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Olympic lifts have a reputation problem. People see snatches and clean and jerks at the CrossFit Games or the Olympics and assume it's a different sport entirely, something reserved for elite athletes. Matt is here to change that.

This is Part 1 of a four-week series on Olympic lifting. Today's episode is the high-level entry point: what the lifts actually are, why they're some of the best general fitness tools that exist, and why every member walking into Juggernaut has a path into them, no matter their age, mobility, or experience level.

If you've ever scaled out of an Olympic lift on the whiteboard, swapped a clean for barbell curls, or thought "that's not for me," this one is for you.

Questions this episode answers:

• What are the Olympic lifts?
• What's the difference between a snatch and a clean and jerk?
• Why do CrossFit gyms program Olympic lifts?
• Are Olympic lifts safe for older adults or beginners?
• What's the difference between a power snatch and a full snatch?
• Why do Olympic lifts feel harder than heavier strength lifts?
• Can I do Olympic lifts if I have shoulder issues?
• What's a hang power version of a lift?
• Why is an empty barbell snatch harder than a heavy back squat?
• How do Olympic lifts help with everyday life and aging?

In this episode, we dig into:

• The Two Lifts, Demystified: What a snatch is, what a clean and jerk is, and why every variation on the whiteboard is built off these two foundations.
• Why Olympic Lifts, Not Just Strength Lifts: Strength is force. Power is force times speed. Why power is the thing that goes first as you age, not strength, and why these lifts are the best tool to keep it.
• Real World Carryover: Catching yourself on the ice. Playing with your grandkids on the floor. Hiking the Whites with springy legs instead of trashed ones. The Olympic lifts train all of it.
• The Scaling Path Most People Don't Know Exists: Dumbbell hang power snatches, medicine ball cleans onto a box, the hang variations. Every member has a way in. The question isn't if, it's which version.
• Why the Lifts That Humble You Are the Ones That Change You: Why an empty barbell can feel harder than a max-effort squat, and why that's exactly the stimulus your body needs after the easy gains are gone.

Unstoppable Challenge: The next time you see an Olympic lift on the whiteboard, don't scale it out automatically. Ask your coach what version is right for you today. You don't have to go heavy. You just have to start. That's the whole game. 1% better every day.

Up next: New episodes drop every Tuesday. Part 2 of the series goes into the pull, the part most people get wrong.

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UBC RAFFLE: Support the show for as little as $3 a month and you're entered into our next raffle drawing, happening this Saturday, June 6th. We're giving away a full seat in the Ultimate Bootcamp Challenge ($199 value), one of our most popular programs. If you've been on the fence, now is the time.

If the show has helped you, share it with someone who'd get something out of it. That's how we grow this thing.

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Interested in joining Juggernaut Fitness, either remotely or in person? Check out our website here.

Send us a question here!

Are you breathing wrong without even knowing it?

You take about 20,000 breaths a day, and most of them are on autopilot. But how you breathe shapes your sleep, your stress, your workouts, and how fast you recover. This solo episode breaks down three simple shifts that change how you train and how you live.

In this episode, we deep dive into:

• Why your breath is the most underused tool you already own: Breathing is the only system that's both automatic and under your control. It's the bridge between your conscious brain and your nervous system, and it's how you tell your body whether you're safe or in danger. Shallow chest breathing sends a stress signal. Slow diaphragm breathing sends a safety signal.
• Nose vs mouth breathing and why it matters: Your nose is built for breathing, your mouth is built for eating and talking. Nose breathing filters the air, humidifies it, and produces nitric oxide that helps oxygen move into your bloodstream more efficiently. Mouth breathing during sleep is linked to worse sleep, dry mouth, and worse cardiovascular markers. Learn when to default to nose, and when the mouth becomes your gear shift.
• Box breathing, the 60 second nervous system reset: Four in, four hold, four out, four hold. Four rounds, one minute total. Used by the military, ER docs, and elite athletes because it works fast. We break down exactly when to pull it out, including before a hard workout, before a tough conversation, in the parking lot before walking into the gym, or in bed when your brain won't shut off.
• How to brace under the bar: A big breath through the nose, down into the belly, then brace your core like someone's about to punch you. That intra-abdominal pressure is what protects your spine on heavy squats and deadlifts. Plus the simple rule for when to exhale on each rep, and why holding your breath through a whole set is a mistake.
• Rhythmic breathing for runners: A 3-3 pattern for easy pace, 2-2 when you're pushing. Why finding your rhythm is one of the hardest skills for new runners to develop, and why it changes everything once you do.

The Unstoppable Challenge:

Pick ONE technique from this episode and use it once in the next week. Could be box breathing in your car before work, the brace on your next heavy lift, or rhythmic breathing on your next run. Notice what shifts and DM Matt on Instagram @juggernautmatt to share which one you tried.

Support the Show & Win! 🎟️

Our next raffle draws Friday, June 6th, for a seat to the Ultimate Bootcamp Challenge, a $199 value. For as little as $3 a month you're entered to win AND you're helping us keep this podcast going. Tap "Support the Show" in your podcast app or visit the link below.

Support the show

Follow Matt on Instagram!

Interested in joining Juggernaut Fitness, either remotely or in person? Check out our website here.

Send us a question here!

Most people use RPE incorrectly, and the worst part is that they don't know it. In this episode, Matt breaks down Rate of Perceived Exertion from the ground up: what it actually means, why it beats percentage-based training, and the one misconception that could be making you train way heavier or way lighter than you think.

If a coach told you to hit RPE 8 today, would you know what that feels like? Most people think RPE 8 equals 80% of their one-rep max. That's only true in one specific case. Matt explains the real math, what RPE looks like across strength, running, and Olympic lifting, and how to calibrate yourself so you actually trust the number you're writing down.

Questions this episode answers:

• What does RPE mean in weightlifting and fitness?
• Is RPE 8 the same as 80% of my one-rep max?
• How do I use RPE if I don't know my one-rep max?
• What's the difference between RPE and reps in reserve (RIR)?
• How do I rate effort on a run if I'm not using a heart rate monitor?
• Why doesn't traditional RPE work well for snatches and clean and jerks?
• What's the talk test, and how does it tie to RPE?
• How do I know if I'm actually hitting my target RPE or sandbagging?
• Why does the same weight feel harder some days than others?
• Should I train to failure or stop short?

In this episode, we deep dive into:

• Why Your One-Rep Max Isn't Fixed: And how RPE solves the moving target most percentage-based programs ignore.
• The 1-10 Scale, Decoded: What each number actually feels like, from "barely moving" to "everything you've got."
• The 80% Myth: Why RPE 8 is 92% for a single, 80% for a set of five, and 70% for a set of ten. The chart that fixes one of the most common misconceptions in strength training.
• RPE for Runners: The talk test, the 80/20 rule, and why most people run their easy days too hard and their hard days too easy.
• Why Olympic Lifting Breaks Traditional RPE: What "stay snappy" actually means and why the snatch and clean and jerk need a different framework.
• The Two Ego Traps: Sandbagging vs. underselling, and why honest RPE is the only RPE that works.
• Daily Modifiers: How sleep, stress, and life chaos change your real RPE, and why that's a feature, not a bug.
• The Calibration Test: The single best exercise to learn the scale fast, in one workout.

Unstoppable Challenge: Pick one workout this week. Rate every working set or every running interval with an RPE number. Don't change anything else, just start paying attention. Then next week, run the Calibration Test on one of your lifts.

Get the RPE Field Guide: Subscribed to the podcast through our email list? The RPE Field Guide is hitting your inbox this week. It includes the full scale, the percentage chart, the calibration test, and a quick reference for strength, running, and Olympic lifting.

Support the Show & Win!

UBC RAFFLE: Subscribe to the podcast to be entered into our next raffle, drawing on June 6th. We're giving away a full seat in the Ultimate Bootcamp Challenge ($199 value). One of our most popular programs.

If the show has helped you, share it with someone who'd get something out of it. That's how we grow this thing.

Support the show

Follow Matt on Instagram!

Interested in joining Juggernaut Fitness, either remotely or in person? Check out our website here.