What Makes Someone an Athlete?

Performance coach Tim Riley returns to the Judd Lienhard Podcast for a high-level conversation on hybrid athletes, TRT, Olympic lifting, CrossFit culture, movement selection, and what truly drives athletic development today.

Tim has coached NFL athletes, Olympians, and elite competitors across multiple sports. In this episode, he and Judd break down the real principles behind power development, identity traps, steroid culture, coaching philosophy, programming mistakes, and how the fitness world has shifted over the last decade.

You’ll hear stories from NFL Combine prep, wild athlete experiences (Micah Parsons and Ja’Marr Chase get mentioned), plus myth-busting on hypertrophy dogma, kettlebell hate, Mike Israetel controversies, CNS fatigue, deadlift debates, mobility misconceptions, and more.

If you're an athlete, coach, or hybrid lifter chasing your potential, this episode will challenge your thinking and sharpen your approach to training.

Topics Covered

• Olympic lifts vs. power alternatives
• CrossFit standards and movement dysfunction
• Functional training: where it went wrong (and right)
• Isolation work & machine training for athletes
• How identity sabotages training decisions
• Athlete vs. hybrid athlete: redefining the term
• Apex: building a simple, brutal competition model
• Kettlebells, accommodating resistance & hypertrophy myths
• Mike Israetel controversies & criticism in the fitness world
• Power, speed, and why sprinting is a different animal
• Steroids, TRT, stigma & hormone realities
• Deadlifting for athletes: when it matters
• CNS fatigue myths and programming mistakes

Follow Tim Riley

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/timrileytraining/
Coach ’Em Up Podcast — https://open.spotify.com/show/4wjmPXjz59op5E5uPg5ATk

Follow Judd Lienhard

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/juddlienhard/
YouTube — hthttps://www.youtube.com/@JuddLienhard
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https://www.juddlienhard.com

Episode Timestamps

00:00 – Olympic lifting debates
 03:20 – Power training adaptations
 10:55 – The evolution of “functional training”
 15:20 – Isolation work & addressing weak links
 22:40 – What defines an “athlete”?
 28:10 – Apex: simple, brutal athletic competition
 33:55 – CrossFit culture & misconceptions
 40:20 – Mike Israetel: genius, autism, and criticism
 47:00 – Kettlebells & hypertrophy dogma
 58:20 – Strength, speed & sprinting
 72:10 – TRT stigma & hormone realities
 78:40 – Steroids, myths & athletic enhancement
 85:50 – Deadlifts: when they matter
 92:30 – CNS fatigue myths

This episode is brought to you by LMNT.

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The Judd Lienhard Podcast delivers unfiltered conversations with elite athletes, military leaders, and top coaches, exploring performance, mindset, and resilience. From NFL vets to Special Forces operators, each episode is packed with real-world lessons on training, leadership, and pushing limits.

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