren’t accurate? Finally, how do you actually perform BFR.

Today’s episode is about knee injuries. Rauraidh discusses his own experience from having multiple knee injuries, and we talk about the prevalence and impact of injuries within lifting. We go over our experiences working with clients and athletes, what we have found to work, and what the research says can help with managing pain and recovery.

Today’s episode is about the importance of increasing your protein intake, tips and guidelines on how to do it, and what to aim for. We talk about what the research says, our own experience and what we recommend to our clients and athletes. We’ll be doing a follow up episode with tips and guidelines on meal prep.

Today’s episode is about the important of having hobbies and interest outside of lifting to support your long term progress and prevent burnout.

In this episode Aidan and Rauraidh discuss the force velocity curve and it’s relevance to powerlifting and bodybuilding. Do you need to speed work? Is there a benefit to doing dynamic effort days?

In this episode Rauraidh and Aidan discuss the mechanisms behind muscular growth. Why does muscular growth and hypertrophy occur? What methods we can best utilise to ensure it happens? What are the out dated, or ‘bro science’ methods?

In this episode we chat to Max about his current training and nutrition along with his philosophy around training. We find out what got him started into bodybuilding and why he made the transition from natural to enhanced athlete. We discuss the benefits of being enhanced and also the misconceptions.

In this episode we discuss the placebo effect, and some famous examples of this phenomenon. In research, placebos are used to determine if what is being studied has a significant affect above and beyond what we believe will happen. As essentially, a placebo can be extremely effective if we believe if will have an affect. So in essence, our mind can determine how effective something is. This can be witnessed in multiple different areas, especially when it comes to supplementation, diets and training programmes.

Maximum force production is basically 1RM strength. We define what this means in relation to concentric, isometric and eccentric force production. What does this mean at a physiological level? How does that impact our training? What is the mental side of maximum force production.

Today we talk about mini cuts and their use versus extended fat loss phases. What is a a mini cut? When should we implement one? What are the positives and the drawbacks? What is the difference between a mini cut and an extended fat loss phase?

In this episode we speak to Mark Fulton. Mark place first in the 2018 World Powerlifting Championships (WDFPF), and second in 2019 in the 82.5kg class. His best lift are a 620kg total, 225kg squat, 140kg bench press and 267.5kg deadlift. Mark started the sport in 2016 after a successful hockey career. At the time of recording the podcast, he was one day out from the Scottish Summer Open (IPF) where he hit his squat P.B. of 225kg and placed first in his category. We discuss Mark's transition from hockey to powerlifting, how his training has changed over the years, and some of his favourite moments. Mark runs a Powerlifting Club in Scotland called Paisley Barbell.

In this episode we talk about our experiences hosting a Bodybuilding Competition and taking the role of judges. Whilst we all have a lot of experience competing and coaching athletes, trying to step into the shoes of a host and judge was very different!

In this episode we talk about wearables. Whoop Bands, Fit Bits, Oura Rings…there’s many. Technology that is used to track training, sleep, heart rate and similar health markers. How reliable are they and do they do what they claim to?

In this episode we talk about the importance of training environment. How can your training environment affect your lifting? What does the research say about environment and performance? What sort of environment produces the best results with its members and clientele? Should you consider changing environments or what things can you do to improve your own training space?