On today's episode of Vital Metabolic, hosts James Wheeler and John Parker speak with Mike Sousa, owner of Brick House Strength & Conditioning. They discuss the Strong First training method and certification, how Mike structures his time with clients, his favorite recovery hacks, and some of his best tips for new trainers starting out their business.
Episode Highlights:
- 1:45 - The new year is a good time for people to refresh your habits.
- 2:05 - Locomotion Athletics is doing alright and has so far weathered the storm of the pandemic, going digital like many companies have.
- 3:30 - James is hoping to get involved in Strong First coaching.
- 4:30 - The pandemic has given John an excuse to go outside more, which he has appreciated, including trying bow hunting.
- 5:15 - Businesses have to be adaptable or they're going to fail.
- 5:45 - With at home/virtual training, figure out what makes it fun for you.
- 7:50 - Things like elimination diets or cycling through habits in that way can be helpful for you to rediscover what an appropriate balance is for you.
- 9:10 - Mike Sousa is the owner of Brick House Strength & Conditioning, which he literally built with his own hands.
- 12:20 - Mike structures the training at his facility in blocks.
- 14:31 - There are blocks of time where people can show up anytime within that block, which has helped reduce stress in his clients about showing up at a specific time.
- 15:45 - Mike sometimes has specific programs for individuals, and they'll come in and do that program, but he also caters to individual needs on a daily basis like if someone has back pain and needs to adjust that day's plan.
- 17:00 - This structure allows Mike to flow through the people and provide individualized attention.
- 18:05 - Standard group training can be an issue when everyone there is at a different level.
- 18:50 - Training in this semi-personal setting but being able to watch other people train can be encouraging and motivating.
- 20:57 - Mike builds his client base primarily through word of mouth because it creates a stronger community and doesn't cause a revolving door of clients that he wants to avoid.
- 21:20 - Mike has also been part of networking groups and highly recommends it for small business owners.
- 24:45 - Mike watched Strong First develop and was part of the first ever certification course.
- 28:20 - The philosophy of Strong First is simple, not easy.
- 31:20 - Mike uses the concept of ladders to build his training program, where when you increase your weight on a movement, you slowly increase the number of reps.
- 34:50 - Mike used this method in his own training for how he accomplished double snatching a pair of 40kg kettlebells.
- 36:10 - People have a mindset that they're afraid they'll lose their gains, but you'd be surprised what muscle memory can do.
- 38:34 - Mike recommends at least 4-6 months of training ahead of time for a level 1 kettlebell certification in Strong First.
- 40:07 - If you're new to Strong First, Mike recommends going to a one day workshop to try it out first.
- 41:41 - From the outside, the Strong First certification community can seem intimidating, but James says they're some of the nicest and most helpful people he's ever met.
- 42:48 - James also loves the strength test (or the "not-so-weak" test) where you have to prove your mettle.
- 46:20 - Mike thinks he's taught upwards of 30 one day courses with Strong First.
- 47:44 - Mike appreciates teaching with Strong First because when he's running his home gym, it's only him, he's there all day by himself, but he gets to meet people and have assistance and be with the community at Strong First events.
- 48:50 - Mike uses heat exposure in saunas to support recovery and has his own sauna at home that he uses almost every night.
- 50:05 - The initial discomfort of the heat in a sauna is good in the long run because it builds resilience, toughness, and focus.
- 50:26 - You have to learn breathing techniques to stay in the sauna for an hour, and sometimes during the week Mike supplements the sauna with a 3-5 minute cold bath.
- 52:05 - Cold and heat exposure are the most biologically consistent "biohacks" there are.
- 53:12 - After attending Strong First seminars, Mike started to come up with a simplified way of approaching it with 3-4 lifts you do each month: a 5-rep lift, a 3-rep lift, and a 2-rep lift.
- 54:05 - Within those reps, you're in charge of the weight you use within it.
- 57:05 - Program design is the most data-driven and scientific aspect of the industry.
- 57:53 - Mike's advice to new trainers is to not do everything alone—get a financial advisor, a bookkeeper, etc.
- 58:28 - You don't have to buy every piece of equipment right away.
- 1:00:25 - Strong First gets you in it for the long haul, and it will make you stronger when you're older because it's not breaking you down but building you up.
3 Key Points:
- Both Strong First and the way Mike trains allows for autonomy and personalization in how you progress through the program.
- With this method, you're less likely to lose your gains over time.
- Mike's simplified Strong First method is adaptable to many types of training, not just kettlebells.
Tweetable Quotes:
- "The goal when you train with an inter-level kettlebell is not to stay there. The goal is to get stronger." –Mike Sousa
- "Simple, not easy. Quality over quantity. Instead of doing 1 set of 15 you're doing 15 sets of 1. Your setup is a rep in itself, your step down is a rep. You focus on your setup & step down, the execution of the lift is gonna be a lot easier & it's gonna be safer." –Mike Sousa
- "You shouldn't always be comfortable in life. A little bit of uncomfortableness & a controlled uncomfortability, that's a good thing. So a sauna, being in 190 degrees initially doesn't feel good or even sound good but you learn to adapt." –Mike Sousa
- "I like the old school methods with the new school science behind it." –Mike Sousa
- "You don't have to throw 20 things at a training session to keep your client engaged. They'll be engaged if they see that you're providing quality content. They see results not by more exercises but by consistency." –Mike Sousa
Resources Mentioned:
