Shows
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 100: Let the Meat do the TalkingWe made it! Zack and I have officially crossed the 100-episode mark, and we're pumped to share it with you. It's been a long and fun journey, and today we talk about what it took to get us here. In this podcast, as in fitness, and in life, often the simplest, most fundamental things are what make us successful. Today we draw parallels between what we do as coaches, trainees, and podcasters to create success. Grab a beer and enjoy!2023-02-1734 minAndy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 99: Exposing Fitness MisconceptionsGood afternoon and welcome back! Today, Zack, Summer and I are talking about some of our favorite fitness misconceptions. Is downing a protein shake post-workout necessary? How much protein do you really need? What is sorness and is it a good indicator of a hard workout? And lastly - and my favorite - is stretching a good use of your time (spoiler alert: not at all for this coach). Grab a beer and enjoy!2023-02-1047 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 98: I Dip, You Dip, We DipGood morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I are chatting Dips. Specifically, how we approach the exercise in terms of programming and progressions with our own workouts as well as our clients workouts. If Dips have been on your radar and you've been wanting to try them, give this one a listen as we've got you covered. Grab a beer and get to dipping!2023-01-2746 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 97: For the Love of the GameGood morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I (and Summer!) chat about how we've evolved about junk volume; making mistakes; and how we've evolved as coaches over the years in how we approach our clients workouts, as well as our own. Grab a beer and enjoy!2023-01-201h 01Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 96: I Hope you DanceGood morning and welcome back to the podcast! Today, Zack and I have a very special guest joining us to talk about training and nutrition. Today is our first session of the 2023 season, and we're here to help you navigate your goals and training into the new year. Grab a beer and enjoy!2023-01-1356 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 95: Looking Back, Looking Forward/Comparison is the ThiefGood morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I are reflecting on a productive and unbelievable year. We chat about what we accomplished; the places we traveled; the significant things we experienced over the course of the year; and of course, the goals we set and the goals we achieved. Looking forward to 2023, we chat about what we hope to accomplish in the coming year, both personally and professionally. Grab a beer and enjoy!2023-01-0651 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 94: Shoot for the Moon and Land Among the StarsGood morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I are checking in at East Nashville Beer Works and chatting about fitness, goals, and the new year. Some of us dream about squatting 500 lbs. Others want to look like the cover model on the fitness magazine. While these are admirable goals, they come with an immense amount of "investment" to achieve it. Worthwhile for some, but as coaches we often need to manage expectations on how one goes about achieving that goal and whether or not the juice is worth the squeeze. Grab a beer and enjoy!2023-01-0647 minAndy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 93: Liver King's Fall and Snake Oil in FitnessGood morning and welcome back! As you might have heard, the "Insta-famous" "Liver King" was exposed recently for being a fraud. Unfortunately, Liver King and people like him abound in all industries, fitness included. Today, Zack and I talk about Liver King and our beef with him and people like him, and talk about ethics in fitness, marketing, and more. Grab a beer and enjoy!2022-12-201h 04Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 92: Don't Let Perfect be the Enemy of GoodGood morning and welcome back to the A2Z Podcast! Today, Zack and I are reflecting on the year of 2022 and talking about some things we accomplished, as well as looking forward to 2023 and chatting about goals we have for the new year. Grab a beer and enjoy!2022-12-0948 minAndy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 91: Optimal Training under Sub-optimal ConditionsGood morning and welcome back! You might have noticed that we were gone for a few weeks and that's because my wife and I had a baby! Our baby girl was born on October 24th, and we are over the moon. So I've been learning how to be a first-time dad and Zack was gracious to give me a few weeks to recover. Today, we're back at East Nashville Brew Works and talking about training. As coaches we often talk about training, workouts, and programs sort of in a vacuum: where real world conditions don't apply. Obviously, lots of...2022-11-1858 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 90: "Trimming the Fat" in Comedy and Coaching with Tony CapobiancoGood morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I are hosting bodybuilder, Bostonian, and comedian, Tony Capobianco. Tony is new to Nashville but not that new to the comedy scene. He joins the podcast to talk about his passion for comedy, what brought him here to Nashville, and his enthusiasm and energy for bodybuilding. Next, the three of us talk about our "banned exercises" and why we hate them. Grab a beer and enjoy!2022-10-141h 06
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 89: The Pursuit of StrengthGood morning and welcome back! Zack and I are reconvening after each having eventful weekends, and we're drinking beer and talking shop. When it comes to lifting heavy weights, what's the best approach? How do we define heavy? How do we train our bodies to lift ever-increasing weight? These questions and more on the podcast today, so grab a beer and enjoy!2022-10-0755 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 88: Ab Blaster 5000Good morning and welcome back! Zack and I are checking into East Nashville Beer works drinking a six pack and talking about six packs (abs). Today we're discussing the ab exercises we like to do both as coaches and trainees, as well as our evolution of ab training over the years - from doing a thousand crunches every workout, to doing no abs at all, to bringing some ab training back again. Grab a beer and enjoy!2022-09-3048 minAndy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 87: Minneapolis Memories and Unstucking your TrainingGood morning and welcome back! Zack and I are checking into East Nashville Beer works and Zack is freshly back from a seminar in Minneapolis. Zack shares his experience and what he learned and all the fun he enjoyed while away for the weekend. Next, we turn our attention to "groundhogs' day," or the feeling that training is getting a little stale, maybe feeling a little unenthusiastic, and what we can do to break through that barrier. Grab a beer and enjoy!2022-09-2352 minAndy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 86: To Mobilize or Not to Mobilize?Good morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I are checking back in at East Nashville Beer works and talking shop. Our fans ask: what do you think of ankle mobility drills, and how and when do you use them? Zack and I share our thoughts on mobility drills, squatting, and how we approach these with our gen pop clients. Next, we take a moment to look over our own training over the years and consider what we most appreciate about all the work - the reps, the sets, the time punching the clock - and look fondly over...2022-09-1648 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 85: Ergs, Eggs, and Exercise ProgressionsGood morning and welcome back to the show! Today, Zack and I are chatting ergs: with a gym that's 99% complete with all the toys I could ever want (or can fit in a tight space) I'm looking to add a piece of cardio/conditioning equipment, so Zack helps me figure that out. Now, with summer behind us, Zack and I find ourselves barreling towards two different fitness goals: one of us gaining, and one of us losing. We chat about what our nutrition, training, and progress looks like for each endeavor. Lastly, pull-up progressions! Grab a beer and enjoy!2022-09-091h 01
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 84: Sloths and TortoisesGood morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I are pondering the "what ifs" when it comes to the business of fitness: what could we do, where could we go, and how could our businesses and our skillsets set us apart professionally in the future? After all these years of coaching and training, what could the later years of our lives look like in the world of fitness? Next, we sometimes deal with low back pain after hard training. Whether that's with deadlifts, squats, or otherwise, you're probably going to experience a little low back soreness from time to...2022-09-0258 minAndy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 83: Special Guest Vanessa Edwards on Fixing your Body through Lifting and Gym OwnershipGood morning and welcome back to the show! This week Zack and I welcome another kettlebell nerd and stellar fitness coach, Vanessa Edwards, to the podcast to chat about fitness and gym ownership. Vanessa got her start when she was dealing with perpetual back pain. She sought treatment through chiropractors and Physical Therapists but eventually started working with a personal trainer to try and get stronger and build muscle. In time, she found ways she could leverage weight and move her body to help manage her own pain and was hooked. Today, she owns her own fitness business and...2022-08-291h 05Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 82: Making a Difference in the Fitness UniverseGood morning and welcome back to the A2Z Podcast! This week Zack and I are doing an audit: when it comes to coaching and running a business, how do we improve? What does that look like? How do we fit in the fitness market on a local scale (for me and my brick-and-mortar) or a global scale (for Zack who pumps out online content)? We discuss how we navigate our respective businesses and look to make improvements. Next, we talk content creation and how, what, and why we approach content creation in our own, unique ways. Grab a...2022-08-1947 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 81: Choosing "Best" vs. "Optimal"Good morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I are trying out some new hardware with our podcast in an effort to continue improving the user experience! When it comes to choosing the right exercise, training program, or diet, we're always looking for that "magic bullet" or "best" this or that in an effort to get results fast. Unfortunately, what's "best" for some might not be best for others. Instead, we're focusing on "optimal." When it comes to improving your fitness and nutrition, we like to think of ways to optimize what we're already doing. By choosing the "optimal"...2022-08-1237 minAndy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 80: Three Fitpros, One Mic, Big AspirationsGood morning and welcome back! Today Zack and I are welcoming a special guest and close friend of mine, Brian Murray of Motive Training. Brian has worked in many facets of the fitness industry and is a helluva trainer and business owner. He owns Motive Training in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and currently lives in Austin, Texas, where he hopes to open a second location. Brian joins us on the show to talk about his own life-changing fitness journey and chats motivation and creating an amazing fitness business. We had a blast with Brian and I know you'll love this...2022-08-051h 05
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 79: RPE/RIR and Overrated Exercises (send hate mail)Good morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I are talking about autoregulation. We've all had stellar gym days where we lifted big ass weights and set PRs and everyone hoisted us on their shoulders and cheered us on. And we've also had those days where we feel like we've been hit by a truck before opening the gym door. Many workout programs use percentages and hard numbers (sets, reps, weight) to push us to the next level. But since we're not robots, sometimes those hard numbers backfire when we're not feeling our best. Instead, we talk about using...2022-07-2959 minAndy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 78: The Perfect Workout Hangover Cure (Recovery)Good morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I are talking about Recovery. It's all fine and good to "send it" in the weight room, but it might surprise you to know that the gym is not where the Gainz Magic happens. In fact, without proper nutrition and rest, all your efforts in the gym are mostly useless. Going to sleep and eating your veggies might be boring, but they're the building blocks of a great, results-driven program. Today we're talking our favorite strategies for recovery. Grab a beer and enjoy!2022-07-221h 00Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 77: Is that a Caber in your Pocket? Drinking beer and Throwing Hammers with Highland Games Athlete and PT, Willis GravesGood morning and welcome back! After 26 episodes on the year, Zack and I took a well-deserved week off to rest and recover. We come back from the break with a special guest: Willis Graves. Willis is a local physical therapist and Highland Games athlete, and he joins us today to talk shop. There are ball sports: football, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, and others. There are barbell sports like Olympic Lifting and Powerlifting. Zack and I have had our share of experience in both, but we've never tried a lifting sport like the Highland Games, and this is where Willis comes...2022-07-151h 12
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 76: Softcore Fitness and getting Punched in the FaceGood morning and welcome back! When it comes to working out, everyone wants to look and feel tough. It's "war" and we're "going into battle," two of many lines of thinking that Zack and I both believe to be hilariously silly. Instead, most fitness as we know it is fairly "softcore" if we were to characterize it correctly. But what about those workouts that just punch you in the jaw? The ones that hit you so hard you smile through figuratively bloody teeth? Sometimes, the hardest workouts we've ever done or coached were in fact, the simplest. Today we...2022-07-0157 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 75: Decision Fatigue and Game ChangersGood morning and welcome back! Zack and I are a little worse for the wear after a weekend with the boys in Austin, Texas but the show goes on! Today we're talking about decision fatigue: that overwhelming feeling you get when it comes to all the choices you have at your disposal. Part of what makes a good coach a good coach is that they can help you pare down those decisions - cut to the chase - and get you on track towards your goals fast. This isn't a plug for our services, either - human beings naturally...2022-06-2452 minAndy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 74: Special Guest Mindi Martinez on Mastering the Oly LiftsGood morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I are welcoming Mindi Martinez to the gym to be a very special guest on the podcast. Mindi hails originally from the Midwest and through work in the movie industry found her way to LA, Atlanta, and finally to Nashville. Over the years, Mindi was introduced to CrossFit and, over time, got more serious into Olympic lifting. Here in Nashville, she's the head coach of the Barbell Club at East Nashville CrossFit where she teaches others how to master the Snatch and Clean & Jerk. Zack and I both agree that Oly...2022-06-171h 12
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 73: Baby Got Back (Pain)Good morning and welcome back! Zack and I are checking in from his apartment drinking some gas station Yuengling (because we're not above some store-bought plain stuff) and talking about training. Last week, after some busted sleep and back to back training sessions I found myself with a little back soreness. And what did I do? Well, as anyone with any ache or pain, I went exploring it. And what I found was a snap, crackle, pop of my low back that caught me off guard and took the breath from my lungs. Not to worry - I'm all...2022-06-1059 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 72: The Dad Bod SolutionGood morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I are talking about training the "skinny-fat" or "dad bod" type of client. In our line of work, this is usually someone in their 20s to 30s, has probably been active before but isn't slinging weights or doing cardio regularly, and wants to get in shape. What do we do next? Do we diet down and try to get lean first? Or do we attack the body with as much weight training as possible to add some lean mass, maybe "recomp" a little, then diet down later? The answer is always "...2022-06-031h 00Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 71: Lesser Strengths and the Motivation TrapGood morning and welcome back to the show! This week Zack and I are diving right into some talk about marketing - whether writing, filming, or social media - and how we each approach the subject in our respective businesses. Next, we're talking about our "lesser strengths" as coaches and business owners, where we get hung up on this idea of motivation and how we try to motivate our clients, especially over the long haul. This leads us down a rabbit hole of what motivation might look like and how we talk about it or approach it with our...2022-05-271h 06
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 70: Free Falling with Acro-Mutant Dustin Del RioGood morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I invite a special guest and Nashville's go-to Calisthenics guru and Acro-mutant Dustin Del Rio to the show! Dustin and I met a few years back when he had just opened his first gym, and ever since, he's taken his expertise in strength and conditioning and honed it in the acrobatics world. When he's not helping regular folks learn to do their first handstand, Dustin is practicing feats of strength that don't include a barbell or kettlebell, but rather another human being. As a base, he can hold, flip, and balance...2022-05-201h 18
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 69: When the going gets tough, Brush your teeth anywayGood morning and welcome back! When things get tough - when work, life, or stress gets in the way - how do we go about navigating those stressors with regular training? How do we "bring it" when we'd rather do anything else? How could we change some variables to make sure we're staying in the game without driving ourselves into the ground? Today we talk about training when life gets tough, and like most things, we hope that training sticks around, even when we'd rather do anything else. When we're exhausted and rather hit the bed, we still brush...2022-05-131h 03Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 68: Agree to DisagreeGood morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I are hanging out at his place slinging some local beers and chatting training. This week, we're talking about some of the ways we agree and disagree in our approaches to training. While the meat and potatoes of training remain largely the same, there are several ways in which we both coach and train that are distinctly different, and we talk about the hows and whys behind it. Grab a beer and enjoy!2022-05-061h 00
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 67: Updates and Flow StateGood afternoon and welcome back to the A2Z Podcast! This week Zack and I meet at an old favorite watering hole in East Nashville and we're talking training. Recently, we spent a Saturday morning in a new training environment - Cornelia Airpark - where we slung kettlebells and did some bodyweight work to catch a killer pump. We didn't have a plan, we didn't have a goal, we just made do with our environment and got a killer workout in. How did we do it? How did we reach this sort of flow state of training where everything...2022-04-2956 minAndy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 66: Special Guest Sarah Arnold on Nashville's Newest Training Facility, Delivering killer workouts, and the Business of CoachingGood morning and welcome back! This week we welcome a special guest, Sarah Arnold, the Director at ISI Elite Training, located right here in The Nations. Featuring functional fitness that focuses mostly on strength training with a sprinkle of cardio, ISI Elite is here to help change the training landscape in Nashville. Sarah found her niche in fitness over the years and brings energy and passion to coaching and business leadership, and we're stoked to have her on the show to talk about the business and culture of fitness and the Nashville fitness landscape. Today we're drinking beer and...2022-04-221h 14
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 65: Legendary Dan John on Life Lessons Learned through Training, Finding your North Star, and Advice for the Novice CoachGood morning and welcome back to the show! Today we have a very special guest and someone Zack and I admire as a coach, educator, and author: Dan John. Dan has been coaching athletes and adults for decades, and has amassed a following for his simple but super effective style of training. In the decade or so that I've been coaching clients and athletes I have referred to his work on many occasions as a way to "center" my coaching, keep things simple, and drive amazing results. Dan has had an immense impact on the fitness industry and has...2022-04-151h 05Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 64: When Going off Script Goes RightHey there and welcome back to the show! This week Zack and I talk Dan John-isms, assessments, flipping the programming script, and all things kettlebell training. Grab a beer and enjoy!2022-04-081h 03
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 63: Louie Simmons and the Art of CoachingGood morning and welcome back! This week Zack and I are honoring the man, the myth, the legend, Louie Simmons, a juggernaut in the field of powerlifting, and a man that was taken from us too soon. We talk about Louie and the mark he made on the lifting community, the kind of man and coach that he was, and the art of coaching and what it means to us. Grab a beer and enjoy!2022-04-011h 14
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 62: Star-Spangled Swings and Training UpdatesGood morning and welcome back! Today Zack and I are enjoying some dark beers and discussing some important changes we're making: given the crisis in the Ukraine, we're not longer calling exercises "Russian" anything. Instead, we're renaming and re-branding; a critical change since Zack has a brand new YouTube series out on the kettlebell swing! If you're looking to clean up your swings, swing on over to YouTube and check it out. Next, after a year of recovery Zack and I are both back to full swing in the gym post-injury. Well, for the most part - my other...2022-03-251h 16Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 61: Special Guest, Megan Crozier, on Myths, Misconceptions, and the Pitfalls of CICOGood morning and welcome back! This week we have a very special guest with us, Megan Crozier, on all things nutrition. Megan is a Functional Nutrition Therapy Practitioner, and after having her own difficulties with nutrition and fueling her own workouts, she focused her efforts and energy on studying nutrition, hormones, and metabolism. Through her experience and education she now helps countless others break free of the typical "calories in calories out" model - one that can be restrictive but also too robotic. Her aim is to create a more sustainable approach to food and health without the typical...2022-03-1859 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 60: Break the RulesHello and welcome back! After a long weekend of debauchery in Vegas, where I got to play like an adult in a lawless land, Zack and I come to Czann's to talk about play. Specifically, how we can incorporate play into our sessions with clients. I'm all for hard, boring training most days. After all, that's how you get results. But I'll be the first to admit that sometimes this can be very boring; and it can be especially boring for those of us who don't love to train like Zack and I do. So how can we make...2022-03-111h 02Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 59: Special Guest Tracy Cook on Training and the Empowerment of Heavy LiftingGood afternoon and welcome back to the podcast! Today we have a special guest and #1 fan of the show, Tracy Cook! Tracy met Zack back in 2014 and started training together. Having deadlifted but never really competed with a barbell, Tracy took the plunge and entered her first powerlifting competition in 2015 and was instantly hooked. Fast forward to today, Tracy has competed in 17 competitions! A fan of powerlifting and kettlebells, Tracy has also become a coach and both walks the walk and talks the talk. She's been an avid fan of the podcast since Day 1 and we're very lucky to...2022-03-071h 09
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 58: You down with GPP?Good morning and welcome back! Zack and I are sitting down at Czann's brewing drinking some delicious milk stouts and talking all things fitness. First, we start off on a small rant about nutrition! Next, what does it mean when we talk about General Physical Preparedness (GPP)? What does it mean to look and feel athletic? Athletic for what? Strong, for what? We all want to be stronger, leaner and more athletic. We want our everyday lives and chores to be easier and injury-free. But how do we go about achieving general, overall fitness in the gym? What does...2022-02-251h 10
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 57: I choose "Business Ethics"Good morning and welcome back! Zack and I are back at our favorite - Czann's Brewing - Â and today we're chatting business ethics. The fitness industry is rife with bad players, poor business practices, and dubious claims. Today we talk about boundaries, values, and ways in which we conduct our respective businesses to ensure we're doing right by the people who support us. Grab a beer and enjoy!2022-02-181h 06
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 56: Wim Hof Ice Baths and Flirting with UncomfortableGood morning and welcome back! Zack and I are enjoying some delicious oatmeal stouts courtesy of Czann's Brewing in the Nations. Has the thought ever crossed your mind to take an ice bath and, like a crazy person, actually enjoy doing it? Yeah, me neither. But over the weekend a Wim Hof seminar popped up here in Nashville and Zack was all about diving right in and learning not only to embrace the cold, but endure and (maybe, possibly) enjoy it a little. At the very least, the experience was a challenging one - one that tests your mettle...2022-02-111h 00
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 55: Lift Heavy, Be Light with Sam PfisterGood morning and welcome back to the A2Z Podcast! Today we host a special guest, fellow strength coach and fitness enthusiast, Sam Pfister. Sam got his start in fitness while hustling and grinding in the gauntlet of all gauntlets - in politics. While working and interning in the DC area, Sam started doing Crossfit in his apartment and over time sharpened his coaching and programming skills. When the pandemic hit, he could've landed anywhere in the country but decided on Nashville, where he's made his home and an impact for the last couple years. Sam's major focus is what...2022-02-041h 24
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 54: Sergeant Blackbird and Conscious CoachingGood morning and welcome back to the show! Zack and I are sipping some new beers at Czanns and, like many podcast days, we start off with one topic and completely forget about it! Instead, we dive down the rabbit hole of what it means to be a "good" coach - what that looks like; our behaviors; our language; and how we carry ourselves in the gym. Coaching sets, reps, volume, intensity, and exercise selection is both an art and science, and one that takes many years to develop. But beyond that, being a coach that people respect, admire...2022-01-281h 01
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 53: Chef Bro-ardeeGood morning and welcome back! Zack and I are checking in from Czann's Brewing and today we're talking about food. In the realm of fitness we often start our journey in one of two ways - we start watching what we eat and make sure to pack our days full of veggies and protein, and eventually add in some fitness here and there; or, we start slinging weights like maniacs with little regard for healthy eating until later in life. Such is the case for Zack and me: our journey to fitness professional started mostly with weight training before...2022-01-211h 11
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 52: Slinging Beers and Talking Smack with Sam BrunnerGood morning and welcome back! Zack and I are hanging out at Czann's Brewing with a very special guest, Samantha Brunner. Sam is a Nashville-based strength coach, yoga instructor and pro kayaking badass. She joins the podcast today to tell us about her fitness journey, how she got into coaching and the types of clients she works with, and some of her favorite outdoorsy things to do. She imparts some crucial wisdom to those embarking on their fitness journeys in 2022, and helps us learn a few ways we can "get out of our own way." She was an absolute...2022-01-141h 11Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 51: Navigating New Years ResolutionsGood morning and happy new year! Zack and I are really pleased to have you here and we're pumped to be back at Czann's Brewing bringing you a fresh new podcast for a fresh new year. A new year, for many of us, often brings new ambitions, goals, and a brighter outlook - a clean slate to make changes in our lifestyle and health. Sometimes even the most motivated and ambitious of us can stumble a little along the way. Because as we all know, big changes are tough. Today Zack and I talk about new resolutions, how to...2022-01-071h 00Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 50: Can You Believe We Made it This Far?Good morning and welcome back to the A2Z Podcast! As usual we're checking in and drinking some fabulous beers at Czann's Brewing in the Nations, reflecting on an incredible year. What first started as a pet project evolved into 50 episodes, six guests, over 200 beers, and countless laughs. Zack and I would like to thank you for sticking around with us and cannot express our gratitude enough. Today we talk about the past year, what we learned, and what we're looking forward to in 2022 with the podcast, our own fitness, and with our roles as fitness professionals. Thanks again...2021-12-311h 11
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 49: When the Going gets ToughGood morning and welcome back! In an effort to round out 50 episodes in 2021, Zack and I are coming to you from his apartment on a Friday afternoon. This is a deviation from our usual watering hole of Czann's Brewing, but the show must go on! This week, Zack and I are chatting about difficult clients and our experience coaching them. Now, please note that we're not complaining about difficult clients, but rather discussing some of the roadblocks we've encountered and how we've worked through them. Our jobs as coaches is to guide our clients to their goals quickly, safely...2021-12-241h 01Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 48: Life, Lifting, and the Pursuit of Gains with Special Guest, LeahGood morning and welcome back to the podcast! This week, Zack and I have the pleasure of hosting one of my clients and favorite humans, Leah. She shares her thoughts on strength training, what she's learned, and how training has impacted her life inside and outside the gym. We share stories, talk about PRs, and look to the future and how fitness might take shape and improve life now and beyond. Grab a beer and enjoy!2021-12-171h 05Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 47: Antifragile and the Make or Break of Training EnvironmentGood morning and welcome back to the show! Today's episode almost didn't happen as Zack spent most of the day stuck in airports with delayed flights, but he made it just in time and we're enjoying our beers at Czann's brewing and talking training. We recap Zack's weekend out of town at a powerlifting meet, and I talk about how things are progressing in my new gym space. Then, we switch gears to talk about what it means to be antifragile AKA DBAB, and I challenge Zack to describe his ideal training environment, or what he thinks makes or...2021-12-1058 minAndy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 46: Holiday travel workout guide and Injury Update/What we learnedGood morning and welcome back to the podcast! We're gearing up for the last month of 2021 and we have holidays, food, and travel on our minds. This time of year can be challenging to stay on track with workouts and nutrition, but Zack and I got your back - today we discuss how, when, and what we like to do when we're on the road to stay fit. Next, after 9 months of clawing our way back to pre-injury fitness levels, we talk about what we learned in the process. Grab a beer and enjoy!2021-12-0356 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 45: Fat Man in a Smedium ShirtGood morning and welcome back to the podcast! Zack and I are posted up at Czann's Brewing and today we're wrapping our series on favorite exercises per body part. Today we're focusing on the trunk: chest, back, and core musculature. We're choosing our favorites and you might be surprised at some of the choices we make! Grab a beer and enjoy!2021-11-291h 10
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 44: Hard Lessons Learned as Trainees and Our Favorite Lower Body LiftsGood morning and welcome back to the podcast! Zack and I are drinking some seasonal beers over at Czann's Brewing in the Nations talking training. Today we address a few hard lessons we've learned over the years both as coaches, but also as trainees. After so many workout sessions, coaching sessions, sets, reps, and more plates, you'd think we have a steady bead on things. But even we are still learning and growing in a number of ways despite showing up to the gym for more than a decade each. We hash out these hard lessons and some takeaways...2021-11-191h 09Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 43: Training on the ExtremesGood morning and welcome back! Zack and I are warming up with some pumpkin ales at Czann's brewing, this week broadcasting both on IG live and to a private studio of sorts! That's right, Czann's has graciously allowed us to continue recording the podcast despite being closed on Monday's, giving us the space in private for all the fitness talking. Today we're talking about some extreme training: whether barefoot running, doing a Spartan Race, or some of the hardest, most extreme workouts we've ever put ourselves through. Grab a beer and enjoy!2021-11-1254 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 42: Liftapalooza and Being a Life-Long LearnerGood morning and welcome back! Zack and I are checking into Czann's Brewing after a long and productive training weekend. Zack hosted, and I attended, Liftapalooza 2021 and we had an absolute blast. We as coaches know a thing or two about training, but it never hurts to learn from other professionals in our field and dust off some knowledge we maybe had forgotten, or learn some completely new things about training and recovery that help us become better coaches and athletes. So today we revisit the weekend and talk about some of our favorite points over the weekend. Grab...2021-11-051h 07
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 41: Bis, Tris, and Delts, oh my! FILL THE SLEEVES!Good morning and welcome back! Zack and I are doing some 16 oz curls today at Czanns and talking about the ONLY muscles worth working out: the arms. (JK. But srsly). While there are dozens of different forearm, bicep, tricep, and shoulder exercises each, today we're picking our favorite exercise for each muscle to train while we're in the gym. Grab a beer and enjoy!2021-10-291h 02
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 40: Bulking on a Budget and the Yin/Yang of RestGood morning and welcome back to the podcast! Zack and I are posted up at Czann's Brewing in west Nashville drinking beers and talking training. If you've been listening for awhile, you know that I'm actively trying to gain some weight. To do so, I've been trying to eat an inordinate amount of food - so much food that I'm rarely hungry and honestly hate to eat sometimes. It's a lot. But for the sake of putting on more muscle mass, you have to feed it. So we discuss the ins and outs of adding calories throughout your day...2021-10-221h 02
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 39: Breaking down the BenchGood morning and welcome back to the podcast! In the last couple weeks, Zack and I have broken down and dissected the squat and the deadlift, and this week we continue the trend with the bench press. Whether with a bar or with dumbbells, the bench press is a great overall strength and muscle builder. But in order to use the bench press effectively, you need to learn the skills required to dip under a bar, the unique differences between bench press variations and their utility, and ways to program the bench press into your workouts to maximize it's...2021-10-151h 05
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 38: Dissecting the DeadliftGood morning and welcome back! Zack and I are back at Fat Bottom Brewing talking about, of all things, the moon and dad rock. Whether or not you wanted to learn about the moon and how it came to be, or whether you believe a rock band can keep its name even after members come and go, you're in for a real treat regarding obscure side interests. Fear not! We do actually talk fitness and this week we're tackling the deadlift. Since we have already discussed the squat, we wanted to do a deep dive into the deadlift and...2021-10-081h 05
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 37: The Charming, Great looking, Special of all Special guests: Jesse Riley, DCGood morning and welcome back! Today we have a very special guest on the podcast, our good friend and modern-day Chiro Dr. Jesse Riley. A few years back, Jesse and I crossed paths after mutual clients suggested a man date. And a man date it was - ever since, we've been close buddies and colleagues and Zack and I are fortunate to be friends with him. Nobody has considered us The Three Musketeers but give us a few beers and a couple swords and I think we'd make for a great team! Jesse now lives in Denver which makes us...2021-10-011h 05
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 36: Fix my SquatGood morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I are sipping beers and listening to some great tunes down at East Nashville Beer works and we're talking about squats. What is a squat, why is it important, and how do we go about coaching the squat? Furthermore, what are some different coaching cues and tidbits we often use while coaching the squat? And lastly, we wrap up with each of our favorite and least favorite squat variations. We're talking all things squats today, so grab a beer and enjoy!2021-09-241h 04Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 35: Best Block, No be ThereGood morning and welcome back! Zack and I are checking into Czann's Brewing again on the west side of Nashville. Today, Zack updates us on his seminar he co-hosted in Minneapolis over the weekend. We chat training, whether fresh in the game or seasoned. We chat about managing total stress and volume, how we approach these facets in our own training as well as our clients, and we update everyone on our injury progress. Mostly, I'm gaining a lot of weight and it's not purely muscle. Lean for summer has turned to pumpkin spice big booty. Grab a beer...2021-09-171h 04Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 34: Influencers in the WildGood morning and welcome back! Zack and I braved hurricane Ida and ended up at Fat Bottom Brewing, where this week we crossed paths with a gaggle of Instagram Influencers in the wild. Zack was stoked to learn all about these folks, what they do, how they built their audiences, and since they were visiting our beloved Nashville from out of town, we were curious what they do for fitness while on vacation. This sparked a very long and convoluted conversation about training while on vacation: what it looks like, whether we partake in fitness at all, and what...2021-09-101h 03Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 33: Nice Try, FitnessGood morning and welcome back to episode 33 of A2Z No BS! Zack and I are back at East Nashville Beer Works this week, taking a break from our usual west-side spots and staying close to home. We each had a busy week! The equipment for my new gym was delivered and my contractor is underway renovating my space for opening, and I talk about some of the ins and outs of the whole opening-a-gym-is-cool-but-stressful thing. Zack was in Charlotte NC this past weekend teaching - but also learning - a thing or two about powerlifting with his friend...2021-09-031h 01
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 32: Andy's BananasGood morning and welcome back! This week Zack and I are checking back into Czann's brewing in the Nations and we're talking data. Over the years, fitness has expanded from simple step counters to a whole slew of new gadgets, wearables, and data-monitoring systems. Ostensibly, with more data related to sleep, stress, heart rate, and VO2max, we can be better coaches and trainees and improve the quality of our lives and our workouts. But while this information can be really useful, Zack and I argue that it could also get in the way, and instead our over-reliance on...2021-08-271h 01
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 31: You are Perfect just the way you are, ZackGood morning and welcome back! Zack and I are checking in for episode 31 at Fat Bottom Brewing with a new toy! Today we're taking things a little more casually and nerd out on a wide range of topics, including cadaver anatomy, chemistry, the University of Tennessee's body farm, geology, and even a little philosophy with the "value of boredom." In a way, we're both taking things a little slower today and enjoying the process (much like training at times!). Grab a beer and enjoy!2021-08-2052 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 30: Featuring Alexis Bakalakos on HAES and TIWLGood morning and welcome to our 30th Episode! We've reached a milestone and this week we're happy to introduce our guest, Alexis Bakalakos. Alexis is a physical therapy student, powerlifter, and new coach, and this week we're talking about training. Alexis started training about three years ago, making her a relative newbie to the lifting game and exactly the kind of voice we've needed on the podcast for a fresh perspective. We chat about how it started vs. how it's going for her squats and deadlifts, and she enlightens us on her experiences as a female trainee in a...2021-08-131h 11
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 29: Getting Wide and ThiccGood morning and welcome back! This week Zack and I are checking back into Fat Bottom Brewing in the nations and talking about eating and training. After months of healing, we're both on the mend and ready to get back into the swing of things training-wise. Sidelined for most of the summer, we've been exploring movement again, slowly ramping things back up for what we hope is a productive fall and winter of #gains. I intend on getting as fat beefcake as possible, upping my caloric intake in new and interesting ways, and I talk about why I've chosen...2021-08-0659 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 28: Brutal Truths, Fitness Flavors, and PhilosophizingGood morning and welcome back! This week Zack and I are checking in at Fat Bottom Brewing, dodging storms and taking advantage of their 2-for-1 specials. Today we start the podcast talking about the "brutal truth" about getting and staying fit. Now, "fit" might be a loose term here, meaning something different depending on who you are and what your goals are, but of course we attack the question from the perspective of the extremes, and you might be surprised how we answer the question. Next, over the last year we've both incorporated new training tools and equipment that...2021-07-301h 02Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 27: Science; Assets vs Liabilities; and Fast and Slow Learners.Hello and welcome back! Me and Zack are checking in again at Czann's this week chatting all things fitness. First, some new science has come to my attention regarding HIIT and cardio and where it may (or may not) fit your muscle gain goals. Further, if time is a resource, how are we going to use it for fitness? Are we investing in an asset or losing in a liability? And lastly, as chat some philosophy, and learn what it means to appreciate movement. Grab a beer and enjoy!2021-07-231h 00Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 26: Assessing Goals and Ruffling some FeathersGood morning and welcome back to A2Z! This week Zack and I are tuning in from my dining room table, escaping the heat and enjoying the company of my dog, Jane. This week we're talking about goals: Zack turned 33 this past week, and as we get older we ask the question "what do goals look like for each of us as we get older?" In other words, how do we define our goals? How do we measure progress? Are the traditional tools and metrics from the past work well for us as we get older and wiser as trainees...2021-07-1658 minAndy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 25: Seek first to Understand; and the Dabbler, the Obsessive, and the Hacker.Hey there! Zack and I are coming in hot off the heels of July 4th with our 25th episode! We're checking into Czann's Brewing in the Nations and talking about coaching, seeking to understand our clients, and falling in love with the process. It's a doozy so grab a beer and enjoy!2021-07-091h 13
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 24: Spicy Shrimp on #AndysEats and 10,000 HoursGood morning and welcome back! Zack and I check in back at Bold Patriot brewing with our special guest, train! And by train, we mean literal train. But that didn't stop us from talking shop. Zack tells us about divin' into last week's #AndysEats with his Peach Chicken recipe, while I share my new recipe of the week: Spicy Shrimp over lemon basil Orzo. It was bomb-diggity. Next, we're talking training: and by training, I mean the thousands of hours Zack and I have put into honing our craft as coaches. This long resume and history of in-the-trenches work...2021-07-0258 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 23: #AndysEats and the Pursuit of MasteryGood morning and welcome back! Zack and I are back at Bold Patriot Brewing this week talking about training, cooking, and beer drinking. This week we introduce a new segment we're calling Andy's Eats, where I discuss some of the bomb-ass meals I've been cooking at home and how they've turned out. Speaking of cooking, I like to follow a recipe for a number of reasons, but after awhile I'll start to tweak things here and there to put my own spin on it. Zack and I recognize that there are parallels with training and coaching: first you need...2021-06-2559 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 22: Arousal, Performance, and Exercises that make us Think TwiceGood morning! This week, Zack and I are enjoying the sunshine, talking fitness, and cracking beers at East Nashville Beer Works. We start today with a little sports psychology: what is "arousal" and how does it affect performance? What does it mean to be under-aroused when playing sports or lifting weights? How about over-aroused? When it comes to sport or lifting you can't come in flat, but you don't have to sniff salts and take Jack3D to perform well, and being over-aroused might even hinder performance. Next, we all have those exercises that make us nervous...maybe a...2021-06-1855 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 21: Special guest Tania Lopez on Content Creation, Curating the "FitPro," and our Coaching EvolutionHey, gang! Zack and I each took a week away for some R&R but we're back, feeling fresh, and ready to podcast! This week we host Tania Lopez, a strength coach and fitness enthusiast right here in Nashville. We start today by discussing content creation: what we put out on the interwebz to try and help our clients and fellow coaches make sense of all this fitness stuff. Each of us has our own approach and ultimate goals with our content, and we compare and contrast how and what we produce and share. We revisit the idea of...2021-06-111h 15
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 20: Left side, Strong sideGood morning and welcome back! This week Zack and I are checking in from my hot back yard. We start this week by talking about kettlebells: Zack is releasing Kettlebell Foundations, a beginner's guide to training with kettlebells. If you're getting into fitness for the first time and you're looking for a comprehensive guide and instruction manual for kettlebells, Zack is your guy. You'll find this and many more amazing resources on his website, zackhenderson.com. Next, Zack and I talk about his top 3 kettlebell exercises he teaches all of his clients and why. We chat program design, structure...2021-05-2851 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 19: the Devil is in the DetailsGood morning! Zack and I are back at Bold Patriot Brewing drinking beers and talking fitness. What does it mean to be coached or be coachable? Zack and I are both coaches, and even though we have the tools, resources, and knowledge to write our own workout programs, we have each hired coaches in the past. There are a number of benefits to outsourcing our own coaching, and we each describe the things we learned from our respective experiences. Next, there are a handful of popular programs by famous coaches out there. Zack and I talk about our experiences...2021-05-211h 05
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 18: "It Depends" and whether the Juice is worth the SqueezeGood morning! Zack and I are back. Ya know what grinds my gears? Reductionist and intellectually lazy fitness advice. While social media loves soundbites, tweets, or memes, they're largely unhelpful or possibly damaging. Nothing in fitness or nutrition is black and white: it is grey, nuanced..."it depends" as we say. It depends on who we're talking about, what we're talking about, and the application of the subject matter, and Zack and I chat about it. Next, for every Mr. Olympia; for every Olympic gold medalist; for every power lifting champion competing at the highest level of physical achievement...2021-05-141h 01Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 17: Two Tools talk Unconventional Training ToolsGood morning and welcome back to A2Z No BS! We're back at our new watering hole, Bold Patriot Brewing, where I got a head start on beers and Zack joined me to chat with part owner of the business, Papa, about Revolutionary War history. Bold Patriot has a delicious lineup of beers, and each one is named after a patriot who played a role during the war. Zack and I thoroughly enjoyed our history lesson with Papa before sitting down to chat some fitness. This week we talk about unconventional training tools. When you think of the gym and...2021-05-071h 19
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 16: Getting Jacked up on Jacked 3D - Supplements and You.Good morning! Zack and I are back at Bold Patriot supplementing our already stellar diets with more carbs in our favorite form: delicious beer. Speaking of supplementation, Zack and I chat supplements today on the podcast, specifically those we like and might encourage our clients to explore if it might benefit them, but more importantly we discuss those supplements on the market who's marketing claims or ingredients might be suspect, unhelpful, or possibly dangerous. Not only that, but supplements *should* play only a small role in one's diet, and we explore how and when you might add a supplement to...2021-04-3056 minAndy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 15: Pitfalls of Group Fitness; McDonald's vs Ribeyes; the future of FitnessHey, y'all! Zack and I are back at our new favorite watering hole and ready to shake down some fitness topics. One of my first jobs here in Nashville was working for a popular group fitness franchise, and I while I think it (and many other fitness offerings in the market) have a lot of great stuff to offer clients, it lacks in a few keys features, and we discuss the pros and cons of these businesses. Zack and I agree on one key feature about gyms and fitness centers: the "big E." Coffee shops and expensive steak houses exist...2021-04-2357 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 14: Motivation vs. Practice - what keeps us training?The definition of Motivation is "the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way." As coaches and trainees, Zack and I are often asked what motivates us to keep training - to keep showing up almost every day and hit the weights. In our teenage years, we might have been motivated by the allure of the ladies (spoiler alert - it didn't work). Putting on some muscle and size back then was a means to puff our chests both physically and metaphorically (and maybe it's that sometimes nowadays, too). Over the years our motivations...2021-04-161h 03
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 13: Injury and Return to Play and Conquering the Core, featuring Travis Pollen, PhDGood morning and welcome back! This week Zack and I host Travis Pollen, a good friend of mine and PhD in Health in Rehabilitation Sciences, coach, author, professor, and record holder in Paralympic swimming. He is as impressive as he is handsome ;). This week, the three of us talk about bridging the gap between rehabilitation and performance, something that Zack and I are experiencing first hand as we recover from our respective injuries. As coaches, we sometimes encounter speed bumps with our clients when it comes to acute or chronic injuries, and we often need to modify our programming...2021-04-091h 16
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 12: Karma is a BitchGood afternoon and welcome back! As you know by now, Zack had a skiing accident a few weeks back, shattering his leg and rendering him somewhat immobile. To help ease his spirits about it, I gave him as much shit as possible about it! All in good fun I couldn't let an opportunity to dog him go to waste, so I constantly talked about how little his leg would get; how much mass he was going to lose; in essence, how I was going to get a leg up on the competition and take this time to get stronger...2021-04-0241 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 11: Effective Communication between Coach and Client, and the stakes of sharing your work.Hello and good morning! Zack and I are back and this week we kick things off by talking about communication. It comes as a surprise to absolutely no one that I have the gift of gab. While I spend most of my days hanging out with clients in the gym, Zack does things a bit differently in the online coaching world. Today, we discuss our similarities and differences when it comes to effective communication in our respective arenas to ensure our clients are well served and that their wants, needs, and goals don't go unattended. I even share a...2021-03-2658 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 10: The Biggest Bang for your Buck ExercisesGood morning and welcome back! This week, I tease Zack about how small his broken leg will get with time, so join me in laughing as Zack measures his thigh girth live on the podcast. While we like to joke, sometimes we do talk fitness. Sometimes, even, we change our minds about certain fitness approaches, and we start by challenging old beliefs, checking our ego, and discussing some topics we've softened or even done a complete 180 on. Next, while there are thousands of exercises out there to choose from, and all of them come with benefits and costs, there...2021-03-191h 03
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS Episode 9: Strength Training, Nutrition, and leaning your way out to your best beach body by summer.Is that smell the combination of man musk and the sweet scent of spring? You betcha! As the rain falls, flowers bloom, and the weather warms, we're all finding our way outdoors and a little more active. Some of us might even be thinking about summer and how we want to look and feel as the temperature rises and the amount of clothing we wear falls. Which got Zack and I talking: if we've been cultivating some strength and muscle mass (and in my case, a little fat) over the winter months, what should we start doing if we...2021-03-121h 01
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS: Ep. 8Hey, folks! After a vacation week in Salt Lake City, we welcome back Zack, our friend and co-host of the podcast. When he left, he had ambition and excitement and 206 intact bones. This week he returns to us with a full heart, stories, and 2 fewer intact bones. While away, Zack decided to test the durability of his shin bones in epic fashion: skiing downhill and windmill kicking a ski lift pole. He may have broken his shin completely in half, but you should see the other guy...it was the crack heard 'round the world. But he's back, whole...2021-03-0552 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS: Ep. 7Another snowy day in Nashville and yet we're back with beers in hand! You might see Zack and me and think we're a couple meatheads: bending bars, swinging kettlebells, eating chicken and broccoli out of tupperware, and you'd be kinda right. While weight training comes second nature to us, the nutrition side of things has been a delayed addition to our lives. Sure, we can eat, and we're good at it. But cooking, for ourselves or others, was a late addition for us both: not becoming an integral part of our daily lives until our early 30s. And that's...2021-02-2655 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS: Ep. 6Nashville is being pounded by snow and ice, but Zack and I grabbed a six-pack and set up shop in his apartment to record this week's episode. As they say, the show must go on! We both love lifting big weights and eating our vegetables (pizza is a vegetable, right?), but we have other interests, too: I own a couple Toyotas and Zack likes to shred on guitar, and we talk a little about our hobbies outside of fitness. Next, we get into the weeds of program design, namely how we approach choosing exercises we think are relevant to...2021-02-191h 14Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS: Ep. 5We're back! This week, Zack and I welcome Erin, our first guest to co-host A2Z as we talk about exercise programming and training. Erin is a Nashville-based Physical Therapist who works with patients of all types and abilities, from desk-jockies to professional athletes. Today, she shares her experience and thoughts about assessing a patient, understanding their goals and needs, finding some common ground to help with "buy-in," and how she can safely and effectively get them back to doing what they love. Next, while we all love to lift big weights, we each have different backgrounds and experiences...2021-02-1259 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS: Ep. 4Wrapping up our first month of podcasts, we turn the lens on ourselves and our colleagues in the fitness, nutrition, and wellness industry. As coaches, we often talk about strength training, eating our fruits and veggies, getting eight hours of sleep, and so on. But this lifestyle isn't who we are 100% of the time - we're human, too, and often enjoy beer and pizza. Zack and I wrestle with the "image" we put forth both as fitness professionals and as real human beings on our social media. We discuss the "exception to the rules" in that, yes, we enjoy...2021-02-0553 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS: Ep. 3Hey, gang! This week Zack and I talk about Crossfit, what it does well, and how we could all learn from it; Burpees are under the microscope for some much needed scrutiny in workouts; and finally we talk about assessments: what they are, and how we're each guided in our decision-making process for assessing and progressing our clients. Drink a beer with us and enjoy!2021-01-291h 03Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS: Ep. 2We're back! This week we're talking habits: reading, nutrition, training...but more specifically, healthy habits we know are good for us, healthy habits we encourage our clients to do, and yet we don't do them (because we're human after all!). We then change gears to talk about over-training vs. under-recovery. Have you ever felt beat up, sore, and just generally worn down? Maybe you're doing too much in the gym, but more likely you're not doing enough *outside the gym* and it's affecting your performance and recovery. We talk about what over-training and under-recovery looks like, feels like, and...2021-01-2259 min
Andy Talks Fitness with FriendsA2Z No BS: Ep. 1Zack and I talk about the Healthy at Every Size movement; staying in our lanes as coaches; training mistakes we've made over the years; and other such stuff. Much fitness and some swearing. Enjoy!2021-01-1537 min