“It's hard to sell a secret when there's no secret” - Easy Strength with Dan John

Simon Ward, The High Performance Human Triathlon Podcast

Someone once told me that good coaches never stop learning. This is a philosophy that I have carried with me ever since I started coaching, and one which I share with other coaches whenever we are delivering workshops. Reading books and speaking with podcast guests probably forms the majority of my learning these days, although not all. I still go to conferences and in person workshops. Today’s guest ticks two of the key learning boxes for me and I hope it does for you as well. My guest today is strength coach Dan John, who is also an accomplished author. Dan is a big fan of kettlebells, although he is proficient in all forms of lifting. In the podcast you’ll hear him say that he’s often the strongest person in the gym even though he is now 67 and the owner of 2 titanium hips. What I enjoy about Dan from both his books and his videos is his simple, down to earth approach. He could almost be from Yorkshire! Regular listeners will know that I’m really interested in strength training, and the benefits for humans not just on their athletic performance but also their health and longevity. Dan quotes some Eastern European strength writers who I will reference in the show notes. I read a lot of strength books, including some of the early Russian texts from which many strength training principles have been adapted. If you are into your strength training you might want to check these out. In this call we only covered a fraction of what was on my list, so expect to hear Dan again in the very near future. Below are some of the topics we chat about:

• (5:09) Building consistency is better than the perfect workout - “In my gym, we call it 5 x 52. You know, it's 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year. I mean, that's the secret sauce!"
• (6:14) The perfect workout
• (34:38) Can you develop mobility & strength at the same time? "We loosen what is tightening and we strengthen what is weakening.”
• (35:59) Athletes over 55 - "Focus on the 3 pillars - mobility, hypertrophy, fast twitch muscle fibres."
• (41:01) What you do between 35-55 sets the template for how you are post 55 years old. “The future you will be happy that you lifted weights at 35."
• (49:38) What is the minimum equipment you need for a home gym? "Even if you have no equipment, it doesn't matter."
• (51:27) Differences in strength training workouts for males versus females - "So the only difference is probably more volume (higher reps/lower weights) on the push and pull movements”

To find out more about Dan John, please visit these channels: Website - Dan John University Sign up for Dan’s weekly newsletter “Wandering Weights” Check out Dan John’s books HERE Dan is a prolific writer. Check out his articles and blogs If you have a question for Dan, most have already been answered HERE at my Q and A Forum. Also in the show we talked about: Robb Wolf Vladimir Janda To contact Beth regarding Life Coaching, please visit her website at BethanyWardLifeCoaching.uk.

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Visit Simon's website for more information about his coaching programmes. Links to all of Simon's social media channels can be found here. For any questions please email [e-mail].