Episodes - Page 12 | 50% Facts with Silent Mike & Jim McD

April 8, 2022

Do cookie cutter programs get a bad rap? | One Good Question

This Friday’s question from our Discord. Eddydrizzle asks: Is there really an issue with “cookie-cutter” programming? For example, your programming methodology is working up to a single at whatever RPE is prescribed per lifter, and then you have...

April 6, 2022

Looking back – Episode 200

We reflect some on the history of this show and chat about the nearly 400 combined podcast episodes we’ve done together. In addition to a few other topics, we get into the value of coaching relationships and why Mike doesn’t coach anymore, and how...

April 1, 2022

Who needs sticking point training? | One Good Question

Another great Friday question from our Discord. Lucas Franco asks: How important/ over-hyped is "weak-point" training and do people/coaches over-obsess and misdiagnose them when the solution may be to just get stronger? That being said, when targeting...

March 31, 2022

Louie’s Legacy? | Will’s toxicity?

As with (pretty much) any story, the Chris Rock/Will Smith incident has more than one side. But does any of it matter beyond being an ugly incident in a crappy telecast of the Oscars? Does anyone bat an eye if the same thing happened in a bar on...

March 25, 2022

If you could time travel, where would you go? | One Good Question

We got what was really a cluster of fun (and related) questions from Keith Honeycutt on our Discord: (See link below to join.) Will time travel ever be possible? Would you want to travel in time? When would you like to visit? If you could have lunch...

March 24, 2022

Will the Thor vs Eddie fight help the popularity of strongman?

We’re not strongman competitors or boxers for that matter, but we do pay attention to what moves the needle on awareness of strength sports in the general population. On March 19, 2022, Hafþór Björnsson, the 2018 World’s Strongest Man met Eddie Hall,...

March 18, 2022

Do we believe in “Fake it ‘til you make it?” | One Good Question

Another good question from our Discord. (See link below to join.) User “DrillPressed” asked if it was better to be confident and wrong or hesitant and right? And how do those states apply to the “fake it ‘till you make it” mindset? If you wait until...

March 16, 2022

Do your pre-lift rituals work or do they just make you look stupid?

Is there any science behind all the little things we habitually do before a big lift, a tough training session, a meet, or any other kind of performance? Do they help keep us calm, make us more likely to succeed, or better able to handle failure? We...

March 11, 2022

Why do (some) pro athletes pick gimmicky strength and conditioning coaches? | One Good Question

Why do some pro athletes end up doing silly exercises with coaches whose qualifications seem mostly revolve around their social media following? Is it clout-seeking? Is it boredom with more conventional programs? This question came from a member of...

March 9, 2022

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty – First impressions | Plus will we ever go back to the Arnold?

The “Showtime” era of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s probably saved professional basketball and created the NBA as we know it today. The sport was quickly falling out of the mainstream of American sports conscience. CBS was delaying the broadcast...

March 4, 2022

How does your personality affect your training style…and can you change it?

Piggybacking on our previous episode where we took a 300 question personality assessment, we reflect on how different personality traits may influence how people train (and live their lives). Is it possible to change aspects of your personality by...

March 2, 2022

Why does your personality suck (or not suck)?

So last year we took a test to see if either of us is a sociopath. We came out OK on that one, so we thought we’d give a full, 300 question personality assessment a go. No, not the Myers-Briggs. This assessment is from Personalityassessor.com and was...

Feb. 25, 2022

How do you get your kids into lifting? | One Good Question mini-episode

We asked you for suggestions for a single question you’d like to hear us cover in one shorter episode. @arrogantfool asked us on Instagram, “How, as a dad who lifts, should we approach getting our kids under the bar? 'force' them? Just encourage?" We...

Feb. 24, 2022

Why does everybody love the bench press?

Specifically, why does the general public get so excited about the bench press record? We kick around this question in light of the recent 804 lb. training press by Danial Zamani. We talk about being present for Eric Spoto’s 722 lb. recording-breaking...

Feb. 18, 2022

Bulk, cut, or nah? | Topic Thunder mini-episode

Are big bulks or big cuts worth it? Will you get what you want out of them or do they (almost) always go bad. And if you’re on a bulk, how many glizzies can you eat in 48 hours? We throw out some opinions on this and share some ideas about sticking to...

Feb. 16, 2022

Modest calorie restriction for longer “health span” and a droid that carries your lunch

A grab bag of topics, including conversation about a new study linking moderate, “short term” calorie restriction and its impact on life span and “health span.” We also take a look at a motorized lunch box/ice chest that will follow you around so you...

Feb. 11, 2022

Our biggest fitness mistakes? | Topic Thunder mini-episode

Maybe the biggest fitness mistake is not committing to being fit, but what were the biggest mistakes we made once we made that commitment? Where did we waste our time/money/both? Listen and see if you did some of the same crazy stuff we did. Dean...

Feb. 9, 2022

Can we treat adaptive athletes as athletes first? | Guest Sam Schaefer

Sam Schaefer is an adaptive and inclusive trainer, a fairly recent below-the-knee amputee – but and first and foremost, he’s an athlete. He shares the story of how he pushed himself forward through over nine years of constant, unrelieved pain, and how...

Feb. 4, 2022

Which sport is the most athletic? | Topic Thunder Mini-episode

Standing at the crossroads of the Super Bowl, the Winter Olympics, a few weeks from the NBA All-star game, and a likely delayed MLB season, this seemed like a good time to debate which sport is the most athletic. We came to a consensus pretty quickly...

Feb. 2, 2022

Which “underground” sports will actually work on TV/streaming/etc.?

This discussion started with a basic question: If Olympic weightlifting is really leaving the Olympics, will a mass audience ever be able to watch it again, and will it even survive? This brought up a larger question: Which of the current (or future)...

Jan. 29, 2022

Pain, Fame, and Anthony Bourdain | Our Review of Roadrunner

Roadrunner -- A Film About Anthony Bourdain, was released in July of 2021. It documents the rapid rise of a middle-aged chef, turned writer, turned TV host who took us along as he sampled foods that most of us would never taste…in locations most of us...

Jan. 27, 2022

Which sports (if any) should allow TRT? | Topic Thunder Mini-episode

Due to some production scheduling stuff, we’re flipping the script this week and dropping a Topic Thunder episode on a Wednesday and a regular episode on a Friday. Is nothing sacred? And speaking of sacred, which sports should allow its athletes to...

Jan. 21, 2022

After the Fear? Our first after-show

After our conversation with Garrett Fear in the previous episode, we kicked around some additional ideas about the viability of powerlifting as entertainment for “gen pop” audiences. We also talked about what we watched during our holiday break. Is...

Jan. 20, 2022

Garrett Fear: Can powerlifting ever grab a mainstream audience?

Can the next generation of powerlifters (and powerlifting promoters) finally bring the audiences (and sponsor money) the sport has dreamed of? Garrett Fear thinks so, and he gives us some insight into how it might work. We kick it off with talk of PC...