Julien Pineau, a movement-focused strength coach and founder of StrongFit, shares his unique insights on training using sandbags and the art of instinctive movement. He emphasizes the importance of sensory engagement in exercises and how loading bones can enhance performance. The conversation delves into managing anxiety in CrossFit, exploring isometric holds for mental toughness, and the intricate mind-body connection. Julien critiques traditional training methods, advocating for a holistic approach that embraces discomfort to foster resilience and growth.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Origin Story Of Sandbag Training
Julien Pineau learned sandbag training after brutal Cuban wrestling conditioning in Brazil and made his own durable sandbags when commercial ones failed.
That experience shifted his view from isolation gym work to functional, wrestling-like conditioning that he still uses today.
insights INSIGHT
Frustration Is Productive Fuel
Frustration is a core physiological driver that motivates long-term action and learning, not just a negative emotion.
Julien argues training that removes frustration lowers adaptation and creates chronic anxiety instead of acute productive stress.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Schedule Max Effort With Built-In Frustration
Use spacing between maximal efforts to preserve frustration as motivation; e.g., deadlift only every 10–14 days to build drive.
Let a failed attempt sit as useful frustration until the next session so athletes correct and improve.
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Today’s podcast features movement-focused strength coach Julien Pineau, founder of Strongfit. With a background in sports ranging from competitive swimming to MMA and strongman, Julien started coaching in 1993 and opened his strongman-focused gym in 2008. Known for his integration of all systems of the body, along with his eye for human movement, he’s worked with athletes across various disciplines, pursuing growth both inward and outward.
It's easy to get overly accustomed to the typical training tools we are provided with. What is now the standard of physical training on the level of barbells, dumbells, machines, and heavy linear conditioning, however, is quite different than the physical demands on a human in our native environment. In so many ways, training with a sandbag is a great equalizer, as it brings online, so many of our instinctive human systems, and reminds us of our innate function.
In today’s episode, Julien explores human instinct and body intelligence in training, covering sensory aspects (myotomes) of hands and feet, the role of anxiety/frustration, isometrics, the nervous system, the heart's intelligence, bone loading, grip strength, and more. This insightful discussion touches on essential training and performance concepts.
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View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage.
Main Points
2:00- The story of what led Julien to sandbag training
8:00- The role of frustration in training, and its role with awkward objects and difficult situations
13:00- The role of myotomes in using one’s hand in manual labor, squeezing, and sandbag training
17:00- Anxiety found in chronic training practice, and the role of using prolonged rest and frustration to force greater focus on the given sessions
22:30- What martial arts give a generalist from a training and psychological perspective
33:40- The value of sustained movements, such as a long isometric hold, and withholding value
38:30- Defining the somatic system of the body, along with the strength of the heart
43:00- The role of the heart’s strength and function in PTSD
49:00- Dynamics of loaded carries, isometrics, sandbags, and holistic function of the body (along with myotome function)
59:00- Isolation versus compound movements on the level of myotome function
1:01:45- Grip strength, pulling and deadlifting dynamics
1:04:00- Embodied aspects of training and the body, related to the intelligence of the heart
1:07:00- The relationship of the gut biome to one’s conscious thought
1:12:00- Bone Crushing Strength: Myotomes, foot training, grip, and overall body strength
1:21:45- Managing balance in the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the nervous system
Quotes
7:10 "All the strong men back there were wrestlers; back then it was seen as the best way to get strong. It was less 1-rep max, more being able to move with stuff”
8:50 “I think anxiety is a chronic version of frustration”
12:55 “Frustration is created by your environment; you can change your envionrment or you can deal with it”
13:30: “A 200lb sandbag and a 200lb barbell are not the same thing”
17:25 “A lot of time is just ego lifting, they turn anything that is acute into a chronic state; you will notice those people that train 6 times a week, they are on the anxious side because they are turning everything into a chronic state”
18:20 “Anxious people go to Crossift more”
27:45 “If we take frustration and try to lower it,
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